Principal’s Perspective BY JAN HAYES-RENNELS, PRINCIPAL In This Issue Principal’s Perspective pg. 1 Counselors’ Corner pg. 2 Student of the Month pg. 3 PE Silent Auction pg. 4 Library Lines pg. 5 Music Notes pg. 6 Civil War Day pg. 7 Talent Show pg. 7 Parent Resources pg. 7 PAC News pg. 8 The Placerita Prospector is a periodic publication of the Placerita Junior High School PAC. Principal: Ms. Jan Hayes-Rennels [email protected]PAC President: Mrs. Angie Hall [email protected]Prospector Editor: Ms. Jennifer Jenkins [email protected]The Placerita Prospector is available on the school website at www.hartdistrict.org/placerita Follow Placerita Junior High School on Twitter at www.twitter.com/placeritajhs Placerita Junior High School 25015 N. Newhall Avenue, Santa Clarita, CA 91321 (661) 259-1551 Elementary School Edition March 2016 Dear Incoming Placerita Families, Welcome to Placerita! We’re off and running, well into our Spring semester and last half of this school year. I hope you and your families are having a great school year as well. In this Elementary school edition of our Prospector parent newsletter, I hope to give you a good idea of how many outstanding programs and activities we have here at Placerita on top of our stellar academic classes. Our staff works very hard every day to provide the best possible education for all our students, as well as many different co- curricular programs, opportunities, and experiences for kids of all talent levels and interests. We always hope there is something for everybody! Here are some important dates for our current 6th graders who will be coming to Placerita for 7th grade next year: Tuesday, March 22nd 6th Grade Orientation 9:00 a.m. for all 6th grade classes 7:00 p.m. for all 6th grade parents Held at Hart High School Auditorium (Spanish-speaking presentation in Tanner Hall at Placerita.) Thursday, April 21st Open House 6:00 p.m. Hot Dog BBQ (please RSVP) 6:30 p.m. Self-Tours of all classrooms 7:00 p.m. Junior High Open House Thursday, August 4th Registration for 7th Grade 8:00 am. to 12:00 noon Watch for details in the mail in July Thursday, August 11th First Day of School and Make-up Registration To give you an idea of how busy we have been already this year, some highlight activities include: the dodge ball intramurals; band, choir, string orchestra, drama, and dance performances; ASB dances; movie night; Lego Robotics competitions; Safe School Ambassador training; DFYIT activities; student / parent panels; turkey bowl flag football game for boys; winter bowl flag football game for girls; Musical Theatre field trip performance at COC; “kindness week”; anti-bullying classroom presentations; geography and spelling bees; math competitions; art and writing contests; STN Kidflix video convention, and track and field competitions at COC! Most recently and coming up is more college planning; Civil War day; lunchtime activities; band, orchestra, choir, show choir, and dance perfor- mances; Open House; Science Fair; guest speakers; 8th grade activities; Honor Society induction, yearbook distribution, 8th grade Bash, Magic Mountain day, and more! Tuesday, May 3rd Spring Band Concert - FREE 7:00 p.m. Hart High School Auditorium Tuesday, May 10th Choir & Orchestra Performance - FREE 7:00 p.m. Hart High School Auditorium If your student plays an instrument, sings, or wants to learn, I encourage you to come see our Spring performances in Hart High School’s Auditorium on the dates listed above. These concerts are FREE, and we would love to have you join us to hear our very talented musicians perform! (Continued on page 4)
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Principal’s Perspective BY JAN HAYES-RENNELS, PRINCIPAL In This Issue
With the end of STAR testing in California, and the transition to
Common Core curriculum and new state exams (called the California Assessment of Student Progress and
Performance—CAASPP), our students will again take online assessments in the month of May during a one-
week testing period. Schools and families will still receive STAR reports in 8th Grade Science, and the
CAASPP results this summer. As we continue through the school year, our teachers are giving our students
more computer experience in class through research projects, writing assignments, and even some “flipped”
mathematical instruction. In this era of increased technology needs, we aim to prepare our students as best we
can for the digital literacy demands of the future.
As your student prepares for Junior High, I hope your family will consider joining our PAC (Parent Advisory
Council) next year which meets monthly for current school updates, student performances, and presentations
by community members on varies contemporary topics. PAC meetings include desserts and drinks on
Tuesdays from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. in Tanner Hall on our campus. The PAC also hosts evening
presentations and would love your input on what YOU want to hear, see, or learn more about. Please get
involved as much as you can or are able, and help us assist all our students and families with any educational
and community needs so we grow stronger together. We will hand out a “Parent Volunteer Opportunities” flyer
at the 6th grade orientation meeting, and in the summer registration mailer in July so you, too, can get
involved.
Principal’s Perspective (Continued from page 1)
PAGE 5
By Mrs. Ludlow
When our children are young, it is easy to grab them
up onto our laps and read aloud to them. Many of us
establish nightly bedtime routines that involve
cuddling and reading short stories in a soothing voice
or, better yet, using a variety of silly voices for
different characters. Reading to our young children
not only offers moments of quality time, it teaches
fundamental pre-reading skills. Reading aloud to
children is vitally important in the process of them
becoming readers. Perhaps author Emilie Buchwald
explained it best when she said, “Children are made
readers on the laps of their parents.”
But what happens when our children grow and no
longer fit in our laps? What happens when our
children are in junior high school and no longer want
to cuddle on a regular basis? What happens if our
children declare that reading is a chore and that they
no longer want to read? How do we continue to
encourage them to be readers at this stage? There are
actually many things that we can do, even at this
point, to motivate our children to read. Below are
some suggestions:
Fill your home with books, magazines, and
all forms of print. Children who become life-
long readers typically come from homes where
reading materials are available, easily
accessible, and in abundance.
Read yourself. If your child sees that you choose
to read and that you enjoy reading, he/she will
be more likely to develop the same habit.
Talk about your favorite books. Tell
your child what books you enjoyed reading
at his age and tell him what you enjoy
reading now. Hearing your enthusiasm
will serve to motivate your child to read.
Talk about your child’s favorite books. Ask
your child what books he has enjoyed recently.
Ask about the characters, their struggles, and
how they were resolved.
Turn off the television, the computer, the
electronic gadgets. Provide quiet time in
your home and force your child to “find
something else to do.” Reading fills quiet
moments well.
Encourage older children to read to their
younger siblings. Your child may enjoy
showing off his reading skills, serving as your
helper, or spending time with his brother or
sister.
Play audiotapes of books in the car. Have
your child listen to a story with you, while he
is a captive audience. Select a title that you
believe he will find interesting.
Play games that are reading-related. Check
your closets for games that have letter tiles or
cards that give specific instructions. Institute
a family game night in your home and have
some fun.
Take your child to the public library. Get
your child his own library card and take
monthly trips to the library. Enter with the
expectation that books will be checked out and
read.
Give books as gifts. Paperback books are
relatively inexpensive and can be great gifts.
If you are unsure what to pick out for your
child, consider a gift card to a local bookstore
or online vendor.
Establish a book allowance. If your child earns
an allowance, add to it an allowance for books.
Allow your child to earn money that can only
be spent on books.
Create a place in your child’s room for his
books. Give your child a bookcase, if possible,
to encourage a sense of ownership over his
books. Have your child write his name in the
books or create bookplates for him.
Offer your child special incentives. Allow
your child to stay up later to finish a chapter;
relieve your child of a regular chore to free up
time for reading; take your child to see a movie
after he has finished the book on which it was
based.
Read to your child. Do not be afraid to read
aloud to your older child. You may not be able
to cuddle your child up onto your lap any
more, but rest assured that many junior high
school students still enjoy being read to…even
if they do not admit it.
The Placerita Library
will be hosting a Book
Fair the week of April 18-
April 22. The Book Fair
will be open before school,
during lunches, and after
school.
Notes from Ms. Spula
PAGE 6
It gives me great pleasure to congratulate our 2015 Winter Concert performers …Brilliant!
Bravissimo! A very special thanks to all my students for making this concert season one of my very best
and most memorable. I also want to thank all the parents who dedicated their time and efforts to the suc-
cess of this very fine musical event.
Currently, we just finished preparing for the 2016 Wm. S. Hart District Honor Band perfor-
mance. All of our musicians in the Advanced Band auditioned for this prestigious musical organization.
This year’s Annual District Honor Band Concert was held at the Wm. S. Hart Auditorium on Saturday,
March 5, 2016. We proudly announce that our Placerita Advanced Band consistently earns the MOST
positions in the Junior High School Honor Band. An amazing number of students are selected annually!
Our musicians practiced long and hard to achieve this goal, and we enjoy their beautiful performances
every year at Hart High School.
Come Join US! The Orchestra, choir, and band students all take turns
providing entertainment for the monthly PAC luncheons here at Placerita.
The String Orchestra participated in the SCSBOA Music Festival held at
Little Rock High School on Thursday, March 3, 2016 earning unanimous Su-
perior scores from all judges! The Advanced Band also participated in the
SCSBOA Music Festival at West Ranch High School on Tuesday, March 22.
Great job to both groups!
Many students and music educators who have attended these festivals have been highly complimentary to
our FABULOUS Band and Orchestra. Both events are open to the public. Last year, the Orches-
tra and Band had a rewarding and victorious experience at the SCSBOA Festival. The Orchestra and
Advanced Band both received top ratings of Superior.
The award-winning Advanced Band also participated in the 10th
Annual “A Rich Musical Heritage Concert” on March 17, 2016. This con-
cert is always a wonderful collaboration of musical talent from both the
Junior and Senior High schools. Hart Concert Band opened the evening fol-
lowed by Placerita Advanced Band. The evening concluded with the excep-
tional Hart Wind Ensemble. We always look forward to the celebration of
music excellence displayed by our outstanding musicians. This performance is
also open to the public.
Placerita’s Jazz Ensemble gears up during the month of February. Students are selected to join this fun
musical group based on their honor band scores. It’s great fun with the addition of musicians playing pi-
ano, guitar, bass and drums. Different styles of Jazz are introduced to the musicians: swing, mambo, bossa
nova, and just good old rock and roll. The Jazz Ensemble is scheduled for their first performance in a re-
hearsal setting at Placerita’s Open House on Thursday, April 21, 2016. Jazz Bands of this kind are
usually seen more on the high school level, but our talented jazz musicians will be sure to give you a very
impressive performance at our All-Band Spring Concert, which will be held on Tuesday, May 3, 2016
at the Wm. S. Hart Auditorium. We hope to see you there!
Be sure to encourage your student to “KEEP ON PRACTICING!!!!!”
Musically Yours,
Ms. Spula
PAGE 7
Talent Show!!! Our ASB students will be sponsoring this year’s Student Talent Show
on Tuesday, March 29th at 6:30 p.m. Students are busy writing this
year’s theme, choosing the emcees, practicing all acts, and preparing
the line-up! It’s always an exciting, enthusiastic, energetic event. This
year will prove to be equally entertaining as always, with a surprise or two in the end.
We will see you all in Tanner Hall the night of the show!
Junior High Resources Online
Many parents have questions and concerns about Junior High School (or Middle School
as it is often called in other districts). Here are some great online resources you can
read to ease the transition and help you feel better knowing other parents everywhere
around the country have the same fears, concerns, and questions:
Although it primarily has a lot of resources for teachers, check out the article called “Four
Myths about Parent Involvement in Middle School” right on their home page. It quotes re-
search done by Harvard University! www.middleweb.com
Parents, if you have an E-Reader of any type, we invite you to download this free interactive
E-Book about online safety for your children: "Growing Up Online: A Must have Guide for
Parents, Teachers and Kids". This is the first release from NBC Universal's "The More You
Know" Learning Series, in collaboration with NBC News.
http://www.themoreyouknow.com/eBooks/
Are you looking for more ways to keep your kids safe online? Take a look at this website:
“Common Sense Media Resource for Parents.” It has great links and immediate practical
advice on topics covering cell phones, video games, apps, websites, media messages, and
much, much more! www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/teens
C i v i l W a r D a y W e d n e s d a y , M a y 1 8 t h
On May 18th, the Placerita History Department is proud to host our Annual 8th Grade Civil War Day. Multiple class periods enjoy various demonstrations and presentations all day long. We will be having a variety of re-enactors (including our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln), infantry troops, artillery, Civil War food, and a range of other activities from this historic time period. Students will learn in greater detail about what it was like for Americans throughout the country during this key period of American History. Parents are always welcome to attend Civil War Day - please contact your child's history teacher for further details.