Ryan Elementary School Newsletter
December 2017
Ryan Elementary School Newsletter
Page 1
December 2017
From the Principal Congratulations to the Reflections Art Contest winners. The below students will have their work on display at Red Rocks Community College in early December
Fall Fairy – Tana Saunders Always Shoot for the Moon – Tripp Herron How Far I'll Go - Marin Hackney Fading Colors – Andrei Ashby The Heartbeat – Elle Esposito Unlocking Imagination – Myra High Flower Hand – Evan Salaz Reach for the Sky – Chris Herron Trees in Water – Myra High All the Sauces – Elsje Lane Puppy Bone – Stella High Mr. Octupus and the Colorful Calla Lily - Keegan Salaz Reading is Happy – Everly Krough Work Hard, Plane Hard – Abigail Blakely
Thank you to all the students who participated in this year’s contest. Special thank you to this year’s judges – Diana Herron, Martha Karson, Kathryn Phillips and Cristin Richey. We couldn’t have a contest without you! As well, Mr. Carroll’s Reflections Workshop was a great success and help to the students. We appreciate him taking the time to work with the students.
December 2017
Ryan Elementary School Newsletter
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Grade/Class
Teacher
Student of the Month
Hawk of the Month
SSNL3
Jessica Alsalem
Davian Nguyen
Kindergarten
Mary Hoff
Tiana Luna
Lexi beach
Kindergarten
Tua Laird
Reed Barton
Addie Wagner
Kindergarten
Susan Stablein
Emilia Unwin
Hyrum Burton
Grade 1
Melissa Kozub
Josh Meadows
Avery Van Riper
Grade 1
Shawn Tateyama
Keller Gasperini
Joe Gonzales
Grade 1
Colleen Welch
Liam Greaves
Zander Bias
Grade 2
Devan Kajer
Samantha Martinez
Kennedy Crask
Grade 2
Nicole Jolette
Micah Schmohe
Denver Harris
Grade 2
Gina Ruscitti
Leyna Dang
Steven Jones
Grade 3
Tiffany DeCola
Ella Skiles
Saunder Gilmartin
Grade 3
Taylor/Feger
Pierson Huff
Anna Meadows
Grade 3
Emily Larson
Mariam Darrat
Tyson Reeke
Grade 4
Ruth-Ann Geise
Chloe Whiting
Kristina Law
Grade 4
Amanda Hill
Mila Jaspers
Gavin Baker
Grade 4
Vanessa Rogers
Merly Alas Alas
Jenna Kapelke
Grade 5
Emily Binzel
Julien Collingsworth
Rachel Nunnally
Grade 5
Cathie Scherr
Ronni Banaga
Isabella Valdez
Grade 5
Tara Effertz
Megan McFall
Ryan Hager
Grade 6
Kelsey Frye
Denae Barhydt
Tripp Herron
Grade 6
Kim Aldrich
Lena McConnell
Josh Baker
December 2017
Ryan Elementary School Newsletter
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Kindergarten Currently, Kindergarteners will be working on building stamina (working the whole time) in all subject areas. We are working on increasing our sight word vocabulary by practicing daily in Phonics. In reading we are monitoring our reading to make sure it makes sense and we are sounding out unfamiliar words. Writers Workshop has continued this month with our Procedural Texts unit. Students are really connecting with being a teacher in their How-to writing pieces. Kindergarteners are working very hard in our third Math Unit this year, by expanding our counting into the teens. Students are practicing with math manipulatives to break apart numbers into partner pairs, a skill that will help support them in First Grade. In our science unit, students will continue to explore the different forms of movement, in animals and in people. Kindergarteners will continue to have conversations about being a good friend and neighbor.
First Grade Dear Parents, It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving break is over and we will have our winter break in just a few weeks! We all had a wonderful time on our zoo field trip! The kiddos were excited to talk about the different characteristics of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and fish they saw. Thank you again for all who chaperoned a group, we appreciate your help! We also had a wonderful afternoon, celebrating Grandparent’s Day! This was a great way to wrap up our social studies unit, History: Yours, Mine, and Ours with our grandparents. After singing some songs and working on activities together, grandparents will talked about their schooling experience and how it has changed since they were in first grade. We are now in Unit 4 of math, Place Value Concepts. Please continue to work on story problems (both subtraction and addition) as well as missing addends to reinforce the skills your child has previously learned. Our reading groups and Daily 5 are in full swing! The first graders have been doing a super job with Daily 5 rotations and have become experts on working independently while we work with reading groups. Thank you for your support at home while reading with your child daily! Winter break is the perfect time to snuggle up to read with your first grader! During writing, our unit of study is using mentor texts to write and illustrate like certain authors. We gathered many Marla Frazee books to read and discuss. Your child has been working with peers to notice how she writes words and illustrates her pictures. We are beginning to plan for our final writing piece and will continue with editing and final draft before winter break. We hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable Winter Break! First Grade Team
December 2017
Ryan Elementary School Newsletter
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Second Grade December is here already! In writing we are continuing to work on our informational unit. We have had fun making and writing about how to make hot chocolate and how to decorate a Christmas tree. Students then used their background knowledge to teach others about an area they were experts in! Students worked hard to share their information through a video presentation. Moving into January we will be shifting our attention to informational research. We will be selecting a notable person to research more about. We are looking forward to all the great learning that comes from this writing unit! In reading we are going to be starting our unit on text structures. We will be looking at what the author is trying to tell us and teach us. We will continue to learn and use our reading comprehension strategies to understand the text both on a surface level and beyond on the text. We will also take the time to compare and contrast different texts using the central message and main ideas. We had a great time studying geography and learning how we as humans affect the community around us! In January we will be shifting our attention to economics. The unit focuses on the economic concepts of scarcity and decision making. We will be taking a field trip to Hammond’s Candy Factory to learn how a business makes economic choices to stay profitable. What a fun field trip! In math we are finishing up our unit on measurement and moving into double digit subtraction. Students will gain flexibility with subtraction using a variety of strategies. We will also continue to practice word problems with both subtraction and addition. We hope everyone enjoys their holiday break and we will see you in the new year!
December 2017
Ryan Elementary School Newsletter
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Fourth Grade In reading groups, students continue to delve deep into nonfiction texts. They are learning to explain how the nonfiction text features help them better understand the text. They are also exploring the organizational structures of nonfiction texts. Students understand that text structures are purposefully chosen by the author to inform or persuade the reader. Text structure can be used to infer the author’s intent. Each week the students have a comprehension test, as well a written response. These tasks pull together the comprehension strategies of INFERRING, VISUALIZING, and DETERMINING IMPORTANCE to identify the MAIN IDEA and to SUMMARIZE the text. We will soon begin our procedural writing unit. The students will choose a topic on which they feel they are an expert. Then they will produce a piece of writing that will sequence their steps, include appropriate crafts, a strong introduction and conclusion. After break we will start persuasive writing!! In math, students are using the concepts learned in multiplication to now learn division! Even though the students are learning different methods to solve division problems, please feel free to help at home with the standard algorithm for long division (the way we learned)! It is VERY important to make sure your child continues to practice their multiplication facts, so they have a solid mastery of them. Times tables are building blocks for many other math topics taught in school. We wish you all a happy and healthy holiday.
December 2017
Ryan Elementary School Newsletter
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Fifth Grade The 5th graders are still hard at work and having fun! In reading students are working on answering the overarching question: How can identifying the main idea and key details help me determine the theme of a story and compare themes across texts? Students will understand that identifying the elements of the story plot leads the way to theme and the overall message you take away from a text. Students are continuing to work on organizing their thinking on a flee map which will help them write a “Response to Literature”. Our writing work revolves around answering the question: How do authors write explanations that convey their message accurately? Students will understand that explanatory paragraphs use facts, details and examples to convey information and explain it to the reader so that they understand it more thoroughly. The focus of this unit is for students to write a how-to that provides information around processes. Students are encouraged to choose ideas or concepts that are of personal interest to them, or processes that they consider themselves experts in. Students will also plan and film a video explanation of their process. During Science students are answering the question: How does the Sun’s uneven heating of Earth’s surface cause changes in weather? Students will revisit their fourth-grade understanding of the Earth-Sun relationship to elaborate on how the Sun heats Earth’s surface unevenly. They will understand how uneven heating drives the water cycle and affects air pressure, which in turn drives weather patterns. Mathematicians will be wrapping our unit on multiplying and dividing fractions and moving into our next unit, multiplying and dividing decimal numbers. In this unit students use place value strategies and the relationship between multiplication and division to divide whole numbers and decimals. Additionally, students will illustrate and explain these calculations by using equations, rectangular arrays, and area models. They will solve and create real world problems and interpret the remainder in the context of the problem. Estimation will continue to be used to assess the reasonableness of their answer. Ms. Scherr’s website is currently suffering from technical difficulties…...please check after Thanksgiving break for helpful resources for each unit to be up and going by then. In Social Studies we will wrap up our extended unit about Colonial America and how North America changed through colonization. This unit will conclude with a project about the daily life of a colonist and an end-of-unit test. Then, starting in mid-December, we will pause our American History focus for December/January to begin studying Services of Financial Institutions which includes Young AmeriTowne. Watch for information about this exciting field trip coming soon. We look forward to a joyous December and hope you and your families enjoy time together over winter break!
December 2017
Ryan Elementary School Newsletter
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Sixth Grade Things are really zooming along in 6th Grade! In writing, students have just finished their informational texts on the topic of their choice. Ask them what they chose to write about- they’re experts now! We will begin our How To guides once we return from Thanksgiving break. In reading, students have just finished their book club novels! These novels brought lots of exciting and deep discussion with groups. In our next unit, students will be determining the main idea in fiction, nonfiction and persuasive texts. They will also be able to identify the theme or central idea and determine if the author’s perspective influences the text. In math, we have finished with our first geometry unit and have begun our Decimals unit. Students are working to multiply and divide decimals. This math is incredibly useful in the real world, regardless of career aspirations. Give your student your utmost support in persevering through those tough problems! 6th grade scientists are wrapping up their unity on density and moving on to our Earth’s changing surface. In this unit of study, students will learn how constructive and deconstructive forces inside Earth as well as on its surface build, destroy and change Earth’s crust. In addition, students will apply their previously learned knowledge on density to continental and oceanic plate movement. In social studies, we have left the Aztec Empire and traveled south to the Mayan Empire. Students have just learned to write their names in ancient Mayan using a syllabary, not alphabetical, written language. We will continue exploring early American cultures (and the explorers who conquered them) until Winter Break.
December 2017
Ryan Elementary School Newsletter
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Art Hello from the Art Room! Original Works orders should be returning before the Winter Break, but I am waiting to hear confirmation of this. Current Projects: Kindergarten is about to start some clay work in Art. 1st Grade is working on Zentangles. 2nd Grade is doing clay portraits. 3rd Grade is working on functional art trying to communicate about endangered animals through their art. 4th Grade is learning about landscape and water color techniques. 5th Grade is finishing their clay monsters and about to go into the human figure. 6th Grade students are creating art with a deeper meaning. Currently we are finishing up “Representational Self Portraits”. All 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students have also been doing “Artist Reports”. This is a monthly assignment that will always be due on the last school day of the month. Ask your student what Artist they chose to study. There is a small writing component to this assignment, but mostly it is a drawing assignment. At times, however, they are allowed to paint something or sculpt something for the assignment as well. See the website for more information. Artist Reports should be done on Artists that the student thinks is “cool” or “interesting”. I don’t get their best work if they are not interested. It is supposed to be a fun assignment – if it’s not, they’re doing it wrong.
PE We cannot believe how fast the year is going and we are already to December. In PE this month we will be working on basketball skills. In class we are always talking about how to stay active and healthy. Hopefully over break your family can spend some time being active together! Remember play 60 a day!
December 2017
Ryan Elementary School Newsletter
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Music December is a very busy time for the Music Department! We currently have three performing groups getting ready for our Holiday show on Thursday, December 14th. The Choir will also be Caroling in the neighborhood. Stay tuned for more information coming soon. Here’s what we’re going to be working on in Music class or what we just finished. Kinders-- We will be preparing for our Holiday show on December 20th. 1st Grade-- We will be wrapping up our songs for Grandparent’s Day and talking more about reading rhythms and sounds of the season. 2nd grade-- Continuing our learning of folk dances, continuing to master our rhythms of: Ta, Ti ti, and rest, and learning songs of the season as well. 3rd--6th Grade-- We will be working on Keyboards and Hand bells, rhythm dictation, singing, and starting our composer study.
SERS/ESS Effective communication is a skill that develops throughout a lifetime. With the holidays in full swing and spending time with family at the forefront, children can benefit from opportunities to share what they are thankful for, practicing their listening skills, and using various techniques to help express themselves. Click on the link to this month’s article for helpful tricks to support your child’s communication skills: Encouraging Good Communication With Children
Mental Health This month, I am sharing a few resources that help teach us how deep breathing can be used to help children (and adults) relax and improve their ability to problem-solve. Relaxation Tips for Kids: Deep Breathing In the article, Relaxation Tips for Kids: Deep Breathing, Dr. Jill Driest discusses the benefits that deep breathing has for children. Dr. Driest shares ideas for tools, such as a pinwheel or expanding toy, that help make the practice of deep breathing more engaging and child-friendly. Just Breathe This is a video that has been shared with most grade levels at Ryan Elementary. It provides kids a child’s perspectives on how deep breathing helps them handle big feelings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVA2N6tX2cg Calming Glitter Jar Glitter jars are an excellent and fun family craft that provide an excellent visual on the power of deep breathing. There are many different “recipes” for making jars. This one has been successful for me in the past! Books There are many children’s books available that are fun and simple approaches to teaching about deep breathing and how the practice helps us to relax and manage strong emotions. Two favorites are “Puppy Mind” by Andrew Jordan Nance and “I Am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness” by Peter Reynolds.
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December 2017
Ryan Elementary School Newsletter
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