Focusing on Literacy …
BOOKS ON THE BUS
Rowan-Salisbury Schools is pleased to announce we will continue our summer reading initiative , Books On the Bus , again this year !
Last summer , our School Nutrition meal coordinators were able to hand out a book with every nutritious meal they served to keep reading alive during the summer months . Through this initiative , RSS alongside the community , is able to provide students with more reading opportunities outside the walls of our school buildings .
Learning & Reading Loss
Statistics show learning and reading skill losses during the summer months are cumulative . This contributes to creating a wider gap each year between more proficient and less proficient students . By the time a struggling reader reaches middle school , summer reading loss has grown to a two-year gap in achievement .
Regardless of ethnicity , socioeconomic level , or previous achievement , children who read four or more books over the summer fare better with reading-comprehension in the fall than their peers who read one or no books over the summer . That is the power of our program ; we are putting books directly in the hands of our children along with a nutritious meal .
How can you help ?
We are asking the community to collect new or gently used books for our Books On The Bus program . We ask that the books be appropriate for children ages pre-k to 8th grade . Please drop off your donations at your child ’ s school media center . Through this initiative and with community support , we will be able to place a book in every child ’ s hand that receives a meal . In doing so , we will also have the opportunity to foster lovers of reading and lifelong learners .
Written by : Crystal Merck Elementary Instructional Lead Teacher , Rowan-Salisbury Schools
Morgan Elementary Students Help Principal Pick New Teachers
Fourth and fifth grade students at Morgan Elementary School are helping principal Derek Distefano market for teachers !
Two teachers from Morgan will be retiring at the end of this current school year and these students want to help Mr . DiStefano pick the best educators !
The students participated in a PBL ( Problem-Based Learning ) Challenge in which they worked in groups to create :
• A marketing commercial
• A recruiting table display , and
• A teacher quality checklist
The groups were judged by :
• Rowan-Salisbury Elementary Lead Teacher Crystal Merck
• Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education Chair Josh Wagner , and
• Catawba College Associate Professor of Business Dr . Michelle Woodhouse
As a follow up , Dr . Woodhouse and her students will work with the winning groups from the PBL Challenge to help them finalize their work . Morgan ’ s PTA will then have the elements professionally produced for use in upcoming job fairs in an effort to help recruit the best possible candidates to fill the positions at the school .
Written by : Lori Nesbitt Morgan Elementary School
South Rowan High School PTA
South Rowan High School has , over the last few months , reestablished a PTA . The school has gone several years without one .
Our Officers are : President : Trina Crowe Vice President : Tamesha Overcash Vice President : Tina Carter Treasurer : Tania Jefferson Treasurer : Tricia Hall Secretary : Michelle Nodine
We have recruited approximately 40 members so far , and have high hopes of increasing that number throughout the next few months .
Picture of the PTA group at our first fundraiser . We sold Hot Chocolate at “ Christmas in the Grove ”, downtown China Grove in December .
Parent Teacher Magazine • March / April 2017 • 3