Happy New Year! We
hope everyone has come
back to us rested and ready
to learn. As we come back
from our winter break, we
are looking forward to some
uninterrupted, serious
teaching time. That being
said, the winter season is
here, and the weather
doesn’t always cooperate
with us. I just want to re-
mind parents of a couple of
points that will help keep
all of our students safe and
comfortable.
First and foremost, please
make sure that we have an
up-to-date, working tele-
phone number in our com-
puter system. In the case
of a delay or closing, the
district’s automatic calling
system will send out an
announcement as early as
possible. Our teaching
staff also follows the delay
schedule, so staff is not
available to supervise chil-
dren that are dropped off
early. During a 2 hour de-
lay, the building will open
at 10:10 a.m. and no break-
fast is served.
Also, for our car riders, we
again advise all parents
that the only safe pick-up
and drop-off area is from
the street parking in the
front of the building. Stu-
dents are to use the side-
walk that runs from the
street to the front door so
that we can safely see all
students coming and going.
You may see a few vans go
around the back of the
school and parking in the
driveway to drop students.
These are not personal ve-
hicles but district contract-
ed transportation for sev-
eral of our students. Par-
ents should continue to use
the street parking for drop-
off and pick-up.
Finally, please make sure
your child has appropriate
winter wear for the season.
A warm jacket, hat and
gloves are advisable. If any
student is in need of warm-
er clothing, please contact
the school and we can help.
Also, keeping a sweater or
other layering piece in your
child’s book bag allows stu-
dents to adjust their per-
sonal temperature during
the day without having to
put on bulky outside coats.
Important Dates
Jan 19—School Closed
Jan 22—Board Meeting @CBO
7:00 pm
Jan 23—End of 2nd M.P.
Jan 24—Spartan Invitational
@ WTC 10:00 am
Jan 26—School Closed
Jan 30—2nd M. P. PBS Cele-
bration
Feb 2—2nd M.P. Report Cards
issued
Feb 12—Board Meeting @CBO
7:00 pm
Feb 16—School Closed
Feb 17—Parent/Teacher Con-
ferences
Feb 26—Board Meeting @WTC
7:00 pm
Feb 28—African American
Celebration @ HS (flyer’s will
be sent home in the future)
Library News
In the library, kindergar-
ten students are exploring
the entertaining books by
author Robert Munsch.
First, grade has begun the
FICTION unit. They are
learning how to figure out
if a library book is fiction or
nonfiction and how those
books are organized on the
shelves of a library. Sec-
ond and Third grade have
been learning about the
library catalog system,
which helps them learn
about the different books in
our library.
Message from Mrs.
Piavis & Library
News
1
1st, 2nd and 3rd
Grade News
2
Kindergarten, Coun-
selor’s Corner, Music
News and Yearbook
Sales
3
Kindergarten, Coun-
selor’s Corner, Music
News & Yearbook
Sales
3
Common Core,
Events and Closing
4
Inside this issue:
Message from Mrs. Piavis
January-February
2015 Edition
AST NEWS
The Tradition Continues…
If you walked down the first grade
wing on December 18th, we are confi-
dent that you would have smelled the
delicious aroma of icing. If you poked
your head in our doors you would
have seen icing from the tips of their
noses all the way down to their toes.
What were our first graders attempt-
ing? The children were creating gin-
gerbread houses!
For the last eighteen years, our first
grade has continued the tradition of
making gingerbread houses. It all
begins with a milk carton. Students
then covered the
cartons with gra-
ham crackers.
After putting the
sides on, the roof
was the trickiest!
Next, the children
filled in all the
holes and edges of
the house. It
looked just like
snow on a house!
After all the hard work, the best part
was yet to come. Students had an
abundance of treats to decorate their
houses. From candy canes to M&M’s
to Skittles; decorations were in abun-
dance!
We look forward to creating our gin-
gerbread houses every December.
This tradition could not continue if
not for the help and support of our
first grade parents. Many families
donated the various supplies that
were needed and also volunteered
their time to help make the houses.
The effort is all worth it when seeing
the first grade faces. After licking
icing and eating treats, one student
commented; “This is the BEST day
ever”! I think that we are all in agree-
ment!
We have switched over to science.
The students are very excited to get
started on our Bridges unit.
We would like to thank all the parents
for the goodies that were brought in
for the winter festival. It was greatly
appreciated. Also, a big thank you to
our chaperones for The Nutcracker.
The students enjoyed it and were very
well behaved.
Have a wonderful rest of January and
February. Hopefully everyone will
We hope everyone had a relaxing and
enjoyable winter break. It's hard to
believe January is upon us.
In reading, we are finishing up the
Unit 4 benchmark on Central Mes-
sage. Our next unit will be Author's
Point of View.
In Math, we our starting subtraction
with regrouping. Practicing problems
at home with your child would be very
helpful if they are having difficulty.
stay healthy. Tissues and hand sani-
tizer are always welcome :)
1st Grade News
2nd Grade News
help at home by reading with your
child every night and asking them
questions about what they are read-
ing. You can also help by studying and
quizzing your child on their multipli-
cation facts. Thank you for your con-
tinued support! After a relaxing extended winter
break, third grade is back into the
swing of things! In Language Arts, we
are wrapping up our central message/
main idea unit. Next on the agenda is
our comparing and contrasting unit.
In math, we are working on mastering
those multiplication facts! We are also
working on an introduction to frac-
tions! In science, we are working with
our Earth Materials Kits. You can
3rd Grade News
Page 2
“Friendship isn’t about whom you’ve
known for the longest. It’s about
who came, stayed and never left
your side”
We are all very happy to be back with
our students after our relaxing winter
break, and we would like to wish eve-
ryone a very Happy New Year! There
is so much that we are looking for-
ward to accomplishing this month.
We are working on Essential Story
Parts in reading as we work to find
the characters, setting, major events
and key details of stories. In math we
are learning about 2D and 3D shapes,
measurement and starting our studies
of addition and subtraction. Mean-
while, we will also work to grow our
writing skills by beginning to write
stories, making sure to use proper
capitalization, punctuation, spaces
and inventive spelling.
Now that the second half of our school
year is beginning, we will be working
on learning the skills and behaviors
that will be needed to become success-
ful first graders. There are no winter
blues in kindergarten—every day is
FUN here!
February has us in for lots of celebrat-
ing. We will be looking forward to our
100th day of school and planning lots
of learning with the number 100 on
this day. Additionally, we are plan-
ning our letter writing and visit to the
Frederica Post Office as we get ready
for our classroom post office on Valen-
tine’s Day. We are
also learning how
to retell a story,
mastering our
study of numbers
to 100, while con-
tinuing to master addition and sub-
traction. With President’s Day also
this month, we will be taking a look at
several of our presidents. As we begin
our third marking period, we will be
focusing on reading our sight words,
sounding words out in reading and
writing, and working on being sure
that we use proper punctuation and
capitalization. It’s hard to believe
Kindergarten is already half over!
After a nice, refreshing winter break,
we are working on melody in mu-
sic. Each class is learning how to read
and play melodies. We are working
toward writing and playing our own
melodies. We’re singing and playing
pitched instruments weekly.
We also have a Glee Club that meets
after school to prepare songs for per-
formances at the African-American
History Celebration, I Love Lake For-
est Day, and the District Choral Festi-
val.
book. There is 100 character spacing
available for your message and the
cost is $3.00.
The yearbook and the shout-out form
are due no later than Monday, March
2, 2015.
Kindergarten News
Music News
I began meeting with my grief group.
During this time the students who
have lost a loved one realize they are
not alone; that there are others right
here in their school going through
similar situations. In the past, I have
noticed this time spent together doing
activities and sharing has been very
helpful for those students who have
lost a significant loved one. I am look-
ing forward to working with these
students.
For the month of February we will be
discussing “Responsibility” and what
it means to be responsible. We want Welcome back! I hope everyone had a
wonderful winter vacation.
For the month of January we are dis-
cussing feelings. The students will be
able to identify feelings and the differ-
ent situations associated with each
one. The students will also realize
that it is okay to feel many ways at
the same time and that many of them
may feel differently than others may
be feeling. The students enjoy shar-
ing and doing the activities that allow
them to show-off their expressions.
Beginning Tuesday, January 6, 2015,
Counselor’s Corner
Jan-Feb Edition Page 3
students to understand that the old-
er they become the more they will be
responsible for. They also need to
understand they are always respon-
sible for their actions. I always look
forward to hearing what students are
responsible for at home. Many love
sharing the chores they do around
the house. Although, they might
complain while doing them; children
like the feeling of knowing you need
their help! It gives them a sense of
responsibility!
Yearbook Sales
Yearbooks are now on sale. Or-
der forms should have come home
with your student Friday, Janu-
ary 16, 2015. The yearbook is
full color and sells for $15.00.
We also have a yearbook shout-
out form that should have come
home. Write that special mes-
sage to your child, teacher,
friend, family member, etc. and
have it published in the year-
124 W. Front St.
Frederica, DE 19946
Phone: 302-335-5261
Fax: 302-335-5273
Web: www.lf.k12.de.us/east
KEY IDEAS FOR PARENTS
about the Common
#3—Showing How They Know
The Common Core emphasizes proof & evidence. Long gone are the days of work-
sheets, fact memorizations and skill & drill. Students are not taught this way and they are
not assessed this way. Take away: The new tests will require students to explain how
they know.
Look for more Common Core tips in next month’s newsletter
WE’RE READY!!
4th Annual
Lake Forest
Spartans
Father-Daughter Dance
March 14, 2015
Open to all Lake Forest Spartans Girls K-8 and
their Fathers or Fathers Figures
Time:
5:00 p.m. for Formal Dinner
6:00—8:00 p.m. for Dance and Activities
Cost: $20.00 per Couple with $5.00 per addi-
tional child
Advanced Ticket Sales ONLY!
Tickets go on Sale @ W.T. Chipman Middle
School in Harrington on
February 2, 2015.
350 available tickets—
SOLD OUT LAST YEAR!
Spartan Invitational
When: Saturday—January 24, 2015
Where: W.T. Chipman Middle School
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Participating East Staff:
Dr. Conway, Mr. Kircher, Mr. McDaniel, Mrs. Mollohan, Mr. Naftzinger, Mrs. Seilheimer, Mrs.
Swearingen and Mr. Turner.
Cost: $2.00 per student and
$3.00 per adult
Come join the fun and
support your teacher!!
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