GES Grey Wolf Gazette
March 10, 2023
CONVAL DISTRICT KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION INFO
Registration for students residing in Greenfield will be held on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 or Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at Peterborough Elementary School.
Please share this information with any families you may know that don't currently receive our newsletter!
Spring is Coming! (after Tuesday's Nor'Easter...)
Dear GES Families and Friends,
Happy Weekend. We had a very busy return to school after the February break! Teachers and students dove right back into learning and spent some time revisiting routines and expectations as we head into the final stretch of the year. Trimester 2 ends on Wednesday, March 15th. Report cards will be sent home on Friday, March 24th.
Thank you to everyone who supported our Read-a-thon! Thanks to your generosity and our students voracious reading, we earned $2,980-just shy of our goal of $3,000! Students beat our goal of reading more than 10,000 minutes with a total of 10,780 minutes read! We are continuing our reading fun with a March Madness Reading Bracket! Our first winner was Sour Grapes by Jory John.
I know our calendar says the first day of spring is on March 20th, but we still have a fair amount of snow to play in and it looks like we are expecting even more next Tuesday! Please send your child to school with all their winter gear-jacket, snow pants, mittens, hat and boots! Our playground doesn't get much early spring sunshine to melt the snow, so it stays pretty snowy, muddy and wet back there. We do go outside every day! Thank you for your help!
The School Board approved the final day of school for students at the last board meeting. Our last day with students will be Friday, June 16th. This is a half day and dismissal will be at noon. Speaking of end of year celebrations-our 4th graders will perform the play Pirates of Grammar Island and celebrate the end of their elementary experience on Wednesday, June 14th at 6:00pm.
I've included important dates through the end of the year below. We will be adding events in the coming weeks, so be sure to check the newsletter and website each week so you don't miss anything!
UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES-PLEASE CHECK AND ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR!
3/13-3/17/23: Special of the Week: PE/Health with Mrs. Parker. Don't forget your sneakers!
3/14/23: NO SCHOOL! Teacher PD Day and Town Voting Day!
3/20-3/24/23: Special of the Week: Library with Mrs. Aborn
3/27-3/31/23: Special of the Week: PE/Health with Mrs. Parker. Don't forget your sneakers!
3/27-3/31/23: CIRCUS RESIDENCY WITH TROY WUNDERLIE! K-4 students will participate in a week long residency that culminates in a family performance on Friday!
3/31/23: CIRCUS PERFORMANCE at 6:00PM! Students should arrive NO EARLIER than 5:45PM.
4/3-4/7/23: Special of the Week: Music with Mrs. Neillsen
4/10-4/14/23: Special of the Week: PE/Health with Mrs. Parker. Don't forget your sneakers!
4/17-4/21/23: Special of the Week: Art with Mr. Shapiro
4/24-4/28/23: APRIL VACATION-NO SCHOOL!
5/1-5/5/23: Special of the Week: PE/Health with Mrs. Parker. Don't forget your sneakers!
5/8-5/12/23: Special of the Week: Library with Mrs. Aborn
5/15-5/19/23: Special of the Week: PE/Health with Mrs. Parker. Don't forget your sneakers!
5/22-5/25/23: Special of the Week: Music with Mrs. Neillsen
5/24/23: SPRING CONCERT PERFORMANCE at 6:00PM! Mark your calendars now! Come and enjoy a musical performance by our K-4 students!
5/25/23: NO SCHOOL-Teacher PD Day
5/29/23: NO SCHOOL-Memorial Day
5/30-6/2/23: Special of the Week: PE/Health with Mrs. Parker
6/5-6/9/23: Special of the Week: Art with Mr. Shapiro
6/12-6/16/23: Special of the Week: PE/Health with Mrs. Parker
6/14/23: 4TH GRADE CELEBRATION AND PLAY PERFORMANCE AT 6:00PM. Details coming soon!
6/16/23: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! This is a half day and dismissal will be at noon!
ConVal Summer Program News!
We have two summer learning opportunities for our elementary students for 2023!
Explore and Expand Summer Learning Program is for rising 1st through 4th graders! This four-week long program is designed to support student learning by bolstering school-year skills and helping to fight summer learning loss. Students will receive 1.5 hours of academic support from ConVal Certified Teachers and Tutors. An additional hour of the program is reserved for enrichment exploration, including drumming and cartooning residencies.
Additional Details
July 5 through July 27
3 Mornings a Week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday)
9:00 am - 12 pm
Location: Peterborough Elementary and Antrim Elementary
Transportation will be provided
Class Size for Explore and Expand: 15 students to 1 teacher
Classes/Groups will be mixed grades
Middle School Summer Academy is offered to rising 5th and 6th graders! This four-week long program is designed to introduce students to middle and high school learning opportunities while bolstering school-year skills and helping to fight summer learning loss. Students in the Middle School Summer Academy have the opportunity to participate in a Residency, similar to Explore and Expand or participate in the high school Theater program.
Additional Details
July 5 through July 27
4 Mornings a Week (Monday through Thursday)
9:00 am - 12:15pm (12:15 allows students to participate in the Theater program)
Location: ConVal High School
Transportation will be provided
Class Size : 15 students to 1 Teacher
Upcoming Dates!
Registration Forms Sent Out - March 17, 2023
Registration Forms Due - April 7, 2023
Confirmations or Waitlist - May 1st, 2023
If you have questions, please reach out to:
Explore and Expand & Summer Academy: Amy Janoch ajanoch@conval.edu
News from the Art Room with Mr. Shapiro
We spent the week sculpting in Art this week at GES! Students worked with "Super Sculpey" clay to create mini sculptures. They explored and used a variety of clay tools as well as applied some helpful techniques to make their work good and strong. Once completed, their work was "fired" (or baked) in the oven to harden up. The students then painted their one of a kind, unique sculptures!
Hot Off the Press from Mrs. Hodgen's Kindergarten!
Math: In math we are working on composing and decomposing 9 and 10 using number bonds, 5 group drawings, fingers, linking cubes, and manipulatives.
Literacy: Kindergarten is beginning to read and spell words with beginning and ending blends like step, crab, and just.
Science & Social Studies: We took a break from our science and social studies topics this week, to start the March Madness book bracket. We have focused on different book genres and figuring out if a book is fiction or nonfiction. Next week we will start looking at Animal Needs as our science topic.
Read Aloud: We have loved the March Madness and have read some funny books so far. We read The Sour Grape, Giraffe Problems, The Bruce Swap, and Norman Didn’t Do It! We also started The Magic Treehouse #3: Mummies in the Morning.
SEL: After vacation we focused on reviewing the expectations in the classroom and school, and how to get what you need to be your best learner.
First Grade Fun with Mrs. Barnes
Math: We are working on different strategies to add a 2 digit number with a one digit number using a variety of strategies. Some of these strategies are counting on, making ten to go across the decade using the arrow method, using single digit sums to support solving sums to 40 (example- if 3+5=8, 13+5=18, then 23+5=28, etc.).
Literacy: First grade is finishing our unit on words with silent-e long vowel patterns by reading and spelling words with soft c and soft g sounds like rice and cage.
Science & Social Studies: We read biographies and picture books about the life and work of artist Alma Thomas, aviator Amelia Earhart, ethologist Jane Goodall, and activist Malala Yousafzi in honor of March being Women’s History Month. Some of the books we read included Amelia Earhart: Aviation Pioneer, Jane Goodall: Chimpanzee Expert & Activist, Malala's Magic Pencil, Amelia Who Could Fly, Me…Jane, and Free As a Bird: The Story of Malala.
SEL: We reviewed expectations for learning, working together, and listening after the recent vacation.
Read Alouds: We are LOVING the 2023 March Madness Book Bracket! We read The Sour Grape, Giraffe Problems, The Bruce Swap, and Norman Didn’t Do It. We also voted to make Charlotte’s Web our next chapter book!
What's the Good News in Second Grade?
Math: We continue to practice addition and subtraction with regrouping. Students are becoming more confident in their independent skills and are needing less and less support from teachers in the room.
Literacy: We spent time reviewing story elements and talking about how characters change from the beginning of the story to the end. We are really enjoying our March Madness book bracket.
Science & Social Studies: In social studies we are learning about American Symbols and creating a class book. In science we are learning about properties of matter. We began testing materials to see which ones would make the best hat if we were stranded on a deserted island. We also decorated pots to plant a flower next week in honor of National Plant a Flower Day.
SEL: forgiveness is better than holding a grudge, self acceptance of our unique and individual qualities
Read Aloud: A Mouse Called Mouse, The Sour Grape, Giraffe Problems, Duck Rabbit, Frank and Laverne, Knuffle Bunny
Overheard in Third with Ms. Heard
Math: We have officially started fractions! We completed Topic A this week where we worked to partition a whole into equal parts. We will still be reviewing multiplication as we move through the fraction unit, but it is important that we practice our facts and skip counting at home as well.
Literacy: Ever since we read The One and Only Ivan, we have been thinking a lot about animals and what they need in a domain. This week we read 2 articles, “Should This Lion Be in a Zoo” and “This Dolphin is a Robot”. We then used evidence from those texts to answer this question: Should animals be kept in zoos? We came up with some great reasons to support both sides of the argument.
Science & Social Studies: This week in social studies we began learning about the 5 different regions of the US and what makes each region special. Students are getting lots of exposure to different maps and the names and locations of states.
SEL: In SEL this week we reviewed all the rules we created as a class at the beginning of the year. We also added more rules based on what we have learned, like try to use a growth mindset and T.H.I.N.K. before you speak. We took all the rules and sorted them into our 3 BIG rules for the school. Be safe, be kind, be responsible!
Read Aloud: Our March Madness book bracket has us excited about reading a variety of different picture books! So far we have completed 2 matchups and started a third!
Author Matchup: The Sour Grape vs Giraffe Problems
The Sour Grape was a clear favorite in 3rd grade and across the school!
SEL Matchup (Perspective Taking): Frank and Lavern vs Duck Rabbit
Frank and Lavern is the winner in our class! We are excited to see what the other classes choose!
What's Cookin' in Fourth Grade with Mrs. Cook?
Math: We are working on dividing two digit numbers by decomposing the dividend, using place value charts with disks and long division with repeated subtraction to solve. Keep practicing those multiplication facts!!
Literacy: This week we read about animals and compared their life as pets to their lives in captivity or unhealthy situations. We also dove deep into the colonial time of exploration of the new world and how early settlers came to live in particular areas such as NH.
Social Studies: We talked about what it might be like as a child to travel in a colonial ship across the Atlantic Ocean for up to two months at sea. We discussed what we wondered about what they were, or where they went to the bathroom. How they packed their one family trunk and what entertained the children for long hours at sea.
SEL: after a week of vacation we talked about classroom expectations and what can happen if we don’t follow directions, especially when ready specific directions.
Read Aloud: we are reading Island by Gordon Korean. So far it’s about a group of kids that are sent to Guam to travel on a large sailing ship as part of a program for children. In the most recent chapter there are rough seas, and all the kids are seasick!
Classroom Counseling with Mrs. Lofstedt
https://sites.google.com/conval.edu/lofstedt/home
Kindergarten: In this week’s lesson, your child learned that taking time to feel calm before reacting is a helpful first step to solving a problem. Let your child see you taking a moment to feel calm at home when things are busy or stressful. For example, say, “Today was a really busy day. I’m going to take a few slow breaths to help me feel calm.” Invite your child to join you.
1st grade: In this week’s lesson, your child learned to use body language and context clues to figure out when someone feels calm. They practiced looking at the person’s face and body, as well as thinking about what’s going on in the situation. Encourage your child to notice when others around them feel calm. Have them practice using body language and context clues to figure out when family members, friends, or characters in books, movies, or on TV might be feeling calm.
2nd grade: In this week’s lesson, your child learned how to use positive self-talk to help themselves feel better when they’re upset, disappointed, or worried. Ask your child what they want to tell themselves when they’re having a tough day. Encourage them to use positive self-talk at home.
3rd grade: In this week’s lesson, your child learned how, when, and where to take a break in different situations as a way to manage a strong emotion. Discuss where and how your child can take a break at home. Then ask your child how they could take a break in place, for example, in the car or at the grocery store.
4th grade: In this week’s lesson, your child practiced rethinking a situation they’ve personally experienced. Ask your child, "How could rethinking help you the next time you’re in a situation where you feel a strong emotion?" It’s important to note that rethinking is not a good strategy to use when someone is hurt or in danger.
Calling all Substitutes!
Connect with us!
Email: croy@conval.edu
Website: https://ges.convalsd.net/
Location: 860 Forest Road, Greenfield, NH 03047, USA
Phone: 603-547-3334
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Greenfield-Elementary-School-532738607668635
Twitter: @ges_royc
Where to find ConVal District and GES News!
The ConVal School District has news blog to serve as a hub for the latest updates, information and news about the district’s schools, students, faculty, events and accomplishments.
The blog, ConValNews.com is integrated into the schools and District’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and will automatically broadcast news blog content onto these platforms, connecting directly with the district community.
With a clean, user-friendly and mobile responsive layout, the news blog allows for easy navigation throughout. It can be accessed on computers, cell phones and tablets. Community members can subscribe and be notified by email when new posts are published.
Parents/guardians, students, staff, and community members should still utilize the district’s main website, Convalsd.net, to access the District-wide calendar of events, contact information, school committee meeting notices and minutes, important documents and notices and to view general information about the district and its schools.