Mr. Ward’s Message:
A resource for all that outlines events for families with special needs and disabilities. Through this link families can find conferences, workshops, speaker events, accessible and adaptive recreation programs serving the Greater Massahusetts’ communities.
https://www.spedchildmass.com/...
Upcoming events:
12/22: Early Release Day for students. Students will be dismissed at 12:15 PM.
12/22 - 1/1: At the close of school on 12/22 Winter Recess will begin. School will resume again
on Tuesday, January 2nd.
Holiday Spirit Week will take place next week December 18-22.
There will be different themes for each day of the week. The holiday themes are below. Please know this is completely voluntary, students do not need to participate. Our hope is to bring some cheer and fun to the holiday season while still learning.
Monday, December 18: Holiday Accessory Day - Students are invited to wear their best and most festive holiday accessory such as headbands, hats, socks, necklaces, earrings, ties, etc.
Tuesday, December 19: Polar Express Day - Children can wear their pajamas to school. Staff is welcome to read the Polar Express and participate in some Polar Express activities.
Wednesday, December 20: Holiday Sock Day - Students can wear their favorite holiday socks!
Thursday, December 21: Holiday Sweater Day - Students can wear their festive holiday sweaters/shirts to school.
Friday, December 22: Red & Green Day - Students are invited to wear red and green or holiday colors to school. Come dressed festive for Holiday celebrations.
PTO Corner:
PTO meetings will be held in person and virtually. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 8, 2024 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM. The meeting will be in person as well as virtual to accommodate for families. Hope you will consider joining the FES PTO.
FES PTO website is...https://freetownelementarypto.weebly.com/
Attendance Matters Weekly Update:
Goal: 94% of the FES student population will attend school daily.
December’s Daily Student Attendance Percentage:
Week of December 4-8: 94%...Back on track, goal achieved!
Week of December 11-15: 93%...Not quite there!
News and Happenings around the classrooms:
Preschool: This week in preschool we continued learning about Kwanzaa. In honor of Kwanzaa and our study of the letter k, we made Kinaras. We also began learning about Christmas traditions. We decorated Christmas trees and counted the ornaments. The preschoolers also continued working on their holiday gifts to give to their parents!
Kindergarten: In kindergarten this week our letter for ID/sound/formation was Cc. Our HFW was “go”. Phonemic awareness skills were blending and segmenting sounds. Our comprehension skill was visualization and characters in a story. In writing, we worked on descriptive details, punctuation and writing sentences. In math our lesson was understanding addition. We continue to read and complete activities based around the holiday season.
Grade 1: This week in first grade we worked on learning end consonant blends in words along with words ending in suffix -ing. For comprehension we focused on rereading texts to help us understand what is happening in the selection. In writing, we responded to text by restating and answering the question about animals living together. In math, our focus was on teen numbers. All teen numbers have 1 ten and a different number of ones. In social studies, we are learning about holidays around the world. Thank you to everyone that joined us for our Holiday Story Hour!
Grade 2: This week in second grade reading we read poems and described how the author uses sound and meaning. In phonics, we learned about open syllables and combined open syllables with closed and v-e syllables. We also learned about using “y” as a vowel. Examples of these types of words are: she, go, why, pro, unit, behave, and donate. In math, we learned how to add several two-digit numbers with regrouping. In writing we worked on our informational writing about animals. In science we talked about changes to land.
Grade 3: This week in third grade, students worked on two step word problems with multiplication and division. In reading, students practiced reading and answering an open-ended question to a story called, “Once in a Lifetime Experience.” In writing, students completed their realistic fiction stories and shared them with their classmates. In science, students experimented with three hands-on stations to explore force and motion.
Physical Education: This week in bowling we focused on the grip, stance, and delivery of the bowling ball. Kindergarten and first grade students practiced a one step delivery. Kindergarten students also practiced 2 roll turns and learned how to clear and then reset the pins. Second grade practiced the 2 step delivery, and third graders practiced the 3 step delivery.
Art: Third graders completed their adorable construction paper carolers and we decorated the auditorium with them. Grade 2 took a quick shape assessment and we started our color unit with a warm and cool color banyan tree painting. Grade 1 learned about the abstract art of Alma Thomas and started a color wheel landscape inspired by her work. Kindergarteners completed their adorable winter trees project as well as another shape project.
Music: This week, students K-3 have started the 5th week of their unit on improvising. Grade 3 will be improvising movements in Mama Lama, Grade 2 will explore improvising using mallet instruments. Grade 1 and Kindergarten will continue to improvise with arioso type songs.
Library: During library class this week, we continued to learn about coding. In kindergarten and first grade, students listened to a book about coding called "Coding with Blockly" by Amber Lovett. Students worked on their drag and drop skills and their sequencing skills on the Code.org website. Students in second and third grade worked on the coding website Scratch. Students learned how to choose a character, backdrop and animate a letter. For book checkout next week, students may return their books on the following days: students who have library class on day 2 may return their books on Monday, Dec. 18th. Students who have library class on day 3 may return their books on Tuesday, Dec. 19th. Students who have library class on day 4 may return their books on Wednesday, Dec. 20th. Students who have library class on day 1 may return their books Thursday, Dec. 21st.