Dear Assawompset School Families,
We had a great week here at AES! It was nice to finally have some mild weather and get outside this week. World Read Aloud Day was a huge success! Please ask your child about their virtual author visit. It was a great experience for students to meet authors and learn a little about the writing process. The biggest piece of advice EVERY author had was for our students to READ, READ and READ!!! Not surprisingly, the more they read, the better writer you will become!
We also had our School Wide Assembly around EMPATHY. The grade one teachers facilitated the ceremony and I have attached it for anyone interested: Empathy 2/9
We encourage YOU, to always try and take a WALK IN SOMEONE ELSE’s SHOES
Happy National School Counseling Week!
Let’s celebrate Mrs. McKenna, our school adjustment counselor. Many of you may wonder what Mrs. McKenna, or any adjustment counselor does each day. Well, the following should speak for itself and show you how appreciative we are to have Mrs. McKenna as the counselor here at AES! Mrs. McKenna starts her day by greeting all students off the buses each morning. She runs our backpack program that serves many families of Lakeville with food from our local food pantry in Freetown. She organizes our Holiday Gift Program and Thanksgiving Basket program also offered to families. Mrs. McKenna creates all 504 plans and facilitates all meetings, services all social and emotional goals on Individual Education Plans (IEPs). She assists in running our AES Kid’s Cabinet, works with all teachers and staff to create behavior plans and provide intervention support! We call AES our home. And Mrs. McKenna is a TRUE Mama Bear - both professionally and personally as she is there for all 480 students and their families in addition to our AES Staff. We are very lucky to have her! Thank you Mrs. McKenna for all you do! head up our food pantry program, our Thanksgiving basket donations, and our holiday gifts program through local charitable agencies.
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
February 13 - PTO Meeting 7:00 P.M.
February 14 - School Committee Meeting
February 19th through the 23rd - Winter Break - School Closed
March 5th - NO SCHOOL
March 6th - Spring Photos
March 11th - March 15th - AES Book Fair
March 19th - Curriculum Night 6:00-8:00
March 23 - Artapalooza 12:00 - 2:00
Spring MCAS DATES - GRADE 3 ONLY:
April 3 and 4 - ELA
May 8 and 9 - Math
ART
Kinders were introduced to our modeling clay. Here’s a link to get some inexpensive clay.It’s a great way to strengthen their fine motor skills! Warning: bright colors like red and blue stain hands. Avoid them if possible.
First and second graders had catch up days in preparation of our March art show.
Third graders are learning to draw from observation using Ms. T.’s stuffed animals and plastic food.
MUSIC
K: This we learned a fun song, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. We moved creatively with colorful scarves, and played unpitched percussion instruments. We ended class having the class vote on which book they wanted to hear. Most classes chose, There Was A Mermaid Who Swallowed a Shark!
1st: This week we worked on Grandparents’ Day songs in preparation for the big day on April 10th @ 10:00am in the AES gymnasium.
2nd: This week we continued to work on our composition projects in small groups. Every group finished writing their 4 beat measures and began practicing with unpitched percussion instruments.
3rd: This week in 3rd grade we worked on keeping the beat with our bodies using rings on the floor, moving to a specific pattern along with music. We had a blast!
PE
Students in PE have been actively engaged and having a great time as we've introduced the parachute into our PE sessions. This week's activities involve teamwork, coordination, and lots of fun under the colorful parachute. The students have been working hard, developing important physical and social skills in a playful and supportive environment.
KINDERGARTEN
Our classes had so much fun celebrating the 100th Day this week. The students brought in projects that they made at home with 100 things. We saw decorated shirts, posters, necklaces, and lego models. We counted to 100 by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. The whole day was centered around the number 100. In Wonders we discussed the question “How do living things change as they grow?” We read the story A Grand Old Tree by Mary Newell and learned about the life cycle of a tree. We also talked about other things that change like caterpillars, people and animals. In Math we were introduced to subtraction and learned about the minus sign and that subtraction means to “take away”. We practiced this concept using number stories and manipulatives to help students understand. We had a busy and fun week.
GRADE 1
What an exciting week we had in first grade! Our question this week was “How is life different than it was long ago?” We learned how modes of transportation have changed over the years and the impact that inventions have had on our lives to make living easier. On Wednesday, we celebrated the 100th day of school! The children were so excited to share their 100th day fashion. Some children dressed up like they were 100 years old while others created a T-shirt with 100 items on it. They were all so creative! In addition, we did many activities that involved the number 100. It was a wonderful celebration!
GRADE 2
What a great week in grade two! In mathematics this week, learners are continuing to explore two-digit addition with regrouping (utilizing an open number line, base-ten blocks and expanded form). Alongside this, learners are diving deeper into our Wonders program with a new focus question this week: what can we see in the sky? After accessing background knowledge, learners are eager to read, learn and ask further questions. During science, learners are discussing landforms in addition to bodies of water; what they are and how are they made? As a grade-level, we’re thrilled to continue this hard work! Bring on another amazing week in second grade!
GRADE 3
Grade 3 is wrapping up our fractions unit in math. In reading, we are still looking at what makes animals unique, and in science we’re looking at animal adaptations. In social studies we continue to study the American Revolution; we will be reading a biography of Deborah Sampson, our Massachusetts State Heroine.
Nurse’s Nook
February is American Heart Month!
A family activity is a great way to keep our hearts healthy. * Try a quick freeze dance game tonight while prepping dinner together. *Get outside on scooters and bikes since the sunset is later. *Try a hula hoop competition. *Head over to GRAIS for Open Swim on wednesday night Aquatics Program | Freetown Lakeville Regional School District
Counselor’s Corner:
Racial Awareness
Students will be celebrating black history month during the month of February. Lessons may deal with learning about the challenges black Americans faced or celebrating black Americans for their contributions to our country. AES has many students who are of different races and cultures, and learning about these differences creates an exciting opportunity for students. Families can support these learning opportunities by reading different books/online stories, watching age appropriate movies, celebrating different holidays or trying different games or recipes that are specific to a culture that may interest you. It is important to remember that children follow adults’ leads, therefore, it is essential that you be aware of your language and communication style, both verbal and nonverbal, as adults should model respect for individuals of all racial and cultural backgrounds. By doing this, children will not only develop respect and appreciation of others, but an understanding of how everyone can contribute to create a welcoming, warm culture at AES.
Thank you and have a great day!
Bethany Pineault, Principal
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