From the Eagles Nest
Week of February 14th, 2022
IMPORTANT DATES
Lottery applications for SCCPSS Pre-K Lottery Funded Sites will be available online beginning Tuesday, February 15, 2022 through Friday, March 4, 2022. More information and a site list can be found at this link.
February 21st - Staff Planning, No School for Students
March 17th - 18th - No School for Staff and Students
Black History Month
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen /tʌsˈkiːɡiː/[1] were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Expeditionary Operations Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces. The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks, and other support personnel.
All black military pilots who trained in the United States trained at Griel Field, Kennedy Field, Moton Field, Shorter Field, and the Tuskegee Army Air Fields.[2] They were educated at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), located near Tuskegee, Alabama. Of the 922 pilots, five were Haitians from the Haitian Air Force and one pilot was from Trinidad.[3] It also included a Hispanic or Latino airman born in the Dominican Republic.[4]
The 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron) was the first black flying squadron, and the first to deploy overseas (to North Africa in April 1943, and later to Sicily and other parts of Italy). The 332nd Fighter Group, which originally included the 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons, was the first black flying group. It deployed to Italy in early 1944. Although the 477th Bombardment Group trained with North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never served in combat. In June 1944, the 332nd Fighter Group began flying heavy bomber escort missions and, in July 1944, with the addition of the 99th Fighter Squadron, it had four fighter squadrons.
The 99th Fighter Squadron was initially equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter-bomber aircraft. The 332nd Fighter Group and its 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons were equipped for initial combat missions with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944) and finally with the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-51 Mustang (July 1944). When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47s red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined. The red markings that distinguished the Tuskegee Airmen included red bands on the noses of P-51s as well as a red rudder; the P-51B and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands and all-red tail surfaces.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. During World War II, black Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to the Jim Crow laws[N 1] and the American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subjected to discrimination, both within and outside of the army.
Faculty Member of the Month
Congratulations to Mrs. Brenda Kennedy - Family Engagement Facilitator our February Faculty Member of the Month
Student of the Month
Congratulations to February Student of the Month Cora Easter from Mrs. Eve's First Grade Class
Character Trait of the Month
Caring
- Treat people with kindness and generosity.
- Help people in need.
- Be sensitive to people's feelings.
- Never be mean or hurtful.
- Think about how your actions will affect others.
- Always remember: we become caring people by doing caring things!
Click here to access a playlist of several videos related to CARING/KINDNESS. There's some for all grade levels!
Vocabulary Word of the Week
Generate
Generate - If you generate something, you bring it into being or existence.
Covid Process
STEAM - SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING,ARTS, MATH
We are still looking for donations for the WB STEAM lab to include, Q-tips, rubberbands, popsicle sticks, straws, string, paper plates, Zip-lock bags, etc.
Build a Tower with Conversation Hearts:
Materials Needed to Build a Tower with Conversation Hearts:
- Bag of conversation hearts (we used the large size)
- Ruler
- Pencil and recording page (optional)
Before You Begin this Valentine’s Day STEM Activity:
The first thing I did was explain the task to my kids (ages 6 and 7). They were immediately excited at the challenge! But before they started, I had them look at the hearts, measure them and estimate how tall they thought they could make their tower.
I also demonstrated it for them and let them base their estimate on my small tower, which was 10 hearts tall.
After seeing mine, their estimates were 14 and 15 hearts tall.
Then I let them play and build!
I was so impressed that they were focused not only on building their tower and counting the hearts, but also making various patterns.
They loved trying different patterns, sometimes using all the colors, sometimes just 2 or 3.
I let them experiment a few times first, then we would occasionally stop and measure their creations.
This was great practice for them, as well as a chance to talk about the different units of measurement on our ruler (inches and centimeters).
After some trial and error, they began to look for ways to make their tower sturdier, so that it could be taller.
Some of their ideas to build a sturdy, tall tower:
- Line the hearts up with each other as you build the tower (rather than having some twisting different directions)
- Create 2 towers of hearts next to each other to provide support
- Use the larger hearts (rather than normal size conversation hearts) because they are wider, providing a better base to build on
Our results? The tallest tower built was 30 candy hearts tall! (Unfortunately it fell at heart 31 and I didn’t get a picture). We also measured some of the taller towers to be around 4-5 inches tall, but this was before they got to the tallest point.
This was so fun for my kids, but if your kids are older, there are even more math ideas you can explore:
- Use skip counting to count the hearts in the tower
- Measure the width of each heart and calculate the height of the tower based on the number of hearts (rather than a ruler)
- Determine the number of hearts you would need to build a tower to the ceiling, or other even larger measurements (the Statue of Liberty or Eiffel Tower, or around the entire Earth)
So if you’re looking for a fun, hands on way to explore math and engineering, give this Valentine’s Day STEM challenge a try! All you need is a bag of conversation hearts and some creative kids!
VALENTINE LEGO MAZE GAME
Building a LEGO maze like this heart shaped maze is a classic kid’s LEGO activity and a real boredom buster. All you need is a baseplate and a bunch of bricks. Oh and a marble too! We gave ours a fun twist by making it in the shape of a heart for a fun Valentine’s Day LEGO activity.
This heart Lego marble maze is so cool.
From the Learning Commons
We are still accepting permission forms for students to be able to take home devices if,and when, necessary.
Scan the qr code to pull up the digital form. (I can send you that qr code since this form won't accept it). https://forms.gle/7te6zkjqXBZHYWeT9
Students with fines will need to pay their fines before we can issue them another device. Fines can be paid by going to our school website at the School Cash Online link.
SCCPSS Student Calendar
ELEMENTARY LUNCH MENU
SCCPSS Student/Parents Tools
Medication and Over the Counter Products
Parents and guardians are to bring ALL medication to the school. Students may never bring medication of any kind, including over-the-counter products, to school. (With a current doctor's order on file, Nurse may permit students to carry their Epi-pen or inhaler after checked in by the parent.)Supply List
Please find our 2021-2022 Supply List
Uniform Guidelines
Please follow this link to find our Uniform Requirements.
Join PTA
Your voice is important, especially in these times when the world is changing moment to moment in the blink of an eye. The PTA is a strong voice that influences educational legislation. https://whitebluffpta.memberhub.com/store
FYI - GMAS Schedule
We are providing this information now so you will know. Please do not schedule any doctors appointments or vacation trips during this time.
All Eagles will take the GMAS this year and we are looking forward to receiving and using the data. Please ensure your child will be in school on these days.
Mathematics April 26
Reading and Writing April 27
Language Arts April 28
5th Science April 29
Makeups May 2
Apply for Lunch Benefits Today
Apply for Lunch Benefits Today
We are encouraging 100% participation for completing the lunch application before the deadline. Applications are ready to be completed: Click HERE for the lunch application