BECKER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARENT NEWSLETTER
Home of the Bearcats! A 2017 Blue Ribbon School
Dear Families,
Happy New Year and welcome back to school. I hope you had a restful break with your loved ones. Our students are so excited to be back at school, and we are just as excited to welcome them.Thank you to all parents who attended our December parent meeting. We appreciate your presence during these important meetings. If you would like us to address any topics please email or call me and I would be glad to include this on our agenda for our January 28th meeting. Thank you to our amazing PTA for helping to fund our Basketball assembly, and for coming in before break to pass out candy canes to our students. Our students really enjoyed all of the festivities and assemblies that took place in December.
Students are already immersed in important learning and preparing to take the NWEA test this week. The NWEA assessment will help to show growth in student academic performance since coming into school back in August. This is the second time this year the students will be taking this test. Students in grades k-2nd will be taking the reading and math test, while students in grades 3rd-5th will be taking the reading, math, language and science test. Please dialogue with your child about the importance of taking this test seriously. Also be sure your child has a healthy breakfast before coming to school. In addition to NWEA, students in grades 3rd-5th will also be taking the MSTEP Writing Pilot the week of January 28th. This is a practice writing test that will help familiarize students with what they will be expected to do during the actual MSTEP test. It is immensely important that students take this pilot seriously so we are able to support any learning gaps that may still exist. Next week our PTA will be hosting a book fair in the media center. If your child wishes to make a purchase at the book fair, please send money with him/her any day next week. Teachers will be visiting the library during their scheduled library time. If you have not yet subscribed to our Becker Blog, please use this link- https://becker.dearbornschools.org/ My blog is updated at least once a week with important information and photos of school events. As always, thank you for entrusting us with your children and for your support at home. We wish you and your children a year filled with blessings and good health.
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 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. 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 December Students of the Month
May Berry-Kdg – Abbas Ashkar
Katrina Case-Kdg –Hala Jayousi
Sukna Bazzi-1st– Abigail Widener
Ana Gomez-1st– Hussien Diab
Kristin Koss 2nd– Yasmeen Hamdan
Maggie Salame 2nd– AliAlridah Turki
Tanya Jabra 2nd– Safa Alfaqih
Tanya Jabra 3rd– Humhmh Mohsen
Sara Alhaschemy 3rd– Maria Gaghman
Diana Harb -3rd– Farah Nabha
Mariam Berry 4th– Imane Bellam
Fatemh Reslan 4th– Nada Alshamery
Nahida Islam 5th – Reem Alsuraimi
Amal Khansa 5th– Janna Alderawy
Monthly Reminders:
| January 11 | PTA Meeting at 8:45 A.M. |
| January 14-18 | Book Fair All Week |
| January 15 | Fifth grade field trip |
| January 18 |
Half-Day for Students Dismissal at 11:45 A.M. |
| January 21 |
No School Martin Luther King Jr. Day |
| January 22 | Jump Rope for Heart Assembly at 10:30 |
| January 22 |
Half-Day All Students Student Dismissal at 11:45 AM |
| January 28 |
Monthly Parent Meeting at 8:45 AM in Media Center |