Dear Parents, This month we will be celebrating Teacher

1. May 2010 Elementary Griffin Gazette • Dear Parents, • This month we will be celebrating Teacher • Appreciation Week, May 3rd to the 7th. • Please join me in expressing the sincerest • appreciation to all our teachers and staff • members for the commitment, knowledge, • and caring spirit they bring to Southern • Highlands Preparatory School every day! • Thank you to the PAC for recognizing our • teachers by treating them to lunch throughout • the week! • May is going to be a very busy month for • everyone at SHPS. To help keep you updated • With activities and events please visit our new • improved webpage, at the same address: www.southernhighlandsprep.com • On our webpage you will find the calendar, • Camp information, this newsletter, lunch • menus and more! • This school year is winding down and our • administrative and teaching staff are planning • not only for a successful final month of • learning, but also for an awesome summer • camp and even laying the groundwork for a • fabulous 2010 – 2011 school year! • Sincerely, • Ms. Barone • Principal • Sincerely, • Ms. Barone May Events (and June) 5/3-7 Teacher Appreciation Week 5/8 Goodie-Two Shoes Rummage Sale 5/8 Invitational Track Meet @ Faith Lutheran High School 5/14 Las Vegas 51s Game 5/18 Grades 3-8 Spring Pictures 5/19 Grades K-2 Spring Pictures 5/19 PAC Meeting: 9:00 AM 5/20 Spring Concert: 1:00 and 6:30 PM 5/24 Awards Assembly K-7: 9:OO AM 5/26 Kindergarten Graduation: 6:30 PM 5/27 8th Grade Graduation 5/28 Free Dress Day 5/31 No School: Memorial Day 6/2 Last Day of School: 11:30 Dismissal No aftercare ADMINISTRATIVE NUMBERS (702) 617-6030 Mrs. Sandra Andrews: Office Manager sandra.andrews@nlcinc.com Mrs. Theresa Gotay: Assistant Principal theresa.gotay@nlcinc.com Ms Tina Barone: Principal tina.barone@nlcinc.com Visit us at --- www.southernhighlandsprep.com www.nobellearning.com

2. Enrolling Now for 2010-2011 We are very excited to continue the enrollment process for the 2010-2011 school year. We are already receiving a large number of inquiries and registration requests from new families, and anticipate student population to be strong. To more effectively plan for expanding programs and staffing which will remain our standards of superior educational opportunities, we request that you respond in a timely manner with your completed registration materials. If you have any questions please contact the Upper School office at 617-6030. Spring Carnival Thank You! Thank you to all the parents and teachers who volunteered to make the Spring Carnival such a success! All the children had so much fun! It was great to see everyone joining together to make the day so special for all SHPS students…and adults! SHPS FIELD-TRIPS One important aspect of learning at Southern Highlands is education based field-trips. Our students are busy exploring not only our community by our Nation’s Capital. Recently, our First through Fourth grade classes experienced a morning of fun learning at UNLV where they watched and were part of the Slim Goodbody production of Bodyology! 4th graders spent one early morning viewing the Disney Oceans Movie as part of their curriculum. Some of our 8th and 7th graders enjoyed a 5 day trip to Washington D.C. with their Middle School teacher, Ms. Cohen. One highlight of their trip was a special Capital Building tour and being greeted by Nevada Senator Harry Reid. This month students will visit the following: 6th grade CSN Planetarium and 7th grade City Center. CAMPZONE AT SHPS COME JOIN US FOR OUR SUMMER CAMP PARTY AT SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS! CAMP STARTS ON MONDAY, JUNE 7TH AND WE WILL BE HAVING TEN WEEKS OF CAMP FUN! MRS. GOTAY IS OUR CAMP DIRECTOR. CAMP TEACHERS WILL INCLUDE: COACH PETTY, MR. IBARRA, MRS. BECK AND MRS. FOUTZ. CHECK OUT OUR CAMP INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE AT www.southernhighlandsprep.com

3. PAC NEWS Activity and Events Committees Now Forming Don’t forget to provide the PAC with your email so you’re informed about all the great PAC activities and events PAC Meeting May 19th @ 9am For information on PAC and how you can volunteer contact Suzanne Pero sfpero@cox.net Nikki Berti chartonik@aol.com Donna D’Orsi mrddorsi@yahoo.com Main PAC Email shpspac@cox.net SOCCER SKILLS CAMP Coach Petty is offering soccer camp every Thursday and Friday from 3:15 – 4:15 PM. Assisting him is our 5th grade teacher Mrs. Kolodny. The last day of camp is May 21st. SPRING PHOTOS MAY 18TH AND MAY 19TH LIFETOUCH WILL BE TAKING SPRING PHOTOS AT SHPS ON MAY 18TH FOR STUDENTS IN K – 2ND AND ON MAY 19TH FOR 3RD – 8TH. 2010 – 2011 Registration Packets Registration packets for next school year are available in the office. Materials fee to hold a spot for your child were due April 9th. The 2010 – 2011 school year begins on August 23, 2010 and the last day is June 8, 2011. If you have any questions or have not received a packet please call the office at 617-6030. Las Vegas 51’s Family Night Come on out to the ballgame for the 2nd annual SHPS Night at the Las Vegas 51’s on Friday, May 14th! Tickets are $8 per person and include a reserved seat, a 51’s baseball hat and the first 2500 fans will receive a free 51’s Bucket Hat. If you would like to join us, please return the ticket registration form (available at SHPS) with payment, to the upper or lower school office no later than Friday, May 7th. Game time is 7:05 PM. Following the game will be a fireworks show!

4. Never Work Harder Than Your Children! In Dr. Robyn R. Jackson’s new book, Never Work Harder Than Your Students & Other Principles of Great Teaching, Dr. Jackson asserts: “The person working hardest in the room is the only person learning.” She further asserts that the teachers have to clearly define both for themselves and for their students what is the teacher’s work and what is the student’s work. Let’s look more closely at a few examples: Teacher Work: Provide clear directions and explicitly stated expectation. Student Work: Follow directions and ask questions when directions seem unclear. Teacher Work: Provide support when students don’t understand. Student Work: Ask for help, try, and persevere. Teacher Work: Coach students towards better performance. Student Work: Listen, reflect, retry and refine performance. As children progress through the grades, the complexity and quantity of work assigned for homework increases. How can parents clearly define what is a parent’s work and what is the student’s work regarding homework? The answer may depend on a child’s temperament and disposition. A student who likes to be independent and autonomous might appreciate the opportunity to engage in discovering for themselves by experimenting and trying various solutions to learn what environment and supports work best for them when working at home. A student who is less confident and more dependent might be able to determine what works best for them if a parent engages in a series of open-ended questions which helps the student discover through dialogue how they might approach how they can become independent in completing their homework. In either case, the parent functions like a coach or facilitator, empowering their child to take ownership of their learning. As with the first example given above, begin by providing clear directions and explicitly stated expectations about how homework is to be done during time at home. Then, parents may coach and assist their students when they ask for help, as well as celebrate and recognize when they have shown great perseverance through less than successful attempts. Finally, use those open-ended questions as a way to help them reflect, to retry, and to refine their own personalized, customized processes for successfully completing school assignments at home.