Newsletter - January 2020

News from the Art Room...

December has come and gone in a flash and students in the art room have been busy creating winter-themed artwork. Kindergarten practiced their hand at using geometric shapes to make houses, then used a variety of materials to make their scenes snowy. First grade read the book, Snowballs, by Wisconsin author, Jan Brett and created snowmen collages. Second grade was the first group this year to complete their clay projects of snowmen faces. Lastly, fifth grade learned about monochromatic color schemes to create a nighttime winter scene. Third and fourth graders will be completing their winter projects coming up. 

Even though we celebrated our New Year, other cultures around the world are still looking forward to their New Year celebrations, including China. Some of the grades will be learning about the ways Chinese culture celebrates the New Year and creating Chinese New Year Dragons. 

JANUARY 2020 MATH CORNER

As the cold January weather has us indoors more often, I want to remind you that there are many family online resources available to you as you learn more about your child’s math curriculum, Bridges in Mathematics. Below are the steps to navigating Math Learning Center’s online resource.

I would like to highlight the Math Learning Center FREE APPS this month. These are wonderful tools for students to help model and work through math problems. Many of the apps are digital models of the hands on tools that the students utilize in the classroom. Be sure to check them out! They are AMAZING!

1.  Go to www.mathlearningcenter.org  Here you will find six tabs below the title. The For Families tab provides unit overviews for each grade level as well as free apps and additional parent blogs and article resources.  In the Resources tab you will find a list of the math skills your child will learn this year and numerous online math games to build math skills at home. 

2. Under this tab, click on Bridges 2nd Edition support. 

3.  Next, select the grade level you would like to learn more about. Here you will be able to view Unit Overview, FAQ’s and ways parents can help with math.

4. Check out the FREE Math Apps that provide the tools that students can model and explain their math thinking process as they work through math problems. These are found under the Resources tab.

Music News!

Thank you to everyone who made our Jefferson Holiday Concert a success! Everything ran very smoothly and the students sang and played very beautifully. The students had all worked very hard to learn and put together their music and it was great to see all of the families and friends who showed up to support them.

After the concert, we spent the rest of December doing various things in music class. All of the students got to watch their part of the concert. This gave them time to reflect on how well they did, what they did well and what they could have done better. With December being a month of many holidays, we also took time to talk about and listen to some music from Kwanzaa, a holiday that most students did not know existed. We also took some time to listen to music from different cultures. The students really enjoyed the Tuvan throat singing that we listened to because it was so unique and different, but also because they thought it was fun to try it themselves.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION?

1. Shovel instead of using the snowblower (but be careful not to hurt yourself).
2. Build a snowman! Rolling that giant snowball through the yard is hard work!
3. Go for a run/walk. Sometimes the crunch of the snow beneath your feet after a fresh snowfall is the best sound. Enjoy it while getting some exercise.
4. Make fitness fun by making it a competition! Challenge your family members to see who can do the most jumping jacks before time runs out, or before the commercial during your favorite show is over.

Monthly Literacy Update

Mrs. Boettcher                                                                   Mrs. Vollbrecht

By Laura Tucker

Twelve-year-old Ollie is left to fend for herself when her father mysteriously leaves the country and her mother refuses to get out of bed. Part mystery and part historical fiction, this quietly stunning novel centers on the struggles of dealing with a depressed parent and the value of art as an outlet for one’s emotions.

Speech/Language Corner

Playing board games with children at an early age provides opportunities to
develop language and communication skills, math skills and thinking skills in a fun
way. Children who engage with and learn fundamental academic skills from great
board games have the chance for better academic outcomes than children who
do not have that opportunity.
Classic board games are a low cost, easily available and common teaching tool
that help develop vital learning skills in young children. They also, perhaps most
importantly, make learning fun. Some favorite board games of children include:
Hi Ho! Cherry-o, Candyland, Guess Who?, Hedbanz, and Memory.

January PBIS Monthly Theme

• When you’re thinking, you’re trying to predict what will happen if you did something. It’s like you’re trying to look in the future.

• Use “I” statements to tell the other person how you feel.
• Remember body language can be respectful or disrespectful!

Monthly Prize Winners