PreSchool Mrs. Malone, Ms. OnkkaOur themes for the month of October include fall, fire safety, pumpkins and of course, Halloween!
We discussed the job of a firefighter, the tools firefighters use, and ways we can keep ourselves safe. We have fire drills at school. Does your family have practice drills at home? Our 3 & 5-day pre-k classes enjoyed their visit to our neighborhood fire station. Thank you to all of the parents who accompanied us on our field trips!
Fall means leaves and pumpkins so we spent some time investigating their sizes, shapes and insides!
We look forward to discussing your child’s progress next week during conferences.
Our Halloween parties will take place on Tuesday, October 25th and Monday, October 31st. We are very excited about our Halloween parties!
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Kindergarten Mrs. Guinan, Mrs. Millar, Mrs. Vaughan
The kindergarteners have practiced a lot with patterns in math this month. They used shapes, numbers and cubes to create many different types of patterns.
The students had fun experimenting like real scientists this month. They made predictions and explored ways objects could be moved.
They are invited to the Parsons House for some Halloween fun! The residents will really enjoy seeing our students.
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First Grade Mrs. Kleffman, Mrs. Nigrin, Ms. HermsenFirst graders have been very busy in math class! We have introduced both addition and subtraction, and will be reinforcing specific strategies with your student that will allow for further success. A great way to review this skill at home is to practice math facts on a regular basis.
We encourage you to also have your child read to you daily for 10-15 minutes. This regular practice is the best way to increase fluency and practice comprehension.
Thank you for all of your hard work preparing your child for our All Saints Day parade! It is one of our favorite events during the school year!
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Second Grade Ms. Hargens, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. TruscottSecond graders are looking forward to going to their First Reconciliation this weekend! They have been working hard to prepare for this Holy Sacrament.
Please remember to work with your child on math facts every night! Take time to read with your child as well. Students have been working hard on identifying characters, setting, and events in a story. They have been searching for key details, too!
In Social Studies we have been talking about families. Take time to sit with your child and tell him or her where your family came from, and talk about traditions that you share that may have been passed down.
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Third Grade Ms. Ruelas, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. SchofieldIt is hard to believe the first quarter has come to an end. Time flies when you’re working hard and having fun. Thank you for all you are doing at home to help your child complete homework and stay organized.
The students are using their Chromebooks daily, with teacher guidance, in the classroom and in specials. We will be placing more assignments in Google Classroom as the year progresses to help students navigate this learning tool and further enhance their education.
Circle of Grace, Safe Environment for children, will be taught during the month of November.
Thank you to the parents who helped with our field trip and will help with the Halloween party. We appreciate your assistance with these activities.
No “TRICKS” here, being back at school has been a real “TREAT!” We are blessed to witness the amazing growth of the students.
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Fourth Grade Mrs. Madison, Mrs. Thede, Mrs. Caito
During October, the month of the Rosary, fourth graders have been learning about the Mysteries of the Rosary and the different prayers that are prayed on the corresponding beads. They made their own Rosary to pray this beautiful prayer. We will continue to pray the Rosary throughout the year.
We also met with some of our buddies and created Halloween Safety booklets! We had a great time together.
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In science, we are exploring the different types of energy. The electricians in the pictures below are connecting wires, a battery, and a light bulb to see if it will light up. Also, we’re continuing in our Matter Unit and studying physical and chemical changes. We have had some fun labs that have let us explore many ways that matter can change.
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Fifth Grade Ms. Salerno, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Stec
We’re excited to start the second quarter and have the opportunity to meet parents in person for conferences!
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Fifth graders have had a great start to their second quarter! After watching the Boys Town film in Social Studies class, students were able to see it in person with a field trip to Boys Town. They toured Dowd Chapel, where students visited Fr. Flanagan’s tomb, toured his former home, and dove deeper into its history as they toured the museum.
Thank you so much to the parents who volunteered to chaperone the field trip!
Students have finished up their chemistry unit on matter in science class, and have now switched gears to life science. They will be learning about the growth and energy cycles of plants and animals. In social studies, students are learning how the Europeans colonized America. We will soon be studying our states and capitals! Finally, students were randomly assigned their state for the State Fair and have begun the writing process for the first paragraph of their research paper in English.
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Sixth Grade Mrs. Wane, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Guinotte
Maternity leave is well under way at the Johnson household! I sure will miss my 6th graders while I am away but know that they are in great hands at school! They ‘showered’ me with lots of love and support last month, which I am very much thankful for. Baby Johnson and I will make sure to make an appearance at some point so they can finally find out if it’s a he or she! ;)
Math: Students are currently learning and practicing with expressions and inequalities, which is a great introduction to algebra! From there, they will continue to practice working with and solving formulas involving area, circumference, distance, etc. As we wrap up this chapter, we will then move into our unit on integers. Students will be practicing with number lines, negative numbers, absolute value, and order of operations. This is by far the most fun chapter this semester!
Social Studies: Students just finished learning about Ancient Mesopotamia. We are now moving into our chapter on Ancient Egypt, which is packed full of interesting information and fun activities. Students will create an Egyptian pyramid that demonstrates their knowledge of the material as well as singing along to their favorite singer, Mr. Nicky. (He’s a wonderful parody singer)! 6th graders will also be completing an activity for Veteran’s Day to honor all those who served and continue to serve.
English - Students are exploring personal narrative writing this month. Do your students have stories that they would like to share with the class? They can be funny, scary, or a memory from years before.
Literature - Students are traveling with Billy Colman and his two red hounds in the novel, Where the Red Fern Grows. This is usually a favorite of students, especially if they have experienced the love of a pet.
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In science, students are working hard on their inventions. Please come see your child’s invention on Thursday, November 10th, at 2:15 P.M. in the gym. Everyone has worked hard, they are excited to show you their inventions.
In religion, students have finished their “God’s Wonder and Awe” mosaics. The pictures below are the beautiful artwork that in hanging outside room 63. A shout out to all who sent in scrap booking paper, thank you so much! The mosaics are more vibrant than ever!
Please come see the beautiful mosaics during conferences.
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English Mr Leever
English 7-Students completed and I enjoyed reading their personal narratives. Having completed the initial noun review unit, students are currently studying regular/irregular verbs, transitive/intransitive verbs, linking verbs, and active/passive voice. Our upcoming writing project will be to write an analysis of a character they have studied in literature class.
English 8—Students have taken mastery tests over plural nouns and possessive nouns. Our next unit involves studying verb tenses and aspects. Our next writing assignments will be to research a vacation destination and write an expository paragraph citing the information they gathered through their research using the MLA Handbook.
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Science Ms. Kolberg
7th grade
Seventh graders are moving in to learning about bacteria and viruses. One of our activities we will attempt is to act like epidemiologists and determine how the people in Barrows County are getting sick and what could be done to prevent an outbreak. Hopefully, lives will be saved!
8th grade
Eighth graders are finishing up the sound and light waves unit. We will dissect sheep eyes and compare them to our eyes as our last project in that unit. We then will start moving into chemistry!
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Math Mr. PolacekThe end of the first quarter brings quite a bit of change to the 7th and 8th grade Math classes. We usually start the year with a chapter or two reviewing topics from the previous year and by the time October rolls around the amount of new material starts to increase. All of the classes have spent quite a bit of time solving equations and working on showing work and writing down the steps.
The Algebra class is moving on to a long chapter of graphing lines and calculating slope. Many different forms and formulas will need to be correctly used to successfully navigate the varied problems.
The Pre-Algebra classes will take a short pit stop with percents before heading on to spend some time with all kinds of shapes in our Geometry unit, while the 7th grade Math class will review our decimals and fractions one more time before moving on to some more Pre-Algebra Topics.
I appreciate so much the continued support of the parents and the hard work of all the students, I look forward to being able to continue on this educational journey with them.
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Religion Mr. Dunn
Students in 7th grade are learning about the many images used to describe God and discovering how God’s attributes are reflected in human life.
Students in 8th grade are learning how living a Christian moral life is a path to freedom and the importance of developing a well-formed conscience.
Maranatha!
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Social Studies Mrs. Sullivan 7th graders recently finished a unit on Human Geography. We learned about Economic Geography, Political Geography, and Population Geography, with much of our discussion focused on cultures around the world. In our upcoming units, we will study specific places in the world, starting with the United States. The students will make maps throughout the next several units to help with our study. We have also been working on how to take notes, using guided notes as a tool.
8th graders just finished a unit on life in the colonies and colonial government. Next, we will learn about the road to revolution. We will talk about many of the reasons for the revolution, many of the historical figures who were a part of the revolution, and the outcomes of the revolution. The students will make timelines and other visuals to assist with our study. 8th grade has also been working on how to take notes, using guided notes as a tool.
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Literature Mrs. Fosbender
The seventh-grade literature students have started the seventh grade textbook. In unit 1 students will discuss, “Does every conflict have a winner?” The students will work on multaple strategies to help them find different ways to solve conflicts and will also have writing and research activities to complete.
The eighth grade students finished reading, “My Brother Sam is Dead” and will start the novel, “Stargirl.” The theme is based on friendship, bullying, and being yourself. Students will complete activities to help reinforce the correct way to treat others and also use strategies that will help with comprehension and writing skills.
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Art Mr. Pflaum
The school art classes continue to create a large amount of wonderful artwork. This is a quick summary of what each grade is doing:
♦The Kindergarteners have completed their Swirling Leaves warm/cool watercolor paintings and are working on expressive jack-o-lantern drawings.
♦In first grade, the students are learning about oil pastel resist paintings.
♦The second-graders are in the middle of glazing their clay Dot Pots while the third-graders are sculpting their clay pinch pot creatures.
♦In fourth grade, the students are working on their clay coil pottery - sculpting and glazing the fired pieces.
♦The fifth-graders are learning about the mandala and have started their own circle designs.
♦The sixth-graders are in the process of illustrating St. Vincent de Paul Church using the iPad as their medium of choice.
♦In seventh grade, the students have competed their color pencil grid drawings and are working on a watercolor illustration.
♦The eighth-graders are continuing work on their ceramic mask project.
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Computer Mrs. Kuhr
Kindergarten - Students have been working on typing a sentence in Kid Pix. They have been learning how to use the Shift key and Spacebar when typing. Next, we will learn how to login to Teacher Your Monster to Read. This site works students through learning how to read and letter sounds in a game format. Their login is their first name and the first letter of their last name.
1st Grade - Students have been learning about different technologies found around the home, and about what information they should not be posting online. We will then head to Kodable a sight they always enjoy, to code “fuzzes” through a maze. The class codes are - 11black, 12purple, 13yellow.
2nd Grade - After playing a musical chair going over if-then-else statements, students have been learning what makes a powerful password. After learning the Dos and Dont's, they are working on how to create a secure password.
3rd Grade - Students have been working with our Edison Bots and learning how to program them. We went through the barcode coding, and are now working on the block programming. The students have been having a blast. Next we will working on writing a collaborated story in Google Docs.
4th Grade - After taking their first keyboarding test of the year, they have started working with our Edison Bots. They have been working on coding the robot using block programming to move forward and turn. Next, they will program the robots through a small course.
5th Grade - They started a new project, creating a Choose Your Own Adventure story. They will be collabore in groups to brainstorm a story idea, and then use Google Slides to create their stories. They will also learn about how to link slides together. This is a fun project and the stories that they come up with are always inventive.
6th Grade - They started a Pop Art project using Google Drawings. They find a photo and add shapes on top of an image. They then color the shapes fun, bright colors. They then learn some photo editing that can be done using Google Drawing. I can’t wait to share their projects in the next classroom news.
8th Grade - Students finished up their programming project in Scratch. They designed an RPG-style game sharing for an object. There were some outstanding projects. The students really worked hard and it shows in the games they created. Next, we will be learn about podcasting.
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Educational Strategists Mrs. Heavey, Mrs. Price, Ms. Bousquet
Month of Fun: November
Check out November’s Month of Fun calendar from Education World. Enjoy November-themed interactive puzzles, learning games and crafts that will engage students while reinforcing important skills.
November activities celebrate several special events such as National American Indian Heritage Month, International Drum Month, Geography Awareness Week, World Hello Day and Thanksgiving Day.
Copy and paste the link below to find the list of activities categorized by the appropriate grade level.
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Guidance Mrs. SkudlarekWhat a busy month it has been! Our theme has focused on being kind and not showing bully like behaviors. Kindergartners learned about the importance of using caring and sharing rules when playing on the playground, eating together and working in the classroom. First graders learned about ways to show kindness when working with others. Second graders learned about the different types of bullying and what to do when they see something that does not look quite right. Third graders learned about the three types of people that make up a bully situation: victim, bystander, and bully. They also discussed examples of bullying and acted out ways to put a stop to unkind behavior. Fourth and fifth graders reviewed the types of people that make up a bully situation and we focused a lot on the role of the bystander. In sixth and eighth grades, students learned about harassment and how bullying and harassment differ. The conversations were very thoughtful and thought-provoking. In all of the grades, we discussed the difference that can be made when a bystander has a positive impact. We will continue to practice ways to be kind and compassionate inside the school as well as outside the school. Our kids amaze me each day with what they know and what they want to learn!.
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HAL Mrs. MillerOctober has been been a busy month in the HAL classroom. The 4th graders are learning how to do long division and have found that knowing math facts is very important. The 5th grade class is working on an algebra unit and learning how to justify their steps to solve a problem. The 6th grade class began investigating square roots, irrational numbers and simplifying square roots. The 7th graders are embarking on their study of Greek mythology and finding allusions to mythology while reading The Lightning Thief. The 8th grade class wrapped up their novel My Brother Sam Is Dead and completed projects about the Revolutionary War.
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Media Mrs. Kaiser
Seventh graders have been using recycled materials to build marble runs. What do we learn from a project like this?
-How to work on a team
-How to build, test, and revise a plan
-How angles impact velocity
-How to start over when things fall apart
-How to build useful parts using a 3D printer
-How to leave our work area clean
Our next projects will include evaluating information we find online and creating a virtual reality world. Grades 3, 4, and 5 have been working on taking notes from a source and proper citation while grades K-2 reviewed fiction versus nonfiction and where to locate each in the library.
We’re all looking forward to the BOOK FAIR, November 7-11!
Thank you to the following students and their families who donated a book in honor of their birthday: Colin Horgan, Luke Fassero, Mila Audino.
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Music Mrs. LeMenseThank you to our 1st and 2nd graders for doing a wonderful job at their October program!!
Way to go!
The 5th and 6th graders are going to team up for the next concert called, “Into the Light”
- a multicultural program featuring songs about light, fire, exuberance, and imagination!
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Music Mr. Leeka
On Thursday, November 17th, the 6th graders will join the 5th grade for special concert. The theme of the concert is LIGHT!, and the songs all have a tie-in to light. Some are songs from other cultures celebrating festivals of light, while others simply rejoice in the beginning of the day. We have been preparing songs from the Americas, the Caribbean, West Africa, Israel, India, Thailand and Japan. The program is at 6:30 P.M. in the gym.
The 7th and 8th graders have begun preparing for their Christmas Concert on December 15th at 6:30 P.M. Each class will sing traditional and pop selections of the season. The program will end with a sing-a-long of some of our favorite carols (read Audience Participation) and a traditional wish for a Merry Christmas. We look forward to seeing you there!
Just a note: Information about the Spring Musical “How to Eat Like a Child” will be in the December Newsletter. We will already have gone over some basics with the students in classes before then, so they can be prepared for the auditions.
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PE Mr. Boone
K-6 concluded their soccer skills units by working on their dribbling, passing, trapping, and shooting skills. The students did activities such as follow the leader, first to five, teacher says, defend you pin, four corner soccer, soccer tag, shark attack, soccer bowling, and cone soccer. The younger students concluded by working in stations perfecting their skills.
At the end of this month, grades K-2 started their scooters unit, while third grade did some nutrition games. Students in grades 4 and 5 participated in invasion games such as capture the flag. Heading into November, they will then work on volleying games while students in 6th grade will start their football skills unit.
Between the dates of Nov.1-3 the Student Ambassadors are collecting donated Halloween candy to distribute to the Open Door Mission and other local charities. Please do not buy candy for this, this is only the candy collected during Trick of Treating or leftover candy that didn’t get passed out.
Please help us donate to those who are less fortunate and won’t get the same experiences that we all do.
Thank you!
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PE Mrs. Conry
Students in grades 7-8 were focusing on their soccer skills over the first half of the month. They did small games of 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 soccer while playing in larger games such as Steal The Ball, 4-Corner Soccer, and Crazy Soccer. The students worked on dribbling, passing, and ball-control skills. They concentrated on having control over both the ball and their bodies. In the next unit we will work on volleying skills as we play games such as volleyball, Swat ball, and GaGa Ball.
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Spanish 2nd-4th Mrs. McDermott Students in second grade Spanish are learning how to respond to: 1) “Como estas?” (How are you?) with “Muy bien“ (very well), “Mas o menos" (so-so), “Muy mal "(very bad), and 2) "Como te llamas?” (What is your name?) with, “Me llamo_______” (My name is______).
Students in third grade Spanish are learning the names of dinner foods such as: el biftec (steak), la chuleta, (pork), el pollo (chicken), el pescado (fish), el jamón (ham), el arroz (rice), la sopa (soup), and how to use “(No) Me gusta________ (I (don’t) like) when speaking about food.
Students in fourth grade Spanish are learning the months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, and diciembre).
Note: the days of the week and months of the year in Spanish begin with a lower case letter.
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Spanish 5th-8th Mrs. MaennerHola! The 8th graders are working hard on when to use the verb Ser vs. when to use the verb Estar. Assignments have started on this lesson, so that should help to drill this new concept home for them.
7th graders are learning how to tell the time in Spanish “La Hora,” and 6th graders are having short conversations with one another in Spanish using Saludos (greetings) and other conversation starters.
5th graders have been learning about gender in the Spanish language since it’s part of grammar, and are also learning basic Saludos and other common expressions.
lam6th, 7th and 8th graders will soon be celebrating “El Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead), a Christian/Catholic holiday observed in Mexico! They will learn the traditions and customs, which includes a few food items for them to try!
¡Hasta luego!
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