Nonfiction RULES in our library!! I have been actively encouraging our students in grades 3 – 8 to check out those No Foolin’ Nonfiction Books. Hidden in the bookshelves of our nonfiction books are some amazingly interesting, fascinating, gross, intriguing books and our students are exploring and finding them. Why am I pushing nonfiction? Students reading nonfiction are using informational books for problem solving – a necessary and lifelong skill. As our students progress into middle and high school and are expected to read content area textbooks, exposure to nonfiction will have been excellent practice . Struggling readers and good readers alike of all ages are motivated to read by the photos, illustrations and sidebars that make up a lot of school library nonfiction books. In addition to being a motivating factor, students are benefitting from the skills needed to decode graphs, diagrams and charts that are present in many nonfiction books. These skills are often present on tests and reading nonfiction provides additional practice. Besides – they say “truth is stranger than fiction” – and our nonfiction collection provides the captivating books that can prove that to our students. In a perfect world, our students would read half fiction, half nonfiction with a dose of poetry tossed into the mix. So ask your child what nonfiction book they are reading and let’s keep that appeal growing.

Did you know that Hicklebees Bookstore, in addition to hosting many award winning authors has also won awards as the best independent bookstore in northern California? We are so fortunate to have a continuing relationship with Hicklebees so they can help me provide to our students exposure to some of the best children’s authors. All author visits that are sponsored by Hicklebees are free to our school. Kevin Henkes, the author of Chrysanthemum, Owen, Kitten’s First Full Moon and many others will be visiting with our K – 3 rd grade students on February 29, thanks to Hicklebees. Order forms for autographed copies of Penny and her Song will be coming home next week.

MOMS – STOP READING HERE

Remember to send in your order form for our second annual Build A Valentine for Mom event. This special evening will take place on Feb 7 from 5:30 – 7 in the MPR. If your family cannot attend, you may order a kit and your Build A Book kit, Valentines decorations and gift wrapping will be sent home. Each family attending will receive a Build A Book kit, Valentines decorations to make the book special and free gift wrapping. Come make a treasure for Mom! Extra order forms are available in the library.

OK MOMS – START READING AGAIN

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Dr. Seuss

Happy Reading

Mrs. Taylor
Librarian

Sign-up to volunteer to coach during the PAL-GAL Softball Season.  No experience necessary.  Please see the 2012 Santa Clara PAL-GAL Softball Flier for more information.

Kindergarten Registration at Don Callejon School will begin on January 12th. We will take registrations only between the hours of 9:00 am to 11:00 am and 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm on days the school is open. Beginning on January 12th, parents will need to show proof of residence within the Don Callejon Elementary School boundaries adopted by the Board of Trustees on December 9, 2010. They will then be given an appointment date and time for a subsequent meeting to complete the registration process.

Kindergarten students for 2012-2013 will be enrolled on a first come, first served basis, and may be overloaded to other campuses should Callejon become full. We anticipate having 120 spots for kindergarten next school year. As of Friday, December 16th, we have received confirmation of 98 kindergarten students intending to register for next year, 38 of which are siblings of current students.

Siblings of current students will have priority enrollment. Parents of siblings may make an appointment to register any time during the window from January 12, 2012, to February 10, 2012, and be guaranteed enrollment.

**Students living in Mansion Grove, Miraval, 550 Moreland, River Terrace or in the Kathryn Hughes or George Mayne Elementary School boundaries do not qualify for Kindergarten registration at Don Callejon.**

Kindergarten Parent Orientation and Tour is on January 19th from 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Attendance is suggested, but not required

Thank you for your cooperation and patience.

For more information, please visit www.santaclarausd.org.

Happy New Year to all of our wonderful families – may this be a year filled with terrific books to read, memorable family moments and a mountain of new things learned.

Our library has been very busy during the first week back to school. Our students were all allowed to check out extra books over the Winter Break. Depending on the grade level, students borrowed between 2 and 10 books each to make sure they had enough to read during the time off. This meant there was a literal tsunami of returned books last week and my endless thanks goes out to all our library volunteers who managed that flood of books with great patience and grace and dedication.

Hicklebees Bookstore is providing our students with a couple of amazing guest speakers. On Friday, January 13, David Aguilar, Director of Public Affairs for the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is bringing his amazing outer space presentation to our 3rd through 8th graders. Order forms have gone home for students interested in purchasing an autographed copies of the books. The amazing Kevin Henkes will be here for our K – 3rd grade with his newest book on February 29. More details will follow on the Henkes presentation as I receive them.

MOMS – STOP READING HERE

On February 7, in the MPR , I will be hosting the 2nd annual Build A Valentine for Mom event. Please look for the order form that is coming home this week. Each family attending will receive a Build A Book kit, Valentines decorations to make the book special and free gift wrapping. Come make a treasure for Mom!

OK MOMS – START READING AGAIN

It is always so gratifying to see how much our students love to check out library books. The new books from our most recent book fair have been added to the library and they are available for our students to check out.

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds, alive on the shelves

— G. Highet

Happy Reading

Mrs. Taylor

Yearbooks are now on sale for $38. Pick up an order form in the front office, or download an order form here.

Yearbook Order Form

Congratulate your “graduating” 5^th grader or promoting 8th grader with a special photo and message in the yearbook. For $20, submit a photo (baby photo or another favorite photo of your choice) and personalized message to be printed in the yearbook. Order forms will be sent home in your child’s Wednesday Folder, but extra forms are available in the front office. You can also download a copy of the order form linked below. All orders are due by Friday, February 3. Ad space is limited – first come, first served!

Yearbook Shout-Outs Order Form – 8th Grade

Yearbook Shout-Outs Order Form – 5th Grade

Due to tremendous budget cuts over the last several years, Santa Clara Unified School District is joining many districts across the state in implementing furlough days for students and staff. Furlough days for early 2012 are January 2, March 12, March 26, March 27 and May 21. More information regarding these days will be posted on the Santa Clara Unified School District website, www.santaclarausd.org. Parents are encouraged to plan ahead for activities for their students on these days. There may be a few exceptions for programs that run on a contractual basis, so please check with your school contact for exact program offerings on those days. The reduction of staff salaries by five days results in approximately $2.3 Million dollars that will go toward the budget deficit for the 2011-2012 school year.

Cinco días sin trabajo y sin paga para el Distrito Escolar Unificado de Santa Clara a principios del 2012

Debido a los grandísimos recortes de presupuesto en los últimos años, el Distrito Escolar Unificado de Santa Clara se está uniendo a otros distritos a través del estado al implementar días sin trabajo y sin paga para los estudiantes y el personal escolar. Los días sin trabajo y sin paga para principios del 2012 son: el 2 de enero, 12 de marzo, 26 de marzo, 27 de marzo y 21 de mayo. En el sitio web del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Santa Clara, www.santaclarausd.org tendremos más información disponible. Se recomienda a los padres de familia que planeen de antemano actividades que sus hijos puedan hacer en esas fechas. Puede que hayan algunas excepciones para los programas que tengan bases contractuales, así que por favor póngase en comunicación con su escuela para saber exactamente cuáles son los programas que ofrecerán durante esos días. La reducción del salario de los empleados por cinco días, resulta en aproximadamente $2.3 millones de dólares que irán al déficit presupuestario del año escolar 2011-2012.

The Don Callejon Science Fair will be held April 5, 2012. Qualifying students will represent Don Callejon School at the District Science Fair, May 16th. The information in the Science Fair Handbook should help your child plan and complete a science fair project. These projects give the students an opportunity to engage in scientific questioning, maintain accurate records, and apply the skills and processes of scientists to do a project.

Please be aware that students in grade 5 are required to complete a science fair project. Students in grades K-8 can participate in the school science fair, with a complete project.

However, only grades 4-8 are able to participate in the district science fair. Winter break would be a good time for your child to start researching a topic for their project. Most projects take time to complete as multiple tests are required to meet the expectations and to get accurate results.

Don Callejon Science Fair Handbook 2012

The California Legislature passed the “Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010” (Senate Bill 1381), which amended the California Education Code to change the birthdate defining admission to Kindergarten. Children who are five years old before the following dates will be admitted to Kindergarten:

• For the 2012–13 school year, the date is November 1
• For the 2013–14 school year, the date is October 1
• For the 2014–15 school year and each school year thereafter, the date is September 1.

To accommodate children who are not yet eligible for Kindergarten admission by these dates, but turn five before December 2, the District is hoping to implement a Transitional Kindergarten program. A Transitional Kindergarten is the first year of a two-year kindergarten program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.

A child will be eligible for Transitional Kindergarten if he or she will have a fifth birthday between:

• For the 2012–13 school year, November 2 and December 2
• For the 2013–14 school year, October 2 and December 2
• For the 2014–15 school year and each school year thereafter September 2 and December 2.

Please see the flyer linked below for more information regarding Transitional Kindergarten, including an important note about the uncertainty of funding for this program.

Transitional Kindergarten Flyer (English)

Transitional Kindergarten Flyer (Spanish)

The Grades 1-5 book for November is Don’t Laugh At Me by Steve Seskin.  Don’t Laugh At Me is a picture book that promotes understanding and acceptance of individual differences. We will discuss what it feels like to be targeted by others because we don’t fit in.  These discussions will help the children become sensitized to the hurtful effects of ridicule, scorn, name-calling, bullying, intolerance and other forms of disrespect they encounter.  We will also talk about ways to create a caring school and classroom environment where conflicts are resolved peacefully and students perform intentional acts of caring.

The Kindergarten book for November is Talk and Work It Out by Cheri J. Meiners.  This book is about peaceful conflict resolution. We will discuss tools and strategies to help students avoid conflict with others.  They will learn that it’s OK to have different ideas and opinions because these tools will help them agree to disagree.

If you have any questions about the Project Cornerstone ABC Program at Don Callejon School, please send an email to Jenn and Andrea at:  dcabclead@gmail.com.