Lone Star Tribune
Lone Star Elementary News, October 2015
Lone Star Elementary
Catherine Bartlett, Ed.D. Principal
Melissa Freeman Assistant Principal
Kelly Lout Assistant Principal
Elisa Krug Counselor
Email: cbartlett@misd.org
Website: www.misd.org
Location: 16600 FM 2854, Montgomery, TX 77316
Phone: 936-588-6100
Fall Into a Great Book!
Fall is such a busy time of year! We are balancing sports, fun events, and preparing for holidays. Please try to find the time for your child to enjoy a book. Check out these 10 benefits of reading - for kids and adults!
1. Kids who read often and widely get better at it.
After all, practice makes perfect in almost everything we do. Reading is no different from anything else.
2. Reading exercises our brains.
Reading strengthens brain connections and actually builds new connections.
3. Reading improves concentration.
Children have to sit still and quietly so they can focus on the story when they’re reading.
If they read regularly, they develop the ability to do this for longer periods.
4. Reading teaches children about the world around them.
Through reading, children learn about people, places and events outside their own experience. They are exposed to ways of life, ideas and beliefs about the world which may be different from those which surround them.
5. Reading improves a child’s vocabulary and leads to more highly-developed language skills.
Not only do children learn new words as they read but they also unconsciously absorb information about sentence structure and language usage as they read.
6. Reading develops a child’s imagination.
When we read, our brains translate the descriptions of people, places and things into pictures. When we’re engaged in a story, we’re also imagining how the characters are feeling.
7. Reading helps kids develop empathy.
We identify with characters and use our own experiences to imagine how we would feel in the same situation.
8. Children who read do better at school.
They don’t just do better at subjects like reading, English and history. They do better at all subjects and they do better all the way through school.
9. Reading is a great form of entertainment.
A paperback book or an e-reader doesn’t take up much space so you can take it anywhere and you’ll never be lonely or bored if you have a book in your bag.
10. Reading relaxes the body and calms the mind.
When we read, we read in silence and the black print on a white page is much less stressful for our eyes and brains.
Summarized from best-books-for-kids.com
Important Dates This Month
Friday, October 2: MHS Homecoming - Go Bears! Wear your spirit shirts!
Tuesday, October 6: 4th Grade Field Trip (Walker, Pizzino, Hopkins, Runnels, Folsom)
Wednesday, October 7: 4th Grade Field Trip (Davis, Hammons, Gober, Munch, Wildermuth)
Thursday, October 8: Open House (A-L, 5:00-5:45; M-Z, 5:45-6:30)
Friday, October 9: Early Release, 1:00 pm
Friday, October 9: Pajamas for a Buck Day ($1 - Wear your jammies to school. Proceeds will go toward ETrack supplies.)
Monday, October 12: Staff Professional Development Day (Student Holiday)
Wednesday, October 14: Garden Day for 1st Grade
Wednesday, October 14: Lone Star Leadership for 4th Grade
Friday, October 16: 2nd Grade Field Trip
Thursday, October 20: Apex Fun Run (PTA Fundraiser) Kick Off
Friday, October 21: Wear Orange to school for MISD's Unity Day
Friday, October 23: End of 1st Quarter
Monday, October 26 - 30 Red Ribbon Week (See Below)
Wednesday, October 28: Coffee with the Counselor (9:30)
Wednesday, October 28: Garden Day for Kindergarten
Wednesday, October 28: Lone Star Leadership for 4th Grade
Thursday, October 29: Apex Fun Run
Friday, October 30: Book Character Dress Up Day
October 8
Join us on October 8 for Open House!
5:00-5:45 Last Names A-L
5:45-6:30 Last Names M-Z
October 9
Students have Early Release on October 9 at 1:00 p.m. We will not have lunch visitors on this day due to our shortened lunch schedule. Students will have a schedule change for lunch. Thank you!
October 21
Red Ribbon Week, October 26-30
- Monday is "Wear Red" day to kick off our Red Ribbon Week
- Tuesday is "Be a Hero and Make Good Choices". Wear Camo!
- Wednesday is "Good Choices Make the Future Bright". Wear Neon!
- Thursday is "Run in the Direction of Your Dreams". Wear running shoes for today's Fun Run!
- Friday is Book Character Dress-Up Day!
Kindergarten Kiddos
Wow! Is it really already October? We have been so busy in Kindergarten that our days just fly by! We have already learned so much about school and know our routines and procedures. We now know how to participate in our learning stations and are beginning our small group reading instruction time.
The K classes are conducting Science Explorations during our E-Track time each Friday. The classes are rotating to each K teacher for an exciting lesson on topics such as Weather, Forms of Energy, Magnets, Patterns of Movement, etc. The students really enjoy these activities and getting to visit each kindergarten class!
Please mark October 8th on your calendar. That is the evening we would like to invite you to come and visit our classrooms for our “Kickin’ It With Kinder” Open House. It will be a come and go format and the time is 5-6:30. The students are excited to show off their school environment and some of their creative work. Hope you can come!
During the last full week of October we will be participating in Red Ribbon Week. Please watch the newsletter for all the fun and exciting events that will occur that week.
The cooler weather and the beautiful colors of autumn are near.
Kindergarten is all about:
F- Future
A- Athletes
L- Lifetime Learners
L- LeadersFantastic Firsties
October will be full of fun and learning for our firsties! This month we will learn all about nonfiction books. Identifying non-fiction features is so much fun! We can't wait to show off our classrooms at open house. We have so much to share with our families! Our first garden day will be October 14. We love getting to go outside and learn about our school garden. It's going to be a busy month, but we are going to enjoy every moment of it!
Superstar Second Graders
October is an exciting month in second grade. Second grade teachers took science to a new height, participating in a training of indoor skydiving. The engineering and scientific theories were amazing! We are passing that love of science onto our students with our investigations of matter! All second graders are looking forward to some hands on science with our field trip to P-6 farm on the 16th. Thank you for your help with daily math fact practice. As we are teaching regrouping, fast fact recall helps enormously! Our reading groups have begun and the kids are looking deeper into story elements such as character, setting, problems and solutions. Ask your students about these elements when they read. Ice cream tops the list of important lunch items and is returning to LSE. Wednesdays will be ice cream day for second grade and will be available for purchase each Wednesday for 75 cents. Red Ribbon Week will round out our month along with our book character day on October 30th. See you October 8th at Open House!
Thrilling Third Grade
Fabulous Fourth
Fourth grade readers are making connections! Students are analyzing characters and creating mental images. The focus on reading is still centered around the concept that READING IS THINKING. Our writers are learning to use sensory details. We can't wait, to read their published stories! In math, we are continuing to build our number sense by reviewing addition and subtraction. We are practicing mental math too! Problem solving has begun, be on the look out for those multi-step problems. In science, students can be found exploring properties of matter. Who were the first people in what in now known as Texas...ask a fourth grader!
C. A. M. P. (Computer - Art - Music - PE)
Computer/Bibliotech:
Reading Logs
Parents often ask how they can help their child become a better reader. The best way to help your child be a successful reader is to encourage them to read as often as possible. We ask that your child read every day as part of his/her homework. Reading with your child is one of the best things you can do. Ask your child questions about the books they are reading or have them retell you parts of the story to make sure they understand what they are reading. Keep a log of the number of minutes your child has read by completing the reading log found on Mrs. Sample’s webpage or have your child pick one up in the Library. Add up the number of minutes read as you complete each section. Your child can bring the log to the Library to receive a reward when they have read 500 minutes, 1000 minutes and for each additional 1000 minutes read. Have fun reading!
Kindergarten will practice logging in, mouse skills and review parts of a book.
First Grade will practice Keyboarding and learn the features of fiction and non-fiction text.
Second Grade will write autobiographies using Microsoft PowerPoint and learn about the Mystery Genre.
Third Grade and Fourth Grade will learn about Dewey Decimal Classifications using Destiny, Microsoft Word and Wordle. We will also focus on reading the Texas Bluebonnet Nominees.
Art Activities:
In the Art room we are busy working on our Art To Remember Projects! Each grade level is working off of a different inspiration piece. Kindergarten is getting inspired by Picasso's "Petites Fleurs" while First Grade is inspired by Van Gogh's "Sunflowers." Second Grade is making impressive winter landscapes. Third and Fourth Grade are using folk art like the current NY artist Heather Galler for their inspiration. These Art To Remember projects make great gifts for the Holidays! Look for the order form in early November!
Music Notes:
Each month in Music, we have “Composer Time” where we learn about a composer and listen to an example of their music. In October students will be learning about Camille Saint-Saëns who was born in October 1835.
Kindergarten students will be incorporating more literature into their music this month. We will be reading Elmer the Elephant by David McKee and Pancakes, Pancakes by Eric Carle and then perform music activities related to the books that reinforce beat and rhythmic patterns.
1st grade students will be learning even more about our October composer Camille Saint-Saëns when they begin studying his famous composition Carnival of the Animals. They will learn about different instruments of the orchestra and create playful artwork to accompany the songs.
2nd grade students will be learning and distinguishing different tempos through movement. They will also review different instruments, identify patterns in songs (form), and continue learning how to read and perform rhythms accurately.
3rd grade is hard at work learning patriotic songs for our Veteran’s Day performance on Thursday, November 12, 2015. They are learning familiar tunes and some new songs as well. We would love to have you join us at our performance to honor our veterans.
4th grade students will be performing songs in a variety of ways: using movements, solfege syllables, and instruments. They will have opportunities to perform rhythms in groups and individually. They will also spend time learning more about the string and percussion families and correctly identifying specific instrument sounds.P.E.
Students in PE have been enjoying a football unit and are looking forward to the Punt, Pass, Kick Contest on October 1st after school at MJH from 4:30-6:30. This fun event is free to all MISD students, ages 6 and up. Next up in PE will be volleyball! Students will have a great time working on their volleyball skills over the next few weeks.
Painting in Art
3rd Grade loves Technology
Music and Motion in Kdg
General Reminders
Counselor's Corner
This month's character value is self-discipline. Choices, self-esteem, and empowerment are key to teaching children self-discipline. To learn more about promoting a healthy self-concept in your child, join me for our first "Coffee with the Counselor" on October 28 at 9:30.
Lone Star Leadership
Each month, 2 fourth graders from each homeroom meet with Mrs. Krug, Mrs. Freeman, Ms. Lout, and Dr. Bartlett. We visit two times with the representatives to collaborate on campus concerns and brainstorm ideas. Last year our fourth graders had great ideas, including color-coding the recess equipment by grade level, moving the playground fence to increase square footage and trying breakfast as lunch (which was enjoyed by all MISD elementary schools!). They coordinated Pennies for Patients fundraising and helped create motivational strategies for our STAAR testers. We can't wait to see what this year's smart cookies have in store for us! Our September reps voted to have a Pajama Day to help raise money for ETrack supplies. We are looking forward to enjoying that day on October 9 (bring your dollar!). Thank you to our September representatives: Sophee Brewer, James Chandler, Jewell Embrey, Abaigeal Foley, Kaci Frazee, Grey Gossett, Jace Hersey, Bryce Hilton, Molly Joy, Jack Kelly, Piper Lout, Brooklynn Lowe, Garrett Muckleroy, Stormy Pardon, Mallory Sims, Kylie Smith, Sawyer Steward, Carson Street, Carson Sydnor, and Hudson West,
We ate lunch and held our final September meeting at our new picnic tables, purchased by PTA!