St. Joe’s News Upcoming Events Feb. 2nd— Groundhog Day Feb. 3rd—Report Cards Distributed Feb. 14th—Valentine’s Day Feb. 15th—President’s Day Feb. 15th—Feb. 19th— Winter Break—No School Inside this Issue: From the desk of Mrs. Dunshee Pre-K Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third Grade Fourth Grade Fiſth Grade Counselor’s Corner Speech News with Mrs. Leduc Literacy Corner Art News OT with Ms. Vivlamore Nutrion Nuggets Home and School Connecon Birthdays February Calendar
Transcript
St. Joe’s News
Upcoming Events
Feb. 2nd— Groundhog Day
Feb. 3rd—Report Cards Distributed
Feb. 14th—Valentine’s Day
Feb. 15th—President’s Day
Feb. 15th—Feb. 19th—
Winter Break—No School
Inside this Issue:
From the desk of Mrs. Dunshee
Pre-K
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Counselor’s Corner
Speech News with Mrs. Leduc
Literacy Corner
Art News
OT with Ms. Vivlamore
Nutrition Nuggets
Home and School Connection
Birthdays
February Calendar
Pre-K News First of all, I would like to take this time to welcome a new student to our classroom, Brinley. We are glad that she has
joined us and hope she loves being here! We will certainly miss our others friend that left us. Good luck to Angelique.
February is here, and soon it will be Valentine’s Day. I have sent home information regarding our plans for this day on
the monthly calendar. If you have any further questions please let me know. We will also have our break from the 15th-
19th. Please practice the ABC flashcards (letter identification and sound) that I have provided you, as well as counting
to 20, going over shapes, colors, days of the week, months of the year, rhyming, and opposites. Another great skill to
practice is sorting objects. You can use a variety of things that you have right at home like pasta, different blocks, but-
tons, crackers, etc. This will help them keep on track during the break.
We are continuing to practice and learning lots of different things. We are nearly halfway through the alphabet. The
students are always excited to start a new letter each week. More difficult interactive games on our Smartboard have
been added to our work and the children are loving them. We have been adding some new kid’s music videos from
GoNoodle for our Music and Movement time to spice things up. This is a great website that we use to give us some
brain breaks in order to get out some of our wiggles, which allow us to better focus on important skills.
The weather has been changing and some days we are able to enjoy the outside. However, we have had many students
that did not have all of the necessary snow gear to be out in the cold. I continue to emphasize that every day that it is
above 20 degrees we go outside, so it is crucial that your child is prepared with warm clothing and winter boots DAI-
LY so they can play.
I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. I am glad that many of you were able to make it to our Academic Showcase.
The students were very excited to show off all of their hard work. Thank you for all that you do.
~Mrs. Decosse~
Kindergarten News
Mrs. Leahy’s Kindergarten Class
I would like to thank everyone who came to our Academic Showcase. The children really enjoyed showcasing their work for you to see.
We are currently learning about living things and how they change and grow. We are continuing to work on our reading skills through blending and seg-menting sounds and words. Please continue to practice sight words at home with your child.
In Math, we have learned many addition facts and how to write number sentences. We are now learning subtraction. The students are really getting a handle on how to solve subtraction stories.
Ms. Gordon Walbridge’s Class
With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, Ms. Gordon Walbridge’s kindergarten class would like to share with you
something they love!!
Kole— “I love cards.” Jacob— “I love hearts.”
Madeline— “I love my grandpa.” Chase— “I love when everyone in my family gets together.”
Joseph— “I love race car candy.” Mason— “I love chocolate hearts.”
Derrick— “I love chocolate.” Tanner— “I love to get candy.”
Hanna— “I like that it is mommy’s day.” Emma— “I love when we have dinner together.”
Charlie— “I love candy.” Arianna— “I love the sun.”
Landyn— “I love the soft candies like chocolate”. Cierra— “I love Valentine’s Day pillows.”
Pal— “I love my mommy.” Olivia - “I love my grandma.”
Nolan— “I love my dad.” Katelynn— “I love writing cards.”
First Grade News from Mrs. Andrews and Mrs. LaBare
The first grade students are curious to see whether the ground hog’s prediction will
prove to be true. Either way, we all hope to make the best out of the next six weeks.
The students were very excited to display their work at the Academic Showcase in
January. It was wonderful seeing so many families in attendance.
In reading, the students are continuing to develop their comprehension and writing
skills. Providing opportunities at home to practice will increase your child’s ability to
become a successful reader. Your extra time and effort at home is appreciated.
In the classroom, we look forward to learning about our former presidents. As we
celebrate President’s Day, it is a wonderful time to learn about the foundations of our
nation and citizenship.
And of course, one of the most exciting days in first grade is Valentine’s Day. Chil-
dren enjoy giving and receiving the thoughtful well wishes in the valentine’s. This is a
great opportunity to practice our reading and show acts of kindness. Happy Valen-
tine’s Day to all!
Second Grade News from Mrs. Wheeler and Mrs. Wheeler
We’ve been very busy in second grade working on learning new concepts, infor-
mation, and reviewing our previous skills. In reading, we’ve learned about what makes
different parts of the world unique. Students learned about different habitats and regions
of the world. We also learned about how Earth changes. Students have read about hurri-
canes, tornadoes, volcanoes, tsunamis, erosion, and earthquakes. Students have been
writing about Earth’s changes. We have also discussed cause and effect.
In math we worked with two and three digit subtraction. Students also learned how
to subtract across zeros (example: 500 – 123). At this point, we have practiced addition
and subtraction facts (to 20). Students should continue to practice these facts to memori-
zation. Recently, we have been learning to count money (quarters, dimes, nickels, and
pennies). Please encourage your child to count coins at home with you. We appreciate all
of your support.
We recently finished our properties unit in science. Students learned about buoyan-
cy, weight, solids, liquids, and gasses. Students enjoyed working in groups as they explored
these properties.
We enjoyed seeing many of our families at the St. Joe’s Academic Showcase. Stu-
dents were proud to display their work. Please continue to read each night with your child
and check over their completed homework assignments. Once again, we thank you for
your support.
Third Grade News from Ms. Gravel and Mrs. Ramie
In science, we have been learning about buoyancy and what sinks and floats. We made a boat out of clay. Making clay boats that float is really hard! In reading, we have been learning about the main idea and the details.
By: Alyssa Benware
We have been learning multiplication and division facts. There has been a lot of new writing assignments
like how to write a paragraph, and how to write an opinion piece. We created mobiles that had our goals
for 2016 on them. We are learning about buoyancy and how things float and sink in science.
By: Makenna Chevrier
We are learning strategies for multiplication and division. Some strategies we learned are decomposing, using arrays, and to use the Commutative Property. It's complicated. We have also been learning about the genres realistic fiction, expository text, and biographies in reading. School is fun.
By: Carson Palmer
We have learned more about buoyancy in Science (what sinks and what floats), and more math facts
since Christmas break. In reading we have learned about main idea and the supporting details.
By: Trent Carriero
We have been learning how to use our Multiplication Station. The Multiplication Station helps us know our facts. In writing, we have been learning how to write good paragraphs. In science, we have been working in groups for our buoyancy experiments and we have learned how to work together.
By: Caleb Hall
We have learned how to do multiplication and division in math and hooks in writing. We also learned
how to draw diagrams in math and about the properties like Commutative and Identity Property.
By: Brady Riley
Fourth Grade News from Mrs. Fournier and Ms. Walbroehl
B-r-r-r! It’s cold outside! While many of us are enjoying the outdoor winter activities, others of us are anx-
iously awaiting sunshine and warm weather!
February is a shorter academic month for all of us as we will have our Winter break the week of Feb. 15th.
If any of our families are traveling please travel safely and enjoy your time away.
In the meantime, we continue to enjoy our days with many wonderful activities.
In Math, we will be focusing on the following: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions.
In Reading, we will be focusing on the following:
Comprehension strategies will include:
Summarizing
Asking and answering question
Comprehension skills will include:
Identifying theme and main idea
Genre of study will include:
Realistic fiction
Expository text
Vocabulary strategies will include:
Identifying Greek and Latin roots
Using context clues to understand unfamiliar vocabulary
In Writing, students will be comparing texts while focusing on making strong word choices, developing ide-
as with rich detail, and lastly, strengthening the organization of their writing.
In Science, we will continue our study of Astronomy.
In Social Studies, we will become aware of and honor Black History Month by researching the impact vari-
ous African Americans had on our country.
We’d like to thank all our families for the great turnout we had at our annual St. Joe’s Academic showcase.
It is always wonderful to meet and greet our families of such wonderful children we so proudly share here
at St. Joe’s!
Fifth Grade News from Mrs. Eilers and Mrs. Kent
Counselor’s Corner with Mrs. McGibbon
Below you will find a list of some books that I use during individual, group and classroom guidance lessons. Students, staff and I all enjoy the lessons that the stories tell. Each story includes a life lesson and helpful tips to help students during different situations that they may be going through. These are also great books to read at home! All of the books listed, along with some others are available in my office! The following books include stories about, self-esteem, friendship, grief/loss, divorce/separation, positive be-haviors, and anxiety/stress.
”Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” by Carol McCloud
“Incredible You!; 10 ways to let your Greatness shine through”, by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and Kristina Tracy
“A Rainbow of Hope: Stories and Activities to Help Children Cope with Grief and Loss”, by Linda Hagler, M.Ed.
”Sorry!” by Trudy Ludwig
”Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun; having the courage to Be Who You Are”, by Maria Dismondy
“The Goodbye Cancer Garden”, by Janna Matthies
“The Juice Box Bully: Empowering Kids to Stand up for Others”, by Bob Sornoson and Maria Dismondy
“Odd Velvet”, by Mary Whitcomb
“Soda Pop Head”, by Julia Cook
“Grief Is Like A Snowflake”, by Julia Cook
“The “D” Word”, by Julia Cook
“Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen”, by Howard Binkow
“Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns about Mud and Rainbows: When Parents Fight”, by Howard Binkow
“Wilma Jean the Worry Machine”, by Julia Cook
“Don’t be Afraid to Drop”, Julia Cook
”Was It the Chocolate Pudding? : A Story for Little Kids About Divorce”, by Sandra Levins
Mrs. McGibbon School Counselor
Literacy Corner’s with Mrs. Eldridge, Mrs. McClain and Mrs. Marlow
Fluency February!
Fluency is reading smoothly and accurately and with expression. Below, we’ve listed a few good ways to
help your child practice reading fluently with you at home.
Choral reading—reading the same story out loud together. This is similar to the way singers in a chorus try to stay together. Echo reading – first you read, they your child reads trying to sound like you.
Repeated reading – have your child read a page or section of a book 4 times and see if they can improve
each time.
Copy Cat – you and your child read aloud from the same book with you reading a little faster than your
child to help them keep reading fluently.
Remember….at least 10-15 minutes of reading a night!
Art News
In Kindergarten, the students are working making a rooster. The students will listen to Eric Carle, “World off to see the
World.” The students will create warm and cool papers by using tempera paint cakes. Then they will create neutral tones pa-
per. Finally they will take the colorful papers and turn them in to a rooster collage.
In first grade, the students are working on lessons dealing with warm and cool colors. For a warm colored picture the stu-
dents are studying an artist, named Piet Mondrian. This artist creates art work that deals with black and white grids filled in
with primary colors. We are creating abstract drawings with squares and rectangles. We will be using the warm colors which
are red, yellow, and orange. With the cool colors project, the students will be making mittens. They will decorate the mittens
with cool colors which are blue, green and violet. They are making patterns in the mittens and will cut them out and glue
In the second grade, the students are working on winter birch trees. The students will create some winter white birch trees
using the dry brush technique. The will glue the trees on their background which will have a colorful sunset sky. The students
can choose between red, yellow and oranges or blues and violets. The last step will be to spray the whole paper with white
watercolor to represent a snowy background. This will make a colorful winter scene when it is done.
In third grade, the students are working on an aboriginal drawing. Here the students will create a drawing of an aboriginal
animal. They will use oil pastels on the animals. The students will also use an aboriginal pattern for their animal. Then they
will use watercolor paint to paint around the animal. If they use blue oil pastels on their animal, they must use black watercol-
or. If they use any other colors on the animals, they may choose between blue or black watercolors.
In fourth grade, the students will be starting on weaving. They will learn the plain, soumac, fringe, block and slant or stairs
techniques. The students will create a warm, cool, or neutral color scheme for their weaving. They will have a choice to cre-
ate a pillow, wall hanging or purse from their weaving.
In fifth grade, the students will be working on their 3-Vu picture. The students will draw three scenes which will show the
passage of time. Each of these scene can be viewed from a different direction. You can see one scene from the right, one from
the back and one from the left. Together the scenes create a colorful passage of time. They will learn about American water-
colorist, Charles Birchfield. They will also include background, middle ground and foreground in their pictures.
Occupational Therapy Margo Vivlamore, C.O.T.A.
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant
But, How Does Handwriting Support Common Core?
You’ve probably heard a lot about handwriting, especially cursive, not being included in the Common Core State Standards. But what you might not know is that good handwriting skills help students become successful in
meeting Common Core State Standards. More and more states (including MA, GA, CA, UT, NC, AL, ID) feel that cursive is so important to student success that they are requiring cursive instruction in their state.
But, how exactly does handwriting support the Common Core?
The standards require students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of texts and concepts, as shown through strong analytical, creative thinking and writing. Students who have a good handwriting foundation are able to write fluidly with ease. There is no time lost between thinking about what to write and how to get it on paper. Even as students master writing in fourth and fifth grades, cursive helps them refine their written communica-
tion skills and that’s an important part of being a successful student.
Kindergarten and First Grade
In grades K–1, handwriting instruction achieves standards for key foundation skills:
Reading Standards: “Print Concepts” that include the organization of text (left to right, top to bottom), alphabet recognition, and word spacing.
Language Standards: “Conventions of Standard English” that include the ability to print capitals and lowercase letters, and demonstrate command of sentence and paragraph writing conventions (capitalization and punctua-
tion).
Kindergarten through Fifth Grade
In grades K–5, handwriting instruction supports achievement of the dozens of increasingly rigorous standards for production of written text. These include:
Writing Standards (including Production and Distribution of Writing, Text Types and Purposes, Research to Build and Present Knowledge, and Range of Writing): Students are expected to use technology and digital media
strategically and capably, but they won’t be fluent until much later. Only until fourth grade are students re-quired to type a page in one sitting. Cursive can help them develop speed and fluency in writing, activate im-
portant parts of their brains, and help children with functional writing as they are still developing early key-board skills.
Speaking and Listening Standards that require fluent notation of interaction and question/answer exchanges with teachers and other students (including Comprehension and Collaboration and Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas).
Language Standards that have students demonstrate mastery of key concepts in written texts (including Knowledge of Language and Vocabulary Acquisition and Use). Again, students are not going to be fluent with keyboarding in third and fourth grade, so cursive can help them achieve fluency in their writing.
