Goodall News: Roots and Shoots August 27, 2015

This year’s Year Long Theme is “Change”.  And we have had some big changes in our area!  Mrs. Rowland moved to Bixby Schools and Mr. Najera moved to the Armstrong area. We miss them both very much, but are excited to have three new teachers in our area.  

Miss Cody is a former student at Mayo.  She recently moved back to Tulsa from Arizona.  She has a baby girl named Alayah, who is now six months old.  

Miss Kramer is originally from Ohio.  She moved to Tulsa three years ago and began teaching at Discovery School.  She is engaged and is getting married in March.

Mrs. Hernandez moved to Tulsa this year from Marietta, Oklahoma.  She has two children, Zander and Sophia.  

We are thrilled to have these ladies in our area!

As parents, we encourage you to be involved in your child’s learning process.  Parent and teacher relationships are necessary for maximum school success.  Throughout the year, we will usually communicate with a weekly Goodall Newsletter.  

If you ever have any questions or concerns, please e-mail or call us: (918)925-1500 

Mrs. Bunch: bunchel@tulsaschools.org , Mrs. Moreno morenje@tulsaschools.org

Miss Kramer: krameal@tulsaschools.org  Miss Cody: codyhe@tulsaschools.org  

Mrs. Hernandez: hernaam@tulsaschools.org  or Mrs. Sowle: sowlepa@tulsaschools.org .

We have an open door policy and feel parent communication is vital to a successful year.   Thank you for all your support and dedication as we begin this fantastic journey together.    

Back to School Night is being held on Tuesday, September 1.    At 6:30 all instructional areas (Goodalls) will discuss procedures, schedules, year-long theme, homework, and field trips for the year.

Our first field study….. Our first field study is for our Roots only.  They will be traveling to Gilcrease Museum with the Any Given Child curriculum.   The date for this trip is Tuesday, September 29^th.  We are in need of six parent volunteers to attend the field study with our group.  Please contact Mrs. Moreno, Mrs. Bunch or Mrs. Hernandez if you are interested.

Quick Curriculum Update:  

We learned and practiced more procedures this week.  All homebases visited their special classes (Art, Music, Library, and Healthy Lifestyles).  

Shoots Literacy Group: Flat Stanley, His Original Adventure   

Roots Literacy Group: Tessa’s Toys 

All Literacy Groups: review C.A.R.E. letters, sounds, and signs

Year-Long Theme: Community Guidelines – Each class made their own Classroom Agreement poster.

Science:  Ask your child how they balanced their crawfish and what design did they use?  (It balanced on their nose, toes, and fingers.  It was a symmetrical design.)

Roots Math:  Ways to Make the # of the Day 

Shoots Math: Relating Addition and Subtraction

Please review and familiarize yourself with arrival and dismissal procedures.  So far, everyone has been doing a great job following these procedures.  

Dates to remember:  

Tuesday, September 1 – Back to School Night

Friday, September 4– Spirit Day and Early Release Friday 

Monday, September 7-Labor Day—NO School

Tuesday, September 15-Literacy Night

Friday, September 18-Skateland
Tuesday, September 29 –Roots AGC Field Study to Gilcrease

Email from the Goodall Area!

Dear Goodall parents,

Good Morning!  We hope everyone is having a great Monday!

This email is a reminder that Back to School night is tomorrow, Tuesday, September 1^st at 6:30.  We will meet in the Goodall area and explain procedures and share our calendar for the year.  We hope to see you here!

We also have an event to add to our calendar.  On Friday, September 18^th, we will be traveling to Skateland to experience our Science concept of Balance and Motion.  I apologize that this date was not in the newsletter,  but we were awaiting confirmation from the skating rink.  We will send more details in the home and back on Thursday.  We will need parent volunteers, so get ready to lace up your skates!

We are looking forward to seeing all of our parents tomorrow night.

Have a wonderful week!

Patty Sowle 

Back to School Night - September 1

Reminder!  September 1st is Back to School Night! 6:30 pm in your child's instructional area.  Teachers will discuss procedures, schedules, year-long theme, homework, and field trips for the year.

Spirit store will be open and we will have door prizes!

Meet and Greet with the Superintendent

Email from the Armstrongs

Hello Armstrong Parents!

  I hope everyone has had an awesome first week of school!!! I know we have! For those that are new to the Armstrong area, every Thursday we will send out an e-mail detailing the big events happening in the Armstrong area.   These are separate from the e-mails you might receive from your child’s individual math and reading teachers.  If you know of someone who isn’t getting the e-mails or if you ever have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me or Mrs. Smith (embryel@tulsaschools.org). 

  There is a lot of stuff coming up in the next couple of months that we wanted everyone to be aware of.  First is Back to School Night, which is Tuesday, September 1^st starting at 6:30 P.M.  This will be a time to come meet the Armstrong teachers, hear about our year-long theme, and to talk about homework, procedures, etc.  If you have more than one child who goes to Mayo and are concerned about missing the presentation for our area please feel free to e-mail an Armstrong teacher to make different arrangements.

  Secondly, there is a Literacy Night for the whole school coming up on Tuesday, September 15^th at 6:30 P.M..  All parents are encouraged to come with their students to learn about literacy activities you can do at home and to have some reading fun.  This event will take place in different areas throughout the school and should be an educationally wonderful evening.

  Next, the 4^th graders will have their first Any Given Child field trip on Friday, September 11^th at 10 A.M. at the PAC.  This trip is provided by the district and is free to the students.  We will need three, 4th grade parents to go with us, however, to have the correct adult-student ratio.  The first 3 parents to e-mail me back can come.  You will come to the school around 9:30 that day and can ride the bus to the performance.  We should be back by lunchtime so your child will not need a sack lunch.

  At Mayo, each instructional area takes an overnight field trip that goes along with our year-long theme and what we are studying this year.  Our year-long theme this year is exploration and our overnight will be February 18^th and 19^th.  We don’t quite have all the details lined up yet, but wanted everyone to be aware of the dates so you can have time to make arrangements.  This is our big field study for the year and although it isn’t a requirement, a majority of the parents come.  We really appreciate parental support on these trips and would love for everyone to come who can.  Your child is encouraged to come even if you cannot because there will be plenty of adults and this trip is a direct tie-in with our curriculum. As we get closer to this time I will be sending out more details. 

  Another field study we wanted everyone to be aware of is our field study to the Tulsa Air and Space Museum.  This field study will take place on Monday, October 26^th.  We aren’t sure of a time yet, but would love parents to come with us.  We also aren’t sure if parents will need to pay or not, but if they do, the maximum expense would be $8 and we would need everyone to drive themselves (or carpool).  Once again, as we get closer to this date I will send home more information.  Also, I have attached a form that the TASM needs to be filled out for every child.  Please fill out and send ASAP.  Thanks!

  5^th graders:  you have two important dates coming up.  On September 28^th the 5^th graders will be participating in their Human Growth and Development class and on September 29^th they will participate in their HIV class. Every student will need to bring back the paper we sent home signed in order to participate; those will be coming home this evening.  Please fill these out and send back as soon as possible. Also, Mrs. Moore, Mr. Guss, and Mrs. Smith will be getting together to decide when our first 5^th grade meeting will be.  Hopefully it will be happening sometime within the next two weeks.

All Armstrong parents:  the Spring 2015 OCCT reports will be shipped to the school the week of September 21^st.  Once we get those in we will send them home. 

  Finally, this weekend the Armstrong team will be sitting down to make math and reading groups.  We should be starting our normal math and reading rotations on Monday.  We will also be discussing permanent homebases and those should be decided by Labor Day.  Thanks for your patience!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

  

Corinne Moore

Lead Armstrong Teacher 4^th/5^th

Mayo Demonstration

Upcoming Dates:

September 1^st- Back to School Night at 6:30 P.M.

September 11^th- Any Given Child for 4^th grade

September 15^th- Literacy Night at 6:30 P.M.

September 28^th- Human Growth and Development for 5^th grade

September 29^th- HIV for 5^th grade

October 1^st- Any Given Child for 5^th grade

October 12-14^th- Student-Led Conferences

October 26^th- Field Study to Tulsa Air and Space Museum

Reminder About End of Day Time

Mayo Parents: 

Just a reminder that we no longer have Early Release Wednesday.  School ends at 2:50PM.

Tuesday, September 1 is Back to School night @ 6:30PM.

Friday September 4 is a Spirit Day.  Students must wear Mayo bottoms, but they may wear any Mayo spirit shirt.

September 4 is also the district's first Early Release Friday, which is typically the first Friday of each month.  School will release @ 1PM on that day,

Labor Day is Monday, September 7.  There is no school that day.

Free, reduced-price meal applications now available at TPS

PRESS RELEASE:    Friday, Aug. 21, 2015                                     

What:         Free, reduced-price meal applications now available at TPS

When:        Friday, Aug. 21, 2015

Where:      Tulsa Public Schools

Contact:     Kit Hines at 918-833-8670or hineski@tulsaschools.org

TULSA, Okla. – Applications for free and reduced price meals for the 2015-16 school year are now available online at:www.tulsaschools.org/meals_applications. Printed applications are also available at school sites and can be returned to the cafeteria manager at the site or mailed to the Child Nutrition office at 8934 E. Latimer St., Tulsa, OK 74115. 

Children need healthy meals to learn. TPS offers healthy meals every school day. Paid breakfast costs $1.10, and lunch costs $2.25 for elementary and $2.70 for secondary. Children may qualify for free meals or for reduced-price meals, bringing the price down to $0.30 for breakfast and $0.40 for lunch.

If a student received free or reduced-price meals last year, he or she will continue to receive benefits only for the first few weeks of the new school year. Without an approved application for free and reduced-price meals, the student would have to pay full price for meals after Oct. 2.

To ensure continued benefits, families are encouraged to complete the application before Oct. 1.

A child is eligible for free meals if his or her household receives assistance from:

·         The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or, as applicable, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR).

·         The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) if the state program meets the statutory requirements.

When known to TPS Child Nutrition these households will be notified of the child(ren)’s eligibility. No application is required for free meal benefits for these households. If any children are not listed on the eligibility notice, a parent or guardian should contact the Child Nutrition office or their school to have free meal benefits extended to those children.

Also when known, Child Nutrition will notify households of any child’s eligibility for free meals if that child is “Other Source Categorically Eligible” because the child is categorized as:

·         Homeless, migrant or runaway as defined by law.

·         Enrolled in an eligible Head Start or Even Start program.

·         For any child not listed on the eligibility notice, a parent or guardian should contact Child Nutrition or their school about any child also eligible under one of these programs, or should submit an income application for other children.

·         If households or children receive benefits under Assistance Programs or Other Source Categorically Eligible Programs and are not notified by TPS Child Nutrition of their free meal benefits, a parent or guardian should contact Child Nutrition.

·         Households notified of their children’s eligibility must contact Child Nutrition or their school if they choose to decline the free meal benefits.

FAQ: Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program

Below are some common questions and answers to aid in the process of determining your child’s eligibility.

1. Do I need to fill out an application for each child? No. Use the one Free and Reduced-Price School Meals Application for all students in your household. We cannot approve an application that is not complete, so be sure to fill out all required information.Return the completed application to your cafeteria manager.

2. Who can get free meals? All children in households receiving benefits from SNAP or FDPIR can get free meals, regardless of your income. Your children can also get free meals if your household’s gross income is within the free limits on the Federal Income-Eligibility Guidelines.

STOP! If you have received a NOTICE OF DIRECT CERTIFICATION for free meals, do not complete the application, but DO let the school know if any children in your household are not listed on the Notice of Direct Certification letter you received.

3. Can foster children get free meals?Yes, foster children who are under the legal responsibility of a foster care agency or court are eligible for free meals.

4. Can homeless, runaway, migrant and Head Start children get free meals? Yes, children who meet the definition of homeless, runaway, migrant or are enrolled in a federal Head Start program are eligible for free meals. If you believe children in your household meet these descriptions and have not been told your children will get free meals, please call the Homeless Liaison or Migrant Coordinator at 918-746-6477.

5. Who can get reduced-price meals?Your children can get reduced-price meals if your household income is within the reduced-price limits on the Federal Eligibility Income Chart shown below.

6. Should I fill out an application if I received a letter this school year saying my children are approved for free meals? No, but please read the letter you received carefully and follow the instructions. Call Tulsa Public Schools Child Nutrition at 918-833-8690or 918-833-8673 if you have questions.

7. My child’s application was approved last year. Do I need to fill out a new one? Yes. Your child’s application is only good for that school year and for the first few days of this school year. You must send a new application unless the school told you that your child is eligible for the new school year.

8. I get WIC. Can my children get free meals? Children in households participating in WIC MAY be eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Please send in an application.

9. Will the information I give be checked? Yes, and we may also ask you to send written proof.

10. If I do not qualify now, may I apply later? Yes, you may apply at any time during the school year. For example, children with a parent or guardian who becomes unemployed may become eligible for free or reduced-price meals if the household income drops below the income limit.

11. What if I disagree with the school’s decision about my application? You should talk to school officials. You also may ask for a hearing by calling 918-833-8673 or writing to:

Family Applications

8934 E. Latimer St.

Tulsa, OK 74115

12. May I apply if someone in my household is not a U.S. citizen? Yes. You or your children do not have to be U.S. citizens to qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

13. Who should I include as members of my household? You must include all people living in your household, related or not (such as grandparents, other relatives or friends) who share income and expenses. You must include yourself and all children living with you. If you live with other people who are economically independent (for example, people who you do not support, who do not share income with you or your children, and who pay a prorated share of expenses), do not include them.

14. What if my income is not always the same? List the amount that you normally receive. For example, if you normally make $1,000 each month, but you missed some work last month and only made $900, put down that you make $1,000 per month. If you normally get overtime, include it, but do not include it if you only work overtime sometimes. If you have lost a job or had your hours or wages reduced, use your current income.

15. We are in the military. Do we include our housing allowance as income? If you get an off-base housing allowance, it must be included as income. However, if your housing is part of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, do not include your housing allowance as income.

16. My spouse is deployed to a combat zone. Is his/her combat pay counted as income? No, if the combat pay is received in addition to his/her basic pay because of his/her deployment and it was not received before he/she was deployed, combat pay is not counted as income. Contact your school for more information.

17. My family needs more help. Are there other programs we might apply for? To find out how to apply for SNAP benefits or other assistance benefits, contact your local assistance office or call 405-521-2937.

If you have any other questions, or need help, call 918-833-8690, 918-833-8673or 918-833-8670.

Listed below is the eligibility scale for free and reduced meals.

Eligibility scale for free meals

130 percent of Poverty Level

Household Size	Income
	Annual	Monthly	Twice Per Month	Every Two Weeks	Weekly
1	15,301	1,276	638	589	295
2	20,709	1,726	863	797	399
3	25,117	2,177	1,089	1,005	503
4	31,525	2,628	1,314	1,213	607
5	36,933	3,078	1,539	1,421	711
6	42,341	3,529	1,765	1,629	815
7	47,749	3,980	1,990	1,837	919
8	53,157	4,430	2,215	2,045	1,023
For each additional family member, add:	5,408	451	226	208	104

Eligibility scale for reduced-price meals

185 percent of Poverty Level

Household Size	Income
	Annual	Monthly	Twice Per Month	Every Two Weeks	Weekly
1	21,775	1,815	908	838	496
2	29,471	2,456	1,228	1,134	567
3	37,167	3,098	1,549	1,430	715
4	44,863	3,739	1,870	1,726	863
5	52,559	4,380	2,190	2,022	1,011
6	60,255	5,022	2,511	2,318	1,159
7	67,951	5,663	2,832	2,614	1,307
8	75,647	6,304	3,152	2,910	1,455
For each additional family member, add:	7,696	642	321	296	148

If you have any questions, please contact Child Nutrition Family Applications at 918-833-8673.