Brecknock Bulletin

may 2012

brecknock elem. school * ELANCO * 361 school rd., denver, pa 17517 * 717-445-8600 @brecknockelem on Twitter * http://blog.elanco.org/br

May News

In early May, a group of parents gathered for our second principals advisory council meeting. We reviewed the elements of the student handbook, and parents offered suggestions for topics to include in next years revisions. We also learned about the new Common Core standards adopted by Pennsylvania, and the impact those standards have on Elancos newly written language arts and math curriculum. You can learn more about the Common Core standards and the forthcoming changes by visiting http://www.pdesas.org/Standard/ CommonCore and reviewing the Pennsylvania Common Core Standards drafts for English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, as well as the assessment anchors and eligible content documents. The emphasis guides are also useful in that they inform what topics are emphasized in ELA and mathematics in each grade. Using these standards to guide their work, teams of teachers from across the district worked tirelessly with Dr. Hitchcock this year to develop Elancos new language arts and mathematics curricula for K-6, which will be implemented next year. When the curricula is in nalized form and board approved, it will be uploaded to the district website for parental access. The district has also purchased a new literacy program, Reading Street, published by Pearson. Materials from this new program were shared with parents at our principals advisory council meeting and also during the May PTO meeting. Reading Street has many online components, so parents and students will be able to access literacy materials from home.

and Leanne Smith, who will be joining the faculties of New Holland and Blue Ball Elementary Schools. Karen Senior and Tynea Lewis will be joining the Title 1 teaching staff at Brecknock for 12-13. We also welcome two autistic support classes to Brecknock, and we are happy to have Jennifer Shade from New Holland Elem. School join our faculty, along with another teacher who will be hired this summer. Leading the way in our classrooms next year: Kindergarten - Miss Dupas, Miss Heller 1st Gr. - Mrs. Brier, Mrs. MacAdams, Miss Martin 2nd Gr. - Mrs. Muhr, Mrs. Swavely 3rd Gr. - Miss Ciabattoni, Miss Gerhard, Mrs. Stoppi 4th Gr. - Mrs. McCabe, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Snyder 5th Gr. - Mrs. Kidhardt, Mrs. Kuipers, Mrs. ODonnell 6th Gr. - Mrs. Huber, Mrs. Libell, Mrs. Twaddell Students classroom assignments for 12-13 will be indicated on the fourth quarter report card, which will be sent home with students on Thursday, June 7, the last day of school. In other news, my husband and I are expecting the arrival of our rst child in November. Parents and staff will be informed about building coverage in my absence when those details are nalized. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

2012-13 School Year Updates

As this year comes to a close, we reect upon the wonderful memories of another great school year, and are planning for and looking forward to 12-13. We fondly say goodbye and best wishes to Mark Intoccia, our physical ed. teacher who is retiring at the end of this year, as well as Title 1 staff Erin Freneaux, Bonnie Martin,

Wishing you a healthy, happy, learning-filled summer! Keep reading! Play, explore, and discover!