Dear Parents and Guardians:

Welcome to another spectacular, star-spangled year at Lyon Elementary. The school year 2008 – 2009 is going to be packed with so much learning and fun for your child, as well as for you and the staff.

The Guaranteed Curriculum is custom designed by the curriculum specialists, teachers, and supervisors of the St. Tammany Parish School System. Every school in our district uses this curriculum for Language, Math, Science, and Social Studies. The teachers are trained to individualize instruction and accommodate for individual needs. They continuously participate in professional development in order to make the most of the recent research-based strategies and classroom instructional strategies.

Studying and increasing our family involvement is a primary goal for us this school year. We believe that student achievement increases as does the level of parental and family involvement. We hope to continue a partnership with you and invite you to help us help your child succeed. Please take every opportunity to be here with your child whenever you can, and we ask that you participate in family involvement surveys and offer us as much feedback as possible.

Another goal for Lyon Elementary students is to increase technology-rich lessons. As some of you may already know, our technology equipment and teacher training has increased significantly over the last three years, but we intend to take it up a notch. Students in the upper grades will begin using handheld remote devices to enter data into computer spreadsheets and graphs for the teacher to confidentially gain instant knowledge of which students know what information. Students will also begin learning and experimenting with pod-casting and video-broadcasting. Finally, interactive white-boards will be used daily by all students in all grades either as a literacy station or a math center.

Again, I welcome you to Lyon Elementary School . Please let me know if you need anything. Have a wonderful year. Stay involved. And read with your child daily. Thank you!