Tiger Insider
November 2022
October Terrific Tigers
Announcing our October Terrific Tigers representing COURAGE! This month's deserving students are Danielle & Jonathan (grade 6), Addison & Ronald (grade 5), Grace & Brantley (grade 4), Jocelyn & Marcus (grade 3), Brynn & Maddox (grade 2), Louisa & Brogan (grade 1) and Dixie & Ethan (kindergarten)! When you see them, please congratulate them on being such positive influences in our school family!
NOVEMBER'S PAWS-ITIVE CHARACTER TRAIT IS...
RESPECT!
The PAWS-ITIVE Character Trait for the month of November is RESPECT. Respectful people display proper actions, use their manners and obey the rules.
National STEM Day
Tuesday, November 8 was National STEM Day! Students in Mr. Sienicki's 4th Grade Science Class designed, engineered and built a catapult out of popsicle sticks, rubber bands, plastic spoons and tape. Each group was given any requested supplies needed. Other than a few short videos about various catapult designs; building the catapults was entirely up to each group of students. We had a competition in the hallway to see which team would catapult the farthest. We had a great learning experience on how to work with others and realizing engineers must try and fail to finally find success. Never give up!
BUS SAFETY DAY
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper, Cindy Shick, paid MES a visit on Tuesday, October 18 to do bus safety presentations with students in Pre-K - Grade 6. Her visit reinforced us reteaching and reviewing bus expectations this week with our students in support of Bus Safety Week.
Title I Expo
We had a wonderful turn out at the 22-23 TITLE I Family Expo despite the chilly weather at the Crawford County Fairgrounds! A HUGE thank you to all of our volunteers and presenters for helping us make this event successful!
GRADE LEVEL NEWS
Kindergarten
In the month of November our theme relates to "healthy" foods as we read Folk tales: The Little Red Hen, Little Red Riding Hood and Stone Soup. In Phonics, we are exploring different ABC charts, being introduced to snap words and learning initial sounds in words. In reading, we continue to revisit old favorite story books and talking like the characters. In writing, we are exploring pattern writing using snap words.
In math, we are beginning to learn about equal, greater and less than groups and looking at numbers 6-10.
Step 2 lessons are working on "empathy".
GRADE 1
First graders have really been working hard at strengthening and building upon important lifelong skills!
In Reading, students are becoming "word detectives" by studying words closely and learning important strategies to solve unfamiliar/mystery words while reading. They are learning how to break apart words into parts and blend them back together.
For phonics, students are learning about words with the "silent e" and adding more snap words to the word wall. In math, students are continuing to build strategies for addition and subtraction. We have added in the use of a number line to solve problems. For writing, students are focusing on writing "How To" Books. These books will be teaching their readers how to do something step by step, using materials.
GRADE 2
Second graders will be continuing our nonfiction reading unit on becoming experts. Students will begin to read books about one topic and compare information across multiple books. In phonics, we are working on multisyllabic words and will begin to focus on endings including -ing, -ed, -s, -es, and -tion. In writing, 2nd graders are working on writing nonfiction books. They are choosing a topic and writing all they know about that topic including sections, headings, and a table of contents. In math, we are learning strategies to add within 100 and will be moving on to subtracting within 100.
GRADE 3
Reading- Third Grade began the second unit in reading which is called Reading to Learn. We will be learning all about the features of nonfiction texts. We will also be learning how to grasp the main idea and supporting details in a variety of nonfiction texts.
Writing- Third Grade began the second unit in writing which is called Informational Writing. The students will choose a topic and then create a piece where they teach each other all about their topics.
Math- Third Grade began a new unit on the Properties of Addition and Subtraction. The students will be exposed to a variety of strategies on how to solve addition and subtraction problems.
Second Step- During Second-Step, the students are learning skills for being good listeners. They are learning how to focus attention, listen, be assertive and use self-talk. We are also working with them on how to be empathetic towards their peers.
GRADE 4
Reading-We are reading "the Tiger Rising" by Kate DiCamillo. The main characters Rob and Sistine have many challenges together including moving to a new place and Rob facing his mother passing away and Sistine facing her parents' divorce. Through the challenges the care about each other and share their experiences. At this time Sistine wants Rob to release the tiger in a cage which happens to be in the woods near the Kentucky Star Motel where people live.
Exciting!!! What will happen next?
Science-Grade 4 has just completed a unit on potential and kinetic energy. Students discovered that objects transfer energy and speed has a great effect on how much. Energy transfers into sound, light, and heat waves.
Writing: This month students are going to be writing personal and persuasive essays. Students will be writing an essay based on their personal opinions on a topic of their choice. After they write their essays, they will then publish their pieces in our writing celebration.
In Math we continue to practice multiplying and dividing by 1 digit. We have introduced multiplying and dividing by 2 digits. This will be our focus of instruction for the next month. Knowing their multiplication facts is key in making this skill an easy one to learn. We practice each day but additional practice at home would also be beneficial. Thank you for your support and encouragement and all that you do at home to aid in our understanding of math!
GRADE 5
*Our readers are in nonfiction now and practicing skills associated with cause and effect, text features, and multiple and complex main ideas within text.
*In science we are learning about Earth’s renewable and nonrenewable resources, as well as the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
*In social studies, we have been learning about early explorers, and will continue on to colonization. The students had fun during STEM day ‘building’ ships. The goal was to have the ship float, sail, and carry 25 “passengers”. Most were very successful!
*In writing, we are working on Journalism pieces, and we are also working on grammar practice. Then we’ll continue on to Literary essays.
* In math we are finishing up multiplication of whole numbers and starting multiplication of decimals using models and a variety of strategies.
GRADE 6
Sixth grade has been super busy! In reading students are finishing up the unit on childhood. Next, will be one of our favorite units called “Animal Allies.” The students will read about how people and animals can work together, learn from each other, and form special bonds. In math students are learning about variables and algebraic expressions. Students will also be looking at factors and multiples of numbers to help with Algebra readiness skills. In science, students are finishing up a unit on vertebrates. On the 8th, they will participate in a holiday themed STEM activity for National STEM Day. Students will finish out the month dissecting owl pellets. They will reconstruct the skeleton and identify what the owl ate using a dichotomous key. In social studies, students will finish Westward Expansion and then will be building "sod" houses from a design students worked on in small groups. We will be starting a new chapter called "Industry and Immigration." Students will be learning about inventors and the technologies they created in the late 1800s and early 1900s that changed the way people in the United States worked and lived.
TECHNOLOGY
Our Technology Tigers are having a "ROAR" of a time learning how to code. The primary grade levels are using cardinal direction to lead a character through a series of mazes. They begin by programming each other using a real compass through four life-size maze courses and then later apply those same skills on the app called "Kodable." They have learned four coding "cheers" to help them recall and apply the coding vocabulary. The skills they are learning will help them to build stronger problem solving skills, help them practice perseverance, and inspire collaboration. Upper elementary students are practicing block coding on Code.org where they will progress through a series of courses that incorporate geometry, mathematical algorithms/problem solving, and advanced technological skills (such as creating their own app!) I am proud of their progress thus far! My hope is that these skills will promote more success in their math core classes, help students gain confidence, and instill a love of problem solving!
UPCOMING DATES
Book Fair
MES PTO has scheduled a Scholastic Book Fair for November 30 - December 2, 2022. Let's raise readers!
NO SCHOOL
Students do not have school on Wednesday, November 23 - Monday, November 28 OR Thursday, December 22, 2022 - Sunday, January 1, 2023. They are holiday breaks for students and staff.
Conference Day
Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday, January 16, 2023 from noon - 7:25PM. Scheduling links will be sent home soon!
2022-2023 DISTRICT CALENDAR
STAY CONNECTED
School Messenger
Make sure that you are signed up for SchoolMessenger to receive important school updates related to school closures, announcements and important upcoming events. Go to this link and sign up today!
Digital Backpack
Worried that a note from school didn't make it home? Check out our Digital Backpack to see if you've missed any announcements, news or opportunities!
Click on the Facebook logo to "Like" our MES Facebook page to get updates right in your news feed. You will stay connected to news, events and important information straight from MES!
WEBSITE
Check out our building website for upcoming events, news, information, lunch menu and much, much more!
YOUTUBE
Click on the YouTube channel to visit our YouTube channel. To get notified each time a new video is uploaded, hit the subscribe button!
Our Students ROAR!
We LOVE having the opportunity to help our students succeed and we're very proud of them for repeatedly making the right choices. We hope you are as excited as we are about the great work that the students have been doing. Our recent SWPBiS evaluation confirms what we already know..... MES is PAWS-itively the best!