Dear Henderson Mill Community,

Fall is in the air! You probably felt it since Tropical Storm Irma came and left. Thankfully we braved the storm and the power outages well. Sure it’s still in the upper 80’s in the afternoons, but the early mornings and late evenings are getting cooler. With fall comes the busyness of sports, school projects, and after‐school clubs and activities. It can be tough trying to keep up with everything there is to stay on top of. I understand. So what is a busy parent to do? The best advice that I can give you is to at least cover the following bases:

1) Check the courier every Friday or over the weekend. These plastic green folders contain critical information and some of your student’s work. Take a close look to find out what your child is working on and how you can best support them.

2) Attend the evening PTA events. Interacting with the teachers is how you really find out how you can best support your children. Come see us at next Tuesday night’s Math Night and our new Multicultural Café scheduled for October 17th. On Math Night, we will be providing you with some tools that will help you support your child at home such as a closer look at Calendar Math, playing and taking home classroom math games, and a session to teach you a couple of common math concepts that are taught differently from how we learned them.

3) Read with your children for at least 20 minutes each night.

4) Use technology to your advantage. Each student has access to these websites through the school. Each website is designed to meet your child where he/she is and move them forward. Using them daily will help your child advance quickly. Please email your child’s teacher if you are missing any login information.

• Xtramath.org – This is a math website that helps students master basic math facts. A session of xtramath takes no more than 10 minutes. Students can do xtramath every day or even multiple times per day. This program does more than quiz your child; it teaches the facts too. You can even monitor their progress on the parent tab.
• iStation – This is a new program that provides fun and engaging math and reading instruction that is tailored to your child’s performance levels.
• Raz‐kids ‐ This is a reading website where your child has access to upwards of 80 books at his/her level. Children can read the book online, listen to it being read, and take a brief quiz on the book.
• IXL – This website supports math and language arts. Students are presented with challenging material at their level in both subject areas. Our teachers use IXL in the classroom, but you can also use it at home.

Want more? Parent‐Teacher conferences start next week and run until our Fall Break. Come see us and let us know what you’re looking for. We’re here to help you help us. Together we will succeed!

To Meaningful Collaboration,

Mitch
Mitch Green
Principal
Henderson Mill Elementary School