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2. school

BLAIR NEWSLETTER
May/June 2015
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK…
May showers bring May Flowers. Scholars and staff are gearing up to
FINISH STRONG
in this last quarter of the school year. We have 6 solid weeks of instruction.
Please continue
to encourage your child to do their very best and work hard in school. Teaching scholars to preserver even
through difficult times proves to be effective in future success. This is the teaching of perseverance, an
essential skill to teach our scholars and has proven to determine success. The importance of education and
academics leads to open doors for the future. We are teaching all of our scholars GRIT! That every
experience positive or negative is a learning experience, it is how we respond that grows our character
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As we work to encourage our kids to persevere, it is important to remember the following things about our
children:
Children are eager to please, and they seek positive feedback at school and home about what they have
accomplished.
If children are made to feel proud of their work, many children will be eager to persevere in difficult tasks
Children also need to be able to learn from their mistakes and we need to remember that:
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Children who are able to persevere have a positive approach toward their school activities.
If children have been taught that making mistakes is a normal part of life, then these mistakes can often be the
best ways to learn.
Children feel valued when they receive support and encouragement and will persevere at activities such as
solving math problems or improving their writing even if they find the work difficult.
We have seen our scholars excel this year by becoming more well-rounded academically and
socially. Our scholars have made great individual gains as they continue to strive for personal excellence as
they persevere through new challenges both in and out of the classroom and for their future.
2-way Dual Language opportunities in Kindergarten and First grade
We are excited to announce the opportunity at Blair for a Dual language Spanish/English Immersion program
in Kindergarten and First grade. This would provide an opportunity to English speaking students that would
transform our existing bilingual classes to a 2-way Spanish / English Immersion model (50 % English speakers,
50% Spanish Speakers in one class.)
We have had great success this year with 2-way Dual Kindergarten and plan to expand into first grade and
then to grow one grade level every year. In extending the opportunity for English speaking students in our
already existing Dual Language to become proficient in Spanish, while learning Math, Reading, Writing,
Science and Social Studies through both English and Spanish. Dual Language 2-Way Spanish/English
Immersion will give your child the opportunity to become Bilingual in English and Spanish, develop literacy in
two languages, and give your child the multicultural skills they will need for the 21st century world of college
and career readiness.
As we are assessing interest in this program, please call or visit to notify us in the event that an information
session is scheduled in the future.
If you have any questions about this opportunity at Blair school please contact Mrs. Cruz-Farin, school
principal at 262-970-1410, Dean of Students, Mrs. Tahereh DeLeon at 262-970-1426 or Dean of Academics
Mr. Brad Christensen at 262-970-1432.
Spotlight on Summer Digital Citizenship
With iPads going home for the summer there are a plethora of great resources and not-so-great resources to
stay active in learning and be a good digital citizen. While iPads have many fun aspects such as games and
more, do not get carried away from the true essence of the device - Access to Learning!
A great place to start is our Blair Website: http://blairelementarywaukesha.weebly.com/scholar-sites.html
At our Scholar Sites Tab, we have both great website and app resources to stay active in learning. All scholars
have access to Raz-Kids, Achieve3000, Dreambox and TenMarks as core literacy and math apps - we
encourage you to use them for learning and to keep reading and being a mathematician through it all!
Beyond that, use those other SDW Core Apps to create and show your learning - share out what you’re doing
and send it to your teacher what you have accomplished for the summer! One teacher for certain, Ms. Garon,
would LOVE to see the great learning that’s happening at home and over the summer - don’t be afraid to send
her an email update with the awesome learning you are doing!
Spotlight on Summer Reading Challenge
Encourage your children to participate in our summer reading program!
● For every day they read at least 20 minutes, a parent signs their reading
calendar.
● For every month that they read the required number of days (12 in June, 23 in
July, and 21 in August), they earn a free raffle ticket to a Wisconsin Dells water
park!
● For every book they finish and recommend on our Summer Reading website-https://sites.google.com/a/waukesha.k12.wi.us/blairbookclub/ -- they will earn an additional raffle ticket.
Spotlight on Summer Math Program
Did you know that scholars who do not practice math over the summer can lose up to two months’ of math
learning over the summer months? Stop the summer learning loss by enrolling them in TenMarks
Summer Math Program. The program is free this year and is shown to improve math learning over the
summer. Register at summer.tenmarks.com
Honors Convocation Concert for Fourth & Fifth Grade
Our final concert will take place on Thursday, June 4th, 2015 at 6:30 PM, with fourth and fifth grade scholars
having a “call time” at 6:15 PM in their classrooms. The theme of our concert is Set a Fire to Learning, and
celebrates all the extra-curricular activities that our scholars have been a part of throughout the year. This
concert highlights our fourth and fifth grade music ensembles of Choir, MYSO, Recorder & Percussion.
Finally, we will celebrate our fifth grade scholars’ completion and heading onto middle school with the
traditional North Skelton Sword Dance - a 25+ Year Tradition here at Blair. You won’t want to miss it!
Horeb Blair Family Swim
The City of Waukesha Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department is once again offering a FREE POOL
PARTY for Blair staff, students and their younger siblings, and parents! This special swim will be held on
Friday, June 12, our last day of school, from 5:30-7:00p.m. Children under age 7 MUST be accompanied
by an adult. We will be sending a letter to return in the Tuesday Folder May 26th. In order to attend, families
MUST return the form to Blair no later than Thursday, June 4. No late forms will be eligible. If you have not
turned in your summer iPad form you will not be eligible to receive your swim night tickets. Please remember
this special swim is open to only Blair staff and families of students who currently attend Blair, and tickets are
limited.
Does summer reading make a difference? You bet it does! Research shows that children who don't read during the
summer can lose up to three months of reading progress and that loss has a cumulative, long-term effect!
S e ea d i ha e e 2015
ALL BLAIR SUMMER SCHOLARS
Get raffle tickets to win prizes…**GRAND PRIZE – 2 nights FREE for your family at the Wilderness Resort &
Waterpark in the Dells!!**
All you have to do is …
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Read every day over the summer months
Mark the days you read on the calendar (The calendar will be sent home with report cards at the end of the school
year)
Get a raffle ticket for reading 12 days in June, 23 days in July, and 21 days in August (That’s 3 tickets)
Get a raffle ticket if MOST (80%) of your days are filled
Get a raffle ticket when you bring your calendar back in September
Participate in the i-pad book club and get 1 raffle ticket for each book read!
Reminder - Important dates coming up:
✓ Spring Map testing begins. Please be sure you read teacher communications so that you know when your child has their
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testing. Regular attendance, good sleep and coming to school after a healthy breakfast is so important so scholars can
perform their best. We know they can reach their personal academic goals!!!!
At this time of year we are busy tracking enrollment for the 2015-16 school year. If you are planning on moving over the
summer and do not expect your child(ren) to return to Blair, please contact our school office if you haven’t already done
so. If you have new neighbors with school age children, please encourage them to call our office to register their children!
District staffing decisions have yet to be made, so it won’t be until later this spring that we know our classroom staffing for
next year.
We will be sending Forms and Fee paperwork home again in an envelope at the end of this year. Please remember to
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put them in a safe place to bring to Forms and Fees Day on Wednesday, August 20th from 4:30-6:30pm already
completed for next year.
We will be mailing report cards home again.
As a school, our attendance is closely monitored. Being here on time and being present until the end of the day is so
important. The more scholars are here every day the more time for instruction and learning! Increased attendance
guarantees improvement achievement! Please instill in your child the importance of coming to school every day and
arriving on time and staying until the end of the day to take full advantage of learning at every minute of the day.
As the weather gets nicer we remind all that pick up on Chicago is at 3:45pm. All families picking up their scholars park
and follow the proper parking signs. Please do not park in front of our neighbors driveways out of respect. All students
should continue to wait near the building with teacher supervision and parents should park and walk to the building to pick
up their child to ensure safety and avoid any scholars crossing on their own. We ask that families do not stay to play on
the playground so that we are sure all students were picked up. You are welcome to come back after 4:00pm if you would
like to play on the playground equipment.
2015-16 KINDERGARTEN AND NEW FAMILIES TO BLAIR MEET AND GREET
Our Blair School Kindergarten meet and greet will be held on Thursday, May 28th from 5:00-6:00pm. This is an
informal open house where you can meet the kindergarten teachers as well as visit the classrooms. Please plan on
attending. If you are new to the district, there is still time to register. You can register in the Enrollment Office at the
District Office, 222 Maple Ave., Waukesha, Wisconsin.
PTO News!
Mark your calendar…
May 4-8 Teacher Appreciation Week …. Thank your child’s teacher!
Thursday, May 14 PTO Meeting (4:00-5:00pm) … as always, free childcare!
Thursday, May 21
Blair Fitness Flair!
Afternoon, community run/walk (special guest!)
4:30-6:30 Flair Events…
Food * Games * Music * Cake Walk * Rummage/Crafts Book Swap * Community Booths *
$10 Bicycle helmets * Raffle * T-Shirt sale * Food Pantry collection * FREE stuff! * Climbing
Wall!
Friday, May 22-25…NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, May 27 – Students Enjoy a Free Lunch
Wednesday, May 27 - Club Número Uno- Family Fun MATH Night, Gym, 6:00-7:00pm
Thursday, May 28 - Blair Kindergarten Open House, 5:00-6:00pm
Thursday, June 4 - Honors Convocation with 4th & 5th Grade Ensembles, 6:30-7:30pm
Thursday, June 4 - Horeb Pool Party permission slip due today
Monday, June 8 – Dopp Park Day (Rain Day Tuesday, June 9)
Tuesday, June 9 – Literacy Night, 6:00-7:00pm
Friday, June 12 – Last Day of Classes
Friday, June 12 – Pool Party at Horeb Springs Aquatic Center, 5:30-7:00pm
Let’s have a great end of the year!
FINISH STRONG!!!!!