Easton Elementary School

Welcome to Easton Elementary School

Tiger Times

From the Principal...

Happy New Year!!! I can’t believe how fast the first part of the school year has gone. We
are now into January and the second quarter ends January 26th. Report Cards will be sent on
February 1st. Our goal is to make everyday count. It is very important for our students to be
here every day! Please try to have your students in the building before 9:00 am each day so
they have ample time to prepare for the school day. Additionally, please try not to pick up
your child early from school because we do teach until 3:40 each day! Thank you for helping
us get the most out of each day!

This is the perfect time of year to foster a reading environment in your home. Let your child
(ren) see you reading and encourage them to read as well. It is cold outside, the perfect time
to curl up with a good book and READ!

We hope your 2010 is off to a great start! We are here for you and your children.
Please feel free to contact me at any time with comments, concerns or questions.

Together Everyone Achieves More!

David P. Stofa, Principal

Fifth Grade Echo Hill Adventures

Easton Elementary Fifth Graders braved the cold the first week in December for their
annual adventure to the Echo Hill Outdoor School campus, located in Worton, MD.
Students spent 3 days and 2 nights living in rustic cabins, working as teams and exploring
Bay habitats. Students were housed in groups of 5—8, but were assigned to different
“tribes” during the trip so that they could get to know other people and develop
teamwork skills. At mealtimes, tribes took turns setting tables and cleaning up. Teachers
and students alike agreed that the food at Echo Hill was “awesome.”

During their stay, students kept busy with a variety of activities designed to increase
their knowledge and experience in a variety of curriculum areas: Science and Ecology,
History and the Human Environment and Individual and Group Development.
Some of these activities provided the opportunity to learn hands-on about the environment
around them. Some students engaged in Bay Studies, where they boarded
boats to explore the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay, while others took a
Swamp Ecology class and got their hands dirty in the Outdoor School’s
swamp. Other exciting classes included survival skills, exploring a dairy farm and
even taking a hike at night without flashlights!

As always, the trip to Echo Hill provides students with some of their most unforgettable
memories of their entire experience at Easton Elementary. We are grateful for
the support of parents, teacher chaperones and generous contributions from the PTO
that allow us to offer this trip.

Snow Day?

In the event of inclement weather, visit the TCPS website
(www.tcps.k12.md.us), listen to WCEI radio (96.7
FM), or call InfoStar at (410) 763-9300. Weather-related
decisions are made at 6:15 AM. For a 90 minute delay,
doors open at 10:20, classes start at 10:45. There is no
breakfast served on a delay morning.

Please do not call the school with questions about weather
or early dismissal. InfoStar will have accurate information
for you to make transportation decisions.

School Improvement Team

What is the School Improvement Team?

The School Improvement Team (SIT) is a group of teachers,
staff, administrators and parents that is responsible for setting
schoolwide goals each academic year, and ensuring that
everyone in the school works together to achieve these annual
goals.

There are currently six SIT “teams”: Reading, Math, Data,
Technology, Science and Parent Involvement. Each team is
responsible for developing an “Action Plan” that identifies
goals, steps that need to be taken to reach these goals, and
the individuals responsible. The Action Plans cover teaching
strategies, curriculum, classroom materials and a wide range
of other topics that affect students.

All of these Action Plans are combined to create one large
School Improvement Plan, which is updated annually and approved
by the Superintendent. In short, the School Improvement
Plan is a very important tool that all of us at Easton
Elementary rely on to ensure excellence in everything that
we do for our students and families.

Parent Involvement and School Improvement

Each Action Plan contains a section on Parent Involvement
that addresses what teachers and staff are doing to support
student achievement at home. In addition, there is a separate
Parent Involvement Plan that outlines these activities in even
greater detail. Parents also participate on each SIT team.
We Need You

Parents play a crucial role in the SIT process. We are currently
looking for interested parents to participate on each of
the SIT teams, and on our Parent Involvement Committee
(PIC). The PIC is a group of dedicated parents and staff who
are currently working to create programs and resources to
support all our EES families, including an orientation program
and a parent handbook. Meeting times are flexible and convenient.
This is a great way to get involved and have a real
impact at EES. All ideas are welcome! If you are interested
in learning more about parent participation in School Improvement,
contact Emily Moody in the Dobson Building.

Tips for Managing Your Child’s “Screen Time”
From GreatSchools.org

With computers, television, video games, cell phones and MP3
players, children are exposed to more media and technology
than ever before. Studies estimate that children between the
ages of 8 and 18 spend up to 45 hours per week on these activities.
Too much “screen time” and sedentary activity contributes
to a host of concerns, including childhood obesity.
The link between behavioral and emotional problems and exposure
to violent programming or games is less clear, but still
of concern. Finally, too much television exposure or time
spent on video games limits a child’s ability to develop their
own imaginative skills and creativity.

Here are a few tips for parents to help them manage the risk of
screen overload:

1. Know your kids and know your values.

Just because many of your child’s friendsare watching a particular
TV show or movie doesn’t mean you have to automatically
provide your consent. Make choices that fit your child and
your family’s own values.

2. Be Conscious of Age-Appropriateness

Movie and TV ratings are guidelines only. The decision
whether or not to let a child see certain programs rests
with the parents. Remember that what’s ok for a 5th
grader may not be ok for a younger child.

3. Set family rules and stick to them

Be consistent. If you say there’s no TV on school nights, or
only for an hour after school, be sure to enforce the limit regu-

larly, and start young. It’s much harder to impose limits with
older children who never had such restrictions in place.

4. Limit Screen Time

Most experts recommend 1 to 2 hours of screen time (TV,
DVD, computer) per day at most.

5. Set family viewing time

Pick a regular time each week to watch something together.
This gives you a great opportunity to talk with your child about
what they’re seeing, and to share some time doing something
that everyone enjoys.

Find these tips and more, including suggestions for how to select
engaging and appropriate media (TV, books, movies, games, music)
at GreatSchools.org

Character Pillar for January: Fairness
Play by the rules • Take turns and share •
Be open-minded; listen to others • Don’t
take advantage of others • Don’t blame
others carelessly