Gashland News
March 2020
Read Across America Week
“The more you read, the more you know;
the more you know, the further you’ll go!”
Read Across America Week began Monday, March 2nd and ends today, Friday, March 6th. This week coincides with the birthday of one of the greatest authors loved by children and adults alike – Dr. Seuss. We all have our favorite Dr. Seuss book, but one that I think teaches some of the best lessons for life is Oh, the Places You’ll Go! This is a great book that inspires us that we can “move mountains” and that life is what you make of it. Here are some of the other life lessons we can teach our young learners about from this book:
1. Be a thinker of great things. Dr. Seuss teaches us, “Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!” Take a moment and just listen to your child talk about the world. They are fearless dreamers, invincible and amazingly creative at this age.
2. Be your best “you.” In the words of Dr. Seuss, “There is no one alive who is You-er than You.” Make the most of what you’ve got.
3. Dream it and do it. “You have brains in your head; you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” Isn’t it wonderful to know how many opportunities there are and will be in the future for our young learners? What a time to be alive!
4. Life is about choices, so make them good ones. “You’ll look up and down streets, look ‘em over with care. About some you will say, ‘I don’t choose to go there.’ With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.” Such an important lesson and one we as parents constantly worry about no matter how old our children are!
5. Be decisive. My grandfather use to say to me when I was trying to make decisions, “You can’t move a parked car.” So, once you’ve weighed your options, make a decision, get out there and “just do it!”
6. Face your fears and usually your fears will flee. “And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance, you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants…On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.”
7. Keep balance in your life. “You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.”
8. You will succeed (most of the time.) “And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)” Life sometimes gives us lemons, but it is when we turn whatever comes our way into lemonade, then we truly succeed.
Success is a journey and we all have our own paths. Make your journey count. Don’t let fear stop you. Don’t let conventional wisdom stop you. Lead the life you want to live, and when there’s no path, make one. Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way. There is nobody you-er than you, and remember the more that you learn the more places you’ll go. Happy Reading!
Mrs. Lakin, EdS
*Birthday Treat Reminder*
Party treats and birthday treats are restricted to commercially prepackaged items and must have label with ingredients listed. This is required for the safety of our students. The nurse must check all treats before students can enjoy them. If possible, please provide all the same flavor of cupcakes or cookies to make them easier to pass out to the class. Thanks for your cooperation and understanding.
Health Update: Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
Additionally, Gashland continues to be diligent in daily cleaning and disinfecting of all surfaces in the building. We are also encouraging frequent hand washing and sanitizing with our young students.
Kindergarten Round-Up
Gashland/Clardy Booster Club has a new Facebook Group!
Creating a group instead of just a page allows the booster club to share forms and files easily which improves transparency and makes it easier to find the information you are looking for.
Please click on the link below to join:
Kindergarten News
February was a fun month in kindergarten. We had our 100th day of school on January 29th. Kindergartners did lots of counting for their 100th day. Classes did various activities, such as bringing collections of 100 items, wearing clothing items with 100 of something on them, making special necklaces or hats, making and eating special snacks and reading counting books and books about the 100th day of school. It was a day to celebrate the growth we've seen in our students since the beginning of the year. Thanks for your support on our 100th day and all that you've done throughout the year, parents! (This is a good reminder that our kindergartners should be able to confidently count to 100 before the end of this school year. If your child needs practice with this, please count with him/her daily.)
Another highlight of February was our Friendship parties on February 20th. Children enjoyed games, crafts and treats thanks to our room parents. They also enjoyed giving and receiving Valentines. Thanks to all the parents who have planned and helped with parties this year and to those who sent party items! The children appreciated all you did.
February brought other holidays to learn about, too, with President's Day and Groundhog’s Day. Students have been interested to learn about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln this month and of course, Punxsutawney Phil. As we are learning about coins, we have also been learning a little about the presidents on each coin.
Are you reading daily at home to and with your kindergarten student? Please do your best to accomplish this as much as possible. Encourage your child to practice reading our sight words often and also our word family words. Please practice these words at home and have your child try to write sentences using some of these words, too. Remind your student to add an end mark (period, question mark or exclamation mark).
Kindergartners are bringing home take home books daily for reading practice. Please encourage your child to read this book to him/herself and to a parent. Record the book title on the log and fill out the other information. This will help your child’s teacher in providing “just-right” books for home—not too easy and not too hard. Please return the book to school each day even if your child didn’t yet read it. We appreciate your taking good care of these books, so that they are available for all students. Books recorded on the log will also be counted for our “Buzz. . .Bee a Reader” program!
Another helpful home activity is to involve your child when you are using a calendar. See if he/she knows the numbers on the calendar even out of order. Also practice the days of the week and the use of the terms yesterday, today and tomorrow.
According to the groundhog, we should have an early spring! Kindergartners are looking forward to warm weather and consistently getting outside for recess.
-Mrs. Agbaji, Mrs. Bryant, Mrs. Kingery, Mrs. Lansangan and Mrs. Settles
First Grade News
Springtime is always an exciting time in first grade! This is when we really start to see our kiddos grow in their learning. As teachers, we enjoy seeing our students progress; making leaps and bounds from where they started in the beginning of our school year together.
Thank you to our families for continuing to support your students at home. Filling out Buzz Bee A Reader lists, reading those Just Right books, finishing homework, and exploring math concepts at home are all a huge help in their learning progression! March brings even more learning for our students.
In Readers Workshop students, will spend time focusing on non- fiction materials. Students use text features and illustrations to help make sense of informational texts. Students will deepen their comprehension skills by comparing and contrasting two texts. Students will also practice retelling fictional stories that they read. Retelling is an important skill to help students comprehend the things they are reading.
In Writers Workshop students, students are getting creative and writing their own narrative fictional picture books. They get to create characters and have these characters go through a problem and a solution. These are always fun for the students this time of year. They also will be adding lots of fun Writer’s Craft into their stories.
In Math Workshop, we will be working on subtraction fact strategies, attributes of shapes and telling time to the hour. We will continue to add and subtract within 20 and understand and apply properties of operations and the relationship between addition and subtraction.
During Social Studies, we will be studying our National Symbols. We will read lots of books about these symbols and make a few fun projects!
As always, thank you for being part of your child’s education! We thank you for your continued support at home!
-Mrs. Kimball, Mrs. Minter, Mrs. Robke, Ms. Roddy & Ms. Vaughn
Pre-K News
It’s hard to believe it is already March in preschool! February was a fun and busy month! After all of our snow days, we were finally able to celebrate the 100th day of preschool! We enjoyed sharing our projects and shirts that were made as we celebrated 100 days together. We also enjoyed a 100-day snack with 10 each of 10 yummy goodies! Our friendship parties were a success, and the students had a wonderful time thanks to all the help from our parents! We spent the month of February learning about buildings. We began this unit by reviewing shapes and lines and looking to see where we see shapes in our environments. Our careful eyes caught lots of shapes we don’t even think about! We read several versions of The Three Little Pigs as we talked about building supplies and tools, and we finished the unit talking about construction sites and how buildings begin. We ended the month kicking off our animal unit and can’t wait to learn even more about animals in March!
-Mrs. Tapp & Mrs. Hensley
Nurse's News
As we look forward to warmer weather, Gashland students will be able to go outside for recess most days. The winter thaw brings muddy conditions on the playground. Please include a change of clothing in your student’s backpack when possible, “just in case”.
Allergy season is here. If your student suffers from allergies and requires medication at school, please contact me. A parent will need to fill out an authorization form for over the counter medications. If the allergy medication is prescription, the doctor will need to complete an authorization form. A parent will need to bring the medication and signed form to the nurse. Students are not to carry medications to school. I am glad to help your student with allergy relief so he or she has a more pleasant, productive day.
We will be in the process of welcoming and enrolling Kindergartners for next school year. Kindergarten Round up is March 5th. Please remember that each student must be up-to-date on their immunizations before starting the K2K program in June and/or school in August. A current record of immunizations is required and can be turned into the school office. Please call me at 321-5103 if you have questions or need more information.
Thanks,
Theresa Keaveney, RN
Counselor's Corner
Spring is on the way! With it will come our transition to 4th quarter….wow, that was fast!
This includes counseling lessons about academic skills that will help us finish strong this year, and follow us into next year! Please don’t hesitate to contact me, should you have any questions or concerns with which I can help: 816-321-5782 -or- Nancy.Muller@nkcschools.org
Library
Dear Gashland Families,
In the month of March, Kindergarteners and First Graders will learn about the Caldecott award and we will examine a wide range of picture books that have won this prestigious honor. Kindergarteners will also begin to learn to use our Mid-Continent Public Library research databases in a whole group setting. Our primary focus will be using the online encyclopedia, World Book Kids.
Spring Break will be here before we know it and with it perhaps some extra time to read with your children. In the library, we will be encouraging students to checkout great books to read before they leave for break! You may have been noticing that your child is starting to become a more confident reader. How exciting! However, even though they are reading more and more to you, we should never stop reading aloud to our growing children.
Looking Ahead: Spring is coming and our Scholastic Book Fair is just around the corner. Our fair will be during the week of April 13th – April 17th and will be open during our Gashland Learning Express evenings!
Contact Information:
Gashland Library Circulation Desk – 321-5106
Or call Mrs. Bradfield directly at 321-4212
Happy Reading!
Mrs. Bradfield, School Librarian
Encore
Art
A HUGE shout out to Harper Sickel in Ms. Robke’s room. Her artwork was chosen to represent Gashland Elementary in the annual District Art Show held at the Gladstone Community Center on Thursday, March 12 from 6-7:30. Congratulations! Hope to see you there.
-First graders have been studying Vincent Van Gogh and using oil pastels to recreate his most famous works; the Starry Night and Sunflowers. We have been experimenting with layering short strokes of color to try to replicate his Impressionistic painting style.
-Kindergarteners have been artistic chefs, creating collage pizzas and studying the famous artist Wayne Theibaud (pronounced Teebow). We have been drawing and painting desserts…YUM
-Nichole Peacher
PE:
Hello all!
-In PE for Kindergarten and 1st grade we are continuing to work on our jump roping skills! We will learn how to jump rope step by step and practice with some fun activities and games!
In Health for Kindergarten and 1st grade we are continuing talking about Disease and Hygiene. We have discussed Healthy Habits and are focusing on dental hygiene. We will talk about teeth brushing, flossing, why we lose teeth and going to the dentist.
-Any questions feel free to email me! justice.lozano@nkcschools.org
Follow on twitter for PE/Health updates @CoachLozanoNKC
-Coach Lozano
Music
Good Afternoon!
Here is the news from the music room for March:
Happy March from the Music Room!
-Grade 1:
First Grade musicians are continuing to learn about special names for our notes including Sol and Mi. We have learned about the music staff, the lines and spaces upon which music notes are written. Can your student say this chant?
-The music staff, the music staff! There are 5 lines on the music staff. And a 1, and a 2, and a 3, and a 4 and a 5, 5, 5, and a 5, 5, 5!
The music staff, the music staff! There are 4 spaces on the music staff. And a 1, and a 2, and a 3, and a 4 and a 4, 4, 4, and a 4, 4, 4!
Kindergarten:
Our concert will be held on March 11th a Clardy Elementary! We are so excited about our performance! You do not want to miss our musical show, The Day The Crayons Quit! Please note the times for each performance. Students should wear a solid colored outfit or a solid colored shirt with black pants if possible to go along with our Crayon theme.
6:30-7:00 p.m. – KINGERY and LANSANGAN
7:30-8:00 p.m. – AGBAJI; BRYANT; SETTLES
-Christy Lovenduski
Literacy Launch
World Culture Corner
This year we will feature a different country each month, highlighting home countries of some of our Gashland families. If you would like to share information about your family’s home country, please email Elizabeth Thompson--- elizabeth.thompson@nkcschools.org
Let’s get to know each other better!
Peru
Location: South America
Size: 496,224 square miles –19th largest country in the world—About twice the size of Texas; 3rd largest in South America
Climate and Land:
· Three geographic regions:
o Dry coastal plain in the west
o Tropical lowlands of the Amazon Basin in the east
o The Andes mountains in the center
· Forest cover over half the country
· Mild earthquakes are common, as well as flooding and mudslides from El Niño
· Temperatures vary from region to region, but the average in Lima, the capital, is 65 degrees.
Language: Spanish, Quechua (the language of the Inca Empire), and Aymara (spoken by hundreds of thousands of Peruvians) are the official languages. There are many indigenous languages spoken throughout the country
Population: 31, 331,228--44th most populous nation in the world
Currency: Sol
Fun Facts:
· Peru produces more than three thousand varieties of potatoes.
· The source of the Amazon River is in Peru.
· The University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru, is one of the oldest universities in South America.
"Peru." CultureGrams Online Edition, ProQuest, 2020, online.culturegrams.com/world/world_country.php?cid=125&cn=Peru. Accessed 13 February 2020.
Next month’s country: Ghana
About Us
Fax: 816-321-5101
Attendance: 816-321-5102
Nurse: 816-321-5103
Cafe: 816-321-5104
Email: cindy.lakin@nkcschools.org
Website: www.nkcschools.org/gaes
Location: 500 Northeast 83rd Street, Kansas City, MO, 64118
Phone: 816-321-5100
Twitter: @gashlandstars
Gashland Clardy Booster Club
Email: gashlandclardybooster@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GashlandClardyBooster/
Twitter: @GaClBooster