Galway Chronicle The Galway Pledge : We pledge to respect one another, to be trustworthy and fair. We will care about each other, and be good citizens. Above all else, I will take responsibility for my actions, in a quest to build a better you…and a better me. Volume 8 Issue 10 February 2, 2018 Dorothea Fuller, Principal Nichola Wallen, Assistant Principal Our Vision: Galway Elementary School will empower students to be valued, productive members of a global society. Principally Speaking: “Closed for Inclement Weather?” I want to provide you with an update on the school calendar for the remainder of the school year. As you know, recent inclement weather forced Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to close schools on two days (January 4 and January 17). The 2017-2018 MCPS school calendar includes 182 instruction days, two above the mini- mum required in the state of Maryland. Therefore, our two weather closures can be absorbed without a modification to the calendar. However, any additional school closures for emergency weather will result in the need to use one or all of the designated make-up days in the MCPS school calendar to ensure we meet the State-required number of days. Below is the order in which days will be used: If there is one more emergency weather closure, then the school year will be extended by one day on June 13, 2018. If there are two more emergency weather closures, then the school year will be extended to June 14, 2018. If there are three more emergency weather closures, then the school year will be extended to June 15, 2018. (Note: By State law, MCPS cannot extend the school year past June 15). If there are four more emergency weather closures, then March 26, 2018 will be used as a make-up day (the first day of Spring Break). If there are five more emergency weather closures, then March 27, 2018 will be used as a make-up day (the second day of Spring Break). f the school year extends beyond June 12, then June 12 will become a full day of instruction and the new last day of school will be an early release day for stu- dents. Inclement weather conditions have caused Montgomery County to issue several hy- pothermia alerts this year due to the extremely cold weather. I have to give a special salute to Mr. VanDemark who volunteers everyday at arrival and dismissal. He helps with the buses despite the freezing temperatures and is always here for late open- ings, early closings or just a regular days. Mr. VanDemark no longer has children at Galway, but continues to serve our school as if he was a parent. Many people think he is a staff member, but he is even more. He is a committed community member who makes our job easier each day. When you see him out front, thank him for his service of love. He is another example of why Galway Elementary is a wonderful place to work. “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” Dr. Mae Jemison, first African-American female astronaut Galway Chronicle 10 UPCOMING EVENTS February 5-9 -National School Counseling Week February 6 -Incoming 6th Grade Parent Meeting Briggs Chaney Middle 7:00-8:30 pm February 8 -1st & 2nd grade FT-Port Discovery -Report Cards Distributed -Family Math Night 6:30-8:00 pm February 12-16 -Jump Rope for Heart February 14 -Valentine Celebrations 2:45-3:30 February 15 -Blake Children’s Theater-1st & 2nd February 16 -Black History Literacy Day February 19 -School’s Closed-Presidents’ Day February 20 -PTA Chef’s Night Out February 22 -5th Grade FT-United States Capitol February 27 -HardWork Café February 28 -African American Quiz Bowl 9:45 am
Transcript
Galway Chronicle
The Galway Pledge : We pledge to respect one
another, to be trustworthy and fair. We will care about each other, and be good citizens. Above all else, I will take responsibility for my actions, in a quest to build a better you…and a better me.
Volume 8 Issue 10 February 2, 2018
Dorothea Fuller, Principal
Nichola Wallen, Assistant Principal
Our Vision: Galway Elementary School will empower students
to be valued, productive members of a global society.
Principally Speaking: “Closed for Inclement Weather?” I want to provide you with an update on the school calendar for the remainder of the school year. As you know, recent inclement weather forced Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to close schools on two days (January 4 and January 17). The 2017-2018 MCPS school calendar includes 182 instruction days, two above the mini-mum required in the state of Maryland. Therefore, our two weather closures can be absorbed without a modification to the calendar. However, any additional school closures for emergency weather will result in the need to use one or all of the designated make-up days in the MCPS school calendar to ensure we meet the State-required number of days. Below is the order in which days will be used:
If there is one more emergency weather closure, then the school year will be extended by one day on June 13, 2018.
If there are two more emergency weather closures, then the school year will be extended to June 14, 2018.
If there are three more emergency weather closures, then the school year will be extended to June 15, 2018. (Note: By State law, MCPS cannot extend the school year past June 15).
If there are four more emergency weather closures, then March 26, 2018 will be used as a make-up day (the first day of Spring Break).
If there are five more emergency weather closures, then March 27, 2018 will be used as a make-up day (the second day of Spring Break).
f the school year extends beyond June 12, then June 12 will become a full day of instruction and the new last day of school will be an early release day for stu-dents.
Inclement weather conditions have caused Montgomery County to issue several hy-pothermia alerts this year due to the extremely cold weather. I have to give a special salute to Mr. VanDemark who volunteers everyday at arrival and dismissal. He helps with the buses despite the freezing temperatures and is always here for late open-ings, early closings or just a regular days. Mr. VanDemark no longer has children at Galway, but continues to serve our school as if he was a parent. Many people think he is a staff member, but he is even more. He is a committed community member who makes our job easier each day. When you see him out front, thank him for his service of love. He is another example of why Galway Elementary is a wonderful place to work.
“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” Dr. Mae Jemison, first African-American female astronaut
UPCOMING EVENTS
Galway Chronicle 10
UPCOMING EVENTS
February 5-9 -National School Counseling Week February 6 -Incoming 6th Grade Parent Meeting Briggs Chaney Middle 7:00-8:30 pm February 8 -1st & 2nd grade FT-Port Discovery -Report Cards Distributed -Family Math Night 6:30-8:00 pm February 12-16 -Jump Rope for Heart February 14 -Valentine Celebrations 2:45-3:30 February 15 -Blake Children’s Theater-1st & 2nd February 16 -Black History Literacy Day February 19 -School’s Closed-Presidents’ Day February 20 -PTA Chef’s Night Out February 22 -5th Grade FT-United States Capitol February 27 -HardWork Café February 28 -African American Quiz Bowl 9:45 am
Galway Chronicle 10
FAMILY MATH NIGHT FEBRUARY 8 6:30-800
Math Games Jeopardy Games Estimation Jars Coding Photo Booth Engineering Room
Join us for a night of fun and math. PTA will be selling pizza and refreshments National School Counseling Week February 5-9 “School Counseling: Helping Students Reach for the Stars” Thank our counselors, Dr. Ham and Ms. Cruz for all they do to support our students through classroom guidance lessons, small group and individual counseling.
Jump Rope for Heart-February 12-February 16 Jump Rope For Heart will be taking place this week during your child’s Physical Education class. We are thrilled to be supporting The American Heart Association to help teach our students how to take care of their hearts and raise funds to help support the heart association's research and education initiatives that save lives in our community.
Valentine’s Day Celebration Our Valentine’s Day celebrations will begin at 2:45p.m. on Wednesday, February 14. Individual teachers will share grade level specifics in their weekly newsletters. As a reminder, only store bought food items made in NUT FREE facto-ries/bakeries may be served in classrooms.
Foreign Language Classes-Session II Spanish-Wednesday, February 14
French-Thursday, February 15 Register Now!
Briggs Chaney Middle School’s Incoming 6th Grade Parent Information Night
Tuesday, February 6, 2018 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. BCMS Cafeteria
Art In visual arts will be focusing our
attention on simple perspective in
Kindergarten through 2nd grade using
size and placement to create the
illusion of space.
In 3rd through 5th grade we will
experiment with perspective by
incorporating overlapping shapes,
value studies of color and linear
perspective as we study different
artists for inspiration.
Media Center During the month of February, we
will be hosting a book cafe in the
library. Students will be invited to
“taste” books from different genres.
We will also look at book reviews
and book trailers, as a way to learn
about books we might want to read.
Physical Education We are excited to announce that Galway will be participating in Jump Rope
for Heart the week of February 12th – February 16th. Students will learn
how to take care of their hearts through physical activity while making a
difference in the lives of others. More information will be sent home
with students in their Friday Folders on February 2nd.
Music Kindergarten music students are busy listening and moving to songs to
discover the melodic direction, or the way the notes are moving up and
down.
1st graders will be reading simple pitch and rhythm patterns on so-mi and
quarter and beamed eighth notes.
2nd Grade students are improvising short melodic and rhythmic phrases on
classroom instruments like xylophones, triangles, drums and maracas.
3rd Grade students are reading and performing melodies on the notes G, A
and B.
4th Graders are notating short rhythmic phrases from dictation.
5th graders are working on identifying differences in two performances of
Studies In science, we will learn about types of animals and their habitats. We will learn more about external features of animals and how their external features help different animals survive. Do you think a polar bear would survive in the desert? In Social Studies, we will explore resources used to make products. We will also identify jobs in the community and the special skills needed to perform the jobs. Did you know that being a student is a job? Ask your child about why being a student is an important job in school.
The new year is starting off wonderfully. Our winter testing windows are coming to a close and we just entered the last half of the school year! Let’s get to work and achieve our goal! In reading, the students are reading and analyzing stories. The students are retelling stories by identifying the key details. The students will also be comparing experiences or actions of characters. We will get back into informational text at the end of the third marking period and focus on asking and answering questions and making real life connections between words and their use.
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In math, the student’s will be working on geometry. We will be describing and comparing 2-D and 3-D shapes. We will continue to work on counting by ones and tens to 100 and decomposing numbers. The students will also learn how to analyze a word story problem in order to develop an understanding of that they need to do to solve the problem.
Writing In writing, the students just started a new unit. The students are writing how-to books. They are going to become experts on how to complete a certain task, and teach someone how to complete the task through writing. The students are very excited and eager to write how-to books. Ask your child what they are
writing about!
First Grade News
Mrs. Lusby• Mrs. Kozen • Ms. Mattern • •Mr. Jackson • Ms. Pritchard • Ms. Palmer •Mrs. Jones
February 8 – First and second
grade Fieldtrip to Port Discover Museum. If you are a planning to be a chaperone please make sure you complete the required, Child Abuse and Neglect training.
Valentine’s Day Parties will be held Wednesday, February 14th from 2:30-3:30.
Please be sure to check your child’s folder every day for important information from their teacher
Don’t forget to check and sign the behavior calendar in your child’s homework folder every night
Please make sure you complete your child’s math fluency task, and reading log each night.
Reading: This month we will be reading informational texts. Students will be using illustrations and details from the text to describe key ideas. We will also continue asking and answering questions about the text. Some helpful questions to ask your child while reading: What do you see? Which details from the text are important? How do all of these important details fit together? How has your thinking changed as a result of reading the text?
Writing: This month we will continue writing opinion pieces. Students will select a topic or book, state an opinion, provide reasons for the opinion, and a give a sense of closure.
Math: This month we will be working on measurement. Students will describe, compare and order the length of three objects. We will also be measuring the length of objects using nonstandard objects. Nonstandard objects include: counting bears, paper clips and snap cubes. Social Studies: This month we are learning about geography. Students will observe and describe a variety of natural and human-made objects found in the school environment. Our first graders will also learn to use geographic tools to locate and describe the human characteristics of a place. Science: This month our first graders are learning to identify the many different materials that make up natural and human made objects in our environment. Students will observe, compare and record these materials.
THIRD GRADE NEWS
February 2018
REMINDERS: February 8- Report Card Distrbution February 19- School Closed CELEBRATIONS:
Third graders were focused and persistent during the Map-M and Map-R tesing during the last two weeks of January!
Have fun with fractions! Practice fractions on a number line with your child!
SPOTLIGHT ON ACADEMICS READING:
During marking period 3, students will compare common themes or important points in texts. Students will read literature from the following genres: historical fiction, a subset of realistic fiction, and literary nonfiction, a genre of informational text. Students will study how authors share real and imagined experiences. They will examine how change affects people and their relationships. WRITING: During marking period 3, students will learn the art of persuasion. Students will create persuasive speeches of their own on an issue that is important to them. These speeches will be shared with the Galway Families. SCIENCE: During marking period 3, students will continue to develop their understanding of heat production and transfer in the Measurement Topic of Physical Sciences. Students will begin week 1 by investigating sources of heat, and during weeks 2–4 they will identify and describe burning, friction, and electricity as methods of heat production. MATH: During marking period 3, instruction with fraction concepts will continue to build throughout the marking period. In weeks 1–4, students will develop a deep conceptual understanding of the size of a fraction, the number and size of parts that compose a fraction, and the location of a fraction on the number line. Students will also apply their understanding of unit fractions and extend their understanding of fractions as numbers as they locate, count, and represent fractional lengths on a number line diagram. SOCIAL STUDIES:
During marking period 3, students will study elements of multicultural settings. In weeks 2-4, students will construct and interpret maps to locate and expand their understandings about places on the Earth: North America, Maryland, and the United States. Students will then compare elements of culture and examine how people from different cultures meet their needs. The locations selected for this study are the United States and Mexico City today and the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan.
SPOTLIGHT ON ACADEMICS Our Thinking and Academic Success Skills (TASS) for Marking Period 3 are EVALUATION and METACOGNITION READING: Early in the marking period, students read Greek myths and describe the relationship between characters and the setting of a story, compare the treatment of similar themes, and make connections between the text and visual representation of a myth. Students will continue to refer to the text when explaining what a text says explicitly and implicitly and summarize the text in order to determine theme. WRITING: During marking period 3, students use the writing process to compose poetry and research and publish an informative piece about a social studies or science topic. SCIENCE: Students build upon their understandings of the environment from marking period 2 by observing weather patterns and trends in their own environment and comparing these weather conditions to those of other regions. Students will develop and use tools to observe local weather conditions. MATH: Students learn the terms factor and multiple. They multiplicatively decomposed whole numbers 1–100 into factor pairs in order to develop the understanding that a whole number is a multiple of each of its factors. Students also classify numbers as prime or composite. Students extend their understandings of fraction equivalence and ordering from Grade 3. As students model and generate equivalent fractions, they develop the understanding that partitioning each unit fraction into smaller equal parts can be represented by multiplying the numerator and denominator of a fraction by the same number. Students use a variety of strategies, including reasoning with benchmark fractions and creating common denominators or common numerators, to compare two fractions with unlike numerators and denominators. SOCIAL STUDIES: During this marking period students’ learning experiences focus on the cultures of early European societies of North America. Students develop their skills in the area of evaluation and metacognition as they conduct historical investigations and implement skills used by historians to develop understandings of events and people.
Fifth Grade
Happy February and welcome to marking period 3!
In reading, students are exploring figurative
language and themes in poetry. We will also be exploring graphic novels this month. As always,
students will be learning reading strategies that will
support them when reading a variety of texts.
Students are on their way to becoming even more skilled as opinion writers! In marking period 3,
students will follow a series of lessons to make a
claim and write a strong argumentative essay about
an issue of their choosing.
In grade 5 math, we are multiplying fractions. We
started with multiplying fractions by whole numbers
and will move into multiplying fractions by other
fractions. As we work toward using an algorithm,
the students will construct models and use number lines to demonstrate conceptual understanding of
the process.
*Please continue to support students in studying
multiplication and division facts at home!
In the compacted 5/6 math class, we will be
extending the number line to consider positive and
negative integers and learning the rational number
system.
With our new science curriculum, students will be
engineering their own satellites called CubeSats!
This hands-on learning will cause students to learn about the criteria and constraints that people must
consider when making CubeSats to send into space.
In social studies, our focus is on geography. We will
