Popular Searches
Print
E-mail
Comment
RateSpotlight on Cairo Elementary
  
|
By David Gordon
For Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
CAIRO — Students are familiar with the referrals that penalize bad behavior, but at Cairo Elementary School, referrals can also be served for outstanding good behavior, said Assistant Principal Lisa Palmer.
The Cairo-Durham School District Board of Education held its meeting at Cairo Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 22. The board holds one meeting at each elementary school each year. The focus is on the school’s accomplishments and ends with a tour of the building.
The “good news” referral is one of three possible referrals a student can receive, Palmer said. “When a student goes beyond the expectations of our school, any staff member within our school can hand out a good news referral, she said. The referral contains the student’s name, with a brief description of the behavior, she said. The referral is sent to the office, and Principal Scott Richards or Palmer calls the parents to tell them the positive news. A copy is then sent home to the parents, and a copy is filed with the student’s record, she said.
The local dojo has agreed to use the referrals as well, Richards said, so students who show outstanding behavior there are issued good news referrals. “It’s a nice community-school connection as well,” he said.
However, the news is not always good, and Cairo Elementary School uses three levels of disciplinary referrals as well, Palmer said. Level one is generally handled by the classroom teacher, who administers the punishment and keeps a copy of the referral on file. More severe behavior merits level two or three referrals, with copies to parents and to individuals, such as psychologists, whose intervention may be needed.
The Mustangs Rule Club for students who may be struggling with behavior or social problems offers students with problems an adult to check in with each morning and the end of the day. They can discuss how their day has gone.
Similarly the school focuses on bus behavior, with similar rewards and punishments. Bus drivers are permitted to hand out good news referrals. A monthly bus award is given to any bus that has no behavioral problems during the month. The award is displayed on the bus, and later on a permanent wall.
Character counts assemblies are settings to distribute awards, Palmer said, but it is also used to promote good behavior. Assemblies focus on awards for such behavior as respectfulness, generosity, sportsmanship and so on.
“We developed three school wide expectations,” Palmer said. The expectations, which are posted around the school and discussed with parents, fall under the heading of “respect, responsibility and safety,” she said. A chart shows in detail how each of these categories plays out in various settings – classrooms, cafeteria, hallways, playgrounds, bathrooms and buses.
Some examples: “I am respectful” includes under classrooms such behavior as “raise your hand and wait to be called on,” and “respect others’ property.” In the hallways, “allow other children to pass,” and “keep hands off walls.” Likewise, there are two or three admonitions under each topic.
Handwriting helper
In this age of computers, tweets, e-mail and computer based writing, do children really need to learn handwriting?
At Cairo Elementary School, the answer is definitely “yes.” But don’t look for the old Palmer Method of endless drills — this program features writing on slates, crayons on paper — there’s even a rabbit puppet that pops out of a hat to help with the letter Lori Gardner, a certified handwriting specialist and Diane Parette, a kindergarten teacher, described the Handwriting Highway program at the board of education’s Thursday. The meeting was the board’s annual visit to the Cairo school.
The teachers distributed the materials to board members and school administrators, inviting them to follow the description of the course and to try out the materials.
“Why is it important to teach handwriting?” Gardner asked. “The pencil has been around since the 1700s, and the pencil is going to be around long after us,” she said. Board member Carl Kohrs noted that children also need to be able to write clearly, because computers don’t always work.
“Not everybody has access to a computer,” Parette pointed out.
The program starts with printing in pre-kindergarten and runs through second grade. The curriculum the teachers use in Cairo Elementary is “handwriting without tears,” a developmentally based system that uses a multisensory approach, Gardner said. As a visual, auditory, hands-on and tactile course, the program is designed to reach students with a wide variety of learning styles, she said.
Children start by using manipulative objects, then move to writing, Gardner said. Wooden cutouts can be used to make a variety of letters. Children learn how curved lines, short straight lines, long straight lines and other shapes are combined to form the letters using wooden blocks with these shapes. A variety of writing media make the learning fun, rather than drudgery, she said.
The children start with small pencils to suit their small hands, the teachers explained, as longer pencils could allow them to learn the wrong way to hold them.
Older children — grades three through five — use the “Loops and Other Groups,” a similar program for learning cursive writing. Again, children work with the basic shapes and learn how they combine to create the letters, Gardner said.
The tactile senses — handling the wooden parts of letters, using play dough, paint bags and other media — helps make writing fun and provides another sense to help with remembering the technique.
Children are using writing to take class notes, and “you still have to be able to sign your name,” said Parette. “Your writing is judged by appearance.”
The demonstration of the writing curriculum was a highlight of the school’s presentation, but the board heard about other innovative programs as well.
Coordination through the school is on track, Principal Scott Richards. “We don’t have one person doing this program, another person doing another program; it’s consistent language and vocabulary.”
Literacy coaches have been used in Cairo-Durham classrooms; these are teachers from our building to support learning. Teachers in the building trust teachers. They are willing to go to them and say, ‘I’m having this problem, would you please help me out?’ We’re using our experts in our buildings meet our teachers’ and our students’ needs.”
The Cairo school has “the luxury of having three AIS (academic intervention services) teachers in our building at the Kindergarten to grade two level,” Richards said. “This is absolutely vital. We had, at one point, five second-grade teachers. We downsized to four second grade teachers and pulled one of them into the AIS program, and we are able to provide a ton more of one-to-one services for our boys and girls.”
Richard is proud of one of his records. “In 2007-2008, 61 percent of Kindergarten to third grade students were reading on grade level. We have just assessed students in September-October, and of our grade one and two students 86 percent are reading on grade level.”
Another exciting statistic – some 75 percent of students stayed the same or moved ahead academically over the summer vacation, in contrast to the usual experience of large numbers falling behind over the long vacation, Richards said.
The “100 Book Club” encourages children to read widely, said teaching assistant Janet McKeon, who put the program together. Children check out a bag of books, containing 10 short paperbacks. When they have finished the books, they return the bag for a refill, continuing until they reach the magic 100 and have their names posted on a wall of fame, she said.
The program reaches out to three- and four-year-olds, McKeon said. “The goal is to read 100 books before they hit kindergarten.” Kids come back every few weeks to pick up their book bags. They sign the books out, they keep it for two weeks, then return the bags and take out another 10 books, with milestones along the way at 10, 20 and 50 books. For those that reach 100, there will be a hall of fame wall somewhere in the school where their picture will be displayed, she said.
The Cairo-Durham School District Board of Education held its meeting at Cairo Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 22. The board holds one meeting at each elementary school each year. The focus is on the school’s accomplishments and ends with a tour of the building.
The “good news” referral is one of three possible referrals a student can receive, Palmer said. “When a student goes beyond the expectations of our school, any staff member within our school can hand out a good news referral, she said. The referral contains the student’s name, with a brief description of the behavior, she said. The referral is sent to the office, and Principal Scott Richards or Palmer calls the parents to tell them the positive news. A copy is then sent home to the parents, and a copy is filed with the student’s record, she said.
The local dojo has agreed to use the referrals as well, Richards said, so students who show outstanding behavior there are issued good news referrals. “It’s a nice community-school connection as well,” he said.
However, the news is not always good, and Cairo Elementary School uses three levels of disciplinary referrals as well, Palmer said. Level one is generally handled by the classroom teacher, who administers the punishment and keeps a copy of the referral on file. More severe behavior merits level two or three referrals, with copies to parents and to individuals, such as psychologists, whose intervention may be needed.
The Mustangs Rule Club for students who may be struggling with behavior or social problems offers students with problems an adult to check in with each morning and the end of the day. They can discuss how their day has gone.
Similarly the school focuses on bus behavior, with similar rewards and punishments. Bus drivers are permitted to hand out good news referrals. A monthly bus award is given to any bus that has no behavioral problems during the month. The award is displayed on the bus, and later on a permanent wall.
Character counts assemblies are settings to distribute awards, Palmer said, but it is also used to promote good behavior. Assemblies focus on awards for such behavior as respectfulness, generosity, sportsmanship and so on.
“We developed three school wide expectations,” Palmer said. The expectations, which are posted around the school and discussed with parents, fall under the heading of “respect, responsibility and safety,” she said. A chart shows in detail how each of these categories plays out in various settings – classrooms, cafeteria, hallways, playgrounds, bathrooms and buses.
Some examples: “I am respectful” includes under classrooms such behavior as “raise your hand and wait to be called on,” and “respect others’ property.” In the hallways, “allow other children to pass,” and “keep hands off walls.” Likewise, there are two or three admonitions under each topic.
Handwriting helper
In this age of computers, tweets, e-mail and computer based writing, do children really need to learn handwriting?
At Cairo Elementary School, the answer is definitely “yes.” But don’t look for the old Palmer Method of endless drills — this program features writing on slates, crayons on paper — there’s even a rabbit puppet that pops out of a hat to help with the letter Lori Gardner, a certified handwriting specialist and Diane Parette, a kindergarten teacher, described the Handwriting Highway program at the board of education’s Thursday. The meeting was the board’s annual visit to the Cairo school.
The teachers distributed the materials to board members and school administrators, inviting them to follow the description of the course and to try out the materials.
“Why is it important to teach handwriting?” Gardner asked. “The pencil has been around since the 1700s, and the pencil is going to be around long after us,” she said. Board member Carl Kohrs noted that children also need to be able to write clearly, because computers don’t always work.
“Not everybody has access to a computer,” Parette pointed out.
The program starts with printing in pre-kindergarten and runs through second grade. The curriculum the teachers use in Cairo Elementary is “handwriting without tears,” a developmentally based system that uses a multisensory approach, Gardner said. As a visual, auditory, hands-on and tactile course, the program is designed to reach students with a wide variety of learning styles, she said.
Children start by using manipulative objects, then move to writing, Gardner said. Wooden cutouts can be used to make a variety of letters. Children learn how curved lines, short straight lines, long straight lines and other shapes are combined to form the letters using wooden blocks with these shapes. A variety of writing media make the learning fun, rather than drudgery, she said.
The children start with small pencils to suit their small hands, the teachers explained, as longer pencils could allow them to learn the wrong way to hold them.
Older children — grades three through five — use the “Loops and Other Groups,” a similar program for learning cursive writing. Again, children work with the basic shapes and learn how they combine to create the letters, Gardner said.
The tactile senses — handling the wooden parts of letters, using play dough, paint bags and other media — helps make writing fun and provides another sense to help with remembering the technique.
Children are using writing to take class notes, and “you still have to be able to sign your name,” said Parette. “Your writing is judged by appearance.”
The demonstration of the writing curriculum was a highlight of the school’s presentation, but the board heard about other innovative programs as well.
Coordination through the school is on track, Principal Scott Richards. “We don’t have one person doing this program, another person doing another program; it’s consistent language and vocabulary.”
Literacy coaches have been used in Cairo-Durham classrooms; these are teachers from our building to support learning. Teachers in the building trust teachers. They are willing to go to them and say, ‘I’m having this problem, would you please help me out?’ We’re using our experts in our buildings meet our teachers’ and our students’ needs.”
The Cairo school has “the luxury of having three AIS (academic intervention services) teachers in our building at the Kindergarten to grade two level,” Richards said. “This is absolutely vital. We had, at one point, five second-grade teachers. We downsized to four second grade teachers and pulled one of them into the AIS program, and we are able to provide a ton more of one-to-one services for our boys and girls.”
Richard is proud of one of his records. “In 2007-2008, 61 percent of Kindergarten to third grade students were reading on grade level. We have just assessed students in September-October, and of our grade one and two students 86 percent are reading on grade level.”
Another exciting statistic – some 75 percent of students stayed the same or moved ahead academically over the summer vacation, in contrast to the usual experience of large numbers falling behind over the long vacation, Richards said.
The “100 Book Club” encourages children to read widely, said teaching assistant Janet McKeon, who put the program together. Children check out a bag of books, containing 10 short paperbacks. When they have finished the books, they return the bag for a refill, continuing until they reach the magic 100 and have their names posted on a wall of fame, she said.
The program reaches out to three- and four-year-olds, McKeon said. “The goal is to read 100 books before they hit kindergarten.” Kids come back every few weeks to pick up their book bags. They sign the books out, they keep it for two weeks, then return the bags and take out another 10 books, with milestones along the way at 10, 20 and 50 books. For those that reach 100, there will be a hall of fame wall somewhere in the school where their picture will be displayed, she said.
 |
 |
|
| Durham Taxpayer’s Association disbands | Collision claims a life |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of thedailymail.net.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
goodreader wrote on Oct 26, 2009 8:15 AM: