GCIS Weekly News 12/18/2015
Weekly Celebrations, Successes, and Up Coming Events!
Warmest Greetings from Greene County Intermediate School!
GCIS Office News
Any remaining fundraising items were sent home with students today. Students that qualify for the limo ride need to have their permission slip returned by Wednesday if they want to participate!
Temps have been abnormally high for this time of year, with them returning to normal chilly temps again this next week. Please make sure students have the proper winter clothing moving forward!
Our dance party will be happening this Friday December 18th! We will have plenty of picture to share out with all of you! Looking forward to celebrating our key behaviors!
Infinite Campus is a great tool! It allows you access to your student’s grades, lunch account, absences and more! If you are interested please contact the office to get signed up!
If you know that there will be a change in your student’s schedule, or that they will not be attending school, please notify the office as soon as you can! 515-738-5721.
GCIS Key Players of the Week!
Reading over Winter Break!
Make time over winter break for reading! Great time to get lost in a good book! Many homeroom teachers have reading challenges for students! Thanks parents for supporting making reading important an important part of their education!
Fall Fundraising Success!
We were able to raise $10,000.00 in our Fall Fundraiser! Thanks so much for your efforts at supporting our students and school community! We are very excited to use the money raised to support PBIS incentive days, grade level field trips, and also genius hour/project based learning supplies! I have also had a few students present to me the need for soccer goals for our playgroup. This was a great genius hour project!
If you need to contact Fundraising Company for any reason about products I have listed the number and website below.
Chip Shoppe Contact Info:1-800-771-2447
Winter Break
- Winter Break December 23rd-January 4th
- Classes resume on Monday January 5th
4th Grade Happenings!
We are very excited about the holidays. Next week will be filled with gingerbread house making and caroling. Thanks to everyone for their generous contributions toward the gingerbread house activity.
Our academic week was full of light in Science. We finished the unit with an assessment and will be rocking out to sound when we get back from break.
In Language Arts we have been writing about being stuck in a snow globe. We have been hitting theme, figurative language and collaboration.
In Math we are working on Multiples and factors. We will continue this work after break.
The 4th grade team would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday and a hopeful new year!!!
5th Grade Happenings!
Math: We are patiently working on fractions, adding and subtracting with unlike denominators. Help these people if you can. They are working hard to understand the process.
Science: We continue our study of adaptations this week learning about camouflage, mimicry, and inborn behaviors of animals. Next week we will be discussing migration, hibernation, and resident animals. Our end of the unit test will be during the first week back in January. We will review and study when we get back. I hope you all enjoy a nice holiday break with your family!!
Lit./SS: In Reading, we are continuing to work on quoting accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. In Writing, we are working on a mini-research project. Students will brainstorm a question they have about Native Americans and conduct research from multiple sources to find the answer to their question. In Social Studies, we are wrapping up our Native American unit with a Potlatch ceremony on Tuesday, December 22nd.
6th Grade Happenings!
In science, students are exploring physical and chemical properties of matter.
In math, students are multiplying and dividing decimals. Students are also working with algebraic expressions.
In reading we are finishing up with finding the theme of a text and how it is conveyed. We are practicing some fluency work in groups as well. Keep an eye out for a reading incentive over winter break!
Fluency!
Debate
Music Mania
5-6 General Music Classes
I am looking to begin a unit on bucket drumming with the 5-6 General Music Classes. We are in need of (25) 5-gallon buckets for this project. If you know of anyone with an unused 5-gallon bucket sitting around. This would be a great opportunity to find it a new home! Thank you for any assistance you may be able to offer.
Physical Education
Been doing several exercise activities that require a lot of running. Keeping kids heart rate up for 15-20 min is important. We talk about different types of beverages that are good and bad for your health. Here’s a short article about what pop is doing to everybody's waistline. Don’t be fooled by drinking the diet version.
FCS
6th graders are getting a chance to create their own recipe. I give them a chicken salad recipe and they taste it and adapt my recipe to their own. They are getting a voice in what is in a recipe and understanding proportion of ingredients as well. So far all edible, and many want a copy of their own recipe. It is also great for them to see how a recipe is made and how important it is to write all ingredients in so you can duplicate the recipe again.
5th graders are enjoying a chance to “cook”. With only microwaves and small appliances in my kitchens, they are working in groups, to make orange julius and party mix. Not only do they have to be able to plan and work together they also need to read the recipe and critically think, if it sounds right amount. Learning how to clean up after themselves, evaluate their work and product and manage their time is also on the agenda before Winter Break.
Art
4th Grade Teamwork
Flashlight Project in Action!
Robots with 6th Grade
GCIS T.A.G.
Tech Lit & Media
The classes are enjoying a holiday treat, the movie “Home” while discussing the importance of not just watching a movie to avoid the book it may be based on, but to READ the book as well. (“Home” is based on the book “The True Meaning of Smekday,” which students in 6th grade TAG will be reading for their Battle of the Books next Spring.) Students were asked if there was a certain time frame for enjoying a book, to which they replied “No.” Then they were asked how long a movie is, to which they noted was around two hours. That opened discussion on how movies often miss enriching detail that can help us understand characters, setting and even the story itself.
Several students mentioned movies that they have watched at home that are based on books that are located on our shelves here in our library. One student even checked out “The Polar Express” expressing excitement about comparing it to the movie over the winter break.
Students have been checking out new library books to enjoy over the break. Please encourage your children to pick up a book, magazine or newspaper and practice those reading skills...besides, it’s a great way to help keep them busy for a while during cold winter days, or during long car trips to visit friends or relatives!
Counselor's Corner
Learning More About Courage
This week we are sharing with you a list of forty awesome children’s books that help teach kids courage and bravery. Using children’s book that teach courage is a great way to introduce a big topic.
The first three books on the list are Ish, Courage, and Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun:
Children will love this book as Ish, through his younger sister’s finds his way back to his art, gaining confidence and, most importantly, accepting himself. (By Peter Reynolds)
A great book by Bernard Waber to ignite a conversation & teach about the myriad definitions of “courage”. Children are encouraged to see courage in less obvious people, ways, and places in life.
Having the Courage to Be Who You Are
By Maria Dismondy, this book encourages kids to be true to who they are even in challenging situations. Even though the pressures in life make being kind seem “uncool” in the moment, we must teach kids that being the best person you can be is always cool.
Find the rest of the books on the list and more about COURAGE at http://carrotsareorange.com/childrens-books-teach-courage/
We borrowed this list from the Carrots Are Orange an early learning activity and parenting blog for parents and educators. Inspired by the work of Dr. Maria Montessori, Carrots Are Orange focuses on Montessori specific works, general learning activities including favorite topics such as reading & writing, STEM, outdoor education, project based learning, and parenting.
Nurse News
KidsHealth.org suggests five ways to “Making the Holidays Less Materialistic”.
Teach kids to question marketing messages.
Focus on family traditions.
Teach kids to give of themselves.
Give gifts with meaning such as making homemade gifts together.
Be a good healthy role model.
To read the entire article from Kids Health go to Making the Holidays Less Materialistic