Welcome Back!!
Note from the Nurse
Thank you!
Not Feeling Well?
Counselor's Corner
Dear Parents:
This year we will focus on building strong character in our students. As a school we will be recognizing children who are kind, truthful, show respect towards others, are responsible, use good manners and much more! This month our character trait focuses on “Respect”. Please encourage your child to practice these good character traits at home by praising good character choices that your child makes.
Counselor's Corner
Please send me a note with any success you notice at home from this character program so I can reinforce and praise your child’s progress too! Your help is valuable to these life lessons!
Thanks for your participation and support!
Love,
Mrs. Flores
School Counselor
Music Matters
In music kindergarten has been learning about rules through fun songs and social skills, since it is the beginning of the school year and singing name songs to get to know each other. They have also been learning about beat and singing a lot.
1st grade has been learning about the rules and social skills through fun songs, since it is the beginning of the school year and singing name songs to get to know each other. They have also been learning about steady beat, singing many songs, and learning about a composer: Ludwig Van Beethoven. They will be taking a pre-assessment to see what they already know and need to learn in music.
2nd grade has been singing name songs to get to know each other, learning about steady beat, learning about a composer: Ludwig Van Beethoven, and different voice types that we use. They will take a pre-assessment to assess what they already know and need to learn in music.
5th grade has been working on rhythms and solfege.
Book Club
The 2022-23 school year is off to a great start in the library! Over the summer, the library was rearranged and brought up to date with a huge smart TV being added. Shelves were moved and decorations in storage since Covid are now brightening up the newly arranged space. All classes (besides Kindergarten) have already checked out books and both the Librarian and the students are excited for another year. Parents – some students may be asking for your help with finding books that may have gotten lost over the summer. Please help them locate those and send them back to school. Looking forward to a great school year –
Mrs. McDaniel
Northwest Librarian
Kinder Block
Kinder is so excited to be at school! We had a great time at jumpstart and are enjoying being at kindergarten all day. We are meeting lots of new friends and learning new things!
We have been learning about school and what kindergarten kids do! We are focusing on learning our letters and letter sounds and the numbers 0-10. We have been learning about different homes and how we are different and the same. There is so much to do!
We also wanted to say thank you to our parents for all of your support! Kindergarten is very different for many students and without your support, it can be very difficult too! Thank you for all of your help!
First Grade Block
First grade is hard at work!! We have started our Module 1 in Math; this is where we are working on breaking numbers apart and creating number bonds for numbers from 1-10. In ELA, we are just about finishing up with our first Module in Unit 1. We have learned about relationships between characters, retelling the stories, and focusing on our story elements. In writing, we are looking at narrative writing. We are finishing up with our FastBridge testing and will be ready to share results with families at conferences.
We hit the year running in First Grade and our students are doing wonderfully!!!
Second Grade Block
We have had a great start to the new school year! In Reading, we have been working on short and long vowel sounds, discussing characters in a story, and writing a story in sequence. Math has been a review of strategies from first grade. We have also been learning new strategies for how to use friendly numbers (10, 20…) to solve addition and subtraction problems. Our next Math unit will focus on measuring with centimeters and comparing lengths. In Science, we will start learning about animal classifications. Socially, we have spent time getting to know each other and reviewing procedures. We will talk about being a community and ways to help others be their best. Second graders will go to Library on Wednesday, if your child has library books at home please remind them to bring them to school on Wednesday! Thank you for all you do to help your child be awesome!
Third Grade Block
Third grade is off to an exciting start! We hit the ground running by already beginning to learn multiplication and division in math. We have been learning different strategies for how to solve these problems including sorting items into groups, building arrays, and using repeated addition. Our goal is for all third graders to know multiplication facts through 12 by the end of third grade!
In reading, we are reading about science detectives Drake Doyle and Nell Fossey. This is an exciting story with many science mysteries. Students are learning how to identify characters’ actions and how those actions impact a story. Students will be writing a narrative (made up) story in writing using this same idea! They will develop a character and write about the actions of this character to develop the events in the story.
We have started the year off with doing science at the end of the day. So far, students have learned about fossils! We have a few more exciting videos and projects to do with this unit. Coming up we will be doing an economics lesson in social studies. With that, we will be doing a Market Day. We will be sending notes about this home with students very soon!
Thank you for such a great start to the year. We look forward to continuing to teach your wonderful students this year!
Mrs. Stefan, Mrs. Carmona, and Miss Connolly
Fourth Grade Block
Math: -In our unit this month, we are working on Module 1. In Module 1 we are focusing on Place Value, Rounding, and Algorithms for Addition and Subtraction. Topics covered this month will be: Topic B: Comparing Multi-Digit Whole Numbers (Lessons 5-6), Topic C: Rounding Multi-Digit Whole Numbers (Lessons 7-10), Topic D: Multi-Digit Whole Number Addition (Lessons 11-12), Topic E: Multi-Digit Whole Number Subtraction (Lessons 13-16), and Topic F: Addition and Subtraction Word Problems (Lessons 17-19)
Reading: We are working on Unit 1 Module A. In this module, readers will use point of view in literary text and use reasons and evidence in informational text to better understand what they read. Writers will use evidence and events to depict a person’s life. Learners will understand that researchers and scientists adopt specific habits to accomplish tasks.
Social Studies: We will start our unit over Civics. In this unit, students will recognize and evaluate the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Students will examine the individual’s role as a citizen of the community and state. They will determine how people can participate in government and analyze why choosing to participate is important. Students will investigate ways that responsible citizens can fulfill their civic duty, such as, engaging in one or more of the following opportunities: serving the common good, being law-abiding, showing respect for others, volunteering, serving the public in an elected or appointed office, and/or joining the military.
Science: In our unit this month, students will investigate structures and functions of the human body. Students will explore how our bones and muscles are interconnected, how our eyes interact with light and impact our vision, and how our brain responds to stimuli in our environment.
Some great practice for home would be reading 30 minutes every night, and practicing multiplication and division math facts!
Thank you for your support at home!
-4th grade team (Mrs. Egger, Miss Blankman, and Ms. Gleason)
Fifth Grade Block
It has been an amazing first couple of weeks with your students. As we enjoy the last few days of summer and prepare for fall, I am sure that all of us are looking forward to some cooler temperatures.
During these first few weeks, your students have been busy learning and taking the assessment tests. These tests help us know how we can best help your child in Math and Reading. We will share the results of these tests with you during your parent-teacher conferences this month.
Our students have been learning about ecosystems and food chains in science and reading. In reading, we are reading the book Night of the Spadefoot Toads by Bill Harley. The fictional story is about a boy who finds a way to save a vernal pool in Massachusetts. The story talks about the ecosystem that is supported by the vernal pool. These readings are closely related to our science this month as we continue to explore the connections between producers (plants), consumers (animals that eat the plants), and decomposers (animals and bacteria that eat the dead things).
We are also asking parents to please help their students read at home. The students should read for about 20 minutes every day. They can read to a sibling, a friend, or you. This reading will help them with their fluency and their comprehension skills. Together we can help your students improve their overall reading skills.
In math, we are learning about multiplying and dividing numbers with decimals. Your students have also converted metric measurements, such as 100 cm into 1,000 mm. We encourage you to work with your students on multiplication tables because these skills will help solve these equations.
This month's writing assignment is for your students to write a short story about a character who cares about his or her surroundings. The students need to describe the actions the character takes to show his or her understanding of the environment. Their story must have a clear beginning, middle, and end, and include narrative techniques and develop their characters. They will be due on September 20, 2022.
In social studies, we will be studying early life in North America. We will talk about the American Indians and the early explorers that came to North America. We will talk about how these events changed the world.
Overall this will be a fantastic month of learning for your child. We are looking forward to being a part of this journey. We look forward to meeting you all during the parent-teacher conferences.
