Happy April Bearcat Families!

The month of April and May are always busy months during the school year with many school activities scheduled, as well as activities scheduled outside of school. This time of the school year always seems to move so quickly. As a reminder, school hours are from 8:15 until 3:40 each day. Students arriving to school after 8:15 will be marked tardy for the instructional day. Did you know that getting your child to school on time each day sets them up to be successful in their learning, as well as helps them develop habits of arriving on time at an early age?

MES will have field day on April 6th. Parents are invited to attend and watch your child participate in the color run at designated times for each grade level. If you plan on attending please be sure to pre-register on the link teachers sent to families. Parents and visitors will check-in at the front and receive a visitor’s sticker. After checking in, parents and visitors will need to walk around the building to the back parking lot where the color run will take place.

During the months of April and May students in grades 3-5 will participate in STAAR testing. Third–fifth grade students will take the Reading STAAR test the week of April 17th -21st. Fifth grade students will take the Science STAAR test the week of April 25th and third-fifth grade students will take the Math STAAR the week of May 1st -5th. Our campus will be a closed campus during these weeks to visitors. Please help your students by making sure they get a good breakfast on their testing day and getting plenty of rest the night before.

Happy April Bearcat Family!

In April, we are learning about COOPERATION! Cooperation is an important skill that we use in all areas of our lives. When we work together with others, we can achieve great things and accomplish goals that we could not achieve alone.

Here are some tips for practicing cooperation:

1. Encourage your family to listen to each other: When we listen to others, we can understand their point of view and work together to find a solution that works for everyone.

1. Respect each other: Treat others the way you would like to be treated! Show kindness, patience, and understanding towards others, even if you disagree with them.

1. Communicate effectively: Use clear and respectful communication when working with others. Share your thoughts and ideas in a way that others can understand and respond to without confusion.

1. Work as a team: When working on a project or task with others, remember that everyone has something to contribute. Encourage each other, celebrate successes together, and help each other when needed.

Cooperation is an important skill that will help our children succeed in school and life. Try to create moments in your home where your family has to work together effectively and efficiently. Soft skills are important because they are the personal attributes that enable individuals to effectively interact with others and navigate their work and personal lives. Communication, collaboration, adaptability, leadership, problem-solving, time-management, and emotional intelligence are all soft skills that we need to instill in our children. Possessing strong soft skills can help build positive relationships with others, which is so important in leading a fulfilling life.

Hope you all have an AMAZING APRIL!

Let’s Work Together for the Greater Good,

Mrs. Skrehot

Hearing and Vision Referrals:

If you received a referral for your child, please return the paperwork to me once they have seen a doctor.

Reminders:

• Please do not send any medicine in their backpacks!!! Over-the-counter cough medicine, cough drops and prescription medicines must be brought to the clinic by a parent/guardian and a medication authorization form must be signed for everything except cough drops.

• Children must be fever free (<100.0) for 24 hours before returning to school. This is without taking fever reducers.

• If your child had an upset stomach (vomiting or diarrhea) in the night or morning before school, please do not send them until the following day.

• Send a note or DR. excuse saying that they were sick when they come back to school. This will make their absence excused and help with their attendance.

• The weather will start warming up soon so please make sure to send a water bottle with your child to school every day to ensure adequate hydration.

Have a wonderful and blessed month!

-Nurse Calhoun

PreK will begin our new unit on Farm and Food Sources

• Farmers raise animals and grow plants for food.
• Weather and seasons affect plants and animals.
• Food is grown on farms.

Reading

• Informational and Drama Texts
• recognize the central idea and supporting details
• use illustrations to help clarify word meaning
• determine author’s purpose
• describe story elements-setting, characters, problem, solution
• make inferences

Writing

• Sharing Your Opinions
• Writers come up with ideas for opinion writing
• Writers sketch and write to convince others
• Writers revise by asking their partner questions
• Writers make their writing the best it can be

Math

• Count 10 ones and some ones
• Compose numbers 11-20 from 10 ones and some ones
• Represent and write teen numbers
• Decompose numbers 11-20
• Count to answer “How Many?”
• Personal finance: income, jobs, needs/wants

Science

• Basic Needs continued
• Plant and Animals Characteristics

Social Studies

• Jobs
• Time
• Timelines
• Technology

Phonics

• Vowel teams (examples: ea,oa,ui,etc)
• Digraph blends (trigraphs)
• R controlled syllables (er,ir,or,ar,ur)

Reading

• Informational & Literary Text: Observing the Sky
• Informational & Literary Text: We use goods and Services

Writing

• Poems the describe our world
• Writing How-To collections

Math

• Module 5: Identifying, Composing, and Partitioning Shapes
• Module 6: Place Value, Comparison, Understanding Income with Addition and Subtraction to 100

Science

• Interdependency
• Animal Characteristics
• Plant Parts

Social Studies

• Jobs
• Time
• Comparing Children over time
• Inventions

Language Arts

• Informational and Drama Text
• Expertise Writing
• Suffixes -er, -est, -y, -ly, shwa,
• Silent letters

Math

• Module 7 - Problem Solving with Length, Money, and Data

Social Studies

• Goods
• Sequencing
• Communication
• Transportation

Science

• Food Chains
• Animal Characteristics

Math

• We are diving deep into geometry and measurement this month! Measurement is a hard concept for 3rd graders to understand, so if you could show them everyday measurements tools you use in the kitchen or outside around the house or at work. Your help would be greatly appreciated, it is always good for them to see it used and how it is use in the real world.

Science

• In science we will be learning all about the different ecosystems and habitat that plants and animals live in. This is a fun unit to do the kids always get excited to learn about animals!

Math

• Money, Money, Money... Economics is our unit of study for the month! We will explore supply and demand, earning money, and budgeting.

ELA

• In ELA we will continue our reading unit on earth's surfaces by reading about some point of interest like, Mt. Rushmore, The Grand Cayon, and many more places. We will also be incorporating some fun reviews to get the kids ready for the STAAR test at the end of the month.

ELA

• We are busy reviewing and preparing for our Reading STAAR test on April 19th.

Social Studies

• This month is filled with many important topics such as Citizens: Rights, Responsibilities, and Active Participation. Texas citizens, pride, and culture.

Math

• This month is all about measurement and data. Students will also be touching on financial literacy and decimal fractions throughout the next few weeks.

Science

• We will continue our study of Life Science this month as we study the various structures and functions, inherited traits of living organisms and how these adaptations help them survive.

Math

• Data Analysis
• Financial Literacy

ELAR

• Creating Mental Pictures
• Making Connections between 2 subjects
• Context Clues
• Author's Purpose
• Inferencing

Science

• Traits and Adaptations

Social Studies

• Holocaust Remembrance Week and the Civil War

Field Day is Thursday, April 6th!!! This year we are partnering with our fabulous PTO & Apex Leadership Co. This local company promotes leadership habits, good character and includes a fitness-focused event to help our school raise money. Students will be challenged to get pledges for the obstacles they will complete at the obstacle course. Funds raised from this event will go towards student programs, student give-backs and student / family involvement events. Here's a little sneak peek: https://vimeo.com/729292037

Apex Lesson Trailer

This is "Apex Lesson Trailer" by Apex Leadership Co on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

April 6th Apex schedule

• 4-5th grade @8:30-9:30am

• 1st grade @9:30-10:30am

• PK-K @11:30-12:30pm

• 2-3rd grade @10:30-11:30am

• 5th-green

• 4th-red

• 3rd-blue

• 2nd-orange

• 1st-yellow

• Kinder-purple

• PreK-pink

See you there,

Coach Carpenter

Hey there!! Many parents ask what they could donate to help support our learning here in art. First, I would suggest visiting the Artsonia gift shop to find a gift to support your little artist – not only will you be advocating for the arts and showcasing your child’s masterpiece, but we also receive 20% of sales to buy art supplies and much needed technology for our art classroom! We will also gladly accept the following anytime you have it in your heart and pocketbook:

• Wet wipes
• Paper towels
• Sponges
• Masking tape
• Sharpies (regular fine point)

As always, thank you SO INCREDIBLY MUCH for your continued support of our art program here at MES!!

Sincerely,

Miss Petty, Art Teacher

Happy April from the music room!:-)) Spring is such a busy and wonderful time! Keyboards are in full bloom as we work on basic piano technique. We are so blessed to have our "piano lab" thanks to an Educator Grant from the Montgomery ISD Education Foundation!

*Fifth Graders are feeling the expressions and emotions of the Impressionist Period of music.

*Fourth Graders begin their study of orchestra, concert band, and fretted instruments, while working hard to

master the recorder and earn their Recorder Karate belts!

* Third Graders will discover the amazing woodwind Family.

*Congratulations to our Second Graders for their awesome performance of "Circus, Circus"! Now they finish

their study of the Baroque Period and begin learning about written music.

*First Graders are busy rehearsing for their upcoming production of "Swamped" which will be performed on the MES stage on Thursday, April 20th at 6:30pm.

* Learning about dynamics and tempo brings music to life for our Kindergarteners, while Pre-K works on

listening through a study of instruments and voices.

* A special congratulations to our amazing MES DI Teams! Texas Bluebonnet Puzzlers placed 4th in their

Team Challenge and Rubber BanDIts placed 2nd! The Rubber BanDIts qualified for the Lone Star Finals

State Tourament in Arlington! We are super proud of both teams and their talent, creativity, collaboration,

problem solving and hard work! Way to represent MES, Gavin, Henry, Kylee, Camden, Piper, Georgia,

Paxton, Hank, Angelina, Annabelle, Caiton, Brantley, Luna, and Madilynn!

*Congratulations as well go to our amazing Bearcats who showed off their incredible talents in our MES

Talent Show! What a wonderful evening full of everything that you could imagine! So much courage,

passion, and hard work goes into sharing what you can do with an audience. These talented kiddos had all

of that and more!

*Our MES Bearcat Choir did an awesome job performing the National Anthem for the University of Houston

Baseball Team and even got to meet the players! Be sure to come and see their performance at the

Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion this month!

Lastly, I want to thank you so much for all that you do to support our music and arts programs at MES. As we approach this STAAR testing time... Did you know that music increases brain development in children? Research proves that music education enlarges the mind, providing real and concrete educational benefits, including better thinking skills and higher test scores . "Music improves the reading, math and science skills of children, giving them an increased propensity to succeed in life." Many different subjects are integrated into one music lesson! Music also teaches discipline, patience, and grit. It relieves stress and tension. Best of all, music brings people together and helps them to connect to each other! And of course, music is also lot of fun!!! We all need a little... or even a lot!....of music in our lives!!:-)) -Cindy Siple