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From The Principal's Desk The teachers and staff are continuing their efforts to provide rigorous instruction and other educational experiences for the students here at our school. We recently hosted our Family Reading/Math Night and our meeting for parents of level 1 & 2 students in order to provide strategies, information and support which may be helpful at home with reading and math skills. Our Praise Dance Team and cheerleaders put on a wonderful performance for the parents. We want to thank everyone who helped to make the evening a success. All students whose parents were in attendance will be invited to attend a pizza party in the near future. We encourage all 3rd- 5th grade students to participate in our after school tutorial program so that they can get the extra, intensive instruction that is needed in order for them to be successful on the FCAT. Continue to monitor your child's homework and study time at home. It is extremely important that you read with your child daily. A recent report from the district showed that our students have read more Accelerated Reader (AR) books than any other school in the district. Way to go Mustangs! Since we believe that all of our students are capable of learning, we have challenged them to score a level 4 or more on the state assessment. During our "Administrative Chat" with our third through fifth grade students, I outlined incentives that will be provided to students who are successful in making learning gains and/or demonstrating high performance on the FCAT. With your continued support, I'm sure that we will be successful. Please remember to contact your child's teacher if you have any questions about issues relating to academic progress or conduct in the classroom. In addition, we invite you to visit our school's web page, which may be accessed through the district' website (www.gcps.k12.fl.us) to view information concerning our school. Happy Holidays! Pre-K News The Pre-School children are busy bees learning about bugs in Ms. Baker's class. The students made the cutest little bugs with huge eyes and long, fuzzy antennas. Also, they are listening to stories from the Big Bug Book. Mrs. Nelson's children are learning to ring bells and sing Jingle Bells. They are collecting bells and listening to their sounds. The Head-Start Pre-kindergartens students of, Ms. Powell-Jones, Ms. Moore, and Ms. Grandstaff are learning about patterns by coloring Christmas stockings using alternating colors. Also, pre-k classes are busy cutting out beautiful, white snowflakes, learning about skating and cold weather sports. The children are painting and drawing Rudolph and using craft sticks to make straight letters such as "N". All the Pre-K students are designing individual Christmas cards for their parents and listening to holiday stories. Kindergarten News HAPPY HOLIDAYS! The Kindergartners are enjoying activities related to Thanksgiving and Christmas that are added to their regular learning experience. Alphabet letter recognition and alphabet letter sounds remain at the top of their learning goals. Parents are urged to use household items to question and practice these skills with their children at home. A Christmas party is being planned. Check your child's book bags for information or contact your child's teacher. Have a SAFE and HAPPY holiday season! First Grade News
FANTASTIC FIRST GRADE We have been studying about Our Neighborhood At Work in reading and patterns on a hundred chart in math. Also, we are working on practice materials for the SAT-10 Test. Our students will take this test during March. We want them to be well prepared to be very successful on this assessment. Parent, it is very important that you continue to work with your child on reading Decodable books, High Frequency words, writing complete sentences, and math skills. We encourage all parents to volunteer in your child's class and meet regularly with their teacher. The teachers can always use your help. Thank you for your support as we work together to educate your children. Second Grade News All of our second graders are busy working on our reading strategies and math skills. We ask our parents to assist us by reading with your child each night. Also, you can help by having your child identify and count money. Second Grade is having the SAT 10 Standardized Test beginning on March 26, 2008. We will need your support; together we can make a difference in your child's education. You will be notified at a later date on specific ways to help prepare your child for the SAT 10. We wish all of you a Happy Holiday Season. Please read and study math skills with your child over the long break. Third Grade News This year is quickly coming to an end and there is still work to be done. Parents, we urge you to continue to work on reading and math skills with your children over the Winter Break. We do not want students to forget skills that have been taught prior to our holiday season. We will be sending home an FCAT Skills packet for students to complete. Discipline is a problem with some of our third grade students. Parents, we need your help in ensuring that your child is coming to school with appropriate classroom behavior. Please reiterate to your children how important it is to be respectful and courteous to all. Third grade teachers are planning for Winter Holiday parties. Information will be sent home next week. Please notify your child's teacher if you would not like for your child to participate. Fourth Grade News The 4th grade team is looking forward to our Christmas bake sale, in which we will be using the funds made to sponsor an end of the year event for those students who make passing scores on the FCAT Reading, Writing, and Math. Further information will be sent home after the Christmas break. Parents, feel free to donate any items that may be of use in the classrooms, such as pencils, paper, Kleenex, hand sanitizer, and even your time. Also, please continue to support us as we work on our focus calendar skills for this month. In reading, Mrs. Lightfoot-Brown will focus on cause and effect and plot. In addition, remember to help your child with their reading homework packet. In math, Ms. Norton will focus on teaching your child skills relating to probability and outcome, as well as customary measures. In writing, Ms. Johnson is wrapping up expository writing and is getting ready to move on to narrative writing. With the Writing +, which is the multiple choice portion of the FCAT Writing, students are working to improve in the area of " focus" and making sure that there aren't any unnecessary words or sentences in the writing. Please encourage your child to use the strategies and skills that we are teaching weekly on their focus calendar assessment. For the Christmas holidays, we will be sending home reading, math, and writing materials so that students can continue preparing themselves for the FCAT, which is fastly approaching. Together we are going to make great strides in the month of December, and we look forward to seeing your child back in school after the Christmas holidays. Fifth Grade News Reading- We are covering a new unit entitled "Heritage". These stories help students understand the diversity of culture and gain a deeper understanding for their own and other cultures. Parents, please allow students to bring in articles, newspaper clippings, and information via the internet, or personal artifacts that tell about their culture or another culture. The fifth grade students have covered all of the skills that will be tested on FCAT. We are reviewing each of these skills on a weekly basis. Encourage your child to read at least 15 minutes each day. This will help build fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Math- Fifth grade math students will be working on Chapter 29 (Percents). It is recommended that students study and memorize basic multiplication and division facts (2's-12's) over the Christmas Holidays. Science- Students are currently studying Chapter 9: Earth, Space and the Moon. They are also observing our solar system, planets and galaxy. SPECIAL AREA NEWS Media The Media Specialist, Mrs. Myrna Linsagan attended the Gadsden County School District Library Media Meeting last Nov. 7, 2007. it was held at West Gadsden High School, Greensboro, FL. Mrs. Julia Hilton, School District Instructional Media Specialist was the resource person. The agenda discussed were the following: ¨ Accelerated Reader, STAR, and STAR Early Literacy ¨ United Streaming- Discovery Education Streaming ¨ Grants (donation of books from different organizations in the United States) ¨ Local Authors (books authored by them and their presence in our collection) ¨ iPods in Media Centers (5 iPods will be given to each school to be used for the iMac books. These iPods will only be used within the library. Nobody will be allowed to bring it home). ¨ Instructional Media Allocations ¨ School Library Media Center WebPages (how to open, create and update) It was also decided by the media center staff that the Accelerated Reader Award be given every month instead of the weekly basis. This will give more time to the students to read and re-read their chosen books before taking the AR Quiz. Rules and Regulations on the use of the Library Media Center were also formulation to facilitate the organized and systematic use to the media center and its facilities. Library skills and other creative and enrichment activities have been continuously carried out. Music How The Penguins Saved Christmas Santa has taken a bad fall and the penguins must save Christmas by helping him remember his identity and mission! That is the plot of this year's holiday production. On Thursday, December 13, 2007 at 6:00 PM the music department will stage "How the Penguins Saved Christmas". Please come out and join us for an evening of fun and music. P.E. The students have participated in a 2- week introductory unit of basketball skills, but this was cut one week short by the recent colder weather. During this time the students have continued to work on the events for the Marines Challenge Youth Fitness Program. There are five components to this program: Push-ups, standing long jump, sit ups, pull-ups and a 900 foot shuttle run. All classes have completed 4 of the 5 events, except for those that, due to the schedule, are just one event behind. Students are also still participating in the walking G-Watch program during non-P.E. times, and are looking forward to a large order of P.E. items to arrive at the start of the New Year. Art Hard work and good behavior really pay off! Special Kudos to these Mustangs! They were chosen to show their work at the Gadsden Galleries, and will be amongst a small group of children hearing a Guest Speaker from the Gadsden Galleries on the last Tuesday before Christmas. Aaron Wimes Jerry Barber Robert Gordon Hunter McFarland Chrystal Powell Willie Cox Dentarrius Yon Berta Valdivizeo Briuna Lodman Breshawn Thompson Atrey-U Minor Jaequwaun Foster Katelyn Dupont Brianna Lewis Imani Whitehead Melody Murray Kenyautta Johnson Trevor Andrews Chris Williams Damion Gaymon Reniya Campbell Marshall Hall Heili Trueblood Anthony Thomas December Students of the Month These students have consistently demonstrated positive conduct, respect for others, good work habits and academic success. Pre-K- JaKiya Moore & Telmetrius Hover Kindergarten-Donald Woods, Jr. First Grade-D'Madrik McQuay Second Grade-Ja'Quarious Anderson Third Grade-Jocelyn Woods Fourth Grade-Amber McMillian Fifth Grade-Jasmine Donaldson Parent Tips on Reading: What Parents Can Do ¨ Have your child read aloud to you every night. ¨ Choose a quiet place, free from distractions, for your child to do his/her nightly reading assignments. ¨ As your child reads, point out spelling and sound patterns such as cat, pat, hat. ¨ When your child reads aloud to you and makes a mistake, point out words she/he has missed and help her/him to read the word correctly. ¨ After your child has stopped to correct a word he/she has read, have him/her go back and reread the entire sentence from the beginning to make sure he/she understands what the sentence is saying. ¨ Ask your child to tell you in her/his own words what happened in a story. ¨ To check your child's understanding of what he/she is reading, occasionally pause and ask your child questions about the characters and events in the story. ¨ Ask your child why she/he thinks a character acted in a certain way and ask your child to support her/his answer with information from the story. ¨ Before getting to the end of a story, ask your child what he thinks will happen next and why.
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