North Tiger Beat
November & December 2022
Happy Thanksgiving North Families!!!
It’s an exciting time of year! Let's all model gratitude and grace for our students during this season. In celebration of Thanksgiving, we can reflect and give thanks for all of our blessings here at North Elementary. I would like to thank our staff here at North who work very hard everyday sharing their talents, compassion and time with our students. Thank you for all you do every day! I would also like to wish all of our families and students a Happy Thanksgiving!!
As we move toward December, we encourage our families to share and celebrate their different traditions with us. We love to learn about our families. We look forward to seeing our parents at conferences on December 8th. Please check out the link below to set your child's conference.
During the month of November and December, the character traits we have been and will be reflecting on are:
Nov 7
Helping others
Nov 14
Persevering through difficult tasks
Nov 28
Having good transitions
Dec 5
Having appropriate boundaries
Dec 12
Giving and receiving compliments
Dec 19
Self-management in the cafeteria
Jan 2
Staying on task
Jan 9
Being an effective problem solver
Jan 16
Expressing empathy/understanding others
Jan 23
Being flexible
Jan 30
Being a good friend
During this holiday season, we will be reflecting on being generous and thinking about others before we think of ourselves. Please talk to children about our character traits each month. We need your support to help reinforce these expectations as we continue to focus on making our North community a positive, safe, and inclusive learning environment.
As the weather changes, please be sure students are wearing outdoor attire to accommodate for the cold weather. We like to have the students outside as much as we can. If the windchill or temp is 22 and above, we will be going outside. It may be a little early to talk about snow, but we do go outside if there is snow. Students who bring in boots, snow pants, and gloves will be able to go in the snow. Students will need to stay on the blacktop surface if they don't have the snow attire.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Trunk and Treat last month! The decorating, music, and atmosphere were a real hit with our students. It was great to have our families dressed up and enjoying the night!! We are very lucky to have the volunteers we do. They help us make memories for our children that will last a lifetime. We look forward to our next PTO-sponsored event on December 3rd (Donuts with Santa) and our Scholastic Book Fair. Please check out the flyers that have gone home.
Thanksgiving First Grade Tradition
Drills and our First Responders
Important Dates
November 23rd - Early Release Dismissal AM Preschool 11:00K-5 at 11:30 No PM preschool
November 24th and 25th- Happy Thanksgiving No School
November 29th- Early Release Dismissal Full Day & AM Preschool 12:00; K-5 12:30; No PM
December 5th-12th- Scholastic Book Fair
December 8th- Parent Teacher Conference by appointment. No School for Students
December 3rd- Donuts with Santa 9am-11am
December 10th- 4th & 5th Grade Chorus Perform at Winter Fest 12:30
December 19th- December 23rd- Holiday Spirit Week
December 23rd- Early Release 12:30
December 24th- January 2nd- Vacation No School
January 16th - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day- No School
January 25th- Early Release 12:30
February 20th-24th- Vacation Week
Scholastic Book Fair Classroom Shopping Times December 5th-7th
Parent Teacher Conferences December 8th - By Appointment
We are using Calendly to organize our upcoming Parent/Teacher Conferences on Wednesday, December 8, 2021. Teachers are scheduling 15-minute blocks from 12:30-7:00 to meet with parents or guardians. There will be no school for students on that day.
This will be a time for you to talk to your child's teachers about their progress. All school staff will be available on that day. This includes your child's specialist teachers (Art teacher, PE Teacher, Music Teacher, Health Teacher, and Technology Teacher). Intervention staff, as well as related service staff (School Nurse, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Pathologist, School Psychologist, School Adjustment Counselor, Special Education Facilitator), will also be available on that day. We encourage you to schedule your conferences as soon as possible.
This link will give you direct access to schedule your child's conferences.
http://north.somersetschools.org/documents/NORTH-Sign-Up-Links-for-Parent-Teacher-Conferences-1.pdf
Covid Tests available for our students.
Teachers Teaching Teachers.....
FUN RUN SUCCESS!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!
Thank you to all of our families for making our Fundraiser a MAJOR SUCCESS. Your generosity and support are appreciated. The students had a great time during the time when Rocket Ryan and Tonya were here. We were grateful to have their positive energy as they talked to our students about Gratitude, Stewardship, Bravery, Perseverance, and Wonder. These topics aligned perfectly to our TIGER PRIDE Vision of the Graduate character traits of Perseverance, Respect, Independence, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Empathy.
Here are the STATS:
RESULTS
- School pledge profit - $21,560 (at 100% collected)
- 77% Students Registered
- 51% Students Pledged
- 72% Non-Parent Pledging ( $15,523) - AWESOME!!
- 26 States
- 3 Countries
THANK YOU FEINSTEIN FOUNDATION
North Gives Back!!
Toy Drive supporting the Somerset Police
Grateful Grains Domino Cereal Box Drive
Join in on the fun and give back to our community by donating unopened boxes of cereal. Once we receive all our donated cereal boxes, we will be creating a school-wide domino chain throughout our hallways and watch/video them falling in between all of our students. The more boxes we receive, the longer the domino chain and the more we can donate to local food pantries. Happy Thanksgiving!
We will be collecting from
November 21-December 13th
I hope this holiday season finds you all healthy and full of joy and cheer!
Currently, there is a widespread uptick in the amount of young children who have tested positive for RSV. This is not only in our community, but across the country as a whole. RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) is a common respiratory illness that usually causes cold-like symptoms. Most persons infected recover in a week or two, but this virus can be especially dangerous for young infants, older adults, and those with already compromised immune systems and/or chronic respiratory issues. Currently, there are no specific RSV guidelines to return to school, with the exception of remaining at home until your child’s temperature has been below 100F for 24 hours without fever reducing medicine (Advil, Tylenol, etc.).
Please also use discretion when returning any sick student to school as symptom management plays a huge role in their ability to learn. Those students who have difficulty controlling their coughs or secretions, have trouble blowing their nose and washing their hands, may be better off remaining out of school until the peak of their illness has resolved.
All students with diagnosed strep throat and pink eye, MUST remain out of school until they have been on antibiotics for a full 24 hours AND have a physician’s note to return to school. If your child has been injured and is wearing a cast, a splint, boot, or is using an assistive device such as crutches, they need a note to return to school as well as specific activity restrictions for their school day. All students with active vomiting and diarrhea are asked to remain out of school until they have been vomit and/or diarrhea free for 24 hours. This allows for time to reestablish hydration and proper electrolyte balance.
Please do not send medications to school with your child. This includes cough syrup, vitamins, cough drops, nasal sprays, ointments, etc. If your child is in need of medication throughout their school day, please reach out to the Health Office to review the proper protocol and procedure for medication administration in schools.
Coming in January is Postural Screening for Grade 5. Unless you have opted your child out, they will be screened. Opt-outs must be in writing. A paper will be coming home after the break with an opportunity for you to opt your child out .
If your child has Covid, please notify the Health Office to determine the appropriate timeline to return your child to school.
There is an abundance of information available on my website should you have any questions/concerns after hours or on weekends/vacations. https://northnurseroy.weebly.com/
My office hours are 8:30 AM-3:30 PM and I close for lunch daily from 1:45-2:15. Feel free to reach out via email at stephanie.roy@somersetschools.org or via telephone 508-324-3170 prompt 2.
I am also available on December 8 for Parent/Teacher conferences if you would like to set up some time to discuss any health concerns you may have about your child.
Grade Level Happenings
Preschool
Kindergarten
Our kindergarteners have been hard at work learning their letters and sounds. The phonics program has also been helping them to break words into their sounds. This is a step toward decoding and spelling words. During their writing time, the students are beginning to use letter/sound combinations to label drawings and spell words. Do not be concerned about correct spelling at this time, because the children have not yet learned all of the many rules associated with spelling words correctly in the English language.
In math, the students counted sets of objects to 5 and compared them. When they compare, they use the language “greater than”, “less than”, and “the same”. If comparing comes up in conversation your child would benefit from hearing these words outside of the classroom. This will help them to generalize their math skills to everyday life.
Our wonderful workers have been learning about stormy weather in Science, the holidays, Veteran’s Day, and Thanksgiving, in Social Studies. They have made books, read articles, and created art projects to help them understand why some people celebrate these days.
Please remember to set up a conference time with your child’s teacher for parent-teacher conferences. We are looking forward to discussing your child’s progress with you! There will be an email about how to sign up. As always, we strive to work with families to help each child reach their potential. If you have any questions about how you can help your child with school, call or email their teacher.
Pumpkin Patch Fun!!!
Happy Thanksgiving from Grade One
First Grade
November has found the first graders working hard on academics. In math, we are learning how to identify and use addition strategies to solve problems. We will continue this thinking into December, applying these same strategies to subtraction. Our reading work has been focused on narrative texts with special focus on story elements and the study of characters. We will also begin to take a look at informative texts where the students will be identifying the facts and details learned. We are also poised to begin writing narrative stories, having completed a study of each genre of writing using authentic literature. In our phonics program,all of the short vowel sounds have been introduced and worked on. After a final review, the students will begin to work on both initial and final consonant blends. With Thanksgiving upon us, the first grade team is grateful for all of the donations made toward the Boosterthon Fun Run. The monies help our PTO to fund field trips and other special events for our school. We are also thankful to the many families that completed the Veterans Day project. It represents an important part of our social studies learning about citizenship and duty. The first graders will begin a unit on “December Celebrations”. They will learn about the details and significance of the Mulsim holiday of Ramadan, the Hindu holiday of Diwali, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, the Christian holiday of Christmas, and the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa. The ultimate goal of this learning is that the students recognize the similarities and shared goals between cultures and learn to appreciate the diversity of our world. We look forward to seeing you at parent-teacher conferences on December 8th.
Second Grade
December is here!
Our “teacher elves” have been busy making sure the students are growing as readers! Students have increased their independent reading time, deepened their comprehension skills and have been sharing their opinions on the stories they’re reading. Guided reading groups are also a time when students are having conversations about the themes in their texts, asking/ answering questions and writing about their stories.
Problem solving with some silly holiday problems will keep our skills sharp in math! Second graders have been using a variety of strategies to solve basic facts along with using Freckle and Xtra Math, online math resources. Showing how to solve a problem with pictures and equations, as well as, explaining how a problem was solved, will continue to be practiced.
Don’t forget to have your child spread some holiday cheer the week before winter break! Keep an eye out for the fun ways to be festive...Happy Holidays!
Tower Garden
Third Grade
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
This month we are grateful for our students and families that do their best every day to support learning. In writing students are learning about narratives and how to hook the reader with an entertaining beginning. Our read-alouds have focused on understanding a character’s feelings and motivations. Social Studies has centered around the “People of the Dawn” who lived in Massachusetts. In science, students will be exploring the effects of natural hazards. We continue to use equal groups to multiply and learn new strategies to solve multiplication problems. We look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child’s progress on December 8. We wish everyone a joyous holiday season!
Fourth Grade
North’s fourth graders are continuing to work hard this fall. This month is a time to consider all the things we are grateful for, and we will be discussing gratitude throughout the month. In Reading, students will continue reading various genres and making connections to the text. Our writers are working hard on the components of informational writing. Fourth grade mathematicians are learning strategies to multiply numbers, and are encouraged to practice their basic facts. In science, students will be generating ideas for their service learning project. In Social Studies, students will be learning about early European Explorers. During social-emotional lessons, fourth graders are learning how to manage problems and work together with their peers. They are working very hard! The students enjoyed the pumpkin decorating project and will be participating in gingerbread decorating in December.
Fifth Grade
During the month of December math classes will continue to focus on decimals operations. As the month progresses we will move from addition and subtraction of decimals to multiplying and then dividing. Students should continue to practice their math facts daily so that they can be prepared for success in these units.
Science classes will be wrapping up our learning of the movement of celestial bodies and diving into the water cycle.
I’m ELA this month we will be wrapping up narrative and descriptive writing with some winter themed assignment. Student will be able to utilize all of the strategies that they have learned during trimester 1 and their imagination to author a fun seasonal writing piece. In reading we will be investigating elements of fiction including point of view through a variety of literature and our own responses.
History class this month will wrap up colonization in preparation for our in-depth study of the American Revolution in the new year. Student will be comparing and contrasting the different colonial regions as well as each region’s relationship with the native nations who inhabited the region.
We are looking forward to meeting all families at conferences this month and sharing their progress with you. Happy holidays!
Intervention Department
Music & Chorus
The 4th and 5th grade chorus students have their first performance coming up on December 10th. They will be singing at Somerset's "Winter Fest." I've been sending paper reminders home with students and have emailed family members, but could you also include a blurb in the newsletter as well? I've attached a picture with all the information. The event takes place at Slade's Ferry Landing (by Rockland Trust Bank). Winter Fest is a town event with vendors, food trucks, train rides, and more. Students in 4th and 5th Grade Chorus report at 12:15 p.m. and perform at 12:30 p.m. Winter Fest is a town event with vendors, food trucks, train rides, and more.