Download October 2016 - Southern Tioga School District

Warren L. Miller Elementary
October Newsletter
Kindergarten
Kindergarten had a great first month of school learning about life cycles
and building a reading and writing community! In our community we have
set a nice foundation in which both teachers and students share the
responsibility of teaching and learning. Now that we have a good
foundation in reading and writing, we have started our “Responding to
Literature” unit in reading and our narrative writing unit in writing. Students
are learning about the different aspects of literature and what is included in
stories. In narrative writing students are drawing and telling stories that are
significant to them.
In math this month we are starting to focus on numbers 0-10 and
getting a true understanding of each number and what it represents. In
science, we are exploring the forest habitat and our five senses. We will be
covering this by taking a walk on the nature trail and collecting things. Mrs.
Route’s fifth grade science students will be helping us make our
discoveries and will introduce us to different science equipment. We will
also discuss what we heard, saw, felt, and smelled out on the nature trail
as well.
Grade 1
First grade is off to a great start. We appreciate all your support in helping
us get started. Our team truly believes in a great partnership between
home and school!
We have really focused a lot on creating an environment that promotes the
very best learning. We have taught the children that they can have choice
and voice in their learning. They have learned all about being learner
driven. We have created a community atmosphere where the teacher and
learner both are in charge of the learning. Students are the drivers too!
Our goal is to share the responsibility while keeping one common goal in
mind.
Math is also off to a great start! We are learning about break apart numbers
and equations. Every day, we are talking about making change and
counting money. At home, you can help your child identify the coins and
their amounts. Talk about how 10 cents is a group of 10 or two groups of 5
cents. These are all things that will help them be successful here as well.
Next week you will start to see book bags come home with nightly
reading. Please be sure to watch for the note from your teacher for that as
well as spelling.
2nd Grade
We are excited about getting to know your children. One way that we have
done this is through our exciting writing classes. Our students are given
lots of time to write stories about their experiences. They have been
listening to what other authors have done that they, too, could try. You may
have seen our students carrying tiny topic notepads. We have instructed
them to jot down tiny details that they can later turn into stories. Our goal is
that students will get into the habit of jotting down small moment story ideas
that will serve them for a lifetime of writing.
3rd Grade
Living or Nonliving? Ask your third grader the common characteristics of all
living organisms. Students have being busy identifying and comparing
living organisms. They have been utilizing the nature trail to identify living
organisms. Living organisms also include things that were once living.
In math students have been working on rounding 4 digit numbers to the
nearest ten and to the nearest one hundred. They have learned several
strategies to guide them when rounding.
4th Grade
Have you ever wondered how your shadow changes throughout the
day? Ask any 4th grade student and they can explain. The students
measured shadows on the Autumnal Equinox which was September 22.
They will remeasure on the first day of winter and then again on the first
day of spring so they can compare shadows throughout the year. What
happens when the students grow taller, how will we account for that? Just
ask a 4th grade student.
5th Grade
In Mrs. Eglesia’s ELA classes, students have been hard at work
learning to read and write narrative text. During our first few weeks of
writing workshop, writers are learning how to turn large topics into small
moment stories. Creating personal narratives that get to the heart of the
story through the use of dialogue, figurative language, and descriptive
words, has been the focus of our mini-lessons. During reading class,
readers have been analyzing various types of literary text including fables,
folktales, poetry, and mysteries.
6th Grade
In Mathematics this month we are learning to divide fractions by
whole numbers, mixed numbers and fractions. Then, we will learn how to
use models to represent our division solutions. Next, we will be adding to
our number system fluency by learning how to solve addition, subtraction,
multiplication and long division problems with decimals.
Guidance
During the week of October 24th-28th, we will be celebrating Red
Ribbon Week once again at W.L. Miller Elementary School. Red Ribbon
Week is a time where millions of people come together to raise awareness
regarding the need for alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and bullying
prevention, early intervention and treatment services. It is the largest, most
visible prevention awareness campaign observed annually in the United
States. During Red Ribbon Week, we will be taking part in many fun and
educational activities. A schedule of these activities will be found hanging in
the school hallways starting the week of October 17th. A schedule will also
be sent home with every child. Please encourage your child to participate in
some of the fun during this week.
Art News
The first artworks created by all students were ​baseline drawings​. These drawings
are a five minute snapshot of what a student already knows and can show about a
particular subject in art. We put these away and save them until the end of the year, when
we do our last art work, a five minute baseline drawing of exactly the same subject. Then
we get out the first ones and review them side by side. These baseline drawings are a very
important way for students to notice growth and mastery of new skills or a prevalence in
their personal style!
Here are a few pictures of some of the current works in progress:
4th grade radial symmetry
3rd grade tree reflections
1st grade optical illusions
Music Notes
Primary grades have been learning about rhythm and pitch as elements of
music. They’ve also been learning lots of songs and musical games. Ask your
child to show you some, and encourage them to use their singing voice at home!
Fourth Graders have been working on melody with recorders, and are
preparing to get started on UKULELES! Fifth and Sixth Graders are getting
started on their Winter Concert music, and are also preparing for a special visit
from the Hamilton-Gibson Choirs here at Miller Elementary in November.
Physical Education
Students have been working hard on a variety of skills in the gym.
Third - sixth grade students began the school year with some parachute
review and practice and progressed into throwing and catching skills using
a football. We are currently working on volleying skills and running the
P.A.C.E.R. test. The (P.A.C.E.R.) test stands for Progressive, Aerobic,
Cardiovascular, Endurance, Run and encourages students to run as far as
they can for as long as they can. Students in grades K-2 started the school
year learning and practicing spatial awareness activities, locomotor
movement skills, and are now moving to manipulatives such as bean bag
and balloon volleying. Kindergarten students have been introduced to the
climbing wall and are off to a fabulous start in the gym! Please remind your
child to wear their sneakers on the day they come to PE class. Thank you
for your support!
Title I
Word Play: Use these activities to build phonemic awareness
(manipulating sounds) and the ability to hear sounds in words. These fun
activities can easily be done while riding in the car, or even in the dark!
● Choose short words such as “cap.” Have your child substitute
different beginning sounds to make new words such as lap, map,
nap, rap, sap, tap, zap.)
● Pick a long word and clap once per syllable to hear how many
syllables. For example, “kitchen” has 2 claps, “key” has only one.
● Play a game where the first sound is taken off of a word. Example:
Can you say “sit” without the /s/? (answer: it)
● Think of a word and give “sound” clues to figure it out. For instance,
“I’m thinking of a word for something that you chew. The word has /u/
sound in the middle. (answer: gum)
Library News
Students in all grade levels have been reviewing library policies and
procedures. Primary grades have been reviewing book care and learning
about the sections of the library. The upper grades have been practicing
using the online catalog and locating books in the bookshelves. In
computer classes, kindergarten and first grade are learning how to use the
keyboard and will be introduced to the Paint program. In grades 2-4,
students are becoming experts at logging in and navigating though
Microsoft Windows. Students will be using Microsoft Word as a tool for
learning.
The Book Fair is coming! The Fall 2016 Scholastic Fair will run from
October 28th - November 4th. I would greatly appreciate some volunteers
to help the Book Fair run smoothly. Please let me know if you are willing to
help at the Book Fair.
Don’t forget to visit the WLM Special Area Teachers BLOG at
http://wlmspecials.blogspot.com
Cool links, upcoming activities, other news, dates to remember
● PTO meetings are held every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 6 pm in the
WLM library.
LOST AND FOUND
Parents, please have your children check the lost and found for any items that
may belong to them. Parents may also sign in to the office and check the lost
in found first thing in the morning or right after school. The weather is
changing and many clothing items show up in the lost and found at this time of
year.
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
W.L. Miller will again be collecting box tops and labels this year. For the
2015-2016 school year, we collected $1,598.30. Part of that money was used to
purchase an outside picnic table. Since our school has participated in the
program, we have earned $18,919.21. Box tops are worth 10 cents each and
can be found on products from cereal, to cleaning supplies, to some clothing.
Many products have bonus box tops. For a complete listing of products or
answers to questions you might have about the program, go to
www.boxtops4education.com.
Please note that box tops do have a date and if that date has expired, they
cannot be redeemed. Labels for Education has changed their program as they
are
phasing it out. They have decided to accept only UPC’s that say Labels for
Education for one more year. Points earned in this program can be used to
purchase school items from a catalog Labels for Education provides. Please
continue to clip box tops and labels and send them into the school before their
expiration date. There is a collection bin in the office at W L Miller or children
can give them to their teacher. Thank you for taking the time to support your
children and their school. Any questions, call me at 570-549-7321. Kathy Evans