January 2008 Dear Meeting House Hill Families, "Sometime ago I went into a shoe store and asked for a fifth-grade shoe. The clerk looked at me suspiciously and asked if I knew how much shoe sizes varied among 11-year olds. Furthermore, he pointed out that shoe size was not nearly as important as purpose, style, color, etc. But if I would specify the features I wanted and size, he could walk to the back and magically re-appear with several options to my liking. He further noted, somewhat condescendingly, that the store used the same metric to measure feet and shoes, and when there was a match between foot and shoe, the shoes got worn, there was no pain and the customer was happy and became a repeat customer. I called home and got my son's shoe size and then asked the clerk for an 8½, red, high-top, Penny Hardaway basketball shoe. After a brief credit-card transaction, I had my shoes. I then walked next door to my favorite bookstore and asked for a fifth-grade fantasy novel. Without hesitation, the clerk and I walked to a shelf where she gave me three choices. I chose "The Hobbit," a level Z classic that I had read three times, and went home. My son, I later learned, reads at a level T. As I write this, my son is passionately practicing free throws in the driveway." - Dr. A. Jackson Stenner, Chairman and co-founder, MetaMetrics®. Books are a lot like shoes…they come in a wide range of difficulty levels.  Therefore, it is important for a book to fit just like a shoe.  If the book is too hard you will stumble over the words…too easy you may run so fast you might miss important information.    Reading opens doors to countless opportunities for us as children as well as adults.  In order for children to be able to make progress with their reading, they must pick books that they can not only decode but can comprehend as well.  We call these books “just right.”  We believe that reading is the foundation that allows children to access information in all other curriculum areas.  Therefore, it is important for children to have access to books that are “just right” for them.   Parents play an important role in the success of their children's reading abilities.  Timothy Rasinski (on of the leading experts in reading instruction) states in his book The Fluent Reader, “Research indicates that parental involvement is key to students' success in learning to read.  In fact, a recent interaction study on reading achievement (Postlethwaite & Ross, 1992) found that parental involvement in children's reading was the number -one predictor of reading achievement worldwide.”  If you have questions about which books are “just right” for your child please consult with his/her teacher and title/authors can be provided.   Finding a book that is “just right” for your child is like finding a shoe that fits just right.  We will be having a parent informational session on “just right” books this spring.  As we move closer to the spring please keep your eyes open for the flyer we will be sending home with more information. Happy Reading, Ms. McLain and Ms. Kilian

September 4, 2007 Dear Parents: As we welcome you to Meeting House Hill School, we would like to remind you of our procedurefor dismissal.   In the past we noticed an over abundance of parents picking their children up early.  As a result, our students were losing important afternoon instructional time - often science experiments, read-alouds and homework assignment reviews.  When students in a class leave early, it poses a disruption for the student, the class and the teacher. Dismissal is a very busy time for the students and their teachers.   Students are trying to pack up their belongings and listening to the end of day announcements.  Early dismissal interruptions often cause students to misplace and/or forget items. These are the revised procedures we will follow: To preserve the end of day instructional time, NO child will be paged and dismissed from class before 3:15 pm UNLESS it is an emergency.  Emergencies DO NOT include after school activities. Buses will be called at 3:15 pm as we usually do. Students cannot be paged for dismissal after we begin calling buses.  We recommend that your child take the school bus every day in order to arrive and depart from school on time.   If for some reason you do not want your child to ride the bus, he/she is considered a “walker”.  Walkers are dismissed at 3:25 pm, after all buses are called.  If your child is a “walker,” please do not drive up to the front of the school until 3:25 pm.  If you are delayed past 3:30 pm, your child will be waiting in the main office, as staff are not available to supervise outside. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding in this educational and safety matter. Sincerely,               Sarah McLain               Carrie Kilian           Principal               Assistant Principal