Brecknock Bulletin

april 2012

brecknock elem. school * ELANCO * 361 school rd., denver, pa 17517 * 717-445-8600 @brecknockelem on Twitter * http://blog.elanco.org/br

Parents as Partners
Our rst Principals Advisory Council was held this week. Thank you to the parents who were able to attend. Mark your calendars for the next meeting, which will be held after school from 4:00-5:00 PM on Wednesday, May 2, in the conference room across from the library. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP with Mrs. Trofe or by emailing Mrs. Hilt at lynmarie_hilt@elanco.org. In our rst gathering, we read through a policy for parent involvement that was shared at a Title 1 parent council meeting, and discussed applying the principles within to a parent involvement mission statement for our school. We will continue to work on this. We also completed a SWOT analysis together, to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that could contribute to, or inhibit, student success. A variety of ideas and concerns were shared by those in attendance, which Id like to summarize for you: Strengths: dedicated staff, location, technology/educational resources available, cultural diversity, follow-through from adults, all children treated equally, the care for and inclusion of special needs students, the environment is wellmaintained Weaknesses: inconsistent communication, lack of knowledge regarding the increasing diversity of the student body, discipline procedures not published, the need for a new parent/family orientation, variances in teacher approaches to classroom management, lack of male presence in our teaching staff Opportunities: inclusion of more parent volunteers to support supervision of lunch and recess, more parent partnerships, technology, increased diversity mirrors that of the world surrounding us, service projects, clubs/activity offerings

Threats: nances/state funding/budget cuts, increasing drug and alcohol use in children/families and concerns in the local area, complacency This feedback was very helpful, as it will help shape our work moving forward. Please know each year our school creates goals for improvement based upon the goals of the district, using student achievement data to guide our goalsetting process. Each team of teachers strives to support student learning each and every day. We also have a goal related to school climate, and we will work to improve upon communication methods and a system of behavioral expectations that supports the whole child. Please know there are a variety of resources available to parents on our school blog, which is updated on a frequent basis. You may request paper copies of these resources at any time. Our handbook and school climate information is shared here. Please visit http://blog.elanco.org/br and use the menu at the top of the page to browse different categories. You can subscribe to this blog so that you can be alerted every time it is updated. Teachers and students often share news through their blogs and websites, which can be accessed from our main blog. Also, it is important that we work as a school to develop strong, two-way communication. Parents are encouraged to contact teachers, counselors, staff, and the principal any time the need arises. Please do not hesitate to be proactive in your communication, and we will work to do the same. Teachers and staff can be reached via our main ofce phone 445-8600 or by email rstname_lastname@elanco.org. Being an involved parent does not mean you have to come into school to volunteer every single day of the week, because as we all know, work and other commitments do not always make volunteering possible. Please know that your voice is appreciated, no matter how often you are able to physically visit our school. We appreciate your continued support of our students and staff, and look forward to developing an even stronger partnership moving forward!