We had a WONDERFUL World Read Aloud Day this past week where all students were able to participate in hearing stories and hearing about the book writing and publishing process! Thank you to Mrs. Sylvain for planning such a great EVENT!
February is Heart Health Month. Show the world you love yourself. Caring for our body is a great example of showing our heart we care. Lets celebrate Heart Month by caring for our heart and body together!
Examples for our children include:
A good balanced diet
exercise
restful night sleep
reading a book
and fresh air everyday
Lets celebrate Heart Month by caring for our heart and body together!
An exciting week coming up before winter vacation:
February 13th - 17th
February 17th - Random Act of Kindness Day
Seeing how the spirit week before our December break was so popular -
We will have a Spirit Week before vacation!
February 13 | February 14 | February 15 | February 16 | February 17 |
Food Drive Food Drive Food Drive Food Drive | ||||
Hat Day | Colors of LOVE | Superhero Day | Vacation Mode | Patriotic Day to celebrate Presidents Day! Random Act Of Kindness Day |
In the spirit of being KIND, we will also hold a food drive to support our local families. Please see popular items requested outlined on our Food Drive Flyer. Donations can be sent in
during our KINDNESS WEEK (February 13 - February 17):
FLYER HERE:
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” (Aesop)
Upcoming Dates:
NO PTO meeting in February
February Break - February 20 - 24
MCAS Dates
Grade 3 Only
Math - May 17 and 18
ELA - April 11 and 12
A look into our classrooms:
Art:
Our annual art show, Artapalooza is next month! I need lots of volunteers, at school and at home. If you did not get the yellow form to sign up, you can access it here.
Kindergarten students finished their Andy Warhol flowers this week.
Grade one students learned about folk artist, Bebo. We sponge painted paper, and will make birds in his style next week.
Grade two and three students played “catchup” so they could get their work ready for Artapalooza.
Music:
K: This week we are working on learning folk dancing as well as our rhythm patterns in preparation for a tick-tac-toe game next week!
1st: The 1st graders are working hard on their songs for Grandparent’s Day! They are on a roll! Make sure you have your calendar marked….Wednesday, April 5, 2023 @ 10:00am in the AES gymnasium!
2nd: Second graders finished up with their lessons on Italy and the Tarantella! This week we moved back to instruments and playing different patterns on the unpitched percussion instruments.
3rd: The 3rd graders are preparing to play the recorders. This week we played Note Name Basketball! We had a blast!
Library:
We celebrated World Read Aloud Day on Wednesday, February 1st. Students had a great time listening to authors read their books and have a question and answer time with them. It was such a wonderful experience and I hope it inspired students to write their own books!
The Book Fair is coming next week to the library! During their library special, students will visit the book fair and have the opportunity to purchase books. The Book Fair is always a fun time for our students!
PE
This week in PE we are continuing our fitness unit. In each class we are completing a brief warmup that includes running and completing a ¨Chase¨ together as a class. Chases are a great way to stay active indoors on cold days like this weekend, or just to start the day. Here is a link to the Chases series: https://www.youtube.com/playli...
For our activity we are playing a scooter game based on the Nintendo game ¨Mario Kart¨. In this game students ride around the perimeter of the gym on scooter boards. While they are riding around students tally how many laps they can complete as a team. During the race students also try to avoid being hit by ¨turtle shells” thrown by other players. If you get hit you need to get off of the scooter board and complete an exercise. Riding scooter boards is providing the students with a great leg and core work out! Students in grade 3 are continuing to work toward our new year's goal of practicing push-ups and sit-ups during the game. Students in grade K, 1, and 2 are given the choice of completing a lower body exercise (squats) or completing an upper body exercise (shoulder presses).
Kindergarten
Our question in Wonders this week was Who are your neighbors? This question led to a great discussion of who is in our neighborhood and some of the activities that take place in our neighborhood. We read a wonderful story, What Can You Do With a Paleta? by Carmen Tafolla which helped the students understand that there are many different kinds of neighborhoods. In Math this week we continued to learn about subtraction. The students had many chances to practice their subtraction facts within 5 this week with a variety of games and hands-on activities. This week we also met a couple of puppets Picks-It (a raccoon) and Nix-It (a panda) in our new Social Emotional Learning Program. This is a positive action program.
Grade 1
This week in our Wonders program we discussed how life was different long ago. We took a look inside homes and schools from long ago and compared them to how our homes and schools are today. Many of our texts this week were informational, or nonfiction text. The students found this information to be very engaging so be sure to ask your first grader some of the differences they learned about life long ago.
We also celebrated Groundhogs Day. Students made predictions about whether or not Punxatawney Phil will see his shadow. Will there be 6 more weeks of winter or will spring come early? We can’t wait to find out on February 2nd!
Grade 2
In Wonders this week we are continuing to learn about fables. We have learned how different fables teach us different lessons about life. We are also exploring how to sequence major events within a story, using transition words. For example: first, next, then, and last. We read Wolf! Wolf! a couple times and reviewed the major events that occurred throughout the story to ensure students comprehend what they read. Remember to read with your child and ask them questions about the story you read together!
In math this week we are learning how to add three digit numbers with no regrouping using different strategies. Students have used place value cubes to help them solve problems, worked with a partner, and at the teacher table for small group instruction.
In social studies some classes are wrapping up continents and oceans within the earth. Some classes are working on the different types of landforms. Students have been very excited with the different activities included within these lessons.
This week we also celebrated, World Read Aloud Day! Students were able to enjoy a story read from a different second grade teacher and they loved it! During specials students were able to virtually meet a children’s book author and they read aloud to our second graders. This was a phenomenal experience!
We also learned about Groundhog Day and made predictions about whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow or not and made a graph to display our answers. Will spring come 6 weeks early or late? Some friends are hoping it will come early and others late.
Grade 3
In Grade 3 we are wrapping up our science unit on life cycles, inherited traits, and animal adaptations. We had a great assembly presented by 4-H about how humans have bred and adapted dogs to certain purposes. The presenters brought in two dogs, and also taught us about being safe around dogs. We will now move into the American Revolution in social studies. In math we are wrapping up fractions and moving into telling time, including elapsed time. You can help your children by asking them questions about time. For example, have them look at a clock and tell you the time; an analog clock is what they need to practice on. Then ask them what time it will be in an hour, and various other increments of time. In reading this week we are focused on nonfiction and learning about space and our solar system.
Counselor’s Corner:
Random Acts of Kindness Week!
February is the month when children think of candy and Valentines. However, February also hosts National Random Acts of Kindness Week, February 14th - 20th, with the National Randoms Acts of Kindness Day being celebrated on the 17th. Some aspects of being kind include showing patience, honesty and caring, yet the most important aspect of kindness is doing something for someone else without expecting anything in return. Children often make choices because they are expected to or because they are earning some type of reward. Children should understand that being kind is a selfless act in an effort to have a positive effect on someone else. One way to teach children how to be kind is for families to demonstrate acts of kindness such as helping a neighbor, donating clothing/volunteering, buying someone a coffee or simply smiling and saying good morning. Please remember, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” (Aesop)
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Thank you! Have a great weekend.
Bethany Pineault
Principal