November

11/7

- Music Programs

3rd Grade - 6:00 pm

5th Grade - 7:00 pm

11/8

- Veterans Day Assembly

11/9 - 11/10

- Parent Teacher Conferences

11/14

- PTO 5:30

11/16

- Turkey Bingo 6:00 - 7:30

11/20

- Thanksgiving Feast

Kinder, First, and Second Grade

11/21

- 2 hr Early Dismissal

11/22 - 11/24

- Thanksgiving Break

Dear First Grade Parents,

As the weather begins to change, please be sure that your child is dressed accordingly. Also, be sure to check TalkingPoints for updates and reminders.

Math Focus:

Module 2: Introduction to Place Value Through Addition and Subtraction Within 20

Reading Focus:

• Central message of a story

• Using illustrations and details to identify the main idea/central message

• Sequence of events

Writing Focus:

Opinion writing that includes:

• Write a sentence that states their opinion.

• Supply a reason that supports their opinion.

Informative/Explanatory writing that includes:

• Write a statement that tells one similarity between two things.

• Write a statement that tells one difference between the two things.

Narrative writing that includes:

• Write a short story with a beginning, middle, and end.

• Recount two or more appropriately sequenced events.

• Use temporal words to signal the sequence of events.

NOVEMBER CONFERENCES ARE QUICKLY APPROACHING! WE WILL SEND OUT MORE INFORMATION AT A LATER TIME. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO FOR YOUR CHILD!

-Miss Barrientos

-Mrs. Falcon

-Mrs. Morton

Second grade has been reading biographies and writing informational text. We are practicing reading words with plurals and identifying long vowel sounds in words. In math, we are using place value strategies to solve 2 and 3-digit addition and subtraction problems. Students will be learning a little bit about government in Social Studies. In Science, we will be exploring mapping land and water. We will start our Second Steps social emotional program with our November focus being growth mindset and goal setting.

This last month 3rd grade learned a lot! In math we started a unit in measurement and weight. In ELA we are talking about character traits influencing the sequence of events in stories. We have also been learning about compound words. We finished up our first science unit talking about the life cycle of plants and animals as well as fossils! A new social studies unit has started with geography. Third grade was able to visit the pumpkin patch! We learned all about the life of a pumpkin, we played games, rode a train, got lost in the maze, and picked out our very own mini pumpkins! Third grade is shaping up to be tons of fun!

Happy November! We are ready to continue another great month filled with learning!

Math: -We will be continuing Module 3- Multi-Digit multiplication and Division. Topics covered this month will be: Topic C: Multiplication of up to Four Digits by Single-Digit Numbers, Topic D: Multiplication Word Problems. Topic E: Division of Tens and Ones with Successive Remainders, Topic F: Reasoning with Divisibility, Topic G: Division of Thousands, Hundreds, Tens, and Ones, and Topic H: Multiplication of Two Digit by Two-Digit numbers.

*Practicing multiplication and division math facts at home will be great help!*

Reading: We will be continuing Unit 2 Module A. In this module, Readers will understand that themes in literary texts can be interpreted from dialogue and descriptions. Writers will understand that dialogue and description reveal character traits and story themes. Learners will also understand that cultures interact with and interpret nature in different ways. For our performance based assessment, students will write a tall tale that includes an element of nature and displays the characteristics of the genre: larger-than-life characters, a problem that is solved in a humorous way, and exaggeration of characters and events.

Social Studies: In this discipline, students will recognize and evaluate the significant relationships of people and events that shaped Kansas and United States regions. They will analyze how these people and events contributed to the way Kansas and other regions are perceived and function today. Students will understand the motivation and accomplishments of notable Kansans and notable individuals or groups in other regions, particularly early explorers, entrepreneurs, and civic and cultural leaders. They will analyze the impact of the Oregon-California Trail, Santa Fe Trail, and the Pony Express Route on the development of regions in the United States and compare these routes with transportation routes in other regions of the Country.

Science: Students will begin a new journey as they explore ways to communicate with others over a distance using light or sound waves. Your child’s mission will be to create an emergency signaling system and show how it interacts with the eye or ear. As your child works toward this goal, they will be exploring many phenomena while learning the following concepts:

● Waves are regular patterns of motion.

● Waves differ in amplitude (height) and wavelength (distance between waves).

● We see objects because light is reflected off the objects and enters our eyes.

● Digitized information can travel over long distances by being converted from voice or text to digitized form and back to voice or text.

We will do many investigations in class over several weeks to help your child learn these concepts from firsthand experiences. Encourage your child to share these experiences with you and to teach you what he or she has learned. Ask your child to identify examples of what he or she is learning in everyday life.

Thank you for your continued support at home!

-4th Grade Team

November is often a time for us to reflect on the many blessings we have, family gatherings, and a time to celebrate our successes and remember the many challenges we have overcome. As teachers, we have an opportunity to take part in your children's lives, help them overcome struggles, and share in their efforts every day. It is truly a partnership between parents and teachers to prepare them for the future.

As we look forward to the weeks ahead, your students will learn how people have overcome adversity against all odds. It all starts with "The Road to Freedom," a realistic fiction book about slaves' hardships to escape to the north by using the underground railroad. We will also read about the struggle women had to earn the right to vote in this country through the book "Operation Clean Sweep." We will also read the non-fictional story about Cesar Chavez and his struggles to get fair wages for day laborers working on farms during their harvest. Finally, we will end this unit with your students writing an opinion speech about inequality or injustice that they have learned about, experienced in their own life, or that exists in the world around them.

In math, your students are finishing a module on long division, and we are getting ready to start a new module on adding and subtracting fractions. These lessons will incorporate their understanding of their math facts, finding common multiples, and simplifying fractions. Although factions may seem scary to students at first, they should be confident to solve any fraction addition or subtraction problem that comes their way after this module.

We will learn about the water cycle in science, which is an essential issue for all of us living in Southwest Kansas. Your students will learn that saltwater makes up most of the water on our planet, only emphasizing how important finding freshwater is to all of us. We will learn about water vapor and how it forms clouds and condensation on cold drinks. The lessons will help your students understand that freshwater is not only found in lakes and rivers but is also stored underground in aquifers.

Your students will continue to learn about life in the early European colonies in America. These lessons will help your students understand the struggles of creating new settlements. The frustration that the settlers had with dealing with their leaders far away in England. They will also learn more about the uneasy relationship between the settlers and the American Indians.

Again, as we approach the month of November, we have many things to be thankful for and celebrate. We look forward to celebrating your students' many successes this month. We are confident that together we can help them achieve more than they ever dreamed possible. We all want to wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable holiday season and a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Gene Struzik

The older grades have been discussing and learning about mysteries and scary stories. The younger students have been focusing on the differences between Fiction and Non- Fiction, and enjoyed a few Halloween activities as well. The Scholastic Book Fair was held Oct. 16 – 18 and was a huge success. Thank you, parents, for bringing students back to school in the afternoons to shop. We know it was a bit of an inconvenience but we appreciate it so much. All proceeds from the Book Fair go to purchasing materials for the library, and we also share books with the teachers. The Kindergarten students will begin checking out books this month, but they will keep their books at school and not bring them home just yet. They are learning how to exhibit proper respect ad care for library materials.

Our Northwest Christmas Elf needs a name! Students will be writing their ideas on a piece of paper and turning them into the office. We will draw a name out right before Thanksgiving and the winner will receive a special prize! Our Elf will be featured on the NW Facebook page every day from Dec. 1 – 25. Make sure your parents check Facebook so you can see what our Elf is up to!!!

Kindergarten: In kindergarten we do a focus song each week or every other week that the children will sing for at least a week. We are working on tempo: fast and slow, and dynamics: loud and soft. We will do Thanksgiving activities throughout the month involving singing, movement, and instruments. Every Thursday we are doing Listening Thursday in which the students watch a music performance and they evaluate it and identify the music elements, some of which is done using academic discourse with a partner: tempo, dynamics, pitch, and what emotion it makes them feel. The kindergarten students also do a lot of singing, movement, and some playing of instruments.

1st grade: In 1st grade we do a focus song each week or every other week that the children will sing for at least a week. We are working on tempo: fast and slow, and dynamics: loud and soft. We will do Thanksgiving activities throughout the month involving singing, movement, and instruments. Every Thursday we are doing Listening Thursday in which the students watch a music performance and they evaluate it and identify the music elements, some of which is done using academic discourse with a partner: tempo, dynamics, pitch, and what emotion it makes them feel. The kindergarten students also do a lot of singing, movement, and some playing of instruments.

3rd grade: They are working hard practicing and preparing for their music program that will take place on November 7th at 6:00 p.m..

4th grade: They will be working on practicing and preparing for their music program that will take place on December 14th at 7:00 p.m.