Walking the Halls
By VANESSA PHILLIPS Principal, Few Primary

When walking the halls of Few Primary you are going to see students who are eager to learn and do their best. Our faculty and staff are here to provide an educational environment that allows your child to be successful in his/her learning experience.

Our Kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers have administered the beginning-of-the-year TPRI (Texas Primary Reading Instrument) to all students. The information that is gathered is very beneficial. The purpose of the assessment is to provide information for teachers to plan the most appropriate reading instruction for each child.

Using this diagnostic reading assessment data, all children are provided reading instruction tailored to their needs. The TPRI is given three times a year beginning, middle, and end. It is administered individually and measures a student's:

Phonemic Awareness: The ability to distinguish sounds in the words we speak.

Graphophonemic Knowledge: The ability to identify letters of the alphabet and understand the sounds that the letters represent.

Comprehension: The ability to understand the meaning of what has been read.

Since this is given three times a year teachers and parents can see the growth their child has had throughout the year. Reading is important in all aspects of life, as well as in all subjects in school.

This year we have implemented a new balanced literacy curriculum in Kindergarten, first, and second grade. This curriculum involves in-depth phonological/phonemic awareness instruction, spelling, shared reading, guided reading, modeled/ interactive writing, and various literacy activities.

These research-based components are necessary for beginning reading success, as well as for developing comprehension strategies and higher level thinking skills. We want the best reading foundation for all of our students; a strong reader will be successful.

As you are walking around Few you will see a team of adults working together in order to make each child's learning experience a success. I say that it is a team because it takes everyone in order to make this happen. A familiar face rejoining our team as daytime custodian supervisor is Larry Carter. We also have several new faces on campus this year:

Wilma Davis - assistant principal.

Barbara Stubblefield, Lace Berry, and Autumn Eddins - first grade teachers.

Nicole Womack - PE/health teacher.

Maria Navaro, Stephanie Presley, and Lea Ann Lucas - instructional aides.

Michelle Fowler - cafeteria manager.

Our PRIDE organization has been busy with various activities. They have completed the fall fundraiser; orders should be arriving soon. They are working on homecoming mums and garters and they will be taking pictures of students with the Jasper bulldog soon.

Our PRIDE volunteers have cleaned out and trimmed bushes in our front flower beds. They have planted new plants in the pots and decorated for fall in the front.

Finally, when walking the halls of Few Primary what you will see is learning occurring everywhere; our parents, teachers, staff and administrators are all building a foundation of excellence in education.