From The Principal
Sundown Elementary will be mission driven in our journey and pursuit of “True North.” True North has five major components.
- Student Growth and Success – For the 2009-20010 Katy ISD will achieve an accountability rating not less than “Recognized.”
- Safe and Orderly Working and Learning Environment- Students, staff, and parents will regard KISD as a safe and quality environment in which to learn and work.
- Community Engagement – KISD is regarded as the responsive authority in the education of students by parents and other Katy community stakeholders.
- Effective and Efficient Operations – KISD effectively and efficiently advocates resources to facilitate quality student learning experiences and a desired working environment.
- Organizational Improvement – KISD utilizes strategic data points and shared agreements to make decisions regarding planning, evaluation and performance needs.
The Campus Advisory Team met on October 27th. This team met to review the Sundown student achievement data based on last year’s results and the Campus Performance Objectives for this school year. Discussion were held regarding this data and how each grade level team would work collaboratively in Professional Learning Communities to meet the academic needs of our students.
Our Campus Advisory Team Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8th at 6:30 PM in the school library. Topics to be reviewed will be student achievement, school climate and safety, and community engagement. These meetings are always open to the public.
Respectfully,
Steven B. Pustejovsky
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Core Essentials November 2009
Newsletter Insert: Cooperation
COOPERATION: Working together to do more than you can do alone
Activities children engage in while growing up can prepare them to effectively work with others. How can we help kids see the importance of cooperation and begin to build a solid base for working with others? Children need to know that:
Individuality and cooperation go hand in hand. As important as it is to help children understand their unique talents and personalities, it is just as important to help them see how their uniqueness can complement others to accomplish more. Children need to see that cooperating with others confirms their individual worth and acknowledges the benefits of working toward a shared purpose.
Cooperation turns individual discouragement into shared success. Realistically viewing a difficult situation or task can be very discouraging. The issue is not the analysis of the problem but the emotional response. Teaming up to tackle a task breaks what appears to be an overwhelming chore into achievable pieces. Children need to see that working cooperatively overcomes discouragement and multiplies the feeling of success.
Recognizing personal limits encourages cooperation. Learning to become a confident individual is important. But even the most self-assured cannot do everything. Perhaps a benefit of difficult situations is that our personal limits are defined for us. Though such discoveries are somewhat uncomfortable, these times help us see where cooperation makes seemingly impossible tasks possible.
Core Essentials believes that a key way to help your child internalize the character values being taught is to “catch” them demonstrating the value. Here are a few suggestions on how you can catch your child, and let him or her know you see them showing cooperation.
• Note when your child works well with others, during playtime or doing chores.
• Notice when your child works cooperatively with younger or older children.
• Catch your child working together with other kids or coaches to put things back in their place.
These are just a few ways you can catch your child showing cooperation. The Core Essentials Program believes it takes an INWARD attitude to influence OUTWARD behavior. The Program is based on aligning the home and school to teach character.
If you do catch your child cooperating, we would love to hear about it. Tell us what your child did in a note sent into the school, or an e-mail sent directly to his or her teacher.