Week of December 14, 2009

Dear Families: We sure are getting closer to the holiday season. Just a reminder (my teachers insisted I write this!!!) that the students' last day is December 18. Return date is January 4, 2010. We hope you all have a fun filled and happy holiday...

We have a request from PTA: They are collecting 600 milk/sweet tea jugs for an earth day project. If you would send them to school, we will pass them on to the PTA.

Please make plans to join us for our Fifth grade Chorus this Tuesday night. The singing will begin at 6:30 and a little birdie told me we may all be asked to sing a song together for the holidays!! PTA will be serving yummy desserts afterwards. This would be a great time to have fellowship with our students, their friends and families. Please try to join us for this special event.

The cafeteria asked us to explain to you that we do not bill overdue lunches until they reach $10.00. Those accounts that eventually turn into free and reduced lunches still owe the prior balance. Our cafeteria is down $1200.00 from overdue lunches not paid just so far this year.

And a final reminder that if you are able, please see Miss Elaine in the front office to help with the Angel Tree. The family child you pick will only be known to our Guidance team. If you and your family can provide a gift or clothing for a child who is not so fortunate, please think about a doing the Angel Tree at Blair. All gifts and proceeds benefit Blair students 100%. We thank you for your generosity and kindness in advance.

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. We are secretly hoping for just a sprinkle of snow one morning....Be warm, be safe, be happy!

Yours in education,

Barbara Stock
Principal

Week of December 7, 2009

Dear Parents:

We will be publishing our School Improvement Team notes on line. If you are interested in what we discuss and what decisions we make for the good of our students, please follow the link on our Blair web page.

This is the month of our Angel tree. If you are able and this is optional, we would appreciate if you stop in the front office and pick an angel off our tree. It has a number that will identify a student in need. We have asked the parents to identify three items each child needs and one toy item. You may pick whichever angel off the tree you would like. Buy the requested gift, wrap it, and return it with the Angel. We will then have families pick up holiday items before our Christmas break time. This will ensure that all students will enjoy the holidays with some types of gifts.

On Wednesday, our PTA is sponsoring a night out at ON THE BORDER at Mayfaire. Dinner inside will be served from 5-9 pm and some proceeds will be given to our PTA. Please help us show our support for the PTA. Also, if you have not joined yet, please do so by the first of the year. We truly appreciate all your support. This is an easy fundraiser-shop Mayfair for Christmas and stop in for dinner, then continue shopping!!!

Upcoming events:

December 15: PTA Chorus presentation and dessert fellowship night @ 7:00 pm.
December 18-last day for students before the new year.

Have a wonderful week. If there is anything you need, need to know or want to ask, please feel free to contact me at 350-2045 or barbara.stock@nhcs.local We will be happy to help you with whatever you need to know!!

Have a great week.

Yours in Education
Barbara Stock, Principal

Week of November 23, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Please be aware that we only have your darling students this week for Monday and Tuesday. Please enjoy them on Wednesday through Sunday! Send them back full and happy next Monday morning! We are all anxious to give thanks for all we have this week and to spend time with family and friends and relax a little before the busy holiday season that will soon be upon us.

Here's what's happening in our neck of the woods this week:

Monday, November 23:
School Improvement Team at 2:45 p.m. in the Media Center. Our SIT group is composed of teachers, assistants, parents, PTA and community who come together every other month to help make decisions for Blair's best interest. If you have anything you would like to discuss, please let me know and we can place it on the agenda. One thing we will be discussing is the possibility of uniforms next year. We will begin thinking about a survey that we would like to send out before the Christmas holidays begin.

Tuesday, November 24: We will be having harvest celebrations in many classrooms today. Please check with your child's teacher to see when each class will be giving thanks. We will also be celebrating our schoolwide PBS (Positive Behavior Support) assemblies. Grades K-2 will be at 8:15 a.m. in the cafeteria and Grades 3-5 will be recognized at 8:55 a.m. in the cafeteria. Please be sure to stop in the front office first, sign in and get a green sticker. We hope you can join us for the assemblies.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. We are thankful for your children here at Blair. They make us smile every day. I am sincerely wishing you a wonderful weekend of fun, good food, happy family times and relaxation.

Yours in Education,

Barbara Stock, Principal

Week of November 16, 2009

Dear Parents:

The weather has gotten colder and colder. If you know of any children in your neighborhoods or churches who need a coat, let us know. Our PTA has been doing a Coat Drive and we probably have 50 coats left over. We would love for them to go to a nice home and be used.

We are finally doing better with the flu spreading a little less (fewer students being sent home!) We have been washing hands, disinfecting desks and counters and bathrooms and have been coughing and sneezing the proper ways as not to spread germs. We are so glad the children and faculty are feeling better.

Blair Elementary will have our first evaluation process on Wednesday. Mrs. Stock will be showing documentation for professional development, communication (like this blog), community involvement, testing data and working conditions. We feel it will be all good!!!

Grade 5 will celebrate on Friday at 8:30 a.m. for graduating from the DARE Drug Program. We will have select students read their stories about how to say NO to drugs, then have a little party (celebration) in honor of the pledge that students will take.

We will have our School Improvement Team meeting on Monday the 23rd at 2:45 p.m. Any parent is welcome to come and speak, ask or tell whatever is on their mind about Blair.

Blair will be closed for the Thanksgiving holidays on Wednesday the 25th, Thursday the 26th and Friday the 27th.

Have a warm and happy week.

Yours in Education,

Barbara Stock, Principal

Week of November 9, 2009

Dear Parents: The weather is finally turning colder, so be sure your child has an extra jacket at school. We have PE and recess even in chillier weather (it never bothers the children, just us adults standing around supervising!!) If the weather gets very very cold, PE and recess will be in individual classrooms with appropriate activities provided.

On Tuesday, our Fourth grade students will be engaged in their first writing prompt for their grade level. We are sure the students will each have a great time writing about the topic that will be chosen. They are all so creative and expressive and we truly enjoy reading all of them.

Wednesday is Veteran's Day and it is a holiday for all New Hanover County Schools. Sleep in, have a big breakfast, lounge around and even take a nap...have a great day off!!

The rest of the week will be spent learning all the things students learn in their paced curriculums. We promise to challenge the students as we look forward to the next several months ahead.

Have a great week.

Yours in Education,

Barbara Stock

Week of November 2, 2009

Dear Parents: Students had a short week last week, and hopefully you all had a great time spending some quality time with your children (especially after Trick or Treat time!)


The first week of November will bring the following things:
1. There will probably be a Fire Drill this week. We practice
faithfully once a month. Safety first!

2. Grade 2 will be touring Poplar Grove Friday, November 6th.
From right after school to 7:00 pm, students and families are
invited to participate in a fundraiser activity from the PTA--
The Wilmington Ice House will be available for Blair Students
this Friday. Be sure to tell them where you are from!!! There
is also a pizza dinner special available. Have fun!!!!

3. Just an FYI-Report crds will be sent home Monday, November 9th.

Have a great weekend and a great next week. Take the time to look at all the beautiful colors that our trees are finally turning....
Yours in Education, Barbara Stock

Week of October 26, 2009

Dear Parents: Happy End of the Month!!


This week is our REd Ribbon Week. Fun activities this week at school include the following:

Monday: "Sock It To Drugs Day" (wear crazy socks.) Please send a pair of shoes too!!!

Tuesday: "Dont Let Drugs Turn You Inside Out Day" (OK-you can let your children wear something inside out....as long as it will not be disruptive to the learning of others throughout the school day.)

Wednesday: "Red Rally Pledge Day-Thumbs Down to Drugs." (Wear Red or how about a red-orange for pumpkin time? Sheriff's Dept. will fingerprint students.)

Thursday: "I'm a "jean"-ius because I am Drug Free Day." All students and faculty are asked to wear appropriate jeans!!

This is also a short week (and a short blog to match). Students have a half-day on Thursday and will dismiss at noon. Be sure you let the teacher know how your child will be getting home. A change in transportation will need to be in writing to the teacher or the front office please. All students will have a lunch before the 12:00 dismissal bell.

What else is happening in our neck of the woods?
Monday: Science kits will be delivered to all classrooms.

Tuesday: Chick delivery for grade 2. We hatch chicks from eggs.

Wednesday: Lots of learning going on!!

Thursday: Dismissal at noon. PTA is providing a Harvest Lunch at 12:15 pm. for our faculty:) Faculty will be in afternoon workshops about Problem Solving strategies for students, medical alerts about our students and how to use the Media Center locators.
Happy Weekend. Rest, relax and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Yours in Education
Barbara Stock, Principal

Week of October 19, 2009

Dear Parents: This week will be bringing in some true Fall weather. Be sure your child has an extra sweater or sweatshirt at school in case it gets chilly. We do go outside unless it is raining or temperatures are extremely cold and windy.

We are welcoming Mrs. Debra Baucom to our Fourth Grade team. She is no stranger to Blair...her children have gone to Blair and she has been a long-term substitute here several times. We are sorry to see Mrs. Lagas-Rivera leave, but her reasoning will help her and her family make some positive life-style changes. We wish her and Simon good luck and good learning ahead.

This week brings us closer to holiday season activities. We abide by the "separation of state and church" ideals...therefore, we do not "party"...but we "celebrate" the Fall, the Winter and the Spring hlidays. We will have a Fall celebration in classrooms around the 28th of October, but we will not be wearing costumes, will not be wearing masks nor coloring hair or doing anything that will distract from the learning of your child or others.

Please remember your students have a 1/2 day of school on the 29th of October. Dismissal is at 12:00 noon. Please send us a note in writing if your child is going home a different way that day. Also, please be home early to welcome your child home. Bus route times will differ, so expect your child between 12:15-12:30 depending on when your child gets off the bus. We will feed all students lunch before they go home (It is the law). Teachers will be using the afternoon time for required staff development that fits with their Individual Growth Plans. There is no school for students on October 30th. Enjoy the long weekend.

Things to remember this week:
Grade 1 has a FireMen visit Monday morning from 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Makeup Picture Day is on Wednesday.
Mrs. Viola's class does a Tarheels trip on Wednesday.

Have a wonderful week...

Barbara Stock

Week of October 12, 2009

Dear Parents: Thank you for all your kind comments on the websites for our teachers. We work hard to have your students have 21st Century skills, and are finding more and more parents reading the blogs and sites themselves. We are also using "dibels" and "ClassScape" technology to help us assess your children and ensure they are learning and growing at the proper rates (if not more!)

Please plan ahead for October 29th...it is a half-day with dismissal at noon. The 30th is a day off for students, but teachers will have workshops to attend.

The Alert Phone System has been enacted. If your child is tardy, you will receive a phone call that your child may be absent with this system. Please call us and let us change your child's status if you receive this Alert call in error. Modern technology is great, but still relies on humans to fix it!!

This week: Third graders have CoGat Achievement testing makeups.
Open House is Thursday from 6:30-7:30 (3 20 minute
rotations. Individual newsletters should have the
explanation of rotations. We are doing this so that
parents with multiple children can visit each classroom.
Our Book Fair will be open from 6:00-8:00 pm as well.
Research shows that reading is one of the best
indicators to student success. Please spend 20-30 minutes nightly reading with or to your child. If you
model the expectations, hopefully your child will
follow.

Have a wonderful week. Please feel free to call me at 350-2045 X504

Week of October 6, 2009

Dear Parents:

This has been a nice, quiet week, so I think everyone has settled down, routines have become routine, and everyone is busy teaching and learning.

We have several field trips planned this week for Grades 2, 3 and 4, so be sure to check your child's weekly newsletters for details. Grade 3 will also be taking the CoGat Test. This 3-day test (about an hour daily) will give us some insight into your child's achievement, whether your child is working up to his/her potential, and will also give us an extra piece of data to determine your child's best learning styles and teacher course of action for your child. We also use this test to determine some part of eligibility for the Gifted Program.

We are sure that you have heard we are "green" at Blair! From Friday, Monday and Tuesday we have collected enough paper to save one tree. Needless to say, we are working on our own little forest to save in Wilmington! Our PTA is helping us weigh paper weekly and students can graph the results. Besides paper, we are also sorting plastic (mostly from water bottles)and aluminum cans as now required in Wilmington. Our children are learning early that our landfills need to be safe places without hazardous waste that does not decompose. We also are saving the juicy packs that our students bring for snacks and lunch. Do you know that we get 2 cents a piece for them? Doesn't sound like much does it? Well, we have made about $10 on them already! If you use them at home, please send them in! Our PTA is steering this program to help put $ into instructional projects throughout the year. If you have not joined PTA yet, please think about doing so.

Hope you have a happy week.

Sincerely, Barbara Stock, Principal

Week of 09-28-09

Isn't it hard to believe that we have been in school just a little over a month? Children are settled into our routines, have reconnected with former classmates and have made new friends as well.

We hope you have joined PTA!! Your $5.00/per person contribution buys a lot of manipulatives for our classrooms, teachers, technology items and outside cultural programs for Blair. We are very grateful to our PTA and volunteers for all their support to our students and faculty.

Our Third graders will be on a field trip on Tuesday the 29th. They will do "Tarheels Go Walking." Please send in a permission slip before the field trip. Half of our Fourth graders are also taking a field trip on Thursday, October 1, with the other half on Tuesday, October 6. This trip will be to the Cape Fear Museum.

We would like you to think about something for next year--Uniforms! We will be putting together some ideas about possible uniforms and sharing those ideas with you over the next few months. We will take a poll in the very late fall to see what you think. Feel free to share your ideas with us as well. You can email me at barbara.stock@nhcs.net with your opinions and suggestions.

Yours in Education,

Barbara Stock, Principal

Week of September 21, 2009

Dear Parents:

Thank you for being so cooperative during our new dismissal policy. We may be a minute or two slower, but we are now much safer and are grateful that you all understand and agree with us. On Monday the 21st, we will be holding our Health-O-rama at school for Grades K, 1, 3 and 5. Screening includes dental, vision and hearing. On a professional level, we will be honoring Educators of the Year, which include our own Jordan Davis, on Monday night at UNC-W Ballroom. We are so very proud of Ms. Davis, our third grade teacher.

On Wednesday, August 23, Lifetouch will be here to take school pictures. Be sure you dress your child in something bright and cheerful that day. Your child should have brought a picture packet home this past week. If you did not receive one, please call your child's teacher for another packet or for information.

Thank you for a wonderful week at Blair.

Yours in Education,

Barbara Stock
Principal

Week of September 14, 2009

Dear Parents: Thank you so much for your patience and kind encouragement as we changed two major things at Blair this week. Our fourth grades reorganized, causing us to move 6-7 students from each classroom into a new classroom with a new teacher. Some of you had concerns, and we were glad to answer any questions you had. Thank you for having faith in our judgments to move your children. We appreciate all your help and support. Our second change involved parent pickup. Thank you for supporting us with our goal of safety for all students. We know that the time frame of pickup was hard at first, but we find that we are improving our time daily. We feel much better about not having 200 students standing in front of the cars. We have better control over their safety for you to take home. Thank you for your kind encouragement and patience.

Our Parent Handbook and School Improvement Plan will be posted on line next week for your reading pleasure. These are long, but very informative documents that you should read. We would appreciate any comments you have to help us constantly improve our procedures and policies.

On Tuesday, September 15, our PTA will have their first kick-off meeting. They promise it will not be a long meeting. The agenda includes PTA procedures, Faculty introductions, School Improvement Team Parent representatives voting and a terrific slide show by our own Tech wizzard, Sue Stott. There will be the option of a bought dinner at 6:30 pm for your convenience if you wish. The PTA meeting starts promptly at 7:00 p.m. Be sure to join PTA at that time and buy or order student Blair shirts as well.

On Wednesday, September 16 at 3:00 p.m. we will have our first School Improvement Team Meeting to discuss our policies, procedures and academic goals. This team meets four times throughout the year to advise, guide and support school topics. Any parent is welcome to participate, visit or address the team. Your input is always welcome.

For those of you who like to plan ahead: School Pictures will be taken on Wednesday, February 23. Also, The New Hanover County Board meets on Thursday, August 24 at Spencer Board Room at 6:30 p.m.

Enjoy the weather as we finally cool off. Being in the hurricane season time frame, we just want you all to know that if there is a school delay or closing, the New Hanover County Board initiates the Alert Phone system to notify all parents of students at all NHC schools. Be sure our front office has your current phone numbers.

Have a wonderful week! We are so glad you are all part of the Blair Family.

Barbara Stock, Principal

For the Weekof September 8, 2009

Dear Parents:

School is in a routine and going well. Students seem happy and eager to learn. We wish we could bottle and sell it!!! We are thoroughly enjoying your children. Thank you for sending them to us.

Monday is Labor Day and a nice holiday day off for everyone. We hope you have some fun family activities planned and that the weather cooperates. Speaking of weather, we have an Alert Phone Message system that is used by both Blair and the Central Office of New Hanover County Schools. In the event of an emergency delay or closing of school, Central Office will send out a phone message letting you know what school procedures they will follow. Sometimes the TV and radio send out inaccurate information about closings or delays. If there is a delay or closing, a phone call will be generated from Central Office. Please be sure that your contact information is updated at our front office with Miss Elaine if your phone numbers have changed.

Tuesday morning President Obama is addressing students in a Speech. Teachers will all have the option as to whether their class will listen to and discuss the speech. If your child's class is participating, you have the option of not having your child participate. An opt out form was sent home Thursday with every child and if you choose NOT to have your child participate or view the speech, please send the form back to your child's teacher. If you want your child to participate, you need to do nothing.

Tuesday afternoon we will be implementing our new parent-pickup dismissal procedure. Parents will not be permitted to take their children out of a line or wait at the end of room 105 outside. This causes a problem for cars, teachers and students at dismissal. We have so many students that dismissal in that area has become a safety issue. Please stay in your car and pull up around the curve (like a.m. dropoff) and we will send your child to your car. You will have the option of coming to the office to pick up your child as well. If there is a change in plans that is different from the usual pickup (ie someone else is picking up your child one day, ) that person will have to report to the front office and we must have a prior note or phone call before 2:00 p.m. Until we get to know you, please have a driver's license ready. We will not dismiss from the office before 2:3p p.m. unless it is for an emergency or appointment. Please be patient with us. The first week will take some extra time to orchestrate. Once we are in a routine, I am confident things will run smoothly. Please remember that we are doing this for SAFETY of our children!

Friday will be our first Blair on the Air for this school year. Check us out on Channel 4 at School. Parents, you are welcome to come view Blair on the Air with your child in the classroom, the Media Center or in the Broadcast room if your child is on Blair on the Air that day. We have a weekly Friday broadcast at 7:55 a.m. I'm sure you will hear our famous ending of every show, "stay cool, bulldogs!!"


Something new to look forward to: We hope to have our radio station WDOG up and running soon. You will be asked to tune into 87.7 FM and listen to announcements, stories, student songs and comments. You will need to be on Blair School Road to hear the broadcasts. Stay tuned-we will let you know when we begin broadcasting!!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Barbara Stock, Principal

First Day of School

Dear Blair Parents: Welcome to our first day at Blair! For those of you who are already Blair family-we are glad to have you back...for those of you who are new to our Blair family-WELCOME!

Our first school day was wonderful. Our Kindergarten students searched for the gingerbread man all day long and had a terrific time. They asked a million questions and wanted answers to all of them. I don't know who was more tired at the end of the day-the teachers or the students. They are all so energized and it was a breath of fresh air watching them all be so excited about school and learning! We are expecting that they will all be reading by next week!

Our other grades were also very excited to be back to school. Students spent the day relearning rules and expectations. Our three rules to live by at Blair are to be "respectful, responsible and safe." Students also enjoyed seeing old classmates and meeting new ones as well.

We had a full house today with a grand total of 619 students! We have more fourth graders than we have ever had before, and are hoping to gain another teacher to join our Blair staff soon.

We hope that all parents will help us in some capacity of volunteering-whether at school, at home or in the form of goodies, donations to the classroom or help in some way. Research shows that involved parents have involved students. Please help us instill that community spirit in our children at Blair. Everyone can do something in some way to help our students succeed. Please offer your child's teacher any assistance that you can. It will be much appreciated!!

We thank you for sending your child to Blair. We promise to take good care of your child during the school day. Our goals include teaching your child to live well socially through our monthly character traits, to show growth academically and emotionally and to be respectful, responsible and safe throughout the school year and beyond. We have a wonderful nurturing and loving staff that loves children and love being teachers. Blair is just a wonderfully happy place to be at! Please let us know if we can assist you or your child in any way.

Yours in Education,

Barbara Stock
Principal

Open House

We look forward to seeing our students and their families at Open House on Thursday, August 20th from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Rosters for each grade will be posted on the Blair Media window. We look forward to seeing you!