1. Shaffer Times September 2009 Welcome to all of our wonderful families and students from Turtle Creek and Churchill. It’s going to be an exciting year at Shaffer Elementary so read on and check those back packs every day! Principal’s Perspective As we begin “anew”,keep in mind that change can be a wonderfully, positive event.As one of our building goals,we are working to increase our Parental Involvement.I want to remind you that if ever you have concerns about any aspect related to school matters,I am always willing to positively address those concerns.Call the Main Office, email me or send a note. We are all working towards the same goal:to ensure that every one of our children receives the highest quality education. Yours in Education Excellence, Principal Leonard Fall Fundraiser with Superb Fall fundraiser packets will be sent home next week. Orders are due on Wednesday, September 30 th. Students who sell five items between our two MAIN fundraisers earn the opportunity to go to our annual “Day in the Park.” We will only accept checks from Shaffer parents/guardians, not third parties. Visit whsd.net for up-to-date Shaffer and District news!

2. Who’s Who at Shaffer The K-Team at Shaffer of Mrs. Watts and Ms. Rooney Make plenty of time for learning & some time to be loony. Getting first graders to benchmark is an important role It won’t be a challenge for Mrs. Maus and Mrs. Cole. If anyone can make school and adventure and a party It’s the 2 nd grade duo of Mrs. Tomko and Mrs. Michalski. Our PSSA skills will truly be honed By the third grade leaders, Mrs. Zemba and Mrs. Catone. Who better to prepare our students for fifth Than the 4 th grade aces, Mrs. Smith and Mr. Meredith. When Junior High starts, our big kids will be ready and able Especially after a year with Mrs. Simon and Mrs. Gable. While academics will give our children the very best start It’s never complete without Library, Music, Gym and Art. When Reading and Math coaches help, They can put a smile on a face. And the support staff at Shaffer make it the very best Woodland Hills place! Let’s Do Lunch! Want to put a huge grin on your child’s face? Join them for lunch! Kindergarten has lunch from 12n-12:30pm. First and Second graders have lunch from 12:30pm- 1:00pm. Third and Fourth graders eat from 11:30am- 12Noon, and Fifth and Sixth graders dine from 11am- 11:30am. Bon appetit!

3. Shaffer Times page 3 Also in the news... Starting in October, your Shaffer Times will have features from our fifth and sixth grade students... Do you have news from Turtle Creek or Churchill? Care to share event information? Email it to tarareis@verizon.net for inclusion in future editions.tarareis@verizon.net Drop-Off/Pick-Up Procedures Parents and guardians, please use the large parking lot adjacent to the school to drop off and pick up your student(s). Mrs. Leonard appreciates your cooperation. First PTO Meeting Children are welcome at all PTO meetings so bring the whole family! Our first meeting will be on Tuesday, September 8 th at 7pm in the Library. Feel free to bring a snack to share. We will plan for PTO Elections in October and our School Nurse will present valuable information!

4. Notes from the Nurse This year’s Kindergarten students need to have had a physical, Dental exam and have their immunizations up-to-date. This year’s third graders need to have had a dental exam. If you have any questions about immunizations, please call Nurse Walter at 412.371.4535, then press 4. Teacher Tidbits Ms. Brodt and Mrs. White would like all fifth graders to bring in a plain, two-pocket folder and their classrooms are in need of hand sanitizer, Kleenex and ziploc bags as well. Mrs. Cole and Mrs. Maus are working together on reading multiple books by one author to their children. It is one of our State Standards. Mrs. Cole did a great job making the pigeon come alive in the series including Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems. Mrs. Maus is reading the Black Lagoon series including The Lunch Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mark Thaler. These books are humorous, so if you like to laugh, read these books! Did you know? Ms. White graduated from WHHS in 2001. She went on to receive her Bachelors from Carlow and her Masters from Duquesne University before teaching at Rankin Intermediate. You may see her around town as she lives in the District!

5. Coming in October... School Picture Day on Fri. October 9th September Events: PUT ON FRIDGE!! 5 th Rally in the Valley: WH Wolverines play in Wheeling at 3:30pm against Steubenville. Tickets are available at Athletic Office at High School. See Website for details. 8 th 7:00pm PTO Meeting in Library 9 th Fundraiser Kick-Off 11 th Patriot Day – Wear Red, White and Blue 7:30pm Wolverines at Connellsville 18 th 7:00pm Wolverines vs. Canon-McMillan 23 rd OPEN HOUSE 7pm-9pm 25 th NO SCHOOL for students 7:00pm Wolverines vs. Bethel Park 30 th Fall Fundraiser Orders Due

6. We at Shaffer Elementary are proud of our very successful PreventiveModel of reading instruction. Research has shown it is much easier to prevent reading difficulties than it is to remediate them. A basic component of the Preventive Model of Reading Instruction is universal screening. All students, kindergarten through sixth grade, over the course of the next two weeks, will be pulled from their class and administered a Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills(DIBELS) Assessment. The assessment is very brief, no longer than 15minutes, and individually administered. The results of this screening along with other data will be used to determine the course of your child’s reading instruction.The assessment is leveled and the tasks are age and developmentally appropriate. Kindergarten will be assessed on the ability to identify upper and lower case letters as well the ability to isolate and identify initial sounds. The first grade assessment measures letter identification, phoneme segmentation, and nonsense word fluency. Second through sixth grade will be assessed on their oral reading fluency. In approximately 6 weeks you will receive a DIBELS Report with your child’s results and a brief description of their correlated instruction. If you have questions concerning the DIBELS Assessment or the reading program at Shaffer Primary please contact Mr. Sharp at 412-371-4535 or sharma@whsd.net. DIBELS Time

7. Guidance Time Welcome back to all new and returning students and families. As the counselor, I look forward to meeting each student during the school year through classroom visits, group lunches, and through incentive programs and STAR, using monthly themes to promote positive thinking and acting responsibly. Each parent and family member can help promote these ideas by working with their child(ren) daily. I will be available to speak by phone at 412.371.4535 ext. 2230, or in person with a scheduled meeting. I look forward to conducting another food drive during the holiday season and promoting other community projects that arise, as well as planning Career Day once again in the spring and seeing our students grow from the beginning to the end of the school year. I also look forward to working with our families. Once again, welcome to Shaffer Elementary! Sincerely, Mrs. Jessica Cohen