Freedom Elementary
Freedom Parent News ~ December
Every Teacher is a Leader, Every Leader is a Teacher
School staff are the people who work at a school. There are staff members with the title of teacher, but there are other “teachers” who play an important role in our students’ education. All school staff members do important jobs for your child’s education and we strongly believe that every teacher is a leader and every leader is a teacher. The leadership considerations of teachers are grounded in their desire to improve the quality of teaching and learning for all students without a focus on traditional definitions of leadership as “higher” or “superior” positions. Instead, teachers view leadership as a collaborative effort, a banding together with others to promote development, growth, and the improvement of educational services to our students. Recently, our campus hosted Turkey Bowling before heading into the Thanksgiving Break. Every member of our school community was invited to partake in our fun activity to knock down the turkeys (fittingly assigned with images of the school administrative team and points) while students cheered them on. This was a great activity before a relaxing break!
Freedom Students Are Published Authors
Students on San Antonio’s South Side have an opportunity to be featured in a new writers program in Live From The Southside magazine. Local students in Grades 3-12 are invited to become contributing writers to the “Kid’s Korner Program.” Students can submit anything from personal essays and poems to songs and speeches to other nonfiction family-friendly pieces that are up to 300 words and four students from Freedom have already been published! “Having some of my students be able to say they are now published authors is such a great feeling! I have seen such a boost in their motivation to write and express their thoughts and opinions. Seeing their photos and published pieces brings such pride to their faces. Our class is very grateful to be part of the collaboration,” shared Fourth Grade Teacher Monica Cruz-Arellano. “I strive for my students to see the endless opportunities available to those who seek them out. If they have a chance to show their community how talented they are, they need to jump at it! I already know how awesome they are and now the entire South Side community knows it too!” Check out some of the great work of Freedom Elementary students.
Congratulations to Our Accelerated Reader Millionaires
The Accelerated Reader program is intended to encourage kids to read independently, at their own level and pace. The idea behind AR is that kids enjoy reading more when they can select their own books. (The program has more than 150,000 titles to choose from on its Bookfinder list.) Each book has online “reading practice” quizzes, which you may hear referred to as “AR tests.” Teachers use these quizzes to track each student’s progress and set appropriate goals for each. A classroom teacher can work with the school district’s reading specialist or curriculum coordinator to track progress and set goals in the AR program.
We are excited to recognize our AR Millionaires! These students have read over one million words since the start of this school year. Way to go, Cardinals!
Toyota Donates $50,000 to Southside ISD for STEM Education
The Toyota Motor Manufacturing Plant of Texas unveiled it’s all new 2022 Tundra and announced a $50,000 donation to Southside ISD. In its announcement, Toyota said It wants to expand access to STEM education and workforce development with a specific focus on San Antonio’s South Side. Southside ISD is one of six San Antonio-area school districts who will each receive the $50,000 donation. Additionally, Toyota also made a $100,000 donation to the San Antonio Food Bank which is a major partner of Southside ISD.