*There will be a different format for the newsletter this year. Teachers will be alternating months submitting an article. From the Superintendent’s Office Dr. Viola LaFontaine ([email protected]) The Mott/Regent School District has been working to develop and enhance our Math, English, and Language Arts curriculum in grades k-12 as well as other academic classes such as science, social studies, vocational programs, technology, and Family and Consumer Science. The curriculum work is being done to ensure our students are ready for the 21st century. We want to have innovative learning occurring in every classroom. Innovative Learning, as we move forward in the 21st Century, will play an intricate role in education. The ability for students to build skills that are useful in a world, where jobs are information and knowledge-based is paramount. Students need to become self-directed learners with the ability to adapt. There are several guiding principles to innovative learning: 1. Students should be at the center of what happens in the classroom, recognizing learning is a social practice and can't happen alone. 2. Emotions are a necessary part of learning in the classroom and help determine a student's level of motivation to learn. 3. Students need to be challenged, but knowing just how much to challenge each student is a necessity, realizing all learners are different. 4. Assessment should be used for learning to help gauge how to effectively structure a lesson. 5. Learning needs to be connected across disciplines. Students need to know the connection between subjects and ideas in order to transfer skills and adapt to solving problems. Failure, and learning from it, should be an idea that is embraced and explored. The Curriculum Committee has been meeting twice a month to discuss innovative ideas as well as all teachers are working on their power standards, proficiency scales and rubrics for one class they teach. Mott/Regent Public School October News Volume 1, Issue 1 “Committed to Excellence in Education” 10/10/17
Transcript
*There will be a different format for the newsletter this year. Teachers will be alternating months submitting an article.
From the Superintendent’s Office Dr. Viola LaFontaine
The Mott/Regent School District has been working to develop and enhance our Math, English, and Language Arts curriculum in grades k-12 as well as other academic classes such as science, social studies, vocational programs, technology, and Family and Consumer Science. The curriculum work is being done to ensure our students are ready for the 21st century. We want to have innovative learning occurring in every classroom.
Innovative Learning, as we move forward in the 21st Century, will play an intricate role in education. The ability for students to build skills that are useful in a world, where jobs are information and knowledge-based is paramount. Students need to become self-directed learners with the ability to adapt. There are several guiding principles to innovative learning:
1. Students should be at the center of what happens in the classroom, recognizing learning is a social practice and can't happen alone.
2. Emotions are a necessary part of learning in the classroom and help determine a student's level of motivation to learn.
3. Students need to be challenged, but knowing just how much to challenge each student is a necessity, realizing all learners are different.
4. Assessment should be used for learning to help gauge how to effectively structure a lesson.
5. Learning needs to be connected across disciplines. Students need to know the connection between subjects and ideas in order to transfer skills and adapt to solving problems.
Failure, and learning from it, should be an idea that is embraced and explored.
The Curriculum Committee has been meeting twice a month to discuss innovative ideas as well as all teachers are working on their power standards, proficiency scales and rubrics for one class they
teach.
Mott/Regent Public School
October
News Volume 1, Issue 1 “Committed to Excellence in Education” 10/10/17
We are so thankful for our NEW school and new school year! The Kindergarten room is filled with excitement as we start our new year in a new school. Thanks to all the community members that helped move our furniture and to get our rooms ready so quickly.
We have 13 students in Kindergarten this year with 9 girls and 4 boys. Kindergarten school days are Monday through Thursday with 145 contact days.
Thanks to all the parents that attended Parent Teacher Conferences in September. It is very beneficial to collaborate together to help your child achieve their best success in learning.
In Language Arts we are learning book knowledge and welcome to school stories. We are learning that a WORD consists of letters and bubblegum stretching the sounds in 3 letter words. We have been eager learners as we have learned our first pool of Pathways to Reading letters. Pool one letters are: nasal sounds (m,n), squeezers (f,v,) and exploders (p,b). In our decodable readers we have learned the sight words (a, my, the, like, I). We are currently starting Word Families (-am, -at). It is exciting to see the amazed faces of the Kindergarten students when they read their first set of decodable readers! Great job, Kindergarten!
In Go Math we have finished Chapter 1, Numbers 0-5 and are currently finishing Chapter 2, Greater Than/Less Than. In Chapter 3 we will study numbers 6-10. Please help your child print these
numbers using the number rhymes sheet and help with extra practice on number reversals.
The Kindergarten students are assessed with many tools that help me as a teacher guide them into areas that helps me base individual learning targets for them. Some assessments shared with parents at P.T.C. are the Brigance Screening, AIMSweb Testing, and NWEA Fall Assessment.
To strengthen one's reading skills, it is important to be read out loud to. To help with this skill, K-6th grade participate in the WILDFIRE BOOKWORM READING PROGRAM. Our Wildfire Reading Goal is 10 books a month. What a great success for Kindergarten as all students are hitting their goal. When the child's goal sheet is brought back to school they receive a coupon and prize. We thank our community for the coupon prizes. Thanks!
Happy September/October birthdays to Emily Grist (Sept. 21) and Mrs. Roll (Oct.14).
The beginning of a new school year is always exciting. This year was super exciting as we began 2nd grade in our brand new school. We are loving our new classroom and school!
We are also thrilled to report that our class has grown. We have 20 students in our classroom and an equal number of boys and girls – 10 of each! Three students have joined our class. Welcome to Jacob Cline, Bentley Maas, and Peyton Chenoweth who are new to our class and school!
Math finds us completing our unit on numbers to 1,000. We’ve learned how to show the value of these numbers in a variety of ways and how to compare them. We’ve also focused on number patterns by counting on by fives, tens, and hundreds. Our next chapter involves addition and subtraction. We will work on adding and subtracting within twenty using a variety of strategies. Any extra practice at home would be appreciated and beneficial to help second graders become fluent in addition and subtraction.
Thanks to all the students who brought in their September Reading Logs and Book Reports. The reward was a F’real from the Mott C-Store. Yummy! October book reports and logs were sent home at the beginning of the month. Thank you to all the parents who listened to their child read and encouraged them to complete the requirements. Reading is a lifelong skill and like anything else, the more we practice, the better we get!
We listened to the Hello and Goodbye Poem by Mary Ann Hoberman. Then the students were asked to make their own Hello and Goodbye Poem saying goodbye to summer and hello to fall. The students did a fantastic job and came up with so many fabulous ideas. They are displayed in the hallway for everyone to enjoy!
We’ve had only one birthday since school has begun. Happy birthday to Peyton Chenoweth who celebrated an August 28th birthday. There were no birthdays in September to celebrate, but we do have one coming up in October. Happy birthday to Tyson Smith who will celebrate his birthday on October 30th.
Enjoy the beauty of the season of fall. Just a reminder that the temperatures fluctuate throughout his season, so it’s always a good idea to have your students bring a coat so that they are prepared for the cooler weather.
Wow! Can you believe that we are already done with our first whole month of school? I am glad to be back in the classroom after my maternity leave. I enjoyed seeing and getting to meet the parents of this super 4th grade class during parent/teacher conferences. While I was gone the students enjoyed the homecoming activities they got to attend with Mrs. Gion.
We learned about the three branches of government in North Dakota Studies and are now working on Prezi’s about North Dakota symbols.
In Reading we are working hard on learning vocabulary words.
In Math we have been working on different ways to multiply numbers including: estimating and using the distributive property. Students are given points for completing daily work, but I do make notes on their assignments so they know what they need to work on. If time, please review multiplication facts at home.
We will be finishing up Chapter 1 in Science about classifying plants and animals. Chapter 2 is about energy from plants.
Upcoming events: School pictures on Wednesday, October 11th. Quarter 1 ends on October 18th. There will be no school on October 19th and 20th for Teachers Convention.
Happy birthday to Ruby Nasset on October 5th!
Remember to keep reading at home and practicing spelling words!
Happy Fall, Y'all! Greetings from the 6th grade classroom! Our class is comprised of 15 students and we have been super busy all quarter. We were sad to see Fernando Orozco leave in early October and wish him and his family the very best.
We have been working on our first lapbook in Social Studies. Students were broken up into groups and spent more than a week researching a selected continent! The groups are just finishing up their lapbooks now and we are on to our next unit on "Early People."
We completed our first lab in Science. The Bubbles Lab taught students how to use the scientific method by measuring bubbles from three different solutions, compiling the data, and writing a report. We are now working on a unit on cells. Be watching for a cell project soon! This is an "at home" project and students will have about two weeks to complete it.
Language Arts is going well! The class has been writing and learning about subjects, predicates, and singular/plural forms. Please remind your students to be studying for the spelling and vocabulary tests that are each Thursday. Their Comprehension, Decoding, and Grammar tests are always on Friday unless noted.
We have produced three projects so far in Art - a zentangle hand portrait, "I can't imagine my life without..." poster, and a zentangle locker decoration. Please stop by our hallways and classrooms to check these out! Our current project is a color wheel motif. I'm pretty excited to see how these turn out!
Please check out our class website for weekly updates on the Mott-Regent Wildfire home page. Click on "Grades k-6 Classrooms" and then "6th Grade."
Ten two-letter words to live by: If it is to be, it is up to me!
In Title 1 Reading, the main focus for grades K-3 students is the Pathways to Reading program. This program focuses on the phonic sounds including mouth positions to say the sounds to build words. We are into a solid routine of saying the sounds and building words using magnetic letters. Grades 4-6 are working on reading skills, fluency and comprehension, plus once a week we typically practice the spelling word list from the classroom.
In Title 1 math we are working on the skills currently being taught in the regular classroom. Fact practice needs repeated practice. Please take the time to set up and reinforce a regular homework routine to practice needed skills.
The Title 1 Schoolwide Annual Parent Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 10 at 3:30pm in the Elementary Conference Room. A letter was sent out to each family inviting you to this meeting. We hope to see you there.
The DPI has given a website to promote good study habits for children. To access this study guide go to: http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/title1/targeted/require/parent/guide.pdf
This study guide suggests a regular study time, a regular study place and a regular procedure to follow during the study time. The study guide also gives some guidelines and a sample plan to help make the study time work for your child.
As many of you know, I am an optimist…but also a realist. Most days I find it easy to find the good in things and life; however, sometimes life can seem overwhelming with all the struggles and challenges it presents. Even the most optimistic person can have their moments of doubt of how to see the “good” when hardships come into our lives, such as illness/injury, death, or surmounting stress due to expectations or commitments put on us by ourselves or others. This is recently where I found myself…then a wise young man reminded me how there is ALWAYS good in everything, we just don’t always SEE it right away.
With that being said, I would like to share some quotes I found to help me ‘re-find’ the GOOD in things…
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. Train your mind to see the good in everything. ~ Unknown ~
Being in the hospital is a downer, but there is good in everything, you are being served breakfast in bed. ~ Unknown ~
A true friend sees the good in everything, and brings out the best in the worst of things. ~ Sasha Azevedo ~
My illness has taught me something about the nature of humanity, love, brotherhood and relationships that I never understood, and probably never would have. So, from that standpoint, there is some truth and good in everything.
~ Lee Atwater ~
Be good to yourself and make your mind to see good in everything. ~ Anil Sinha ~
What a difference a year can make. Last year the view from our room was quite different than it is now. If you haven't had an opportunity to visit our wonderful facility, please do so in the near future. Our communities have paved the way for ensuring the future of our young people. Thank you to all who worked so tirelessly to see this project through from start to finish.
The sophomore class has accomplished much in our short time together. Writing, analyzing literature, discussions, and learning to understand opposing viewpoints have been the order of business. We are also using technology to communicate our beliefs. To say I'm impressed with their ability would be an understatement. Stay tuned for the great things we will continue to achieve.
Did you see the AWESOME float the 8th graders had at homecoming? Working together for a common goal is a strength of this group. We just finished the story "Flowers for Algernon". The students were asked at the beginning of the story which would they rather be--the most popular student in the school or the smartest student in the school. The discussions generated throughout the reading of the story challenged them all to walk in someone else's shoes and look at the kind of person they are and who they want to be. We will continue to build upon the skills we learned last year. This class continues to amaze me every day.
October is College Application Month. On October 13th, the Bank of ND will cover the fees on applications that seniors submit to any ND college. We also have a couple of colleges stopping by to visit with the juniors and seniors. BHSC was here October 5th and Jamestown College will be here October 25th.
Juniors and Seniors
On October 4th, the juniors and seniors were fortunate enough to attend Manufacturing Day in Dickinson. They had a chance to visit with representatives from Fisher Industries, Steffes, Baker Boy, Killdeer Mountain Manufacturing and TMI. They learned about the different companies, what they do and what they make. There were also reps from NDSU, DSU and BSC. It was a great opportunity for the students to get some ideas on what they want to do in the future.
FBLA
Fourteen members of the Mott/Regent High School Future Business Leaders of
America (FBLA) chapter attended the ND FBLA Fall Leadership Conference in Bismarck on October 1 and 2. About 450 FBLA members and advisers from across the state participated in this conference where the emphasis was on developing the leadership skills of local chapter members.
Members attending the conference had the opportunity to participate in sessions that focused on leadership development, learning from failure, and using humor. In addition, chapters had an opportunity to work together in developing a program of activities for the year that focused on state and national FBLA programs.
FBLA is a professional organization for students interested in pursuing business careers. This year’s theme “Elevate Your Future,” reflects the mission and goals that FBLA members strive to achieve. North Dakota FBLA members are some of the best and brightest of today’s young people. FBLA’s mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relationship through innovative leadership and career development programs. To learn more, visit
who are absent during the day will be available after
2:00 p.m. This will give the teacher time to get the
assignments and books ready for you.
The following policy will be followed for
attendance:
leave before 10:00 AM -- full day absent
leave after 10:00 AM -- 1/2 day absent
leave before 2:00 PM -- 1/2 day absent
leave after 2:00 PM -- not absent
School starts at 8:23 AM and ends at 3:17 PM.
West River Health Services &
Southwest District Health Unit
Flu Shots October 18th
If you have a message for your child, please
call the school as early as possible.
With winter approaching,
please be sure your child is
properly dressed for the
weather. Caps, mittens,
boots, and snow pants make recess
more enjoyable when it is cold.
Students bringing sack lunches need to have them packed with their own cold packs. There is no refrigeration available for sack lunches as food service regulations do not allow them to be placed in the lunch room refrigerators.
