CJM Monthly Matador
October 2018
Principal's Message
Our school year is off to a great start! We have had a busy Aug/Sep, as we are implementing exciting things to benefit our students:
o Art for ALL students – All CJM students, received the first of three art assemblies/lessons from Meet the Masters experts. Thanks to CJMCC for funding this program and providing parent volunteers.
o Computer Coding/Makerspace/Cybersafety - for 1st-5th graders will begin in a few weeks. Former President, Barack Obama had said, “In the new economy, computer science isn’t an optional skill – it’s a basic skill, right along with the three ‘Rs.’”
o Science Olympiad Trials – We had about 30 students participate in events & knowledge-based exams to earn a spot on the Science Olympiad Team. It was great to see so many kids and families engaging with science.
o After school enrichment programs (Yoga, Chess Masters, Mad Science, Code to the Future & Young Rembrandts) are up and running!
Thanks for your continued support! Mr. Bhojani
October 2018 Events
OCT. 2: 5 Parent Teacher Conferences, Minimum Days
OCT. 5: Make up Day Fall Portraits: 8:30am (MPR) / Spirit Drive Ends
OCT. 8: Fire Drill
OCT. 10: School Site Council Mtg 3-4pm
OCT. 12: Student of the Month Assembly (MPR)
OCT. 15: CJM Community Club Mtg: 9:20am (Annex)
OCT. 16, 17, 18: Parent Volunteer ID Badges 8:30-10am / 1-3pm (Annex)
OCT. 17: UNITY DAY
OCT. 18: THE GREAT SHAKEOUT DRILL @ 10:18am
OCT. 22: 26: Red Ribbon Week
OCT. 30: Mix It Up Day
OCT. 31: Harvest Parade
IB/PYP - Mrs. Howard
October is going to be an exciting month for us at C.J. Morris Elementary. Students and grade levels will be working on their 2nd planner for the year and digging deeper into the curriculum. We will be focusing on the Learner Profile attribute of being reflective in October. International Baccalaureate defines being reflective as, “We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.” As a learning community, we continually reflect on all of our teaching and learning practices. We invite you to join us in this endeavor by encouraging your child(ren) to reflect on their learning, goals and behavior.
CJ Morris Community Club
Community Club has been working on our annual Step It Up Fundraiser that helps to earn money to provide field trips, technology, classroom supplies, and much much more. Students have raised over $51,000 surpassing last year’s total by over $8,000! GREAT JOB MATADORS!
In October we will be starting a new donor fundraiser. Look for an information packet that will be coming home with your student. On Wed Oct 17th we will be having a combined fundraiser at Chipotle & Yogurtland on Valley.
Uniform Sales during SOM Assembly on Fri, Oct. 12 from 8-10:30am.
We invite everyone to come to our next meeting on October 15th at 9:20am in the Annex to find out more about future events. Community Club welcomes all your support and volunteer time to help make us a success. For more information, visit our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CJMCommClub
Learning Lab - Mrs. Veneracion
Our teachers have been working extra hard at the beginning of this year to make sure we are meeting the needs of all our students. After their diligent, hard work, we were able start providing reading interventions to students in the Learning Lab! Currently, we are working on sight words, blending, vowel teams, diphthongs, and reading comprehension strategies such as schema and connections to text. We can’t wait to see all our students grow!
Transitional Kindergarten
Another month has flown by and we are learning so many new things every day! We are learning our letter sounds by using Zoophonics action movements. The Zoophonics animal characters encourage our students to use their eyes, ears AND whole bodies to demonstrate letter sounds in a fun and interactive way! We have also learned about different shapes and colors using art and music. We LOVE to sing in our class! The main focus during our math centers have been counting up and sorting by size. This month, will begin to sort by shape, make simple patterns, and practice identifying numbers 1-10. For our next IB unit, we will explore our 5 senses (see, hear, smell, taste, touch) through stimulating sensory experiments. We will spring board into this unit by observing different types of pumpkins. We are also excited to embark on our next cultural unit, in which we will learn about Dia de los Muertos and other Latin traditions.
Kindergarten
The month of October will be spooktacular for kindergarten! We will be starting a new IB unit, How We Express Ourselves. Students will read both fiction and non-fiction stories that create feelings through the author’s message. Students will be able to express their feelings through art, music, and using their words. As for writing, kindergarten will be starting to write narrative pieces. They will take an experience and create a 3-page book that has a beginning, middle and an end. As mathematicians, they will explore numbers 6-10 and add/subtract facts to 10. Ask us about five groups, and how easy it is to add when you use a five group or five stick.
First Grade
Second Grade
Our Second Graders are going to be Super Scientists! Our new Primary Years Programme (PYP) Transdisciplinary Theme is How We Share the Planet. During the month of October the children will be inquiring and exploring about pollination, the interdependence of living things and habitats. Our October International Baccalaureate/Primary Years Programme Attribute is being Principled. All of our second graders are participating in the WVUSD Lucy Calkins Writers Workshop. It is so exciting to watch our students grow as writers! Our Second Grade team is looking forward to meeting with all of our awesome parents at the upcoming Parent and Teacher Conferences which begin on October 2-5, 2018. We will also honor Red Ribbon Week on October 23-26th. There will be school wide activities to participate in as the children learn the importance of saying “No to Drugs”! Lastly, we will participate in the annual Harvest Parade on October 31, 2018. We hope you can join us at the parade so you can see all of the CJM students dressed in their costumes.
Third Grade
We had an amazing field trip to the fair last month where our students visited animal, rock, garden, and rocket exhibits. Thank you to all of our wonderful parent volunteer chaperones who joined us. In math, our students are continuing to master multiplication and division concepts, focusing on the 6’s, 7’s, 8’s and 9’s. Our current language arts unit is understanding the different ways characters shape stories in fictional text with a focus on fables, myths, and folktales. The IB planner we are working on is “Sharing the Planet,” as the students inquire and learn that living things have unique life cycles and must make adaptations in order to survive in a world of change. The students are excited to observe the “real life” transitions of the butterfly life cycle in their classrooms!
Fourth Grade
Fourth grade is finishing the "Who We Are Planner" with our silhouettes displaying our values, beliefs, profile attributes and attitudes. We made maps of the California Regions using beans, seeds and pasta to represent the different regions. It was a lot of fun! We are also becoming experts about the Native American tribes of California. We are excited to go to the Rodeo this month and learn more about our local history. In Math, we are learning multiple ways to solve multi-digit multiplication problems, and enjoy working on ST Math. Finally, Writers Workshop is focusing on strategies to write Realistic Fiction. Fourth grade is just a very busy place!
Fifth Grade
Students are continuing to write personal narratives about small moments in their lives. Our writers are learning how to use techniques that professional writers use to raise the level of their writing. We cannot wait to share these stories with families. Students are also learning how to improve their summary writing and cite evidence in short answer responses. In math, students are learning about adding and subtracting decimals. They are using models, number lines, and drawings to represent decimals. We are closing out our IB Unit “How We Express Ourselves” where students learned about different text features in informational and persuasive texts. We will soon be diving into our next IB Unit as we explore “How the World Works.” Students will feel what it like is to be a scientist as they investigate physical and chemical changes. Be prepare for our students coming home and turning their kitchen into a laboratory. October is going to be an exciting month!
CJ Morris Elementary School
Website: https://cjmorris.wvusd.k12.ca.us/
Location: 19875 East Calle Baja Drive, Walnut, CA, USA
Phone: 9095940053
Twitter: @CJM_Matadors