~Terminology~

Dear Parents,

As the year goes on, we will be using specific terminology within the classroom and we wanted you to have the meanings for why we are using the following statements. Please help us use these statements at home as well. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Miss. Kristen and Miss. Erin

We are very lucky in having two Mascots:

  1. Bamboo the Panda is Ponderosa’s Mascot
  2. Hugs the Koala is Early Childhood’s Mascot

As you all know Ponderosa is a School of Global Learning. We have four Global Competenciesthat we try to incorporate with every lesson planner we do:

  1. Investigate the World: Students investigate the world beyond their immediate environment
  2. Recognize Perspectives: Students recognize their own and others’ perspectives
  3. Communicate Ideas: Students communicate their ideas effectively with diverse audiences
  4. Take Action: Students translate their ideas and findings into appropriate actions to improve condition

Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS):PBIS is a vital component of our school wide approach to nurturing the whole child. Through this proactive approach, students learn appropriate behaviors to help them succeed in the classroom through explicit teaching and positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement gives students the attention they need while also reinforcing the appropriate behaviors for different situations.

  • Golden Globes: Students will get an individual golden globe every time they exhibit one of our five core values: Responsible, Respectful, Fair Minded, Persevere, and Integrity. The entire class also has the ability to get a classroom golden globe for working together and using a core value as a whole.
  • Classroom Mosaic: Each classroom has a classroom mosaic that they work together to fill. For every 30 individual golden globes the class earns one mosaic puzzle piece. For every classroom golden globe the class earns one mosaic puzzle piece.
  • When the classroom mosaic is full the children earn a “classroom” celebration and get to go to the office with a golden ticket where they get a large mosaic piece for the school wide large mosaic.
  • Once the school has worked together in completing the large mosaic the entire school earns a school wide celebration.
  • Each week a grade level ambassador is selected. This student has exhibited the core values and is helping others. In EC we look at our four year-olds first to become our EC ambassador.