West Elementary News

March 2022

Sleepy- time Math

Sleepy- time Math

Bedtime isn’t just for stories—winding down with math is fun and educational, too. Here are clever ways to weave in math as your child settles down for the night:


● Read aloud to your youngster, and encourage her to find math in the words or pictures. She might spot number words like first or seven, or numerals like 10 or 12. Or maybe she will count the animals or people on a page.

● Close your eyes and count how many different sounds you hear. Maybe your child hears a truck rumbling by (1), the buzzing of cicadas (2), a car horn beeping (3), and soft music playing (4).

● Make up story problems together about your day. Your youngster might say, “In our one-on-one basketball game, I got 21 points and my brother got 19. How many points did we get in all?” (Answer: 40, because 21 + 19 = 40.)


© 2021 Resources for Educators Math + Science Connection

Sleepy- time Math

News from Mr. Bjustrom

Parents, Next week we will begin our testing period for 3rd and 4th grade. These are very important for our building so please encourage your students to do their best when completing these. They can get long so make sure they are getting plenty of sleep and help them stay positive. We will also be completing our 2-4th grade literacy night tomorrow so if you're available please come and learn some reading strategies from our staff!
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Reading Tip- Retell the Story

When parents ask their children what happened in school that day, the response is usually one of two things. Either they are given a play by play synopsis or they are given the single word answer "nothing". The strategy of retelling is similar. Retelling a story helps readers recall what is happening in the story they are reading. It allows a reader to stop and monitor their understanding. A retelling usually includes characters, settings, problems, and the solution or the main ideas of the text. It involves telling what is important without telling too much. Many times children struggle with the concept of weeding out what is important. Often they either provide every single detail or they give a vague description that is hard to follow. Use the following strategies to help your child be successful in retelling.


How can you help your child with this strategy at home?

1. When reading with your child, stop to think about what you are reading. Model this process aloud. Stop and reread if you don't remember.

2. When reading with your child, stop and have your child tell you what is happening in the story using the words: first, next, then, last, and finally.

3. Use the following questions to prompt your child to think about the story being read:


  • Who were the main characters?
  • What problem did the main characters experience?
  • How was the problem solved?
  • How did the story end?
  • What happened first, next, and last?

4. Allow your child to become comfortable with the strategy of retelling by retelling events they are familiar with. This is where you can help your child focus on weeding out minor details be centering their attention on what's important. Use some of the following prompts or come up with some of your own.



  • Tell me about the last time your family went out to dinner.
  • Tell me about what you did at school this week.
  • Tell me about a time when you went to a birthday party.
  • Tell me about the first time you lost a tooth.



The CAFE book, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser

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Readiness Field Trip

Kindergarten Readiness students went on their PIE sponsored field trip to the Dickinson County Nature Center on Thursday, March 24th. They learned about insects and explored the Pollinator Paradise. They then went to the Regional Wellness Center in Estherville to have some fun in the gym before eating lunch and swimming. Thank you to Janna Hokinson for helping with our trip and PIE for this wonderful opportunity!
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K-1 Literacy Night

Thank you to all the families that came to our K-1 Literacy Night last week.

PBIS/ SEL (Social Emotional Learning)

PBIS/ SEL (Social Emotional Learning)

Our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) focus in February and March was on responsible decision-making. We worked with the students to better understand how their decisions impact themselves and others and how there are consequences to all decisions, sometimes positive, sometimes negative. Asking important questions along the decision making process can help choose the right decision for the moment.

Thank you to B&I Electric for sponsoring the donuts for our PBIS students of the week during the month of March!

PBIS/ SEL (Social Emotional Learning)
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STEM

STEM

The 1st and 2nd Grade STEM Camp students are working on designing and testing paper airplanes. They began with the same design, tested the design, and then will modify the design to make the paper airplane fly farther. The next step will be testing designs of their own.


STEM
Upcoming Events

Upcoming Events

March 29 Grades 2-4 Literacy Night at West Elementary 6-7pm

March 30 Kindergarten and Readiness Open House 5-6pm

March 31 Grades 2-4 Music Concert at 7

April 1 PIE (Partners in Education) Meeting at noon @ West Elementary Library

Week of April 4 ISASP State Testing at West Elementary in Grades 3 and 4

April 6 Preschool Open House/ Registration 4-5:30 at West Elementary

April 8 1st Grade Field Trip

April 6 2 Hour Early Out

April 15 No School

April 18 No School

April 20 2 Hr Early Out

April 21 Motivational Speaker, Joe Beckman, will talk to grades K-12

April 25-26 Preschool Round Up

April 26 No Preschool for current preschoolers

April 29 4th Grade Field Trip

May 6 Elementary Track and Field Day

Upcoming Events