Baldwin Elementary School

ROARing News!

2016-02-05T09:53:00.001-08:00

Hello Baldwin Community,

We have been busy at Baldwin since we returned from Winter Break! All of the children have been reacquainting themselves with their friends and classmates and with the expectations set out by their teachers for each of their classes.

When we returned in January, students in Kinder through 3rd grades participated in a Percussion presentation by a member of the Austin Symphony. The gentleman that came to Baldwin provided our children with a brief explanation of each of the different instruments he brought with him on that day. The students learned a little history about the instruments as well as learning about the different sounds that are made with the instruments. We are so lucky to have the Austin Symphony partner with Austin Schools and share this knowledge and experiences with our children.

Every year, Austin schools participate in selecting a Teacher of the Year. I am proud to announce that Baldwin's 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year is Mrs. Abbey Smart! She has been teaching at Baldwin for 5 years and has been an asset to our campus since she joined us. She is a role model to our children and staff. Every year she creates strong, positive learning environments in which all children thrive and succeed. She sees the potential in all children and helps each one succeed by building on his/her individual strengths. She reachers all children with simple, yet profound, motherly instincts and empathy, coupled with complete professionalism. She does not work or serve for awards or accolades, but simply to inspire and impact all those she comes in contact with each day. She teaches her students to strive for excellence, to love reading and writing, and to respect each other and she teaches us (her peers) to give our best for our students every day! Congratulations to Mrs. Smart! We are so proud that Mrs. Smart is a Baldwin Bobcat!

If you haven't heard, last semester we started "Track Attack" and have received and observed very positive feedback from children and parents regarding this early morning opportunity for children and adults to run/walk the track before classes begin. Coach McGray has sent the following message in the Weekly ROAR:

"Track Attack has been huge success! Kiddos are working hard to stay active and are developing healthy habits that will be with them for a lifetime. We are striving to create a community invested campus and would like to open the opportunity for you to join in and lead our Track Attack mornings.

This a great opportunity to show your student that physical activity is fun family activity, get to know the other students in your child’s grade level and promote a strong bond between Baldwin and the community.

Here are a few highlights:

15-20 min in the morning before school
You can sign up for the morning(s) of your choice
You can choose to run with your child or just count and supervise
You will have trained student leaders to support you and staff available for assistance.

If you are interested or just have additional questions please email Coach Shawna McGray and attend the informational meeting on Tuesday, February 9 at 7:45am in the Gym." Please consider helping our children and staff with this awesome endeavor!

Parent-Teacher spring conferences are around the corner; these are scheduled to take place on February 15th or during that week. Be sure to reach out to your teacher(s) to schedule the conference. This is an important time to learn more about your child's progress and of ways to support his/her learning at home.

Thank you for your continuous support of Baldwin! I look forward to seeing all of you around our school!

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

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ROARing News!

2016-01-02T15:38:00.001-08:00

Happy 2016 Baldwin Community!

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break and that you rang in the New Year with a roar! I am excited to get our spring semester started with all of our children and their families.

We ended the 2015 fall semester with many great events, accomplishments and successes! Before the Thanksgiving Break, we held our second annual Multi-Cultural Fest with parents and grandparent as our presenters and volunteers. The day was a beautiful day of sharing and learning about the diverse community that makes up Baldwin. Every class had the opportunity to visit at least three different locations of interest and learn with our volunteers. Each of the presenters did an amazing job sharing about their country and helping our children expand their knowledge and awareness about each other. Events like this one helps all of us appreciate each other for who we are and the many unique qualities that make up our special learning community. Thank you to our presenters and volunteers; we look forward to next year's event. Thank you to Mrs. Lauren Linahan for organizing this event for our school!

The month of December was a busy one for sure! We had many different activities, field trips and events that took place. The students in grades 2-5 had a special opportunity to learn more about the solar system and our earth by visiting the planetarium that our generous PTA brought to Baldwin. Once again this year, our students were able to make many science and social studies connections with these presentations. So thank you to our PTA for sponsoring this event again this year at Baldwin!

We also held our annual Jingle Bell Run the last week before winter break. I observed all of our children having fun as they ran the course that our coaches set out for them. I heard lots of laughter and saw determination on all of our children's faces as they ran the course. This is one of the many physical fitness events that our school sponsors for our children and families. The Jingle Bell run gave the students a chance to add more miles to their individual Marathon Run charts. Thank you to our coaches for providing this annual event for our children.

I want to thank all of our families for the yummy cookies that were shared with our staff during the December Cookie Exchange. The staff lounge was converted into a bakery on this special day and we all enjoyed so many yummy treats! Thank you for sharing your special treats with us! Many of us also received very special Christmas Gifts and we are very grateful for your generosity and love. Thank you for showering us with gifts and for sharing your treasures with us! You make us feel very special!

Thank you to our PTA for sponsoring Santa Night again this year! This event is always a special way for families to come together at our school to share some quality time with family and friends. I don't know about you but when I saw Santa, I was reminded that I still Believe! Thanks PTA!

Also, a Big thank you to all of you that visited our December Book Fair. It was a great week of shopping and your support will continue to help us stock up our school library with many book that your children love to read! The book fair always reminds me of how I loved visiting the public library when I was a young girl and how much I love the feel of books and the places they take me! I hope you found time to read during the winter break and if you didn't, it isn't too late to start now.

Congratulations to our Robotics Teams! The different teams competed during the fall semester and were recognized in several different categories for their great work. Two of our teams will proceed to the next level, the Invitational Tournament! Way to go Robotics Teams!

"Ice Breakers"-Winner of 1^st Place Robot Game Score, 1^st Place Champions and will proceed to Invitation Tournament. The team members are: Cara G. , Helena H., Marissa M., Nadia P. and Ava W.

"RoboWolves"- Winner of Most Innovative Solution for Project. The team members are: Jake J.

Ty J., Alex R. and Joseph W.

"Techtonic Robots"- Winner of Inspiration Award for Core Values. The team members are: Gabriel D.

and Major M.

"Lighting Strikers"- Winner of Mechanical Design for their Robot and will proceed to Invitational Tournament. The team members are: Grant B. , Samya C. , William G. , Marcus L. and Darren T.

I look forward to sharing more of our great news and accomplishments throughout the spring semester. Thank you for your continuous support of our school and our children!

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

ROARing News!

2015-10-25T18:41:00.001-07:00

Hello Baldwin Community,

It is hard to believe that we have completed our first nine weeks of this school year! During these first nine weeks, the students have been extremely busy learning new routines and procedures as well as specific skills and expectations for their grade levels. Our teachers have also been busy preparing hands-on learning opportunities and incorporating more technology within their lessons. For example, the fourth grade students have been working on "flipped" assignments. The students complete passive learning activities such as reviewing specific video models as homework and then come to class with more background knowledge on certain topics, which then allows the teachers to more deeply engage with students in class. They are using their in-class time for more active learning activities. I encourage you to ask your child how technology is being used in their classrooms. You will be surprised how much your children know about the use of technology for learning.

During these first nine weeks, I observed your children working collaboratively with their classmates and solving problems during reading, math, science and social studies lessons. I also saw and heard them asking questions and using accountable talk to explain their thinking. We have also continued to teach our SEL (Social Emotional Learning) lessons every week stressing the importance of understanding perspectives and feelings and being accepting of others. Be sure to read the Weekly ROAR, our electronic newsletter, for information about our SEL lessons.

On October 16th we had our annual PTA Baldwin Carnival and what a great family event it was! We had so many families attend the carnival and all of the children and adults seemed to be having a fabulous time. Thank you to our PTA carnival chair and assistants for organizing such a great event. Thank you also to all of our family and community sponsors; we would not be have been able to provide all of the fun activities without your help! I went home that night with about 7 dozen confetti eggs in my head and it was all worth it! The carnival was a HUGE success and we are very grateful to all of you for coming out to have fun with us!

This Friday, October 30, we will be hosting our Annual Vocabulary Parade and I highly encourage you to come out and see this fun event. The parade will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will be led by the Gorzycki Middle School Drum Line. We sent home all of the information 2 weeks ago, so be sure to review it with your child so that he/she can be prepared to represent his/her vocabulary word for the parade. It is a great learning experience for all of our children! I look forward to seeing all of you at the Vocabulary Parade on Friday!

I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the generous gifts that you gave to all of the support staff at Baldwin at the end of September. You honored us with many beautiful cards, flowers and gifts. Thank you for making us feel extra special during Staff Appreciation Week! It is an honor to work for the Baldwin Children and Community!

Thank you for your continuous support of the Box Top and Labels for Education programs, the Great Leaps Reading program, and for helping us in the cafeteria every day. Your time is valuable and we appreciate all that you do to help us. I look forward to seeing you at Baldwin!

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

ROARing News!

2015-09-06T19:59:00.001-07:00

Hello Baldwin Community,

Our 15-16 school year got off to a great start! These past two weeks have been filled with excitement for our students and teachers. It has been a time for reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, as well as getting to know our new teachers and their expectations for this school year. We have grown in our enrollment numbers this year and have filled every classroom inside and outside of our building. We are very excited to welcome all of our new Bobcat Families and we hope that each new family will find opportunities to visit and get involved in our school.

The mission of Baldwin Elementary is to promote a learner-centered education, where the unique and whole development of each child is nurtured in a shared partnership between caring, creative staff, parents, and community. We seek to create a challenging learning environment, provided in a nurturing, inclusive, and safe atmosphere that encourages high expectations for success. This learner-centered education inspires children to achieve their potential academically, physically, socially, emotionally, and artistically; fostering a life-long desire to learn.

As I walked through classrooms these past few weeks, I observed students showing their talents and asking questions. In every classroom, I noticed eager and attentive students working with their classmates and their teachers. I am also happy to report that our students continue to use the SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) skills we learned last school year. This will be our second year of implementation of this curriculum and through these lessons we will continue to help all of our students build their cognitive, affective and behavioral competencies. Be sure to read the Weekly Roar; our new counselor will keep you updated on ways for you to continue this learning at home.

This next Thursday, Sept. 10th, will be our first Back to School night event for all parents of students in Prek through 2nd grades. The following week on Sept. 17th, we will host our Back to School night event for all parents of students in grades 3-5. I encourage all of you to attend these events so that you can learn more about the curriculum and expectations for each grade level. At these events, you will also learn about ways to get involved in your child's learning and about the many volunteer opportunities at our school. The school to home connections and relationships are vital to each child's learning. I look forward to seeing all of you at our Back to School night events.

I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage all of our families to join the Baldwin PTA. The PTA provides ongoing support to our students and teachers. A single membership is just $8.50, but join as a family and you receive a discounted rate of $15. You can find a link to the PTA membership application on the Baldwin website, as well as a list of this year's budget and a listing of ways the PTA has supported our school in the past. Don't wait, join today!

I also highly recommend that everyone join the listing to receive the Baldwin Weekly ROAR! This is a weekly electronic newsletter that keeps you informed of all events and activities at our school. You can find the link to join on the Baldwin website. In this week's ROAR, I sent a plea to all of our families asking all of you to consider giving one hour a week to our school by volunteering in our cafeteria. This will help us continue offering a 30 minute unstructured recess time for all classes. The sign up link can be found in this week's Weekly ROAR. Thank you to the parents that have already signed up to help!

I look forward to a successful and fun school year! Enjoy your Labor Day and I will see everyone bright and early Tuesday morning!

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

Roaring News!

2015-04-19T17:30:00.001-07:00

Dear Baldwin Community,

This past Thursday and Friday, the Baldwin PTA held their annual Gifts of Time auction items. The children were very excited at the opportunities they might have to share some special time with their teachers, the PE coaches, Art and Music teachers, Betty J., and the administrators. Thank you to everyone that dropped by the school and signed up for one of the many events that were available. I personally cannot wait to share my time with those that were the highest bidders for lunch, bedtime story reading, my ice cream dates, principal for 1/2 day, subbing in a class and the recordings of my telephone message by nine weeks. I know that I will have a blast with all of these students!

Perhaps you didn't get to participate in this year's Gifts of Time, well, there is still another fun event that is right around the corner that you can come and enjoy. The annual Baldwin PTA Bash will be held this coming Friday, April 24th and I guarantee that you will have a great time with friends as well as have the opportunity to bid on some amazing baskets and other items in the silent auction. Please join us this Friday for this exciting event that benefits our school; put on your boots and scoot your way to the Baldwin Bash!

I also want to remind everyone that this week is our second round of STAAR testing. The school will be closed to visitors Monday through Wednesday due to the administration of our state assessments. Your children and our teachers have been concentrating and learning all of the required Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills all year at each of the grade levels, and I am confident that the children are well-prepared and will succeed on their assessments. Please be sure your children get plenty of sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and arrive to school on time, especially on these three days.

If you haven't read this week's ROAR, please make some time to read it. I sent a congratulatory note to our students, teachers and families for their hard work and you don't want to miss it! Also in the ROAR there are some important dates for some fun spring time events you won't want to miss. So check out the Weekly ROAR and mark your calendars for all of the fun-filled events that are scheduled for April, May and June.

Thank you again for your continuous support! I look forward to seeing you at Baldwin.

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

ROARing News!

2014-12-19T18:03:00.001-08:00

Dear Baldwin Community,

As our fall semester comes to an end, I wanted to express my gratitude to all of our students, parents and staff members for the amazing work that was accomplished during this time. We began our year with the implementation of our Social Emotional Learning initiative and the students and teachers have been using these skills regularly. There was clear evidence throughout this first semester of these new learned skills. Our established positive school climate was enhanced by this work.

We had many events and activities that took place during the fall semester that provided our students with extended learning opportunities. I would like to highlight a few of these events that I know I enjoyed tremendously and that I heard students and parents talking about for weeks.

Our annual Vocabulary Parade took place at the end of October, and once again this year, our students were creative with their words and costumes. The Gorzycki Drum Line led the parade for us down Meridian Park Blvd, around to Espina and through the back of the school. Many of you came to the parade and witnessed the amazing words and costumes our children chose to represent this year. We took all of the vocabulary words and hung them on the walls in the foyer and every day students would stop by to read the words. Thank you for encouraging your children to participate in this fun learning opportunity. I hope you and your children are already thinking about next year's vocabulary parade word, I know I am!!

In November, we held our first Multi-Cultural Fest. We sent a survey home to all of our families inquiring about their family cultures and traditions. Based on the information we received, we tried to represent as many countries and cultures by grade levels. Each grade level traveled through one continent and explored and learned about different countries that represented our Baldwin families. We had many parent volunteers throughout the grade levels that came on that day to present to our students. We learned so much from all of our presenters and from the parents that helped us prepare for the presentations. I want to thank all of our volunteers because you are what made this day very special for all of us! We look forward to next year's Multi-Cultural Fest!

In December, our technology specialist, Ms. Ashley, taught our students about coding. The students visited the computer lab and Ms. Ashley took them through a variety of lessons to learn more about coding. We had Kindergarten students learning with the robots, while the other grade levels learned through many fun lessons. You can still learn more about coding and doing some of this at home with your children by visiting the Baldwin website and following the links. Thank you Ms. Ashley for sharing this knowledge with our Bobcats!

Lastly, I want to thank all of the students and parents for the beautiful Holiday gifts and treats you gave to us! You are very kind and generous with all of us and on behalf of the Baldwin Staff, I thank you for sharing so much with us. Remember, we are now officially on Winter Break and that classes resume Monday, January 5, 2015. I look forward to a successful spring semester. I wish you and your family a Joyful and fun Holiday Season!

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

ROARing News

2014-10-11T11:20:00.001-07:00

Dear Baldwin Community,

For the past seven weeks at Baldwin, all of our students and teachers have been working extremely hard to meet the many expectations that have been set for us for the start of this new school year. I am very proud of the learning and work that I am seeing in all classrooms!

In the second grade classes, I had the pleasure of observing students present their "Past, Present, and Future" projects. The students were very poised, articulate and they knew the topics they had chosen very well. I was also in one of the music classes when third graders were "composers." The students were able to identify pitch and rhythm through hand signals and movements. They used this knowledge to make connections to literature and to their own lives. These third graders and Mrs. Stevens were amazing! These are just two examples of the many wonderful lessons that have occurred at Baldwin. Be sure to check out the bulletin boards in the hallways and our teachers' websites to see some of this great work.

I have also seen many of you, our children's parents, at our school volunteering in many different capacities. Our Great Leaps program is well on its' way because of the dedicated volunteers that come every day to read with our first graders. Thank you to Mrs. Fellinger for setting up a great program for us again this year! I have also seen many volunteers in classrooms, in the copy room, cutting out laminated posters and instructional materials, and in the office. I want to thank all of you for giving your time and talents. You are greatly appreciated!

A few weeks ago, many of you also shared your treasures with the Baldwin staff as part of Staff Appreciation Week. I want to personally thank Mrs. Beeler's students and families for the wonderful treats you showered me with every day during that week. The box of cookies, the flowers, the lunch and the beautiful cards were very much appreciated! You made me feel very special! This is true for all of the other support staff that was appreciate during that same week. The amazing posters that were made for the different individuals are still hanging by their doors and in the office and the luncheon you provided for all of us was delicious. Thank you for being so generous with all of us!

Just a friendly reminder that this Monday is a student holiday, therefore, we are not scheduled for classes on this day. However, it is parent-teacher conference day for us at the elementary level. Some of you have already met with your child's teacher but many of you are scheduled for Monday and for the days that follow. If you have not already scheduled a time to meet with your child's teacher, please do so as soon as possible. This is a perfect time of the year to learn more about how your child is progressing and how you can partner with our teachers to help your child succeed! In the next edition of the Weekly ROAR, you will find some tips to help you prepare for the conference. Be sure to read the ROAR on Sunday!

The Weekly ROAR is our weekly communication with the Baldwin Community, so if you are not receiving this electronic communication, be sure to visit the Baldwin website to subscribe to this important service. I want to thank Paige Newman for continuing to support us with the Weekly ROAR. She does an amazing job every week of taking all of our information and sending it out to you in a format that is informative and easy to read. Thank you Mrs. Newman for your help each week!!

Also, don't forget that our Baldwin Carnival is coming up this next Friday, October 17th. The PTA has been working very hard since last spring to get this organized and to make it fun for the whole family. Please make plans to attend. The details for this fun event can be found in the Weekly ROAR and on our website.

I look forward to seeing you on Monday at our parent-teacher conferences and at the Baldwin Carnival on Friday!

ROARing with Pride,

Dr. Peña

ROARING News!

2014-09-07T14:02:00.001-07:00

Hello Baldwin Community,

We had a fabulous second week of classes! All of our students are learning their routines and procedures and seem to be having a wonderful time learning.

Our safety patrol started helping us this past week with arrival and dismissal. This group of 5th graders are great leaders and helpers. They were very kind and respectful with everyone and were excellent examples of Baldwin students. I am very grateful to these students for their help and I appreciate their parents allowing them to get to school a little earlier than usual and allowing them to stay a little later to help us with these procedures.

This past summer, Luke Severson, who is an older sibling of one of our Bobcats, presented a proposal to me as part of his Eagle Scout service project that would benefit the "Take Flight" reading program at Baldwin. Luke is very passionate about helping struggling readers grow their love for reading and he felt that his Eagle Scout project would be a great way to help us at Baldwin. He organized a summer reading camp at his home in which he recruited some of his friends to be camp counselors. The camp counselors along with Luke read and dramatized a novel. With the outstanding attendance and participation in the camp, Luke was able to raise $835.00 for the "Take Flight" reading program at Baldwin. Luke worked with our two "Take Flight" reading teachers and they were able to order many materials and supplies needed for our program. I want to personally thank Luke for his commitment and passion in helping children learn to read and for all that he has given to Baldwin through his Eagle Scout service project. Hooray for Luke and his hard work!! He is a great example to all of us!

I want to thank all of our parents for helping us with our morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up procedures. These procedures are moving quickly and smoothly because of you! I ask that as you drop-off your child in the circle drive that you wait to have him/her get off the car until you have reached the area between the two crosswalks in front of our school. It is important that you pull all the way forward and allow one of our safety patrol members or one of the teachers to help your child off the car. Thank you for having your car placards on your car windows for us to see without any trouble. This has been very helpful to us in the afternoons. Together, we will keep all of our children safe!

Don't forget that our Back to School Nights are scheduled for this week from 6:30p.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday is for Grades PreK-2 and Thursday for Grades 3-5. We will also be hosting GT informational meetings prior to each of these nights from 6:00p.m.-6:25 p.m. in the library. Our Back to School Nights are focused around curriculum information for you the parents and are not evening events for the children. I look forward to seeing all of you at our Back to School Nights and to working with each of you to help all of our children succeed at high levels!

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

Welcome to the 2014-2015 School Year!

2014-09-01T12:09:00.001-07:00

Dear Baldwin Community,

We had a fantastic first week of classes! It was great to see so many smiling faces on the first day and during the entire first week! All of our students looked excited to be starting a new year and our teachers were well-prepared to receive each one of them. It's unbelievable that we are starting our fifth year together at Baldwin. We ended the last school year with many accomplishments and everyone should be very proud of our students' successes. We have about 750 students and are waiting to see if more will join us this week. We still have space in our Pre-K program for more students, so if you know of anyone that has a 4 year old send them our way.

This school year, we will focus on each individual student's academic and social progress. We will continue to implement the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills in all content areas so that all of our children are meeting and/or exceeding the standards at each grade level. We will also implement the district's Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum in each of our classrooms. Research indicates that emotional well-being and social competence provide a strong foundation for brain development and emerging cognitive abilities. Students will learn critical life skills such as recognizing and managing emotions, solving problems effectively and establishing positive relationships. During our first week, we focused on being "respectful," which is also the first skill that is emphasized in our R-O-A-R expectations: the first "R" represents respect. I am sure you have seen our ROAR expectations throughout our building and on your child's agenda. Baldwin's ROAR expectations are how we expect every Bobcat to represent themselves: R-respectful, O-outstanding, A-accepting, and R-responsible. You will hear more about our SEL lessons and learning throughout the year. I encourage you to ask your children to share what they are learning in all areas. I bet there will be some skills that you will be able to implement at home too.

We have begun to plan many activities and events for our families. The first two events will be our Back to School Nights, which are scheduled for Sept. 8 and Sept. 11. We want to see all of you on these nights so that you can learn more about our learning goals and expectations for this school year. It is also important for you to attend so that we can hear from you regarding how we can work together to build stronger partnerships to help all of our children learn at high levels. I look forward to seeing all of you at our Back to School Nights.

I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone to review the drop-off and pick-up procedures that have been sent in our weekly ROAR news and are posted on our website. It is important that we all follow the set procedures so that we can keep all of our children safe at all times. If you have a change in pick-up procedures, be sure to inform your child's teacher with enough time so that he/she can have your child in the correct pick up line. We appreciate everyone's efforts in following our procedures and keeping all safe.

Don't forget that this Wednesday is Spirit Night at Craig-O's Pizza and Pastaria. If you go to Craig-O's between 4-10 pm Wednesday, 10% of all proceeds will benefit Baldwin. Also, don't forget to wear purple and gold on Fridays to show your school spirit!

I look forward to another exciting, fun and successful school year! Thank you for being a part of our learning community and for sending us your children every day!

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

Roaring News!

2014-01-06T12:12:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year Baldwin Community!

I hope everyone enjoyed the winter break and that you were able to get some well deserved rest and relaxation. As we begin 2014 and the Spring Semester for this school year, I wanted to share some highlights from our 2013-2014 fall semester. All of our children from PreK through 5th grade worked extremely hard during the school day to meet their daily goals and so many of our children continued this learning in our after school clubs and programs that also showed great success in the first semester.

Every day that I walked through classrooms, I would observe students, teachers and volunteers working collaboratively and learning together. The enthusiasm for teaching and learning was seen in all of the faces that I saw in classrooms and in the hallways. No matter how difficult the new concept, the new skill, the topic and/or the subject area, the students were always finding ways to make connections and master the new learning.

Each month our hallways, classrooms and portable buildings were decorated with top notch student class work and art work. Each of these pieces of student work demonstrated the learning that was happening in our classrooms every day. I was amazed and so proud of the work that our children produced every day during the first semester at Baldwin. All of the hard work that our teachers put into planning their daily lessons was seen in the children's work products.

Throughout the first semester, we had many school events that brought our community together to share their time, talents and treasure. I would like to share a few of these events that you, the Baldwin Community, made so special for all of us.

The week before classes started this year, we had a team of volunteers that came together to help distribute the pre-ordered school supplies. This huge task could not have been accomplished without the help of Kelsey F. and Rami H. and the others that came out to organize and distribute these items. Getting the students' school supplies to their classrooms prior to our "meet the teacher" event is very important to our children and these volunteers made this happen. Thank you for your help!

Immediately with the start of the school year, our office and classroom volunteers began working with us to help us get the day to day work completed. I want to thank all of the office and classroom volunteers that helped throughout the first semester. Your daily support helped us immensely. At the end of September into the first week of October, our PTA sponsored "Staff Appreciation" week and with the help of many of our parents, the Baldwin Administrators and Classified Employees received some very generous gifts from the Baldwin Families. On behalf of all of these staff members, I thank you for your generosity and kindness during this designated week of appreciation.

On October 18, the PTA held the Baldwin Annual Fall Carnival and once again, it was a HUGE success. Erica M. was the lead coordinator for this event and she did an excellent job of organizing so many opportunities for all of our Bobcats, young and not so young, to have a great time. I was challenged again this year by one of our students, Robert W. to ride the mechanical bull. I am proud to say that this year, I stayed on the bull for 32 seconds; not bad considering the year before I only lasted 6 seconds. Ms. Butschek, one of our third grade teachers also rode the bull and was a great sport through it all! Despite the weather and the rainy days that led up to the night of the carnival, our Fall Carnival was a lot of fun for all of us especially the children. Thank you Erica M. and the PTA for putting on such a great family event!

Also in October, our fifth graders went to Camp Champions and stayed overnight. The students and teachers had a wonderful time learning more about nature, astronomy, team work, collaboration, self-determination and perseverance. I want to thank our PTA for sponsoring some of our students so that all of our fifth graders could attend this overnight camping trip. The students came back with many stories and some experiences that they will never forget. Thanks for your support with this field trip!

During this same week, our PTA also sponsored the "science museum" and all of our students Prek-5th grade were able to visit this traveling museum in our very own gymnasium. The students, teachers and volunteers all had great things to say about this traveling museum. Again, thank you PTA for providing this opportunity for our students and teachers.

We then ended October with our 2nd Annual Vocabulary Parade and what an awesome way to show how much we love learning at Baldwin! Despite the rain, the parade was a huge success! The majority of our students and staff members participated in the vocabulary parade in costumes that represented their chosen word. I was an apiculturist (a beekeeper). One of the highlights of our parade was the Bowie Drumline! These group of students were amazing and gave our parade the special touch it needed to make it even more exciting than what we already had planned with all of our costumes. Thank you to all of our parents that helped their children with their costumes so that they could participate and thank you to all that came out to cheer us on! I already have my word picked out for next year and I can't wait for next October!

Our Accelerated Reader program has continued and we have celebrated top readers several times already this year! I am very proud of all of our students that continuously participate in this program and all of the reading they are doing to earn points and prizes. Keep up the great reading!!!

The "Great Leaps" Reading program was started again this year with reading volunteers for every first grade classroom. Our Great Leaps Coordinator Dawn B. secured reading volunteers for every classroom for every day of the week. We are very grateful to Mrs. Bowes and all of the volunteers that come out every day to help our first graders become stronger readers and to be college ready readers!

Mrs. Stevens, our music teacher, once again this year formed an amazing Baldwin Choir that serenaded us at different times throughout the first semester. The students learned not just songs but movements to go with the songs and they were great performers. I am looking forward to the spring semester and what they may have planned for us in the next coming months. Mrs. Stevens and the other music teachers also worked with our third graders in the first semester to put on a third grade performance that was absolutely amazing. The third graders were very poised and their singing, dancing and dramatic performances were outstanding. Thank you to all of the parents that helped with the props and getting the students dressed for their performances.

Our second graders held their annual market days in December. These second graders were so excited with the opportunity to create and sell their products. When I visited the market, I observed young, proud entrepreneurs that were thrilled to be selling their products. This was an experience that they will never forget. Thank you to all of our parents for supporting our students and teachers with this endeavor. Our second graders learned so many lessons during these market day experiences.

In December, the Baldwin Community once again showed their appreciation to all of the Baldwin Staff by sending us different cookies and treats during the PTA sponsored Cookie Exchange. Every staff member was able to enjoy some very special treats on that day and for many days afterwards. Thank you for showing your kindness in this way. During the month of December, the PTA also sponsored "Santa Night" with pizza for dinner and the movie, "The Polar Express." This was a very special evening for our children and families and I thank you for participating in this family event. During this same week, we also held our fall book fair in the library. We were able to generate extra funds for new library books and other library items that are important to our children, because you, the Baldwin Community, came out to show your support by purchasing items from the book fair. Thank you so much for your support with this event! Our PTA also sponsored the Care and Share program again this year and it was a HUGE success. I want to personally thank Tara S. for leading this effort and I want to thank all of our caring Baldwin Families that donated presents and gift cards to our families that were in great need this Holiday Season. Thank you for caring and sharing your "gifts"!!

During the fall semester, we had many after school programs and clubs that our Bobcats participated in every day of the week. I would like to thank Michelle G. for coordinating our Math Pentathlon Program and finding coaches and volunteers for every grade level. This program is now under her direction and has teachers and parents as the coaches. The program is going strong and I am looking forward to a great spring semester of fun and learning for all of our pentathletes. Thank you to everyone that helped out with our Math Pentathlon program during the fall semester.

We also had some very strong and innovative Robotics Teams this year. Three of the Baldwin Bots teams competed in two different qualifiers in early December. The "Hurricanes" blew everyone away with a strong project presentation and one of the their best robot runs ever! The "Highlighters" were as bright as ever taking the first place in the research project presentations and earning an invitation to the Central Texas FLL regional tournament in March. The "Cobras" wrapped up the competition and slithered home with the Championship Award for all around excellence and have also advanced to the Regional Tournament. The other two teams, the "Robo Serpents" and the "Robo Warriors" competed later in December and we will have their results after the winter break. I am very proud of the 5 teams and their hard work. They worked long hours after school and on the weekends to get ready for this year's competitions. Congratulations to the Baldwin Bots and their coaches.

I have two more highlights that I would like to share with all of you. During the past couple of years, two of our teachers, Mrs. Reaves (4th grade teacher) and Mrs. Lengle (2nd grade teacher), have been working on completing National Board Certification. This certification requires hours and hours of self- reflection and documentation of teaching practices. The mission of the National Board is to advance student learning and achievement by establishing the definitive standards and systems for certifying accomplished educations, providing programs and advocating policies that support excellence in teaching and learning and engaging National Board Certified Teachers and leaders in that process. The National Board seeks to elevate the status, voice and role of accomplished teachers in shaping a true profession. This includes: 1) raising public awareness with respect to the cognitively complex, collaborative, and expertise-driven nature of teachers' work; 2) setting higher standards for entry and advancement into the profession; and 3) recognizing accomplished teaching through a rigorous professional certification process comparable to those found in other premier professions, such as medicine, engineering and law. In December, both teachers were informed that they had completed all of the requirements and have received the recognition as National Board Certified Teachers! Congratulations to Mrs. Reaves and Mrs. Lengle on this huge accomplishment. I am very proud of both of these teachers!

As you can see with everything that I shared (and these were just a few highlights), we were a busy learning community at Baldwin Elementary during the fall semester and I suspect that our spring semester will be no different. I appreciate all that you give to our children and our school! I look forward to seeing you at Baldwin this new calendar year!

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña

Greetings Baldwin Community!

2013-10-06T19:58:00.001-07:00

Greetings Baldwin Community,

We have now completed 6 weeks of classes this school year! Boy, the time is flying! Throughout the building and in our portables our teachers and students have been working very hard every day learning and growing together. Our Bobcats have been learning about procedural and expository texts and have been creating their own compositions to show their learning in these areas. Our students have also been using addition and subtraction strategies to solve problems in mathematics. In fifth grade they are taking their addition and subtraction skills a bit further. The fifth graders have been using rounding and compatible numbers to estimate solutions to multiplication problems.

This past Friday, we held Student Council Elections and this year our candidates gave their speeches live to our fourth and fifth grade classes. We had 23 candidates that gave speeches Friday morning. All of our candidates were well-prepared and did a tremendous job with their presentation skills. Our student council board is made up of: President, Vice-President, Secretary and Historian, so you can only imagine how difficult it was to choose only 4 students out of the 23 candidates. The fourth and fifth graders submitted their votes right after the campaign speeches and our 2013-2014 Baldwin Student Council Officers are: President-Jack L., Vice-President-Makenna H., Secretary-Ella N. and Historian-Madison V. Congratulations to our four elected Officers and to our other candidates that showed great poise and leadership throughout the campaign. I am very proud of all 23 students!!! I look forward to working with our new student council officers and their sponsors. I know they will be bringing new ideas and energy that will help our school show strong school spirit and make our days at Baldwin memorable and fun. Thank you to our student council sponsors, Mrs. Kelley Hively, Mrs. Orlanda De Los Santos and Mrs. Jenni Grumbles!

I want to take this time to thank all of our parents that donated funds to our PTA to help us celebrate Staff Appreciation Week! I am very grateful and humbled to receive the special gift you gave me; I am honored to serve as your leader and principal. Mrs. McGray's fifth grade class also created a book of original short stories, poetry, procedural and informational text that they presented to me on Friday morning. I read each student's creation several times throughout the weekend and each time I laughed, giggled and smiled. Thank you to all of our Baldwin families for showing such kindness and appreciation to all of our custodians, cafeteria staff, teacher assistants, office staff, nurses, counselors and administrators! On behalf of all of these folks, I thank you for sharing your treasures with us!

Please continue to read the Baldwin ROAR for weekly information, reminders and events. Our annual Baldwin Carnival will be held in a couple of weeks-October 18. There are different ways for all of us to get involved in this year's carnival to help make it a greater success than it has been in the past. Our PTA Board has been working on all of the preparations for months and could use some help, so please take a minute to read the information in the ROAR or on the Baldwin website. Everyone that attends the carnival has a fun time especially our children so let's all get ready to help and enjoy the fun!

I look forward to seeing you at Baldwin!

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña

ROARing News!

2013-08-31T19:30:00.001-07:00

August 31, 2013

Welcome Back Baldwin Community,

We had a very successful first week of school! We have grown in number with almost 740 students. It was so wonderful to see so many happy and excited faces enter our school building on the first day of school. As I walked through classrooms this week, I observed children busily working on writing, reading and math activities. They were already sharing their work and learning with their peers. I am always amazed with how articulate our students are when they are sharing their learning. Please continue to ask your children about their learning and ask them to give you specific details of what they did in class everyday.

As I worked in the cafeteria this week as a cafeteria monitor helping our Bobcats learn or relearn our procedures and routines, I enjoyed listening to the many, many stories the children shared with me about their summer vacations. By the way, we are in need of cafeteria monitors; please spread the word in the neighborhood or with your family and friends. We need reliable, dependable and loving folks to help us during our lunch times. If you know of someone that is interested in this type of work, have them visit the AISD website to complete a Lunch Monitor application.

Thank you to everyone for allowing us the space and the time to establish our lunchtime routines with all of our students. I know it was not easy staying away during lunch times this week; however, we asked you not to eat with your children for this first week for grades 1-5 and for the first two weeks for those that are in PreK and Kindergarten so that we could help our children learn the routines and procedures. This has been very helpful to us and we are grateful for your support!

I want to thank all of you for helping us implement our new drop off and pick up procedures. I know that change is difficult at times but these new procedures are working well and are helping us keep all of our children safe. The children seem to have adjusted to the new “hug zone” during drop off in the cafeteria and we have already noticed that all of our classes have the space they need to line up and be comfortable every morning and especially during morning assembly on Fridays. I am very grateful to all of you for helping us implement these new procedures and helping us keep all of our Bobcats safe and happy!

I want to take this opportunity to thank our Baldwin PTA for all of the work they did this summer in and around our campus. Have you seen the school marquee as you turn in to our school drive? It is absolutely beautiful! I want to give a shout out to Mrs. Holly A. for making sure that our marquee was in place before this new school year and for working with the different companies that put it together. It’s Fabulous! Our PTA also added some beautiful benches in both of our playgrounds. The benches are purple with some Bobcat Paws on them. These are a great addition to our playgrounds. The PTA also had a running track installed around our field. The children and the teachers are already using this as part of their recess and WOW activity times. The PTA has been a vital part of our school since we opened four years ago. I highly encourage all of you to join our PTA this year. Your voices are important and your participation will help keep us working as a strong learning community. I would like to send a special “thank you” to our PTA president, Kelsey F., for continuously finding ways to support our school and your children’s learning. I am also grateful to the many, many parents that helped us get ready for the start of the new year. There were many tasks that needed to get done and we had numerous parents that came to the school to help us out. Thank you to all that have helped us already this year!

There is a new AISD Board Approved guideline regarding birthday treats that we will be implementing Baldwin. The new guideline, “Lauren’s Law” states, “a parent can provide a treat on the date of the child’s birth. Parents may bring items to celebrate their child’s birthday; however, they cannot be provided to students in the cafeteria during meal serving times.” The federal government (USDA) does not allow competitive foods during meal serving times. Since our meal serving times are from 10:15 a.m. until 1:15 p.m. we will no longer distribute birthday treats to children in the cafeteria. Please see this week’s Baldwin ROAR for more details regarding this new guideline.

Also, don’t forget that our Back to School Nights have been changed. PreK, Kinder, 1^st and 2^nd grades will meet on Monday, September 9^th and 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grades will meet on Thursday, September 12^th; both will be from 6:30 p.m -7:30 p.m. There will be GT informational meetings for parents on both nights beginning at 6:00 p.m.

I am excited and proud to be working with you and your children another year. If this past week is an indication of how our year will go, then I am certain we will have a successful school year!

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

School Safety

2012-12-15T14:42:00.001-08:00

Dear Baldwin Parents and Community,

We are saddened by the tragedy that took place in Connecticut on Friday. I am certain that you are limiting and/or avoiding your child's exposure to the multitude of media coverage of this event. However, your child may begin to hear from other children about this incident. If this is the case and you need support in this area, feel free to contact Patricia Klaras, our school counselor, for assistance. Here are a few tips that may be helpful to you during this time:

Acknowledge and validate the child's thoughts, feelings, and reactions. Let them know that you think their questions and concerns are important and appropriate.

Remember that children tend to personalize situations. For example, they may worry about their own safety or the safety of friends and relatives, especially those who are away at college or even may have fears about the safety of our own school.

Children learn from watching their parents and teachers. They are very interested in how you respond to local and national events. They also learn from listening to your conversations with other adults.

Don't let children watch too much television with frightening images. The repetition of such scenes can be disturbing and confusing.

At Baldwin, children's safety is a priority. As you know, we keep all of our school doors locked and everyone is required to check in at the front office before they are allowed to go to any other part of the building. We will continue to reinforce this safety procedure and others every day! Also, as part of our safety routines, we practice the different safety drills throughout the year including the school lock-down drill that would be required for us to follow in any type of threatening situation. With this procedure, Baldwin would be locked-down in seconds! I know that this was a horrific, horrific event; please know that at Baldwin we will always take every measure to keep our children safe! Again, I appreciate you limiting your child's exposure to this event and for continuing to help them know and understand that they are safe at Baldwin.

Respectfully,

Dr. Peña

ROARING NEWS

2012-10-27T10:21:00.001-07:00

Hello Baldwin Community,

WOW! we have completed 9 weeks of classes already! Can you believe it? Your children and the Baldwin staff have been extremely busy these first nine weeks of classes. Your children learned about prominent Hispanic figures and their contributions to our world during Hispanic Heritage Month, some students wrote personal narratives and biographies, and others learned about the states of matter at many different levels. Students' work is displayed throughout the building and it is evident that they have been working hard and have been learning some very difficult concepts. One of my favorite things to do everyday, is to walk through the building reading and reviewing the work that is on display. I also love visiting classrooms and hearing your children make connections across the content areas and to their personal experiences. Thank you for continuing to reinforce their learning with the daily homework and home discussions.

The Baldwin Carnival was so much fun this year. The children were very excited with all of the games and activities. The mechanical bull was new at the carnival and even I attempted to break the record. I was challenged by a fourth grader to stay on longer than him but I didn't do as well as he did. Robert stayed on the bull for 37 seconds and I only stayed on for 7 seconds. Yes, that's right, only 7 seconds. I hope that bull is ready for me next year! During the course of the evening, I had 19 cascarones broken on my head. The students were all very kind and gentle as they cracked the cascarones on me and I had to shake off a few times before I could get all of the confetti out of my hair and clothes. I think I will need to buy a few dozen cascarones next year and be ready to strike back. The food was delicious again this year and the drum band was also very entertaining during the time I sat down to eat. The train was a lot of fun too. I jumped in the train with Gabriel, one of our second graders, and we had so much fun together. I want to thank Erica Macias, the Carnival Coordinator; she started organizing this year's carnival back in early August and she never lost her smile. I also want to thank our PTA President, Kelsey Friedman for working alongside Erica and helping her find the many, many volunteers to help with the preparations, with the booths and with the clean up. I remember seeing many, many parents before, during and after the carnival working to make this event very special for our children. I won't attempt to name everyone I saw because I know I will forget many of you. I do want everyone to know that our annual Carnival would not be possible without all of the efforts each one of our families puts forth. At the end of the night, one of our students came up to me and said, "Dr. Pena , I can't wait for next year's carnival!" You know what, I can't wait either! Thank you again to all of you for making our carnival a special time for all of us but especially for the children.

The fifth graders went to Camp Champions this past week and they had a blast! As I helped them pack the buses to leave on Wednesday morning you could see the excitement in each of the children. When they arrived back at Baldwin on Thursday afternoon, they were exhausted but yet so excited to tell me all that they did while at camp. One student said, "I had the best time ever! I learned so much and I had such a great time with the other fifth graders." The teachers that attended camp reported that our students were an outstanding representation of Baldwin and that they learned so much in those two days, including what it is to be a team player, show perseverance and have courage. Thank you to our fifth grade teachers and support staff that accompanied our students and thank you parents for allowing them to attend camp.

Have you heard that we are having a parade at Baldwin this Wednesday? It's true! We are having our first annual "Vocabulary Parade" this Wednesday at 8:15 am. in the front circle of our school. Mrs. Dethlefsen and our teachers have read the book "Miss Alaineus, A Vocabulary Disaster" to all of the students so that they could understand what this parade would be all about. We would like all of our students to select a vocabulary word, which will then become their costume. We would like for them to choose a word that they don't know and learn it with you and then come in a costume that represents their word. The parade will be here soon so put your thinking caps on! How would you show the word adrift? or shortsighted? or Zigzag? Help us make vocabulary building a Parade of Words by having your child participate in the parade. We would love to have parents, grandparents and community members come watch the parade so don't forget it is on Wednesday at 8:15 am. See you then!

I want to take this time to remind parents about the school policy regarding visitors during lunch time. We love having visitors at our school throughout the day and we want you to keep coming. However, during lunch time, if you decide to come eat with your child, we ask that you have your child eat with you at the parent/visitor tables. This is time that you have set aside to eat with your child and we want you to enjoy it with him/her. It is not acceptable to eat at the table that is assigned to the class with all of the other children and it is not ok for your child to invite a friend to the parent/visitor table either. If you come to the school to eat with your child, we ask that you eat at the parent/visitor table with your child only. This policy has been in effect since we opened Baldwin three years ago and we are making sure that everyone is following our school policy. Thank you for your support in following this school rule.

Don't forget that the deadline to sign up to participate in the HEB gift card program is this Wednesday, October 31st. The funds that were raised last year by the PTA through the HEB gift card program helped us fund a part time technology specialist. Ms. Trevino started with us this week and she is already working in the computer lab assisting teachers and students and helping us throughout the building with troubleshooting. The more participants we have in this program, the more money that is then given back to Baldwin. Also, this year, the PTA is giving an Ice Cream party to the class that has the most participants sign up for this program. I heard on Friday, that Mrs. Lengle's class was ahead. Let's see if we get any more participants in other classes. Thanks for your support!

I look forward to these next nine weeks of learning and I look forward to seeing you at Baldwin!

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña

ROARING NEWS!

2012-09-30T18:08:00.001-07:00

Hello Baldwin Community,

It is hard to believe that we have completed 5 weeks of the 2012-2013 school year! Your children have been amazing Bobcats and have been working extremely hard every single day. As I make my daily rounds into classrooms, I hear children and teachers having meaningful conversations about the learning objectives in all subject areas. I see amazing student work hanging in the hallways that shows me that children are making connections within the discipline areas and with their own lives and experiences.

Our student council is gearing up for student council elections and our students that are running for one of the officer positions have taken over any empty wall space in the main building areas to hang their campaign posters. I have to admit that this year's campaign posters are even more creative than last year's. Our students have put in a lot of time and effort to getting elected. They will be recording their speeches soon and the rest of the student body will watch these with their classes and vote for the candidate of their choice. When you walk into the building you can feel the sense of pride that our children are feeling as they campaign and get ready for election day. I am so proud of each and every one of them. I also want to thank you, the parents, for helping your child through this experience. I look forward to working with this year's student council.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of the Baldwin parents for the kindness and generosity you showed to all of the Baldwin support staff during Staff Appreciation Week. I personally received many beautiful handmade cards, class books, a beautiful flower arrangement and an extremely generous gift card to my favorite restaurant from children in Mrs. Hook's class and from Ms. Brady's class. I have re-read my cards and books several times this past weekend and am so touched every time I read them. Thank you so much for the contributions made to the PTA, which in turn gave each of us an overly- generous gift card. I can proudly say, that each of us loves working with your children and being a part of the Baldwin Learning Community!!

I want to remind everyone to read the Baldwin Weekly ROAR because it contains so much information about upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. There are also many event dates in the ROAR that we need your assistance with, such as the upcoming Baldwin Carnival, the Roaring Readers Club, Red Ribbon Week and many more. Be sure to mark October 31st on your calendars so that you can join us for our first annual "Vocabulary Parade." The ROAR has more information about this fun event.

Once again, on behalf of the Baldwin Staff, I thank you for sharing your time, talents and treasures with all of us. I look forward to seeing you at Baldwin!

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña

Roaring News!

2012-09-09T19:19:00.001-07:00

Dear Baldwin Community,

We had a fantastic second week of classes! Your children are amazing and are already showing great strides. I want to thank everyone that came out to our Back to School Night events last week. Our cafeteria was packed both nights and it was a beautiful sight. Below are some pictures of teachers and parents in the classrooms.

Mrs. Cruz in her fourth grade classroom explaining some of the grade level expectations to her students' parents.

Parents of one of our third graders in Mrs. Lee's class. The students in this class left their parents a journal entry and the parents took the time to reply to their child. These proud parents left their son a beautiful and encouraging reply.

Mrs. Grance's explained the third grade curriculum to her students' parents.

Fifth Grade teachers enjoying the Gorzycki Steel Drum Band performance at Baldwin at Back to School Night.

Our fifth graders prepared some amazing self portraits for back to school night. Every fifth grader created a self portrait that sat at his/her desk representing themselves to their parents that evening. The self portrait was a series of directions that included mathematical terms and vocabulary that they reviewed the first few days of classes. Along with their self portraits, the students wrote a poem about themselves. The poem was part of the learning that took place during language arts class during these first two weeks of school. I was so impressed with their work that I wanted to share it with everyone. Below is a small sample of the great work by our fifth graders.

I think the self portraits look just like the children.

With the start of the new school year, here are some ideas that you may want to implement with your children that could help them with their learning and growing.

1. Ticket Please-This is for parents that need ideas to limit their youngster's TV time. Every week, give him/her seven slips of paper. Each is good for an hour of television. Remind him/her to plan ahead. For example, if he/she want to watch a two-hour movie on Saturday, he'll/she'll need to save an extra ticket during the week.

2. Be There! Regular Attendance in elementary school sets up a good pattern for your child's entire school career. Show him/her that school comes first by trying to keep days off for illnesses and family emergencies. Also, schedule routine doctor and dentist appointments for after school or over school breaks.

3. Better Concentration-Looking for a fun way to improve your youngster's concentration? Try this quick game. The first player makes one motion, like clapping or spinning around. The second person copies him/her and adds another movement. Continue adding new motions until someone forgets the sequence. The last player to get it right starts a new game.

4. After-school chats-"What's in your backpack?" Greet your child with this question, and you'll discover a lot about what he/she does in class.

Set aside time each day to go through his/her papers. Try to do it first thing after school when his/her day is fresh in his/her mind.

Look over your youngster's work together. Help hi/her feel proud by making a specific comment about something he/she has done. For instance, if he/she shows you a pictures he/she drew in art class you might say, "The gray sky and big waves look just like our rainy day a the beach."

Have him/her talk through math problems or science experiments to show you what he/she has learned. He/She might explain how he/she finds the perimeter of a triangle or why ants dig tunnels, for example.

I hope these examples spark other ideas for you to implement with your child throughout this school year. As the school year unfolds, we will continue to make home and school connections so that we are working together for school success.

I highly recommend that you read over the Baldwin ROAR for upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. We are always looking for great help! I am looking forward to another great week at Baldwin.

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña

Roaring News!

2012-09-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña

ROARING NEWS

2012-09-02T10:20:00.001-07:00

Dear Baldwin Community,

We had a fantastic first week of classes for the 2012-2013 school year! All of the children were very excited about learning and being with their new classmates. As I visited classrooms this week, I observed all of our students engaged in learning and interacting with their teachers and peers. The students learned their class routines and procedures, which will help them everyday with their learning.

In Kindergarten, the students were learning the routines of being in school and about the different components of their learning day.

The students were also given the opportunity and responsibility of creating these expectations with their teacher and peers. They reviewed each of the expectations for each of their learning centers, recess, walking in line and eating in the cafeteria. Please ask your kindergartener to tell you all about his/her first week and you will see how much they already learned. I can't wait to see the growth they will make in this foundational year of Kindergarten. Be sure to check in with your child's teacher to see how you can support your child's learning at home and how you can help in the classroom.

In the first grade classes, I saw and heard children practicing and building their independent reading times and reading with partners. The teachers modeled for them and then the children were able to show that they understood how and why these are important parts to the reading process. Way to go First Grade Teachers and Students!

Our second graders seem to be happy to be in the portable classrooms. The teachers in those rooms have done an outstanding job of creating such inviting learning environments. When I visited their classrooms, the students were exploring mathematical tools and explaining to each other how they could use these during math learning. They were having very high level conversations and were not afraid to share their thoughts. I'm proud of our second graders for showing resiliency and pride.

In the third grade classrooms, students were interviewing a partner to learn more about each other. The questions they asked prompted great conversations and the students seemed to enjoy learning about each other. I also observed third graders explaining their thinking in mathematics. They were at the board sharing their strategies and explaining how they got to the right answer. Keep up the great work third grade!

Our fourth graders were busy at work in reading, writing, math and science. I observed the students in this grade expressing their thoughts in written form about a book they are currently reading. This type of writing allows the students to show comprehension for their reading and gives them an avenue to express their thoughts. I also saw classes with students reading with partners and making connections to the reading or writing down "wonderings" about their reading. The fourth graders were also practicing place value and reading and writing whole numbers. In the next three weeks, in mathematics you will see that your child will be learning more about place value including estimation and points on a number line as they are related to place value. I also observed students making some great connections to their world. In a discussion with the teacher about taking data and creating a graph with that data, one student shared that his father uses data everyday to decide if it is the right time to purchase stock. He said, "my dad uses graphs everyday. It helps him decide if it is a good company." His teacher told him, "can you believe your father is still using what he learned in fourth grade and you will too." Wow, this is exactly how we want our students to see their learning; that it is learning beyond the classroom and that they will use it in their daily lives in some form or fashion. Looks like fourth grade is off to a great start!

In the fifth grade classrooms, the students had already completed a science lab and were making connections with that learning. They were also reading, comparing and ordering whole numbers through 999,999,999,999. All of the students seem to be very comfortable doing this work and were not afraid to share their thinking. I also observed fifth graders creating a self-portrait that they will have for parents to see on back to school night. I also noticed that we have so many leaders in fifth grade. All of the students were so poised and focused during the learning times and were being respectful with each other. We will expect our fifth graders to be role models for the rest of our student body everywhere in our school. Please keep encouraging them to do their best at all times!

In the Music, PE and Art classes the students were well on their way to creating beautiful art, songs and movement. The students were being challenged in the PE classes to show that they were ready for a year of healthy choices and getting fit. Our students at Baldwin are committed to do their best in the fine arts and it was evident in our first week of classes. They were having fun and giving it 100% in all classes.

I want to thank all of your for helping us with our morning routines and getting the children to their assigned areas by 7:35. I do want everyone to know that we are being vigilant with all of our children at all times including the drop off time. Your children are supervised at all times so please don't worry about the time they have to wait in the mornings prior to their teacher picking up their class. We have staff that is on duty during that time keeping a close watch on all of the children. We will continue to ask all of you to give us the space we need in the cafeteria and ask that you drop your child off at their designated area and move to the back of the gym if you choose to wait for the teacher to pick up the class. This procedure will continue to improve as we progress through the year. Thank you for your help this.

Dismissal also improved as the week progressed. I promise it will get better every day. I do want to remind any parent that picks up children at the school that there are designated areas for pick up and procedures that we must all follow. Only car riders will be waiting in front of the school. If you are a car pick up, please stay in your vehicle and your child will be brought to you.

If you are walking up to pick up your children on the Meridian side of the school, your child will be waiting in the gym or on the blacktop. Please do not walk behind the gym/cafeteria or in front of the portable buildings before or after school. It is not safe during this time due to staff coming to work in the mornings and the buses and day care vans in the afternoon. Let's do our part to keep everyone safe!

If you meet your child on the Espina exit, your child will not be dismissed until all of the buses have left and we feel it is safe to let them walk out of the building. If you are waiting for your child on the Espina side of the school, parents are to wait in the landscaped area between Espina Drive and the Bus Drive. You will be given a signal to walk up to the back doors to meet your child once the buses have cleared away from the school and the street. Thanks for your help with dismissal!

I want to cordially invite all of you to attend your child's back to school night. We will have two nights for parents to meet with their child's teacher to learn more about the curriculum and learning expectations for this new year. These two night events are for adults only. We will meet in the cafeteria for some brief introductions and announcements and then move to your child's classroom. On Wednesday, September 5, we invite PreK, Kinder, First and Second Grade parents to join us for their special night and On Thursday, September 6, we invite all parents of Third, Fourth and Fifth grade students to come learn about your child's grade level. I am looking forward to seeing all of you on those two nights.

There will also be two Gifted and Talented informational meetings prior to the Back to School Night events. We will be sharing information regarding our district's Gifted and Talented program to our Kinder, First and Second Grade parents on Wednesday and for our Third, Fourth and Fifth Grade parents on Thursday. Both meetings will be at 5:30 in the library. Please join us for one of these meetings if you want to learn more about the Gifted and Talented program.

I want to thank everyone for making our first week a successful one! We can only make this work if we all do our part. Thank you for being supportive with all that we want to accomplish this year at Baldwin.

Enjoy the extra day off this week and we will see everyone back at school on Tuesday.

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña

Roaring News!

2012-08-26T14:28:00.001-07:00

Hello Baldwin Community,

Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year! It was so exciting seeing so many of our Baldwin students and families at the "Meet the Teacher" event Friday afternoon. The children were a little hesitant as they entered the building but by the time they made it through the hallways to their classrooms and met up with some of their friends, you could see and hear the excitement in their faces. I know they are looking forward to another great year at Baldwin.

As many of you know and saw on Friday, we are growing at Baldwin! Our enrollment is over 720 students and we added 3 full portables, which is 6 classrooms. All of our teachers, but especially the teachers that are in the portables, worked every day this past week from early in the morning until very late in the evenings to get ready for the new school year. I am very proud to work with such a dedicated and professional staff. All of the classrooms inside and outside of the building look splendid and are ready for children to come on Monday to begin their learning for this year.

We have made a few changes for this school year. To best meet the needs of our students, we had to move a few teachers from one hallway to another and we had to add a few new classes. The biggest change for the children and our community this year will be morning assembly. After much discussion and reflection, we decided to have morning assembly only on Fridays. The children will still come into the cafeteria everyday and sit in their designated places in the mornings between 7:10 and 7:35 a.m. except that on Mondays through Thursdays, their teachers will come to the cafeteria at 7:35 to walk the students to their classrooms. On Fridays, we will remain in the cafeteria for our Friday Assembly, which will cover celebrations, recognitions, and/or Fitness Friday movements. Although the start time for elementary students in our district is 7:45 a.m., at Baldwin we will begin walking to our classrooms at 7:35 a.m. so that we can get a headstart on the classroom morning rituals and routines and begin instruction immediately at 7:45 a.m. We ask that you have your child at school no later than 7:35 so that they can be ready to begin learning at 7:45 a.m. The drop off line in the morning gets long and backs up at times, so please leave your house early so that your child can get to class on time. In advance, we thank you for your support with this effort.

Here are a few reminders for Dismissal: we will dismiss our children like we did last year. Teachers walk their students to their designated areas. We ask ALL parents to wait in the designated areas. We will not allow anyone to enter the building as we dismiss our students. The designated areas allow us to keep all of our children safe until a parent or child-care provider picks them up.

Car Pick UP: If you are picking up your child by automobile, you must REMAIN in the car pick up line in the front circle of the school. Parents should stay in their vehicle and the child will be brought to the car by an adult and/or a safety patrol member. Parents in the pick up lane should display their car placard with their child's name on it for the staff member to read the name and have your child brought to your car. If you need a car placard, stop by the front office and/or ask your child's teacher. Again, do not get out of your car while in the pick up lane in front of the school. Vehicles should not be left unattended in the pickup lane. Also, turn off your cell phones in the school zone areas and campus driveways. Unless you have a hands-free system, the same cell phone safety measures apply (especially during arrival and dismissal).

Walkers: If you walk or park your vehicle to pick up your child, you will pick up your child or children in the gym or the blacktop in the back of the gym. Kinder, 1st and 2nd graders wait in the gym and 3rd-5th graders wait on the blacktop in back of the gym. If you have children in multiple grade levels, the older child will be with the younger sibling. Students sit by grade level and parents are allowed a few at at time to walk into the gym to pick up their children. Please do not arrive until 2:45 because we will not begin dismissal until that time.

Older children are allowed to walk home on their own or with younger siblings. Espina walkers are dismissed after the buses have left the school grounds and Meridian walkers are walked out of the building and dismissed by their teachers at 2:45.

We now have portable classrooms that are located on the west side of the main building so please DO NOT park on the back of the school by the blacktop, or behind the gym and cafeteria because our students and teachers will be crossing that parking lot to get to their designated places.

We are looking forward to our 3rd year together as a Baldwin Learning Community. As man of you all already know, we rely on our students' parents and partners to help us reach our school goals. We cannot do this difficult and important work without you! We will continue to focus on providing rigorous instruction in all academic areas and holding each child to high expectations. When parents get involved in their children's education, the children do better in school, are better behaved, have more positive attitudes toward school and grow up to be more successful in life. Helping with homework can be a way for families to learn more about what their children are learning in school and an opportunity for them to communicate both with their children and with teachers and principals. Helping children become-and remain-readers is the single most important thing that parents and families can do to help their children succeed in school and life, so please read to your child everyday! Also, attendance is directly tied to high achievement and success, so please do everything possible to have your child at school everyday and on time.

Please invite your friends to read the Baldwin Weekly Roar, the Baldwin Website and this blog for continuous updates on events and school information.

Again, I am excited about another year with you at Baldwin and am looking forward to great accomplishments!

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña

ROARING NEWS

2012-05-06T13:04:00.001-07:00

Hello Baldwin Community,

The month of April was a busy one at Baldwin and even though May just began, it has not fallen short of activities and events that have kept all of us busy.

In April, we celebrated spring with the PTA Family Movie Night. It turned out to be a beautiful evening and many of our families came out to the Baldwin field to watch a movie together. What an awesome way to celebrate as a learning community! Thank you to the Baldwin PTA for organizing and sponsoring such a fun event. Also in April, our third, fourth and fifth graders made it through the State Assessments, (STAAR), with lots of confidence and poise. I am very proud of the children in these grades for giving it their all on these testing days. I am also very proud of our teachers and staff for preparing our children with knowledge and strategies and for making sure the testing days went as smooth as possible.

At the end of April, our PTA sponsored the first annual Baldwin Bash and silent auction event and it was an enormous success! The evening of the Bash was absolutely beautiful and we had a wonderful time. The venue was decorated with lots of lights and beautiful table settings, which made the evening even more special. The best part of the evening for me was the bidding on the auction items, the food, the music and especially the opportunities to talk with so many of you in such a relaxed and fun atmosphere. I loved learning more about each of you and watching everyone have a wonderful time knowing that all of this was for our Baldwin children! Thank you for coming out to the Bash and for participating in the silent auction! I hope to see many more parents and staff at next year's Bash! Thank you to all of the silent auction sponsors and to the PTA for putting on such a fantastic event!!

During the last few weeks of April, we also completed the Gifts of Time auction items. These auction items are all sponsored by our teachers and staff members. They have all volunteered their time and talents to spend time with your children and we appreciate you bidding on the items. This was also a huge success and we couldn't have done it without our PTA and you, the parents. We, the teachers and staff at Baldwin, are looking forward to all of the fun events we planned with the children. On May 17th, we will have the first Kickball game of Baldwin staff vs. Baldwin 3rd, 4th and 5th graders and on May 21st, we will host the Prek, Kinder, 1st and 2nd graders vs. Baldwin staff game. Both games will be at 9:00 a.m. on the Baldwin field and we invite all of you to come and support your favorite team. See you then.

As I stated earlier, May got here very fast and this past week was a busy first week of May for all of us at Baldwin. We had field days this week with our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders participating in all of the field events on Thursday and our Prek, Kinder, first and second grade classes enjoying the fun events on Friday. Coach Grumbles along with his helpers Coach Shaw, Mrs. Stevens, Mr. Mader, Ms. Schawrz and Mr. Shaddock organized some exciting events for all ability levels. I was even able to jump the hurdles, jump the long jump (sort of..) and complete a few of the soccer exercises. Both days were so much fun and all of the children were such great sports showing outstanding sportsmanship and team work. We also had many community sports organizations that gave their time to be a part of the field day events and taught the children so many skills. So to all of them, I say thank you and I send out a big Baldwin ROAR for their willingness to share their time and talents with all of our children.

This past Thursday, our second grade classes learned about the history of Mexico and the meaning of Cinco de mayo by sharing in some Mexican cultural traditions which included some arts and crafts and games. If your child is in second grade be sure to ask him or her what they learned last week.

This past Saturday our fourth and fifth grade Math Pentathletes competed in their division. The team did very well bringing home, 4 Honorable Mentions, 3 Bronze Medals, 4 Silver Medals, 1 Gold Medal and Hall of Fame Award. These math pentathletes will be recognized this Friday, May 11th at our morning assembly. Congratulations to all of these pentathletes and their coaches!

We have 17 school days left in this school year. Yes, only 17 days left!! It is unbelievable that our school year is almost over. There will be many more fun events and celebrations in these last few weeks so I ask that you continue to check your child's agenda/planner and to read the Weekly ROAR for updates and information.

On May 10th, I invite all of you to come join us for some fun activities at our 2nd Annual Family Fitness Night. It will be held in the cafeteria and the gym and it will be from 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. I know this is a very busy time for families but I hope you can make some time to join in on the fun at Baldwin this Thursday. This will be an evening for you to participate in some active movement with your children and learn more about ways to stay fit and healthy. See you then.

Here are a few other events we will have in May that you will not want to miss: May 25-AR Recognitions; May 29-Arts Fest-all day at Baldwin and May 30-5th Grade Completion Ceremony at 8:30 a.m.

Thank you again for helping us make Baldwin such a special place to learn and grow. I look forward to seeing you around the campus at some of our May events.

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

ROARING NEWS!

2012-03-10T10:10:00.001-08:00

Dear Baldwin Community,

Our second annual March Mathness was a HUGE success! We had parents, grandparents, student teachers and community members teaching our children many different math concepts through real life experiences and fun. Our volunteers made math come alive at Baldwin! A second grade student in Ms. Brady's class said to me, "Dr. Peña, I don't know who thought of March Mathness, but this a great thing for us to have. Every station has been so much fun especially the one where I ordered the food I wanted with the money I was given." I heard these type of comments every in every class I visited yesterday.

We had different lessons and math centers happening at all grade levels. Our PreK children played a variety of math games with parents and teachers in their classrooms. I peeked in their rooms and they didn't even notice me. They were so engaged in the activities and having such a great time. In Kindergarten, we had children working with fractions creating their own "Equal Willy" caterpillar. In another class, I saw children working with money, measuring their heart rates and playing a doubles game. The third graders experienced the olympics through different math olympic games. The older students learned more math skills through a scavenger hunt, balancing a check book and measuring the circumference of different circles. I saw some fifth graders writing out checks, so parents beware!

This type of learning and fun makes Baldwin a special place to learn and grow. Thank you to our teachers for organizing this year's March Mathness and thank you to all of the volunteers who came out to celebrate Math learning with us! We appreciate everyone sharing their talents and expertise.

Have a restful and fun Spring Break. I will see everyone back on March 19th!

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña

ROARING NEWS

2012-03-05T09:27:00.001-08:00

Dear Baldwin Community,

It has been a few weeks since my last blog communication. Throughout the month of February, we were extremely busy at Baldwin!

As I walk through classrooms and see what children are learning and experiencing and review the work that is posted in the hallways, I can confidently tell you that all of our Bobcats have been focused on learning. The students' writing that is posted demonstrates their commitment to high levels of learning. They have been sharing math strategies and writing skills through research and creative writing. The students in 2nd grade presented some outstanding research projects on Presidents, which included creative presentation skills and knowledge. The students in 1st and 3rd grades shared their learning and love of poetry by creating some original poems that are displayed throughout the yellow, blue and orange hallways. Our Kindergarten students continue to build their math skills with new knowledge about fractions and 2 and 3 dimensional shapes. Our fourth graders are displaying some "smarty pants" writing. They wrote compositions about a time they felt smart. Stop by and read them; the compositions are hanging in the green wing. I love going into classrooms and hearing your children share their learning and their ideas.

This past Friday, we celebrated Dr. Seuss' Birthday with pajama day and by having some of our students' fathers read to their children's classes. It was absolutely a beautiful experience to see and hear our dads reading to our children. We also had some classes cook up green eggs and ham, which were delicious. Thanks for helping us continue to develop the love of reading through these fun events. On Friday, in the third and fourth grade classes, we also celebrated Texas Independence Day. The fourth graders transformed themselves into cowboys and cowgirls to add to the learning fun. They also read and discussed the Texas Declaration of Independence, which was signed on March 2, 1836.

On February 24, a chicken showed up during morning assembly and led the chicken dance for the whole student body. The chicken went around the school cafeteria dancing with children, staff and parents. The chicken showed up to tell the children and parents thank you for contributing to the "Love Your School Campaign" and for helping the PTA meet this year's goal. It was an awesome celebration of great fun and dancing. I here the chicken had so much fun that it wants to come back!! Let's see how we can make that happen!

I would like to invite all of you to stop by this Friday, March 9 to celebrate March "Mathness" with us. We will begin our math rotations at around 8:00 a.m. and continue until about 10:30-11:00 depending on the grade level. For most grade levels, we have parent volunteers that will be conducting math lessons with our students. If you are available, we still need a few volunteers for fourth and fifth grade. Please let the fourth or fifth grade teachers know if you can teach a math lesson on Friday. We are looking forward to a fun filled day of mathematics!

I want to thank everyone for their continuous support of the learning at Baldwin. Don't forget we will be off for spring break beginning March 10 and we will return for the last ten weeks of classes beginning March 19. Enjoy your spring break and I look forward to seeing everyone on March 19th.

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña

ROARING NEWS

2012-02-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

Dear Baldwin Community,

As the "Love your School" Campaign gets started I wanted everyone to know how much the Baldwin PTA has supported all of the learning at Baldwin for the past two years. Due to the district budget cuts and the way schools are funded, we don't receive sufficient funds to cover the many expenses that take place on a day to day basis at our school. For the past two years, the PTA has listened to our many requests and has been able to provide us the extra support in so many different ways. Did you know that the PTA purchased or will be providing the following to our school by the end of this school year?

$10,000 worth of books for Classrooms and the Literacy Library
Teaching Gardens
Funds have been designated for a school Marquee
Gaga Pit (the children love playing in the Gaga Pit!!)
Storage Shed (with Door)
Backpack hooks throughout the school
Solar Shed for science learning
12+ Lego Robots for use in the classrooms and First Lego League
19 Flip Cameras for use in the classrooms
75+ Net-book Headphones
2 outdoor benches and trashcans
2 sets of Math Pentathlon Games for teachers to checkout from the library to use in their math centers
Set of 5th grade student books for Social Studies (Social Studies Alive, supplemental text used in classrooms)
STAAR Materials
Large die cut machine
Bookshelves

1 hour Planetarium School Visit

Mobile Science Lab

Science lab equipment such as: prisms, magnifying glasses, magnets, density cubes, geometric shapes, meter sticks, photo-reactive paper, thermometers, 60 pocket microscopes etc.

2 high end digital microscopes
A skeleton
$2,000 in professional development funds for teacher training

WOW! our school has only been open for two school years, and our PTA has been able to support the learning in so many different ways!!

This year's Love Your School No Hassle Giving Campaign kicks off tomorrow, February 8th. Instead of having to sell cookie dough or magazines, the PTA has decided to ask for your support in this way. The proceeds benefit your children with worthwhile enrichment programs, books, materials, and technology improvements that we would not be able to fund with the annual budget the district provides to our school. This year's goal is to raise at least "$10, 000 and each expression of support, regardless of the amount is important. All donations go into the PTA general fund and any expenditures must be voted on by the PTA general membership.

I ask that you consider supporting all of the teaching and learning at Baldwin by contributing to this year's Love Your School Campaign. Your tax deductible contributions can be made any time between February 8th through the 16th. Remember, when you give to the PTA, you are giving to your child!

In advance, I want to thank you for your consideration in participating in the Love Your School Campaign and for your continuous support!

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña

ROARING NEWS

2012-01-31T09:45:00.001-08:00

Dear Baldwin Community,

I have some GREAT NEWS to share with you!

This morning at morning assembly, we announced the 2011-2012 Baldwin Teacher of the Year- Mrs. Gayle Grance.

Mrs. Grance has worked for Austin ISD for 16 years and previous to this, she worked in Ohio and Pennsylvania for another 14 years. Mrs. Grance provides "hands-on" experiences that become the cement to connect lessons to real life situations. She enjoys watching children have "ah-ha" moments as they discover answers and make connections. She also believes that all children have gifts and talents and she tries to offer opportunities for each child to share their gifts. Mrs. Grance has been instrumental at Baldwin. She was one of Baldwin's founding teachers and has worked tirelessly to organize science equipment and materials for teachers to check out for use in their classrooms. She was also a leader in finding volunteers to build us a solar shed and teaching gardens. Mrs. Grance has helped us enrich our curriculum in so many different ways. She is a team player and contributes to all aspects of our learning community.

Mrs. Grance inspires a love of learning in students of all backgrounds and abilities. She provides a high-quality, well-rounded educational experience to all students that is rigorous, culturally relevant, healthful and engaging. Mrs. Grance is well respected by her colleagues, parents and most importantly her students. She plays an active and useful role in the community as well as in our school. Mrs. Grance is poised, articulate, and possesses the energy to withstand a taxing schedule.

Previously, Mrs. Grance was Teacher of the Year at Kiker Elementary in 2000 and 2004. We are so lucky to have such a talented and dedicated teacher working with us at Baldwin!

Roaring with Pride,
Dr. Peña

ROARING NEWS

2012-01-30T10:17:00.001-08:00

Dear Baldwin Community,

This Wednesday, February 1st, will be the 100th day of classes which is unbelievable!! This morning as I walked through classrooms, I saw all of the children focused on learning and sharing their thinking. I observed three students in Ms. Seitz's class, Jaxon, Joopsy and Joey, sharing the 100 charts they created at home. Two of the students explained that their 100 charts included 10 groups of 10 which equaled 100. The other student explained that she drew a tree trunk and added 100 leaves to it. All three students received a round of applause for their good work and for their explanations. Thank you parents for helping our students complete their displays of 100 and for continuing to enhance their understanding of number sense.

As I walked through the 1st and 2nd grade hallways, I noticed some excellent work on the bulletin boards and in the classrooms. In the early weeks of January, the first and second graders honored Martin Luther King by learning about the importance of his dream and understanding that words have power.

Some of the second graders wrote their own dreams and it was evident that they have BIG dreams. The children learned how historical figures and good citizens help shape the country and the state by their contributions.

Our third graders learned that the earth consists of Natural Resources and that its surface is constantly changing. They learned this by creating models of the 3 types of rocks found on the earth: metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary. The children will now be using this information to identify and compare different landforms, including mountains, hills, valleys and plains. In the orange wing, I also saw third grade work where the students created their own number lines naming points using whole numbers and fractions, including halves and fourths.

In the green wing, our fourth and fifth graders have been working extremely hard in all academic areas. I know these students are relieved that science fair is behind them and I want to congratulate them for their great work and perseverance to get it done! I learned so much from their projects and I thank the parents for helping them get through this phase of their learning. I spent quite a bit of time in the green wing today reading the fourth graders narrative and expository compositions. They are such creative writers and they are doing such a great job using their learning within their writing. In the same way, the fifth graders had some excellent work displayed in the hallway. Their work showed that they are able to use a flexible range of metacognitive reading skills in both assigned and independent reading to understand an author's message. Today, as I walked through the fifth grade reading class, the students were beginning their study of poetry learning about poetic techniques such as alliteration and onomatopoeia, figurative language and graphic elements. Be on the lookout for your child's creative, poetic side.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the parents and grandparents that heard our plea for more reading volunteers. This week alone, I saw an increase in volunteers coming in to help our first graders improve their reading skills through our Great Leaps Reading program. We still have space for more volunteers so please checkout the Baldwin PTA website for other volunteer opportunities. Thank you again for all of your support!

I look forward to reporting more on your children's learning later this week.

Roaring with Pride,

Dr. Peña