Saltillo Elementary School:
Believes in every child, Challenges every mind, Nurtures the imagination.
Saltillo Elementary School: Believes in every child, Challenges every mind, Nurtures the imagination.
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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! School will be closed for spring break March 15 - 19, 2010. |
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Be sure to watch for information in your child's backpack. This is an important service that we are offering to the parents. You will be able to receive immediately any emergency information about our school if you sign up. |
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RAIN OR SHINE, WE DELIVER OUR STUDENTS ON TIME!
Word is out that everyone loves our new road for the car riders. People can now travel in and around Saltillo and our students are safe. Teachers have helped students get to their cars on the hottest days. But it was the “Rain Gang” that spread rays of sunshine on August 11. They waded in ankle deep water to assist our students to their cars.
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Coke Magee Principal
Mr. Magee defines volcano with art. Belinda McKinion Assistant Principal
Mrs. McKinion studies in Canada. |
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The third, fourth and fifth grade Discovery students at Saltillo Elementary recently raised over $950.00 for St Jude and LeBonheur Children’s Research Hospitals during their ELF project. ELF is an acronym for Enriching Lives Forever, a service-learning project developed by all Lee County School District gifted education teachers. The purpose of the project is for students to work collaboratively to improve the community in which they live by partnering with others. The students designed and created clay bowls, clay Christmas ornaments and mosaic artwork pieces which were sold to the public and proceeds went directly to both hospitals. The Discovery teachers are Debbie Davis, Diana McKinion, Holly Nelson and Peggy Tubbs. Pictured with Santa are Diana McKinion, Debbie Davis and Our principal, Coke Magee. |
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On November 11, Saltillo Elementary students honored local veterans who have served in the military. Grand Marshalls for the day were students who had family members currently serving overseas. The Concert Choir began the program by singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful”. World War II veteran, Herman Irwin, spoke to the fifth grade. He spoke about the respect he had for his teachers and the influence they had on his life. He also conveyed to the children the importance of our leaders, both of our country and of our military. Had it not been for the bombing of Hiroshima, many of our grandfathers would not have survived the war.
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Congratulations to Maggie Dickson, Saltillo Elementary 2009 Teacher of the Year
To see more photos of our award winning teachers, click here. |
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The Whole Schools Initiative We are in a time as educators when great emphasis is placed upon standardized test scores and the data they reveal in ranking school performance. It has been approaching for awhile—since NCLB was put into place several years ago. It seems with each passing year, the bar is raised a little higher and pressure is on to get down to the basics and drill, drill, drill. At Saltillo Elementary a different approach to traditional teaching of content is being taken. It began last year as we pursued a grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission for “Arts in the Classroom,” which enabled us to provide an arts integrated approach to teaching the curriculum. It has gone really well—and has been enjoyed by students and staff alike, so we’re now embarking upon Whole Schools Initiative. Becoming a whole school is exciting and will require a minimum six year commitment. It will also provide funding for arts infused professional development for teachers and administrators as well as opportunities for visiting artists from all disciplines to work with our students. Some may ask why even emphasize arts when all of the testing is done in the core academic subjects. But isn’t it interesting to look at schools around us and throughout the country that have the highest test scores on standardized tests? Generally you will find that the arts are a part of their curriculum. Is this a coincidence? Or is it part of the environment that makes the students more successful in their efforts to learn and compete on standardized tests? We know the arts encourage learning as processes of discovery, thereby prompting students to not only demonstrate their knowledge, but to test and defend it. The arts also engage students in a way that is more kinesthetic, and perhaps more emotionally satisfying. Staff morale is also positively affected by arts integration. Teachers are given the opportunity to be excited about what they teach as they see their students grasp a concept through hands-on experience in drama, music, dance or visual experiences. In addition, statistics show that absenteeism is reduced in arts infused schools and parent involvement is increased significantly. Saltillo Elementary will become one of two Whole Schools in Northeast Mississippi, along with Pierce Street Elementary in Tupelo, which has been a model school for the past thirteen years. Belinda McKinion, Assistant Principal
Saltillo Elementary is excited about integrating the arts into our curriculum. To read more and see photos, |
Welcome to our school!
Anna McCarley, Fourth Grade Teacher
Amy Dewitt, Third Grade Teacher
Saltillo Elementary Staff
To read about our National Board Certified Teachers, click here.
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TOM SAWYER The play, Tom Sawyer, performed by members of the Fifth Grade Class, received high ratings from all who attended. Students performed their parts so well, the audience forgot that the characters were not real. Furthermore, these students sang beautifully. No high school student could have done better. Congratulations to the cast and their director, Mary K. Russell. Other teachers and parents gave valuable assistance: Crystal Whitfield, Regina Sumner, Kim Kuykendall, Ed Mahler, and Judy Hartsfield. Music Director was Nancy Long and Choreography was done by Amy Mize and Karen Mathis. According to the New York Times, "This play was a gem. Only students from Saltillo Elementary School could have portrayed Tom and his friends so well. This school really knows how to educate children. I believe that Saltillo will soon be well known for its vision and dedication."
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Huck and Tom
Ben and Joe
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As part of our All Day "Fall in Love with Books", students read and took Accelerated Reader tests all day on February 13. Our goal was to increase our Accelerated Reader points by a minimum of 1000 points school-wide. We actually made a gain of 4,452.6 points school-wide—so we definitely exceeded our goal. Mr. Magee was "arrested" in assembly because our students had not been as serious as they should about the importance of reading. Other teachers were also arrested: Mrs. Bruce, our librarian, then our discovery teachers, and then 3 teachers per grade level (who were all arrested at lunch!) The deputies released the prisoners throughout the day as the students acquired AR points.
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Mr. Magee goes to jail because our students were behind on their reading!!! To see photos of our teachers in "jail", Click Here. Congratulations to Stephanie Byrd for being selected Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year!! click here. |
Have you been looking for the perfect book for your students or for your child? Check out this website for parents (and teachers). It is great for finding books for reluctant readers. It was created by the author James Patterson because he himself had a son who didn’t readily embrace reading. Yukako Yamada, from Japan, visited the fourth grade. To see photos |
To read about and see photos of the fourth grade visit to The Nutcracker ballet click on Fourth Grade News.
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