Week of April 15th-18th

pilot opportunity for new ela curriculum

If you are teaching grades 3rd, 4th or 5th and are interested in piloting the ELA curriculum that the district is looking at, I encourage you to attend a preview of the curriculum on Monday May 6th from 3-5pm. Currently there is only one program we are looking at and it is called Benchmark Workshop. If your grade level is interested in piloting, we will need to let Ryan Galles at the ESC know. It must be the entire grade level willing to pilot. 5th grade mentioned that they are interested in piloting. Please feel free to stop by Jose's office anytime to look at a mini sample kit that the publisher gave to Markham! 

4th and 5th grade opportunity for a free field trip to lynch canyon kite festival!

Vacaville Unified, in partnership with the Solano Land Trust, is offering an exciting science-driven outdoor adventure at the beautiful Lynch Canyon Preserve. Students, grades 4-5, are invited to learn more about aerodynamics, renewable energy and kite flying on Saturday, May 4th, at Lynch Canyon, an important nature buffer zone between the cities of Fairfield and Vallejo. It is located just north of Interstate 80 between American Canyon Road and Highway 12 (Jameson Canyon Road). This experience will introduce our students to the Solano Land Trust; a vital community partnership that includes other open spaces such as Rush Ranch, Jepson Prairie, King-Swette Ranch and Rockville Trails Preserve. This special event is the first of what we hope will be many engaging, science-focused field trips throughout Solano County. The Solano Land Trust’s goal is to provide outdoor environmental science experiences for all students, especially those who may not have access otherwise.

There is a limit of 200 students, grades 4-5, for both Markham and Padan schools; 100 students per site are guaranteed transportation to and from the event. Parents/guardians are encouraged to participate as are teachers and high school volunteers. Solano Land Trust docents will also be supporting our students’ outdoor adventure. This event is at no cost to students.

Vacaville Unified school buses will be chartered for roundtrip travel from the participating school sites. There will be limited space on the buses for adult chaperones and teachers. Parents may wish to carpool with other adult volunteers to the site.

If you are interested, please let Jose know ASAP so we can reserve some seats!

Staff Shout Outs-Timberwolf "howl"

Samantha Moore: Samantha, although new to being a permanent staff member, is not new to Markham, having sent all 3 of her sons through the grades. She has given so much to Markham. As a member of PTO, she helped organize the wonderful box top assemblies and many field trips. She has been a tireless worker at fundraising events and has roped in her whole family to make Markham a better place. As a teacher, she has helped almost every grade level at one time by being their sub. The teacher who got her knew that the class was in good hands. In her own classroom, she is flexible, competent and really can handle any curve ball, no matter how smelly, that is thrown at her. She is a fun addition to our staff.

Natalie Sylvester: Natalie is an outstanding teacher. In her quiet manner, she invites students into what she is teaching and they respond to her and are engaged in the topic she presents to them. She works hard to be prepared for her lessons and is dedicated to her students. It was a privilege to watch her teach. It is a great loss to Markham that she is leaving but a wonderful addition to wherever she ends up!

Markham howl to all who finished GLAD training in Rescue!: Hard work, dedication, and driving wayyyyyy out there!
 
Mrs. Parr: She has helped and shared ideas with me without hesitation

Mike Milligan: Mike, Thanks for being so accommodating!

Boss Man: MR.B is a rockstar who has come in to the Principal position and has started to implement some great plans for the future of Markham. I am excited for the future and to see what happens next.

Karen Rivera: Karen is a very dedicated teacher. She truly cares about our intervention students and works hard to get them to succeed. Karen works hard for each of her groups and communicates with teachers about the students that come to her. She works hard on Sunshine to provide successful events and helps to provide positivity to the staff. She makes it easy to work with her!

The hardworking student monitors: Monitoring our students at recess is not an easy job. Students can be disrespectful or defiant at times, not to mention there are so many! I am so appreciative of our student monitors who work as hard as they can to help our students be safe out at recess.
 
2nd grade team: working so well together! :)

Stephanie Jones: Stephanie is a great partner to work with on our school yearbook project. She has kept me organized with her google docs and I am enjoying having another person to make decisions and complete the project.

Aaron: Thank you for being a positive male role model for our students

Kathy: Thank you for taking the time to help us teachers in the copy room

Our custodian sub: She is so friendly and helpful. She helped the PBIS team get the cafeteria ready for Muffins with Mom on top of her other duties.

Important Dates... check out the yearlong calendar by clicking HERE

Mon. Apr. 15	Tues. Apr. 16	Weds. Apr. 17	Thurs. Apr. 18	Fri. Apr. 19
6th Grade at Science Camp 3rd Grade GLAD DAY	2nd Grade on Fieldtrip Mrs. Sylvester on Fieldtrip GOTR @ 2:40		Stuffed Animal & PJ Day Legget & Romo on Fieldtrip	No School! 1st Day of Spring Break
Mon. Apr. 29	Tues. Apr. 30	Weds. May 1	Thurs. May 2	Fri. May 3
Box Tops Assembly 8:45-9:45 (K, 3, 4) Box Tops Assembly 9:45 (1,6) Box Tops Assembly 10:45 (2, 5) 5th Grade Data Day	GLAD Coaching 2nd Grade Dia del Nino Celebration During Lunch		TK Fieldtrip	6th Grade Data Day

PBIS WORLD- Great Resources for Tier 1,2 & 3 Interventions Click here for more resources

Hello from the PTO!

Spiritwear Orders are due April 12th!  Please be sure to turn in any orders that have been brought in to your classroom.  

MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL:  The results of the Multicultural Festival Doodle Poll are in.  We've received and heard your comments.  As a result, the Multicultural Festival will be in a different format this year.  It will be in the form of an end-of-the-year community picnic/potluck, with some activities and entertainment,  but without fundraising pressure.  There will be cultural performers, including the Jepson Ballet Folklorico, Aztec dancers and others, and there may be some food vendors there for those who do not want to cook or bring food.  All of this is still forming, and we'll keep you informed.  Let's all just relax and celebrate a successful school year together!  The date has also changed, and will now be on MAY 31st.  

SCHOOL SUPPLIES: We still have LOTS of school supplies, so if you are starting to think about stocking up for next year, we have erasers, pencils, spiral notebooks, scissors, crayons, markers, pencil sharpeners and rulers.  We'd love to get these out of storage and into your hands so that you can stock your classrooms.  We have some glue sticks, but very few.

RECYCLING:  The PTO's Recycle for Reading Program has raised over $581.00!  This Friday is our last Friday school day in April.  Please encourage your students to bring in cans and plastic bottles for recycling -- no garbage, please!

DIA DEL NINO:   April 30th.  Kids will enjoy inflatable slides, an inflatable obstacle course, bounce house, otter pops, music, and other activities during their lunchtime recess.  We will be sending a flyer home about this event, and are hoping to get parents to volunteer.  The more volunteers we have, the more activities we can have available for the kids!

NEW WATER STATION:  The PTO has purchased a  new water dispenser, which will dispense hot and cold water, for your use.  It will be located in the copy room area near the coffee maker/refrigerator.  We hope this will provide some more convenience to you.

WE'RE MOVING!   Due to construction this summer, the PTO Con-Ex/Storage is being taken out of service.  Our Board Members have started the process of moving our property to an off-site storage area, not far from campus.  If you need items from PTO Storage, we appreciate your patience, as things may take a little longer to get to.  Our tables and items that we still need for end of the year activities will remain on campus until the end of the school year.

HELP FOR MARKHAM FAMILIES:  

We have a few members of our Markham Family who are struggling right now and could use our help.  A meal train has been set up for Sally Poe, who is battling cancer.  You can follow this link to sign up.  https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/y27wnk?fbclid=IwAR32KWXjnX0gIl_uTIGwJSq64RDBK95hAdJxjuHmgH30sahypXXAOJpjIZQ

Also, Ryley Hampton, who is in First Grade, is battling leukemia.  A Go Fund Me has been established for her family, to assist them as they spend time supporting her treatment.  You can follow this link to help: https://www.gofundme.com/ryley039s-warriors?fbclid=IwAR2Df2Ip-Uju_lZFUS6TgrxIhQ-EOJCWtoq6b5qLmUl7B7MgRwkQ3kAfAp8

Have a great week!

Kim & the PTO Team

MATH Interactive Tool!

Interactive Math Tool- Here is an online tool that might be useful. It lists vertically all the standards so you can scroll through and see how different concepts are articulated through the grade levels and exactly how standards build throughout the grade levels.

http://www.mathcoachinteractive.com/mci_common_core.php

MATH PROGRESSION VIDEOS

I encourage all elementary math teachers to check out Graham Fletcher’s website www.gfletchy.com It has great information including performance tasks and progression videos that show where the heart of understanding in certain math strands. From a vertical articulation standpoint it gives great information to educators on depth in certain grade levels.

The Progression of Multiplication (Progresssion Video)

The Progression of Fractions [Progression Video]

The Progression of Division [Progression Video]

The Progression of Addition and Subtraction [Progression Video]

The Progression of Early Number & Counting (Progression Video)

BETTER LESSON- Science, Math, ELA and more

Visit the website www.betterlesson.com and see the plethora of free lessons in several content areas and grade levels for science (and other subjects too!)