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November 2014
Enterprise Charter Newsletter
Lyon’s Letter
Dear Family and Friends,
I have some GREAT news! Enterprise Charter School
showed the greatest growth in ELA on the 2013-2014
NYS Assessments of any Buffalo area school! Of the
the 53 Buffalo area schools, not only did Enterprise
show the greatest growth (nearly 9 percent better this
year than last year), but our growth was better than the
total growth of the schools that ranked 5th-53rd on the
list! This is very exciting News!
In the spring all students in grades 3-8 across New
York State take assessments in English (ELA) and
Math. These tests allow the schools to have a sense of
how well the students are performing so that we can
provide them with the appropriate instruction. In other
words, the results of these tests allow us to better meet
the needs of the children. Even more important for us
as a charter school, these tests help us to show the state
that we are doing good things for students. With this
in mind, I strongly encourage you to talk to your child
about how important it is for them to try their best
every day because each day brings them closer to their
goal.
One of the very, very important actions that we're
taking this year to help your child reach goals is to
have students earn "steps" every day for their reading.
One "step" is equal to 15 minutes of independent
reading. We provide each child with at least 30
minutes, or two steps, of reading time daily in school.
It is extremely important that your child earns the
additional two steps (30 minutes) of reading at home
and that you sign-off that your child has completed
that reading. We are also working with our students
on becoming Math Fact Fluent. For our students in
grades 3-8, that means that they learn their
multiplication tables with numbers 0-12.
So, please ask your child what math facts s/he is
focusing on at school and ask him/her to share those
with you. Making it into a game or a routine at home
will provide your child with the repetition s/he needs
to become an expert in this work. Parents of students
in grades K-2 should talk with your child's homeroom
teacher about the math facts they are learning because
each grade in K-2 is different.
The most important thing you can do for your child to
help support your child’s learning is to talk to them
about what they are learning about. I encourage you
to talk to your child about school and to help your
child understand that when s/he is learning, mistakes
will happen. The goal is not to be perfect, but to
make progress. Just like Enterprise was able to do
this
past year with our growth, we want your child to
grow too!
Please know that I love to hear from you. I can be
reached at 855-2114 or at my email address:
[email protected].
You do not have to be upset to call me—good news is
always great to hear too! Thank you again for
choosing Enterprise!
~Dr. Heather Lyon
Lyon’s Letter
Pg. 1
K-5 Director Message
Pg. 2
Student Advocacy Team
Pg. 2
Snapshots of Learning
Pgs. 3-6
November Calendar
Pg. 7
Nov 4
1
Teacher Day
K-8 Director Message
Dear Parents and Families,
For
your
Sept
1
As we
approach this
exciting
time of year, it is a
Calendar
Labor
Day
time for us to be thankful for what we have, as well
as look forward to the end of one year, and the
beginning of a new one. It seems like it was just
yesterday that you were bringing in the students for
their first day of school, school supplies in hand.
Time flies when you are working hard!
It is with that time passage in mind that I write this
to you. At Enterprise Charter School, we are given
the gift of an extended school year AND an
extended school day. It is crucial that we take
every chance that we get to make this the best year
ever for Enterprise Charter School. Even with the
recent news that we made the most growth of any
Buffalo Public School on last year's ELA
assessment, we cannot rest. We must continue the
hard work that is being done every day at home as
well as at school.
Student Advocacy Team
The Student Advocacy Team (School Counselor,
School Social Worker, and Behavior Specialist) had a
successful first marking period facilitating the
Leadership Roles class for the middle school
students! The students really showed their leadership
abilities and gained some essential job skills. Seeing
students have the opportunity to step up and take
ownership over their job within the school has been
very rewarding. Thank you to those students who
worked hard to make this new endeavor a success, and
we look forward to working with the remainder of the
middle school students who will be coming into the
Leadership Roles class throughout the remainder of
the school year.
Please work with your children to ensure that they
are reading their steps on a nightly basis. Research
shows that students who read four steps (1 hour
total, 30 minutes in school, 30 minutes at home)
will increase their reading level by 2.5 years in one
year of school!
Thank you so much for your continued support, and
for choosing Enterprise Charter School.
Department Update: Mrs. O'Gorman (formerly Ms.
Fegley) has accepted a position at another school, and
ECS is in the process of hiring a new School Social
Worker. Additionally, a new Behavior Specialist, Mr.
Fuller, has been hired to join the team and will be
starting in the near future. Ms. Coates continues to
support you and your child's needs as the School
Counselor. As always, do not hesitate to reach out to
the Student Advocacy Team with any needs you or
your child may have.
Sincerely,
Mr. Andrew J. Starr
Director of K-5
-Student Advocacy Team
2
Snapshots of Learning
Kindergarten
Second Grade
Kindergarten is off to a great start and we have
done many great things! Students just finished up
their project on living and non-living things. This
included doing field work at Browns Berry Patch.
Students should be read to daily for approximately
15 minutes to ensure their success in kindergarten.
Please encourage students to read and write power
words. This will ensure your child’s success in
moving reading levels.
Second graders have finished up their first unit in
reading and writing. They are truly enjoying reading
fictional chapter books during the grade level
reading block and shined when they shared their
final published personal narrative small moment
story.
We are beginning our second unit in reading and
writing which is all about realistic fiction. Your
children will continue to read fictional texts, both
picture books and chapter books, as they analyze the
elements of a story. They will then take what they
learn and write their own realistic fiction stories by
creating characters, using their imagination, and
writing across the pages.
We have just finished our first module in our math
curriculum. We are beginning to work with both
2-D and 3-D shapes. Please encourage your child
to find and name various shapes in the
environment. This will help your child as we dive
into challenging topics. If you have any questions
or concerns please feel free to contact your child’s
teacher by writing a note, sending an email, or
calling the school! Please be sure to check your
child’s planner every day. The back of their
planner has information regarding homework and
snack days.
In math, the second graders have finished the second
module on measurement and are now learning about
place value. They are working with three digit
numbers and determining the value of each digit. We
will continue to practice word problems to develop
the children's problem solving skills.
Ms. Lucca and Mrs. Kerr
In research and investigations, the second grade
students are finishing a unit on weathering and
erosion. They were able to complete multiple
experiments where they observed how erosion
affects the land. Next up, the students will engage in
a unit as they learn about our own city of Buffalo
and the changes that have taken place over time.
First Grade
1st grade will be continuing our PBL work on
communities, community workers and families in
the community. In math, students are working to
solve word story problems in addition and
subtraction. Our reading focus will be on
informational text and continued strategy building
to figure out tricky words. In writing, students are
finishing the narrative unit and will begin to write
for informational purposes.
The second grade teachers are so excited to see all
the progress your children have been making so far.
Please continue to read with them at home so they
earn steps and we can celebrate their
accomplishments in school!
-Miss Martin + Miss D’Angelo
Miss Halo+ Miss Henesey
3
Snapshots of Learning cont.
Third Grade
Fifth Grade
November is turning out to be an exciting month!
Students in 3rd grade are beginning their second
round of specials. As well, students will be taking
their interim assessments the second and third
week in November. Look forward to a schedule
soon!
November brings fifth graders into their
investigation of the Native Americans in the Western
Hemisphere. We will be conducting research about
different groups of Native Americans in North
America and working in writing on opinion pieces
from the point of view of Native Americans. A
HUGE shout out to our students who are increasing
their proficiency with the Numbers in Base 10
standards in math. Ask your student how he or she
is doing on his or her weekly standards quizzes. Our
goal is for each student in the fifth grade to move at
least one level on the NYS assessment. We will be
moving into whole number multiplication and
division early in the month.
In math, students are finishing their work with
division and multiplication and will begin telling
time to the nearest minute and finding elapsed
time, or time that goes by. Help out by having
your child use an analog clock or watch to tell
time around the house!
In research and investigation students will learn
about matter and that everything around us is
matter. We will experiment with matter and
design our own experiments incorporating
procedural writing. Students will have
opportunities to go above and beyond by
continuing scientific observation at home. Keep
an eye out for these activities as they can impact a
student's effort grade.
Did you know that reading for one hour (4 steps) a
day can help a child grow by 2.5 grade levels in just
one year? It is imperative that your student read at
home for at least 30 minutes a night to help improve
their proficiency in reading.
-Miss Miller + Miss Perry
Mr. Buffomante + Miss Greene
Sixth Grade Math /
Reasearch+Investigations
Students in sixth grade will be beginning math
module two, which will focus on fraction and
decimal operations. Please continue to practice
multiplication and division facts! In Research and
Investigations, sixth grade will be exploring the
aspect of writing throughout different ancient
civilizations. Students will collaboratively work on
teams to research and present their findings to their
classmates. Students recently finished researching
all about Ancient Mesopotamia - stop by to see our
ABC's of Mesopotamia posters!
Fourth Grade
Our fourth grade leaders have been working really
hard! In math we are wrapping our addition and
subtraction unit up and are getting ready to dive
into Area and Perimeter. In Research and
Investigation we are finishing up our Life Science
unit and will be beginning a unit on New York
State for Social Studies. In ELA students are
writing persuasive text and reading non-fiction
text. At the end of this unit, students will show
their knowledge of persuasive and Non-fiction by
creating commercials!!!
-Miss Misso
-Miss Kennedy + Mrs. Montani
4
Snapshots of Learning cont.
7/8 Social Studies
In November we will be examining the road to
American Independence. Our class will take a
look at the enlightenment, British taxation laws,
the French-Indian war, and other factors that lead
to the revolution of the 13 colonies and inspired
forebears to create a democratic society. Students
will engage in this topic through projects,
discussion and technology to analyze what impact
these new societal ideals had on the course of
history.
7/8 Science
Hello!
In eighth grade science students are finishing the
microscope unit as they learned the parts of the
compound microscope and further observed some
pretty cool stuff! We are next moving on to the Cell
Unit where students are going to create a "Cell City"
by using the structures of the cell.
In seventh grade, students are learning about abiotic
and biotic factors in an environment and further are
going to create their own ecosystems! Some students
used water biomes, while other created ecosystems
in their own backyard!
-Mr. Graham
7/8 Math
-Mrs. McKee
Here is what is being covered in 7/8 Math this
month.
7th grade:
~adding and subtracting positive and negative
numbers
~word problem decoding
~basic fact development
6/7/8 ELA
Students in Middle School ELA for the 2nd
Trimester will be analyzing text through the
Informational lens while connecting to historical
changes that have impacted our life today.
Throughout the class the students will read several
biographies and informational articles as well as
write an independent research report on an
influential person.
8th grade:
~transformations (reflection, rotation, translation)
~congruence with angles and figures
~decoding angles with parallel lines (vertical
angles, interior, exterior, corresponding)
~basic fact development
-Mrs. Hodgson + Mrs. Nalbone
Here are some online resources:
www.fun4thebrain.com
www.khanacademy.org
www.ixl.com
If you need anything else please call and let me
know!!
~Miss K.
5
Snapshots of Learning cont.
Physical Education
Music
Starting at the end of October we will be starting
Enterprise Musicians, in grades K, 2 & 4, are
our Hockey Unit. For safety reasons, all students
working on singing alone and with others. Given a
are required to wear goggles, which are provided
teacher model, sheet music (2 & 4) and in-class
by the physical educationEmail:
department. Students Phonepractice time,
Room
#
Website:
students
perform teacher-selected
are always welcome
to
bring
their
own
goggles
songs for their
(classmates). Students in
[email protected] 555-125-5789
532audiencehttp://www.mrsmiller.edu
from home during this unit. Students will be
the audience work to strengthen their listening and
taught the proper grip position, parts of a hockey
evaluative behaviors. We have recently wrapped up
stick, safety, proper striking, dribbling, and
seasonal Halloween activities and are moving on to
passing form, and various types of shots. Primary
Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa
and intermediate students practiced their skills in
related songs/activities. In addition, we'll be
active and fun activities that utilized their newly
covering the concept of pitch as related to the staff.
acquired skills. Intermediate students were taught
some additional skills such as goal keeping and
Enterprise Musicians, in grades 6, 7 & 8, are
tackling skills. Fourth and fifth graders
currently exploring the element of pitch. This is
commenced their unit with a brief hockey
accomplished through regular note taking,
tournament.
completion of connected worksheets, exploration of
Orff pitched instruments, teacher demonstration and
-Mr. Hoak
beginning level reading in standard notation.
Additionally, we have been studying Franz Joseph
Haydn and the "Surprise Symphony." Our next
Art
course of instruction covers the percussion family.
This unit will include the completion of individually
Art Room News
composed informational reading passages. With
guidance and in-class work time, each student will
The art room at ECS is excited for the newest
complete the written assessment. This assignment
classes of artists: Ms. Greene's 3rd grade, Ms.
aims to strengthen writing skills in a cross-curricular
Halo's 1st grade and Ms. Perry's 5th grade. We
manner.
have just started planning our first of many
W.O.W. projects (Wonderful Original Works of
Our Music Room Door is always open to visitors!
art). Students are planning, conferencing, editing,
Stop in anytime!
creating and reflecting, just like "real" artists in
their studio.
-Ms. Schuh
We are planning to showcase the artworks from
the first marking period classes at the next Family
Fun Night. More information to come!
-Mrs. Bridge
6