Mr. Ward’s Message:
The weeks are coming and going at Freetown Elementary School as we march right into April.
As you know, the weather in New England is unpredictable. Please monitor the daily weather forecast and dress your child appropriately as we will be making every effort to send the students outside for recess. We firmly believe students should enjoy fresh air. Students should be active. Students should have the opportunity to interact with peers. Students should and need to have the opportunity to have some fun outside with their peers.
On Monday April 3rd Freetown Elementary recognized “Light it Up BLUE Day” in honor of Autism Awareness Day. Students and staff wore all things blue.
Our grade 3 students completed their first round of MCAS. ALL grade 3 students worked hard, were focused, and put their best effort forward as they completed their ELA MCAS exams. We are so proud of Freetown Foxes for completing the MCAS exam successfully. As you know Math MCAS is next and the exams are slated for May 16 and May 17.
PTO Corner:
The next PTO Meeting will take place on Monday, April 10th from 6:30 - 7:30 PM. The meeting will be both in-person and virtual. The meeting invitation is provided below…
Time: Apr 10, 2023 06:30 PM
Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5044273489?pwd=QkJBNTE1S3psODJCRUM3NW1xOXJVUT09
Meeting ID: 504 427 3489
Passcode: FESPTO
FES PTO website is...https://freetownelementarypto.weebly.com/
Attendance Matters Weekly Update:
Goal: 94% of the FES student population will attend school daily.
April student daily attendance rate…
Week of April 3-7 (excluding 4/7): 96%...Goal achieved!
Upcoming Events:
April 7: No School - Good Friday
April 14: No School for students and staff
April 17-21: April Vacation Week (School will resume again on Monday, April 24th).
News and Happenings from the classrooms for the week of April 3-7:
Pre-School: This week in preschool we learned a new Lively Letter, Letter i, a famous basketball player. The crowd shouts, “Get it i-i-in!” As part of our community helpers theme, we began learning about postal workers. One class laced mailbags while another made mailboxes. We practiced positional words, counted eggs, and brainstormed various animals that hatch from eggs. We also made special baskets and enjoyed a Spring Egg Hunt!
Kindergarten: This week in kindergarten our Fundations lesson continued to work with digraphs, building cvc words and reading fluency. In our Wonders curriculum our HF words were- said, want. Comprehension skills were cause/effect and make/confirm predictions. Print concepts were distinguishing between letters and words and reviewing parts of a book. Our opinion writing concentrated on descriptive words and using word banks. In math we learned about comparing weight.
Grade 1: This week in first grade we finished up unit 10 in FUNdations. We focused on suffixes -ing and -ed. For comprehension we discussed using shades of meaning to understand words. We talked about things we see in the sky. In writing we are working on the how-to unit. The students will be writing their own how- to pieces. In math this week, we learned how to regroup when adding 2 two digit numbers. In science, we finished up the seasonal patterns unit.
Grade 2: This week in second grade reading we worked on determining main idea and supporting details of a text. In Fundations we worked on reading and spelling multisyllabic words with the “ow” and “ou” spellings for the /ou/ sound as in “pound” and “flower”. In math we learned how to read and interpret bar graphs and picture graphs. In writing we worked on our personal narratives. In Science we learned about properties of materials.
Grade 3: This week in third grade, students completed their ELA MCAS test. They worked hard, persevered, felt confident, and were happy when finished! In math, students worked on measuring with rulers to the nearest inch and centimeter. In social studies, students learned about the Battle of Bunker Hill to coincide with the American Revolution unit.
Art: Kindergarteners painted tints and shades of a color to start a monochromatic texture collage. Grade 1 is having a blast creating mini texture monsters, they are learning to add the appearance of scales, feathers, bumps etc. Grade 2 continues to work on their yarn weaving and paper mache masks. Grade 3 is learning how to create the illusion of space on a flat page while they work on their people in motion drawings. This week, the emphasis was on adding details to objects that are close up.
Music: This week, students K-3 have started the 4th week of their unit on musicianship. Grade 1 and Kindergarten are practicing elements of the beat. 1st grade will also practice rhythms. 2nd grade will expand their musicianship with Sol Mi patterns. 3rd grade will be writing and reading music for their recorders and practicing pitch patterns.
Physical Education: Students had health lessons this week, worked on fitness skills, and continued practicing dribbling, shooting and passing.