Kinder Block
The holiday season is a time for joy. In that spirit, we want to help others have a better Christmas. We will collect pennies, other coins, and dollars to help Northwest families have a better Christmas.
This will also help us with our social studies themes of wants and needs and caring for others as well as an introduction to money for math. We will continue to work on our letters, sounds, high frequency words, and sounding out words.
Have a very Merry Christmas! We will see you January 9th!
First Block
November has flown by for 1st grade and we are preparing for December!
Math- We’re in the middle of Module 2. In this Module we are working on adding and subtracting bigger numbers. With this we will be working on several different strategies, like counting on/backwards and finding a ten.
ELA- We have started Unit 3, where we are learning to focus on story sequence beginning, middle, and end. We are also learning about choices and how they can affect us and others around us.
The first day of Winter Break will be December 22, 2022. Fliers will be sent home as we approach this date.
Be on the lookout for more information from Northwest as well at your 1st grades.
Thank you!
First Grade Teachers
Ms. Barrientos, Mrs. Doussa, Mrs. Falcon
Second Block
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 still using place value strategies to solve 2 and 3 digit addition and subtraction problems. Students are very excited about their music program coming up on December 15th.
3rd Block
In December, we worked on many important skills for third grade! In math, we began discussing area, how to solve area, and how to solve for a missing side in a rectangle. Students used shapes and grids to build arrays and solve the area. In reading, we read about different places people live and compared and contrasted them to each other and to where we live. In writing, we did a comparative writing to compare and contrast two different places. We did research and organized our thoughts in graphic organizers and then into a writing.
Social Studies was a very exciting time in the month of December. We completed our map unit. Students learned the cardinal directions, hemispheres, continents, as well as how to read a legend or a key. Mrs. Stefan and Ms. Connolly’s classes created maps of the school and created legends to show what different rooms were.
We are so grateful for a great start to the school year! Halfway done, and the spring will get very exciting and busy!
3rd Grade Team
4th Block
Happy December!
Math: -We will be wrapping up Module 3- Multi-Digit multiplication and Division. We will be completing Topic G: Division of Thousands, Hundreds, Tens, and Ones, and Topic H: Multiplication of Two-Digit by Two-Digit Numbers.
Reading: We will be continuing Unit 2 Module B. In this module, readers will state and support opinions to demonstrate their understanding of both literary and informational texts. Writers will use text-based evidence to state and support opinions. Learners will understand how interactions among communities affect cultures and people.
Social Studies: We will continue our unit where students will investigate settlement patterns to draw conclusions about a sense of place, first in Kansas, and then in relation to five geographic regions in the United States. Students will compare and contrast the Kansa with one prominent tribe from each of five geographic regions in the United States in the context of their geographic, cultural, political, and social characteristics.
Science: In our unit this month, students will explore the past and present pattern of where volcanoes exist on the earth. In the activity, Mapping Volcanoes, students plot volcano locations on a world map and look for patterns. Students analyze these maps to discover that volcanoes form a “Ring of Fire” around the Pacific Ocean.
Thank you for your continued support at home!
-4th grade team (Mrs. Egger, Miss Blankman, and Miss Gleason)
5th Block
As we approach the end of our first semester, 5th grade will be completing our second unit in ELA. In this unit we have been reading about superheroes! We will continue talking about the characteristics of a superhero. This will lead us to a project in writing where we will select a Real-Life Superhero, research that person, and complete a project about this person.
In math we are about half way through our unit on adding and subtracting fractions. Once we are finished, we will move on to multiplying and dividing fractions. Please continue working with your child on basic multiplication and division facts. When we are comfortable with these facts, other skills become easier.
In Social Studies we are beginning to learn about the French and Indian War. We will learn about important people, such as Tanaghrisson the Half-King and George Washingtom. We will finish this semester discussing the consequences of the war.
Before we leave for our break in December, we will finish learning about our watery planet. We will focus on the water cycle, water involved natural disasters, and how engineering can save a town from a hurricane.
Our 5th grade team would like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Holiday season!
Mr. Struzik, Miss Ochoa, Mrs. Struzik, and Mrs. Whelchel
Music Class
Kindergarten & 1st grade: We did a unit on The Nutcracker suite in which they learned about the ballet, did activities, and music theory. We also did focus songs each week for the holiday.
2nd grade: Prepared for their music program. We will reschedule it and let everyone know when that will be.
5th grade: Did a unit in which they learned about The Nutcracker suite ballet that included activities and music theory. They also sang focus songs based around the holidays each week. They took online assessments to identify if a song was fast or slow and also if pitches went up, went down, or stayed the same.
Book Club
December was a short month and flew by in the Library! The students enjoyed many holiday themes books and acted out some others. Puppets really bring a story to life and can be as simple as a sock you color eyes, nose and mouths on – try making this to match a story to read your students at home. Stuffed animals can also be used to act out stories, and the kids just love using them. The second grade focused on Fairy Tales – ask them what makes them different from any other kind of story. The third grade learned how to access and use an online dictionary and really enjoyed it.
