Dear South Shore families, We have had a fun filled November full of many activities. Both American Education Week and Veteran’s Day were a huge success. A special thank you to Mrs. Hoot and Mrs. James for organizing such a special day for all. The teachers and I thank all of our parents/guardians for attending November Parent/Teacher conferences. The opportunity to share the strengths and areas of growth for your children help us all guide our students on the road to success. Welcome December! It won’t be long until we are on our winter break! It is such a special time of the year and as we reflect on the many things we have, please take a moment to celebrate with us: our partnership with caring and supportive parents; students who come each and every day ready to learn; our generous PTA who provides materials and instructional support; volunteers who are giving and caring to our school, students, teachers and parent; and, the most outstanding faculty and staff in Anne Arundel County Public Schools. This month, we have many days out of school. As you already know, we are using the Maryland College and Career Readiness Standards this school year in all of our core content subject areas. There are a lot of fun ways that we can reinforce the literacy skills our students need to acquire and master. We can read with our kids or share wonderful stories with each other. We can use number and measurements when we prepare ingredients to cook our favorite holiday foods. You may encourage your children to practice writing thank-you notes to their family members and friends. We can let our children keep a journal and let them write what they are thankful for each day. We appreciate and thank you for your continuous support in all our endeavors to ensure your child’s academic success. Whatever the activity you choose, you will be giving your children the greatest gift, the gift of time We warmly invite and encourage families from all grades to join us on December 9th at 6:30 p.m. for our Chorus/Band/Strings Concert. This special event will get you into the holiday spirit! We hope to see you there! Wishing you a Happy December, Joyful Holidays, and a pleasant Winter Break! As always, if I can be of assistance to your family, please contact me at [email protected] or call me at school at 410.222.3865. Respectfully, Stacy Shafran Principal S OUTH S HORE E LEMENTARY D ECEMBER , 2014 MISSION STATEMENT The mission of South Shore Elementary School is to provide a respectful environment which nurtures and encourages curiosity, confidence, open-mindedness and action so that all students will become 21st Century Learners. We respect the diversity of our students and embrace their creativity and talents as strengths to initiate positive change in the world. We rely on collaboration, commitment, and effective, open communication in the process of helping each student reach his or her full potential. I NSIDE THIS ISSUE : P RINCIPAL ’ S MESSAGE 1 SSES DECEMBER CALENDAR 2 IB/P RIMARY YEARS P ROGRAMME 3 TWITTER & TWEETS 3 L ITERACY CORNER 4 MEDIA NEWS 5 HOLIDAY WISHES P ROGRAM 5 E NCOURAGING CHILDREN TO WRITE 6 COUNSELOR’ S CORNER 7 THANK YOU VETERANS 7 F IRST AND F IFTH GRADE NEWS 8 S ECOND GRADE NEWS 9 PTA NEWS 9
Transcript
Dear South Shore families,
We have had a fun filled November full of many activities. Both American
Education Week and Veteran’s Day were a huge success. A special thank you to
Mrs. Hoot and Mrs. James for organizing such a special day for all. The teachers
and I thank all of our parents/guardians for attending November Parent/Teacher
conferences. The opportunity to share the strengths and areas of growth for your
children help us all guide our students on the road to success.
Welcome December! It won’t be long until we are on our winter break! It is
such a special time of the year and as we reflect on the many things we have, please
take a moment to celebrate with us: our partnership with caring and supportive
parents; students who come each and every day ready to learn; our generous PTA
who provides materials and instructional support; volunteers who are giving and
caring to our school, students, teachers and parent; and, the most outstanding faculty
and staff in Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
This month, we have many days out of school. As you already know, we are
using the Maryland College and Career Readiness Standards this school year in all
of our core content subject areas. There are a lot of fun ways that we can reinforce
the literacy skills our students need to acquire and master. We can read with our
kids or share wonderful stories with each other. We can use number and
measurements when we prepare ingredients to cook our favorite holiday foods.
You may encourage your children to practice writing thank-you notes to their family
members and friends. We can let our children keep a journal and let them write
what they are thankful for each day. We appreciate and thank you for your
continuous support in all our endeavors to ensure your child’s academic success.
Whatever the activity you choose, you will be giving your children the greatest gift,
the gift of time
We warmly invite and encourage families from all grades to join us on December
9th at 6:30 p.m. for our Chorus/Band/Strings Concert. This special event will get
you into the holiday spirit! We hope to see you there! Wishing you a Happy
December, Joyful Holidays, and a pleasant Winter Break! As always, if I can be
of assistance to your family, please contact me at [email protected] or call me at
Look for updates to our new school blog at: http://
southshoreaacps.edublogs.org/
Make sure we have your email address on file as we aim to send
weekly updates and reminders
through email.
Treats in School
Just a reminder to parents that all treats must be store bought. This is due to the fact that the ingredients are clearly marked on the packaging and many children have allergies to ingredients. We thank you for your cooperation and thinking of the safety of all our students!
By now, our writers in Grades 2 through 5 should be working on their
Young Authors Contest entries. Students brought home information several
weeks ago. Be sure to follow the contest guidelines. Entries that do not will
be eliminated from the competition. Remember parents and teachers may help
with editing (spelling, punctuation, etc.), but the final product must be the
student’s own work. Deadline for turning in entries is Friday, December 12,
but may be turned in earlier.
Many thanks to Mrs. Ager, Mr. Fry, Mrs. Klappenberger,
Mrs. Bowler, Mrs. Stack, Mrs. D’Souza and Mrs. Bell — parents and
grandparents generously giving their time to facilitate Lunch Bunch Book Clubs. Because of their
generous gift of time we’ve been able to add second graders to our list of students invited to participate.
We are already into our second round!
As you do your holiday shopping, remember to include a book or two. The holidays are a great
time to get together as a family to share a good book.
Check out these sites for book ideas: http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/showarticle/678; www.bookandahug.com; www.guysread.com ; or www.kidsreads.com.
Happy Holidays! Happy Reading!
Mrs. Jan Spicknall
Page 4
News from the Third Grade
To end our unit, How We Organize Ourselves, students
presented their Invention/Innovation Convention projects.
We are so proud of the work our students displayed.
Projects included the Can Can (a soup spoon holder), the
Bugeater (a bug catcher), and the Handy Dandy Bike
Rake (a fun and easy way to rake your leaves).
In our current unit, How We Express Ourselves, students
are exploring sound, expression through music and anthems
from around the world. We started our unit with an
exploration about sound using Oobleck, food coloring, and a
speaker! Ask your child all about it!
Mrs. Cosgrove, Miss Beilstein and Miss Conley 3rd Grade Teachers
Thanksgiving. We used inquiry to find information on many subjects
ranging from wild turkeys to Plymouth to the Macy’s Thanksgiving
parade. Do you know who created the first balloons for the Macy’s
Thanksgiving parade? Do you know what Mary Had a Little Lamb
and Thanksgiving have in common?
Mrs. Cynthia Bark and Mrs. Sandra Kane
Media Specialist and Media Assistant
French Corner
Bonjour South Shore families,
We are having a great time in French this year! We have created a YouTube channel for South Shore Elementary; you should be able to search it and pull it up. It already has some videos from 4th grade from last year as well as this year. Grades K-3 will be receiving a permission slip for YouTube in December. Fourth and fifth grade is learning and tasting foods from France! Bon Appetit!
Merci!
Mme Makris French Teacher
Page 5
Holiday Wishes Choral, Band & Strings Program
Mark your calendars for Tuesday,
December 9th, 1:30 and 6:30 pm! All
families are encouraged
to attend this fun
holiday event!
Ways of Communicating with Parents
Regarding Possible Inclement Weather
Closing or Delays
There are numerous ways parents can
receive information regarding possible
inclement weather closings or delayed
openings or early dismissals. This information is broadcast via
local television stations as well as broadcast over local radio
stations. The Public Information Office sends out school
delays and closings through Connect-Ed, the automated
telephone and email notification system. AACPS’s website
(www.aacps.org) will have current weather related information
posted. Twitter will also be utilized by AACPS to share this
information.
News from Kindergarten
What a great job all of our kindergarteners did on their transportation projects. The projects were so creative and they did an excellent job sharing what they learned with their classmates! In December, we will begin our next PYP unit, How We Express Ourselves, where we will learn about different cultures, beliefs, and values and how they are expressed through our family traditions. To support our unit we will be attending a show called, “Holiday Tales” at Goucher College in Baltimore on Wednesday, December 17th. At home, please continue to check your child’s folder daily and read, read, read!
Mrs. Carrie Bayza-Mimms, Mr. Seth Lyons,
Miss Natalie Taylor and Ms Jessica Goldberg
Kindergarten Classroom Teachers
Page 6
Interim Reports — Second Marking Period
Interim progress reports will be distributed on Friday,
December 13th. These reports indicate the progress your child is
making for the second marking period. If you have any
questions or concerns, please contact your child’s teacher from
7:45 am-8:00 am or from 3:00 pm-3:15 pm.
ATTENDANCE INFORMATION
The attendance rate for the month of
November was 96.25%.
Our year-to-date rate is 97.02 %. Kudos to all for
outstanding attendance in November!
Maryland has established 94% annually as
acceptable. Thank you for encouraging good
attendance habits with your child.
Winter Weather Clothing
Please make sure to label your children’s winter clothing. This allows for the return of any misplaced or lost articles of clothing or outerwear. We know you’ll want these warm items back!
Math Fact Goals—2nd Quarter
At every grade level,
students at South Shore will be
focusing on becoming more
fluent in their math facts this
year. Each grade level has set
quarterly goals for students to
meet. Students who meet their
marking period goal will have
their name displayed in the
hallway by the cafeteria. Each marking period goal will
help students prepare for their end of the year goal.
Students who meet the end of the year goal will receive a
special treat. Your child should be working each night to
try to achieve their goal. This year, students in grades
1 – 5 will receive a math fluency grade that will be
averaged in their math concepts and computation grade.
For the second marking period, the goals are as
follows:
Kindergarten—be able to count to 110 by 1’s
Grade One– be able to compute 10 addition facts with a
sum of 12 or less in a minute
Grade Two—be able to compute 18 addition facts in a
minute
Grade Three—be able to compute 30 multiplication
facts where the factors are 3, 4 and 6 in two minutes
Grade Four—be able to compute 33 multiplication facts
where the factors are 0-9 in a minute
Grade Five—be able to compute 45 multiplication facts
where the factors are 0-9 in a minute
A Wonderfully, Rewarding Way to Encourage
Your Child to Write!
Journals are a great way to get
your child to write regularly, but
have you ever thought of doing an
interactive journal with your child.
It’s simple and so rewarding.
All you need is a small notebook
(composition books work well). Begin by writing a letter to your
child explaining that you and he/she will be writing letters back
and forth about the things you are doing and thinking. Write
about something you’re doing or thinking. Include a question or
two to stimulate thought for the letter they will write back to you.
Share the letter with them and have them write back to you,
beginning their letter by answering your questions and then
adding their own thoughts and questions.
Younger students will begin with pictures and transition to
writing as they become more skilled in their writing.
Have high expectations! Sentences should make sense.
Older student’s letters should be organized in paragraphs.
Risk taking is encouraged, but there should be few errors in
capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and grade appropriate
spelling. Don’t correct their errors, but rather point out how
many mistakes are in a line or a paragraph, then see if they can
find them. Model your expectations in your letter to them.
Aim for one back and forth letter per week. Just think of what
you and your child will share! Just think about what you will
learn about each other. Just think how amazing it will be to
read and reread as the years go by!
Thank you to our PTA and parents for providing our teachers and staff for the delicious
luncheon during the Parent/Teacher Conferences!
DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) Time
returns to South Shore!
Each Wednesday, at the end of the day, everyone at
South Shore will be reading.
Not just our students, but our staff as well. If you
peak into a Grade 1 – 5 class room you will see the
students, their teacher, and one of our staff members engaged in independent
reading. You will see kindergartners sitting on the carpet while a staff member
shares one of their favorite read aloud with them. It gives everyone a chance
to read what they want. Try it at home-drop your chores, errands, paperwork or
whatever, to read!!!
Counselor’s Corner
Grade 5 reminder—It is time to start thinking about middle school. Below is a link to the county magnet
website. The deadline to apply is December 3rd. If you have any questions regarding the programs of
The Kids Helping Kids campaign was a huge success. Thank you for your outpouring of generosity.
We were able to donate 53 boxes of food and toiletry items to the Maryland Food Bank.
Our annual toy drive will run from December 8-23. New toys, games or craft items may be brought in
and placed around the tree in the media center. Students on the Human Relations Committee have designat-
ed December 15th as Mix-Matched Monday and December 17th as Holiday Hot Day. Show your school
spirit by dressing accordingly and bringing in an item for the toy drive.
Mrs. Pamela Hudgins School Counselor
From our
Fourth Grade Classes Mrs. Down
and Miss Heil
Page 7
My Community Helper Project by Leyna H., First Grader
My community helper was a firefighter. I learned that firefighters have dogs and they put out fires. They need to go through training to be a firefighter. When we got to make our community and have people visit, I pretended to be a firefighter. I was excited! I got to talk to parents and older students about my community helper. I loved learning about firefighters!
Fifth Grade—Where We Are in Place and Time
Our unit is focused on changes to society can be based on exploration and/or colonization. We have been
inquiring about why we explore, why
we colonize and the effects of both. As their summative assessment stu-
dents were to create a colony based on their learning and knowledge in this
unit. Groups could choose how to
present their colony. Each group was given a checklist as to what was to be
included in their colony.
The following is a play that five students wrote together.
“DMIKS” Colony Script
Kadance: (Kadance walks in) Hi, I am Hannah from Mayflower Messenger News Team and I am reporting on
the “DMIKS” colony in the middle colonies now known as
Maryland. The first colonist I am interviewing is the governor, so what’s your name?
Maddie: Elizabeth Beckham Kadance: What are your laws?
Maddie: Well the first is we all have equal rights, and you
have to be in your house by dark, also No Work, No Eat, and eat two meals a day, last of all you have to have
covered arms and legs. Kadance: How did you guys get to your colony and why
did you leave England?
Maddie: We traveled on a boat and half of our people died. We left England because it was no fun; laws weren’t
fair, and for religious freedom. Kadance: Now to our next colonist, James Fischer.
James, what natural resources do you have? Logan: We have trees, good soil for crops, clean water,
fish deer, crabs, and tobacco to grow.
Kadance: Thanks, James! Now to James’ brother, Jack Fischer.
Lawson: Hello Hannah! Kadance: Jack, how did you survive when you first arrived
in the colony and what types of jobs do you have in your
colony? Lawson: We work together. We have some job
opportunities like farmers, hunters, trappers, carpenters and guards.
Ki: Oh, oh Jack, don’t forget candlestick makers and bakers.
Lawson: Oh yes, Alice, how about you tell Hannah about
how we survived after we got off our boat, called the “September”.
Ki: We got off our boat and some Indians greeted us, they said that they would be nice as long as we didn’t take
too much of their land.
Kadance: And did you? Ki: (pause) Yes….(guilty) and they did help us survive by
Page 8
Ki: Yes, we are…the Indians felt that we took their land
and tried to impose our religion on them but we just want to be friends with the Indians.
Maddie: Let’s go people, we have to meet with those na-tives to negotiate.
All: Okay!
Logan: (in Indian voice) Why are you here? Maddie: You know why we are here...we want to work
things out and stop this war. Logan: (in Indian voice) You want land! One thing we ask
you not to do … please do not take so much of our land. Ki: Please lets be friends!
Logan: (in Indian voice) Okay we be friends.
Kadance: Thank you! All: (except Kadance) Come back soon!
Kadance: Thank you for watching Mayflower Messenger!
Ms. Anita Balestreire and Mr. John Mastandrea
5th Grade Classroom Teachers
Help Wanted — Looking for Landscape or
Environmental Experienced individual to help with
mentoring 4th grade students!
PTA News
Happy Holidays from the PTA Board!!!
Thank you all so much for your support throughout the month of November. It was a fairly quiet month for us highlighted by the
luncheon held for the teachers and staff during conferences. Thank you to all the families who graciously donated food and their
time to make this a success. Accolades for this event go to Brandy Hoot for organizing and seeing this event through! The teachers
and staff appreciate the fact that they don’t have to think about meals on the long day.
We have a few things on the calendar and would love to have as many families participate as possible.
Our Holiday Bazaar is on December 6, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please come start your Holiday shopping and support
the Sharing Foundation. Santa will be there from noon until 2:00 p.m. Pictures with Santa are free. Maddie R., a fifth grade
student from South Shore Elementary, will be selling baked goods. All of her profits will be donated to Love for Luca.
Restaurant Night: California Pizza Kitchen at the Westfield Mall has gnenrously offered to give South Shore 20% of the total
bill. The dates for that are December 17th and 18th.
Auction Planning: We need to identify a representative from each class who will work in collecting donations. This is a whole
school effort and we will need a great deal of help in pulling it off. Please support your Class Basket Moms and help us make
this another successful year in our fundraising efforts.
Corporate Donations Team: We need your help more thabn ever with donations to the auction. This is the most important
part of the auction success. Please join us at our next auction meeting.
We wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season and look forward to all the wonderful things that 2015 has in store for us!
Join us for our monthly PTA Meeting on Monday, December 15th at 7:00 p.m. in the Media Center.
We will be collecting toys for families in need for the annual Toy Drive. Families are asked to donate new toys now through December 23rd. Toys will be collected by the Herald Harbor Fire Department when Santa comes to visit. Thank you for your support! Second Grade News
We continue to work hard in
second grade! After learning all
about Everyday Heroes, we will not start an inquiry into different ways
we express ourselves. Some of these forms include dance, song, and poetry.
After conducting our egg crash tests in math, we will be continuing on with different types of measurement
and starting to dig into area.
During the month of December, we will also be researching different cultures and ways in which they
celebrate the holiday season. We would love for you to come visit us in second grade and see all our hard work!
Miss Ashley Stone, Mrs. Claire Dunham and Mrs. Beth Joy
2nd Grade Teachers
News from Art
Thank you to all the families who donated
newspapers to our art program! We are
grateful to have them while creating our papier mache sculptures.
Congratulations to 1st grade artist Danica K., whose
work will be on display at the Winter Wonderland Art Show at Westfield Annapolis Mall. Danica’s work will be
on display alongside other AACPS student artwork from December 3rd until January 5th.
For details on what we are currently working on in art
class, please visit our section of the school website, or follow us on twitter, @SouthShoreArt.
