From the Principal's Desk

 

Dear Longfellow Parents and Family Members,

 

Congratulations!  Longfellow School made its 2004 Academic Performance Index (API) target growth of 13 points. The API is the state measure of how good a job a school is doing of teaching students.  Not only did Longfellow make the school wide target, but also, each of the numerically significant sub groups, Hispanic and Economically Disadvantaged, also made their target growth of at least 10 points each.  The Hispanic group grew by 19 points and the Economically Disadvantaged group grew by 16 points.  The challenge we face at Longfellow is to meet the federal measure of school accountability, the AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress.)  Since August, Longfellow teachers have met at their weekly grade level meetings to plan lessons and homework so that all students will make adequate yearly progress.  Assisting our teachers in their efforts are our consultants from Learning 24/7, Lynn Bunnell and Lynn Hanrahan, our Reading First coaches, Virginia Ramirez and Steffani Luque,  our program specialist, Janet Cardoza, and support staff from the Bakersfield City School District Education Center, such as Patti Froyd, curriculum specialist.

 

The best ways that parents can support us in making the AYP is to get your students to school on time every day and to check your students' backpacks for homework each evening. 

 

The holiday season is fast approaching, and we want to give everyone plenty of advance notice regarding special events here at Longfellow School. 

 

A special school safety survey is going home this week.  The completed parent surveys are due back at school on Friday, November 12, 2004.  The classrooms with the most returned parent surveys will win a treat. Longfellow School is fortunate campus security in the person of our campus supervisor, Mr. Contreras, and positive intervention in the person of our office teacher, Mr. Sandifer.  Their combined efforts have resulted in a decrease in the number of suspension days at Longfellow School.

 

Please remember that school will be closed on Thursday, November 11, 2004 in honor of Veterans' Day.

 

Parent-Teacher conferences are scheduled for the week of November 15-19, 2004.  We will be on a minimum day schedule and all after school activities, ITSA and Migrant tutoring as well as Glee Club, are cancelled for the week of November 15-19, 2004 so that our teachers will be able to conference with parents.   Please make sure that you make arrangements for the minimum day schedule with your after school day care providers. 

One of the best ways to prepare for your parent-teacher conference is to take a moment to jot down any questions that you might have regarding homework, behavior, grades, or anything else related to school.  Tuck the paper with your questions into your purse or wallet.  Then, when it is time for the conference, you will be prepared with your list of questions so that you get the most out of the meeting with your child's teacher.

 

Remember, Wednesday, November 24, 2004 the day before Thanksgiving, is also a minimum day so please plan for your students getting out of school early on that day and make arrangements accordingly.

 

The Longfellow School spelling bee will be held on Thursday, December 9, 2004 under the direction of Mrs. Russell. 

 

Please plan to attend the Longfellow School Winter Holiday Program for parents on Monday, December 13, 2004 at 1:45 PM.  Our traditional Winter Holiday Program will feature performances by the 3rd grade flutaphones under the direction of the 3rd grade teachers, the glee club under the direction of Mrs. Russell, and the instrumental music students under the direction of Mr. Engel.

 

On Thursday, December 16, 2004, the Winter Holiday Program will be performed for students in grades K-3 and the morning pre-Kindergarten classes at 9:30 AM and for students in grades 4-6 and the afternoon pre-Kindergarten classes at 1:45 PM.  Parents are also welcome to attend either of the Thursday performances of the Winter Holiday Program.

 

Winter Break will be from December 20 - 31, 2004.  We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and we look forward to seeing all our students here at school, ready to learn, on Monday, January 3, 2005!