The Rocky River Roadrunner Gazette
January 2017 "End of Second Quarter" Edition
Rocky River Elementary
Mrs. Adrian Parry, Principal
Mrs. Tori Brasher, Assistant Principal
Mr. Justin Poole, Assistant Principal
5454 Rocky River Road Concord, NC 28025
Phone: 704-795-4505 Fax: 704-795-4555
Save the Dates
Our Rocky River Basketball Fundraiser Game Has Been Rescheduled for March 3rd: Come out and enjoy watching our parent/staff teams play for the win!
Chick Fil-A Night: January 31st from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Chuck E. Cheese Night: February 3rd from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Class Picture Day: February 6th!
We Make an IMPACT on EDUCATION!
Mr. Spadaccini Joins Our Roadrunner Staff
Robotics Club Students Learning to Program..
Teacher Assistant of the Year
Our PBIS Mid Quarter Celebration Rocked!
No Name Calling Week Honored January 17th -20th
Kindergarten News
SPLASH students are showing a lot of progress reading and they are getting more independent decoding the words by using different strategies. They are also working on analyzing the sequence of a story based on the pictures and some basic retelling. Some kids are teaching Spanish at home to their parents!! In math they are counting more fluently and getting use to a little bit more complex math vocabulary in Spanish.
First Grade News
Splash First Graders are learning more Spanish everyday! They come to the Spanish classes excites and eager to learn. Parents have given very positive feedback to us regarding the program. They say their kids are speaking Spanish at home! It is amazing how much they have improved. They are using numbers from 1 to 120 in addition and subtraction, they are reading leveled books in Spanish, and they are getting more familiar with our high frequency words. Students are learning songs and tongue twisters that help them to use their second language in a fun way. Also, We have had many cultural presentations in our classes, and it is so rewarding to see our students participate and interact with children form other parts of the world!
Second Grade News
Reading: Students have been working on Informational text: Reading to Gain Knowledge and Understanding. Students have been learning strategies to help them navigate the features and organization of the text as well as identify the text’s purpose. We are continuing to work on strategies to comprehend the topic and compare and contrast information across texts. Students are completing their second round of reading 3D testing.
Social Studies: Students are learning the purpose of using a map, globe and atlas.
Writing - Students are finishing work on their nonfiction writing about animals. The next unit will be opinion writing where students will share their opinion and will write to persuade others or share their ideas about a text.
Math: Students have been working on the Geometry unit and beginning fractions. We also just began our unit on Measurement and Data. The students are measuring items in the classroom using standard and metric units.
Science: Students have finished the unit on Matter and its properties. We have begun our next unit on Weather and the Water Cycle.
Field Trips: We are looking forward to our Cabarrus Arts trip on February 28th to see the Commedia Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Also mark your calendars for April 11th. Students will be traveling to the Schiele Museum in Gastonia. Look for more information at a later date.
Third Grade News
Reading: We are finishing up our character study unit where we took an in depth look at characters in Because of Winn Dixie and created reading clubs where students could share their reading experiences. We are now working on our non-fiction unit Countries Around the World where we will work on our research skills as we research countries from around the world. We are also continuing to work on the writing process as we write both opinion and informational papers.
In Social Studies, students recently completed our unit on Government where we looked at the different levels of government and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. We are just starting a unit on cultural diversity which will help to support our research into countries around the world in reading.
The third grade mathematicians are learning multiplication and division facts. We have learned a variety of strategies to solve equations such as skip counting, repeated addition sentences, equal groups, arrays, and fact families. In third quarter students will learn about Geometry, Area, and Perimeter. They will use their knowledge and understanding of multiplication to explore area. Students will explore tasks that explain the real world application of area and perimeter skills. Throughout each unit we will continue to solve one and two-step word problems that involve all operations of math. At home your child can further their multiplication and division skills using flash cards and Dreambox on the computer.
The scientists of third grade learned about solids, liquids, and gases. We learned that matter is all around us and everything is made of matter! The next unit will explore energy concepts.
Fourth Grade News
ELA: Fourth grade students are busy with many engaging learning activities. In our reading class we have begun a new unit titled Historical Fiction Book Clubs and Informational Reading. Students are enjoying meeting with their book clubs to discuss the books they are reading, analyzing book characters and the settings of unfamiliar time periods. Students will also study the messages, themes, and points of view of a variety of texts. We are completing our writing unit on opinion essays. Students are learning the organizational structure of an essay including an introduction, supporting paragraphs with details, and a concluding paragraph.
MATH: In fourth grade math we have completed our last unit with whole number operations and are beginning our first unit of fractions. We are currently exploring fractions using manipulative items such as fraction bars and square tiles to generate equivalent fractions and design models with a variety of fractional portions. We are quickly discovering how creative we can be with fractional designs and related equations!
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: We just finished our study of earth structures and the study of rocks and minerals. Students were able to classify rocks as well as minerals by their different properties. Students also identified the three types of rocks and how they are formed, as well as what minerals are found in some rocks and how to determine the hardness of them using the Moh's hardness scale. Students also have been studying the settlement of different groups in NC. We are now beginning our study of Ecosystems and the habitats and animals within those ecosystems and how the animals adapt to survive. In Social Studies we are beginning our study of some of the documents of NC as well as the Constitution and the part they play in our government system.
Fifth Grade News
5th grade has been busy preparing for middle school as well as their future. Students got to see first-hand the life of a college student when they visited UNCC. They also cheered on the UNCC women’s basketball team, which went into overtime and was a win for the Spartans!
Recently students took place in their first Service Project by helping dogs and cats at the Cabarrus County Human Society. They learned about Philanthropy and what it means to give back to their community. The students were excited to help make and donate to the helpless critters that we hope will one day be adopted.
5th graders have been working hard with their academics! In Science students have been learning about Matter and Heat Transfer. Students experimented with both physical and chemical changes and also with conduction. In Math students have been adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators in order to solve real life problems. During the past Reading unit, students have been analyzing Social Issues and having deep discussions with their book clubs. Books such as “Rules” and “Out of my Mind” have brought excitement and wonder to the classroom, making students think about the issues in everyday life.
During the upcoming quarter there will be Field Trips, the D.A.R.E program and lots of fun activities to look forward to. Students will be working with Decimals, learning about Living Organisms and their Government. With all the hard work and fun, the second half of the school year will fly by for sure!
Technology News
Our students in grades three through five are enjoying being one-to-one with MacBook Airs and ChromeBooks. Students are using CANVAS and Google Classroom in blended learning environments and making the most of our digital resources such as iReady, Benchmark Universe, DreamBox, and most recently Raz Kids for grades K-5!
Classroom teachers in grades K-3 were recently provided with brand new iPads by the state of NC for use in their classrooms. Their previous iPads have been set back up for use in the lower grades increasing the number of devices in this area. Thank you North Carolina!
Parents, did you know you can create a DreamBox account for yourself? Visit our RRES home page and scroll to the bottom to view directions in both English and Spanish.
Specials Area News
Physical Education: The following 4th and 5th grade student's have been chosen to compete in the Roadrunner Olympics:
Sebastian Holland, Mia Hyde, Elizabeth Cox, Dylan Smith, Miguel Trejo, Kadein Porter, Emma Rodriguez, Josh Davis, Mason Simpson, Noriyana Foster, Zoey Leach, Javari Houston, Jayla Wilson, Chrostopher Burnette, Tahja Robinson, Tannor Wood, Zea Hill, Arianna Mileo, Caleb Beck, Tea Andora, Benjamin Vaughn, Drayden Funderburk, Jared Rodriguez, Nevaeh Carmean, Lincoln Griffin, Hailey Hunter, Olivia Harewood, Chris Cooil, Elijah Garvin, Michael Estevez, Kruz McClure, Faith Davenport, Gianna Gause.
Congratulations! GO ROADRUNNERS!
Media: Did you know… Reading aloud with children, especially young children, is one of the most important things that you can do as a parent or caregiver. Reading aloud with children helps to increase brain growth, language acquisition, literacy skills, and knowledge about our world. As you read with your child be sure to talk about what is happening in the story and ask them questions. For additional information and tips on reading with your child, check out the short video clips on Ms. Anderson’s Media Center web page under “parent resources.”
Our school media center is open each morning for book check-out. Students are welcome to check-out books as often as they like, after they check-in with their homeroom teacher in the morning. Also, look for our next book fair at the beginning of March!
Art: Youth Art Month is rapidly approaching! Six student works will be selected from grades K-5 this month, and their work will displayed at the Cabarrus Art Guild from February 27th to April 2nd.
Several of Mrs. Brashear's fourth grade art student drawings were submitted to the "Farm to Table" calendar contest last month. We will know the results March 3rd!
March 2nd- Enjoy an evening of art and music! During the combined fourth and fifth grade concert, look for your child's art work to be displayed outside of the cafeteria.
Beautiful Student Art!
Creating in Art Class.
Students Love Painting.
And From Our Clubs
Student Council: Our "Soup" er Bowl of Caring Service Project Runs January 25th through February 2nd!
* Each grade is being asked to donate a certain type of soup:
- Pre K - K = Chicken Alphabet or Shapes
- 1st = Tomato
- 2nd = ANY type of Creamed Soup
- 3rd = Minestrone
- 4th = Vegetable
- 5th = Chicken Noodle
Battle of the Books: The countywide competition takes place on February 21st! We wish our wonderful eBOB team the best of luck and commend them for reading and studying the required novels.
Robotics Club: Our 2/3 group meets on Monday January 30th, while our 4/5 group's next club date is February 6th! We'll enjoy catching up after the snow days cancelled our last club dates.
Our PBIS Team Would Like To Share:
2/17 Mid-quarter dance party
3/23 End of quarter ice cream truck
And a big thanks to our students for wonderful bus behavior. You can view our November and December bus winners below!