Elementary Newsletter December 2011

December 2011 SPARTAN SCOOP

A Note from the Principal... by Lisa Miller It’s important that, as our students use technology more and more, we do all we can to help them use it safely and wisely. With permission from the National Association of Elementary School Principals, here are a few important suggestions to put to work in your home: Be in control. Parental controls are available for every make and model of computer and it’s important to make sure they’re in place. Use the “search” feature on your computer to locate where the parental controls feature is. Make sure you, with your own password, are the only one who can change the control settings. Each user of the family computer should be given access to the computer only through his or her own password. For each child, determine what type of content you want him or her to be able to see, and what you want blocked. Watch the clock. Parental controls often allow you to determine when, by hours of the day and days of the week, your children can access the Web, and when they will be blocked. This keeps kids from spending too much time on the computer and from getting on when no one’s home to supervise. Check their history. It’s always a good idea to log onto the computer using your child’s password and user name after your child has finished surfing the Web, whether it’s for homework, to be on MySpace, or to play games. Log in as them, open the Internet browser, and then view the sites they’ve just visited. Sneaky tricks. Unfortunately, older children, who are most likely to want to visit “off limits” sites, are also able to learn how to delete their history of visited sites. Fortunately, you can use an empty history as a clue. Make sure your children know that they will be disciplined if you see that they have deleted their history. DATES TO REMEMBER…….. December 12 2 Hour Late Start December 15 1:30 pm – 2nd & 5th Grade Music Concert (H.S. Aud.) 7:00 pm – 2nd & 5th Grade Music Concert & 5th Grade Band (H.S. Aud.) December 22 2:00 pm Early Dismissal December 23 - January 2 NO SCHOOL – Winter Break January 3 Classes Resume

GRUNDY CENTER ELEMENTARY

903 9th Street Grundy Center, IA 50638

319-825-5461

LISA MILLER,

PRINCIPAL [email protected]

MARY HINDERHOFER, COUNSELOR

[email protected]

TIM BURBRIDGE, AT-RISK COORDINATOR [email protected]

DORINDA NEDERHOFF, ADMINISTRATIVE

ASSISTANT [email protected]

As the cold winter weather approaches, just a reminder to please send your child to school with boots, mittens/gloves, hats, snow pants and winter coats for recess!

Merry Christmas from the

Grundy Center Elementary Staff

FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT’S DESK……. Happy Holidays! The weather is turning colder, but we are very thankful that the snow has stayed away so far. A “White Christmas” is nice, but we are hoping to get through the month of December without any “snow days” that must be made up later in the year. If you want to be the first to know of any school delays or cancellations, check out KWWL or KCCI websites. We will also tweet the information, so if you follow “Grundy Center Schools” on twitter, you’ll see it there too. By now you may have heard some discussion about changing the school calendar in the future. The school board realizes that this will have an impact on other areas in our community and wants to assure everyone that we will work together to create the best solutions for Grundy Center. There are many factors driving this conversation. Over the past century, there have been many curriculum topics added to our requirements but no additional time to teach this content. Our own data from the MAP tests that we give every August and May show that almost all of our students regress over the long summer break causing teachers to spend time reviewing for the first four to six weeks of school. If we can minimize the summer learning loss, we could potentially free up some of the review time that is currently necessary. This would allow students to get to the new learning more quickly and have more time to spend on it. Research from around the world shows that shorter breaks more often have a positive effect on learning if the classroom instruction is of high quality. The ultimate goal of changing the school calendar is to improve student achievement and academic learning. We are also currently working to get all of our Western Outreach Center districts on an identical calendar. Recently we have expanded our collaborative efforts and are finding it imperative that we all have the same student days, professional development days, and vacation days. In order for this to happen, all four school boards will have to approve the calendar individually. Convincing one community to make changes can be challenging, and now we are appealing to 7+ communities! Due to this fact, we anticipate the 2012-2013 school calendar to look very traditional as we just get everyone on the same page. At the same time, the boards are considering a modified calendar for the 2013-2014 school year that would move two weeks of summer break to an additional week at Christmas and a second week during spring break. This would give us over two years to make the necessary adjustments with our community partners. These decisions have not been made yet, and I encourage you to share your thoughts on this topic with myself or school board members. Feel free to stop in the office, email, or call! I always appreciate having the opportunity to visit with community members about our school system and the success it has realized in the past and our visions for continuing to reach the high expectations that are set for us. With Spartan Pride~ Mrs. Cass Murra

SPARTAN SCOOP PAGE 2


Visual Phonics in the Kindergarten Classroom You may be wondering what your child is doing with their hands as they are sounding out words. We have introduced Visual Phonics into our classrooms. Some of you may be familiar with a strategy called Visual Phonics, or have been hearing about it from your children. This strategy uses hand shapes to show students the sound a letter makes. These hand shapes, along with a written symbol, show the sound of a letter. Each teacher uses Visual Phonics to review the letters and connect them to their sounds. Sometimes, two or more letters combine to make one sound. Working with your child in learning Visual Phonics will give them another way to remember the sounds of the letters. It will also be helpful when they begin to decode or sound out new words. When decoding a word, encourage your child to “keep their voice going” until the end of the word. Example: “man”-start your voice on the “m” and don’t let it stop until you have reached the “n” sound...m-a-n. If you have any questions, feel free to contact a teacher. Thanks for your help!

Packing for America!

The first graders have been busy learning about life long ago. When learning about the Pilgrims and their voyage on the Mayflower, they learned that room was limited and that they would only be able to bring what was really needed. One activity they did was to get into small groups and decide what the pilgrims should take with them to the "New World" and what they should leave in England. Knowing that they only have a small area on the Mayflower, they could choose only 12 items. There were a lot of great discussions on what to bring and why!


Tune in to Interesting Words By: Second Grade As you know, building-wide, students are learning reading strategies from a “CAFÉ Menu.” These strategies fall into the following categories: (C) Comprehension, (A) Accuracy, (F) Fluency, and (E) Expand Vocabulary. They are set up as a “menu” because sometimes the strategies are used in isolation, and other times students need to pick and choose from a variety of them to help make sense of text. One simple strategy for you to help with at home in an effort to expand your child’s vocabulary is “Tune in to Interesting Words.” As you are reading to your child or listening to him/her read, set a purpose for reading and encourage your child to help you find words that are new, fun, or interesting. Talk about the words together and try to use them throughout the day. Perhaps find a special notebook to write them in. Encourage your child to share them at school. If your child sees you getting excited about words, there’s a good possibility that he/she will, too!

ABC BOOKS SHARED WITH THIRD GRADE

On November 3, the sixth graders from

Mr. Zinkula’s class came to visit the third grade classrooms to share their recently completed social studies projects, ABC books highlighting Iowa History. The middle school students could work alone or with a partner on this project. They researched books, blogs and websites, created a historical commercial over a piece of technology that changed Iowa’s society, went to Living History Farms, wrote and gave speeches over significant Iowans and places in Iowa.

In the book each student had to write 3 paragraphs (background of topic, how it impacted Iowa, and their own opinion of the topic) consisting of 4-6 sentences for each letter of the alphabet. They worked on it in social studies class and at home. They had to type their work, edit it, and match a photograph for each page. The third graders were to share what they learned with other third graders in the room.

getting excited about words, there’s a good possibility that he/she will, too!


Tis the Season for Giving! By the Fourth Grade Students

The importance of giving to others is something that we need to think of every day. During December we are reminded of it more because of the holiday season. The fourth graders would like to share some of their ideas about giving to others. If I could give my mom anything for Christmas I would give her five cook books because she loves to cook things. (Anessa) If I could give Taylor anything for Christmas I would give her a friendship bracelet because she doesn’t have one from me, and then she can remember me since I never get to see her. (Lily) If I could give Jack anything for Christmas I would give him books because he is a voracious reader. (Andrew) If I could give Camerin King anything for Christmas I would give him a spy watch because I am a loving brother and he wants it. (Brayden) If I could give my mom and dad anything for Christmas I would give them a chocolate bunny because they always give me a chocolate bunny on Christmas. (Megan) If I could give an orphanage anything for Christmas I would give them money because they would need money to buy clothes and food for the orphans. (Lauren) If I could give my parents anything for Christmas I would give them a statue of me because it would be a symbol of my love. (Ana) If I could give my mom anything for Christmas I would give her a new pair of boots because she needs new ones. (Joseph) If I could give Operation Threshold anything for Christmas it would be canned food and school supplies because I know there are some kids who don’t have all of the special things we have. (Jack) If I could give poor people anything for Christmas I would give them food because they don’t have any money. (Drew) If I could give Jesse anything for Christmas I would give him something to make his foot feel better like an ice pack or a really soft pillow so he can feel comfortable because his toes are broken and his foot hurts. (Tristan) If I could give my mom anything for Christmas I would give her a diamond necklace because she loves diamond necklaces. (Trenten) If I could give Melody anything for Christmas I would give her speech because that’s the thing she’s always wanted. (Elle) If I could give my mom anything for Christmas I would give her hundreds of massage coupons. Also, I would give her a new phone because she likes massages and she said that she needed a phone. (Cale) If I could give my family anything for Christmas I would give them my kindness and be respectful. I would love them the way they are no matter what they do because they are really nice to me. (Jesse) The fourth graders want you to remember it is always the season to help others.


Fifth Graders Read Everything, So You Don't Have To Need something to curl up with in the coming winter months? The following are book recommendations from our fifth graders. I think there is going to be a run on check-outs and purchasing of these titles! Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog I think you should read Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog by Garth Stein because it is a book that will get you on the edge of your seat with all the funny, sad, and exciting events! Each page you read will make you want to read more. This family does face many challenges in their life. But what? You’ll just have to read the book to find out. In this book there is a dog named Enzo. He isn’t your typical dog. His owner Denny is a race car driver. Denny had taught Enzo everything he knew about racing--even how to “race in the rain.” Later in this story, Denny gets married to a woman named Eve. She always smelled of sweet flowers and lotion. They later had a daughter named Zoe. One day, Eve had not been feeling very well, and when she went down to pet Enzo, he sensed a horrid smell. He knew right then that she had... Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out! This mysterious smell turns into a big problem along with other big problems. What does this mysterious smell on Eve have to do with any “big problem”? Who gets to keep Zoe? What makes Enzo not your typical dog? Will this family ever live a normal life again? To find out the answers to these questions you’ll just have to read the book!!! I think this is a great book (one of my favorites), and I think it will be one of your favorites too!!! By Hailey Wallis The Red Pyramid If you love action, fantasy, Egyptian culture, and mystery stories, you should read The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. It has a lot of mysteries to keep you thinking and reading. In this thrilling story, Carter and Sadie’s mother died in some way, but they don’t know how. Carter lives with his dad, and Sadie lives with her grandparents in London. Carter goes to visit Sadie with his dad, and they go to a museum. There’s an unexpected turn for the worst when their father had something bad happen with Egyptian magic, and then Carter and Sadie have an adventure. What happened to their dad? Who is going to take care of them? Where will they go? What happened to their mom? Will they find their dad? How will they survive? Will Egyptian magic help them? Keep reading to find out the answers to all these questions and more secrets! By Josie Holke-Farnam Nerds I believe you should read the book Nerds by Michael Buckley. This book is a mystery at all times. It keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. There are kids that are in the “nerds” group that go on secret missions. The missions are harder than you think. They come to some very close calls, but the nerds find ways to get out of the close calls. The nerds group has a secret room in the basement of the school where they talk about their next mission. They get to missions by getting into a space ship which is located in the gym. They will have to get the kids out of the building--but how? The fire alarm! One nerd has to pull the fire alarm, and then they get to have blast off. There is a new member of the nerds; his name is Jackson. He is the star football player, but his doctor told him he would have to have headgear. Then the football helmet won’t fit, so he joins the nerds. Do you think the nerds will get into some trouble? And do you think they will get into trouble getting the kids out of the school? How do you think they get to the secret room? This book is outrageous and creative! You won’t regret reading this book. By Matthew Sternhagen


Framed by Gordon Korman Twelve-year-old Griffin Bing is known throughout Cedarville, New York. He is known as “The Man With The Plan.” He has a bad reputation with the police, school system, and newspapers as a trouble-maker. Because of all of this, Griffin’s Middle-School Principal, Dr. Egan, has his eye on Griffin. To Griffin, that isn’t too terrible, except that trouble has a way of finding Griffin and his friends. When at morning calisthenics, Griffin’s retainer comes out of his mouth. Griffin has all of morning calisthenics to look for it, as long as Dr. Egan (Known to Griffin and his friends as Dr. Evil) does not catch them. When they get back inside, they hear a scream. It’s Dr. Egan’s Scream. By the time they get to the display case where a valuable Super-Bowl Ring is held, the gang realizes that the ring is gone and in its place is Griffin’s retainer. Griffin can’t believe it. On top of that, he has to go to court, then to JFK (Jail For Kids), and finally he is put under house arrest. Read this book to find out the answers to these questions: Will Griffin and the gang find out who framed him in time? Will Griffin’s friend build a device that will allow him to go out of his house while under house-arrest? Will the someone that framed Griffin turn out to be animal instead of a human? Will the person that caused Griffin all this trouble cover for him? Please read this book! By Lexi Wood Rules I think you should read Rules by Cynthia Lord. Rules is for people who love realistic fiction. I think this is a great book for people who have friends or family members who have autism. It can also be very informational for people who don’t have friends or family members with autism. Catherine is twelve years old, and she has a brother named David who has autism. She wishes she could have a normal life, but she thinks that’s impossible with a brother with autism. She tries to teach him rules, but he just can’t learn. Some of the rules are: keep your pants on in public, knock when the bathroom door is closed, peach is not a funny looking apple, no toys in the fish tank, and many more. One summer, Catherine meets someone called Jason and another person called Kristi who turn her life upside down and make her start to question: What is really normal? Will Catherine ever have a normal life? Will David ever learn how to follow the rules? Does she ever find out what it means to be normal? Read the book to find out the answers! By Olivia Nordman Spiderwick: The Field Guide The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black is really awesome! You should read it because it makes you feel like you’re in the book. It has so many twists and turns that you would love to read it. The main people are Jared, Simon, Mallory, Helen, Lucinda, Arthur, and Boggart. Simon is the SMART one. Jared is the FUN one. Mallory is the VIOLENT one. The book is mostly about a house with a mysterious living thing in the house with them. Mallory lifts Jared in a dumbwaiter (something that is like an elevator that can lift people and things) to a secret library. Jared finds a book that tells important facts about the thing in the wall. How did Jared, Mallory, and Simon know about the dumbwaiter? How did Jared find the the living thing in the house? What is the living thing in the house? If you want to know more read the book. It is awesome. By Lawson Ash


It’s Raining Cupcakes If you are into cupcakes you have to read the book It’s Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder! It makes you really hungry while reading, so make sure to eat before you read the book! Also, try not to eat the book! :) In this awesome book, Isabel and her family move to a laundromat. Isabel’s mom wants to open a cupcake shop. Isabel and her mom love to make cupcakes. Some problems make it so Isabel’s mom doesn’t want to open a shop. Isabel and her friend Sophie want to enter a cooking competition so she could win a trip! Will Isabel’s mom open the cupcake shop? Will Isabel enter the competition? If so, will she win? Where will she go if it is a trip? Will there be another business that will make competition for the cupcake shop? To figure out these questions, you need to read this book! If you love cupcakes, make sure to read every last page. By Sydney Mathews and Kylie Willis

NEWS FROM THE IMC……. It’s hard to believe we are already in the 2nd trimester of school! The year is going very fast indeed. Things continue to “keep hopping” in the IMC. Here’s an update on how the Book Fair went in October. We were able to add 200 books to the IMC as well as keeping part of the profits in cash for later use. The profits saved in cash are reserved to purchase the Iowa Children’s Choice Award books in the spring. Thank you so much for making all of this possible through your support. We were also able to use funds from the Spartan Senate to purchase books for the Battle of the Books program that will be started after Thanksgiving. We now have at least 1 copy of each book currently in the IMC for students in the program to check out. There is a special set of shelves set aside to separate these books from the rest of the collection to make it easier for the students to find them. Thank you again for all the support you give.


NEWS FROM THE ART ROOM By Mrs. Leverton

Kindergarten has been busy working on making a collage animal using a variety of colored

construction paper and shapes. Students were read and shown collage illustrations of different animals and insects from the book called “Oodles of Animals” by Lois Ehlert.

1st graders have just finished working on their collage self-portraits and have moved on to drawing another portrait. Students are to draw a portrait of a snowman using oil pastels on a piece of black construction paper.

2nd graders are beginning the next lesson on self-portraits. Students will first be learning about royalty and will then draw a royal self-portrait.

3rd graders are starting a new lesson that involves the creation of a dream house. Students are learning and practicing how to draw several architectural features before beginning their dream house.

4th graders are working on creating a self-portrait. Students are creating a portrait that involves the concept of foreshortening; showing an image or object shorter than it actually is or appears to be. 5th graders are learning about the artist M C Escher and have viewed several of his tessellation pieces. Students have been busy creating their own tessellation piece by turning an abstract shape into a repeated image or object.

903 9th St. Grundy Center, IA 50638 Phone: 319-825-5461 Fax: 319-825-6817


2nd & 5th Grade Winter Concert by Bev Dirks

Mark Thursday, December 15th, on your calendar! This is the day that the second and fifth grade students in Grundy Center will perform their winter concert for family and friends in the high school auditorium. There will be a 1:30 p.m. matinee for anyone who wants to attend, and an evening performance at 7:00 p.m. as well. The fifth grade band will also perform at the 7:00 p.m. concert. The second graders will entertain you with penguins, mice and reindeer in their performance of, “A Holiday Parade.” The fifth graders have been putting the finishing touches on a meaningful set of holiday tunes that range in styles from a country ballad to swing and pop. The evening of the performance, second graders should meet their teachers in the high school commons to line up by 6:50 PM, the fifth grade band students will also meet Mrs. Dirks in the commons to assemble and tune their instruments. The rest of the fifth graders will meet their teachers in the upper east pod in the auditorium. When the first graders are finished singing, they will be dismissed to sit with their families, so it is a good idea to save them a spot. Look for a note regarding what to wear and other pertinent information sent home in the student’s book-bags and via email. We look forward to performing for you on December 15th! 1st & 4th Grade Fall Concert

by Bev Dirks

Monday, November 7th, the first and fourth graders gave their elementary music performance for the year. They did an excellent job entertaining the audience with Halloween, fall and patriotic selections. Here are a couple of pictures of that concert!

FIRST GRADE

FOURTH GRADE


CAPTURE IT - HALLOWEEN This year, as in years past, the fifth graders carved pumpkins for Halloween. Spartan heads, ghosts, and howling dogs were among some of the designs carved into the pumpkins. It was a lot of fun to tour the multi-purpose room and see all of the pumpkins lighted and on display along with their creators. A Halloween parade for K-4 was also held in the elementary gym for the public to enjoy. Students dressed up in their Halloween costumes for everyone to see.

903 9th St. Grundy Center, IA 50638 Phone: 319-825-5461 Fax: 319-825-6817

We’re on the Web!

See us at: www.spartanpride.net

Grundy Center Elementary

Notes from the Nurse Controlling Head Lice As the school nurse, I follow the Iowa Department of Public Health guidelines regarding health issues, including head lice. If a child at school has head lice, I check the identified close contacts but generally it is not necessary to check the entire class. I work one on one with the families involved regarding treatment and follow-up. Letters are not routinely sent home for every case of head lice that occurs. Since lice are spread by human hair to hair contact, children who do not have close physical contact with a student with lice are not at risk of getting lice from that student. Only dead or dying lice are found on clothing or furniture. Generally, lice does not spread beyond other family members or someone with very close physical contact. Preventative measures are routinely utilized in the classrooms, especially at the lower grade levels where there is more risk of close physical contact between students. For control of head lice the IDPH recommends the following measures:

1. Children should not share hats, scarves, brushes, combs, or hair fasteners. 2. Parents should check their children for head lice at least weekly during the school year.

Look for tiny white or grey eggs (nits) on the hair shaft near the scalp. Live nits will be less than ½ inch from the scalp. Adult lice are about the size of a sesame seed and can only survive on the human head. They do not have wings and do not jump or fly. Itching often accompanies the presence of lice.

3. If you find that your child has head lice, check all members of the family and treat everyone who is infected at the same time with the recommended 14 day treatment plan. • A medicated lice shampoo should be used initially according to the package

directions and repeated in one week (day 1 and day 7). • Combing with a fine tooth comb should be done every day for 2 weeks (days 1-14).

This is VERY important to remove lice and nits. • Rinse combs and brushes in very hot water after each use. • Only ordinary house cleaning, vacuuming, and washing bedding and clothing in hot

water are needed. No special sprays are needed to clean your home. • There is no need for children to be sent home or to miss school, though treatment

should be started before returning to school the next day. • Do not use oils, mayonnaise, lotions, creams, and vinegar as they are not proven

effective. Kerosene, gasoline and similar products do not work and are dangerous. • If crawling lice persist after the 14 day treatment, contact you physician who may

recommend a prescription treatment for lice. If you have any questions or would like additional information contact Gloria Dielschneider, RN at the school or your local public health office.

FLU SHOT INFO…….. Students who received flu shots at school and meet the following requirements need to have a 2nd dose to build initial immunity:

• under the age of 9 • have not had a flu shot in the past - received their very first dose of flu vaccine at

school this year If this applies to your child and the first dose was received at school this year, please contact the school nurse. Arrangements will be made for the 2nd dose to be administered at school and there will be no additional charge.

Documents

Elementary Newsletter December 2011