Deretchin Digest
February 2024
A Note From Mrs. Oliver
WOW! It is hard to believe that we are already in the month of February! This is the perfect month to celebrate our students for continuing to demonstrate their LOVE for LEARNING! We are extremely proud of all of their hard work! Our amazing teachers have many exciting lessons and events planned this month that our students will definitely LOVE! As always, thank you for your continuous support in helping us to build a caring and supportive school community.
Sincerely,
Tina Oliver
Upcoming on the Deretchin Calendar
February 1- 3rd grade program, 6:00
February 2- Pull progress report grades
February 6- Progress reports sent home
February 8- STAAR Field Test-3rd and 5th ELA-Closed Campus, 6th grade Bunco in cafeteria, 3:30
February 10- Elementary Science Festival and Intermediate SciMathelon- 10:00-4:00, College Park HS
February 12- Class pictures
February 13- 4th grade Science CFA #3, Spelling Bee in library (time TBD), Spring pictures
February 15- 3rd and 4th ELA CFA #3
February 16- Staff Development Day- Student Holiday
February 19- Student and Staff Holiday
February 23- Spotlight on Kindness Ceremony, 9:15 in cafeteria, Deretchin Rodeo, 5:00-8:00
February 26-March 1- Scholastic Book Fair
February 27- PTO Executive Meeting, 1:30, GT After School Experience, 3:30-4:30
February 28- Late Night Book Fair, 4:30-6:30
February 29- PTO Meeting, 8:30 in cafeteria
Special CISD Awards
Congratulations to the following staff members and student for receiving special Conroe ISD awards at Deretchin:
Teacher Ambassador of the Year- Melody Childs, Music/Choir Teacher
Paraprofessional Ambassador of the Year- Katy Moomaw, General Education Paraprofessional
CISD Heart Award- Missy Cole, 1st Grade Teacher
Student Ambassador of the Year- Yashvi Bharodia, 6th Grade Student
STAAR Field Test
On Thursday, February 8th, third grade and fifth grade students will participate in a Reading STAAR Field Test. Our campus will be closed to visitors on this day. There will be no volunteers or guest readers allowed inside the building on this day and parents will not be able to visit for lunch. We appreciate your flexibility.
SciTech Festival
Conroe ISD YOUniversity
Website: Conroe ISD YOUniversity - Learn more about the presentations, activities and resources.
Counselor's Corner
Character Pillar of the Month: KINDNESS
Habits of the Week:
Be caring and helpful.
Talk to someone new at recess or lunch.
Be kind with your actions and your words.
Forgive others when they make a mistake.
UPCOMING DATES:
No Character Club this month
2/13/24 Evening with the Counselors in the cafeteria 5:30 PM-6:30 PM
Topic: Reflections on the book, The Whole Brain Child
2/23/24 Spotlight Ceremony “Kindness” 9:15 AM in the cafeteria
ECSE News
Pre-K News
Kindergarten News
Happy February Kindergarten Families!
We are looking forward to seeing your student's LOVE of learning continue to grow this month.
In reading, we will be finishing up our fiction unit, and begin exploring multiple different genres of reading. We will also continue to work on expanding our reading stamina while using our reading strategies independently.
In writing, we will finish our narrative writing unit and begin to work on procedural writing. For procedural writing, students will be writing to teach others how to do something step-by-step.
In math, we will work on using comparative language to compare two groups of objects. Students will work on telling which set is "more than' and which set is "less than". We will also be reviewing money (penny, nickel, dime, and quarter), and continue working on joining and separating numbers.
In science, we will identify patterns of the seasons of the year day and night. We will also learn about objects in the sky such as the clouds, moon, stars, and sun. In social studies, we will learn about historical figures and presidents.
Thank you for all of your support. It's going to be a wonderful month in Kindergarten!
First Grade News
First graders are enjoying new-found learning and greater independence this semester. We have concluded our middle of the year testing, and we are looking forward to sharing your child’s areas of strength and opportunities for growth with you.
February will be another busy month of fun and discovery. Scientists will explore products made from rocks, soil, and water and jump right into a study of natural resources. Students will learn characteristics of living and nonliving as well. Our social studies unit will encompass studying presidents and leaders in history. Students will also start learning about our wonderful Lone Star State. Strong reading skills will help solidify understanding in both of these subjects.
Thank you for making reading and math review a priority in your homes. Our readers’ comprehension skills are sky-rocketing, and students are showing tremendous growth in reading fluency and math calculation. Our grade level expectation is that each reader turns in at least 100 minutes a week on his or her reading log. Please be certain your child has an opportunity to retell the story elements or recall facts out loud to an adult. This oral conversation is crucial to comprehension and making inferences. Readers will continue their unit studies of non-fiction in reading and writing. We are so proud of the students’ interest and excitement with our nonfiction unit. You may support your reader by encouraging the reading of non-fiction selections. We will revisit the genre of fiction and continue to build a strong reading base with fluency practice and comprehension. Writers will learn how to write reviews of their favorite items and places.
February will be a busy month for our critical thinkers. Our mathematicians will continue strengthening numerous skills including place value, numeration, problem-solving, and mastery of addition and subtraction facts. Students will practice writing numbers in standard form, expanded form, showing and drawing numbers pictorally, and representing a number in different ways. Our learners will also be learning how to tell time. Encouraging your child to wear an analog watch would be very helpful in understanding this abstract concept. Thank you for ensuring your child turns in his or her weekly math homework, as this is critical support for our classroom learning.
We will celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th with a small treat and the exchange of Valentine’s cards for our classmates. Each child will need to bring a Valentine’s Day card for each friend in class. February will be another fabulous month in first grade.
Second Grade News
Second Grade had so much fun reading and writing poetry last month. We had our Poetry Slam and published a poetry book! February brings book clubs to our reading lessons. Students will be introduced to lots of characters and chapter books. Writers will work on informational writing, including making and presenting book creator masterpieces!
Mathematicians will be introduced to the ideas of multiplication and division, without using the symbols. We will learn about fractions of shapes and be introduced to 3-digit addition and multiplication.
In social studies, students will learn about important people, civil rights, and presidents. We will be compiling a biography book of important people. Scientists will study plant needs and characteristics.
Our second-grade field trip is scheduled for February 21st. We will be going bowling to help learn about direction and speed in science. Students will need a sack lunch for a picnic lunch at school. Information about our field trip will be sent home in a letter.
Third Grade News
In math, we are continuing our Fraction unit and then diving back into more multiplication and division. This 2nd half will contain more complex word problems with 2 or more steps in addition to 2 digit x 1 digit multiplication. Students still need to be practicing their Math facts at home to help them commit these facts to memory.
In science, we have a long unit on the physical characteristics of environments. This includes several different ecosystems, animal and plant adaptations and what is needed for them to survive, along with food chains.
In social studies, we will tackle our Economics Unit. This includes scarcity and abundance, free enterprise, and personal financial literacy. This usually brings up some interesting conversations!
In reading, we will be moving into our fiction unit, with a focus on character studies. Students will be analyzing characters, finding their traits, and developing an understanding of how characters' relationships impact a text's plot and theme. Students will also be asked to read for longer periods of time, summarize the plot of a story, infer the theme, make inferences and predictions, and use their context clues to solve tricky words.
In writing, students will continue to use the writing process to develop persuasive/argumentative texts. They will need to write in response to reading, compose persuasive letters, and use what they know from grammar to edit and revise their writing prior to publishing.
Fourth Grade News
ELA
It’s a great time to be a part of ELA in 4th grade!
We will continue our journey with historical fiction in reading! This genre requires readers to be super detectives to combine the historical timeline together with the character’s timeline. We are reading Number the Stars as a mentor text during this unit. We are enjoying this unit very much!
In addition to continuing Historical Fiction, students will be practicing other reading skills, such as context clues, making inferences, and identifying them, in fiction and nonfiction literature.
We are continuing our reading responses in writing until the middle of February. We will then change to literary essays in which we will focus on providing proof from a text as we write our opinions.
Math/SS/Science
In math, we will begin the month of February by learning about measurement! This includes reviewing the area and perimeter skills, as well as teaching new material.We will learn to use the customary and the Metric measurement system. This is such a fun unit with a lot of opportunities for hands-on activities!
In science, we will start the month talking about slow changes to the Earth’s surface. We will discuss weathering, erosion, and deposition. We will be able to find examples of each on the Earth’s surface.
In social studies we will continue working on our Pioneer Journal and how the settlers came to Texas. We will begin our unit on the Texas Revolution. This includes Washington on The Brazos, the Battle of the Alamo, and the Fall of the Alamo.
FIFTH GRADE NEWS
Math
Students will begin our Unit on Geometry and measurement where they’ll learn to classify 2D shapes, solve for area, perimeter, and volume, as well as convert between units of measure. In our Advanced Math class, we will start our Unit on Data Analysis where we’ll learn different ways to represent data. We will then move into our Unit on Proportionality.
Language Arts
We had such a magical time with our students during the Fantasy Unit! The next unit, which has been much anticipated by the students, will be the Argumentative Unit. For reading, students will be recognizing characteristics of argumentative text, explaining how an author used facts for or against an argument, and identifying the intended audience. For writing, students will pick topics to research using a variety of sources. They will also practice organizing and crafting their argument using a strong claim and research to support their position.
Science and Social Studies
In mid January, we started our Earth Science Unit by learning about the formation of sedimentary rocks and fossil fuels. We will continue learning about Earth Science as we learn about soil, and landforms this month.
In social studies, we will continue to learn about industrialization and westward expansion. We will be taking a closer look at the trail of tears and how the United States dramatically changed during this time.
SIXTH GRADE NEWS
Sixth Grade Scoop
As always, there’s lots going on in sixth grade. We have jumped right back into learning and are excited about all of the many things that are planned for the last semester that our kiddos will be Deretchin Dragons.
In science, we are now at the end of our energy unit with the focus on comparing and contrasting potential and kinetic energy. It’s a fun unit with many hands-on activities and labs! We continue to learn about countries around the world in social studies, and are finishing up our unit on Russia where we learned about the geographic features including permafrost, tundra, and taigas in addition to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. We will be starting our unit on East Asia soon where we will learn about the geographic features, the Great Wall of China, The Silk Road, and the Population Policy.
In math, we are coming to the end of our unit on proportionality. We have been learning how to compare sale prices in stores to see which one is really the best deal. After this unit is over, we will move back to algebra to explore two-step equations and inequalities.
We have circled back to fiction and have added narrative nonfiction to our studies in language arts. We have done a mini unit on Martin Luther King and read some amazing stories in class that exemplify courage, integrity and perseverance. We also have an upcoming unit that focuses on argumentative writing. Look for information about our field trip to come home in the upcoming weeks.
Music News
We are continuing to have so many great things happening in the Music Department in 2024!
In elementary music, kindergarteners are having fun with adding new songs and games to reinforce steady beat and note reading skills. 4th grade students continue to work on reading note names and how to count rhythms on numbered beats. They are also working on sight singing and learning to recognize notes on the piano. 1st graders have started working on their musical “Nuts!”, which will be performed on April 4th. Please watch for more information about dates and audition sign ups for special roles. 2nd grade is hard at work on their Musical, “Wing It,” to be performed at the end of this month on February 29, 2024. 3rd graders are excited to perform their musical “Let’s Eat!” on Thursday, February 1st!
Happy February from the Band Directors! We are BEYOND proud of the 6th Grade Band students who participated in the Honor Band clinic and concert in January. We are continuing our preparation for the Band Benchmark that is taking place on February 23rd & 24th at McCullough Junior High. All enrolled Band students are required to take the Band Benchmark. More information will be sent out from McCullough this week, including the sign up for times for the day of the Benchmark. Meanwhile, our 5th graders have been working incredibly hard to pick up more and more of their range and techniques for their instruments. Both 5th & 6th grade students are preparing solos and ensembles to perform in April. All of the kids are working so hard and we’re very proud of their hard work.
Mr. Marte is very proud of the 6th grade orchestra students who performed in the Honor Orchestra concert in January. The performance was wonderful! February is a particularly busy month for the 6th graders, since they will continue to work on their benchmark music, which will be performed in late February at McCullough JH, as well as begin to look at solo and ensemble pieces they will perform in April. The 5th graders are continuing to work on new notes and techniques.
Intermediate General Music has had a great time working on their recorder, ukulele, piano and vocal skills and are beginning to combine some of these skills to play as ensembles in class. They are also working on earning “belts” for Recorder Karate and Stickers for their Piano Scales Chart.
Both the 3rd/4th Grade and Intermediate choirs are starting music for their spring concert. Some of our 6th grade choir students auditioned for the 6th Grade CISD Intermediate Honor Choir on Friday, January 26, 2024. Congratulations to the NINE Deretchin choir students who qualified to sing with the Conroe ISD District Honor Choir that will perform on March 23, 2024.
Melody Childs-Music/Choir
Michelle Gastler-Music/Band
Andrew Wilson-Music/Band
Alex Marte-Music/Orchestra
Art News
PE News
Greetings, Deretchin students and parents! Welcome to the February edition of our PE newsletter. We have an exciting month ahead with various activities and events aimed at promoting fitness, fun, and overall well-being. Here's what you can look forward to:
Monthly Trophy Run: Lace up your running shoes and get ready for our monthly Trophy Run! Students from all grades will have the opportunity to showcase their running skills and compete for the coveted trophies for their homeroom class. It's a fantastic way to stay active and enjoy some friendly competition.
During the month of February, we will continue our bowling unit. The bowling unit is exciting for everyone, and we encourage you to go bowling with your Dragon.
We will also begin our rhythm unit that includes dancing, lummi sticks and DrumFit. DrumFit is a great way to move and groove while getting your sweat on!
Happy Healthy Heart Month: February is Happy Healthy Heart Month, and we are committed to promoting heart health among our students. Throughout the month, our PE classes will focus on activities that boost cardiovascular fitness, such as running, engaging warm-ups, and as always, active games. Let's keep our hearts healthy and strong!
We hope you're as excited as we are about the upcoming events in February. Stay tuned for more details and specific schedules in the coming weeks. As always, we encourage all students to actively participate and make the most of these opportunities to stay fit and have fun.
Stay active, stay healthy, and keep moving!
Coach Parra, Coach C, Coach Langthorp and Coach Wolf
Registrar News
Reporting a student's Absence:
Do ONE of the following to report a student absence:
Make sure you provide the child's first and last name, grade, homeroom teacher, and the dates/ reason for the absence.
-Report an absence by submitting a Google Absent form - https://forms.gle/Gafb6mQnSdvWq6P18
-Report an absence by handwritten note or a doctor's letterhead: Give to student, and they can give to the teacher, or drop it off with the Front Office.
-Report an absence by email: Cory at cognisty@conroeisd.net
-Report an absence by fax: 832.592.8780
Library News
Library News!!
February is a big month in the library as we’re having our Scholastic Book Fair, February 26-March 1. We are having a night event from 4:30-6:30 on Wednesday, February 28, in which you can come and shop with your child. Look out for information about our online portion of the fair. Please also be on the lookout for a “Sign-up Genius” to help with volunteering.
If you have any questions feel free to email me at CMattern@conroeisd.net.
Happy Reading,
Cristofer W. Mattern
Library Media Specialist
Information
Email: toliver@conroeisd.net
Website: https://deretchin.conroeisd.net/
Location: 11000 Merit Oaks Drive, The Woodlands, TX, USA
Phone: 832-592-8700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeretchinCISD/
Twitter: @DeretchinCISD
The Conroe Independent School District (District) as an equal opportunity educational provider and employer does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability in educational programs or activities that it operates or in employment matters. The District is required by Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as Board policy not to discriminate in such a manner.
For information about Title IX rights or Section 504/ADA rights, contact the Title IX Coordinator or the Section 504/ADA coordinator at 3205 W. Davis, Conroe, TX 77304; (936) 709-7752.