January 18, 2013

Greetings Roderick Families,

It was another busy and exciting week at the Roderick School. 

This morning Mrs. Nunes, Mrs. Carceo, Mr. Cederbaum, and Miss White presented an overview on the Reading Street reading program we use at our school. Thank you to our presenters.  They were extremely prepared and did a great job! Thank you to all parents who attended this morning's Principals' Coffee.  If you did not have the opportunity to attend today's Principals' Coffee, you can view the PowerPoint here.  Our next Principals' Coffee will be on Friday, March 15, 2013.  Our topic will be the placement process. 

Mrs. Moon's students finished their project of creating the 2012-2013 KP Boys' Varsity Basketball program.  The students worked very hard on these programs and it really shows.  Awesome job!

The students in Mrs. Kane's 5th grade class conducted a science lab activity that allowed them to explore with a single fixed pulley and a single movable pulley.  They were able to determine that a fixed pulley changes the direction of the force that is applied, but does not reduce the force required to lift the object.  The students also concluded that a movable pulley reduces the amount of force required to lift an object.

  

We had our Final Competition for the 2013 Geo Bee on Monday.  All ten contestants did a remarkable job!  Congratulations to all of you for making the final round.

   

 Congratulations to Patrick M. from Mrs. Moon's class for winning this year's Geo Bee.

 

Thank you to all the Roderick families who were able to complete and return the Summer Reading Program survey.  The feedback is greatly appreciated.  Please know that the full survey (complete with comments) can be picked up in the main office.  The results of the survey were compiled by Mrs. Marie Garozzo (Thank You!) and are presented below.  The results of the survey and the feedback from families will be used to refine and strengthen the program.  

Parent Survey:  Summer 2012 Reading Program	% of parents who Agree or Strongly Agree with each statement
Statement	K	1	2 & 3	4	5	6
1. I was aware that my child was expected to read and complete assignments as part of the Summer Reading Program last summer.	76	77	88	91	93	95
2. I was happy to have my child participate in the Summer Reading Program.	86	94	88	87	87	95
3. My child enjoyed participating in the program.	83	85	73	65	58	43
4. My child completed the expected reading and written responses.	73	85	85	91	95	97
5. The reading and assignments seemed appropriate for my child’s grade level.	79	85	93	92	91	100
# parents responding to the survey at each grade level	42	54	42	63	55	59
# parents who wrote comments on their sheets	16	22	16	26	31	29

Reminder

No school on Monday, January 21st - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

No school on Tuesday, January 22nd - Professional Development Day

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful long weekend!

Warm regards,
Stephen S. Grenham