Academy West Family Newsletter: January 2018

1. The Eye of the Eagle David Ellis Academy West Family Newsletter • Pages In This Issue: • A word from Mr. Hurd • Ways to Make Daily Reading Your New Years Resolution • Top 10 Study Tips for Middle School Students • Leader In Me Focus • Supporting Your Child In Middle School Math • Incorporating Reading into Daily Routines • Book Talk; Ask Your Child Questions about their Reading • Making Sure Your Child Gets the Education they Deserve • Upcoming Events • Contact Information January 2018

2. A Word from Hurd Mr. Hurd, School Leader Five Tips to Keep Kids Learning During the Holidays The Christmas Break is upon us, and while students and teachers will get a well-deserved break from the classroom, it doesn’t mean children need to stop learning. Here are a few tips to keep children’s minds sharp and challenged during their break, and it might just prevent cabin fever: Have your child log onto Education City, Study Island, Raz Kids, Khan Academy or Moby Max for 20 to 30 minutes a day, review with your child math concepts, spelling words, or sentence structure. You can also work together in starting a cool science project. Have your child read to you daily from the newspaper, a magazine, or excerpts from their favorite book, and let your child see you reading. Use the winter break to strengthen your child’s vocabulary. This is a perfect time to start a treasure chest of words, by having your child look up new words, then write the word and definition on 3×5 cards. Use the word in a sentence or have them write a story based on the word. This exercise will reinforce reading comprehension and writing skills. Give your child an opportunity to appreciate the arts by attending free events like concerts or plays during the holidays, or stop by a local museum. Give a book or educational gift that will keep on giving throughout the year. Lastly, spend some quality time together.  Go to the movies, skating, or visit the library as a family. Utilize this time to reconnect and regroup. Have a good, safe and fun filled holiday. Sincerely, Tyron D. Hurd Administrator of School Operations

3. Mrs. Smarsch Reading Specialist Read to Lead Build your child’s vocabulary with synonyms and antonyms One of the best ways to expand vocabulary is by looking for synonyms—words that have the same or almost the same meaning—and antonyms—words that mean the opposite. For example, instead of saying something is large, your child could say it’s colossal or gigantic. And instead of the opposite of large being small, he could also say that it’s miniscule or infinitesimal. A thesaurus is a useful reference work for children who want to improve their vocabulary because it contains both synonyms and antonyms. Show your child a thesaurus online and look for one in print the next time you’re at the library. Encourage your child to use synonyms and antonyms by playing a word game. You give a word and ask him to give you a synonym (or an antonym). Then switch places. Source: “Challenge Your Child to Learn and Use Synonyms and Antonyms,” What Parents Can Do to Help Students with Vocabulary, The Parent Institute. Integrate TV time and reading time With a little planning, the television can become an effective tool for learning. You can even use it to encourage your child to read. To use the TV to promote reading : • Have your child read reviews and descriptions of TV shows and movies with you. Decide together if you’ll watch them. Encourage your child to look up newwords and concepts that she hears on TV. • Watch the news with your child (making sure that it’s age appropriate). Then, look in the newspaper or online at NewsELA to learn more about current events. Look for books and articles that relate to a story that interests your child. Source: “Learning Partners – Let’s Use TV!” KidSource Online, niswc.com/ usingtv. MAKE DAILY READING YOUR NEW YEARS RESOLUTION It’s a new year and a great time to re-evaluate your reading habits. If you and your child could be reading more, make a resolution to read for at least 20 minutes every day. Thinking aloud can help build your child’s comprehension abilities One major factor in understanding what you read is thinking about what you’re reading. When your child thinks about what she is reading, she’ll be able to connect the story to other things she knows. Help your child build these comprehension skills by modeling some “think-aloud” strategies: • Discuss the book. Connect it to an experience your child understands. “This story reminds me of the time when … .” • Talk about books with similar settings, characters or themes. “What other books that we’ve read does this story remind you of?” • Help your child see the connection between the story and something similar that may be happening in the real world. By talking through your thoughts on the book, you’re helping your child learn to make these important connections herself. Source: J. Gold and A. Gibson, “Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension,” Colorín Colorado, niswc.com/thinkingcomprehension.

4. The Hetzel Report Ms. Hetzel Instructional Supervisor THE BEST WAY TO LEARN IS TO BE THERE! ATTENDANCE is the first thing that is important for success. Subject matter builds each day and one concept is expanded on the next. The lessons taught in middle school are building blocks for high school and college. Starting good study habits now will help you later in life.It does take more effort to study and to become organized; however, academic successwill make you feel good about yourself and makes your parents smile! # 10 Select a consistent place to study. Some people need the quiet and others can study well with music in the background. The key is to find a comfortable place and study there regularly. # 9 Don't wait until the last minute. Study a little every night instead of cramming late the night before the test. A good night's sleep helps. Bleary eyes and a tired body do not! # 8 Buy an agenda book and use it. Most students have an agenda book, but they don't write anything in it. Each day, write down the assignments posted in each classroom. # 7 Dedicate a space for every class in your book bag. For every class, dedicate a binder, folder or notebook. There should be a place for class notes, handouts and homework assignments. # 6 Stay organized throughout the year. Do not use the "shove" method when papers are returned - place them in the correct folder. # 5 Make study cards. On the front of a note card write the word or idea. On the back, write the definition or important information. Have a friend or parent ask you about the word-you need to give the information or vise versa. # 4 Make your own study guide. One great way to study is to make a list of the important information from a chapter and write it in your own words. Copy down any words that are written in bold or in italics. Look at chapter headings, section headings and review sections at the end of a chapter for other important information to add to our study guide. Merge this information with class notes. # 3 Talk about assignments with friends. Discussing assignments with friends is another way to study. # 2 If you are struggling, ask for help! Start by talking to the teacher! Some high school students need to complete community service hours to be in clubs or honor societies - this may be a place to locate a tutor. # 1 Make academics a focus in your life. Studying takes time and effort. Get organized, ask for help and put forth effort in improving your study habits now. Source: http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/3521.aspx Top 10 Study Tips for Middle School Students

5. Spencer’s View Mrs. Sharisse Spencer Dean of Students • January’s • Leader In Me Focus • THINK WIN WIN • Everybody Wins • I can problem solve when an issue come up with another person • I think about what other people want and not what I want. • I am kind to others and try to think of ways to help everyone to be happy. • Dear Parent(s)/ Guardian(s), • Happy New Year! It’s 2017 WOW! Parents let’s use the new year to set goals and targets for our kids. Have them make New Year’s Resolutions regarding their grades and behavior. Have them set targets that are achievable .1.Arriving to school time 2. Having all materials needed for school 3. Wearing the correct uniform 4. Not receiving referrals or behavior infractions 5. Completing all assignments on time. Parent’s set incentives for them reaching their targets. This is a WIN, WIN situation for all.

6. Let’s Talk Math Mr. Walton Math Specialist Supporting Your Child in Middle School Math As parents/guardians we sometimes forget how frustrating and difficult middle school can be and for some kids math can not only be frustrating and difficult, but also very confusing. As a middle school math teacher, I have been told by many parents/guardians that they would like to help their child, but weren’t sure how. Unfortunately, some parents/guardians help their child too much because they are too eager for him or her to get good grades. Other parents/guardians don’t know how to help their child because they don’t understand the math themselves. So every parent/guardian can benefit from some tips for supporting their child who is struggling with middle school math. However, before you can help your child, it is important that you understand what is happening—mathematically—to your middle school child’s brain. An adolescent’s brain is passing over from thinking in a concrete manner to understanding abstract concepts and ideas. Typically, middle school math begins with concepts, such as fractions and decimals, and by the time your child has entered high school, he or she will have learned pre-algebra concepts, such as working with variables and writing or solving equations to find unknown values—ideas that cannot easily be visualized or explained with physical objects. Remember, this is especially hard for kids who are still in a “concrete” state of mind; these students tend to depend on memorizing ways to solve math problems, which may lead to more difficulties later on. The following are some helpful tips on how you can support your middle school child in math: Always have your child’s notes from math class, a math textbook, or other available resources right next to his or her homework assignment. Then if your child gets stuck or confused, he or she can turn to one of these sources to find a similar problem that can help him or her move forward. Make sure your child takes responsibility for his or her own learning; that is, to rely only on himself or herself in finding assistance with any math problem. The ability to access help on his or her own is essential for your child’s success in all areas of academics. Never give your child the answer to problems! By doing so you are depriving your child of the chance to develop the mental processes that are required to learn a new concept. Providing answers could set your child up for frustration when he or she has to take on more difficult problems and may even hinder his or her progress as his or her classmates move on to more advanced lessons. Moreover, if your child’s homework assignments do not reflect his or her level of understanding, then your child’s teacher will not be able to address your child’s area of weakness that needs to be dealt with in school. Understand that your child may struggle with abstract concepts if his or her brain is not quite ready to think at an abstract level; to be sure, your child’s brain will mature in time, and success in math class will likely follow this development. If your child is frustrated with mathematics, show him or her how to focus on concepts rather than procedural knowledge. This might help your child deal with and solve problems in a different way—one that makes more sense to him or her. The most important thing to convey to your child is not to give up. Mathematical concepts are complicated and take time to fully grasp. To be sure, encouragement and patience can go a long way. You can encourage your child by simply keeping your child company by sitting with him or her at the table, while you finish a Sudoku crossword puzzle, by sitting alongside your child while you read a book. Just being in the same room and working on your own mind-stimulating puzzles may help to make your child feel more comfortable as he or she works on his or her own mind-boggling math homework. If your child continues to struggle and you’re still concerned, speak with your child’s teacher or math specialist.

7. Ms. Novak School Age Readers Parent Involvement: What Reading Skills Need to be Part of Our Daily Routine? Happy New Year DEAW Family! I hope that you all were able to rest, relax and enjoy the company of your families. As we begin the New Year and new resolutions, it is time to consider the importance reading has in daily life. Did you know that early literacy (reading and language) is directly connected to academic achievement? Children need parents to be their reading role models with daily practice in order to navigate successfully through beginning literacy skills. As a resolution for the New Year, please read with your child every day! This is a very relaxing end to your day, as well as a signal to your children that it is time to go to sleep. Research shows that looking at screens of any kind just prior to going to bed can actually keep you up longer. Here are some strategies for beginning and seasoned readers' literacy success: • Point to each word on the page as you read. This beginning literacy strategy will assist children with making print/story/illustration connections. This skill also helps build a child's tracking skills from one line of text to the next one. • Read the title and ask your child to make a prediction. Beginning and seasoned readers alike need to make predictions before reading a story. This will go a long way to ensure that a child incorporates previewing and prediction in his or her own reading practices both now and in the future. • Take "picture walks." Help your child use the picture clues in most early readers and picture books to tell the story before reading. (See Mrs. McMichael’s article for examples of questions.) • Model fluency while reading, and bring your own energy and excitement for reading to your child. Both new and seasoned readers struggle with varying pitch, intonation and proper fluctuations when they read aloud. Older readers will benefit from shared reading (taking turns). • Ask your child questions after reading every book. Reading comprehension is the reason we read -- to understand. The new Common Core State Standards assessing U.S. children's readiness for the workplace and college ask children at all grade levels to compare and contrast their understanding of concepts. This takes practice. Help your child explain his or her understanding of any given story in comparison to another. Have your child share a personal experience similar to a problem or theme within a story. Higher-order thinking skills (critical thinking) are skills children are expected to use in both written and oral assessments in school. There is no way for a teacher to ask every child to use a critical thinking skill every day. Parents can. (See Mrs. McMichael’s article for examples of questions.) • Connect reading and writing if possible. The connection between reading, writing and discussion should be incorporated with daily literacy practice. Have a young child dictate to a parent who writes in a journal or on a sheet of paper. Modeling the formation of sentences aligned with the words of a story is crucial for a child to begin making a neural interconnectedness between reading and writing. A child's process of drawing pictures brings his or her personal creativity toward the story. Sharing these illustrations of experiences and individual interpretations related to the sentence he or she has created on the page is yet another step toward this early balanced literacy approach. Beginning and lifelong literacy gives your child an edge. The process must begin when first learning to read, and must be second nature to a child as when he or she learned to speak. This can happen through incorporating repetition, proper skills and modeling. Please let us know if you would like further information on how you can assist your child! Taken from: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/parent-involvement-in-early-literacy-erika-burton

8. Reading Strategies Ms. McMichael Reading Specialist Here are some questions you can ask your child about their reading; choose a few each night to engage in conversation with your child about their nightly independent reading.  Before reading:  • Looking at the title, cover and illustrations/pictures, what do you think will happen in this book? • What characters do you think might be in the book? What do you already know about the topic of this book? • Does the topic or story relate to you or your family? How? • Do you think it will be like any other book you’ve read? If so, which one, and how do you think it will be similar? During reading:  • What has happened so far in the story? Can you tell me using sequence words? (first, then, next, after, finally, etc.) • What do you predict will happen next? • How do you think the story will end? • Why do you think the character did ____________? • What would you have done if you were the character? • When you read, what pictures did you see in your head? How did you imagine it looked like? • What are you wondering about as you read? What questions do you have? After reading:  • Why is the title a good title for the book/story? If you had to give it a different title, what would be another good title for it? • Were your predictions correct? Where did you have to fix your prediction as you read? • If there was a problem, did it get solved? How did the character try to solve the problem? • What happened because of the problem? • What is the most important point that the author is trying to make in his/her writing? • If you could change one part, what would you change? • Does this book remind you of another book you know? Does it remind you of something you’ve experienced in real life? ‘  For fun: Have them act out a scene from the book, draw you a picture of their favorite part to decorate the refrigerator, or write a follow-up story. They can pretend they are a book reviewer reviewing the book on TV, or they can write a letter or postcard to the author. There are many creative ways to engage students in reading and have them share their reading with you! .

9. Ms. Robinson Student Service Coordinator MAKING SURE YOUR CHILD GETS THE EDUCATION THEY DESERVE Your child has a right to attend and succeed in a great school. Regardless of income, ethnicity, family circumstances, disability or school readiness, all children are entitled to an education that will help them reach their full academic, professional and personal potential. As a parent or guardian, you are the best advocate for ensuring this happens. The importance of a hands-on approach While all parents want their child to do well in school, many don’t realize that personally monitoring and guiding their child’s education has a huge impact on academic success. In fact, playing this role has never been more important. Today’s high school graduates face a highly competitive global economy, which favors workers with greater education and training than their parents had. Whether your child wants to be in education, finance, politics, art, science, manufacturing or virtually any profession, technology and the rapid pace of societal change have upped the minimum skills required. The importance of learning at home  Learning doesn’t stop once your child leaves the classroom. In fact, your child’s academic success requires that they study at home and get support and encouragement from family members. A few things you should be doing: Supervise homework: Know what your child has been assigned, how much your child has done and whether your child needs extra help. Request a curriculum outline from the teacher, so that you can help your child prepare in advance for classes and tests. Create a quiet place to read and study: Insist that your child turn off the TV and put away their cell phone while studying. Create a designated, quiet, comfortable and well-lit space in the house just for studying. Teach organizational skills: The older your child gets, the more work and activities they need to balance. Make sure your child has a daily planner (this could be an app on their phone) and teach them to write down all commitments, plan ahead and check things off as they go. Teach your child how to prioritize and meet deadlines. If your child struggles with procrastination, help them break large tasks into smaller ones that seem more manageable. Get extra help sooner rather than later: If your child is struggling, don’t wait to inquire about after-school tutoring and counseling. If the school doesn’t offer these, they should make other recommendations. You can also talk to the teacher about an individualized learning plan, so you can both better monitor your child’s progress.

10. Important Upcoming Dates In January and February. • Monday, January 8, 2018    • School reopens @ the regularly scheduled time. • Monday, January 15, 2018  • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. School Closed. • Tuesday, January 16, 2018  • School reopens @ 9:00 a.m. for students (late start). • PD for staff from 7:30am - 9:00am • Friday, February 2, 2018  • Staff Professional Development. No school for students. • Friday, February 2, 2018     • Parent-Teacher conferences from 12:30-5:30 p.m. • Friday, February 16, 2018   • ½ day of school for students. Dismissal @ 11:15 a.m. • February 19-23, 2018       • Mid-winter break. School closed. • Monday, February 26, 2018                  • School reopens at the regularly scheduled time. 

11. For More Information… Website:www.deawest.com Facebook: David Ellis Academy West Visit Us: David Ellis Academy West 19800 Beech Daly Road Redford, MI 48240 Call Us: 313-450-0300 Edited by: Kia Thompson