(For December newsletter)

CWCS Self Improvement Program

By Sherri Nelson

Our school is a wonderful school but even a wonderful school can make improvements! We are in the process of going through what WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) calls a ‘Self Study’. I’m calling it our ‘School Improvement Program’. We are looking at our school in depth to see how we are doing in the following areas or criteria: curriculum & instruction, assessment & accountability, student personal and academic growth, culture, and leadership and staff. We have teacher, parent, and subject area groups meeting to look at our school in the above areas. If you are interested in joining a group or helping in any way, please let your ES know.

As we look at our school to find areas of need for improvement, we are evaluating our school based on the goals that we have set forth for our school. Several parents, students, teachers, and a contract program instructor attended a meeting in February of this year to answer the questions, “What should every student who leaves our school be able to do, know, understand, or value to be successful in the real world?” They agreed upon several goals or expected schoolwide learning results (ESLRS). The ESLRS for our students are listed below. We would like for you to please review these with your students. Some students are given extra credit for memorizing these goals. We find that most people who set goals achieve those goals and have a high success rate. Many students ask , ‘why do I have to go to school?’ Below are the reasons to learn, attend, and complete school!

Expected Schoolwide Learning Results for Connecting Waters Charter School

CWCS will prepare its graduates to be:

1. Effective Communicators who:

Read critically and extensively for a variety of purposes.
Write using acceptable English.

Speak clearly and listen actively.

2. Effective Citizens who:

Contribute to society and work cooperatively with others.
Gather, analyze and apply information to real life situations.
Demonstrate basic life skills (i.e. seeking employment or college admission).

3. Technologically Skilled Individuals who:

Demonstrate competence in the use of a computer.
Demonstrate competence with basic software programs and other appropriate technological equipment.

4. Historically-Aware Learners who:

Have an understanding of the history and cultures of mankind.

Know and articulate the democratic principles of our society.

5. Mathematical Thinkers who:

Apply mathematical principles and operations to solve problems.

6. Scientific Thinkers who:

Applies scientific knowledge and thought processes to explain the world and solve problems.

7. Lifelong Learners who:

Realize their own unique educational interests, talents, or abilities.
Have experience or knowledge in a variety of the arts, trades, professions, languages, and other disciplines

Connecting Waters Charter School

Open House

April 20^th, Drop in any time between

6:30pm and 8:30pm

Student performances will start at 7:00pm

Waterford High School Multi Purpose Room

121 S. Reinway Ave.

Waterford, CA 95386

Display Your Student’s Work & Projects

Please call the CWCS Waterford Office 209-874-9463 and let us know what you plan to display!

Student Performances

Meet Class Instructors

Get to Know the Staff

View Curriculum

New and prospective students are encouraged to come and learn more about what we have available!!

From Modesto: Take Briggsmore Ave. east to Claus. Turn right onto Claus. Take Claus to Yosemite appox. 2 miles. Turn left onto Yosemite. Take Yosemite to Reinway Ave. in Waterford approx. 8 ½ miles. Turn right onto Reinway. The High School will be immediately on your right. The multi purpose room is the last building on the right.

Ceres/ Modesto Learning Center News

Spring Curriculum Spotlight: Phonics Without Worksheets

Are you tired of reading worksheets and looking for a way to make phonics fun for your child? Our spring curriculum spotlight features a set of exciting books called, “Phonics Without Worksheets!” These vowel and consonant books feature hands-on craft making, interactive games, and activities with multi-sensory appeal. Rather than using a paper and pencil format, they feature easy and quick to prepare games, crafts, and activities to help students learn the sounds of letters and letter combinations. Students will engage their senses by hearing letters, seeing words in a variety of forms, touching letter related crafts, smelling food prepared to reinforce letter sounds, and tasting food prepared during the activities. Some of the wonderful activities include:

-

Act as an Animal

- Touch and See

- Sneak a Peek

- Stir the Words

- Go Fish

- Shopping Cart

- Jiggly Jelly

- Donut Dot Dance

Don’t these sound exciting?

Come by the C/MLC for more creative ideas to help your child learn to read!

April Center Hours

Please note that the C/MLC will be closed for Spring break April 5-12^th. Our regular hours are:

M 9-2

T 11:-4:30

W 9-2

Th 11-4:30

F 9-4:30

EDUSOFT

We now have a scanner available at the site for you to scan in your student’s answers and create testing record folders. Contact your ES or call the C/MLC for more information.

Support

It’s not too late to support our center! If you find that you have extra Instructional Funding available, talk to your ES about donating it to our site. Our site runs mainly through parent donations of Instructional Funding and we thank all of you who continue to support it this year.

2005 Classes

Would you like to see a specific class offered at the Learning Center in the fall? Please call the center and let us know, as we are currently setting up our prospective class schedules for the fall. Our goal is to provide even more learning opportunities for our students, and we would love to hear your perspective on classes to offer!

Manteca Learning Center News
Cathy Moretto, Site Program Coordinator
Kim Davis & Kathrin Gardea, Site Clerks
Closed Mondays
Tuesday- Thursday 9-4
Friday 10-3:30
209-239-7306

Site Support Thank you to those who have so generously supported the sites this school year. As you meet with your ES to sign student agreements for the Fall, please remember to sign new agreements for the center of your choice as well. Full support is only $110 per year for K-8 students and $155 per year for 9-12 grade students. For those who have wondered why we need the sites or why they should support them, here is a partial list of how the Manteca site was used this past month:

18 ESs used the site to meet with or get materials for over 190 students. 7 of these ESs use the site to meet with students on weekly basis.
3 therapists provided therapy for 13 students
13 classes were held each week for 111 students

At the site we also:
- Collect applications for prospective students (we have a 4" binder completely full of applications for this 2003-04 year.)
- Scan Edusoft tests for parents that mail them to us
- Make copies for students/parents
- Hold monthly ES meetings
- Host School Open House
- Use the computers to access information for and with families
- Fax and receive important documents in a timely manner
- Leave messages and paperwork from families for ESs in their personal boxes
- Forward UPS shipments of educational materials to ESs from vendors that won't direct ship to ESs
- Accept materials shipments for ESs that have their orders shipped to us
- Act as a drop-off point for families and ESs to connect with materials
- Accept work permit applications and return completed permits to students
- Maintain a full resource library for parents and ES's to use to save money on materials
- Maintain the Scottish Rite Dyslexia materials for checkout to families
- Store STAR testing materials in a secure room before/between/after testing sessions
- Test selected students who require special accommodations
- Hold Special Education annual IEP meetings.

All of these activities would have to be done out of Waterford or school funds would have to be used on a per use basis to hold these activities. Even if you never come into the centers, your ES probably does. If you have any questions, please contact the site at 209-239-7306, and I will get back to you.
Thanks,
Cathy Moretto
Manteca Site Program Coordinator

REQUIREMENT FOR 1^ST GRADERS

Child Health and Disability Prevention Program (CHDP) is a preventative health program serving California’s children and youth. CHDP makes early health care available to eligible children, not only children with obvious health problems, but also to children who seem well. The CHDP program works with the Department of Education in administering and monitoring this requirement and assists low-income children to meet the requirement by providing them with state-paid health assessments.

CHDP School Requirements:

By law, all children entering the first grade are required to have either

a certificate of a CHDP health examination or a waiver on file at the school in which they enroll. School health examinations must be completed within 18 months prior to or 90 days after 1^st grade entry unless the parent or guardian signs a waiver stating they do not want, or they are unable to obtain an examination for their child.

If you have questions regarding the CHDP requirements please call

Cary Sharp in Student Records at 800-979-4436.

Immunization Update

Student Records

Parent Orientation

If you have submitted an application for enrollment with Connecting Waters or are thinking about it, this orientation meeting is for you! Information regarding our school will be presented with plenty of time devoted to questions and answers.

There are two dates and locations to choose from:

April 27, 2004 at 6:30pm

Manteca Learning Center

955 W. Center St., Ste. 9

Manteca, CA 95337

209-239-7306

May 4, 2004 at 6:30pm

Modesto/Ceres Learning Center

2600 Mitchell Rd., Ste. G

Ceres, CA 95307

209-541-1531

It’s your Choice!

Whether in a classroom or at home, participating in community activities or exploring learning through community activities, Connecting Waters Charter School offers a wide range of learning opportunities and programs designed to help your child learn to his or her highest potential.

Scholarships & Grants:

Scholarships and grants are financial aid you don’t have to repay. Grants are usually based on financial need while scholarships are based on merit and may recognize your major, grades, test scores, special talents, heritage, athletic or leadership ability, or community service.

Checklist for Grants & Scholarships:

1. Check out scholarships and grants on the Web, http://www.connectingwaters.org/Guidance/scholarshipinfo/index.htm.

2. Talk to your high school counselor or college financial aid administrator about college plans and financial needs.

3. Explore the AmeriCorps program, military and veterans benefits,

fee waivers, tax credits and deductions, tuition payment plans and part-time work.

4. Ask about grants, scholarships and loans offered by each college,

including deadlines, when applying for admission. Some deadlines may be earlier than March 2 Cal Grant deadline.

5. Keep track of all the financial aid requirements, applications and

Deadlines.

6. Apply for a Social Security number, if you don’t already have one,

by going to http://www.ssa.gov or calling 800.772.1213.

7. Apply for a personal identification number at

http://www.pin.ed.gov so you can e-sign the online FAFSA.

8. Complete the current year FAFSA to apply for financial aid.

The easiest and fastest way is on the Web at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov starting January 1^st.

9. Submit your FAFSA as soon as possible starting January 1^st and

Before your earliest financial aid deadline. Use estimates if you or your parents haven’t completed your federal tax returns.

10. File your FAFSA by March 2^nd to meet the Cal Grant A, B and C

Postmark deadline. Also, be sure you or your school submits your verified GPA to the California Student Aid Commission by March 2^nd.

11. If mailing the FAFSA or the GPA Verification Form, get a

Certificate of Mailing from the post office as evidence it was sent on time.

12. Keep a copy or printout of your FAFSA, all worksheets and

financial records. Your college may ask to see them.

13. Review your Student Aid Report carefully. It will include your

expected family contribution.

14. You can look into federal loan programs, but you will need to pay

back any loans unlike a grant or scholarship.

Help for Struggling Readers

by Melinda Cox

Thinking back on the past three years, it is difficult to understand how I might have missed the signs that my daughter was struggling to read. I say this because it seems to be a very ironic situation; I was a Language Arts teacher, who taught Corrective Reading to struggling readers for three years. However, the one Special Education class I took for my credential scarcely touched on Dyslexia.

When my daughter’s first grade teacher told me that my child was struggling with reading, it was a shock, because she had already developed ways to compensate for her weaknesses. We were told that she might need a Special Education class, and promptly had her tested. The resource teacher and the school psychologist both told us that she did not qualify for Special Education and suggested that she was just bored and might need to be tested for GATE. At this point, however, we had started to recognize the struggles she was having within her reading. She did not have the “symptom” that is most recognized with dyslexia, reversal of letters. She did, however, struggle with phonics blends and reversing common words, such as saying “saw” instead of “was”.

She made it through 2^nd grade with a teacher that did not recognize her compensation techniques, but her reading was not improving, and as the material started to get harder she began to encounter frustration and a general dislike for school and learning. That is when I made a decision to take her out of the traditional school setting and give her one-on-one instruction. A friend brought to my attention that the struggles my child was having seemed to point to dyslexia. So we sought specific testing to verify that our daughter did indeed have dyslexia.

The same friend recommended the dyslexia training videos created by Texas Scottish Rites Hospital. I checked the first ten lessons out from the Waterford office and began the intensive phonics program. The program consists of Spelling, Reading, Phonics, Handwriting, and Listening on a one hour daily video. The videos practice prior learning everyday and reinforce each sound that the students learn for several lessons. The videos incorporate all learning styles, so that all students are capable of using this program.

The videos are developed in the classroom, the teacher on the video has an actual class in front of her, but she also speaks to the child watching the video. It is this that keeps my child from feeling that she is all alone. The teacher shows the children how to do each task before she asks them to perform it themselves. The videos use visual and verbal cues to help the students remember phonics blends and word coding. The teacher occasionally corrects one of her “classroom” students in a positive way, which shows the child watching the video that it is okay to make mistakes, after all this is a process, not an overnight fix to reading.

In the six months that my daughter has been using this program, I have not only seen her reading improve, but her confidence return. She is excited to read books and can actually read words at grade level with confidence. She is beginning to develop the skills to sound out multi-syllabic words and will tell me how to code a word so that it is easier to pronounce. Her handwriting is beginning to be very neat and precise, and she is writing with fluency and ease.

The Texas Scottish Rites Hospital Video program has proven extremely successful in my daughter’s case. I am grateful that we took the advice of other parents that have used this program and I would strongly recommend the program to the parents of students who are struggling readers, dyslexic or otherwise. Even for the student who is not dyslexic, this program will fill in the gaps of learning and develop greater phonemic awareness and fluency. The good thing about this program is that the Waterford office and the Manteca Learning Center have these videos available. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of taking advantage of this resource that is available to all students of Connecting Waters Charter School.

A fun idea from a parent – go to www.bookadventure.com to find quizzes and prizes for reading books!!

Book Adventure is a FREE reading motivation program for children in grades K-8. Children create their own book lists from over 6,000 recommended titles, take multiple choice quizzes on the books they've read offline, and earn points and prizes for their literary successes. Book Adventure was created by the Sylvan Learning Foundation and is sponsored by Sylvan Learning, Inc. (MSilva)

KNOWING DAVID SWAN...

A POSSIBLE CONTINUATION of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Short Story

by Hillary Varner

(Background: In the early 1800s Hawthorne wrote “David Swan, A Fantasy,” a social commentary on life; as Hawthorne puts it, “We can be but partially acquainted even with events which actually influence our course through life, and our final destiny.” You can access the complete text on websites including http://www.webbooks.com/Classics/Stories/Hawthorne1/Contents.htm). Hillary V., junior at Connecting Waters, has offered a possible continuation of the classic story in a style not unlike that of Hawthorne.)

David arrives in Boston late that evening. The coach lets him off about a block away from his uncle’s store. He’d arrived so late that the store had already closed for the night. Knowing that his uncle lived nearby, David started down the cobblestone street dimly lit by candle-filled light posts. As he walked he dreamed of how his life would change now that he was in Boston. First, he would work hard and earn enough money to buy a place of his own. Then he would meet and marry a beautiful woman to raise a family with. He’d also make his uncle very proud by all the hard work he would put into the store. He also dreamed of how he would rid his uncle’s store of the thieves that he was told about in his uncle’s letters.

It was nearly dinner time when he finally arrived at Uncle John’s house. They were eager to let David join them for dinner so he could tell them of his journey. During their conversation Uncle John spoke of how he had been harassed by those two men once again that afternoon. He went on about how important it was to keep those men out of the store, that they would clean him out if they had the chance. Aunt Mary cut in about how she had seen the most beautiful young woman that morning. She looked like she had a heavy heart, the way she hung her head as if something was bothering her. Aunt Mary thought how nice it would be if David could find a young woman like that to take as his bride. David blushed, his youthful skin showing a healthy glow with rosy cheeks. “Only in my dreams,” he stated.

Morning couldn’t come soon enough for David. He rose with eagerness, ready to start his new job, meet new people, and protect Uncle John’s store. The cobble stone street was misty, the lamps were being put out, and there were sounds of people greeting each other a good morning. It only took Uncle John and David a few moments to open up the grocery store. After setting David up behind the counter, Uncle John reminded David to look out for the two men. They would be dressed in shabby clothes but had keen eyes. They were dangerous thieves. David nodded his understanding.

It was soon noon. David was now feeling secure in his job after dealing with more than fifty customers and becoming familiar with the store’s inventory. He picked up the real estate section of the paper. As he read, he grew deeper in the fantasy of how he wanted to live his life. Although he continued to help customers, his mind was elsewhere. His attention to small details faded. At one point, he gave a customer the wrong change, it fact, way too much change. Not being an honest man, the customer accepted it and hurried out of the store.

Still in a daze, David thought of the woman he wanted to meet, and about how he would court her. Meanwhile, a young woman, the same one who had crossed his path while he slept on his walk to his uncle’s, the same one Aunt Mary had described, walked into the store. Noticing that the clerk was the man she had seen sleeping near the road the day before, she blushed. She walked up to the counter, hoping he would notice her. She asked, “Where do you keep the peach jam?” David just pointed to the counter beside him, without even looking up. She then asked whether they had blackberry jam. David just said, “Yup,” and pointed to the same counter. The young woman, becoming frustrated, dropped her handkerchief on the counter, hoping he would notice and look up. But David still didn’t notice, nor did he notice the smell of her perfume that lingered in the air beneath his nose.

Crushed and distraught, the young woman left the store, only to be pushed to the ground by two rough looking men who offered her no apology. They entered the grocery store, took a quick glance around, their demeanor scaring off two of the nearby customers. David, his head buried in the paper, remained unaware of what was going on in front of his own eyes. The two thieves noticed that the man behind the counter appeared to be wearing they same shirt which had pillowed the head of the man who had been sleeping by the spring under the maple trees, the man whom they had almost robbed the day before.

Looking at each other, they said, “Now we can finish what we started before the dog interrupted.” Approaching the counter with knives in hand, they snarled at David, “Give us your wallet!” David, still in his fantasy dream, pointed to a shelf with the wallets, purses, and hats. Within moments, David felt a sharp pain in his side. He then looked up to see the two men grabbing all the money out of the cash register. When they had emptied that, they grabbed for his wallet, ripping his shirt in the process. As if in slow motion David looked to see the blood gushing from his side. Panicking, he reached for the handkerchief that was on the counter. But it was too late; everything was growing dark. Slowing but surely he was beginning to realize what was going on.

As he was falling to the ground, he heard a scream, the scream of the young woman who had regained her footing and returned to offer assistance. When she saw what had happened to David, she ran crying towards him in panic. He managed to look up into the eyes of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She kneeled down and held his cool body in her warm arms as he was slipping away. He was conscious in his last moments that she was the woman from his dreams, she was the woman who had asked about the jam and who had left the handkerchief. Her voice seemed to soothe his passing. If only he had paid attention, but it was too late; even her beautiful, teary, lovely eyes were fading from his sight. David was dying before he had even begun to live.

From the author: Maybe if people pay attention to their surroundings, and live their lives looking out for what they dream, maybe they will actually see it instead of wasting time daydreaming about it happening. It could be too late by the time it comes around again.

Connecting Waters Charter School

Ceres/ Modesto Learning Center News

April Center Hours

Support

2005 Classes

Student Records

Kindergarten Immunization Requirements

Exemptions