The Moreau Messenger
November 2015
Mr. Conrick's News!
As we enter into November I wanted to highlight the Capital Project that is coming up for a vote on December 8. There are huge improvements to our district wrapped up into this project all across all buildings - improvements that will impact students at all levels. Please be sure to check the district's website for updates (found here: http://www.sgfcsd.org/capital-project/). We are very excited at the prospect of seeing this project come to fruition after a year of work by community groups to assess the district's needs and to address them in a comprehensive plan.
We are also very excited to announce the release of a brand new video that gives a quick overview of this project. To see the brand new released video, click here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J09N4kKXrG0) or watch the embedded video below. I have also embedded the original September overview video below for you to see, also.
If you have any questions regarding this project, please stop in to see me or visit our website. We encourage you to participate in this important vote!
Thank you,
Matt Conrick
Firefighters Visit
Kindergarten Jumps Into November!
November is an exciting month in Kindergarten! As the children continue to take out Library books, please remember to keep them in their book bags. While reading their library books, students should begin recognizing sight words and beginning letter sounds. Each week on your child’s Library day, he/she will sign out a book to bring home. We ask them to place the book in their backpack when they are finished reading it. The book will then be easily found when it needs to be returned the following week on their Library day.
The children will continue to be busy learning to recognize all of the letters and sounds, sight words, practicing printing their name, as well as, printing numbers (0-10). Please be sure while practicing printing, your child is printing from top to bottom and using the vocabulary skyline (top line), plane line (dotted or middle line), grass line (bottom line), and worm line (below the grass line for letters such as g, j, p, q, and y).
We are off to a great start and excited to see your children already progressing! Please be sure to write if you have any questions! We will continue to check the folders for any important notes that you may send us. If you notice an extra practice paper in their folder, please be sure to complete, review, sign, and return.
We really enjoy teaching these Shining Stars!
Mrs. Johnson
Mrs. Howk
First Grade November News!
Dear Parents,
November is always a short month due to all the conference days and holidays. .. BUT, a lot of learning will still be going on!! In Social Studies, we will be discussing the way people lived hundreds of years ago. Have a discussion with your child about some ways life is different now. In Math, we ask that all parents practice number fact to 10 with their child. Flashcards are a great way to do this. In Reading, we are continuing to learn to use many decoding skills. We are also working on becoming more fluent readers. The best way for this to happen is to read, read, read and read some more with your child.
The First Grade Teachers are anxious to meet with you for Parent Teacher Conferences. We always enjoy the chance to get to know your children a little better and what better way to do this then through the eyes of their own parents. Remember, we are here to help your child as much as possible. If you ever need to discuss anything, our doors are always open. Simply make an appointment.
Thank you once again for your continuing support.
The First Grade Teachers
Second Grade Thoughts for November!
Can you believe it is November already? It feels like school just started! Second Grade has been working incredibly hard during the first few months of school. We have been reading books that are specifically suited to our individual reading levels. We are learning about how to identify the main idea in a paragraph/text. We have been writing narratives with lots of interesting details, while paying attention to punctuation, capitalization, and proper spelling of high frequency words. We have been introduced to dialogue in a text and when to use quotation marks in our writing.
In Math, we have been measuring using centimeters and meters, and using mental benchmarks to estimate lengths. It has been great fun being able to measure things in our classrooms, as well as around the school!
We finished up our Fairy Tales and Tall Tales unit for Listening and Learning time and are moving on to Cycles in Nature.
Our field trip to Ellms Farm was a blast and we all had a great time! Thank you to all of the parents who came with us! Each of the children picked a pumpkin and we went into an awesome corn maze. All of the slides, rides, and learning stations were so much fun! Though the weather was a little cool, we still had fun and learned a lot!
Along with Veterans' Day and Thanksgiving, November also brings parent/teacher conferences. Our conference days are in the afternoons(11:45-3:30) on November 20th, 23rd, and 24th. We look forward to meeting with you and discussing your child, as well as answering any questions you might have. If there is a day or time that is best for you, please be sure to let us know.
Thanks for your continued support! We couldn’t do what we do without you! We wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Mr. Armenio and Ms. Bresnahan
Message From Third Grade!
In ELA, we have been working to learn the main idea, or lesson of several stories. We’ve loved reading different stories, and learning about how the setting of the story, can help us understand the story better. We’ve also talked a lot about character traits, and how characters can change from the beginning of a story to the end.
We love to read!
In Writing, we’re working hard on writing catchy “lead-ins” and how to hook our audience. We’re looking forward to publishing our first narrative piece!
In Math, we continue to use the Common Core Curriculum. We’ve finished Module 1 and we are in Module 2 (our measurement unit). We’ll be learning about grams and kilograms. We’ll be using balance scales and linear clocks. We also have been learning about how to measure liters and milliliters. We’ll have a quick review on telling time. If you could practice with analog clocks at home, that would be so helpful! We have practiced our math facts 0-5, and we’ve been working on our facts 6-10. Any practice at home would be greatly appreciated and so helpful toward helping your student master their facts!
We can do it!
In Science we’ve been learning about the desert, especially desert animals and how they adapt to their environment! Some of their adaptations are remarkable! We’ve had a great time learning about the different deserts in the world! Deserts can even be cold!
For Word Work words, please remember to help your student study their writing words because our new report cards will have a writing section to show how well spelling words are correctly integrated into their writing.
We continue to learn new cursive letters each week! We love to write in cursive!
Please remember that parent/ teachers conferences will be at the end of the month and that the communication between parents and teachers is invaluable toward helping your student succeed in school!
Sincerely, Mrs. Becerril & Ms. Baker
Fourth Grade Updates!
The 4th Grade classes have been very busy! We are finishing up the first drafts of our realistic fiction stories during Writer’s Workshop. We can’t wait to see the final products! During Reader’s Workshop time, we are spending time focusing on the characters in our books. We are building theories about our characters based on their actions and then defending our theories with evidence from the story!
We have finished our study of the Iroquois in Social Studies and will be moving on to the NYS Explorers. Our trip to the NYS Museum was a huge success!
Our annual Veterans' Night is quickly approaching! We hope to see everyone on Wednesday, November 10th at 6:30! It is such an exciting night!
Mrs. Lange and Mrs. Pisani
Currently in Fifth Grade......
In Reading, Fifth Graders have begun to read Esperanza Rising. We are certainly enjoying the book and many of our Fifth Graders are eagerly anticipating what will happen next and are making some fantastic predictions based on story clues. It’s a great read!
In Social Studies, our Fifth Graders wrapped up our unit on Mexico. On our final day of the unit, we had the World Awareness Children’s Museum visit us to share with us about Mexican culture, crafts, traditions, and clothing. After the WACM visit, all Fifth Graders had a catered Mexican Feast! Yumm! We had a buffet style lunch and had the
opportunity to try many new foods (all Mexican cuisine, of course!). It was a great day!
In Science, we have been learning about nutrients, and why they are important to the body. Students wrote an opinion piece about having vending machines in school. They were very convincing!
In Math, we have been mastering multi-digit multiplication. Students used a visual model (area model) to gain an understanding of what was happening when you multiply. From there, we began building fluency so we could calculate quickly and accurately.
We have started a weekly creativity block this year. Students had a choice between a film and media club and a robotics club. Film and Media students are working to write commercials promoting character education. We are currently in the filming process of the commercials. Next, we will edit and put the final touches on our commercials. Robotics students began by learning the basics of coding. They have been building their first robots, and are ready to start programming their robots to complete simple tasks.
We are having loads of fun!
Mrs. Cormie, Mr. Edwards and Ms. Pike