Mr. Ward’s Message:
With each passing month it is with great pride at Freetown Elementary School that we continue the deep, embedded tradition of Student of Month ceremonies. With each month a student from each classroom is nominated by peers and/or their teacher. Students nominated have put forth their best efforts in their school work, behavior, and efforts. For the month of December these students best exemplify what it means to be a Freetown Elementary Student. Congratulations to the December students that were nominated…
Kindergarten: Myles Cardoza, Xavier Martin, Grace Morrissette, Gryffin Deneault
Grade 1: Andrew Dion, Nora Brogan, Amiyah Alvarez, Aria Fortin, Emma Desroches
Grade 2: Jonah Robert, Ethan Casey, Julia Westgate, Avery Senecal, Benjamin Cooper
Grade 3: Isabella Camacho, Alivia Fortin, Raleigh Lewis, Jonathan Lefevre, Anthony Longo
Specialists: Dylan Lam
Upcoming events:
January 15: No School - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 24: School Council Meeting beginning at 8:15 AM
January 29 - February 2: Scholastic Book Fair Week
January 31: Scholastic Book Fair Family Night
February Vacation Week will take place the week of February 19-23. School will resume again on Monday, February 26th.
FES News and Happenings…
Grade 3 News...Students in grade 3 across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts participate in their first MCAS exam. Students will be tested in English Language Arts and Mathematics. The MCAS exam is a computer based exam in which students will take the exam on the computer. MCAS dates for students in Grade 3 at FES will be:
April 8 & 9 for English Language Arts
May 14 & 15 for Mathematics
Winter Scholastic Book Fair will take place during the week of January 29-February 2. Teachers will share with their students the day and time they will visit the Book Fair. Additionally, there will be a Family Book Fair Night on Wednesday, January 31st from 5:30 - 7:00 PM.
PTO Corner:
PTO meetings will be held in person and virtually. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 12th, 2024 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM. The meeting invitation will be shared out the week prior to the February PTO Meeting. Hope you will consider joining the FES PTO.
FES PTO website is...https://freetownelementarypto.weebly.com/
Save the DATE from the FES PTO…
Save the Date for Freetown Elementary's Free Family BINGO Night on February 15th 6-7pm with DJ Jordan Paiva, sponsored by the FES PTO. Event is FREE but registration will be required! Keep an eye out for more info and to register your family!
Attendance Matters Weekly Update:
Goal: 94% of the FES student population will attend school daily.
January’s Daily Student Attendance Percentage:
Week of January 1-5: 96%...YEAH! We are well on track!
Week of January 8-12: 94%...Still on track, way to go!
Grade Level Happenings from the Week of 1/8 - 1/12:
Preschool: This week in preschool we began our study of weather, with a focus on snow and ice. We also learned about the letter A and the sound it makes. Lastly, we honored Martin Luther King through a variety of projects and read-alouds.
Kindergarten: This week in kindergarten our letter was Dd- formation and initial/final sound. We continue to work on segmenting and blending simple(CVC) words. Our HFW word was “do”. For comprehension we focused on asking and answering questions and also character and setting in a story. In math, we continued with addition within 10. Describing words and supporting details were our focus in writing.
Grade 1: This week we learned about the phonics patterns ch, -tch, and -es. For comprehension we read “Me on the Map” and discussed ways we can get to places. In writing we are continuing to work on the How-To unit. In math we learned about making a ten to add. For science this week we discussed energy and light and learned some new vocabulary words: translucent, opaque, transparent.
Grade 2: This week in second grade in reading we worked to determine author’s purpose. We talked about how authors write to inform by describing or explaining something. In phonics we worked on combining open syllables with other syllable types to make multisyllabic words. We also worked with suffixes “-y”, “-ly” and “-ty”. In math we continued to use strategies to subtract 2- and 3-digit numbers with regrouping. In writing we worked on narrative writing. In science we explored properties and states of matter.
Grade 3: This week in math, students learned how to write fractions on a number line. In reading, students continued to explore a variety of stories that focus on the solar system. They also focused on exploring how text features could help them as readers. In writing, students began a new unit on opinion writing. They read short passages that focus on the question: should humans or robots explore space? They had an opportunity to write their own opinion based text evidence from the stories. In social studies, students continued to learn about who the Puritans were and why they came to America.
Art: Kindergarteners learned what a background is and created a colorful patchwork background with tissue paper and a glue and water mixture. Grade 1 is mixed primary colors for their fun primary and secondary color popsicle painting. Grade 2 painted an antarctic sky with blue and purple water colors and they had fun adding salt to create an icy effect. Grade 3 started a folk art owl painting with tints of colors.
Physical Education: Students performed step aerobic and stretch band routines to work on cardiorespiratory and muscular endurance.
Music: This week, students K-3 have started the 1st week of their unit on listening. Grade 1 and Kindergarten will listen to music for dynamics, tempo and directions. 2nd grade will listen to music for form. 3rd grade will continue the treble clef staff.
Library: During library class this week, kindergarten and first grade students listened to the story "Elmer in the Snow" by David McKee. Students worked on an activity using Google Sheets and created a patchwork elephant with pixel art. In second and third grade, students worked on media literacy skills. Second grade students analyzed two book covers and inside pages to determine their reaction to the books and write about why they would or would not want to read those books. In third grade, students read a script from the story "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005". Students answered questions on Google Slides about who the intended audience is for the story and answered a question about the story.