1. 20417 S. University Blvd. Missouri City, TX 77459281-499-7214 It is hard to believe that this is the second month of 2011! The Honor Roll School at Riverstone has come a long way in the past year, and we are excited to keep learning and growing. Our teachers are committed to making sure that your children have the best experience possible at our school. Goals for the month are: Read the responses to the Parent Annual Review and make positive changes to meet the needs of our families Continue to educate our teachers in our Links to Learning Curriculum Continue to keep our children safe and happy Improve parent communication Make sure that evidence of learning is sent home and displayed in our classrooms I look forward to watching your children learn and grow this month. My door is always open, please feel free to stop by. -Natalie Robles February Jan.31st-Feb. 11 th - Spirit Cups & Fun Pasta Fundraiser 14 th - Valentine’s Card Swap @ 3pm 21 st - Staff Development Day Canceled, we will be open

2. Picking the Right Book Reading to our children is of upmost importance and needs to begin as early as possible. Research has repeatedly shown that children who are read to are more verbal, have higher vocabularies, show heightened interest in books, and develop literacy skills earlier. Most recently the National Early Literacy Panel (2009) has further validated reading with children and this foundation of early literacy skills can and does have a positive impact on subsequent literacy achievement. Just as important to reading aloud with children, however, are the books which are read with children. Children need to be exposed to a wide range of literary material and need to be able to see themselves, others, their community, and their culture reflected in books. Preschoolers need to be able to relate and see how characters in books work through emotion and similar situations to those in which they encounter. They need to be exposed to culturally diverse texts which help children make connections to their own life experiences, connections to other books which they have read, and connections to their own family and cultural traditions (Barone & Morrow, 2003). Children find bidirectional connections of their lives to books, and through this relationship gain better understanding of things around them. Knowing this, it is important to select books which will be met with enthusiasm. So how do you know which books to select? What criteria should you consider? Does this book have both rich language and colorful inviting illustrations? Does this book have listening appeal; does it sound appealing to be read aloud? Will this book appeal to your child’s interests, life, and experiences? Will this book spark conversation between you and your child? Will this book instill greater understanding for your child? Will this book inspire your child to learn more about the topic, the character, or the experience? Will this book be memorable to your child? Will your child want to have this book read to him again? In answering these questions, you can be assured that the books you have selected are books which will be meaningful, engaging, and educational. To quote Emilie Buchwald, “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." - Lauren Starnes, PhD- Manager of Curriculum and Instruction/ East