Defer Dragon’s Burning News

Defer Elementary School

15425 Kercheval

Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230

Phone: 313/432-4000

Fax: 313/432-4002

www.gpschools.org/defer

February 14, 2013

Defer Behavior Pledge

Today, I will DO my best to BE my best.

I will be respectful.

I will practice responsibility.

I will always be safe.

I will show my Dragon pride.

Karen Sullivan

Defer Principal

There is an easy way to improve your child's chances at school. It will entertain and delight

him/her. It will strengthen the bonds between your child and you. And it is virtually free.

Sound too good to be true? Actually, it isn't. The magical method: taking time to read aloud to your child.

In an era of high-stakes testing and education reforms and revolutions, research has repeatedly proved that one simple parenting technique is among the most effective.

Children who are read aloud to by parents get a head start in language and literacy skills and go to school better prepared.

. "Reading aloud to children, particularly in an engaging manner, promotes literacy and

language development and supports the relationship between child and parent,"

concludes a review in this month's Archives of Disease in Childhood.

In other words, reading that bedtime story may not only entertain Johnny, it may also develop his vocabulary, improve his ability to learn to read, and - perhaps most

important - foster a lifelong love of books and reading.

That can have long-term consequences. As Mr. Trelease, the author of The Read Aloud

Handbook succinctly states, "Students who read the most, read the best, achieve the most, and stay in school the longest. Conversely, those who don't read much, cannot get better at

it."

The good news for families is that this sage piece of parenting wisdom is easy to follow.

Reading aloud to your child requires only a book - free, with a library card - and your willingness to spend a little quality time with your child. And while the sacrifices to read

aloud are few, the benefits are many: Your child may learn to read better, think better, imagine more richly, and become a passionate and lifelong reader. More than these

long-term benefits, however, are some more immediate: The pleasures of spending time

with your child and sharing the enjoyment of a good book.

During the months of March and April we are asking all our Defer families to participate in our One Book, One School family reading program. Defer staff has

selected The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies. The Defer staff is very excited

about this shared reading experience that will take place at home and at school.

So how does it work? One copy of The Lemonade War was purchased for each family by the wonderful Defer PTO. Each week families read the chapters listed

and every Tuesday trivia questions will be read aloud during announcements. Other reading activities will take place during the school day. We are also asking

families to snap a photo of students and families reading The Lemonade War at

home and send them in with students. We are going to display them at school.

So here’s the plan . . . . .

Defer Family Reading Plan

Each week families read The Lemonade War together at home. Throughout

March and April we will be asking trivia questions about the book during

announcements on Tuesdays. Students will have a chance to win from their class.

Happy Reading!

Possible questions to discuss while reading:

1. What has happened in the story so far? Have students retell part of the story that

you just read together.

2. What do you think might happen next?

3. How does the character feel right now? Why does he/she feel that way?

4. What problem(s) does the character face?

5. What do you see in your mind as we read together?

6. What questions do you have about the story?

March 4 – March 11 Chapters 1, 2, and 3

March 11 – March 18 Chapters 4, 5, and 6

March 18 – March 25 Chapters 7, 8, and 9

Spring Break

April 8 – April 15 Chapters 10, 11, and 12

April 15 – April 22 Chapters 13 and 14

Dates to Remember

February 15 PTO “Morning with Mom” @ Gym 8:00 am 18-24 NO SCHOOL—Mid Winter Break 25 Classes Resume @ 9:05 am 27 Safety/Service Lakeshore Lanes 3:50—5:45pm 28 Tri-Choir Performance @ Pierce 7:00 pm

March 4 AM School Only—-School starts at 8:20 am PM NO SCHOOL—Records Day 10 Daylight Savings Time Begins (Spring forward) 12 PTO Meeting @ Library 7:00 pm 15 PTO “Donuts with Dad” @ Gym 8:00am Report Cards Issued 20 Parent-Teacher Conferences 5:00—8:00 Market Day Pick-up 2:00—4:00 21 NO SCHOOL for Students Parent—Teacher Conferences AM/PM/Evening 27 Safety/Service Movie—Pierce Auditorium 3:50—5:45 29—5 NO SCHOOL Spring Break

Student Council News

The Student Council had a successful PINK BAGEL Sale. 226 bagels were ordered in total, which gave us a profit of more than $225.00!

Thank you generous Defer community!

Welcome New Students

Eric H.—Grade 4 Isaiah T.—Kindergarten Alaina B.—Kindergarten

Attendance Information

All absences must be reported on the absence line 432-4001. If your student is arriving to school after the bell rings, please come into the office with your student and sign them in. This line is available 24 hours a day. Thank You!

CARE/SERVE Donation

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Our Defer Dragons donated over 100 boxes of cereal so that more students in our area can start the morning off right. Volunteers from both CARE and SERVE were amazed with the generosity of the Defer community when they came to pick up the donation.

Thank you to the Defer Community for caring so much!

Batter Up Math

The Defer students are getting ready to hit homeruns when it comes to knowing their basic math facts. Knowing facts is a basic essential for mathematics and children should master addition and subtraction facts by the end of second grade and multiplication facts by the end of 3rd. Without a good foundation in math, it is difficult for children to be able to fully and accurately learn other parts of mathematics. We use basic math facts in our everyday life and it makes learning much simpler when you can quickly recall facts rather than having to mentally try and work out each fact. Failing to learn and memorized times tables from one to ten makes learning more complicated math more difficult than it needs to be. If a child can automatically know the answer to a times table question then more difficult math will be less challenging. Defer has started its own Batter Up bulletin board outside the gym. You’ll find the teachers ‘playing’ in the field ready to help all students score a home room. Each week students will have the opportunity to earn their own baseball to add to the playing field. Students work daily on their facts at school and can earn their baseball at the end of the week by demonstrating improvement on our XtraMath computer program used to monitor growth. Twice a month students will take the District’s five minute timed fact test. Students mastering this have hit The Math All Stars! Parents – We need you to get on board! Help your child hit a homerun! Practicing math facts should be a part of your nightly routine. Let us know if you are in need of a set of flash cards for home use, and start pitching those math facts at home!

SAFETY/SERVICE

In January, Defer Safety/Service celebrated at the Pierce Pool. It was a beautiful day and perfect for swimming in a warm pool. We enjoyed Gatorade and snacks together. Mr. Senska joined us as our Lifeguard to supervise the safety of our swimmers. Thank you, Mr. Senska. Afterward an aggressive game of basketball ensued for some and a relaxing swim for others. It was great to reward all these students for volunteering their time serving Defer on a daily basis. Thank you to Mrs. Herrell for joining us at the pool and keeping everyone safe. Mr. Alan continues to get our water ready every morning for hot cocoa to “Warm the Safeties.” Thank you, it is greatly appreciated. If you see a Safety/Service doing a good job, please tell them. Thank you, Helen Srebernak

Safety/Service Member of the Month-January

Safety: Lizzie H. Service: Hannah B.

Post Times Late Start Monday Safety: 8:10-8:20a.m. Safety: 8:50-9:05a.m. 3:35-3:45 p.m. 3:35-3:45 p.m. Service: 8:15-8:25a.m. Service: 8:55-9:10a.m. 3:35-3:45p.m. 3:35-3:45p.m.

Safety Patrol Members check the weather before leaving their houses in the morning and if the weather is below 10 degrees with the wind-chill, then the Safety Patrol Members will

not be at their posts.

Upcoming Kindergarteners 2013—2014

All new students must be registered and enrolled in the district. Parents should call (313) 432-3083 and make and appointment at the Central Administration Building, 389 St. Clair, as soon as possible. This information is necessary so the district can budget and staff appropriately for students entering kindergarten. If you are not certain if your child will be attending the public schools next year, please contact us anyway. District staff can answer questions about placement and programming, and can provide additional information that may assist you.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support

The PBIS program continues to be a backbone of Defer. It is based on the premise that all students can benefit from well implemented, evidence-based practices for improving student behavior. School-wide PBIS provides a positive focus to encouraging desirable student behaviors. A set of universal expectations for behavior, positively stated, are established for all students in all locations of the school. These expectations generally promote core values such as respect, responsibility, and safety. Interventions and strategies are implemented to teach and reinforce these expectations. These include:

• Periodic direct instruction in specific student behaviors that demonstrate respect,

responsibility, and safety in various locations in the school. • Generous quantities of positive adult/teacher attention and other kinds of reinforcement to

students for demonstrating positive behaviors, especially specific behavior expectations identified by the school.

• Predictable consequences for behavior infractions that are delivered consistently by all staff in a professional manner throughout the entire school.

Each month Defer school celebrates the good behaviors of our students. The January PBIS party was a Winter Blitz with students selecting either: an extended recess in the snow, or creating winter snow flakes in the gym. Whatever their choice – they were all rewarded with a steaming cup of hot chocolate. February’s Reward Party is just around the corner. Students will be playing their favorite board games by grade. Hope to see everyone there!

Fourth Grade Visit The 4th grade classes enjoyed a visit from Jim McNamara, who is uncle to fourth grader Holden Novak. Mr. McNamara was here visiting family from Taiwan and shared a presentation on the Chinese New Year. He has been living and teaching in Taiwan for 20 years and shared interesting information and answered questions about Chinese culture. We are very thankful for the experience.

Jump Rope for Heart 2013Jump Rope for Heart 2013Jump Rope for Heart 2013Jump Rope for Heart 2013

Our Defer students have been jumping rope in physical education class over the past few weeks. Chinese jump rope, short ropes, long ropes, basketball jumping, and jump bands were a hit!

Thank you Defer families for donating on-line or sending in your pledge envelopes and fundrais-ing for our

Jump Rope for Heart event 2013 by February 25th.

The American Heart Association’s thank you prizes should be at Defer sometime in April.

Stay STRONG and Healthy!

Defer’s physical education staff would like to remind all our students to lead a healthy active life

by eating healthy foods, exercising every day, and getting the proper rest for BRAIN POWER to be ready to learn.

Yours in health, Ms. Raab, Mr. C and Ms. Platts

Busy, busy, busy is what we are here at Defer! There is never a dull moment, and it seems like especially this year, there is always some-thing exciting going on. Pancakes and Pajamas was a blast! Thanks to the Fundraising Com-mittee for pulling off such a great event, de-spite the bonus snow day. Everyone certainly had a smile on their face as they “caught” their dinner, so I think that means it was a truly succe s s fu l even t ! Thanks so much to all who participated! Please don’t forget that Morning with Mom is tomorrow, Friday, February 15th! Hey kids, bring your mom to school with you for a healthy morning treat. It’s great for her, be-

cause she doesn’t need to make your break-fast—I love it ! Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but I cannot wait for March! You know, March is “Reading Month”, and it is going to be a fantastic time around Defer. Partici-pating in the One School, One Book program promises to be a great time for all De-fer families, and I know you are all going to love it. The PTO is so thrilled to be able to support this program for our student body.

Rock the Lock is also fast approaching! You should all be receiving your invitations this week, and kudos to the Auction Committee for their fantastic work so far. It is going to be a super event! As we head into Winter Break, I hope that you are all looking forward to some relaxation and family time. Whether you are headed south to warmer temperatures, or headed north for some snowy fun, have a great time, and be safe! Thanks to all of you for your continued support with all of our PTO events. We very much appreciate it. Sincerely, Michelle Kramer, PTO President

February: Volume 9, Issue 6

P.T.O. Dragon Tails

DEFER Elementary

School

2012-2013

Upcoming

PTO Events:

Morning with Mom Feb. 15 Winter Break Feb. 16-24 One School, One Book March PTO Euchre Tourney March 8 Donuts w/ Dad March 15

DEFER AUCTION April 13

Let us always

meet each other with a

smile, For the smile

is the beginning of

love.

~Mother Theresa

DRAGON SPEAK:

DRUMROLL PLEASE….

The votes have been tallied and the new paint colors for Defer’s hallways are:

SAMPLE B

Bleeker Beige/Dragon’s Hide (Green)

Thank you to all who voted!! Painting schedule is determined by locker

installation schedule. We will keep you posted!

Pancakes & PJs was a HUGE success

(even with the snowday!)

Thank you to all the families that attended.

MORNING with MOM is tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 15)

Please join us in the gym

from 8-8:20am for a special morning.

(Dads, grandmas, aunts, etc. are welcome

to fill in for moms who cannot attend).

A special time for kids and moms!!

DEFER PTO EUCHRE NIGHT

Friday, March 8th

7pm This year we will have a new venue.

Grace United Church of Christ (the corner of Lakepointe & Kercheval)

Entry fee: $15/per person

Bring a friend. You do not need to be a Defer parent to play.

All experience levels welcome. Fabulous cash prizes.

Beer and wine provided. Call Charlie Palazzolo

313-969-0303

Auction Invitations are going home in your child’s folder this week!

SAVE THE DATE Saturday, April 13, 2013

@ the Roostertail

RSVP by March 15th to the school office.

The Auction Committee is working hard to acquire items for the auction but could still use your help.

Do you have talents to share? Miles or credit card points to use on jewelry, airline tickets or gift cards?

Do you have access to golf courses, chefs, wine tastings? Or would you like to host a priceless item?

Can you donate a bottle of wine for our super Wall of Wine? Do you know of someone that would benefit from advertising in our program?

All donations and help will directly benefit Defer students.

Send Sue or Aimee an email: deferauction@yahoo.com

Pancakes and Pajamas