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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Everyone's Irish on March 17th!

Yesterday, our kindergarteners in room 104 cashed in some of their hard-earned Superbucks to celebrate a "We Are All Irish Day!" and wore the color green!  Ms. Cruice came into share a stories about her mother's life in Ireland and shared a story about fairies!

We hope you all had a wonderful "We Are All Irish Day"!


Sunday, March 16, 2014

Coming This Week: March 17th

SWEBS FOCUS:  Rule #1 I will follow school procedures at all times

This will be the last week for Music Trivia!! Make sure you listen to the announcements each morning to hear the question of the day.... AUDIO Questions are coming!

 

Friday, March 21st 

  • 9:00am- Student Council and Safety Installation
    • The Honorable Pamela DeLissio, State Representative for the 194th district will be the keynote speaker. All classes should be seated in the auditorium by 9:00am. 
  • Fun Friday: 30 Tickets to attend and an additional 10 to dress down. 

Mark your calendar

  • Tuesday, March 25th:
    • PSSA testing begins for grades 3-8.  Make sure you are reviewing our BUZY BEE tips so your child can ROCK the test!

 

 

 

   PSSA PREP TIP:  


After Reading Strategies

·       First of all... DON’T TRUST YOUR MEMORY. GO BACK TO THE TEX.
o   It’s not cheating; you have the time, and why else did you highlight?
·        Pretend It’s Not Multiple Choice
o   Cover the answers and read the question to see if you can answer it on your own.
o   Now, read ALL of the answer choices.
o   See if any of the choices match your prediction.
o   If your prediction isn’t one of the choices, reread the question; you may have misread.
o   Double check your answer by going back to the text for evidence.
·       Where’s the Answer?
o   Sometimes it’s just a matter of knowing where to look.
o   In the text: Some questions are “right there” on the page.
o   To find these literal questions, simply go back to the text. If you’ve highlighted text that matches the questions, the answer might be staring right at you.
o   Go to the section that relates to that question to make a supportable inference.
o   Main ideas of a passage are usually found in the first paragraph of informational texts.
o   Look there and in the title for stated or implied main ideas. To find the theme, reread the end of the passage, and ask yourself, “What lesson was taught?”
·       Eliminate Distracters Increase Your Odds
o   If more than one choice seems true, then one of them doesn’t answer that specific question. Reread the stem to see which to eliminate.
o   If two answers are opposites, one is often the correct answer. Fact Check.  Read each answer, and check it in the passage. Cross out those that are obviously wrong – if any.
o   Some answers are partially true. If any part of the answer is false, eliminate it.
o   For vocabulary, substitute each answer choice for the word in the passage to narrow your options.
o   Rephrase the question: “In other words, what I’m looking for is...” Go back to the section that relates to the question. 
·       I’ve Tried All That And Still Don’t Have A Clue
o   If you cannot figure out the answer by using the text and strategies within a few minutes, go with your first impression. Don’t leave it blank.
o   You run the risk of incorrectly numbering the rest of the test.
o   Circle the questions you’re unsure of, even though you’ve answered them. Go back when you’re done with the section and take a fresh look.  Sometimes, later questions help to answer earlier ones.
o   Research shows that first instincts are often correct, but we tend to second guess ourselves.

Principal's Post, March 2014



March 14, 2014

Dear Dobson families and friends,

We have been busy bees here at the Dobson School. Check out what has been happening lately…
The PSSA Prep season is in full swing and we have not let a few snowflakes get in our way! Despite the snow days in January and February, all classes have their eyes in the prize: Proficient and beyond on the 2014 PSSA. 

During the PSSA prep season, the Buzy Bee has been traveling around classrooms, catching all the action; the PPAA  (Principal’s Perfect Attendance Association) is happening right now (through to the end of the testing period- April 4th), helping students get the most out of the prep season by highlighting perfect daily attendance and perfect punctuality.  

We celebrated our annual Dr. Seuss day on Wednesday March 5th, sponsored, once again, by our friends at Expert Technology Associates of Plymouth Meeting. Featuring birthday cakes from Roma Bakery for every classroom and a donated book for every class library, the day was a huge success, with guest readers visiting all classrooms. E.T.A. has been a part of Read Across America at Dobson School for the past 6 years. We are very grateful. On that day, we were also honored with the presence of Representative Pam DeLissio, representative of the 194th district in Harrisburg, and a great friend of Philadelphia’s public schools. Now, the students of room 101 are Rep. DeLissio’s great friends!

On March 11th, a contingent from the Dobson School was invited to the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Quarterly Meeting at The Bellevue. The Chancellor of the Bar Association has chosen to use his tenure as leader of the most prestigious organization to call attention to the importance of supporting the public schools of our city. To that end, Chancellor Fedullo, along with keynote speaker Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Hite, announced a program for law firms to sponsor a Philadelphia public school. Mr. Fedullo’s firm is sponsoring Dobson! Attending the luncheon, along with the principal, was the Home and School President Lauren Tom, Student Council President, 8th grader Sydni Edwards, Student Safety Patrol Captain, 8th grader Seth Williams, fourth grader Maurice Arnold and second grader Jayden Tom. One highlight of the day occurred during the pre-meeting reception to which we were invited, where our students mingled with judges, lawyers and elected officials. District Attorney Seth Williams had an opportunity to meet Dobson’s Seth Williams. As they are both in law enforcement, they had much to talk about!

TOO MUCH TO FIT INTO ONE MONTH! This was the tagline for this year’s African American History Assembly, held on March 12th. The Dance Team and Choir dazzled the audience of students, teachers and parents, while students from the classrooms shared their learning about the rich contributions of African Americans to the fabric of American history.

On Friday, March 14th, we celebrated our annual ‘Doors of Dobson’ door-decorating contest. This PSSA stress buster has become a tradition within the walls of our school and caps off our prep season. There’s quite a healthy competition among classes, making for a tough decision among our honored judges: Chancellor Fedullo, Karen Buck, Esq., Debbie Smith, V.P. E.T.A., and Kim Wood, Project Manager of Destination Schuylkill River. Dr. Karen Kolsky, Assistant Superintendent of L.N. #6 was able to join us as well and walked the building, appreciating the presentations. The 2014 winners are: tied for 3rd place- Room 313 (Showers of PSSA tips) and Room 308/Grade 8 (Lego World). Second Place- Room 206/Grade 3 (the Pirates!) and the winners are …Room 309/Grade 8- We've Got the Magic! All the Doors of Dobson are impressive and we welcomed opportunity to showcase the creativity of our students; our visitors were duly amazed!  Click here to see all of the amazing doors!

Our next school-wide event is scheduled for Friday, March 21st, at 9:00a when our favorite legislator, Rep. Pam DeLissio will serve as the keynote speaker at the installation of the Student Council and Safety Patrol.  

Dobson School- where the action is… Come swim with best school of fish in this big sea of learning- the Dobson Dolphins will lead the way! I couldn’t be more proud to serve as Principal.

Sincerely,

Ms. Cruice
#proudprincipal

 Philadelphia Bar Association's Quarterly Meeting at The Bellevue

So proud of Dobson's Seth Williams, captain of Dobson's Safety Patrol, here with D.A. Seth Williams @ the Phila. Bar Ass'n Quarterly Mtg @ the Bellevue last week!

D.A. Seth Williams with 8th grader and Student Council President Sydni Williams @ the Bellevue #proudprincipal

On our way to the Bellevue Hotel!

On our way to the Bellevue Hotel!

On our way to the Bellevue Hotel!

Dobson Representatives with Chancellor Fedullo

 Dr. Seuss Day









 

100 Days Smarter... 100 Days Brighter!



Who knew that 100 days could go so fast? Despite the snow and very cold weather this winter, we have managed to grow 100 days older, 100 days smarter and 100 days brighter at Dobson School.  To celebrate this major accomplishment, many classes at Dobson stopped to celebrate the number 100!

In our Kindergarten classrooms, Ms. D. and Ms. Roman celebrated the number 100 by making necklaces with 100 fruit loops, and found 100 hidden Hershey kisses.  Room 104 was transformed into 23 miniature Superheroes on the 100th Day of School.  With the help of their families, Kindergarteners decorated a cape with 100 items of their choice.  We had a "Superhero Showoff"  where each student explained why they chose these items.  We are 100 days brighter!

In the older grades, students wrote about how they would spend 100 dollars, brought in 100 of their favorite items, wrote down 100 different vocabulary words and built structures out of 100 cups!

We had so much fun celebrating the number 100 and all of the wonderful achievements and learning that has happened at Dobson over the last 100 days of school!

Check out the fun activities below!

104 Superheroes

104 Superheroes

Preparing our 100 Fruit loops for our necklaces!
Preparing our 100 Fruit loops for our necklaces!


Hershey Kisses hidden all around the room! Can we find all 100?

Hershey Kisses hidden all around the room! Can we find all 100?
Hershey Kisses hidden all around the room! Can we find all 100?


Hershey Kisses hidden all around the room! Found them all... we're ready for a sweet treat!



Let's solve 100 math problems, 3rd Grade!
100 Different Vocabulary words!

 


100 days of school with 100 favorite things!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Read Across America: Dr. Seuss Day with State Rep. Pamela DeLissio


DeLissio celebrates Read Across America Day at Dobson Elementary

PHILADELPHIA, March 7 – State Rep. Pamela A. DeLissio honored Read Across America week and Dr. Seuss' birthday by reading “Horton Hears a Who!” to three classes Wednesday at James Dobson Elementary School in Philadelphia.

The National Education Association Read Across America initiative is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on or around March 2, the birth date of children’s author Dr. Seuss.

Studies show that children learn an average of 4,000 to 12,000 new words each year as a result of book reading, and children in classrooms without literature collections read 50 percent less than children in classrooms with such collections.

"There’s not enough that can be said about reading – reading out loud to others or reading on your own," said DeLissio, D-Montgomery/Phila. "If it wasn’t for the lifelong love of reading cultivated early in my life, I would not be in the position I am in now to pay it forward. We should seek as many opportunities as possible to share a book and a love for reading."

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Schools Closed: March 3, 2014


SDP Schools Closed on Monday, March 3, 2014


Due to the severe weather forecast, all School District of Philadelphia schools will be closed on Monday, March 3. Also closed are all early childhood and after school programs. Administrative offices will open two hours late.

The general public and media are urged to monitor the District’s website (www.philasd.org), Facebook and Twitter (@Phillyeducation) pages for updates.

Updated information will also be posted on the District's Information Hotline at 215-400-INFO (4636).