Fifth Grade Parents & Students~

Please mark your calendars for Thursday, February 16^th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the Tyler cafeteria. Mrs. Chamberlain will hold a very important information night on transitioning to middle school called, A Roadmap from Fifth Grade to College.

She will give an overview of the three types of diplomas, required credits for each, required verified credits, end of course SOL tests, high school transcripts, middle school classes with high school credits, opting out, what happens if fifth and eighth grade SOL tests are not passed, and students will complete a Seven Year Plan to show what they need to do and achieve between now and when they apply to college. Please e-mail Mrs. Chamberlain if you plan to attend: chambejh@pwcs.edu

Specialty Programs~

The brochure for the Specialty Programs is on the PWCS website. The dates of the information nights are listed there and on the Tyler Counseling website, too.  If your child is planning to apply to the Math/Science Program at Marsteller or the World Language Program at Parkside they must complete the writing piece either with Mrs. Chamberlain at Tyler on Tuesday morning January 17^th at 8:00 a.m. OR Monday, January 30^th at 2:00 p.m. (please notify Mrs. Chamberlain if your child will be attending one of those sessions). The IBMYP at Stonewall Middle does not require the writing piece.  If these sessions are missed the parent must contact the school to which their child is applying and attend their writing session (please check their website for dates).

January Information Nights for Specialty Programs will be held for:

IBMYP at Stonewall Middle on Thursday, January 20^th at 7:00 p.m.

World Languages at Parkside on Tuesday, January 11th at 7:00 p.m.

The Secret Agents meet once a month in room 208 after school on Tuesdays*, from 3:45-4:45, November-March. The Agents will do “random acts of kindness” for others in the school.

Each month we focus on a different program:

November~ Peer Mediation

December~ Bucket Filling

January~ Chain Reaction of Kindness

February~ Character Counts

March~ Clean Desk Fairies

The dates of the meetings are as follows:

5^th Grade Girls~ 11/1, 12/6, 1/10, 2/7, 3/6

5^th Grade Boys~ 11/3* this one is a Thursday, 12/13, 1/17, 2/14, 3/13

4^th Grade Girls~ 11/15, 12/20, 1/24, 2/21, 3/20

4^th Grade Boys~ 11/22, 1/3, 1/31, 2/28, 3/27

The Secret Agents will learn skills to help mediate problems that may occur in the “hot spots” such as the playground at recess, the lunch room, hallway, and possibly the classroom. They will help to make and distribute things for each classroom that support programs promoting positive relationships and good deeds.

The purpose of an Advisory Council is to:

1.) provide assistance and advisement regarding program development, and setting and meeting annual program goals;

2.) review progress toward program goals through an examination of disaggregated data and the program audit;

3.) support the program via advocacy in the community; and

4.) provide a two-way communications link between the school counseling program and school and community stakeholders.

The committee is comprised of parents, teachers, administrators and when possible~community members.

The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 29^th from 4:00-5:15 p.m. The second meeting will be held on April 10^th at the same time.

The Advisory Council Members for 2011-2012 are: Donna Rosa, Deborah Bennin, Melissa Banks, Mark Asanovich, Gigi Raine, Stephanie McQuillan, Holly Gordon, Kim Gudinas, Marge Hopkins, and Julie Chamberlain.

Please share any concerns you may have with any of us, and we will address the issues at the meeting.