GRAVELY CONNECTION

Upcoming Dates

December 1– Gravely Groovers Concert 7:00pm December 10 – PTO Holiday Extravaganza 11:00-2pm

December 12 – Advisory Council 5pm

PTO 7pm

December 13 – Chick-Fil-A Night 5-9pm

3rd Grade Winter Celebration

December 14 – 2nd Grade Winter Celebration

December 15 – K Winter Celebration

December 16 – 1st Grade Winter Celebration

December 18 – PTA Skate and Fun Zone

December 19 – 4th Grade Winter Celebration

December 20 – 2nd Grade Market Day

December 21 – Interims go home

5th Grade Celebration Breakfast

December 22 – Winter Break

January 3 - School Resumes

January 12 - Family Literacy Night

Samuel L. Gravely Jr. Families:

November flew by with all of time away from school for

our students. The month was highlighted with the

continued use of best practices in instruction, Veterans

Day Celebration, Book-a-Thon Fundraiser, and the PTO

Science Night. Throughout the month of December we

will have our Gravely Groovers Concert, Grade Level

Winter Celebrations, and also Winter Break. Our staff

has spent the last four months providing the students

with a high quality education, building lifelong relation-

ships, and fostering positive role models within their

classrooms. As winter break approaches we encourage

you to give the most important gift to your child and

yourself, the gift of time together as a family. We look

forward to a strong finish of 2016 and starting the New

Year of “Inspiring Passions and Innovation.”

Mr. Kelchlin Principal Mrs. Zeffiro Asst. Principal

Gravely Connection December 2016

Mrs. Gravely joined us for our Veterans Day Celebration

Bully Prevention Poster Contest W inners First Mates Award for Responsibility

WATCH DOGS Coding Event presented by Mr. Moyle

First Grade First graders have truly been busy

with Full STEAM ahead. Each first

grade classroom introduced their

STEAM bins this month in the

hopes to truly give kids the oppor-

tunity to explore on their own, skills

and strategies to build a variety of

items using a variety of manipula-

tives. It has been fun to see and

read about their experiences as

they create! We all submitted an

example of this work for the Science

Night. Each first grade class stud-

ied two different versions of the 3

pigs. Then the students created a

Venn Diagram to make connection's

between both books. Next the kids, given gumdrops and toothpicks,

had to create homes that would withstand a wolfs huff and puff! It

was so much fun!!! We are ready to build on that activity!!!

Second Grade Second graders

participated in

a Matter science

experiment

program through a

generous donation

from Dr. Khouri

Orthodontics.

Students became

scientists and

made water evapo-

rate and ice melt.

They did experi-

ments and were

amazed when dry

ice filled a balloon.

Kindergarten In Kindergarten this November, we learned in Writer's Workshop to label our pictures and made a self portrait using labels. We explored shapes and worked in small groups to make shape murals. We have enjoyed the extra time we spent reading during the Read-A-Thon. Thank you to all our fami-lies for your support from home! We experimented with different ways to build a tree that would hold the most letters during our Chicka Chicka Boom Boom STEAM activity. We spent some time thinking about what we are Thankful for this month and our families were top on that list. Thank you for all that you do to help us!!

Third Grade Third grade students practiced author's purpose, main idea, & sup-porting details by making Retell Turkey hats using Thanksgiving stories. We are well into our Daily Multiplication Facts quizzes and many students have been adding their gumballs to the gumball machines in the hallway to show their mastery. Lastly, be on the look out for information regarding "Operation Snowman". This will be a great opportunity to help those in need.

Fourth Grade

Fourth grade has wrapped up the

marking period and ecosystem unit

with a final project and report. Each

student was given an animal that

they had to research. They had to

figure out their animals habitat, food

chain and adaptations. Once the

student had their research, they

were able to start writing their report

and building their animal in the cor-

rect habitat. It was important that

the student incorporated the behav-

ioral and physical adaptations in

both parts of the project in order to

show understanding of these adap-

tations. Below are two projects that

show the animals in their habitat.

Veterans Day Celebration Gravely Elementary was thrilled to recognize and celebrate our

Veteran parents, grandparents, and community members during this

years Veterans Day Assembly. Students sang patriotic songs, read po-

ems, and honored our many special guests. Thank you for your

Service!

Fifth Grade 5th Grade is currently studying matter in science. We practiced fol-lowing the steps of the scientific method to investigate how matter changes state and enjoyed "I Scream for Matter." Students are be-

coming experts on one element of the Periodic Table and we will be making a student-created Periodic Table in the hallway. In reading, students have been practicing close reading and being detectives as they work on making infer-ences. In math, students used their skills in an authentic way to plan a Thanksgiving dinner.

PTO Science Night Our PTO did an amazing job putting on this years Science Night!

Thank you to all of the volunteers, vendors, and organizations that participated in this engaging hands on event.

Physical Education

Physical Education in November with Ms. Dooley and Mrs. Tackett Ms. Dooley had a blast with all the students who joined her Archery Club!! Grades K-2 learned about bones, built skeletons, and caught healthy foods with their hula hoop "plate." Grades 3-5 Performed their fitness tests for the first time this year and filled their plate with healthy foods by iden-tifying and collecting items that belong to each of the five categories. All students in Grades K-5 used their muscles to push their classmates through the Turkey Kart game to collect turkeys.

Music 5th Grade students have been working really hard in music to

create a xylophone piece using 3 part harmony. Mrs. Brown's

class pictured here are using Bass, Alto and Soprano xylophone

as well as shaker eggs and are putting their final performance

together.

ART All students have been working on painting their clay sculptures. Look for them coming home over the next few weeks. Please remember to look on the Gravely Art website. It has information on what each grade level is working on, art show dates and times, and art club information. Art club is off to a great start. Both art club sessions are currently working on creating a tiki sculpture out of cardboard and paper mache. Session 1 students have finished painting a ceiling tile. The tiles are up in the art room. Please let me know if you are in the building and would like to stop by to see them.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook to see the amazing things happening daily:

@GravelyElementary

COUNSELORS’ CONNECTION

COUNSELORS’ CONNECTION THIS MONTH IN CLASSROOM GUIDANCE December Kindergarten: Students will be able to name a variety of feelings and will identify appropriate feelings dis-played in response to scenarios. Grade 1: Students demonstrate strategies for handling mistakes in the learning process. Grade 2: Students will be able to name a variety of feelings, and will be able to distinguish between comfort-able and uncomfortable feelings. Students will be able to determine the feelings of others using physical, verbal, and situational clues. Grade 3: Students will be able to name a variety of feelings, and will be able to determine the feelings of others using physical, verbal, and situational clues. Students will recognize that people can have different feelings about the same situation. Grade 4: Students will define empathy and respect, and will demonstrate empathy by listening-with-attention during a partner activity. Grade 5: Students will define empathy and respect, and will demonstrate empathy by listening-with-attention during a partner activity.

OPERATION TURKEY FOOD DRIVE Thank you so much for your donations to Operation Turkey this school year. We are amazed by the giving spirit of our Seadog family! Together, the Gravely com-munity contributed 16 very full boxes of non-perishable foods to support North-ern Virginia Family Service and SERVE in their efforts to provide Thanksgiving meals to more than 800 families in the Greater Prince William area. Way to go, Seadogs! Un-Trim-a-Tree Please help us to fulfill the holiday wishes of children here in Prince William County. Un-Trim-a-Tree is a Holiday Gift Program through Volunteer Prince William that provides gifts for children who are living below the poverty level. If you are interested in helping us give these children something special this holiday season, please use the link to the Sign Up Genius below! http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d4dafad2da31-untrimatreepwc Please contact Lisa Young aandgmom@msn.com if you have any questions.

Advisory Council What is the Advisory Council?

The advisory council is a group of parents that represent the different areas within Gravely boundaries, along with staff mem-

bers, and the schools administration. The Advisory Council holds monthly meetings to provide input on matters relating to the

school: from finance to instruction. Throughout the year they work collaboratively to monitor the implementation of our School

Plan, and ensure a high quality education for all of our stakeholders.

How does the council affect me?

The council needs your input! If you have a concern, see a need, have a suggestion, or are pleased about something going on at

Gravely, then let us know. Please contact a member of the council or come to a council meeting and share your thoughts. Also,

15 minutes of the advisory council meeting will be designated citizens’ time and any staff member, parent, or member of the

council may address the advisory council. Each person will have 3 minutes.

Staff Representatives Email Address

Mr. Michael Kelchlin Staff kelchlM@pwcs.edu

Mrs. Alyse Zeffiro Staff zeffirax@pwcs.edu

Mrs. Rosales Staff rosalebj@pwcs.edu

Ms. Baird Staff bairdbdm@pwcs.edu

Mrs. Seidl Staff seidlas@pwcs.edu

Mrs. Moose Staff mooselx@pwcs.edu

Parent Representatives Area Email Address

Mrs. Alyson Munn Area 1 alyson907@gmail.com

Mrs. Claudia Patten Area 2 c.patten3@gmail.com

Mrs. Mae Earman Area 3 dmearman@comcast.net

Mrs. Sunny Hakimpour Area 4 Hakimpour1701@yahoo.com

Mr. Marvin Harley Area 5 mharley1991@gmail.com

Mrs. Ashley Cavossa Area 6 abasquin@gmail.com

Mrs. Jennifer Penninger Member at Large JenniferPenninger@gmail.com

Mrs. Caroline Dickens Member at Large crdickens@verizon.net

Mr. Haran Levenberg Member at Large hplevenberg@gmail.com