Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday4 5 6

Parents’ Night Out4:30-7:30

7

Early Release Day 11:30 Dismissal

8

11

Parent Teacher

Conferences

12

Holiday Concert

6pm**Raffles**

13 14 15

Star Student Assembly

Trimeser 13-5 9am

PK-2 10 am18 19 20

GATE Christmas

Carol at Kuss 7pm

21 22

Early Release Day 11:30 Dismissal

25 26 27 28 29

1 2

School Resumes

3 4 5

Anne-Marie Scott, Principal Kris Delaplain, Asst. PrincipalMelissa Homol, Dean of Student Support Jennifer Grafton, Dean

Messages from the Office:

~ Please note that the Holiday Concert will begin promptly at 6:00. Doors will open at 5:30. This year, students will

be backstage until it is their turn to

perform to allow parents better

viewing.

~This month we have 2 Early Release

Days on 12/7 and 12/22. Silvia

Daycare is not available.

~Please note that students will go

outdoors for recess daily if the

temperature is above 32 degrees. All students should come to school with

warm enough outerwear for 20

minutes of outdoor

Parents’ Night Out- Wednesday, December 6th 4:30-7:30, $8.00 per student, pre-registration required

Cocoa with Santa and Mrs. Claus – Saturday, December 16th $10.00 per person, pre-registration required 1-3pm

GATE performance of A Christmas Carol at Kuss Middle School Wednesday, December 20th 7:00 $15 adults, $5 students

Holiday Concert- Tuesday, December 12th 6:00 pm PTO holiday raffles will be available!

Silvia School’s 5th Grade GATE Proudly Presents

StarringWilliam Rumsey as "Ebenezer Scrooge"

Wednesday December 20, 2017Matthew J. Kuss Middle School Auditorium

52 Globe Mills Ave. Fall River, MA7:00 pm (Doors Open at 6:30 pm)

General Admission, No Reserved Seating Adults $15 / Students $5 / Children 4 and Under Free

Tickets are Available in the Main Office for Purchase A Limited Number of Tickets Will be Sold at the Door on the 20th

50/50 Raffle to be Held During Intermission(All sales will help fund our class trip to Philadelphia, PA in June!!!)

PreschoolELAIn preschool we are continuing to learn about stores and we are going to explore cultural traditions within our community. We are working on the skill to retell stories via drawing and dictation. We are additionally working to learning letter names and sounds. Mathematics We are beginning to explore geometric shapes. We are going to explore their characteristics: beyond their common names. For example, a triangle is a shape with 3 corners and 3 straight sides. Additionally we are going sort and discuss the function on money and continue learning about numeral names and values.STEMIn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, we will be exploring weather changes from day to day, over seasons, and weather patterns.

Kindergarten

How is it already December?  The children have been working very hard every day! They participate in Morning Meeting each morning first thing.  This is a good time for us to practice reading, writing, and math skills.  We will continue to learn the letters, sounds, and new high frequency words.  Make sure that you read with your child!  Reading to your child will help develop a love for reading.  In math, we will be working with the numbers 0-10 in number stories, number sentences, and combinations.  In science, our students will be learning about STEM and what engineers do.  They will learn about force and motion.  December 19 will be Polar Express Day in kindergarten.  All kindergarten children will be encouraged to wear pajamas to school for this fun day.  We hope that all of our kindergarten families have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!

Grade 1We are entering the next phase in our journey to becoming fluent first grade readers!  Up until this point your child has been focused on decoding words with short vowels, blends, and digraphs.  As we move forward we will discover the long vowel sounds.  Vowels make their long sound when they “say their name”.  This idea can be tricky at first.  The best way to help support your child on his adventure…. is to READ! READ! READ!  In Math, we are moving into a focus on subtraction of numbers from 1 - 20.  We will be applying both addition and subtraction strategies within the context of a word problem.  The grade 1 team wishes our families a safe and happy holiday! Just a reminder…. Don’t forget your scrumptious recipes for our cookbook!

Grade 2We have been working hard in grade 2! Currently, we are still working on Unit 2 in Reading Street. The theme of the unit is “working together” and we will culminate the unit with a close read that connects to this theme. In writing, students are continuing to practice their paragraph writing and ensuring that they are supporting all details with evidence or explanations. In mathematics, we are nearing the end of our third unit surrounding place value, counting, and comparison of numbers up to 1,000. We will be taking our end of module assessment soon. We will begin our next unit this month. This unit is titled: “Addition and subtraction within 200 with word problems to 100.” Please continue to practice addition and subtraction fluency at home and read nightly. On behalf of the second grade team, we wish students and families a wonderful holiday season.

Grade 3It’s a busy time of year in grade 3 as we gear up for the second trimester! Students have begun a new novel, The One and Only Ivan. This is an incredible story based on the life of a silverback gorilla named Ivan, who lived most of his life in captivity. The author has an amazing way of expressing ideas in short, yet powerful sentences. Our work will focus on figurative language and how authors express ideas through comparisons. We will also work on responding to text through discussion and written work.

In math, we have officially begun our unit on multiplication and division. Our work will focus on arrays and how they represent the multiplication facts we will be working with.  Sample array:

As we work through the unit, students will begin to see the relationship between multiplication and division and work to solve word problems that involve all four operations (+, -, x, ÷).  Students will also  be setting multiplication goals so they can begin to memorize their multiplication facts. Students are busy being Structural Engineers in our science unit. Ask your child if he/she can answer these questions, “What is technology?” and “What is an engineer?”

On December 13, we will be celebrating our own Big Dinner! Please look for a permission slip going home. Volunteers are always appreciated!   We would like to wish all families a Happy Holiday season!!!

Grade 4STUDENTS MUST LEARN THEIR MULTIPLICATION TABLES!

Math - We are in the process of taking our first district Math Benchmark Assessment.  The benchmark provides important information to our school and district regarding common core standards.  Are students able apply the math material that has been taught this school year?  Can students retain previously learned material? These benchmarks help drive our instruction to ensure that students are learning grade level material.  Be on the lookout for your child’s score in the coming weeks.  In addition, we will continue to work on multiplying multi-digit numbers.

Science - What is W.E.D.? - Ask your student to share!We are taking a closer look at the process of erosion and the effects that erosion has on our landscapes. In addition, students will learn how wind, water, and ice contribute to weathering, erosion, and deposition.  

English Language Arts: We are BUSY, BUSY,BUSY this month! With the trimester closing, we will be working on a district assessment for reading comprehension in addition to writing. The students will be doing some paired text work. This means they will be synthesizing information from two pieces of literature. This is some heavy stuff! For our writing assessment, students will be showing off what they learned with our narrative writing unit. In addition to this, we will also be working on our performance task for Because of Winn Dixie. Students will be choosing a character to analyze in depth and write an essay describing that character.

Grade 5Fifth grade is excited to launch our Non-Fiction November unit in ELA!  Students are working on becoming close readers while reading about human rights. We will focus on what human rights are, and how real people and fictional characters respond when those rights are challenged. Students will begin to build knowledge about human rights through a close read of the introduction and selected articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), paired with short firsthand accounts of people around the world who currently face human rights challenges. We will continue to revisit the text and themes of the UDHR in our next novel study.

In math it’s been all about decimals for the past few weeks. Adding, subtracting, and multiplying! Next up is whole number division with 2 and 4 digit numbers. We are finishing up taking the benchmark to assess what students have learned so far this year, and as soon as those are done and graded, the test will go home for families to see. We are continuing to be rock stars at the standard algorithm for multiplication.In science, we wrapped up the first unit (mixtures and solutions) and are now on to Earth Science. So far, we have experimented with gravity, and will be spending some time learning about the phases of the moon.

GATE

5P: We have just wrapped up our unit on creating a candy store. Topics included sales, revenue, expenses, and profit margins. Next up understanding proportions and volume concepts. In science we are going to be doing natural disaster projects before we create weather reports using our green screen apps! Lastly, our main focus over the next 4 weeks is getting ready for our performance of A Christmas Carol. To help with the understanding of the story, we will also be reading Dicken’s version as well as comparing and contrasting several different scenes from the film versions of the book as we look at how word selection and multimedia affect the tone and mood of the scenes.

4D: We are getting ready to read our third novel, The Sign of the Beaver. In an effort to build background on the time period in which this story takes place, students will also be reading nonfiction text about the French and Indian War and the Penobscot Native Americans. Students will also be learning about shape attributes, angles, and lines of symmetry in our Geometry unit. Our study of weathering, erosion, and deposition will continue. Students will be doing several hands-on activities to help them better understand how these process change the landscape of the Earth. We will also continue to develop our writing skills as we continue to practice narrative writing, and learn about persuasive writing.

MUSICIn music class, we are super excited about the Holiday Concert happening in just a few weeks on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 at 6pm.  We have been busy little elves trying to make last minute decorations and props for our songs, as well as learning how to be “stage ready” for the performance.  Students have memorized their songs and are really working hard to prepare for their parts.  They are so very excited to show you what they have been preparing for the school celebration!  I highly encourage all students to attend, and participate in the performance.  It is so important that they get this special experience of being on stage with their classmates singing and performing for their friends and families.  It’s a proud moment for them as they have been practicing very hard for the past two months in preparation and can not wait to show you what they can do.  Please come and support them with your presence in being part of their special night.  As I have been reminding them, “We are a team, and we need to work together to make great things happen.”  Every child that attends can only add to the greatness of the success that this concert can be. On the night of the concert I will need all the smiles and voices I can get!   Thank you for your support, time and for such great kids!  I look forward to seeing you all there!  Happy Holidays to you and your family!

ARTSomething sweet is happening in the art room during December! Painter Wayne Thiebaud is the artist inspiration this month with all grade levels. Kindergarten artists are learning aboutPrimary and Secondary colors and Color Mixing while drawing and sculpting gumball machines! First grade artists are also working on Primary and Secondary colors and Color Mixing while drawing and sculpting lollipops! Second grade artists are focusing on composition and variety while drawing pies and ice cream! Third grade artists will be drawing and sculpting cupcakes. Fourth Grade artists will be drawing donuts that look 3-dimensional using value and then will sculpt their very own donuts. Fifth Grade artists have been learning about the elements of art: Form, Value, and Composition while drawing 3-dimensional cakes. Next they will be sculpting a cake slice! Remember...Art Kids are Smart Kids!

P.E.Transitioning into December students in grades K-5 will be working on the manipulative skills associated with the sport of basketball. Students will be taught how to dribble with success, as well as, learn about the four different types of passes that can be utilized within the sport. Children in all grade levels will also be working to develop shooting fundamentals. Grades 3-5 will work to combine manipulative skills and traveling to establish concepts of space, flow, and pathways. There focus will be on maintaining possession and creating good shooting opportunities for themselves. It should make for a fun unit!

ccarreiro@fallriverschools.orgOffice Phone: 508-675-8318Fax Number: 508-675-8314

Dear Parents,Influenza (also known as the flu) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by flu viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The flu is different from a cold. The flu usually comes on suddenly.People who have the flu often feel some or all of these symptoms:Fever                                                      HeadachesCough Sore throat                                  FatigueRunny or stuffy nose                              May have vomiting and diarrheaBody aches

Treatment:Drink plenty of fluids, rest at home and avoid contact with others for at least 24 hours after you are fever-free. But if your symptoms worsen, call your doctor right away.

If you have flu-like symptoms and fall into any of the following categories, call your doctor immediately.Children ages six months to four yearsPregnant womenBlood or metabolic disorders (including diabetes)Heart, liver, kidney or lung conditionsSuppressed immune systems

It is not too late to get your Flu shot!

Nurse Cindy

School Adjustment CounselorsSocial Emotional:  We hope you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving

holiday and break.  We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the United Way of Greater Fall River, Bristol County Savings Bank, Stop and Shop, and to all students and families who donated canned and boxed goods last month. With your help we were able to prepare 32 Thanksgiving food baskets for families.

During the month of December we will be working on the school wide character traits of persevering through difficult tasks, having appropriate boundaries and disagreeing appropriately. Children continue to receive daily character trait lessons during morning announcements. Looking for a good book to read with your child? Check out the book Personal Space Camp by Julia Cook.  This is a great story to teach kids about personal space and appropriate boundaries.  She Loves Baseball: The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick is a wonderful story that teaches perseverance.

Tips for Making the Holiday Season Stress-Free! Prepare your child for unknown situations

Set clear expectations Stick to your routines

Listen to your child’s cues Slow down and enjoy family time

Warmest regards,

Mrs. Michel & Mrs. Gilbarg