Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to Sawyer Elementary School!

The Sawyer teachers and support staff are highly qualified, experienced, and are dedicated to providing a rich learning environment that establishes high academic and behavioral standards to enable our students to be successful in school and life.  Our school provides excellent academic programs and a safe and caring environment for students, parents and community. We are in our third year of implementing the Responsive Classroom philosophy into our classrooms.  Responsive Classroom is a positive, proactive approach that develops a classroom and school community that is supporting, nurturing, and helps students become independent, intrinsically motivated learners.  Students become responsible for their own behavior, develop a sense of belonging, and recognize their role in creating a positive classroom and school environment.  In addition, we will continue to work to increase achievement in the areas of reading, math, and science.  We look forward to an exciting and rewarding new school year!

Sincerely,

Dr. Randy Podhaski, Principal
Abbie B. Sawyer Elementary School
4316 Ontario St.
Ames, IA 50014

"No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship."
James Comer

      Sawyer Elementary School is a community of learners working together to provide a welcoming, safe, caring environment. The staff at Sawyer is committed to achieving and maintaining the following for our students:
          o Respectful relationships with the school environment and community.
          o A student-centered learning environment.
          o Commitment to high expectations for growth in academic, social, emotional, and behavioral development of the school community.
          o High levels of community and family involvement.

      The Sawyer staff is utilizing the Responsive Classroom approach in our building that emphasizes social, emotional, and academic growth to develop a positive, safe school community. We believe in the following Responsive Classroom principles:
          o The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.
          o How children learn is as important as what they learn: process and content go hand in hand.
          o The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.
          o There is a specific set of social skills that children need to learn and practice in order to be successful academically and socially: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control (CARES).
          o Knowing the children we teach—individually, culturally, and developmentally—is as important as knowing the content we teach.
          o Knowing the families of the children we teach is as important as
            knowing the children we teach.
          o How we, as adults at school, work together is as important as our individual competence: lasting change begins with the adult community.

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FREE Preschool - 10 hours weekly for
Four-Year-Old Children
Begins November 16, 2009
Registration October 20 & 27
Click here for
more information


Important Dates :

• Jan. 25 - POSTPONED District Wide ELP Invention Convention @ Fellows 4p.m. - 7p.m.
  
  
• Jan. 26 - Science Night - 6:15-8:00 p.m.
  
  
• Jan. 29 - Sawyer Night at AHS Basketball Game @ 6:15p.m.
  
  
• Feb. 8-19 - ITBS Testing - Grades 3, 4, & 5
  
  
• Feb. 9 - PTO Meeting @ 6:30p.m.
  
  
• Feb. 10 - District Wide Invention Convention @ Fellows 4-6p.m.
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• Mar. 8 - No School - teacher work day
  
  
• Mar. 8-11 - Parent/Teacher Conf.
  
  
• Mar. 11-12 - No School
  
  
• Mar. 15-19 - Spring Break - No School