Mr. Spiller

Hello Mark White Wolves!

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL and to a unique and stimulating learning environment!

Our staff has been eagerly waiting to see you and your children's r bright and energetic smiles again. By working TOGETHER with our families and neighborhood partners, we want to make this year one of your child's best!

One thing to remember is that in life there are things we CAN and CANNOT control. We may not be able to control EVERYTHING that's going on around us right now, but we CAN control our thoughts, words, , choices, and actions. If we CHOOSE KINDNESS and RESPECT towards each other (treating someone the way YOU would want to be treated), things will be better for all involved.

As the school counselor, part of my job is to help our school community with its social and emotional concerns. I will provide individual, small group, and whole group classroom lessons throughout the year..as well as assist with providing community resources to students, families, and staff members as needed.

If you would like to reach me for any reason, please email me at gspiller@houstonisd.org.

Let's make it a GREAT year!

Garland Spiller

School Counselor

CHARACTER EDUCATION

A major goal of character education lessons in schools is to teach our students desirable personal traits that will help them to live harmonious, productive, and fulfilling lives with others. Along with academics, it is extremely important to model and teach interpersonal skills that will help students to get along better with others in our diverse world. In conjunction with teachers, I will teach character lessons to classrooms and/or grade levels this year.

Academics AND character education are partners in helping our students to be all they can be!

Our character trait for the month of November is GRATITUDE.

Having or showing GRATITUDE means " to be thankful or grateful" or "to show appreciation for what is GOOD and RIGHT in your life". In challenging times like these, showing gratitude is an extremely important quality for all of us to show. Use books and videos as conversation-starters with your children about ways to practice GRATITUDE in their daily lives---at school and at home.

Some possible topics of discussion with your children are:

-How did a character in this book or movie show gratitude? Name some ways.

- How would the book or movie have changed if the character had NOT been GRATEFUL?

-Tell 3 ways you can show gratitude in your classroom and/or home.

-Share with your child ways that YOU practice gratitude.

-Name some jobs where people must show gratitude.

-What would the world look like if NO one was grateful?

-Name some ways you can show gratitude with siblings/friends/pets.

-Name some ways you can show gratitude to people you may not know (e.g. charity, donations, volunteer, etc.).

-Ask them what they think their lives would be like if the they never showed/practiced gratitude.

COUNSELING Referrals

Sometimes a student may face a situation he/she needs help to work through like:

-concern/worry about an issue at home or school

- interpersonal conflicts with others/ difficulty "fitting in"

-facing a major life change (e.g. moving to a different school/city/neighborhood, illness, death of a pet or loved one, parental separation/divorce,etc.)

-stress/anxiety/coping skills/goal-setting

or they may simply need someone to talk to help them sort out their feelings.

I am happy to assist in any way I can.

**Parents or teachers are welcome to use the link below to refer a student for counselor assistance.

www.houstonisdSAF.com

Students are also welcome to ask their teacher or parent to contact me for a counselor referral at gspiller@houstonisd.org.

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STUDENT ATTENDANCE

Students should attend class regularly to learn as much as possible, to keep up with their classmates academically and socially, and to meet end-of-year promotion requirements.

*Excessive or unexcused absences can harm students' learning in the classroom and increase their chances of failure.

We want only THE BEST for our students!

Please make sure your child has a regular bedtime and gets enough rest each night to help them have good school attendance.

*When your child is sick or has a family situation that arises, please contact their teacher or email the school registrar, Ms. James,, at GJAMES3@houstonisd.org.

*Attendance is taken daily at 9:25 a.m.

Gifted and Talented (GT) ----Testing

Kindergarten

ALL Kinder students not already labeled as "GT" will be automatically tested this fall for Gifted and Talented identification. Parents do not need to do anything.

The IOWA and COGAT tests are used for testing.

-The testing dates are in 2 parts:

Nov. 14th-17th Make-ups --Nov. 18th

Nov. 29th-Dec.1st Make-ups --Dec. 2nd

*Different subjects will be tested on different days to help our students stay focused (and not become overly stressed) during testing.

**GT results will be returned in late March of 2023.

For more information on the GT process, go to https://www.houstonisd.org/Page/171624 .

1st--5th grades

*Parents of students in Grades 1-5 must complete a Parent Request for GT Evaluation form and :

-return it their child's teacher

-return it to the Front Desk at Mark White Elementary

-or scan and email it to Mr. Spiller at gspiller@houstonisd.org.

Request for GT Evaluation Forms will be sent home with students, via Class Dojo, and are also available at the school's Front Desk.

The deadline to request GT testing for a child is February 3, 2023.

*GT testing for students in Grades 1-5 will be in the spring of 2023.*

The IOWA and COGAT tests are used for testing.

The testing dates are:

Feb. 6--8th Make-ups --Feb. 9th-10th