The Harrahill Herald
Mrs. Harrahill's News for December 14th-18th, 2015
Anderson Grove's Purpose & Direction
Purpose: The purpose of Anderson Grove Elementary is to prepare all students to achieve their greatest potential and to positively impact the future.
Direction: In collaboration with families and community, our direction is to support and prepare all students for success through high expectations and individualized learning in a safe and positive environment.
Values & Beliefs:
Family Atmosphere
Collaboration and Communication
Integrity
Continuous Improvement
3 Be’s – Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible
Anderson Grove's "Be Known"
Anderson Grove is Known for Being a. . .
Collaborative
Dedicated
Positive
Community
School-Wide Expectations Focus of the Week: Hallway
Be Safe
-
Single file line
Hands, feet, and objects to self
Face forward
-
Voices off
Walk up the stairs and down the ramp
Be Responsible
- Go directly to your destination
Notes from the Editor
- Spelling: There will not be a new spelling sort this week. Instead, students will spend their spelling time learning several lowercase cursive letters.
- Homework: Students had a homework assignment given this past Friday (the 11th). They need to create a visual aid poster for their nonfiction research (their chosen animal) and it is due on Monday, December 14th. Posters will be used to support students' oral presentation assessment during the last week before break. There will be a cursive assignment over Winter Break. Also, please encourage your child to read, read, read! :)
- Field Trip: On Tuesday, December 15th third graders will be going to The Durham Western Heritage Museum to learn about the history of our community (the greater Omaha area). They'll gain additional information to support what we've been studying in social studies -- when Native Americans lived this land; pioneers and the time of Westward Expansion; transportation, inventions/new ideas, and immigration and its impact on the city -- all leading up to today. They need to bring a disposable lunch, wear tennis shoes, and dress in layers. We'll leave at 9:00 a.m. The bus will arrive back at AG around 2:00 p.m.
Library Letter from Mrs. Von Nagy, Librarian
Art News from Miss Levin
This week, students will be continuing their silhouette animal drawings. On day one, we looked at animal pictures for reference and talked about how we can draw animals by using shapes, then making slight changes to the shapes to make them realistic. After the animal was drawn, we added a horizon line and a habitat behind the animal (some students even added some other animals friends!) The animal was silhouetted by coloring them in, creating contrast and positive and negative space. Many students colored in their background in a sunset style... very cool! At home, encourage your student to draw objects around the house -- maybe a favorite toy or even the family pet. Remind them to break down what they see into shapes. This will help with their drawing and grow their skill of hand eye coordination in art. Check out some student samples below!
Local Listings
Dec. 18 - Winter Parties @ 2:00 p.m.
Dec. 21-Jan. 4 - NO SCHOOL - Winter Break (Happy Holidays!)
Jan. 5 - School resumes (regular school hours)
Jan. 7 - PTO Meeting @ 6:30 in the library
Jan. 18 - NO SCHOOL (Staff Development)
Specials Schedule
Tuesday (Day 9) - Art
Wednesday (Day 10) - P.E.
Thursday (Day 1) - Music & Library Checkout
Friday (Day 2) - P.E.
Current Events
**Note: Our students are part of a group helping to pilot new reading, writing, and spelling programs. We will be using a comprehensive reading, writing, and spelling program called JOURNEYS from Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.**
Reading
At Home: While reading with your child, stop to ask him/her questions about how the author's use of text features, such as charts, help him/her better understand the text. (Look for signal words like "first, next, then, and finally" in the text to support this conversation.) Also encourage your child to ask questions he/she may have as you read. As you continue on, us text evidence to answer your child's question and to support the answer.
Writing
At Home: Help your child practice using signal words cause and effect relationships by completing the following frames.
"My school day ended, _______."
"______ I lost my key, _______."
"______ my dog ran away, _______."
"______ there was a blizzard outside, ______."
Cursive
At Home: Cursive writers will have a homework assignment to review what they've learned so far. They'll bring their cursive workbooks home on Friday.
Math
Social Studies
At Home: Check out the following links with your child to better understand our unit of study. View the history of Ellis Island and the journey immigrants experienced as they arrived in America by taking a virtual tour. See what life was like for Americans and immigrants that ventured out to the "Wild West" as pioneers!
Pioneer Diaries
Virtual Tour of Ellis Island
Life in the City