Sibley's 2011 Mural us UP!

This year’s theme for the Sibley Mural was “Reading”.  Last spring each 4^th grader made a design centered around a specific theme or idea.  This year's design winner was Morgan Bjorklund.  This fall 5^th graders painted the new reading mural which is now hanging on the outside of the school.  This is a tradition we have had at Sibley for many years and we hope to continue it.  Every year then, new art is hung based upon a building them or community initiative.  We think it is pretty cool.

Gifted and Talented development

In an earlier post, I made mention of our developing our Gifted and Talented program in grades 3-5.  With the exception of Junior Great Books, we have several after school day options for students that we are looking to develop further.  All of them are in need of interested volunteers to keep these young minds challenged and excited.  If you have an interested in any of those listed below, please contact me.  Each program carries a weekly commitment with most starting in January and continuing through April.

• Destination Imagination - An outside of the school day activity in which students in K-12 work in teams to solve mind-bending challenges and present their solutions in a Tournament format.  Challenges are designed to be solved in 8-16 weeks prior to the tournament held in Rochester during the months of either March or April.
• Science Olympiad - Devoted to improving the quality of science education, increasing student interest in science, and providing recognition for outstanding achievement.
• Chess Club - Designed to teach children to be analytical thinkers, motivated learners, and critical problem solvers. 
• Junior Great Books- Designed to build young minds, improve critical thinking and student achievement with outstanding literature and shared inquiry to help our students become independent thinkers and readers. (This is a school day program.)

Be Safe On Halloween

Trick or treating is an exciting event of the year for many children. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) offers the following tips to keep kids healthy and safe this Halloween: 

• Plan costumes that are bright and reflective. Make sure that shoes fit well and that costumes are short enough to prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with flame.
• Consider adding reflective tape or striping to costumes and trick-or-treat bags for greater visibility.
• Because masks can limit or block eyesight, consider nontoxic makeup and decorative hats as safer alternatives. Hats should fit properly to prevent them from sliding over eyes.
• When shopping for costumes, wigs and accessories, look for and purchase those with a label clearly indicating they are flame resistant.
• If a sword, cane or stick is a part of your child’s costume, make sure it is not sharp or too long. A child may be easily hurt by these accessories if he stumbles or trips.
• If no sidewalk is available, walk at the far edge of the roadway facing traffic.
• Only cross the street as a group in established crosswalks. Never cross between parked cars or from driveways.
• Don’t assume the right of way. Motorists may have trouble seeing trick-or-treaters. Just because one car stops, doesn’t mean others will!
• A good meal prior to parties and trick-or-treating will discourage youngsters from filling up on Halloween treats.
• Consider purchasing nonfood treats such as coloring books, pens or pencils for those who visit your home.
• Wait until children are home to sort and check treats. Though tampering is rare, a responsible adult should closely examine all treats and throw away any spoiled, unwrapped or suspicious items.

Genesis ParentVue App available!

Genesis ParentVUE App

The new Genesis student information system has an available “app” for parents to view their students’ school information. This app is only available for iPhone, iPad and iPod users. You can review class schedule, attendance, contact information and grades.
Directions:
1.Go to the iTunes App Store and search for “Genesis ParentVUE”.
2.Install the App, when it asks for the ‘District URL’, type in - https://rt3.region1.k12.mn.us/rt0241/
3.Click on ‘Test’ to make sure it makes a connection to our server.
4.Type in your Genesis username and password and click “Login”

Fall Fundraiser Pick-Up

Our fundraiser pick-up will be in the cafeteria on October 24, 2011 from 3-6pm.  Also know that our PTO is looking to plan a fundraiser for next year that will guarantee that 100% of proceeds go directly back to our kids and better promote healthy lifestyle choices.  Like several schools, we are looking for ideas that will get our kids active like walk and fun runs.  Join us in this planning in future meetings.  Your input is valued and together, a difference can be made.

Fall Conferences are Coming!

Thursday Night - November 3rd (3:30-7:30)
Friday Day - November 4th (7:30-3:30)
Thursday Night - November 10th (3:30-7:30)

With seven weeks of the school year already completed, we invite you to see what your student has learned and accomplished at Sibley. Conferences with your student’s teacher are an important piece to a successful education. We know the success your student will experience this school year will be the result of collaboration between you and us. Any and every effort you can make outside the school day to support your student’s learning and growth is valued. During conferences, teachers will provide families with suggestions of ways to support learning at home.

Please let us know if this scheduled time works for you. If you need to reschedule the time to allow for your attendance, we will make every effort possible to accommodate your needs. I would like to see 100% attendance by parents/guardians at fall conferences. We have set goals for increased student achievement for our students at Sibley. We cannot reach this goal without the support of families.

Parent Survey

Last week, you should have received a parent survey that was put together by some of our teachers with the help of our parent liaison, Connie Kabrud. This year, Connie is serving parents in a position we have not had for a long time. Our goal is to assure that we are doing everything we can to make sure your child is successful in school academically and behaviorally. The survey marks the beginning of that work. By making sure that what we think we are hearing is needed on behalf of parents, we will then priortize our work to better serve your needs.  Communication is at the very heart of this survey as there are a number of things that often times need a lot of careful clarifying for everyone involved to be ablet o understand fully.  When a team is not on the "same page", great things are a challenge to have happen.  Help communicate with us to get our team (staff and parents) on the same page. 

Tiger Mascot Captures Principal

On Homecoming Friday, while Mr. Williams was talking about good sportsmanship and the kind of school spirit he wanted to see at the football game, our mascot snuck in the back door and kidnapped him.  He was seen at the football game unharmed.