Tiger Newsflash-9-17-17

Weekly Message	Good afternoon! I hope everyone is doing well! This past Friday, I had the opportunity to take my Mentor Group outside and have lunch on the picnic table in front of the school.  While we had fun over lunch, it was great to take time to get to know each of them better.  I have a great group of guys in this group! I am also seeing our other Mentor Groups enjoying their time together.  It is great to see our students smile and gain another important element in their lives.  I think there is great value in families sitting down together over meals and having conversations together.  Too often life gets in the way and this is not as much of a priority in our country anymore...  I hope our students are seeing the same value in this activity. Please enjoy your weekly update below. Tiger Up! Matt PS-Wear your Tiger Up Shirts Tomorrow!!
Masterpieces in The Making
New Updates	State Report Card Data for 2016-17: As state expectations increase each year, we always find ourselves looking at a moving target of state expectations for public school systems. According to the latest guidelines, we need to improve in 3rd Grade & 4th Grade English Language Arts, 5th Grade Math and Gifted. When you break down The State Report Card Data for 16-17 and compare it to 15-16 this is what you will find: 1)3rd Grade ELA-Improved 15% 2)4th Grade ELA-Decreased 9% 3)5th Grade Math-Decreased 2% 4)5th Grade Students taking a 6th Grade Math State Test-Scored 100% (Two Years in a row) 5) Performance Index (Students moving up Levels)-is a B (was a C) 6)Value Added(Are students getting a year of growth?)-A (Two Years In a Row) 7)Annual Measurable Objectives-B (was a F) 8)K-3 Literacy Component-B (was a F) 9) GAP Closing (Separation of High Achievers and Low Achievers)-B (Continuing to do well) 10) Progress-B (Continuing to do well). While we continue to polish our work for your children, the biggest strength that I see within this data is that we continue to academically grow children well. I credit the people I work with on a daily basis and your teamwork to make this a continued strength. While achieving a moving target at the state level is very important, it is more important to me that we academically grow your children to their fullest potential. I believe that we are doing a better job now then ever of focusing in on individual student needs with data to support those needs. It is a focus of ours to use flexible guidelines for each child, realizing that a child's needs may change as he/she progresses. Our teachers and I are often involved in Team Meetings discussing instructional strategies, student data, improving our work for students, and properly using our human resources to provide excellent service. Make no mistake, our goal is excellence! Team Schoolwide Picture-TOMORROW-9/18: Please remember that tomorrow is our big schoolwide picture day. This is the same picture that is at our front entrance on our "Vision of Excellence" Banner. Be sure that your child wears his/her Tiger Up Shirt. If you do not have a shirt for him/her yet, but you have ordered one, please know that we will be passing those out tomorrow. If there has not been a payment received yet for that shirt, we will be taking it back following the picture. Please make sure you have paid for it by tomorrow, if you haven't already. We will continue to wear these shirts throughout the school year on our Tiger Up Days. The next Tiger Up Day will be on September 27th. During this time, we will be focusing on Team Building and Teamwork. Our guest speaker will be The Official Coach of the Yellow Jackets, Coach Kerr and some of his MVHS Football Players. It will be fantastic!
Upcoming Events	9/18-Schoolwide Team Picture at 3pm (Grade level Pics start at 1:30pm) 9/18-BOE MTG (MVMS)-Columbia Elementary Presents at 6pm-Welcome to join! 9/19-Fun with Faith After School Program Begins 9/22-Kenyon After School Dance Club-3:30-4pm in the gym 9/22-MTV Arts (KDG-2)-Lion King-10-11am 9/25-No School-Teacher Inservice 9/27-Tiger Up Assembly-1:30-2:15-Coach Kerr & HS FB Players 9/27-Tiger Up Mentor Groups-2:30-3:30 9/29-Game Truck State Test Reward 10/2-10/6-Grade 4 CoGat Testing Window 10/3-COSI On Wheels 10/3-PTO Meeting-7pm-Library 10/6-Student of the Pizza Party with Matt during Lunch 10/23-No School-Inservice Day 10/27-Halloween Classroom Parties-2:45-3:30pm 10/30-Trick or Read-6-7pm
Previous & Important Updates	Columbia Elementary Cares: Hurricane Relief We are in the process of collecting school supplies for students in Texas who have lost so much due to Hurricane Harvey.  A truck with the collected supplies will be heading to Texas the last week of September.  Our collected supplies will be delivered directly to schools in the area of Orange, Texas.   Students can bring in donations from Monday, September 11th through Friday September 22nd.   Kindergarten-crayons 1st grade-pencils 2nd grade-markers/colored pencils 3rd grade-highlighters 4th grade-notebook paper 5th grade-spiral notebooks Other items that could be donated: new books, socks, shoe box size supply tubs, non-perishable snacks We appreciate your donations as we work to support a hurting community! COSI ON WHEELS-10/3/17 Please let your child's teacher know if you are interested in volunteering. We would love to see you! Kroger Cares Sign Up Today Be sure to sign up for our Columbia Elementary PTO Kroger Cares Program.  This is a way for our PTO to automatically raise funds for Columbia Elementary Students without costing you anymore money.  Be sure to reenroll each year in the program if you already have an existing account.  This Program will not COST YOU ANY MONEY:) CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP or RE-ENROLL Amazon Smiles-Sign Up Today The Amazon Smiles Program will cost you NO ADDITIONAL MONEY as you make your purchases on SMILE.AMAZON.COM.  However, it will help support our Columbia Elementary PTO in supporting the students at Columbia Elementary.