OCTOBER

5 PTO meeting; 1 0:00 6 Early Release and Storybook Parade 9 School Holiday 11 Boosterthon Pep Rallies 12 4th Grade to Fine Arts Program at

the Pavillion 20 Boosterthon Fun Run 23-27 Storybook Pumpkins Red Ribbon Week 27 Bulldog Best Pop Party; 2:15 Trunk or treat; 6:00—8:00 pm ,

NOVEMBER

1-10 Book fair 2 4th grade program and open house PTO meeting; 1 0:00 7 Election Day 10 Veteran's Day program 11 Mother and Son Dance 14 BWE Spirit Day at Crust 17 Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast Bulldog Best Pop Party; 2:15 20-24 Thanksgiving Break

October 2017 Volume 9, Issue 2

Kindergarten

Caleb Brieden Lillian Hammond

Aniyah Carter Brady Kuentz

Jackson Koski Keatyn Peltier

Teagan Frantz Christian Trewhella

Karina Kouju Ella Todd

Gregorio Rueda Danielle Prettol

Jurrell Williams Everleigh Longoria

Madeline Dees Maya Yallambalse

Mary Grace Todd Drew Heiken

First Grade

Emma Foli

Luke Tanner Bridget Corpuz

Nathan Cooray Reese Friday

Ridge Lumpkin William Carruth

Addison Watts Kinley Seminiano

Anthony Guerrieri Landon Reed

Anna Anifalaje Lily Easterwood

Ayden Jaradi Adriana Jewell

Andrew Velasco Elise Mauk

Brenden Kemp Winston Bacle

Addison Zaremba

Second Grade

Cayla Cruz Mira Charlie Stephens

Giselle Ramirez Noah Payne

Cole King

Avery Foxhoven

Audrey Wilson Sebastian Jonas

Zoey Blackwell Genevieve Small

Ali Hashemi Aubrey Ames

Caden Provo Kaylee Smitherman

Asher Hairell Baily Cowart

Third Grade

Koen Spahr Sydney Winslow

James Pinegar Birdie Bacle

Lillian Moore Cru Scott

Jane Blackburn Bradie Dick

Charlotte Smith Benjamin Wilks

Caden McDaniel Karissa Simmons

Alexis Guerrieri Charlie Molliendo

Achsah Zanders Jacob Zufelt

Avery Latta Caleb Dickerson

Jacob Sanchez Bryce Coleman

Fourth Grade

Maggie Carter

Gavin Richards Cole Elizondo

Avery Powitzky Tyler Calder

Morgan Mauk Adrienne Byrd

Zoe Harris Isaac Smith

Presslie Vick Chase Bradley

Meghan Bowers Mariah Fiol

Harry Bexfield

Kate Weninger Boaz Zanders

Lukas Bates Cassidy Williams

Congratulations to our Bulldog Best Winners September — RESPECT

Page 2

BOOSTERTHON

Fun Run News

Boosterthon is Coming!

We are kicking off our 2017-2018 Boosterthon with a student pep rally on Oc-

tober 11!The students will enjoy getting information on this year’s theme—

Castle Quest. Castle Quest is an English castle theme about being brave and liv-

ing with character. Students will learn the “SIX VIRTUES of a TRUE HERO” from

a cast of colorful characters. They are going to LOVE this story!

Boosterthon is BWE’s only fundraiser for the year. It is a fun run where stu-

dents get pledges from family and friends for each lap they run. Not only does it

raise money for our school, but it promotes fun, fitness, character and commu-

nity. Part of our funds that we raise are also giving back to help with relief from

Hurricane Harvey. Our Fun Run event is on October 20.

Pep Rally Schedule:

1:00 1st grade, 3rd grade, Pre-K, PPCD

2:00 Kindergarten, 2nd grade, 4th grade

Fun Run Schedule:

8:30 2nd grade, Pre-K, PPCD

9:30 3rd grade,

10:30 1st grade

12:30 4th grade

1:30 Kindergarten, Pre-K, PPCD

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N.E.A.T. News

Parents,

Did you know studies show that missing just 10 percent or more

of school, whether absences are excused or unexcused, predicts

lower levels of numeracy and literacy by third grade, class failure

in middle school, higher levels of suspension, higher likelihood of

high school dropout and lower levels of persistence in college?

Chronic absence is problematic starting in preschool and kinder-

garten. (www.attendanceworks.org)

At BWE, we are off to a great start! Last year at this time, we were

at 97% here and this year we are at 98%!

Our goal is to stay above 98%.

Remember that attendance matters

Every Student

Every Day

All Day Long

Conroe ISD Check Acceptance Policy

In the event that a check is written to Birnham Woods Elementary, Cafeteria, or District Office is returned un-paid by your bank, Conroe ISD or its agent (PAYTEK SOLUTIONS) will redeposit your check electronically. Ad-

ditionally, you understand and agree that we may electronically collect a returned check fee of $30.00 plus appli-

cable sales tax. The use of a check for payment is your acknowledgement and acceptance of this policy and its terms. You may reach PAYTEK SOLUTIONS at (800)-641-9998.

More News

Never Ever Absent or Tardy

Page 4

CLINIC NEWS

Nurse’s Notes

Dana Fisher, RN

School Nurse

832-663-4209

We are currently completing vision and hearing screens in the nurse ’s office. Screen-ing will continue through the beginning of December. If your student has difficulty passing the far vision screen or the hearing screen test, a referral letter will be sent home to notify you of those results. If you receive a vision or hearing referral form, please contact your student’s doctor for a professional exam.

Please make sure that you provide your student with a change of clothing to keep in their backpack. This will cover spills, mud, and bathroom accidents that may happen during the school day. As the weather changes, consider updating the clothing to fit the season.

As we head into the beginning of flu season, please remember that all medications, including cough drops, must be signed into the clinic by an adult/parent. Students may not carry medicine to or from school at any time. This is for the safety of all of our students. If you have questions regarding medications at school, you can find all the details in the student handbook or call me anytime to discuss.

Pre-K

We are going full swing here in Pre-Kindergarten. We will be working on some fun Fall activities to honor the new season. We have learned about homes and families and are currently learning about safety and health, including good eating habits. Letter, shape, and number identification 0 - 9 will be ongoing skills that will be taught throughout the year. We would like for all students to practice writ-ing their name daily. Practice at home is highly encouraged.

We have had a wonderful start to Kindergarten! October will bring more fun and excitement as we

will have our Boosterthon Fun Run and our Story Book Character Parade. This month in kindergar-ten, some of the things that we will be learning about are: Fiction in our Genre Study for Language

Arts, in Math we will be working with nickels, numbers 6-10 and continue counting to 100. We are excited that our Writer’s Workshop units of writing are going very well, as we are becoming writers

and authors. Thank you awesome families for all of the support you have shown us so far in rein-forcing school rules and by continuing to practice letter names/sounds and sight words daily. Some

other things to work on: pencil grip, writing their first name with only an uppercase letter (Capital) at

the beginning, recognizing numbers 0-20, and tying shoes! We are so excited about having our new Bulldogs grow and excel this school year, and we thank you for being our partners in your

child’s education.

Kindergarten

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Pa

First Grade

First Grade Bulldogs, we can’t believe how quickly September flew by! October is go-ing to be an action-packed month full of learning and fun activities! In Math we will be focusing on place value and Geometry. We will be learning about about heat, light, and sound energy in Science. In Social Studies we will be learning about maps and globes and how they can help us in our world. We are continuing to write personal narrative stories in Writing. Our exciting unit on Fairy Tales will start this month. This is a favorite of first grade, and we can’t wait to share this with you and your child!

October events lead off with the Character Parade! This will take place on Friday, Oc-tober 6th. Haveyour child start thinking about their favorite book and the character they will want to dress up as. We can’t wait to see all the great characters! You won’t want to miss it! Monday, October 9th is a holiday, and there will be no school. Enjoy this three-day weekend with your family and friends. When we return, we kick off Booster-thon! Be watching your child’s folder for more information and details. This is a great time for adults to volunteer with PTO and students to help raise money for a good cause! Our Fun Run will be on October 20th. Friday, October 6th is also the end of the 1st grading period! Parent Access will allow you to stay up-to-date with their progress since progress reports. Feel free to contact your child ’s teacher with any questions.

As the fall weather changes, or remains the same, please make sure to be dressing

your child for the weather. Mornings may be cool, but afternoons may be dramatically

warmer. Also, some classrooms may be on the cool side for some with the AC. Layers

are the best way to go with an easy-to-remove jacket, hoodie, or sweater. They are

physically active and outdoors at all times during the day with active start (7:35), PE

(8:45), wiggle break (10:45), recess (12:30), and dismissal (3:05).

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Second Grade

Fourth Grade “Top Dogs”

Third Grade

We are glad to be back in the swing of things! Here is a look at what we will be covering in Octo-ber. For reading, we will wrap up our fiction unit and start on our informational text. In writing, stu-dents will continue working on their personal narratives, or small moment stories, and then move to procedural text. For social studies, we will be covering geography and government. In math, we are going to start our addition and subtraction unit and move into our personal financial literacy unit. For science, we will continue looking at matter and the effects of heat and cooling. We are looking forward to the Fun Run on October 20th!

October will be a very exciting month in fourth grade full of learning and fun! In reading, we are en-joying fiction stories and identifying story elements as well as point of view and theme. Our writers are working hard on personal narratives, focusing on writing strong leads and powerful endings. In social studies, we are learning about the four regions of Texas and the Native American Indians of each region. Properties of matter and how matter changes will be the focus this month in science. In math, we are working on place value. Also, addition and subtraction with whole numbers and decimals. There are many exciting events this month as well for our Bulldogs. Our school wide sto-rybook parade is October 6th. We will be enjoying a performance by the Houston Symphony at the Cynthia Woods Pavilion to introduce our Top Dogs to the fine arts and various orchestra instru-ments on October 12th. Please join us for the Boosterthon Fun Run this month on October 20th and cheer on your Top Dog as they participate in our annual fundraiser. It is always a great time!

Who’s ready for October? Second graders are definitely ready for what is in store this month. In math we are working on strategies used to solve word problems as well as continuing to work on number patterns and place value to 600. We will also learn how to count coins up to a dollar. Mat-ter matters in science. Second grade scientists will finish up our unit of matter with ways to change the physical properties of matter (cutting, heating, folding, and cooling) and how to combine mate-rials to do things each material cannot do alone. Next we will move on to forms of energy, includ-ing light, heat, and sound. Social studies will move on to studying geography. We will learn about the components of maps and globes and identify the continents and oceans. At the end of the month we will begin our government unit. Second graders are continuing to expand their writing with personal narratives. Students are expected to write details to bring their stories to life. In read-ing, students will begin reading texts that have a story format like fiction text, but are non-fiction (also called Literary Non-Fiction). The next unit will be on Informational (non-fiction) text.

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Music classes are marching along as we continue to learn about the world of mu-sic. Fourth grade students have begun preparing for their Patriotic program, "America, We Sing" that will be presented Thursday, November 2nd at 6:00 PM. The grade level open house will follow the fourth grade program. The fourth grade honor choir will be performing for the Veteran's Day program on Friday, November, 10th. The program will be presented at 8:30 AM. Honor choir is cur-rently meeting every Thursday morning at 7:20 AM. The third grade students are reviewing music terminology as well as learning musical games to different styles of music. Kindergarten through second grade music students have been working on comparing our heartbeat to the steady beat of music. They are also learning about different styles of "voices" to use for different songs and activities. In addi-tion, students are learning about composers and how to play rhythm instruments using the formation of drum circles.

We have had the best time in art making our Henri Rousseau jungle! We are about to hang up our tigers, monkeys, elephants, and toucans to display them.

On Saturday, September 9th, we had our district open house that showcases the piec-es chosen that will be hanging in our administration building for the school year. Con-gratulations again to these students who had work chosen: Garett Maier, Elena Onyekwelu, Anabelle Perez. Ava Romero, Lydia Bench, Corynn Barnes, Hannah Al-varenga, Isabella Banales, and Tamila Pavlova.

Our next focus will be on our western art. Each grade level will be doing a different western/Texas themed piece of art in anticipation of our Western Art show in January that is in association with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This is usually one of the students' favorite pieces from the year and a lot of time and effort goes into each piece.

Thank you for continued support of our art program!

MUSIC

ART

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LIBRARY "Fall Into a Great Book" during the month of October! The BWE Library will begin our Bulldog Bingo Reading Program at the beginning of October. Students in Grades Kinder-4th Grade are invited to read books of various types and record their reading on the grade level appropriate Bulldog Bingo Reading form. For each Bingo earned, students will bring their Bingo cards to the library to be viewed by Mrs. McDon-ald. Each Bingo will earn a special Scratch-n-Sniff Bookmark and a chance to win a FREE book from our November Book Fair. Bulldog Bingo will begin October 2, 2017 and will end February 9, 2018. Note: Book Titles can only be recorded one time to be eligible to earn a Bin-go. Readers need to be sure book titles represent the category listed in each Bingo box. BWE Bulldogs and their families can also celebrate reading with two special events in October! Join us for our 9th Annual Storybook Character Parade on Friday, October 6th. To kick off "We Choose to be Readers" Day, our students are invited to dress as their favorite storybook character for our parade. After the parade, grade levels will enjoy "We Choose to be Readers" activities sponsored by your classroom teach-ers. For more information about the Storybook Character Parade, please contact your classroom teacher for details. Finally, your family is invited to celebrate books by participating in our 9th annual Sto-rybook Pumpkin Patch. As a family, decorate the pumpkin for display in the Birnham Woods Storybook Pumpkin Patch. Pumpkins must look like a favorite book character. Halloween pumpkins will not be placed on display in our Storybook Pumpkin Patch.To decorate—use paper, glue, paint, markers, pipe cleaners, fabric, or other craft items. PLEASE DO NOT CUT OR POKE HOLES IN THE PUMP-KINS!!!!! Bring your child’s decorated storybook pumpkin to the Birnham Woods Li-brary Monday, October 23 by 9:00 a.m. Please label your pumpkin with your child ’s name, the name of your child’s teacher, the storybook character's name, and the title of the book. Pumpkins will be displayed in the library October 23-27. Be sure to visit the Story-book Pumpkin Patch throughout the week. If you would like to have your story-book pumpkin back at the end of the week, you will need to pick it up by 1:00 p.m. Friday, October 27. Pumpkins left after 1:00 p.m. will have to be sent to the trash. Thank you for your support of the BWE Library! We hope to see you during the month of October as we "Fall Into Great Books"!

Page 10

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

. Each grade level did a different style of

Harold

First and second graders are doing a beginning of the year color study. We are focusing on primary

Third grade has started a unit on Georges Seurat and pointillism. They will use their pointillism skills

mation went home from PTO about the contest. The last day to turn in a submission to PTO is Octo-

The PE program at Birnham Woods Elementary is going full speed. The students have been doing a great job and having lots of fun! The third and fourth grade stu-dents have been participating in a floor hockey unit. Ask your 3rd or 4th grader how their team is doing in the hockey tournament. We teach the kids all of the basic skills and then modify the game so that they can all have fun and be successful. The Fall Fun Run is scheduled for October the 25th. We have some awesome runners at Birn-ham Woods, and many of them may want to participate in the district fun run.

The second and first grade students have been learning and playing lots of low orga-nized and cooperative games. These games usually involve tagging, fleeing and dodging skills, but they are also designed to promote fitness through movement. These students are also learning to jump rope and some really cool jump rope skills. Talk about an activity that promotes fitness!

The kindergarten students have been having a blast in PE. The primary focus thus far has been to teach locomotor skills. Almost all of them can now gallop, hop, leap, and skip. Ask your kindergarten student to demonstrate these skills for you. They have al-so done some rhythmic activities. Next, they will begin to play some great games de-signed to enhance fitness through play.

A NOTE FROM PTO

Page

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COUNSELOR CORNER

School Hours

8:05 a.m. — 3:10 p.m.

Doors open at 7:25 a.m.

Transportation

Changes

All changes must be made in writing,

signed by a parent and dated by 2:15 p.m.

NO student wil l be released from the

office after 2:35 p.m.

Anyone picking up a car rider that does not

have a car rider sign must park and show

your ID to the front office. You will then

need to get back in the car rider line or

wait for the line to end for your student to

be released to you. This is for the safety of

your student.

Attendance

Students are considered tardy at 8:05

a.m. and absent after 9:00 a.m. un-

less a doctors note is provided when

the student arrives.

Please call the front office if your stu-

dent is going to be absent, and send

in a note when they return to school.