Midland Elementary
Dear Midland Families,
Thank you to the MANY families who participated in our Student Led Conference Week! We had great participation, and it was fun to see so many of our students proudly sharing with their families.
This is another busy week with both our health screening on Thursday and picture day on Friday. Picture envelopes are coming home today, so please have your student return their picture envelope THIS Friday (October 14th) if you want to purchase pictures. They always make great holiday gifts!
Also this week is the Midland Town Hall, an opportunity for families to hear about Midland's safety and behavior plans, along with an opportunity to hear from students and for you to ask questions of our administrative team. Details for the Town Hall are below.
Thank you for all that you do to support your students! You are great partners with us.
It's great to be a MUSTANG!
~Dr. Paula Dawson
Important Dates to Remember:
October 12 ~ 1:55 Dismissal
October 13 ~ Health Screening
October 13 ~ Town Hall Meeting 6-7 pm
October 14 ~ Picture Day
October 19 ~ 1:55 Dismissal
October 20 ~ Great Shake Out Drill
October 26 ~ HOPE Assembly
October 26 ~ 1:55 Dismissal
**For additional future scheduled activities, please check out our Midland calendar at https://midland.fpschools.org/**
Picture Day is Friday!
Social Emotional Learning Corner
Content by Mrs. Blaisdell
October 10th
Last week we discussed the importance of sleep. Our bodies and brains need sleep. During sleep, the brain sorts through and stores information, replaces chemicals, and even solves problems while you snooze. Many of us do not get the needed amount of sleep. Children ages 5-12 need 9-12 hours of sleep each night. Not every child needs the same amount of sleep, but all children need a good night’s sleep. Sleep helps your memory, it enables growth and strength to increase physical and emotional well-being. Getting enough sleep helps to keep you alert to learn and stay focused. Not getting enough sleep can lower your immune system and lead to getting sick more often. A lack of proper sleep can also make it more difficult to manage our emotions.
Ways to help get a good night’s sleep:
- Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. This helps your body establish a sleep routine.
- Turn off the TV, phone, computer, tablets and other devices 1 hour before sleep time. The blue light and stimulation that is provided by these devices tricks your brain into thinking it is not time to sleep.
- Do calming things before bed—read a book, listen to music, deep breathing etc.
- Make sure you have had a drink of water, gone to the bathroom and have everything you need to sleep before going to bed. (avoid caffeinated drinks before bed)
- Get some good exercise earlier in the day. Heavy exercise right before you want to sleep will make it difficult for your body and brain to settle in to sleep.
Sleep tight Mustangs. 😴
Anita Blaisdell
(she/her)
“I choose to travel forward with hope and gratitude. 💖”
Music Memo
Hello Midland Mustang families!
This month in music:
Kindergarten is focusing on steady beat, rhythms (tas, titis, and ta rests), the pitches So and Mi, and most importantly: talking voice vs. whisper voice vs. shouting voice vs. singing voice. It is important for students to know the difference between speaking and singing. While that may seem obvious to us as adults, it is very common for younger students to think they’re singing, but they’re actually just speaking with inflections. We are also learning a song that is in both English and Spanish called “Cantamos En Nuestra Escuela” (We’re Singing In Our School). This song will be performed with 1st and 2nd graders at November’s Multicultural Night. The power standards being covered with these songs and activities are:
Rhythm, Melody, Form, and Timbre & Expression.
1st and 2nd grade is focusing on steady beat, rhythms (tas, titis, tika tikas, and ta rests), and the pitches So, Mi, and La. Soon, 2nd grade will be adding Do and Re (keep an eye out for these in future memos). We are also learning a song that is in both English and Spanish called “Cantamos En Nuestra Escuela” (We’re Singing In Our School). This song will be performed with Kinders, 1st, and 2nd graders at November’s Multicultural Night. The power standards being covered with these songs and activities are:
Rhythm, Melody, and Form.
3rd grade is focusing on a xylophone/metallophone/glockenspiel/tambourine piece called “Circle Dance”, as well as a Mexican folk dance called “Los Machetes”. Los Machetes will be performed with 4th and 5th graders at November’s Multicultural Night. The power standards being covered with these songs and activities are:
Rhythm, Melody, Harmony & Texture, and Form.
4th and 5th grade will begin an ukulele unit this month. Students will learn the names of the strings, how to pluck, how to strum, how to read western musical notation, how to read tabulature, and how to play & sing simultaneously. Students are also learning a Mexican Folk Dance called “Los Machetes”. Los Machetes will be performed along with the 3rd graders at November’s Multicultural Night. The power standards being covered with these songs and activities are:
Rhythm, Melody, Harmony & Texture, and Form.
As always, I would like the music we learn in class to reflect the different cultures of our students. If your family knows a song or dance from your culture, please reach out to me at akellogg@fpschools.org and I would love to integrate it into our curriculum.
Thank you,
Kellogg
they/them
Anneliese Kellogg
they/them
K-5 Music
Midland Elementary
This week is Kitchen Staff Appreciation week
Midland's Health Screening is coming soon!
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