The Schools > View Elementary > Building Updates >
October 30, 2001

Dear Parents/Guardians of Prairie View Students,

I wanted to share a few things with you about recent events and activities that have taken place here at Prairie View as well as upcoming events. We are always very busy here and I want to be sure to keep our families up to date.

We are finishing up our ITBS testing. Overall, students put forth good effort during the tests and we are hopeful that our test scores will show this effort. Every year we do have some students who do not take this testing seriously. We attempt to monitor this very closely and this year we made a special effort to have some students take the tests in very small groups with direct adult supervision. This effort seemed to be effective for most of the students who were involved in helping them stay focused on the test and put forth maximum effort in the testing situation. Test results should be available within the next two months.

We have visited homes on four occasions for the Prairie View Pride Patrol. This Saturday we will be visiting homes in the Cedar Rapids area. You will receive a telephone call when we schedule your children for a recognition visit. We feel that this recognition program has been a great success. It has been so much fun surprising the students and letting them know how much we appreciate their hard work and perseverance at school. Thank you for allowing us to do this for your children.

Teachers have been very busy with their involvement in our school wide reading initiative. The two staff development days in October were dedicated to learning more about our school and collecting data that could impact our students reading comprehension performance. We read the latest research on the use of nonfiction materials in teaching reading and improving reading comprehension. Each teacher reviewed and recorded results of pre-testing using the "Basic Reading Inventory" and other grade level pre-testing assessments. We also looked at our collections of fiction and nonfiction materials both in the classrooms as well as our media center. We learned how to effectively analyze quality nonfiction materials and went through activities to analyze our materials that are available to our students. This initiative is quite intense but the end result will ultimately benefit your children as we learn research-based strategies that should positively impact students' reading comprehension skills.

As many of you may already know each school in the district has a web site. You will want to take some time reviewing Prairie View's web site. It will include current newsletters, PTO minutes and the latest updates on the Pride Patrol and learning opportunities for your children.

We continue to have problems with children coming to school too early or not being picked up in a timely manner after school. Please help us out by making sure that your children do not arrive before 7:45 and are picked up by 3:30. We do not have supervision for children before 7:45 or after 3:30. We appreciate your cooperation with this.

Please be sure that your children come to school with proper outerwear. Students must have a jacket in order to go outside if the temperature is below 50 degrees. Also, remember to send boots and snow pants when our lovely winter approaches. The students enjoy being able to go outside and play but we cannot allow them outside if they do not have proper clothing.

Tomorrow, October 31st is the day for our Halloween parties and parade. Students may bring a costume to put on at school in the afternoon for the parade and parties. However, they should not come to school with the intent to wear face paint or hair dye. If they have either of these on when they come to school they will be told to wash it off. Also, please remember that we do not allow our students to wear scary and/or gory costumes. We want to present a positive and friendly environment for our students at Halloween as well as every day of school. The parade will begin at 2:15 with the students walking a designated route through the school and ending with a parade through the gym. Parents are welcome to come to view the parade in the gym. Please remember to stand close to the wall in order to allow all children to pass through the gym. Lastly, if you would prefer that your child not participate in these activities please let their teacher and the school office know your preference. You may pick up your child from school at 2:15 if they do not participate in the activities.

Thank you for all that you do for your children and Prairie View. The families and children of our school are what continues to make our school a quality school.

Sincerely,
Laurene Lanich