South Side Family Newsletter
January 2019
eLearning Day on Monday, January 21
All East Noble schools will be holding professional development for teachers on Monday, January 21. Students will be staying home for this scheduled eLearning day. You can expect lessons to be similar to what students complete on a weather related cancellation day. Most of our students have already previewed what is expected from their teachers for Monday's lessons. Please keep in mind that completion of eLearning activities is required to count a student in attendance for the day. Students that do not complete eLearning assignments will be counted absent from school for the day.
We will be holding our winter parent/teacher conferences in February. This round of conferences are not required for all students. Teachers will be sending individual invitations to conference with them to parents that they feel need to have a second parent/teacher conference for the year. All parents are welcome to schedule a parent/teacher conference if they would like to meet with their child's teacher. Please reach out to teachers as soon as possible if you would like to be included on their parent/teacher conference list next month.
As we enter the end of January, we are finally seeing a bit of a decrease in our stomach and flu viruses that have been reducing our attendance numbers since November. The best way to accomplish great student health is to maintain a consistent bed time and good nutrition habits. If there is no fever present and kids are vomit and diarrhea free, send them to school! It's okay to arrive feeling a little under the weather if there are not signs of a major illness.
Try to enjoy the expected snow storm this weekend and please reach out if you have any questions or concerns!
Sincerely,
Jeff Harper
Principal
email: jharper@eastnoble.net
phone: 260-349-2200
Twitter: @enssprincipal
Facebook: South Side Trailblazers
Learning Updates
Preschoolers returned from break ready to learn about Nursery Rhymes and Gingerbread Men. We are practicing “reading” familiar stories and rhymes to our friends. Our favorite thing to do is to retell our favorite stories and act them out (The Gingerbread Man and Humpty Dumpty). So much for not running in school! We are using blocks to build walls and put our oval Humptys on those walls. We discovered that rectangles and squares make the best walls!
Second grade students are learning about computer science and how we use it in our everyday lives in the Project Lead the Way module called Grids and Games. Students have used Scratch Jr. to learn about programming and have used math to control the movements of their characters. All of this background knowledge will help students use the Engineering Design Process to design a game of their own using Scratch Jr.
Third grade kicked off our fractions unit with our Pizza Project. Students are able to design a pizza with any toppings and then determine the fraction of their pizza that will have each of those toppings. Students will use a Pizza Hut medium and divide it into 6 to 8 pizzas. Partners will work to create a “pizza” with various materials that represent real pizza toppings. Students will demonstrate their understanding of fractions by drawing the fraction of each topping on a fraction circle and a number line.
Fourth graders are currently learning about moon phases from Ms. Ohnesorge and weathering and erosion from Ms. Roberts. For moon phases, we started out the week by using a globe (as the earth), a tennis ball (as the moon) and a flashlight (as the sun) as hands on manipulatives to see just how we can see the moon on some nights and how we can’t see it at all on other nights. As the week progressed we learned about each and every phase of the moon and why it looks the way it does. At the end of the week students used Oreos to demonstrate all 8 phases of the moon. For weathering and erosion, students are doing two major demonstrations. To witness the effects of chemical weathering and mechanical weathering, students put pieces of chalk through different tests and noted what they observe. To witness the effects of water, wind, and ice on a landscape, students used an erosion table with a wind storm (hair dryer), a landslide, and a glacier. Students will also be going on a Google Expedition soon as part of this unit.
Fifth grade came back from break and started in on Project Lead the Way (PLTW). Mrs. Anderson’s class learned about germs and how fast they spread by playing heads up 7-up using a special powder and black light. We found out that all students ended up with some of the powder on them by the time the game was done. Mrs. Sherck’s class started in on robotics. We got our groups together and started talking about PLTW modules that are included. In the next few weeks we will be working on building our robots and testing them. All the students are excited to start this venture.
Preschool Reading Practice
Scratch Jr Example from 2nd Grade
Fourth Grade Moon Phases
Role of a School Counselor
If you are interested in counseling for your student, East Noble has partnered with the North Eastern Center and the Bowen Center. They will be offering two free counseling sessions to all East Noble students. If you would like to know more information about this, please ask!
Jessica Carden
School Counselor
260-349-2200
Parent/Teacher Organization Updates
Our Spring Talent Show is scheduled for Thursday, April 18. We would love to see your student's talent showcased! More information will be sent home soon.
Don't forget to send in Boxtops for Education. Whichever class submits to most Boxtops by January 31 will win a popcorn party!
Changes Coming to Lunch Payment System
Currently, East Noble uses My Payments Plus as our food service payment provider. After spring break we will be using a new system called E-Fund. More information will be sent in the future to make the transition a smooth one. Keep up to date by following our food service department on Facebook @ ENSCFood Service.
Benefits of the new system include:
Make payment for multiple students in one easy transaction.
Eliminate the need for your child to carry cash or checks to school.
Sign up for low balance alerts, and never worry about your student running out of funds.
Receive email notifications on all payments made.
Establish recurring transactions for the ultimate convenience.
Online access to a detailed payment history of all transactions.
Morning Drop Off
Important Dates
Click here for the 2018-19 East Noble School Calendar
January 21 Scheduled staff meetings and student eLearning day
Saturday, January 26 Robotics competition at Cedarville Elementary
February 14 End of trimester 2
February 21 Report cards issued
Feb 19-March 1 Elementary conferences. Teachers will notify parents of date and time if a conference is needed
March 6 School Board Meeting at South Side 6:00 pm
March 13 Fourth grade trip to FW History Center and Allen County Courthouse
March 18-22 Spring book fair
March 18-29 IREAD Testing Window for third grade students
April 15 Progress reports issued
April 16 Kindergarten round up 5:30-7:00 pm
April 18 PTO Sponsored Talent Show 6:00 pm in the South Side cafeteria--more info coming soon
April 22-May 17 ILEARN Testing Window for grades 3 through 5 (Replaces ISTEP testing)
May 17 Fourth grade trip to Gene Stratton Porter
May 21 Fifth grade field trip to Camp Potawotam
May 24 Report cards issued on last student day