GES Grey Wolf Gazette
November 18, 2022
End 68 Hours of Hunger Program Information
Happy Thanksgiving!
Dear Greenfield Families and Friends,
This will be our last newsletter of November! This month has gone by so quickly! With only two days next week, there won't be too much to share other than pictures from our STEAM Day with Mr. Griffus on Tuesday! We are excited to welcome him back again this year and can't wait to learn and play with him! Mrs. Connolly will also be here to help students make lanterns that they can bring to the Fire & Ice Celebration at Oak Park or the Lantern Parade in Peterborough-both events are happening on December 3rd! We are still in need of parent volunteers to help with set up, clean up and support! Please email Mrs. Paul if you are available, even if it's only an hour or two! Thank you!
Speaking of Mrs. Connolly, she joined Mrs. Aborn in the Library today to help students create some pretty amazing pieces of art! Check out the pictures below!
The second episode of Gabbing with Grey Wolves is available on Spotify OR anchor.fm. Our 4th graders are doing an amazing job with the podcast! We are having lots of fun deciding on content, writing scripts, choosing music and recording each episode. Our next episode will go out in mid-December.
Looking for some Grey Wolf gear? We have a new logo available and some new items too! Check out the online store here: GES Fall Apparel Store. The store is open until November 30th. Items will be delivered to GES before the December holiday break.
The GES PTO is sponsoring two fundraisers right now! If you're looking for beautiful holiday decorations for your home or as a gift, check out the Lynch Creek Farm fundraiser! They have wreaths, garlands, centerpieces and more! They are gorgeous and they last a long time! You pick your ship date and items are delivered to your door! If you're already dreading all the cooking the holiday season why not order some make at home pizzas to keep in the freezer? Use this link for the Little Caesar's Pizza Fundraiser. The kits are delivered to your door and are easy to freeze and use whenever you need a quick meal!
UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES-PLEASE CHECK AND ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR!
11/21/22: TURKEY TROT! Staff and students will participate in a fun run around the school on Monday afternoon with Mrs. Parker! Each student will set a goal for number of laps around the school they want to complete. One lucky student from each class will take home a frozen turkey!
11/21-11/22/22: Special: Health/PE with Mrs. Parker. Don't forget your sneakers!
11/22/22: STEAM DAY! Mr. Jeremy Griffus joins us again for a day of experimenting and fun! Ms. Jeannie Connolly will also be here to help students create lanterns they can bring to the Peterborough Lantern Walk in December! We will need volunteers to help with set up, supervision and support during activities and clean up! If you're interested in volunteering please email Karen Paul at kpaul@conval.edu.
11/23-11/25/22: NO SCHOOL! Thanksgiving Break
11/28-12/2/22: Special: Health/PE with Mrs. Parker. Don't forget your sneakers!
12/5-12/9/22: Special: Art with Mr. Shapiro
12/7/22: GES PTO Meeting at 5:30 in the Library. **Childcare will be available for those who need it!*
12/12-12/16/22: Special: Library with Mrs. Aborn
12/19-12/23/22: Special: Health/PE with Mrs. Parker. Don't forget your sneakers!
12/22/22: Solstice Day!
12/26/22-1/2/23: Holiday Break!
What's Cookin' in 4th Grade?
Math: We have finished Module 2, converting metric measurements. Students did a lot of work with converting to a single unit and adding or subtracting to find the answer, then converting back to a mixed unit. Students finished up their measurement lap books to demonstrate all of the different ways to measure length, weight and capacity.
Literacy: We wrapped up Because of Winn-Dixie this week. Students did an amazing job summarizing each week, and discussing the parts of the book as the story unfolded. Students are working on a final project which will include a writing piece. The students were able to choose from three options, the Moral of the story, a character and three traits of that character or summarizing the story's plot. These options are all story elements that we have been working on throughout the last two months. The writing pieces will be typed and include a picture drawn by each individual student of Winn-Dixie the dog.
Social Studies: We wrapped up Abenaki studies for now, with reading and discussing the life of the native people, what resources they depended on in order to survive, where they settled their tribes and why they chose those locations, by streams, oceans, lakes and rivers. Ask your student about how the Abenaki people used the animals that they hunted. They did not waste much! We also created clay pots and bowls, out of natural material, which we will paint next week. We also worked with Mrs. Connolly on a New Hampshire Journal that we will be filling up with interesting facts about our state!
SEL: The class talked about the difference between a growth and a fixed mindset. We as a class have struggled a little bit this year with pushing through difficult tasks, especially when it comes to our writing. We talked about what positive self talk means, and how we can advocate for ourselves when we need to step away and reset. Students gave great examples of what they can do personally to help them overcome the difficult tasks. I reminded them that failing at something doesn't mean you can never overcome it. Perseverance is important!
Read Aloud - Holes by Louis Sachar
Overheard in Third with Ms. Heard!
Math: We have covered a variety of different topics in math lately! Last week we did some hands-on exploration of mass and capacity! This week we practiced rounding to the nearest ten and hundred. All of our work with the number line earlier this month made rounding a breeze! All of our work is from Module 2 Topic B and C. When we come back after Thanksgiving Break, we will dive back into multiplication and division with Module 3.
Literacy: In literacy, we continued our study of fables. So far, we have read Tops & Bottoms, The Ant and the Grasshopper and the Tortoise and the Hare. We will be shifting our focus back to main idea and details after the break. In writing, we considered the question “Should classroom pets be allowed?”
Science & Social Studies: We were climate zone experts this week! We learned that a climate describes weather patterns in different regions. We color coded a map of the world to see how the climate zones fall on every continent.
Read Aloud: The Terrible Two by Jory John and Mac Barnett
Good News from Mrs. G's 2nd Graders!
Math: We have been working hard on our place value unit. We have been trading ten ones for a ten, and ten tens for a hundred. We also used units of ones, tens, and hundreds to add on a number line. We also learned about coins and their values. We’re looking forward to going shopping at Goodspeed’s General Store on Tuesday morning with the money we’ve been earning for participating and being honest in reflecting on our effort!
Literacy: We are still practicing reading soft c and soft g words. We also practiced reading and spelling the three sounds of -ed. We learned today that if a word has one syllable, a short vowel, and one consonant following the vowel we need to double the consonant before we add -ed. We also talked about the suffix -ed and how it means that the verb already happened. We reviewed the suffix -ing as well and I was delighted to know that second graders remembered what it meant! We are working on comparing and contrasting the Pilgrim’s journey to America and the family’s journey from the story How Many Days to America.
Read Aloud: How Many Days to America, You Wouldn’t Want to Sail on the Mayflower, and A Calendar Kids Mystery
Science & Social Studies: We continue to track the phases of the moon until we reach a new moon again. We took some time to learn about the first Thanksgiving and the journey to America. We also learned about Native Americans and did a weaving project.
SEL: We've been talking about effort vs. ability, growth mindset, including others, and showing respect this week.
Mrs. Barnes' First Graders are Busy Bees!
Math: First grade just finished and assessed the skills we learned in module 1. We have started working on module 2 which starts with counting on or making ten to solve addition problems. We started with using 3 addends, where 2 of them together made 10.
Literacy: We are practicing reading and spelling words with beginning s, r, and l blends like scan, brush, and cloth. We’re all doing really well with spelling them this week! We’re still working hard on building our reading fluency using decodable texts and checking our comprehension as we read. We continued using the Bear series by Karma Wilson in our study of nouns and verbs. We created a really great list of the noun and verb words we heard in the Bear stories and used those words to write our own sentences.
Read alouds: We read Bear Feels Sick, Bear’s New Friend, Bear Feels Scared, Bear Snores On, and Bear’s Loose Tooth. We are in chapter 5 of Runaway Ralph. Ralph was caught by one of the kids at the summer camp and now he is living in a cage. He doesn’t like the cage, but he thinks the exercise wheel is pretty fun!
Science & Social Studies: We researched wild turkeys and learned a lot of really fun facts about them! Did you know that red thing on their nose is called a snood? We are also talking about Thanksgiving traditions and how Thanksgiving became a holiday.
SEL: We are building our growth mindset toolbox - we CAN do hard things in First Grade!
Hot Off the Press from Mrs. Hodgen's Kindergarten Class!
Math: Kindergarten has been learning all about shapes for the past 2 weeks. We talked about 2D (flat) and 3D (solid) shapes. We looked at attributes of rectangle, squares (a special rectangle), triangles, hexagons, circles, spheres, cones, cylinders, and cubes. We also used this math module to talk about position words like, in front of, next to, behind, above, etc. We will be finishing module number 2 in math just before Thanksgiving break.
Literacy: This week we learned about Golden Girl and the letter Gg with a trip to Letterland. We are practicing reading and spelling words like sag and dad using the letters a, g, m, d, f, c, s, o, and i. We are identifying the beginning and ending sounds we hear in words. Using an alphabet arc we’ve been practicing matching upper and lower case letters, putting the letters in order from A to Z, and finding the letters that represent the sounds we hear to build words. We are all excited that we are reading words together!
Science & Social Studies: We started off the week talking about Veteran’s day and we read about what we are saying when we say the Pledge of allegiance. Then we switched gears to talk about Thanksgiving and traditions.
SEL: We are still working with Mrs. Lofstedt on identifying what different feelings can look like on ourselves and on other people. We have also been working on adding tools to our self regulation toolbox. This week we added “calm strips” to our desks for a quiet tool to use when we are working. If you haven’t seen these before they are fantastic and the kids seem to like having it right at their desk. Check them out, calmstrips.com!
Read Aloud: I Pledge Allegiance, One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims, Countdown to Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Rules, and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie. We just started chapter 5 of Ramona the Pest. Ramona might be a handful, but she is lots of fun to read about.
First Friends Preschool News!
Ms. Colleen's preschoolers have been learning about shapes with Mat Man and colors with Jack Hartman. They are getting pretty good with recognizing them. Our class has been focusing on friends and sharing and playing games together. We have been talking about hibernation, migration, and adaptation and made some cute animals in art. Some of us thought we would like to migrate to somewhere warmer so we could wear our flip flops and bathing suits all year. Other students said they would adapt to the cold weather because they have hats, mittens, and boots. They also like to make snowmen and have snowball fights. We love to eat lunch everyday together with the Preschool 1 class and talk. Today we talked about what we are thankful for and most students said their families and friends and the holidays.
Classroom Counseling with Mrs. Lofstedt
Kindergarten: This week we talked about people having different feelings about the same situation. Students saw a picture of two kids playing on a playground and identified that one child was feeling happy and one was feeling scared. We then listened to the book “Grumpy Monkey” and talked about being able to identify how others are feeling by looking at their facial expression, body language, and thinking about the situation. The students then went through a variety of situations and identified how children may be feeling. 1st Grade: We began our empathy unit with a lesson about identifying feelings. We read “A Little Spot of Feelings” and learned about the importance of facial expressions, body language, and thinking about the situation to help us identify how other people feel. Students looked at pictures to identify how children were feeling then played a game to show a variety of emotions with their facial expressions and body language. 2nd Grade: We continued our bullying prevention curriculum with a lesson about refusing bullying. After reviewing the definition of bullying and how to report bullying students watched a video of a student refusing bullying. We reviewed what it means to be assertive and students worked with a partner to practice refusing bullying using a variety of scenarios. 3rd Grade: We began our empathy unit with a lesson about identifying the feelings of others. We discussed how we are able to tell how other people feel by looking at their facial expressions and body language and considering the situation. Students looked at pictures of children to identify how they were feeling then watched a video which gave them more information about what happened and helped them better identify how the children were feeling in the photos. Students then worked with partners to identify how they would feel in a variety of situations and compared whether their feelings were similar or different. 4th Grade: This week we discussed the importance of compassion. We reviewed the definition of empathy and talked about how empathy and compassion are connected. Students learned a variety of ways to show compassion and worked in small groups to practice identifying ways to show compassion in a variety of situations.
S.E.L. Corner
Resource of the Week:
- couples.counseling.for.parents Instagram Account - A friend of mine recently shared this account with me... It's a great reminder that while we are parents, many of us are also in a relationship with our partner. This account shares great advice on parenting together and enhancing our ability to parent by supporting one another as a couple. In looking deeper, it also appears they have a Podcast called Couples Counseling for Parents
Article of the Week:
- Bringing Gratitude to Thanksgiving - We often use Thanksgiving to talk about being thankful, but what does that really mean? This article talks about the research behind gratitude - the idea that no matter who you are or your background, there is always something to be thankful for - the family you have with you or the family you have chosen, the food you eat, the friendship you have, etc. - If you're able to think about what your grateful for, you are more likely to be able to focus on the positive (rather than all the things you wish you had) and be happier! This article walks through gratitude as more of a mindfulness activity, and something you can do together as a family. It's always easier said than done, but it's worth it to be happier
Family Activity:
- There are so many ideas online for families for Thanksgiving - This Good Housekeeping article shares 30 ideas, including one to use M&Ms for a gratitude brainstorm activity, or one of my favorites, this example of Thanksgiving MadLibs to laugh and learn parts of speech at the same time! Ultimately, though try to spend time together as a family - spend time getting to know one another, appreciating one another, and expressing aloud those feelings and thoughts that we often never seem to have time to say. Life moves by very fast, so we hope you can take the extra time together you have this holiday (if you're fortunate to spend it together) and let one another know how you really feel.
Wishing you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving!
~Mrs. Styren
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Email: croy@conval.edu
Website: https://ges.convalsd.net/
Location: 860 Forest Road, Greenfield, NH 03047, USA
Phone: 603-547-3334
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