Underwood Families,
I hope that you are enjoying your time with your family as we observe Presidents’ Day and our February workday! Here are some updates from Underwood Elementary:
Winter Carnival
Winter Carnival was a fun and exciting day for the Underwood Community! Parents that won auction items
are in the process of being called (or have been) thank you for donating money to the PTA!
Wake UP and READ
Thank you to everyone who donated to the Wake Up and Read Book Drive. As a school we collected 475
books and I still have some coming in. We met and surpassed our goal of 400 books! Our contribution will
really help with the overall goal of 13,000 books for Wake County. From our donation and the donations
from other schools and organizations all students in Wake County will have the opportunity to be inspired,
equipped, and empowered to read. Thank you all very much!
4th and 5th Grade ELA/Literacy Assessment
The Wake County Public School System’s Vision 2020 Strategic Plan is focused on graduating
students who are ready to be successful in college, in the workforce, and as productive citizens
in our communities. To meet that goal, we know students must develop their knowledge in
reading, mathematics, science, and other subjects. Knowing how our students are developing
in these key areas will help us create learning experiences that better prepare them for their
futures.
To assess our students’ progress specifically in English/Language Arts, students in fourth and fifth grade
will participate in a mid-year “benchmark” assessment on Thursday, February 20th. These assessments
will provide teachers with valuable information about where students are in their learning journey at the halfway
point of the year. They will then be able to use this information, along with the classwork students have been
producing all year long, to determine the areas in which students might benefit from some extra support or
enrichment between now and June.
Participation in the mid-year benchmark assessments will not impact your student’s report card
grades or academic standing in any way. The results will be used by your child’s teacher(s) to
help evaluate how well they are preparing all students to be successful for the remainder of
this year and into next year.
More information about these mid-year benchmark assessments can be found on the WCPSS
website at www.wcpss.net/domain/2340. You may contact your child’s teacher or Ms. Kronen (jkronen@wcpss.net)
if you have any further questions.
Carpool Safety Guidelines- We are so fortunate to utilize our Safety Patrol for arrival and dismissal. As a reminder, please respect the following to keep our student leaders safe:
- Maintain a speed limit of 5 MPH or less
- Remain in your car
- All students exit and enter the car on the right hand side of the car
- Refrain from using cellphones in the carpool line
School Improvement Plan
Our school’s Vision -- At Underwood Gifted and Talented Elementary, we challenge each child to develop individual talents and to demonstrate academic, creative and social growth in order to become productive, responsible citizens.
Some ways that we do this: variety of elective offerings, PRIDE behavior structures, emotional regulations through teacher choice of relationship building, safe places in learning spaces, and breathing strategies.
Calendar of Events
- February 20th: Random Acts of Kindness Day - wear Underwood Colors
- February 22nd: Science Olympiad Practice 9-12
- February 25th: SIP Meeting-7:45am
- February 28th: Wellness Fair
- February 29th: Science Olympiad Practice 9-12
- March 3rd: Magnet Meet and Greet for Accepted Families
- March 3rd: Quarter 3 Interims go home / Promotion and Retention Letters go home
- March 4th: PTA Board Meeting at 9:30
- March 4th: Pieces of Gold Performance at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
- March 6th: First Friday: Basketball Team Attire
- March 6th: ACT Theater Performance
- March 9th: Teacher Workday
