One more month to go! The last art show of the school year will be at the Masonic Temple and feature artwork depicting birds! You read that right, bird is the word in art class. Kindergarten and First grade have been depicting fun artwork that involve birds or even bird watching. Second grade has been hard at work with their aborignal snakes and will be moving onto superhero cities and fish kites next. Third, fourth, and fifth graders are finishing up clay, and working back into 2-Dimensional work, such as watercolor doughnuts, mosaic creatures, and Jasper John Squares. We have a lot to do, and little time. Let’s start creating!

 

REMINDERS IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Spring is here! Please make sure that your students are wearing the proper footwear to school and that they have a separate pair of closed toe gym shoes to wear for Physical Education. If your student wears sandals to school, please send socks with them so they can borrow shoes. 

 

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION?

April was a month full of basketball! Even though it’s called “March Madness” we had our fun in April. Students in grades K-2 learned the basic skills of dribbling, passing and shooting. Grades 3-5 learned the same skills but were able to use them in game play. Students really enjoy the game of H.O.R.S.E., and many learned a new game called ‘Lightning.’ Basketball is definitely a favorite unit here at Jefferson. We finished out the month of April with our dance unit. Students have learned dances such as the Cha Cha Slide, Cupids Shuffle, Macarena, Follow the leader, and the Kinder Polka.

 

WHAT’S NEXT IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION?

After students finish the dance unit, they will be working on various skills based on grade level. Fourth and fifth grade will get a chance to finish our bowling unit and will move into field day games. Grades K-3 will work on stations and striking skills before learning our field day games for the year. 

 

FIELD DAY

The date is set! Thursday May 26th with a rain date of Tuesday May 31st. We are very fortunate to not need any parent volunteers again this year as we have high school students that are willing to help out. We are so thankful for them! PTO has once again offered to give students popsicles as a station as well as a bike/sporting equipment raffle at the end of the day. 

 

TIPS TO BE FIT AT HOME

1. Do you own a jump rope? Even though Jump Rope for Heart is over, many students have ‘jump rope fever’ and want every chance they have to practice! Jump Roping is a very underrated exercise and can burn calories very fast. 

2. Make fitness fun! Exercise doesn’t have to be boring. Get the whole family involved and take a walk together, or even go to the gym/YMCA for a day of fun.

3. With the warm weather, many 5k races are popping up around the community. Find a family fun run and commit to being fit!

 

 

 

Opera for the Young was a huge success! Thank you to the Jefferson PTO for funding the show, to our student performers who put in a ton of time and effort to make it a success, and to our Jefferson families who supported our students by coming to watch the performance!

This month in music, all of the students are very excited to be playing keyboard (electric piano), as well as doing some fun songs, musical games, and music exploration using technology.

 

 

Summer Reading

Oshkosh Area School District is gearing up for summer break. While summer presents an opportunity to relax and enjoy the sunshine, we want our students to continue to find ways to learn while away from the classroom.

What better way to engage your student’s mind than through reading? 

	Sora Sweet Reads will be back May 4th-August 17th with free 24/7 access to simultaneous ebooks and audiobooks   You can explore the title offerings here or log in to Sora as they are predominantly displayed
OPL Tween book club (ages 9-12) Talk books and eat pizza with other kids who like to read! Receive the featured book at the Children’s Service Desk, by mail, or at the book club session the month before. The book is yours to keep! If you prefer to participate virtually, call 920-236-5208 to request the Zoom link. Registration required.   Oshkosh Public Library tween book clubs are Fridays at 4:30 PM under the dome or via zoom	Friday, June 3 Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable Friday, July 1 Holes by Louis Sachar Friday, Aug. 5 Matilda by Roald Dahl
	Oshkosh Public Library summer reading challenge will begin Thursday, June 1-August 13.  Pick up a paper form at OPL or track online here   Track your minutes spent reading and earn a chain necklace with different beads and brag tags, a free book, and other prizes including food coupons to local businesses.   Earn special program beads at different kids’ events throughout the summer.
Kick off summer by strolling along a storywalk at Menominee Park featuring Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner. Staff will be at the Kiwanis Park shelter off Pratt Trail to sign you up for summer reading and, once you complete the storywalk, give away youth passes to the Pollock Community Water Park.    *Available to kids and teens while supplies last. Special thanks to the City of Oshkosh Parks Department for providing water park passes.	Come to the Kick-Off Storywalk on June 3rd from 2-6 pm and receive a free water park pass for signing up for summer reading and completing the storywalk/reading your first 20 minutes (while supplies last).
Wonderlabs Explore and experiment using the principles of S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, and math)! Registration is required to plan for supply needs.   Tornado in a Jar Desert Biomes Squishy Circuit Mermaids Ocean Zone Jars Soil Layers: Edible Experiment Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition   THUR | 6:30 p.m. | Ages 5-9| Lower Level FRI | 10:30 a.m. | Ages 5-9| Lower Level   June 16 & 17 | June 30 | July 1 | July 14 & 15 | July 28 & 29 | Aug. 11 & 12 | Aug. 25 & 26	Drop by and read! Bring your own book, or check out our book bike or library shelves, as you drop in and read, chat with library staff, pick up a fun giveaway, and get reading credit for the Summer Reading Challenge.    FRI | Jun 24 | 6:30 p.m. | All Ages | Leach Amphitheater June’s event will take place prior to the free Family Movie Night showing of Sing 2 in collaboration with the Oshkosh Parks Department. TUE | Jul 19 | 10:30 a.m. | All Ages | Library Front Steps  July’s event will be on the front steps of the library.
Use our district databases for audiobooks and ebooks all summer.    Destiny Discover can be found on Classlink and your Destiny page.   BookFlix, TrueFlix, TumbleBook, Sora, and Pebble Go are all on your Destiny page

With summer approaching, it’s always a great time to start thinking about how to keep reading skills strong over break. Here is one fun activity to keep kids reading all summer long!

 

 

It is exciting to look back to the beginning of the year and see how much your child has grown in his or her understanding of mathematics.  

 We use mathematics in our lives each day.  Be on the lookout for continued opportunities to “talk and think” math with your child in the context of their everyday experiences.  

To get you started, here is a list of games you may have at home that involve mathematical thinking.  I am also including information to access Bridges math resources. 

Games to Play that Practice Math

We hope you use these ideas throughout the rest of this school year and during the summer!

 

• Go Fish – Students recognize and identify numbers

• Cribbage- Students make combinations of 15 and also count to 31 by using combinations of numbers

• Phase 10 (card game) – Groups numbers with same number, puts numbers in order

• Kings Corners- Played with a deck of cards. Puts numbers in descending order King to Ace while following a color pattern

• Farkle or Yahtzee-adding point values for the rolls of the dice you get

• Sorry-counts spaces on a game board

• Solitaire- Played with a deck of cards. Putting numbers in descending order and ascending order

• UNO – matching numbers

• Slap Jack or Speed– Played with a deck of playing cards.  Knowing the number that comes after or before a number that is played.

• Numeral Identification Bingo - Make a bingo board on a piece of paper with four rows and four columns.  Put random numbers on the board.  As you are driving in the car, watch out the window for numerals printed on signs, license plates, buildings, etc.  When you see a numeral that matches on your card, mark it.  4 in a row -Bingo!

• Make 5 or Make 10 - In the car or anywhere, look for combinations of 5.  For example, 3 horses and 2 cows, 4 balloons and 1 vendor, 5 yellow shirts and 0 blue shirts.

• Count Around - Start at any number and count up or back.  Count by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, or any other number.

• Salute - Three people can play.  Use the number cards from  deck of cards. Add in the Jacks for 0.  Two people take a card and put the card on their forehead like a salute without looking at their cards.  The third person then adds, subtracts, or multiplies the numbers that the two other players have.  Based on the number each person sees on the other person’s forehead, the players figure out which number they are holding on their own forehead.

Bridges Math Resources FOR PARENTS:

There are many great family math resources available for you at the Math Learning Center Website. Please see the link below for more information.   

• Go to www.mathlearningcenter.org

• Click on For Families

• Click on Bridges 2nd Edition Support

• Choose your child(ren) grade level (s)- you will find unit overviews, apps, and additional resources