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 4, Issue 3 October 4, 2013 Dr. Dorothea Fuller, Acting Principal Ms. Nichola Wallen, Assi stant Principal Our Vision: Galway Elementary School will empower students to be valued, productive members of a global society. Principally Speaking: Thoughts from Dr. Fuller on Persistence and Hard Work Author Paul Tough makes the case that persistence and grit are the biggest indicators of student success. Being resilient against failure, he says, is the fundamental quality we should be teaching children. Persistence is the ability to keep at a task even w hen it is difficult to do so. Highly per- sistent children stick w ith things even w hen they get frustrated or the tas k becomes too difficult. The ability to persist at a task and see it through to the end is one of the most important success attributes that you can develop in a child. Parents and teachers can develop persistence in children and also impede its develop- ment by making life too easy for children so that they don’t have opportunities to persist or hang in there. Parents can promote persistence by encouraging their children to keep going and not give in w hen facing a hurdle or difficult task. At Galw ay Elementary School, teachers encourage students w ith key statements, “Keep going, I believe in you, I w on’t give up on you or Your effort w ill pay off.” Another way Galw ay is helping to develop persistent students is the new Hard Work Café. Once a month, students w ill be recognized for their exemplary or hard w ork on a task, assignment, or a project. The students w ill eat lunch at a decorated table in a special place in the cafeteria w ith the principal or assistant principal. Here are four practical things parents can do to help build persistence in your children: 1. Develop a vocabulary for persistence. Words like “ Hang Tough”, “Wor k Hard” and “Hang in there” can become part of their every day vocabulary. 2. Point out to children w hen they stick at a task. Most parents know it pays off when they catch their children being good but it also pays off to catch them being persistent. Also remind them that persistence generally pays off. 3. Help children to remember times w hen they experienced success by “ Hanging In” when they w ere younger. Let them know that persistence has paid off before and it w ill again. 4. Talk about HA RD WORK w ith your children. They need to understand that to be suc- cessful they need to do things that are NOT alw ays fun or easy. While it w ould be good if all w ork and learning w as fun or easy, in reality, this is not alw ays the case. “The dictionary is the only place w here success comes before w ork. Wor k is the key to success, and hard w ork can help you accomplish anything.” Vince Lombardi UPCOMING EVENTS October 7 4:00-5:00 ( Media) School Improvement Plan (SIP) October 8 PTA (Media) 6:30 pm Principal’s Chat 7:00-8:30 pm –Meeting October 10 (Media) ESOL Parent’s Mtg 7:00-8:30 pm October 14 Open House 9:30-11:00 am Volunteer Training Room 173 11:15am-12:30pm or 6:30pm-7:45pm October 15 Individual Student Pictures Middle School Magnet Information 6:30-7:30 pm (Media) October 15 –17 Mad Science Third Grade October 17-First grade fundraiser McDonald’s at Briggs Chaney October 22-24 Mad Science Fifth Grade October 28-November 5 Fall Book Fair Media Center October 29 Author‘s Visit-Jacqueline Jules Reading Night 6:30-8:00 pm Galway Chronicle 3
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 4, Issue 3 October 4, 2013
Dr. Dorothea Fuller, Acting Principal
Ms. Nichola Wallen, Assistant Principal
Our Vision: Galway Elementary School will empower students to be valued, productive members of a global society.
Principally Speaking: Thoughts from Dr. Fuller on Persistence and Hard Work
Author Paul Tough makes the case that persistence and grit are the biggest indicators
of student success. Being resilient against failure, he says, is the fundamental quality
we should be teaching children.
Persistence is the ability to keep at a task even w hen it is diff icult to do so. Highly per-
sistent children stick w ith things even w hen they get frustrated or the task becomes too
diff icult. The ability to persist at a task and see it through to the end is one of the most
important success attributes that you can develop in a child.
Parents and teachers can develop persistence in children and also impede its develop-
ment by making life too easy for children so that they don’t have opportunities to persist or hang in there. Parents can promote persistence by encouraging their children
to keep going and not give in w hen facing a hurdle or diff icult task.
At Galw ay Elementary School, teachers encourage students w ith key statements,
“Keep going, I believe in you, I w on’t give up on you or Your effort w ill pay off.” Another
way Galw ay is helping to develop persistent students is the new Hard Work Café.
Once a month, students w ill be recognized for their exemplary or hard w ork on a task,
assignment, or a project. The students w ill eat lunch at a decorated table in a special
place in the cafeteria w ith the principal or assistant principal.
Here are four practical things parents can do to help build persistence in your
children:
1. Develop a vocabulary for persistence. Words like “Hang Tough”, “Work Hard” and
“Hang in there” can become part of their every day vocabulary.
2. Point out to children w hen they stick at a task. Most parents know it pays off when
they catch their children being good but it also pays off to catch them being persistent.
Also remind them that persistence generally pays off.
3. Help children to remember times w hen they experienced success by “Hanging In” when they w ere younger. Let them know that persistence has paid off before and it w ill
again.
4. Talk about HA RD WORK w ith your children. They need to understand that to be suc-
cessful they need to do things that are NOT alw ays fun or easy. While it w ould be good
if all w ork and learning w as fun or easy, in reality, this is not alw ays the case.
“The dictionary is the only place w here success comes before w ork. Work is the key to
success, and hard w ork can help you accomplish anything.” Vince Lombardi
UPCOMING EVENTS
October 7 4:00-5:00 (Media) School Improvement Plan (SIP) October 8 PTA (Media) 6:30 pm Principal’s Chat 7:00-8:30 pm –Meeting October 10 (Media) ESOL Parent’s Mtg 7:00-8:30 pm October 14 Open House 9:30-11:00 am Volunteer Training Room 173 11:15am-12:30pm or 6:30pm-7:45pm October 15 Individual Student Pictures Middle School Magnet Information 6:30-7:30 pm (Media) October 15 –17 Mad Science Third Grade October 17-First grade fundraiser McDonald’s at Briggs Chaney October 22-24 Mad Science Fifth Grade October 28-November 5 Fall Book Fair Media Center October 29 Author‘s Visit-Jacqueline Jules Reading Night 6:30-8:00 pm
Galway Chronicle 3
JOIN US FOR OPEN HOUSE AND PARENT
VISITATION DAY
Monday, October 14th is a special day that we wel-
come all parents to visit our class-rooms and to see
student learning in action! The Columbus Day holiday
for many parents is a “no work” day and we welcome
you to Galway Elementary. Students should come to
school on time and enter the building by 9:15 am, as
on a typical school day. Parents will wait outside or in
the main foyer until 9:30 am. This gives visitors a
chance to sign our visitor log and get a visitor sticker
before the visitation begins. Once teachers have had
time to take attendance, complete the lunch count and
get the children focused for learning, parents will join
students in the classrooms. Recess begins at 11:00 am,
and we will announce the end of our official visiting
hours at that time. We hope that you will be able to
join us anytime between 9:30am and 11:00am on
Monday, October 14, 2013 for a visit. Unfortunately,
due to space restrictions, we do not have room for par-
ents to join their child for lunch in our lunchroom.
Please remember that Open House is a day for parents
to visit the classrooms; other arrangements should be
made for the care of younger siblings and extended
family members.
Volunteer Training
Immediately following Open House, all parents inter-
ested in becoming volunteers can attend Volunteer
Training at 11:15-12:45 pm. If you are unable to
attend the day training, training will also be offered at
6:30-7:45 pm on October 14. All volunteers must attend a volunteer training at Galway. Thank you for
supporting our new procedures.
Galway Chronicle 3
Attention Parents - Important Reminder
It is very important that we have on file current up-to-
date contact and emergency information for each student
at Galway Elementary School. Please complete and re-
turn to GES your child’s Student Emergency Infor-
mation form and the Authorization to Release form that
were sent home at the beginning of the school year. It is
imperative that we have this information on file for each
child should an emergency or illness occurs. Your
prompt attention to this is greatly appreciated. Should
you need replacement forms, please contact the main
Ms. Curtis will meet with all 5th grade classes to discuss middle school magnet options and the applica-
tion process. Peace Pal applications have been reviewed and peer mediation training for selected Peace
Pals will begin this week.
MUSIC
Listen and you will hear the difference! All music classes from Kindergarten to Fifth grade are working
on musical contrasts. We are listening for contrasts in tempo, dynamics, instrument timbre, melodic
phrases and sections of a song. Of course we are singing, playing instruments and moving as well, because
as Pete the Cat would say, "It's all good."
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
In K-2 we will be starting on levels and directions next week. 3-5 we are finishing up basketball and be-
ginning soccer outside next week. Don't forget to bring sweatshirts if necessary!
ART
Many grades are reviewing the basics of painting and working with color contrasts. For example, Kinder-
garteners are finishing large Kandinsky-inspired painting, second graders are mixing tints and shades, and
fifth graders are reviewing gradients and proper brush technique. The smell of tempera is in the air!
Kindergarten News
Mrs. Harrison • Ms. Lawson • Ms. Thomas • Mrs. Walsh/Mrs. Poole Mrs. String • Ms. Rew • Ms. Grozbean • Ms. Gordon
Reminders
Please return homework journals on Fridays! Family Reading Night is Tuesday, October 29th. Our trip to Spicknall’s Farm is on Wednesday, October 30th. If you haven’t done so yet, please send in your child’s permission slip and money for the trip. The Halloween Parade will be on Thursday, October 31st from 2-2:30 pm. Classroom parties will be from 2:30-3 p.m. School will be closing early on Mon day, Nov. 11th and Tuesday, Nov. 12th for Parent-Teacher confer ences.
Spotlight on Academics
Kindergarten is moving right along! In reading, we are listening to and reading books so we can have discussions with our teachers and class-mates about story elements (characters, setting, problem, solution). Lat-er this month, we’ll determine the main idea and details of a book. In math, we are designing and explaining patterns and their units. In writing, we’re learning about writing lists, writing notes to people, gath-ering information from books and writing about it, and editing our work for capitals and punctuation. In health, we are learning about how to stay safe. This is a good oppor-tunity to talk to your child about ways they can stay safe. For example, talk with your son/daughter about what to do in case you are not there one day to get them off the school bus and where to meet in case there is a fire in your home and you need to evacuate quickly. Having emer-gency plans in place will keep everyone at ease.
Celebrations
Reading testing (mClass) is officially finished, which means we can real-ly get to work on instructing stu-dents in exactly the skills they need! Please help by reading with your child every single day…at least 20 minutes is best! Ask questions while you read to get your child thinking, too! J
Home Extensions
Let your child see you reading and writing as you go through your day. Talk about what you read and write so s/he can hear. To work on math together, choose a “number of the day” and have your child show you how s/he can make the number with things around the house—for example, collecting 6 beans or 4 magnetic letters and 2 pot-holders. Also, talk with your child about school—instead of asking, “How was your day?” ask “What was the best thing about school today?” or “Tell me one thing you learned in Kindergarten today.” These kinds of ques-tions will elicit more than a one -word response!
First Grade News
Mr. Aaronson• Mr. Morina • Ms. Lowe • Ms. Palmer
Ms. Stuart• Ms. Streit • Ms. Sullivan • Ms. Walsh
Reminders: Don’t forget to return your child’s permission slip and money for our field trip on Wednesday, October 30th to Clark’s Elioak Farm. Please join us on Thursday, Octo ber 17th from 5:30-7:30pm at the McDonald’s on Briggs Chaney for a fundraiser to raise money for the first grade class. Please be sure to check your child’s folder every day for Im- portant information from the teacher. Please make sure your child’s gui ed reading book is returned to school daily Thanks for your support!
Reading: We are continuing to read informational texts this month. We will be reviewing text features and locating them within our books and digital resources. Writing: We are working on opinion writing. The first graders are learn-ing how to introduce a topic or name of the book they are writing about,
state an opinion, and provide a closing sentence. We are also learning how to support our opinion’s with evidence from the text.
Math: We are learning how to collect, organize and represent data on different types of graphs. Over the next few weeks, the first graders will be learning how to show information on bar graphs and pictographs.
We are also continuing to work on our addition and subtraction facts. Be sure your child is practicing their basic facts at home. J
Social Studies: In October, we will be learning all about U.S. leaders and
symbols that represent the United States. The White House, U.S. flag, and bald eagle are all symbols of the United States.
Science: Beginning in October, a nutritionist from the University of Mar-yland will be visiting each first grade classroom once a month. They will be teaching us about healthy choices, food categories and ways to keep our body active.
• Mrs. Scissors• Mrs. Adler • Ms. Murphy• Mr. Szybalski
Reminders
Students must be reading for an enjoyment, a “just
right” book of their choice, every night. Their wor
sorts are to be sorted into the appropriate catego-
ries / features each night.
Parent-Teacher conferences are coming up fast,
please look for communication from teachers
about dates and times.
Spotlight on Academics
Our classes have been moving full steam ahead in their academic work. Students have been working diligently to mentally add and subtract tens and hundreds from a given three digit number. That last three weeks of the quarter will be dedicated to representing and analyzing data. The students are learning note taking skills, sentence development, and writing topic and concluding sentences for an informational text about healthy eating habits. Students have finished their mClass testing and are about to begin studying informational texts.
Notable Events in Second Grade
Students are writing to inform about healthy
eating habits. Our grade level will begin nutr-
tion education through a University of Maryland
program brought right into their classrooms.
Home Extensions
READ, READ, READ!!!!!!
Students develop a joy for reading when it is a natural part of their daily
family life. Students will read every night. They can read to an adult,
Reading for enjoyment is a time in the evening when children read just
right books. Students should be reading books they can read independ-
ently without support from an adult. If the child is experiencing frustra
tion, then choose a different book.
Sort word sorts every night. Here are some activites students can do for
home sorting.
Change A Letter: Using your words, change a letter or a word part
to create a new word. For example, cap-map, flag-flap, not-nut.
Hink Pinks: Write at least 10 rhyming words and clues.
Operations: Add or subtract letters to create new words
(confidential-confident).
SAW: Sort, Alphabetize, and Write
Word Hunt: Cut out words from a newspaper or magazine. Sort
these words into the features you are studying. Glue them down on a
sheet of paper in the sorted pattern.
Third Grade News
Mr. Albinson• Mrs. Carter • Mrs. Desai • Mrs. Jenkins • Mrs. Miller • Mrs. Newman • Ms. Riddick
Reminders Please remind your child that they a not to bring any toys, game cards, or electronic devices to school. If they
are brought to school they will be con- fiscated and a parent will have to come to school to retrieve them. Open House will be held the morning of October 14th, which is Columbus
Day.
We will be having an in-school field trip
with Mad Science on October 16th & 17th. Please remember to send in the permission slip and money. October 29th is Reading Night.
Thursday, October 31st is Halloween. November 1st there is no school.
Celebrations Thank you to all of you that have donated snacks. Please keep them coming!
Thanks also to all who participated in the Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Dough Fundraiser and helped earn money for our school!
Home Extensions We have started our community action research projects. We en-courage students to gather more resources at home on their top-
ics. One place to start is the online resources on the Media Center link on Galway’s webpage.
Spotlight on Academics Our Thinking and Academic Success Skills (TASS) are still Analysis and Collaboration. Reading- We are focusing on non-fiction. Students are analyzing texts, asking and answering questions, and distinguishing between
relevant and irrelevant details in order to understand and explain the main idea. They are also looking at the cause and effect rela-tionships within their books. Writing- We are in full swing on our community action research project. Students are gathering notes from different resources in
order to find facts that support their opinion about their topic in its importance within our community. Math- We are using repeated addition and multiplication to de-termine the area of rectangles. We will be discussing the commu-tative property as it relates to the area of rectangles. (Changing
the position of the rectangle does not change the area of the rectangle) Social Studies- We have been reviewing the voting process and
the importance of being an informed voter. We will be getting into economics as we look at goods and services provided by the government and paid for with our taxes. Science- We will continue to learn about forces as we learn about experimental design, what variables effect change such as
Ms. Ballard, Ms. Herrfurth, Ms. Jackson, Ms. Julian, Mr. Lotz,
and Ms. Smith
Science:
Our Ecosystems are thriving in the classroom. The students have had many opportuni-
ties to observe and record the changing aspects of their self-contained ecosystems.
Synthesis:
This very important skill is defined as putting parts together to build understanding of a
whole concept or to form a new or unique whole. The students are working on apply-
ing this concept across the curriculum.
Reading:
In reading our students have been increasing their ability to:
go back to the text to find examples to support answers or ideas
use background knowledge and what was learned from reading to make infer-
ences
compare firsthand and secondhand accounts of events
read various texts which include different points of view on similar events
Math:
In Math we have been busy working on the base-ten system:
add and subtract whole numbers (up to one million) using the standard algorithm
solve multiple step word problems that include addition/subtraction and determine
if the answers are reasonable
recognize that situations can be multiplication and addition comparisons
represent and solve addition comparison word problems
represent and solve multiplication comparison word problems.
use variables to represent unknown numbers
Fifth Grade News
Ms. Balfour • Ms. Panakure
Mr. Meyer • Mrs. Sita • Ms. Smith
Reminders
Please continue to sign and return learning skills as soon as possible. Progress Reports were sent home last week. If you did not receive your progress report, please be sure to request an additional copy from your students homeroom teacher. Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up! If you have not re- quested a conference time, please be sure to do so. Conferences will be held in November. Please return permission slips and field trip money for the Mad Science In-School Field trip and our trip the Strathmore (free).
Spotlight on Academics
In reading, our students are learning about Tall Tales. Students are reading Tall Tales to un-
cover elements that are exaggerated (hyperbole). Students are learning that authors use vari-
ous ways to give us important information about the characters and themes from our litera-
ture. Students will learn how to identify hyperbole in tall tales and use this information to
determine a theme presented in the text.
In math, our students are learning how to read and write numbers, including decimals, using
the Power of 10. Through investigation and guided groups, students are also learning how
place value plays an important role in understanding how decimals function as numbers. Stu-
dents will also learn how to write decimals in expanded form. Students will use their
knowledge of decimals and place value to add and subtract decimals.
In social studies, we are learning about the events that lead up to the American Revolution.
Students will have the opportunity to take a closer look at these events, discuss areas and con-
flict and comprise and multiple view points of the American Revolution.
In science, we have been researching various types of energy (biomass, wind, water, fossil
fuels, sun, etc.). Students are also learning about potential and kinetic energy. Students will
use this information to determine the best type of energy source to run a rollercoaster. This
will be used in writing a proposal for a new amusement park roller coaster.
Celebrations Congratulations to our students for a wonderful start to the school year! Congratulations to those students who applied to and were selected to participate in Galway Peace Pals and the Student Government As-sociation!
