Happy September,

We have had a wonderful start to the school year and classrooms have dove into learning for the year.

This month we will be starting a new tradition of student recognition! One student from each class will be chosen for student of the month. The student will be chosen by showing our three school expectations of safe, respectful and responsible. Another way students can be recognised is by having perfect attendance. Students who come to school each day on time will be celebrated each month. The last way that students can be recognised is by meeting an academic goal. In each class students, with the support of their teacher, set an academic goal. When a student meets that goal, they will be recognised. We look forward to celebrating students!

Mrs. Bentley

Parent Teacher Conference- October 10th-13th

Picture Day October 18th

Fall Break November 23rd-25th

Music Concert December 15th

Kindergarten has started off with a BANG! We have a great group of kids with some awesome skills! For reading we are working on making different handwriting strokes that prepare your students to learn how to properly write their letters. In math we have been working on numbers 1-5 and we will be starting on number 6-10 here shortly. We have been practicing writing, counting, and identifying these numbers. Keep working with your students at home. We are so excited to get to know you and your child better! Here is to a wonderful school year!

First grade is off and running! In reading, we have been reviewing our sounds and tricky words. We just started having the kids read stories, and the kids are very excited! For reading comprehension, we have been listening to fables and folktales. The first graders learned a lot of lessons, or morals, already this year. In math, we reviewed the numbers 0-20, and also started working on addition. In science, we are learning about animals and plants, and how they use their structures to survive. We look forward to seeing your first graders make great growth and progress this year. Always remember to read and practice counting to 100 at home!

We are so excited to be back to school and fully in the swing of things!

Reading: We just began our unit on Early Asian Civilizations. We will learn about Ancient India and Ancient China. Through these topics we will learn about different religions. Students will develop an appreciation of people with different beliefs than their own. In Skills, we will continue to dive into sound spellings. Please make sure to read with your child for 20 minutes a night to help them grow these skills.

Math: Our next unit of math will focus on adding and subtracting primarily on number lines. We will also work with telling time to the half hour.

Science: We are well into our unit on Plants and Animals. Students are building an understanding of the different types of habitats around the world. Check out the photos of our walk discovering our habitat!

Math

Third grade is off to a strong start this year. We have been working really hard to learn how to multiply by 5's and 10's. We encourage you to continue working on these facts at home and throughout the school year. We are going to start learning about telling time and addition. To practice telling time at home, have your students read an analog clock. They can use words like minutes past, minutes till, quart till, quart past, or half past.

CKLA

We have been reading "The Wind in the Willows" to begin the year. We have been learning about the theme and how it is an important message the author is trying to give us. We will be starting our new CKLA Unit soon. The kids will start to bring home spelling words to practice for their tests. Please read 20 minutes with your student each day and ask them questions about their story. Ask them things like "Who is the main character?" "How would you describe the main character?" Have your student retell you the story in order.

Science

In Science we are working on Balancing Forces. We have been experimenting with magnets to help us understand non touching forces. Ask your student what they are learning about magnets each day as they will be building upon their knowledge each day.

Other 3rd Grade Information

Thank you so much to the families that participated in the open house this year. It was so fun getting to know you and letting your student show you around our classrooms. Please make sure you fill out the volunteer sheet and return it with your student to Mrs. Bartels and Miss Smith. We have been working hard learning cursive and have learned a few letters. Please practice at home. We have completed our first round of DIBELS testing and are working to finish up MAPs testing. We are proud of the hard work your students put into their testing and can't wait to see how much growth they will continue to make.

If you have any questions please feel free to email us.

Miss Smith: jysmith@gips.org

Mrs. Bartels: vbartels@gips.org

Fourth grade is off to a great start. We are excited to work with your students this school year! All students should have a planner coming home daily. Encourage your child to read at home and practice their multiplication facts.

Fifth Grade S'More News:

Art/Homework Club starting Monday, September 12th from 7:30-8:00. This is held each day students are in school. If Ms. Jenness has to be gone, there will be no club. Students will just go into the gym, not the classroom. Students are encouraged to go to breakfast first and then come to the room. If this is not something that interests your child, no problem, they can sit in the gym until 7:50.

As a reminder students can bring a snack each day as long as it follows the healthy snack guidelines in place by GIPS. Additionally, our classroom would love any additional donations of boxes of kleenex.

September 13 4:00-6:00 @ GISH Music Room

4th, 5th and 6th Graders are welcome to audition.

Rehearsals will be Tuesdays from 4:30-5:30 @ GISH Music Room

Contact your music teacher for more information.

4th & 5th graders have the opportunity to join the Ukes N' More club. This club will explore multiple instruments and have the opportunity to perform at a Tri City Storm game. Practices will be from 3:30-4:30 on Thursday after school. See the office for a sign-up sheet.