Maple Elementary School
January Newsletter
January 15, 2021
Dear Maple Families,
We have had a successful two weeks back to school following the holiday. Today we wrap up quarter 2 with an early dismissal at 1:10 PM. There is no school on Monday, January 18th, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Students will bring home their report cards on Friday, January 22nd.
Staff and students have been busy reviewing school-wide expectations as part of our PBIS program. Recess has been designated as the golden ticket/raffle ticket areas and students are participating in a Tribe Ticket Frenzy as an incentive to meet expectations. When students earn a raffle ticket, they choose which bucket to place their ticket in hopes of winning a BIG prize for their class. Tickets are drawn each Friday and classes can earn a game of dodgeball, extra gym time, a popsicle party, class electronic time, or extra recess.
PTO is making plans for party activities for our Valentine's Day parties that will be held on Thursday, February 11th. Watch for more information to be shared soon from PTO. To make parties as normal as possible and ensure we make an effort to keep everyone safe and healthy, we are requesting that Valentine cards be sent to school by Friday, February 5th, so they have time to quarantine in the classroom before they are passed out. Individual classroom teachers will share more information about what to send. No candy or extra treats will be allowed to be passed out at the parties.
We look forward to accomplishing goals as learners, school citizens, and friends in the new year. Our school goals include reading 20 minutes a day at least 5 times a week and promoting positive behavior in all areas of the school. We will check in on these goals throughout the month and celebrate our growth at our next virtual assembly on January 29th.
Wishing You Well,
Dr. Rena Hawkins, Principal, hawkinsr@smithville.k12.mo.us
Ashley Doll, Assistant Principal, dolla@smithville.k12.mo.us
Important Upcoming Dates
Jan. 15: 2nd Quarter Ends, Early Dismissal at 1:10 PM
Jan. 18: M. L. King, Jr. Holiday, No School
Jan. 20: Late Start Wednesday, School begins at 9:05 AM, No EC Classes
Jan. 27-29: Reach Out and Read KC’s Hooked on Books Student Book Drive
Jan. 27: Late Start Wednesday, School begins at 9:05 AM, No EC Classes
Jan. 28: PTO Label Pick Up
Jan. 29: MES Virtual Assembly and Leadership Activities
Feb. 1: Maple Virtual PTO Meeting at 6 PM
Feb. 1-5: National School Counseling Week
Feb. 3: Late Start Wednesday, School begins at 9:05 AM, No EC Classes
Feb. 9-15: MO School Board Recognition Week
Feb. 10: Late Start Wednesday, School begins at 9:05 AM, No EC Classes
Feb. 11: PTO Sponsored Valentine’s Day Celebration
Feb. 12: Teachers’ Meetings, No School
Feb. 15: Presidents’ Day, No School
Counseling Highlights from Mrs. Hough
This month we are talking about the social-emotional skill of Empathy. We are using this definition at school:
Empathy: the ability to understand and connect to the feelings of another.
Empathy is a crucial skill for being in community with others and a powerful skill to develop in personal and professional relationships. We are focusing on a few key pieces of Empathy: knowing how we feel (and having language to describe those feelings!), understanding what others are feeling, and listening to others well so that we can connect in more meaningful ways! We will reflect on powerful images that will inspire conversations about emotions, connection, and friendship. We will celebrate what makes us different and find the amazing things that bring us together.
News from the Innovation Lab with Mrs. Freeman
Early Childhood
We finished out the second quarter working really hard on patterns.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten students have been working on our technology skills and being safe and responsible with our Ipads.
First Grade
First grade wrapped up our maze project and will be moving on to technology skills.
Second and Third Grade
Students in these grades have continued to work on computer programming and computational thinking.
Fourth Grade
Fourth grade students have started coding our robots to complete the obstacles we built. We are now working on making improvements to the obstacles and our programs. on building an obstacle course for our Sphero robots. Next up we will work to code the robots to complete the obstacles!
Fifth Grade
Students in fifth grade have started working on programming our Sphero Robots to get through our classroom “city” maze.
Sixth Grade
Sixth graders used Tinkercad to create a product that was printed on the 3D printer. We will start working on our marketing plans and design a logo and a print ad.
You can see more by following our journey on twitter: @sara_freeman, instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mes_tech_and_innovation_lab , facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MESTechandInnovationLab
The Maple Library Leaflet with Mrs. Kathcart
January is National Book Month, National Trivia Month and National Brainteaser Month. I have been sharing and challenging students in the library with trivia questions and brainteasers. Throughout the month of January, try to stump your family with riddles and brainteasers. It’s a fun way to fill time on a cold evening.
Here are a few of the brainteasers I have shared with students.
This is as light as a feather, but the strongest person can’t hold it for more than a few minutes. What is it?
It’s at the center of gravity and you can find it in Venus, but not Mars. What is it?
Fourth, fifth and sixth grade students have been learning about using a keyword search for beginning a research project. We practiced using keywords in the Destiny Discover catalog to locate nonfiction books. This lesson uses high level thinking skills to narrow a research topic to the most important words allowing students to find the information they need. This is a skill students will use throughout their school years and beyond.
Second and third grade students shared a hilarious book from the Show Me Award nominated books. Huggie and Stick have adventures across the seven continents. We completed a map handout and I am impressed by how much our students already know about the seven continents.
Pre-K, Kinder and First grade students learned that this coming Saturday is National Appreciate a Dragon Day. Yes, there is actually a day for dragons! We shared a funny story about a dragon who moves into a sandcastle. The students really liked discussing whether dragons are real or imaginary creatures.
Here is the link if you would like to listen to the story with your student.
https://www.storylineonline.net/books/when-a-dragon-moves-in/
Keep calm and read on!
Mrs. Kathcart
Notes from the Music Room with Mr. Orscheln
We are back at it in the music room!
Sixth grade is building upon prior knowledge and learning some new chords as we wrap up our ukulele unit. This week, the G chord was introduced. In all, our sixth grade students have learned C, F, G, A minor, and G7 chords, and are able to accompany songs with various strumming patterns. Fifth grade is also wrapping up their ukulele unit. They have learned how to play open strings, as well as C, F, G7, and A minor chords. They are also able to accompany songs with various strumming patterns.
Fourth grade is reviewing line and space letter names, as well as identifying parts of the staff. We will use this knowledge as we introduce our ukulele unit to fourth grade students in the coming weeks. Third grade has absolutely blown me away describing the music they hear with accurate verbiage using listening longs. Additionally, third grade is singing 4 part canons.
Second and first grade are both learning new notes on Solfa street. Second grade students are playing games and improvising on pentatonic scales using Sol, Mi, La, and Do. First grade is identifying and performing the intervals Sol, Mi, and La. Kindergarten is working on identifying and experiencing music in AB. From there, we will focus on ABA form.
We also have a new friendly face in the music room. Miss Garber will be my student teacher from now until April 30th, she will be graduating from Missouri Western University in May with a Bachelors in Vocal Music Education. She is a welcome addition to the room, and she can be sent well wishes from our community to GarberD@smithville.k12.mo.us
Finally, the Smithville Ringleaders will be resuming their rehearsals on Thursday, January 21st at 7:30 a.m.! Our spring concert will be in May with a date and time to be announced in a later email.
PE with Coach V.
Maple Elementary School
Email: hawkinsr@smithville.k12.mo.us
Website: https://www.smithvilleschooldistrict.net/Domain/11
Location: 600 Maple Avenue, Smithville, MO, USA
Phone: (816) 532-0589
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MapleWarriors/
Twitter: @MapleWarriors