IRIS BECKER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PARENT NEWSLETTER
Home of the Bearcats!
A 2017 Blue Ribbon School
Dear Families,
Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving break with your loved ones. A special thank you to all parents and PTA members who volunteered to support our Thanksgiving festivities. Your presence here continues to put smiles on the faces of our wonderful students. Thank you to all parents who attended our monthly parent meeting in November. This meeting was both very informational and beneficial to us all.We addressed online safety and ways to prevent identity theft. Please be sure to join us for our next parent meeting on, December 10 at 8:45 A.M. We will be addressing dangerous online games and how these games can affect our youth. Our parent-teacher conferences were a great success. We had a wonderful time meeting all of you, and really enjoyed getting to know more about our students through these one on one meetings. During conferences all teachers mentioned the importance of your child reading on a daily basis. Research has shown that reading is vital to the success of students in all subject areas; if students can’t read, they can’t begin to understand what they are reading in any subject. We have provided your children with a plethora of materials to help ensure this is happening while away from school. In addition to the reading bags that should be brought home daily, encourage your child to go online and work on Reading Eggs, Study Island, Epic, Exact Path and IXL. These websites are designed to help your child practice and improve skills in both reading and math at their individualized level. Dearborn residents also have the benefit of free access to the Dearborn Public Libraries. This week some teachers, parents and students have walked to Esper Branch library to apply for a library card and check out books (see pictures below).This is a priceless resource that you can use with your children to spend quality time while addressing their school needs. In addition, The Henry Ford Centennial Library has many resources with a wonderful children’s section designed for supporting students at home or at the library if they stay and read. You may contact the Centennial Library at 313-943-2330 if you’d like more information.
Lately, we are noticing more and more students coming in late to school. As a reminder, school begins promptly at 8:35 a.m. It is critical that students are on time in order to get the most out of their school day. If a child is going to be absent, we have an Automated Calling System that will contact you in regards to your child/children’s absences. The system will be calling home at 10:00 a.m. If your child checks in late to school, you must excuse them otherwise you will receive a call. Please continue to call the school at 313-827-6950 to excuse your child in the morning if he/she is going to be absent, no later than 8:30 a.m. Any absence that is not excused by the parents before school starts, will result in the system calling home. Additionally, please make sure you inform the school office with any updated phone information as soon as changes occur so we can update the emergency card.We always appreciate your cooperation and efforts in working with us to do what is best for children.
In advance, we would like to wish you a peaceful, warm, safe and blessed holiday season. We hope the New Year will be filled with health, love and happiness. Lastly, I would like to give a SPECIAL thank you to our wonderful PTA for doing such an amazing job in our school. Your passion and commitment is greatly appreciated! Thank you again for all that you do. Please get involved and help make a difference!
Sincerely,
Zahra Zreik
Principal
Becker Elementary
Morning Supervision:
As a reminder, Becker students are not to arrive to school until 8:00 a.m for breakfast, unless they are coming in for tutoring. We do not have supervisors available to monitor students who come in before that. Students will be required to stand outside unless it is raining, snowing, or below 20 degrees. We want to remind parents they are not permitted to walk children into the building to their classroom. We want to help our students build independence.
Dismissal Time:
Lately, we have noticed that many parents are starting to arrive to school before dismissal to pick up their child.When parents are in the hallway before the end of the school day, it becomes difficult for the teachers to keep students focused. Students become distracted when they see parents in the hallways. Teachers are instructed to walk all students outside at dismissal time. We would like all parents to wait either in their cars or outside their child’s exit door.
Additionally, please adhere to the traffic safety laws when picking up your child. Students should never cross the street unless it is at a crosswalk. If you see your child, please do not wave or signal to him/her to run across the middle of the street to your car. With the influx of cars in the street, drivers may not see your child. Please encourage your children to always cross at a designated crosswalk. Lastly, if you are available to volunteer and assist with traffic and crossing please contact the office. We are in need of your support.
Appropriate Dress
With the weather getting colder we ask that you require your child to come to school wearing a coat. We’re noticing that some students are repeatedly leaving their coats/ jackets behind in school. We will continue to remind them but ask you to support us by coming to school to look through the Lost and Found bin located in the main lobby. Students will be required to go out for recess daily if the weather permits. Students will not be allowed to wait in the building unless the temperature is 20 degrees or below.
Response to Bullying:
Bullying is a global problem. At Becker, we are proactive in addressing bullying by speaking to our students and holding school assemblies throughout the year. You can help to support us by ensuring that you report any issues your child may be facing at school so we can help address them.
Additionally, please speak to your children about what it feels like to be a bully toward others. Many times, children may not realize how their actions affect others. Please contact your child’s teacher or principal if you have any questions, and we will be happy to talk to you about ways you can address these issues.
Congratulations to our November Students of the Month
May Berry-Kdg – Issa Sofyan
Katrina Case-Kdg – Noah Aljahmi
Sukna Bazzi-1st– Moneer Jaafar
Ana Gomez-1st– Mikayla Ferris
Kristin Koss 2nd– Hadi Abadi
Maggie Salame 2nd– Sala Yabai
Tanya Jabra 2nd– Adam Jahamee
Tanya Jabra 3rd– Lama Zein
Sara Alhaschemy 3rd– Rafal Fatla
Diana Harb -3rd– Ahmed Almusawy
Mariam Berry 4th– Yara Abadi
Fatemh Reslan 4th– Jenna Karaali
Nahida Islam 5th – Anas Kassem
Amal Khansa 5th– Ali Atrissi
| Dec. 7 | PTA Meeting at 8:45 A.M. |
| Dec. 10 | Parent Meeting at 8:45 A.M. in the media center |
| Dec. 12 | Late Start – School Begins at 9:35 A.M. |
| Dec. 14 | No Kindergarten Students |
| Dec. 18 | Anti-Bullying Assembly with BasketBall Jones at 9:30 A.M. |
| Dec. 19 |
BrainStormer’s Writing Assembly at 9:00 A.M. Pre-K Parent Meeting at 8:40 A.M. |
| Dec 21-Jan. 6 | No School Holiday Break |