Gibson Families,
We wanted to take a moment and thank you for all of the support you provide to your children and their teachers during this time of Distance Learning. Each day as I watch the news, I am so thankful for our Gibson Community and the willingness of its members to do whatever it takes for our children. As you enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, please know you are one of the many things we are thankful for this year!
We are very excited to announce the return of the World Series of Reading! Beginning today, you may request books for pick up at our school. Books requests will be filled each week and books will be distributed each Thursday. Our first distribution date will be Thursday, December 3, 2020. Please see the attached flyer for a link to the book request form.
This form is also available on the James Gibson website, https://www.jamesgibsones.com/
The first week in December marks our monthly School Organizational Team (SOT) and Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) meetings. Please join us on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 at 2:20 pm for our virtual meetings. The agendas for both meetings are attached.
Each week, we will bring you a topic that will assist you in making Distance Education work for your child. Most of what we share with you is from “The Distance Learning Playbook for Parents: How to Support Your child’s Academic, Social, and Emotional Development in Any Setting” by Wiseman, Fisher, Frey and Hattie. This week we will focus on Reading Volume.
We understand that in the world of Distance Education, the demand on families can seem insurmountable. We also understand that your time is valuable. So we ask that you invest in what we know works in education - READING!!
The number of minutes that eyes are on texts is the volume of reading that someone does. Reading Volume builds general knowledge and reading proficiency. Much of the academic knowledge needed for school success comes through reading. The number of rare words (words that are uncommon in speech, but present in reading) include many of the academic concepts taught in school. In fact, research shows that children’s books contain an average of 30.9 rare words per thousand, and comic books (graphic novels) contain 53.5 per thousand. Our spoken language is different from our written language. Your child’s independent reading provides them with exposure to a richer vocabulary and knowledge.
Students who read more outside of schools score better on standardized reading tests. There is a correlation between the amount of reading students do and their academic performance/achievement. In fact, a study of exemplary classrooms found that students spend 90 minutes across the school day reading.
One of the best things you can do is to encourage daily reading. Don’t make it a chore, but rather something to look forward to. Below is a list of ideas to increase your child’s reading volume;
* Let your child read whatever they want. Choice is a key factor in developing a love of reading.
* Break up reading throughout the day and evening sessions.
* Balance electronic reading (Myon, Epic, Capstone, or Kindle) with hard copies of books (World Series of Reading).
* Talk with your child’s teacher, Ms. Burton or Ms. Vesci to identify “just right” reading materials for your child.
* Read with your children! We should read stories out loud to children through the 8th grade! Think of the great family story time memories you can create.
* Talk with your child about what he is reading.
* Make sure your children see you reading and talking about what you’ve read!
Remember, you don’t have to read every day… just the days that you eat!
Each year the Clark County School District sends out a Safety Survey. All parents, staff members and students in grades 4-12 are asked to participate. At Gibson Elementary our fourth and fifth grade students will take the survey during class. Please take a few moments to tell us how we are doing.
Parent Safety Survey https://aarsiapps.ccsd.net/survey/
Educationally yours,
The Gibson Team