A Message from your Admin. Team

Dear Parents and Caregivers,,

I often find myself reflecting on what truly shapes the academic success of our students.  While there are MANY factors at play, there is one aspect that our staff has been digging into, due to its importance.  It is how the brain works. Our school vision this year is, “Every person, every day,” meaning that in order to see the best results for the children that we care deeply about, we embrace their school journey TOGETHER. Their academic, emotional, social well-being is best supported when we work as a team.  In the spirit of this belief and priority, I want to share information with you that can help to inform, and possibly guide, your routines and practices at home. Understanding the cognitive function of working memory, and its connection to your child's learning journey, can empower you to support them even more effectively.  If you are short on time or want to get right to the points of how you can help your child at home, skip to the parts highlighted in purple.

First, let me define the term Working Memory.  Working memory is essentially the brain's temporary storage system. When your child learns something new, working memory allows your child to hold and manipulate information over short periods to help with, for example, task completion and comprehension. Just like a muscle that grows stronger with exercise, working memory can be developed through practice. When your child repeatedly engages in activities that challenge their memory and cognitive abilities, they effectively train their brain to store and process information more efficiently.

This is where the importance of regular practice of skills comes into play. Whether it's practicing math facts, using strategies to read and reading comprehension exercises, or learning new vocabulary words.  Each time you practice, it reinforces neural connections in the brain, making it easier for your child to retrieve and manipulate information when needed.

Working memory is important for higher-level thinking skills. When your child encounters a problem that requires critical thinking or complex reasoning, working memory kicks into action, retrieving relevant information and coordinating the cognitive processes necessary to arrive at a solution.

At school, your child is often working on skills that engage their working memory.  As a parent, you can help your child find even more success. By nurturing your child's working memory through consistent practice by having them recall information they have learned, you are, essentially, laying the groundwork for sharper critical thinking skills and better academic performance.  As they strengthen their ability to hold and manipulate information, they become better at tackling increasingly, difficult challenges and concepts. Below are some tips on how to best support your child’s working memory at home.  Good news, we know that families can be busy and these tips do not take a ton of time or effort.

Here are a few strategies to consider:

• Provide opportunities for your child to practice skills they are learning. For example: 

  • Have them read aloud to you so they are practicing the reading skills they have learned in school.  Ask questions about what they read that prompts them to recall information from the book.  

  • Practice math facts while driving in the car or during dinner. For example, with young students, have them simply count or skip count by 10’s,  2’s or 5’s.  As students gain more math understanding, practice addition, subtraction or multiplication and division.

  • Play games with them that cause them to challenge their memory and thinking skills. For example, give them a list of things to do or items from a grocery list and ask them to recall the list. After you explain something to your child, ask them to repeat it or summarize it.

  • Finally, some of the best brain practices are maintaining a healthy lifestyle with healthy levels of sleep, plenty of exercise and movement, and eating healthy foods.

By understanding the importance of working memory and its connection to higher-level thinking, you can play an active role in nurturing your child's cognitive abilities and setting them up for academic success. Together, we can empower our young learners to reach their full potential.

With Warm Regards,

Molly Dehlinger

PS - If you like this article and want to learn more, there is much information from sound sources on the internet, but a good starting point is the article linked here. 

Staff News:  

• Welcome to our new Teacher of the Deaf from Erie 1 BOCES, Julie Celotto.

• Congratulations to our teacher aide, Mrs. Hayley Rogers!  She has a new baby girl, Ellory Grace Rogers, born February16.

Attendance Reminder

• Anytime your child is absent from school, a paper note must be sent to school with your child upon their return, stating the reason for the absence.  If you do not turn in the note, the absence will become an unexcused absence.  Parents, please check your child's report card for any unexcused absences and send in a note for those date(s).  If you are uncertain of the date(s), please contact  Margaret Duszynski in the Attendance Office in the morning at (716) 646-3288.

• Please call the Attendance Office each day that your child is absent.  Our phone number is (716) 646-3288.   A message can be left at anytime school is not open.   Please do not call the main office or email the teacher to report an absence.   

• If your child(ren) will be absent because of a vacation, please fill out a vacation form two weeks prior to your departure.  These forms are available in the main office, on our district website or click on this link: Family Vacation Form .

Union Pleasant Elementary School

150 Pleasant Avenue  Hamburg, NY 14075

Main Office Phone:   (716) 646-3280 option 1

Fax: (716) 646-3237

Attendance Office:  (716) 646-3288

Nurse's Office:  (716) 646-3287

To email the main office, contact Mary Beth Murray at mmurrayhcsdk12.org or Jenny Carrig at jcarrig@hcsdk12.org.