March 2015
Mission
The mission of Rockbrook Elementary School, a diverse community
of learners, is to foster learning by
providing a quality educational
experience within a secure and challenging environment.
Spring Breakfast
Friday, March 20
7:45 a.m.
Please join us.
School Improvement Goal
Students will improve reading comprehension and fluency skills.
News Briefs
Student Council
Notes
Upcoming Spirit Days
and Activities:
March 13: Spirit Day - green
March 16-20: Book drive
April 7: Tasty Tuesday
April 10: Spirit Day - yellow
April 20-24: Food drive
May 4-8: Spirit week
May 15: Spirit Day - stripes
May 5: Tasty Tuesday
Spring Break
March 30 - April 3
Rockbrook’s Community Spring Breakfast is
right around the corner and we are still in the
need of some helping hands. It is Friday March
20th.
If you are able to help please contact Jean
Warren @ [email protected].
Kindergarten Music
Program
Art and Pizza Night has been
rescheduled. Originally it
was to be held on April 9th,
but will now be on Thursday,
April 16th.
Mar
Student Council is sponsoring a book drive
from March 16-20th. New or gently used
books can be placed in the collection boxes
around the building. The books will be donated to organizations in the Omaha community.
Family Prom 2015
Get dressed up and come join us for the 3rd
Annual Rockbrook Family Prom! Prom will
be March 21st from 7 to 10 p.m. at Happy
Hollow Club. Enjoy dancing the night away
with your friends & family. If the dancing gets
to be too much take a break to the Ice Cream
Sundae bar! Each student must have a parent
or special guest with them, the cost is only $12
per person, so turn in your reservation to the
Prom box by the front office. *Please no jeans
or athletic pants* For questions please contact
Kristi Davis or Dana Zeiss.
“The Tale of Peter Rabbit”
Registration forms are attached to this newsletter.
Please note - there is no evening performance
for our kindergarten program.
Dental Screening
Please join us on Thursday, March 19, at 2:45
p.m. in the Rockbrook Gym.
No School
Please Note
Book Drive
NeSa Testing
Students in grades K through 4th will go
through a dental screening on Monday, March
9th. This screening is being done by the VNA
per new requirements by Nebraska DHHS.
Attention Parents of 3rd through 6th graders
Rockbrook 3rd-6th grade classrooms are beginning to plan and prepare for the upcoming Nebraska State Accountability Assessments. Testing will run from March 23 through April 24. As the
testing periods come closer, teachers will inform you of the specific test taking dates. Please help
us prevent interruptions of the tests by scheduling medical appointments and vacations outside of
your child’s testing period.
Rockbrook Calendar
9 Dental Screening Grades K-4
9 Bd of Ed Mtg 6:30 p.m. at ABC
10 Subway Night
13 Spirit Day - Wear green
16 Community Club Mtg 6 p.m.
16 Parent Safety & Advisory Group 2:30 p.m.
16-20 Student Council Book Drive
19 Kindergarten Music Program 2:45 p.m.
19 Band-O-Rama WHS 7 p.m.
20 Spring Breakfast 7:45 a.m.
20 Report cards go home.
23 Bd of Ed Mtg at ABC 6:30 p.m.
24 6th gr. in District Choral Festival WHS 7 p.m.
Mar. 30 through April 3 - Spring Break
Look What’s Coming! It’s the Original Artworks program.
Students have worked very hard in art class on their pictures and this is a chance for you to get your child’s art work in many different keepsake ways.
Orders forms and art work will be sent home on Friday March 13 and will be due back Wednesday March 25 if you would like to
order. The finished products will be back at the end of April just in time for Mothers Day!
There will be samples of some of the items in the display case in the front of the school for your viewing. This is a great fund raiser
for our school and also a great way to show off and share your child’s art work.
Any questions please contact Jean Warren @ 402-616-4249 or [email protected].
HELP WANTED:
Rockbrook Community Club is in need of new board members for the 2015 – 2016 school year.
Grab some friends and team up together to support our school. I know I couldn’t have run the Community Club this year without
the support of all our board members or the chair person’s and their committees for all the wonderful fundraisers or actives we do at
our school.
Just a few things our fundraisers have supported:
Gave the teachers some $ at the beginning of the year to buy supplies for their classrooms!
Buy new electric pencil sharpeners for every classroom!
Keep the beautiful fish tank in the front of the school for all kids to enjoy!
Veterans Day and Spring Breakfast!
Please contact Mr. Higginbotham at [email protected] if you are interested in being a board member.
Our Next RCC meeting is Monday March 16, 2015 @ 6 pm!
Attention Band Parents:
Band-O-Rama is coming!
Please mark your calendars for Thursday, March 19, for our
upcoming concert featuring the 5th and
6th grade band students from across the
district. The concert will be at 7:00 pm
at Westside High School. Students will
need to arrive between 6:15 and 6:45
to set-up for this event. We will have a
rehearsal during the school day and transport students from their elementary school to WHS. Please
look for that and if you have any questions about this event or
anything else, please do not hesitate to contact me by leaving a
message with your school secretary or e-mailing me at freeman.
[email protected] Thanks for encouraging music in your
child’s life!
Subway Night
Tuesday, March 10th
On the second Tuesday of each month, bring in the Subway flyer
your child will be bringing home or mention Rockbrook School
when you order and Subway will contribute 20% of the proceeds
back to the Rockbrook Community Club.
Don & Millie’s Night
Wednesday, March 18th
On the third Wednesday of every month, Don & Millie’s has a
Rockbrook night. Everyone who eats dinner there can tell the
cashier that they are from Rockbrook and Don & Millie’s will
donate 20% of the receipt to Rockbrook. You can enjoy a meal
out and donate to Rockbrook at the same time.
Strings Concert
Strings students will present their Solo
Group Night concert on March 10 at
6:30 p.m. in the WMS Auditorium. A
video made by the elementary strings
students can be viewed on most school
websites, the district website, and the
Westside Facebook group.
Box Tops Contest
The Spring Contest results are in…
Thank you to students, parents, teachers and staff who participated in the Spring Box Top Collection Contest! We collected 5420
Box Tops which earns Rockbook $542.00. Congratulations goes
to Mrs. Smith, 5th grade class with a collection of 750 Box Tops.
Close contenders were Mrs. Madson, 4th grade class with 692
Box Tops and Mr. Fry, 6th grade class with 646 Box Tops. Also a
special thank you to our Box Tops Committee Members:
Kristi Davis
Kim Falk
Andrea Foley
Jen Hall
Timaree Henneman
Danette Hester
Debbie Nilius
Trisha Seidler
Brandy Slinkard
Thank you for supporting Rockbrook and keep collecting them
for next school year!
Sharla Kurz
Box Tops for Education Chairman
Classroom Request Process
Dear Families and Friends of Rockbrook,
We are fortunate at Rockbrook to have a high quality, caring, and dedicated staff of educators who strive to meet the needs of every
child. Our teams of teachers are insightful and qualified and put a great deal of care and effort to best fit each child’s educational
needs with the right teacher.
This year we are making some adjustments to the process of class placement, and wanted to share our process with parents.
During the last quarter of the year, our staff begins the challenging task of creating the class lists for the next school year. This task
involves many people and a great deal of thought, as we do our best to:
Balance
When a classroom is balanced, the students are more successful, learning is easier, and the teacher is able to meet the needs of the
learners in attendance. Teams of teachers go over criteria such as male/female ratio, academic needs and talents, and special programming to ensure classrooms have even and diverse representation.
Build Equity
We also work to see that all classrooms resemble each other in leadership abilities, social skills, peer relationships, individual learning
styles and teaching styles, and classroom dynamics (behavior, social, emotional, and personality considerations among students).
Finding the Right Match
We recognize that parents are an important part of our team and a crucial advocate for their child’s success. With so many variables,
granting every teacher request would not be possible and might not match with the careful planning teachers do in preparing suggested lists. In addition, children need to work in and with a variety of circumstances now and in the future, in terms of personnel,
peers, and environment.
If there is a circumstance you feel we should consider, please do the following:
• Make a formal request in writing (by email is acceptable) no later than April 3, 2015
• Requests should reference your child’s learning style and type, not the specific teacher you wish them to have.
• If there has been a request made in a previous year that still applies, such as not placing your child with another particular student,
please make sure we are aware of the necessary details again, for placement in the 2015-16 school year.
Thank you for your continued partnership in your child’s education. Class assignments will be mailed individually in August, prior
to the start of school.
After School Pick-Up Reminder
At Rockbrook we believe the safety of our students is our most important duty. To ensure the safety and supervision of
all students we have made some updates to our after school pickup that we wanted to make you aware of.
Families wanting to stay after school to play are welcome, but need to be present on the playground with their child to
supervise.
Students who walk home are asked to do so upon dismissal.
Families that carpool or wish to authorize another parent to pick up or watch their child need to communicate this to
the office (preferably in writing) in advance of dismissal.
Starting at 3:45, staff will begin bringing students who are not supervised by an adult to the office to call and check on
rides. We would ask parents picking their child up after this time to come in to the office to do so.
We know these changes may take some time to adjust to, and we appreciate your efforts to support the safety of our
school.
Warrior Swim School
This program is for students who have successfully completed the Level 4 class
Class Time: 11:30 am-12:15 pm (same day and dates as Levels 1-4)
Cost: District 66 Residents: $60.00 Non-Residents: $65.00
Swim Lesson Registration
Saturday, March 7th 9:00-12:00
at Westside High School Pool
Please contact Lacey Batt for additional information
402-343-2801
[email protected]
Math Enrichment
March 30-April 2, 2015
Robotics, Circuits,
& Coding
Westside Community Schools
Spring Break
Enrichment Classes
Elementary Enrichment Classes (Descriptions on Back)
Westgate Elementary-7802 Hascall Street
Monday, March 30
Tuesday, March 31
Wednesday, April 1
Thursday, April 2
9:00 am-11:30 am
2nd & 3rd Graders
Robotics
Circuits
Coding
Math Enrichment
12:30 pm-3:00 pm
4th-6th Graders
Robotics
Circuits
Coding
Math Enrichment
!
Questions: Email Lynn Spady at [email protected]
Sign Up Online: 2nd-3rd Grade: http://tinyurl.com/springenrich2-3
4th-6th Grade: http://tinyurl.com/springenrich4-6
All classes are free except for the Robotics Class. Transportation to and from the class
is the responsibility of the child’s parent/guardian. You may sign up for more than one
class.
ROBOTICS
Sign-up will open Friday, March 6 at 4:00 pm. The maximum class size is 20 students.
During this enrichment class, students will spend some time researching and
reading about robots in our world today and their role in the future. In addition,
students will use a CEENBoT and participate in a variety of obstacle courses and
challenges. Students will build a simple robot during this class that they’ll be
able to take home.
Cost: $6.00 for robot supplies
CIRCUITS
Circuits are a SNAP! with Snap Circuit Kits. During this enrichment class,
students will learn and explore the basics of electronic circuits by studying
schematic drawings. Students will also create paper circuits using copper tape,
coin batteries, and LEDs.
CODING
Cost: Free
Students will practice problem solving, critical thinking and more during this
enrichment class. We will explore several coding resources including
Hopscotch, Scratch, and Java Script. Students will spend time building their
own interactive game in Hopscotch on their iPad.
Puzzles, Games, and Patterns…Oh My! During this math enrichment class,
students will stretch their mathematical thinking skills by participating in a
variety of math challenges and investigations.
Cost: Free
Sign Up Online: 2nd-3rd Grade: http://tinyurl.com/springenrich2-3
4th-6th Grade: http://tinyurl.com/springenrich4-6
MATH
ENRICHMENT
Cost: Free
*** Beverages available for cash purchase***