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2011-2012 Issue 8 December 9, 2011
The Falcon Valley Forge Elementary School Raquel Hunter, PTO President
99 Walker Road, Wayne, PA 19087 Rebecca Wills, Principal
(610) 240-1600 Wendi Ballas, Falcon Editor
Fax (610) 240-1615 [email protected]
Absentee Calling # (610) 240-1600 ext 5 Barbara Loewengart, Falcon Editor
The purpose of this newsletter is to provide updated information to families about our school and the
T/E school district as well as VFE-PTO events. Information that does not fall into these categories will
not be published through the Valley Forge Elementary School newsletter.
A Letter From the PTO President
D ear Valley Forge Families,
It seems hard to believe, but this will be our last Falcon until we return from break
in January. The students just returned from Thanksgiving break and we are already full
swing into another holiday season. PTO events slow down this time of year and the pri-
mary events that we have over the next few weeks are the winter parties and the cul-
tural arts program “Life in Space” on December 14th.
Looking forward to next year, we are still in need of a Spring Fair Chair. Please
consider taking on this important position. Our former chair has documented everything
and all of the committee chairs are in place. We just need an overall coordinator to keep
things on track. The Spring Fair is a huge source of revenue for VFE and it allows us to
purchase much needed big ticket items for our school. We really need someone to step
up! Without the fair, the PTO will need to severely cut back on what it can provide.
On that note, we will be collecting funds for our direct donation program throughout the
school year, but if you would like a tax write off for 2011, please make your contribution
before December 31st. If you already made a contribution, you should have received your
receipt for tax purposes this past week. A big thank you to Amy Wescoe for getting
those out! For those who are interested, I will put a document in the January Falcon out-
lining where we stand on donations and funding needs for potential gifts to school.
(continued on next page)
(continued from previous page)
We hope you have a fantastic holiday season and a happy new year! We are very grate-
ful for all of our wonderful volunteers and the helpful teachers and staff at VFE.
Sincerely,
Raquel Hunter
PTO President on Behalf of the PTO Board
610-995-2112
CALENDAR
December
14 ........ Cultural Arts Show “Life in Space”
16 ........ Teacher’s Luncheon 11:00 AM
26—30 .. Winter Recess
January
2 ........ Winter Recess
3 ........ Return from Winter Recess
16 ........ No School—Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Reminder…
School Hours:
Grades 1-4: 8:45 A.M. -
3:20 P.M.
Kindergarten: 8:45 A.M. - 11:40 A.M.
12:25 P.M. - 3:20 P.M.
All students should be in their
classrooms at least five minutes prior
to the start of school but no earlier
than 8:35.
VALLEY FORGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
2011-2012 Family Donation Form
Family Name: ______________________________________________________________________
Student(s) Name: ___________________________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________________________
Enclosed is our family donation of: _________________________________
Email Address: _____________________________________________________
Please make checks payable to VFES PTO, and forward in an envelope marked VFES PTO to
the VFE main office via your child’s red folder. Or, if you prefer to mail your form, please
send it to:
Amy Wescoe, VFES PTO
Valley Forge Elementary School
99 Walker Road
Wayne, PA 19087
A receipt for tax purposes will be emailed shortly after we receive your donation.
Thank you very much!
VFES MONTHLY REPORT
November proved to be pretty exciting as we learned about seasonal topics such as leaves, squirrels, Native Americans, Pilgrims,
and the First Thanksgiving. It was fun watching the leaves of various sizes, shapes, and color as well as the squirrels preparing for
the cold winter. In science this month we ended our Agriculture study by making popcorn and began our new unit on Properties.
We wrapped up our Native American study with our annual Bear Hunt Day. The kindergarten enjoyed working through five dif-
ferent stations learning about what Native American life might have been like for boys and girls many years ago. The very sup-
portive kindergarten parents (over 50) provided lessons and activities for us to learn about storytelling, maize (corn), games, craft,
and hunting for a BEAR! It was a fantastic day learning and building our Kindergarten community. We were fortunate to have
Patricia Polacco visit VFE this month. The boys and girls loved listening to her stories she told during the program and of course
reading some of her books during class time and in the Library. We continued with the rest of the month with reading, writing,
math, and learning about the brave Pilgrims and their First Thanksgiving!
November 2011—Team Updates
Konichiwa! Our first graders are having a wonderful time "visiting" Japan. They enjoyed their trip to Mt. Fuji while learning
all about volcanoes and watching a model volcano erupt in their classroom. The children eagerly await every lesson and can't
wait to find out where the next adventure will take them. Our science unit on weather is almost finished as we study the ele-
ments that fall from the sky. The children had a great time playing with "snow" in their classroom while learning about
snow. In reading, the children are learning to differentiate between important and unimportant information in their read-
ing. They have the opportunity to practice this strategy in various types of literature throughout our day. The children
were very excited to meet Patricia Polacco after reading many of her books. All first graders read her book titled, Thunder
Cake and after reading and responding to this story, the children were able to taste thunder cake. The cake was enjoyed by all
despite it's secret ingredient...pureed tomatoes! The month of November lead to many projects and discussions on being thank-
ful. The first grade teachers are thankful for their students and their families. Happy Thanksgiving!
Kindergarten:
First Grade:
Second Grade:
It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone already! What happened to November? Second graders have begun
their study of ancient China. We have studied the geography of the country and will relate that study to the history. Students are
fascinated with the Great Wall. Soon we will read The Legend of Mulan, learn the Chinese words and symbols for numbers 1
through 10, and problem solve with tangrams. There will be many more lessons to follow, culminating with our Chinese Round
Robin in January. Our science unit, Sound , is ending and Changes will begin in December. Changes is a unit focusing on basic
chemistry. Look for a letter written by your child attempting to persuade someone to give a special gift. This will be the first
lesson in persuasive writing. We hope you had a Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, and good food! We enjoyed speaking
with parents during conferences.
Third Grade:
The month of November was a busy one in Third Grade. On November 16th, our students performed wonderfully for parents and
families at the Winter Concert. Students also enjoyed a visit from author, Patricia Polacco, earlier in the month. In Science we
started a unit of study entitle "Land and Water," and in Social Studies we are learning about Native American Tribes. In reading
and writing each class has been busy with theme assessment tests and writing projects as well as Thanksgiving activities. In De-
cember we look forward to traveling to Conestoga High School on December 21st to watch a theater arts performance put on by
the students. Also in December we are scheduled for a visit from the District dental hygienist to talk about the importance of
brushing and keeping our teeth clean. With all the holiday sweets, her visit is very timely!
Library
Library – Mrs. Sullivan The library has been very busy with the beginning of the school year. It’s been wonderful seeing
all the children and talking about all the books they read over the summer. A number of on-
going projects in the library are already in full swing. A few highlights include: (1) the challenge
to read 100 books; (2) the “Bookmark of the Month” in which we highlight a staff member’s
favorite children’s books; (3) participation in the Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award
program and (4) our puzzling word contest to celebrate Dictionary Week.
In each grade level the goal is to increase the student’s ability to utilize the library for both re-
search and leisure reading. Each grade is introduced to new aspects of the library which build
upon skills honed the previous year. Our goal is to make all students feel confident and comfort-
able in a library setting. In kindergarten we are reviewing appropriate library manners and the
procedures for borrowing books. The students are learning vocabulary applicable to libraries and
books, including author, cover, spine, and illustrators. First graders are building on the vocabu-
lary learned in kindergarten and are presently being introduced to the books in the Pennsylvania
Young Readers Choice Award program. Second graders are going over the organization of the
library to prepare them for using the automation system. Third graders are currently working on
a project requiring them to find information in a book, and then use that information to create a
class book. Fourth graders have been learning about resources available in libraries. We are just
completing a unit on on-line and print encyclopedias.
I would like to ask you to help us in reminding your children when their library books are due.
Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade students’ books are always due on their next
scheduled library class. Third and Fourth grade students books are due on the date
stamped in the pocket of their books. Thank you to all the volunteers who have been helping to make the library run more smoothly.
Happy Reading!!
Page 6
December Events
12/5 Bucket Fillers
Assembly
12/8 Internet Safety
Parent Presentation
12/9 Kindergarten
Gingerbread House Workshop
12/14 Life In Space
Assembly
12/16 Winter Staff
Luncheon
12/21 3rd Grade to
CHS Theater Arts Show
12/26/2011—
1/2/2012 Winter Break
1/3/2011 Classes
Resume
Special & Support Area Updates
Fourth Grade:
The month of November came and went before we knew it. The new science unit that we started
in November was the Food Chemistry Unit. While working within this unit we are learning about
starches, glucose, fats, and proteins. We are investigating how a balanced diet helps our bodies
develop and grow strong and healthy. We had a wonderful time when Patricia Polacco visited us
and told us fabulous stories about her experiences growing up. We would like to thank the PTO
and the Cultural Arts Committee for having her spend time with us during her visit. The 4 th grade
hallway is filled with wonderful writing projects and the group presentations posters about the
early European Colonies in North America. You will see turkeys in disguise and pumpkins from
the pumpkin patch lining the hallway. You will also see fall leaves “blowing” in the wind and
some other fun poetry when you visit us.
