Mr. Ward’s Message:
We had a great week at Freetown Elementary School and today we introduced JiJi to our school! JiJI is our ST Math mascot! All students were greeted by JiJi the penguin. We then had a school wide Kick Off to introduce our new ST Math game based instructional platform that will support our math instruction. WE are very excited to begin working with JiJi. Stay tuned for updates!
PTO Corner:
PTO meetings will be held in person and virtually. Mr. Ward will share the meeting invite link the week before the meeting. We encourage more parents/guardians to attend our next meeting, October 16th beginning at 6:30 PM.
FES PTO website is...https://freetownelementarypto.weebly.com/
Attendance Matters Weekly Update:
Goal: 94% of the FES student population will attend school daily.
For the month of September the weekly attendance data indicated that 97% of our students attended school daily. Let’s keep that momentum going for October.
October’s Daily Student Attendance Percentage:
October 2-6: 96%...Goal achieved!
Upcoming events:
October 9: No School due to Indigenous Peoples Day / Columbus Day
October 12: Fun Run Day
October 24: Annual Truck or Treat Event from 2:00 - 4:00 PM (Rain date is October 25th).
News and Happenings around the classrooms:
Preschool: This week in preschool we learned a new Lively Letter, letter t, a quiet tap dancer. We noticed that our tongues dance at the top of our mouths when we make this sound. We also began learning about apples this week. The children participated in an apple taste test, chose their favorite apple, and we graphed the results. One class celebrated Friendship Day, and participated in a variety of teamwork activities, such as building puzzles and blending colors with paint.
Kindergarten: In kindergarten this week we continued to discuss details in a story. Our HFW/ sight word was to review I, can. We continued with the print concept of parts of a book. We also worked on distinguishing letters from words and using spaces between words. For phonological awareness we discussed both recognizing and blending syllables. We reviewed letter recognition of letters Ss-Zz. In math, we continue to count numbers, compare and make numbers 3, 4, 5. We started discussing the season of fall.
Grade 1: This week in first grade we reviewed digraphs th, sh, ch, wh, and ck. For comprehension we focused on key details and compared fiction and nonfiction texts. In writing we are continuing to work on understanding sentences. For math this week we focused on subtraction in word problems. We also have been practicing counting on to subtract. We are also finishing up our Me on the Map unit.
Grade 2: This week in second grade math we used place value knowledge to help us compare 2- and 3-digit numbers. In reading we read stories and tried to determine the story’s central message (the moral or lesson that the character learned). In phonics, we worked with bonus letters in closed syllable words. We learned about how the letters f, l, s, and z will double after a short vowel at the end of a one syllable word as in words such as kiss and fuzz. We worked on our “How To” writing and we continued to learn about map skills. We kicked off the Fun Run fundraising event, and we are looking forward to the exciting Fun Run next week!
Grade 3: This week in third grade, students learned how to solve multiplication equations using the distributive property. In reading, they continued to explore the essential question: how do people in different cultures contribute to the community. They have read a variety of short stories that explored this essential question. In writing, students started writing their first drafts of their own personal narrative. We can’t wait to read their final drafts next week! In social studies, students learned how the Wampanoag tribe wore their clothing, built shelters, ate food, and completed daily chores in summer and winter months. Students have loved comparing the Wampanoag lives to their lives today!
Art: Kindergarteners learned about the artist Jasper Johns and then wrote the numbers 0-9 in a fun way with oil pastels and then painted over them with liquid watercolors. Grade 1 took a line for a walk and then painted in the interesting shapes they made. Grade 2 learned about the ancient art of Mehndi (Henna) and created beautiful paper hand designs with sharpie. Grade 3 learned about Pablo Picasso’s dimple gestural line drawings and then created their own while quickly looking at and drawing animals.
Physical Education: Second and Third Grade students went outside and practiced dribbling, shooting, and passing a soccer ball. Kindergarten and First graders practice kicking in stations: fruit loop dribble, passing, shooting, and fruit loop bocce.
Music: This week, students K-3 have started the third week of their unit on being expressive in music. We will learn new songs, games, and movements to be performed with appropriate musicality. In addition, Gradees 2 and 3 have explored mallet instruments and composing.
Library: During library class this week, kindergarten students started working on the Chromebooks. Students played Keyboard Zoo where they went through each letter of the alphabet and found each key on the keyboard. First grade students started using Google Classroom and worked on an assignment where they designed a city. Students worked on their drag and drop skills in addition to learning the command for the @ symbol. Second and third grade students learned about how the nonfiction section in the library is organized. Students listened to a read aloud about the Dewey Decimal System and worked on a related assignment using Google Slides. Please have students return their books on the following days next week: students who have library on Day 1 should return their books on Tuesday, Oct. 10. Students who have library on Day 2 should return their books on Wednesday, Oct. 11. Students who have library on Day 3 should return their books on Thursday, Oct. 12 and students who have library on Day 4 should return their books on Friday, Oct. 13.