Panther Press AMBERLEA ELEMENTARY 8455 W. VIRGINIA AVE - PHOENIX, AZ 85037

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1 Panther Press AMBERLEA ELEMENTARY 8455 W. VIRGINIA AVE - PHOENIX, AZ Telephone: Attendance: Mrs. Marisol Silva Principal January 2019 Miss Temako Roque Assistant Principal News from the Principal... Dear Amberlea Families, How great it was to have two weeks off to enjoy the company of our loved ones and to have time to reflect upon the 2018 year. We are now half way through the school year and with the beginning of the 2019 year comes the preparation for our state testing that happens during 4th quarter. We are reviewing our data and planning, so we can put supports in place to help our students be prepared. One very important aspect that will help our students tremendously is good attendance. It is crucial for students to be in school so they don t miss out on any learning. Once students are in school it is so important for them to be focused and prepared. Coming to school with a positive mindset and be willing to ask questions and get involved can make a huge difference. One of the things our teachers will be doing with our students is reviewing the Galileo scores and creating individual goals with them. It is very important for students to know where they are so they can also take charge of their learning. Make sure to ask them about it. I encourage you to sign-up for Parent Vue, if you haven t already, so you can see what assignments students are working on and be able to see their grades along the way. Please call the front office or stop by so we can provide you your log-in information. We also have computer programs available for our students such as Smarty Ants for K-2, Imagine Math 2-8, and Study Island for all students. Encourage your kids to get on and practice their skills. This can help so much if they spend a minimum of minutes twice a day in any given program. January 1-4 Winter Break No School January 7 District Inservice No School January 8 First Day of School for Students for 3rd quarter January 9, 16, 23, 30 Early Release at 12:40 pm January Awards Assemblies January 18 Monthly Parent Lunch@ PLC - 11am January 21 MLK Day No School Let s work together to make it happen. I appreciate all the support you have given us and we hope to continue with our partnership. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please don t hesitate in contacting me. Sincerely, Marisol Silva, Principal

2 Parents and Guardians, AMBERLEA IS A UNIFORM SCHOOL Amberlea is a uniform school. We need your help in ensuring your students are wearing appropriate tops and bottoms to school. TOPS: Green, Navy Blue, Light Blue, White All must have a collar with the exception of school pride t-shirts BOTTOMS: Navy blue or Khaki If wearing leggings, they are to be worn under skirts or dresses (in uniform color and also black). Students are allowed to wear their jackets/sweaters (any color) to school. We ask that you please speak to your students about not wearing their hoodies in the buildings. One other thing that you can help us with is ear buds. Please speak to your kids about not wearing their ear buds throughout the day. Drop-Off and Pick-Up Reminders Our gates open at 7:55 am. Please avoid dropping off students too early as there is no supervision. For your child s safety at dismissal, students will not be allowed to cross over into the parking lot without being accompanied by an adult. Parents, if you are picking-up your child by vehicle, please use the valet line. If you prefer to park, please exit your vehicle and make your way to the front gate area to pick-up your child. If you are walking, please make your way to the front of the school to pick-up your child. Please do not double park. Thank you for helping us keep our kids safe! Please call the ATTENDANCE LINE to report when a student is absent at Make sure to leave your child s name, teacher name or grade, reason for the absence, and who is calling.

3 We have started working on the skills for developing empathy. First comes recognizing the emotions in others. You are to #1. Look at their facial expressions. #2. Look at their Body Language. #3. Find out things about the situation. and #4. Use what you already know about the person. We will not always guess a person's emotions correctly, but if we try and we ask, it shows them that we care about them and the connection and relationship are strengthened. More advanced skills for the older students are to learn to disagree respectively before they get into problem solving. And speaking of problem solving... we reviewed the skills for collaborative problem solving from last year. This is a great tool for parents to learn as well. The main barrier to solving problems is that each party is afraid their own needs will not be met. In Collaborative Problem Solving - you come up with solutions that meet the underlying concerns of both parties. Here is the website: I highly recommend you take the "Parent Tour." It's a series of videos by Dr. Green that will help you understand how to do collaborative problem solving with your children. It works with everyone, but it is especially useful if your child struggles with being oppositional Last but not least, I gave the students a holiday challenge. Scientists study what makes people happy. Over and over again, the same two things keep coming up as the highest boost to our happiness levels. Those two things are #1. Gratitude and #2. Service, or helping others. Hands down these things make us happier by far than getting presents. I challenged the kids to do 12 acts of service for friends and family. Hopefully they are using their empathy skills to decide what service would be best. What do they know about their family members and what can they guess will help them feel better? If they complete their twelve acts of service and bring their chart (or a paper signed by you) back to their teacher, I have promised them a panther buck. More importantly they should notice a marked increase in their happiness levels--that should be worth much more than a panther buck! As always, feel free to contact me if your child is struggling or you are in need of mental health resources. Susan Leavitt-Miller, Counselor This focus for this month is : Be Positive Teaching students skills that will last a lifetime.!

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