As we start this first week of school I am happy and proud to see students who are excited to be back in school and ready to begin another school year. Last year the staff and students made tremendous gains in their personal levels of growth. We had some of the highest levels of growth in the district and we also met the federal measure for Academic Yearly Progress (AYP).Even with all of the hard work and gains, we know that we can do more. That is exactly what we will be doing this school year. Our goal is to have Asbury be rated as an “Excellent” school and we are not very far from achieving this goal.

               During the summer we held a summer retreat to work on ways to put more focus and structure to our writing across the curriculum. We also looked at new ways to implement the strategies and components of the Daily Five and CAFÉ. For those of you that are new to Asbury, the Daily Five and CAFÉ are what we use to structure and teach reading and language arts. These components also carry over into the other curriculum areas in the building. Please talk to your child’s teacher about how you can support the work of the Daily Five and CAFÉ at home.

               Another goal for the building this year is to focus on the community and find new ways that we can support their needs. Each grade level will take on projects that directly impact the surrounding area. We believe that this type of community service and support will help build a stronger school community and help support the needs of everyone. All of us at Asbury are glad that you are here with us. We are looking forward to the experiences and challenges that lie ahead of us. Please stop in and see the great things that we are doing and let us know how we can support you.

Sincerely,

Jim Sullivan

Principal, Asbury Elementary

8/2011