From the Principal

July 29, 2010

Greetings Munn Families,

I hope you and your family has been enjoying the beautiful summer weather.  Summer in western New York certainly provides many wonderful summer activities.  It is hard to believe school is right around the corner.  Munn’s Building Planning Team (BPT) recently met to assess the success of the building plan from last year and set goals for 2010-2011.  We have committed to three goals.

• All students, staff and community will have a genuine sense of belonging at Munn Elementary School.

• All students and staff will be engaged in enrichment opportunities at Munn Elementary School.

• All students will show measured academic growth at Munn Elementary School.
  

In addition, we are continuing our commitment to instructional technology, differentiated instruction and to researching other educational best practices that will help us improve the academic, emotional and social experiences we provide for students.

I am sure you have been following the news from Albany about the challenges schools, students and families will be facing with the change in New York State ELA and Math assessment scores.  These assessments are a “snapshot” of a student’s progress toward meeting the New York State Learning Standards. Commissioner Steiner and the Board of Regents have made the link that past success on these tests does not predict success at the high school and college level for all students. Therefore, this year the cut points for measuring proficiency have been increased. 

As a district, I believe we must accept the direction of the Commissioner and the Board of Regents and focus on improving the performance level of our students to prepare them for graduation from high school and their post high school academic, military or employment goals.  In light of these changes, I cannot help but think of our students and the level of frustration they may experience once they receive this news. I know the frustration my own daughters are going to experience when they receive their results. Please know that I am committed to supporting students and families as they work through this challenge. As a building we will partner with families and discuss each student to determine the necessary level of support for them to be successful on the 2011 New York State Assessments. I will continue to forward information as it becomes available. In the meantime, please visit our district page devoted to providing the latest updates on the cut scores.

The building has been vastly improved with new lighting, ceiling tiles and bathroom in the nurse’s office. The custodial staff has done an excellent job cleaning and getting the building ready for the return of staff and students. Staffing is complete for the building. I am pleased to share that positions have been filled by a host of talented and compassionate teachers. Mrs. Sigler will be joining Munn as a part-time art teacher. Miss Welch and Ms. Davin will be working in our special education program. The grade level teams are as follows:

Kindergarten        Mrs. Holzermer, Mrs. Lonardo and Ms. Mesler
Grade 1               Mrs. Valente and Mrs. Hinett
Grade 2               Mrs. Doescher, Mrs. Goldfeder and Mrs. Lipani
Grade 3               Mrs. Carella, Mrs. Ellis and Mrs. Sheperd
Grade 4               Mrs. Cellura, Mrs. DiCicco and Mr. Fink
Grade 5               Mrs. Hickmott, Mr. Schwind and Mrs. Young

In late August, I will be sending classroom placement letters. Great care has gone into this process.  We have paid close attention to parent and staff input, learning styles, academic strength and the relationships that students have with each other.

I am looking forward to another fabulous year at Munn building collaborative relationships with students, staff and families.  Please let me know if I can be of assistance.

Yours in Partnership,


Michael M. Canny
MCanny@Spencerportschools.org

Welcome to Munn Elementary School. 2009-2010 was a fantastic year. I look forward to continuing to build positive collaborative relationships with students, parents, staff and the Munn community in 2010-2011.  We invite you to be an active member of our Kindergarten through Fifth grade learning community.

Our professional staff is committed to providing a nurturing, caring, supportive and challenging academic environment for all of our students. We are focused on the Spencerport mission and the goals of the strategic plan. The educational experience the children at Munn receive will prepare them to be academically successful and positive contributors to our global community.

Our Building Planning Team (BPT) committed to achieving the following goals: 

All students, parents and staff will have a genuine sense of belonging at Munn Elementary School.

Our work with the elementary program of Rachels Challenge (www.rachelschallenge.com) and the culmination at our Rachel’s Rally was a huge success thanks to the effort of our students, staff and the entire Munn community.  Thank You to the Munn School Parent Association and the building planning team for their leadership!!  Click below to see the clip from News 8 WROC-TV

http://rochesterhomepage.net/fulltext/?nxd_id=187155

Also click below to see a summary of Munn's work with the elementary program of Rachel's Challenge (www.rachelschallenge.com).  Thank You to students, parents and staff for a fabulous year at Munn.  Have a safe and enjoyable summer.

The Munn Building Planning Team (BPT) through the generosity of the Munn School Parent Association (MSPA), introduced Rachel's Challenge in September (http://www.rachelschallenge.org/).  Throughout the year students and staff have learned about how kindness and compassion can make a difference in people's lives.  They were offered the opportunity to take "the challenge" and earn their first "link" to start a "chain reaction" of kindness and compassion at home and at school.  On June 9, we passed the 3,000 mark with our kindness and compassion links around the building.  Congratulation to Munn School for this incredible accomplishment. 

On January 12, the Munn Building Planning Team shared the goals of our plan with the Spencerport Board of Education and the Munn community.  Thanks to the partnership between parents and staff , Munn students have made great gains.  Please click below to see the update.

BOE Presentation

All students and staff will participate in enrichment clusters at Munn Elementary School.

At our Munn Learning Night on April 14, we celebrated the 24 enrichment clusters with the Munn community.  Staff and students highlighted their cluster experiences and outcomes.  "Hats off" to the entire Munn staff and the countless volunteers who helped make enrichment clusters such a huge success this year.  We have built a strong foundation throughout the building to build upon for next year.  Our volunteers throughout the district will be recognized at the Annual Volunteer Banquet on April 15.  The Munn School parent Association (MSPA) sponsored Scholastic Book Fair and the Silent Auction from the 5th Grade Parent Committee were very succesful.  Thanks to the Munn community for their support of these two valuable fundraisers.  Our Building Planning Team (BPT) and the School Wide Enrichment Team (SWE) will be seeking your input through a survey about our three building wide goals soon to help us begin planning for the 2010- 2011 school year. 

On January 20, staff and students met to begin planning their enrichment cluster.  The building was a buzz with excitement and many community members shared their expertise with students and staff.  The School Wide Enrichment (SWE) team is working to improve upon the cluster experience for students and staff.  They have surveyed students and staff using www.surveymonkey.com for input on what went well on the January 20 planning day and how it can be improved.  As you discuss the enrichment cluster experience with your child, please pass the feedback on to me.  Please visit the Munn site and the BOE presentation to see some of the clusters we are planning.  Munn was fortunate to have the world famous author Robert Blake visit.  He held a book signing on Thursday January 21 at Barnes and Nobles and spent Friday January 22 at Munn sharing his passion and craft with students and staff.  A special THANKS to the Munn School Parent Association (MSPA) for bringing Robert Blake to Munn.  

Enrichment Cluster Offering Movie

All students will show measured academic success at Munn Elementary School.

Munn students did an awesome job with the first, and hopefully, annual Munn School IDITA-READ!!  The whole school rallied around the theme and celebrated reading.  We concluded the event at our assembly on March 19.  All students who participated received a certificate and those who completed the read were given a dog bracelet.  Students who have not finished, are encouraged to keep reading and turn in their reading log to their teacher and earn their bracelet.   

At the January BOE meeting, I shared the continued improvement Munn students have made over the past few years on district level assessments.  I am amazed at the growth I see as I travel through classrooms and staff shares the daily progress of our students.  We have placed our emphasis on students feeling connected and providing opportunities in the building which has naturally impacted student achievement positively.   Students and staff continue to do an awesome job utilizing the instructional technology we received over the summer (smartboards, projectors, flip camera video and elmos).  These instructional technology tools help teachers present material in a new and exciting way that meets the learning styles of our students.  Students continue to increase their skills by being in the computer lab at least 30 minutes a week.  The district is considering providing the web based program called Castle Learning (www.castlelearning.com).  Please take a moment to view the demo on their site and let me know your thoughts. 

Thank You for your continued support of Munn Elementary School.

Yours in Partnership,

Mike

MCanny@Spencerportschools.org

Please click this link to watch a special movie presentation of the goals and accomplishments from 2008-2009.  We are always looking for ways to improve the program at Munn Elementary School and welcome suggestions and feedback to the programs we provide students.  

Students, staff and community will have a genuine sense of belonging at Munn Elementary
 
Students journaled on the NED theme  (Never Give Up, Encourage Others and Do your best). (www.thenedshow.com).  Students made safe and appropriate choices throughout the building as well as on our buses.  We celebrated our successes at our monthly  SOAR assemblies.   The annual Carolyn Rogers Munn Field Days was held on June 19.  The field days committee did a wonderful job involvolving all students in a fun and active day.

100% of students, staff and students surveyed reported a genuine sense of belonging at Munn Elementary School.
 

All students will be provided multiple enrichment opportunities throughout the school year at Munn Elementary School

The Munn School wide Enrichment (SWE) did a wonderful job planning our First Annual Enrichment Fair on June 3.  Please visit our enrichment page to see the powerpoint.  Some of the over 25 enrichment opportunities included a community service group called Care-A-Lot Kids, cheerleading, dancing, gardening and scrapbooking.  This has been a great experience for students and staff.  Staff and students have had a super time pursuing the area they have a high interest and passion in.

100% of staff surveyed reported students experienced enrichment opportunities at Munn Elementary School.

100% of students and teachers participated in enrichment opportunities at Munn Elementary School.

95.2% of students surveyed reported they liked the enrichment opportunities they experienced at Munn Elementary School.

97.3% of parents knew their child experienced an enrichment opportunity


All students will show measured academic growth at Munn Elementary School

Our students continued to grow in their academic skills. 95% of students in grades 3, 4 and 5 met or exceeded the standard on the New York State Math Assessment. 85% of students in grades 3,4, and 5 met or exceeded the standard on the NYS ELA Assessment. Our fifth grade students did an excellent job on the New York State Social Studies Assessment. Over 90% of our students met or exceeded the standard. 96% of the fourth grade students met or exceeded the standard on the NYS Science Assessment. Students were well prepared for these assessments and they continued to receive excellent instruction throughout the year. This is a significant increase in student achievement data from last year. Hats of to students, staff and parents for this  phenomenal effort:) Information and resources about the assessments students in grades 3-5 are participating in can be found on the New York State Department of Education web site at www.nysed.gov. I encourage students to read for at least 15 minutes a day and practice math facts throughout the summer.   

If you want to learn more about the work our BPT is doing, please visit our website at this link.

MSPA survey (doc file - 41kb)

B&N voucher (pdf file - 284kb)

May 2010 Munn Messenger (pdf file - 1,151kb)

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