SRES Eagle Times
October 21, 2022 - Issue No. 9
Inspire, Create and Grow a Community of Lifelong Learners
NEWS FROM MRS. HAZARD, PRINCIPAL
Greetings SRES Families!
Our weeklong residency with Lisa and Lauren from the NH Dance Institute was AMAZING! Students learned new dance moves, practiced growth mindset skills, worked together as a class and school, and most of all had a ton of FUN! Proud smiles and happy faces filled our residency; thank you NHDI!!!
********** OUR DANCE PERFORMANCE IS TONIGHT AT 5PM! Please join us! **********
Winter Sports!
- We hope to bring Winter Sports back to SRES! (7 afternoons of skiing, snowboarding, skating, or swimming)
- Please look for an interest survey in your student's Monday folder.
- Return the survey by the end of the week so we can determine activity preferences as well as the number of parent volunteers (the program cannot operate without volunteers!).
Halloween at SRES
- Students may wear their costume to school (no heavy makeup, masks, or props please).
- We will have an afternoon of Halloween Fun at school!
- Our PTO is organizing the traditional Saxtons River Halloween Parade for families at 5pm - more information to come.
Looking ahead:
- October 21st, 5 pm: Dance Performance for families! PLEASE JOIN US!!
- October 31st: Halloween Fun at SRES!
- Friday, November 4th at 8 am: Coffee and Conversation with the Principal
- November 9th: Early Release; 11:45 am dismissal
- November 11th: No School; Veterans Day
- Week of November 14th: Scholastic Book Fair!
- November 21st: No School; Parent-Teacher conferences
- November 22nd: No School; In-service
- November 23rd-25th; Thanksgiving recess
Your students are amazing! I am so proud of their accomplishments this week during our residency. Ask your student what they are most proud of!
Have a fantastic fall weekend!
Your partner in education,
Laura Hazard
SRES PTO
October 19 Meeting
Please join us for the next monthly meeting on November 16th.
The PTO meets in person with a digital zoom link available for those unable to physically be present. Monthly meeting minutes available upon request.
SRES Reading Challenge Program
Remind your student to pick up a tally sheet from their teacher and then encourage your student to TALLY THOSE PAGES!
- For each page your student(s) read independently, you record that number of pages in the "pages read by child" column. These pages are worth a full page each.
- For each page you read aloud to your student(s), you record that number of pages in the "pages read by adult column." These pages are worth 1/2 of a page.
On or before the 15th of each month, total the number of pages and sign the reading challenge form and return it to the school with your student so they can turn it into their teacher. This challenge is not a competition, but the SRES PTO does acknowledge when a student reaches an award milestone by rewarding them with a certificate, pin, ribbon, book or even lunch with the principal!
Award Milestones: 500, 1,500, 2,500, 5,000, 7,500, 10,000, 12,500, 15,000, 17,500, 20,000, 25,000, 30,000, 35,000
Reading Challenge completes at 40,000 pages.
Please consider having your student participate in the SRES School Reading Challenge! The effort is all worth it when you get to see the pride on your student(s) face(s) as they reach a milestone!
SEL NEWS
Stephanie Fuller
October is Bullying Prevention Month!
During SEL classes this month we will be focusing on the 3 R's of bullying: Recognize, Refuse, Report. I will be using the Second Step Bullying Prevention Curriculum (Committee for Children, 2011) in all classrooms which includes four bullying prevention lessons and teaches students the importance of being an up-stander to put a stop to bullying.
K-2 classrooms started the bullying prevention unit by hearing the story, "A Bug and a Wish" by Karen Scheuer. This story teaches kids a conflict resolution strategy for letting someone know that they are bothering them (i.e. It bugs me when you take my toy without asking first. I wish you would give it back.)
K-2 classrooms have a Bug and a Wish poster displayed as a reminder to use a bug and a wish throughout the day when needed. If you would like a visual reminder of a bug and a wish to display at home, please let me know and I will gladly email it to you.
Check out our completed "SRES Kindness Quilt" (below) that is on display outside the counseling and nurse's office at SRES.
As always, please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child.
Stephanie Fuller
School Counselor
HEALTH OFFICE NEWS
Greetings from the SRES Health Office,
Brrrr…it’s getting cold outside
All students should be bringing/wearing weather appropriate clothing to school. See below if you need help with winter gear.
Winter Gear Assistance
Once again, the Bellows Falls Elks club will be providing winter gear for students in need. This is a great program and we are very appreciative of their support. Please reach out to Nurse Jenn by 10/27/22 if your child is in need of winter gear and you need assistance getting it. A winter jacket, snow pants and boots will be provided at no charge to you.
Communication
It is now easier than ever to communicate with Nurse Jenn. Visit https://www.remind.com/join/sreshe to join the SRES Health Office.
Vision Screening
The Springfield Lions Club will be doing vision screenings on all SRES students on Monday, November 7, 2022. Please reach out if you have any concerns about your child's vision.
COVID-19
As a courtesy, please notify the school (Nurse Jenn) if your child tests positive for COVID-19. This will help us monitor for the virus better. Please self report any positives to the Vermont Department of Health at:
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6507748/Vermont-COVID-19-Self-Test-Result-Reporting-Form
Head Lice
Anyone can get head lice and it does not reflect poor hygiene or social status. The “no nit” and “no live lice” policies have been discontinued here at SRES. These policies cause unnecessary absences for students and loss of parent workdays and family wages. Exclusion from school can adversely affect students emotionally, socially and academically. Therefore, we ask that you do your part and prevent the spread of this communicable condition by checking your child(ren) daily for the next few weeks, and on a regular basis thereafter. Lice infestation is much easier to treat if caught early.
Water Bottles
Every student should be bringing a water bottle to school every day. Water is the only beverage that should be in a water bottle. We ask that all other drinks be saved for lunch or snack time. Please refrain from sending your child in with beverages high in sugar.
Need Health Insurance?
Visit www.vermonthealthconnect.gov or call 1-855-899-9600
Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's health.
Phone: 802-869-2637 or Email: jennifer.vaughan@wnesu.com
KINDERGARTEN NEWS
Mrs. April Putnam
We have been dancing up a storm this past week! The Kindergartners cannot wait to show you what they have been working on!
In Math, we are still developing to work independently at Math Centers. These Kindergartners have been doing a great job. We have also been working on numbers 5 and 6, counting to 20 and subitizing!
In Reading Workshop we have been busy working on letters r, a, o, and g. We also have been having fun with our sight words and practicing those everyday. We are working hard on letter formation.
FIRST GRADE NEWS
Mrs. Jillian White
☆ Reading: We have begun reading groups in first grade! During our Reader’s Workshop time, students are doing different literacy centers (word work, writing, poetry, read to self or listen to reading) as other students meet with their teachers working on reading skills with "just-right" books for them during reading groups. We have been reading Interactive Read Alouds about families and learning about how the characters are important to the story. Next week, we will begin our Kevin Henkes author study and learn about character traits!
☆ Fundations: We have continued our unit in Fundations on tapping out and spelling consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. Next week, we will be working on tapping and spelling words with digraphs (ch, wh, sh, th, ck).
☆ Math: The first grade mathematicians are learning about subtracting within 20. We have been exploring different subtraction strategies and tools that we can use to help us subtract. We learned subtraction games for math menu time such as “Roll and Record Subtraction” and “Five in a Row Subtraction”.
☆ Science: In science, we continued to do Mystery Science activities about space. We learned about how stars make different patterns in the sky and why we see the stars at night. We made our own big dipper constellations using cups and used flashlights to display our big dippers in our own “sky” with partners!
SECOND GRADE NEWS
Ms. Jennifer Herman
Reading
Second Grade Readers studied the author Tomie dePaola and how he writes stories that are related to his life.
Readers learned that to decode larger words that they can cover parts they know to break the number apart.
Writing
Writers are organizing their stories by writing a beginning, middle and ending, and using transition words to link the parts.
Phonics
Second graders review what a closed syllable is and how to mark it up.
They are also learning about words with bonus letters.
Math
Second Grade Mathematicians reviewed the names and values of different coins.
Mathematicians were introduced to Even Steven and Odd Todd. Ask your child what makes a number even or odd.
Theme
Scientists are experimenting with the force of water and how it can change the earth’s surface.
Next Monday we are welcoming a representative from VEEP (Vermont Energy Education Program) to our class to help us learn about wind energy and how to conserve it.
We welcomed a new student to our class, T’Kyra! We are so excited to have her as part of our 2nd grade family!
REMINDERS
Please remember water bottles every day!
Students should be bringing sweatshirts or sweaters to school as the temperature changes.
THIRD GRADE NEWS
Ms. Bethany Williams
Math: The third graders have been working on their times tables for 2s and 3s. They developed many strategies to solve math facts by using number lines, skip counting and by using their fingers. They competed booklets for both sets of math facts and worked on many story problems.
Reading: During the interactive read alouds, the third graders have been listening and responding to different books about animals. They have reviewed the differences between fiction and nonfiction and have begun to explore books in the realistic fiction genre.
Writing: The third graders have completed their letters to family members. The letters reflected the form of traditional friendly letter writing. The content consisted of what students enjoy and possibly not enjoy about third grade.
Science: The third graders completed their posters representing different biomes. The students painted and drew and labeled pictures of plants and animals that can be found in the desert, the tundra, the rain forest, the ocean and in grasslands.
FOURTH GRADE NEWS
Mrs. Jaimie Douglass
Hello From Fourth Grade!
What a fun week dancing with Lisa and Lauren from the New Hampshire Dance Institute!
In math, we have worked on illustrating division problems, using numbers lines for subtraction, and finding combinations. Did you know that if you have 10 different ice cream flavors you can make 55 different double-scoop cones?! We are also continuing to master our multiplication facts.
Reader’s Workshop targets have been themes and character traits. We have continued to use a combination of short stories as well as Pixar short films to find examples of traits. We are beginning to be able to infer thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Our "Would You Rather" Google slides were a big hit in writing. Every student was able to share their finished product with the class. We practiced giving compliments and suggestions while learning new animation techniques.
Science activities have included digging down for fossils, basic engineering steps, and meeting our new district STEAM coordinator, Ms. Wade. We are excited to try some of the new ideas she has introduced throughout the school year.
~ Please remember to send your child with a water bottle every day. Please do not send cups without lids as we use our computers daily and we can’t risk a spill. ~
MATH NEWS from Mrs. Bazin
Playing math games is a great way of practicing different math skills. There are many games you can play with a deck of cards. Below are some examples of games you can play with number cards 1-10, based on where your child is in their math learning. For each game the set of cards would need to be divided evenly between players.
Each person flips over 1 card - The person with the biggest number keeps both cards. Keep playing until one player has all of the cards. You can play again and the person with the smallest number gets both cards.
Each person flips over 2 cards - Add the numbers together and the person with the largest/smallest (you choose) sum keeps all of the cards. Keep playing until one player has all of the cards. You can also flip over both cards and multiply the numbers. The person with the largest/smallest (you choose) product keeps all of the cards. Keep playing until one player has all of the cards.
Each person flips over 3 cards - Add the numbers together and the person with the largest/smallest (you choose) sum keeps all of the cards. Keep playing until one player has all of the cards.You can also flip over three cards and multiply the numbers. The person with the largest/smallest (you choose) product keeps all of the cards. Keep playing until one player has all of the cards.
*For all games….If you flip over the same cards, or get the same sums and/or products, you can flip over the same amount of cards again and use those numbers to determine which player gets all of the cards!
Family members make the best book buddies, but don’t forget about pets, stuffed animals, dolls, forest fairies, or even trees.
Kids like to use their imaginations. Join them in imagining and creating a special book nook, and see if your shared experience fosters more of an interest in reading.
LIBRARY NEWS
Ms. Dianne Clouet
PHYSICAL EDUCATION NEWS
Mr. Benjamin Pickard
This game promotes running, honesty, and a variety of exercises. One student has the pool noodle, and they are the tagger. If you get stung, you put a band-aid on your injury and continue to run. If you get tagged a second time, you go to the Waspital.
In the Waspital, there is a nurse who can heal you by having you perform up to five exercises. Once those exercises are complete, you may reenter the game. Students in this picture are seen running away from the tagger.
MUSIC NEWS
Mrs. Alisa Daigneault
We have been enjoying the dance residency this week, as it utilizes many of the concepts we practice in Music class. Students moved their bodies, kept the beat and really wowed us all with their dancing talent!
All classes have been very busy in Music over the past two weeks. Kindergarten, First and Second Grades are in their ninth week of our First Steps In Music Curriculum.
Kindergarten has enjoyed listening to the high and low pitches of the slide whistle. I play a sound and they use their voices to imitate the sound. This helps explore our singing voices. Ask your student to sing you "Listen, Listen" or say "Two Tall Telephone Poles" for you!
First Grade has been "conducting" their voices with a conducting baton. This helps get them ready to sing for the day. They are great at "Move When I Stop" (a movement exploration activity). Ask your student to say "Mix A Pancake" or sing "Oliver Twist" for you!
Second Grade has not only been singing solos, but they are also now leading others in echo songs. They loved "Rusty Tin Man" (a movement exploration activity). Ask your student to say "Two Little Apples" or sing "Standing Like A Tree" for you!
Third and Fourth Grades have been very busy playing instruments, practicing rhythm, moving and singing. You should hear them sing rounds! Third Grade just started learning some great October themed songs and play parties. Fourth Grade has been singing autumn songs and played a beat and instrument game to an autumn poem.
All classes are very enthusiastic and are quite industrious every Music class!
ART NEWS
Mr. Jay Palmisano
Fourth Grade
These artists have been hard at working creating drip art inspired by the artist Jen Stark! We explored her wide variety of works using lines, color, and movement to create dripping artworks. Viewing her online portfolio for inspiration, we created our own classroom drip art to be hung up! See below for examples of current works. Soon to be hung up and displayed!
Third Grade
Third Grade artists have been working on action poses and movement! These artists are creating a more realistic human figure doing an action inspired by the artists Edgar Degas and his work with ballerinas. We are creating a background for our action and will create a movable figure using paper and brass fasteners. These students have been off to a great start!
Second Grade
Second Grade artists are wrapping up their work with textures! We learned what texture is in Art and how to use lines to create fur for our bears and/or bunnies! We will next explore how to create stone, metal, and wood textures for our next artwork!
First Grade
These artists have been hard at work creating a classroom aquarium! We learned how to draw a "shoe fish" using our shoes traced to create unique bodies for our fish! Artists were then shown live videos of aquatic life from the Monterey Bay Aquarium's live videos section! We discussed the different underwater animals we could see to then decorate our class wide artwork. Students are wrapping up their final decorations!
Kindergarten
Kindergarten learned of the artworks created by Salvador Dali! We looked at his style of work and inspired by his creativity we created wacky birds! Artists learned how to use our shapes and lines from past projects to create a bird's body, wings, beak, and tail! We then created long wacky legs using different lines and colored them in! These artists have been hard working and creative in each class!
AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM NEWS
Wow! Has ASP really been running for 6 weeks? Time flies when you are having fun!
We will be starting session 2 on October 31st. This just means our Thursday guest will change from Grafton Nature Museum to Main Street Arts (MSA). MSA will be offering our students a drama program with a performance on December 15th for all ASP families to come and enjoy.
Monday - STEM night: Each student built and tested a candy corn catapult. Our furthest candy corn went 14 feet . This was so much fun the students have asked to do this again!
Tuesday - Craft night: Painted pumpkins were a hit tonight!
Wednesday - Outdoor games night: Fish, bear, rocks was the game of the night. Ask your ASP student how much fun this game is. Maybe try it at home!!
Thursday - Grafton Nature Museum: Tonight ASP worked with Jay from Grafton Nature Museum exploring nature around our school playground and entering their observations into their nature journals.
Friday - Board game night: One of our favorite nights of the week! Ask your student what game they played tonight.
Friendly reminder: Please send your ASP student with a light jacket or sweatshirt. Weather permitting, we are outside for recess and activities Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Once the sun goes down it gets cooler.
Tina White
SRES ASP Site Coordinator
COMMUNITY NEWS
SAXTONS RIVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Email: laura.hazard@wnesu.com
Website: https://sres.wnesu.org/
Location: 15 School Street, Saxtons River, VT, USA
Phone: (802) 869-2637
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sresvt