Ucon IS building confidence and increasing literacy!

• The PTO raised funds for our library--the hub of Ucon literacy with the PTO Fall Festival at New Sweden Farms!

• The Parent Teacher Conferences (PTC)

  • Build confidence by celebrating successes!

  • Increased literacy by setting goals to get stronger in English Language Arts (ELA), Math, and Learner Habits!

  • Thanks for prioritizing your time to attend PTC.  We are so close to 100% parent participation!  If you haven’t yet visited with your child’s teacher, please reach out!

• PTC was also a great opportunity to share our Parent-School Compact

• I’m referring to it at home with my 2nd grader, reminding him he agreed to (Especially #2!):

  • We, as safe, nice, responsible Ucon Wildcats, will:

1. Complete my home-practice every day.

2. Happily read with someone, daily, at-home for at least 20 minutes.

3. Share what’s in my backpack with my parents (or other adult) every day.

4. Celebrate my accomplishments with my parents (or other adults)!

5. Track my progress toward my ELA, Math, and Learner Habit Goals every day.

6. Show up to school and be accountable for my safe, nice, responsible behavior.

7.  Communicate and apologize when I forget to do any of my student responsibilities above.

Friends, we cannot do this alone.  We need teamwork, communication, and (as my friend said), “quick forgiveness.” 

• We need communication: Please reach out to share gratitude and concerns, questions or suggestions, first with the teacher, or with me.  We are part of a family of Ucon Wildcats--if any of us are struggling, we all feel it.  Thank you to those who’ve volunteered and suggested us to a better place this year.  

• We need shared support:  We are getting the work and help here at school.  But we still need to get some practice at home so our reading and math brains can get faster, stronger, and more confident! Thanks for reinforcing the 20 minutes of reading, thanks for quizzing and flashcarding, thanks for being interested in the backpack and what’s happening at school!  

  • Please, please, we need a form filled out --one for each D93 family--that helps our school qualify for federal grants 

    • Complete the form OR  Get more Information

  • Please, please contact your child’s teacher to volunteer in the classroom volunteer

    • Or, please, please consider  becoming a “Ucon only” substitute--for teachers or duty aides--don’t worry, you can tell them you only want Ucon, for certain days or hours

• We need “quick forgiveness”:  That #7 Student responsibility: Communicate and apologize when I forget to do any of my student responsibilities.  Sometimes we forget ourselves, we don’t give our best, we come up short.  Just as important as admitting a mistake and asking forgiveness is offering and accepting forgiveness.  Thank you for your generous compassion as we learn together this year.

We know the three “R’s” of learning are Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmetic.  I heard 3 R’s I think I like better: Relationships, Relevance, Rigor.  

Relationships: We know we don’t learn if we aren’t safe, connected, and cared for.  We need relationships to feel safe, connected, and cared for enough to learn.

Relevant: We know we don’t learn if the learning isn’t relevant.  Why do I have to know this? Is it on a test? Does it really matter?  The answer--teachers who know their students will make connections between the learning and what matters to each child.

Rigor:  That’s about doing hard things; accomplishing something greater than we thought we could on our own.  When kids are loved and engaged in learning, they will work hard.  That’s our vision at Ucon:  Safe, connected, cared-for kids who are achieving goals that they didn’t think were possible before they had a relationship with an inspiring Ucon teacher.  Go Wildcats!