South Elementary Family Newsletter
Volume #4 December, 2023
Message from the Principals
Dear South Families,
As December approaches, we find ourselves thinking more about peace, kindness, and diversity. We are surrounded by many winter celebrations at South Elementary, including Diwali, Chinese New Year, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and many others. While each of these holidays are unique and special, they also connect us, as they are all cherished by our students and their families and have a focus on giving and light. Most importantly though, the spirit of togetherness continues to shine brightly in our school! Students and staff kicked off this month with our very first Cricket Convention on December 1st. This special meeting focused on our school Kindness Tree, the book, A Little Spot of Kindness, and Cricket Council skits about different ways to be kind.. During these monthly school-wide assemblies, we focus on our community, highlight important messages, and showcase grade level creativity.
In November, we collected many canned and dry food items for our families and others in the area. Thank you for your donations! Students learn to practice goodwill toward others when participating in these types of events and it helps them develop perspective of other people's circumstances. In keeping with this topic, we want to make sure that all of our South families are supported during this festive season. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Dr. Hurley, Mrs. H, or I, if you are in need of any help. We are always here for you and want to ensure that you are taken care of.
Please have your child/ren look at the items in Lost and Found to see if anything is theirs. There are many, many clothing items, water bottles, and etc. overflowing from the bin and rack. We have laid each thing out during lunch and asked students to look them over. However, we will be taking anything left on the last day of school before vacation to the Salvation Army.
For our PRIDE traits (Perseverance; Respect; Independence; Diversity/Equity/Inclusion; and Empathy) this month, the character traits we will be working on are: having appropriate boundaries; giving and receiving compliments; and self-management in the cafeteria.
Wishing you all a joyful and peaceful December filled with happy holidays!
With Aloha,
Rebecca Hurley and Steph Brown
508-324-3180
Important Dates
Tuesday, December 5-Holiday Pie Fundraiser-orders and payment due
Tuesday, December 5-First Trimester Report Cards come out on the Parent Portal
Tuesday, December 5 & Wednesday, December 6-Scholastic Book Fair in School (each class will visit)
Thursday, December 7-No School for Students: Parent Teacher Conferences 12:30-7PM
Thursday, December 7-Scholastic Book Fair open for parents during PT Conferences
Thursday, December 7-Papa Gino's-South PTO gets 20% of sales-Online orders-enter code-19.
Saturday, December 17-Winterfest, 12-5PM, @ SBRHS
Monday, December 18-Friday, December 22-Spirit Week-*Please see flyer-HERE: Suggested donation $5 per student for the week. Donate HERE.
Wednesday, December 20-Holiday Pie Pick up @ South @ 3:30-6:30PM-Pies not picked up will be donated.
December 25-January 1-Holiday Season Break: See you on Tuesday, January 2, 2024!!
From Mrs. H., School Adjustment Counselor
This is an exciting, but exhausting, time of year.
There is so much to do, so many places to go and excitement for some………..and yet, so much pain, sadness and loneliness for others. Please remember that we are all important but may experience this time of year in a different way. Whatever you feel you may need to replenish. Please take time to care for yourselves and those around you. Click on Tools to replenish your cup for some ideas!
This is another Website that can help bring calmness to your life.
Monthly Theme
Human Rights Day is observed every year on December 10th. It marks the day in 1948 that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, the Assembly passed resolution 423 (V), inviting all States and interested organizations to annually observe December 10 as Human Rights Day.
This year, Human Rights Day calls on everyone to stand up for someone’s rights! Many of us are fearful about the way the world is heading. Disrespect for basic human rights continues to be wide-spread across the globe. Extremist movements subject people to horrific violence. Messages of intolerance and hatred prey on our fears. Humane values are under attack..
Always in your corner,
Cecilia Huard, LMHC
School Adjustment Counselor
From Our Amazing PTO!
PTO’s December Newsletter
Upcoming Events: Mark your Calendars!
Tuesday, December 5th-Pie Order Forms Due
Please return order forms for the pie fundraiser by December 5th.
Thank you for your continued support!
December 5th-7th: Scholastic Book Fair
Students will visit the book fair with their classes on 12/5 and 12/6. See the schedule below.
Scholastic Book Fair will be open on 12/7 from 12:30PM-7:00PM during Parent/Teacher Conferences.
PTO needs volunteers to assist with the Book Fair! Volunteers assist in selecting books and running the register. Volunteers must have a current CORI check on file in the main office. If you are interested in volunteering, please use the link to sign up. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4DAEA929A5FFC34-46096109-book#
Classes Visiting Book Fair on December 5th:
Ms. Quinlan
Mrs. Faria
Mrs. Kela
Mrs. Lopes
Mrs. Griffin
Mrs.Oliveira
Mrs. Teasdale
Classes Visiting the Book Fair on December 6th:
Ms. Baldwin
Ms. Hanney
Mrs. Pimental
Mrs. Brisson
Mrs. Potvin
Thursday, December 7th: Papa Gino’s Night 4PM-9PM
869 GAR Highway, Somerset
Walk-in or phone orders: Mention this fundraiser when you place your order for South School to get the credit for your order.
Online Orders: Enter Code 19 at the payment screen and click redeem.
South School earns 20% of orders!
Sunday, December 17th WInterfest
Enjoy the festivities at Winterfest this year!
12/17 from 12PM-5PM at Somerset Berkley Regional High School
Activities at Winterfest include: Pictures with Santa, Cookie Decorating, Train Rides, The Polar Express Movie, Student Performances and more.
PTO will be volunteering at this event and would love to see South Families attend!
Some activities require tickets (free of charge) to accommodate capacity. For more information on the event please check out Somerset Winterfest on Facebook for more details.
December 18th-22nd Holiday Spirit Week:
Join in the holiday fun by participating in Spirit Week! See themes below:
Every student is entered in a raffle for a chance to win daily prizes.
Donations of $5 to the PTO can be made on Cheddar Up using the link:
https://somersetsouthelementarypto-181.mycheddarup.com/
Monday: Run-Run Rudolph: Favorite Holiday Socks
Tuesday: Baby, It’s Cold Outside: Cozy Up with your Favorite Scarf!
Wednesday: Winter Wonderland: Wear blue, white, or silver
Thursday: Deck the Halls: Holiday Headwear: hats, headbands etc.
Friday: Silent Night: Pajama Day!
December 20th: Pie Pick UP
Pie pick up will be from 3:30PM-6:30PM at South School.
Please make arrangements to have your pies picked up during that time frame.
Any pies not picked up will be donated.
PTO Updates:
Patriots Raffle Ticket Winner: Jessica Andrade!
Thank you to everyone who purchased raffle tickets for this fundraiser!
Want to Volunteer?
The PTO is still looking for an event coordinator. This is a 2 year position that is shared with two other coordinators.
This position assists in setting up and decorating events, selling tickets at raffle tables, and cleaning up.
It’s a great way to be a part of the school community and get to know families.
Anyone interested in the position can email the PTO at somersetsouthelementarypto@gmail.com
Contact PTO
Follow South Elementary PTO on Facebook for updates and information!
Parent Resources
December Lunch Menu: please click HERE.
**Click HERE for December Read Aloud Books for Elementary Students
Click HERE for a 100s Chart to help count to 100, add, subtract, and notice number patterns.
Click HERE for an Alphabet Linking Chart to help your child match sounds and letters when writing/reading.
Somerset Public Schools, SY' 23-24 Calendar: please click HERE
KINDERGARTEN
GRADE 1
December will go just as quick, but we are ready!!
GRADE 2
Can you believe that it is already December… Where has this first trimester gone? We hope everyone had a restful Thanksgiving break! Over the past month in reading, we have looked closely at narrative nonfiction stories. Our interactive read alouds have had us exploring nonfiction books by Seymour Simon, narrative nonfiction stories and finding beauty in the world around you. In phonics, we have been talking about inflected endings -s, -es, -ed, and -ing. Our new focus is going to be on vowel teams starting with igh and oa. In writing, we will begin working on adding entertaining beginnings and elaborate details to our narrative stories. We will create a menu for beginnings which includes: a sound word, a question, an action, and dialogue. In math, we concluded our chapter on Numbers to 1,000. We began Chapter 4, where we will be working on 2-digit addition. Our science mysteries this month focused on what's strong enough to make a canyon and various ways to stop landslides from happening. In social studies, we will begin to look at the seven continents and the 5 oceans. We look forward to meeting with all of you on December 7, for our Parent Teacher Conferences.
GRADE 3
Dear Third Grade Families,
The holidays are upon us! This time of year brings joy, excitement and a whole host of emotions! We are keeping a tight focus on rituals and routines to balance learning and fun! Number Corner activities have jump started multiplication while introducing fractions, equivalency and mixed numbers. Students are working in phonics daily to segment multisyllabic words, prefixes and suffixes. We have completed Unit 1 in science to learn about Extreme Weather and we look forward to moving ahead with Forces, Motion and Magnets. Our reading workshop lessons have centered around non-fiction texts, with a special focus on identifying text features. In writing, we have been exploring the essential elements of narrative writing. Through the use of graphic organizers, the students have been applying these elements to their own writing. We are also working on improving our typing skills and becoming proficient in using Google Drive. Currently, in social studies, we are wrapping up our unit on "The First People." As we head into the holiday season, we wish you continued health, success, and time to make wonderful family memories.
The Third Grade Team
Grade 4
As the first trimester comes to a close, we’re continuing to focus on nonfiction texts, the importance of text features, and informational writing. While writing our “expert pieces”, we have learned how to catch the reader’s attention; while clearly stating our topic using an interesting lead and a focused topic sentence. This work has also led to a clearer understanding of writing main ideas with elaborative details. We will soon use what we have learned about nonfiction text features and the structure of informational writing to move into a new, less familiar topic that requires the application of research. We have also explored some interesting biographies with a focus on perseverance in order to gain success.
In phonics, we continue to apply the knowledge of the 6-syllable types to read multisyllabic words with accuracy. We’ve also been exploring prefixes, noun and verb types, and adjectives.
In Social Studies, we will be concluding our study of Native People of North America.
This month, the fourth grade Mathematicians used MATH workshop (meet with teacher, activity at a seat, technology, and hands-on) to review math vocabulary, find factors and multiples to whole numbers 1-100 (playing factor frenzy, multiple wheel), practice our multiplication and division facts (playing POP!, Missing Number Bingo, Multiplication Jenga), generate and analyze patterns, and understand a digit in any place represents 10 times as much as it represents the place to its right (creating the Great Wall of Base Ten and playing SPLAT!). We also started Module 2 to better understand dimensions and area - to support our understanding of multiplication with 2-digit by 2-digit numbers using the area model, and to use our estimation skills to come up with “reasonable estimates”. We will finish module 2 before Winter Break! Lastly, in Number Corners the class worked on identifying the time, and finding the elapsed time from day-to-day. We used the number line to find the elapsed time, and ratio table to convert hours to minutes.
In science, we are finishing our unit on energy. The class created their own flashlights to understand electrical energy, and heat spinners for heat energy and energy transfer. We will finish our energy unit before winter break, and review the engineering process for our winter STEM Challenge!
Grade 5
As the first trimester comes to a close, we’re continuing to focus on nonfiction texts, the importance of text features, and informational writing. While writing our “expert pieces”, we have learned how to catch the reader’s attention; while clearly stating our topic using an interesting lead and a focused topic sentence. This work has also led to a clearer understanding of writing main ideas with elaborative details. We will soon use what we have learned about nonfiction text features and the structure of informational writing to move into a new, less familiar topic that requires the application of research. We have also explored some interesting biographies with a focus on perseverance in order to gain success.
In phonics, we continue to apply the knowledge of the 6-syllable types to read multisyllabic words with accuracy. We’ve also been exploring prefixes, noun and verb types, and adjectives.
In Social Studies, we will begin our study of the Revolutionary War.
This month, the fifth grade mathematicians used our MATH workshop (meet with teacher, activity at a seat, technology, and hands-on) to review math vocabulary, write numeric expressions from their word forms, solve equations using the correct order of operations, and understand how volume relates to multiplication and division. We also started a new module on fractions, and learned how we could use money and clock models to support us when adding/subtracting fractions with unlike denominators, finding equivalent fractions, and multiplying whole numbers by fractions. Lastly, in Number Corners the students have been extending their understanding of the coordinate plane to include writing ordered pairs from given (x,y) patterns.
In Science, the students are finishing up their study on Spaceship Earth. We’ve learned about the sky patterns and the effects of Earth’s rotation and orbit. We also reviewed the engineering process and completed our monthly STEM Challenge - to design, construct, test and improve a table that would support one or more cans of vegetables. It was very impressive that all student groups were successful!