Chris Yung Elementary
Full STEAM Ahead
February 2019
Principal: Kathy Notyce
Assistant Principal: Ann Quattrone
Mission: Working collaboratively to achieve success.
Vision: A World Class school committed to excellence.
Principal's Message
We are now into the month of February and it’s hard to believe we are officially past the half way point of the school year. I hope the Mr. Ground Hog did not see his shadow because we’ve had more than enough school closures and delays. It is important that our students have some consistency as we move into the second-half of the school year.
This has been such an enjoyable year for me and I appreciate all the hard work that our students, teachers, and community members have put in so far. As we reflect on our strengths and weaknesses during the mid-year period, we will analyze and renew our goals for the remaining four months of the school year.
Our students are working extremely hard and their efforts and studying are paying off. Students in grades 3rd through 5th recently completed mid-year assessments in the areas of Reading and Math. Most students demonstrated a good amount of growth towards meeting the grade level benchmarks in these areas.
Students who demonstrated the need for additional support with grade-level skills were invited to attend On Track Academy. This is an after-school program that will allow students to work in small groups on areas that need improvement. The students are assigned to classrooms based on their specific areas of focus. The program will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning February 5th through March 28th from 4:00 to 5:00.
In addition, we are beginning two Math Enrichment Clubs designed to further extend the learning of students who are currently working slightly above grade level. This extra boost is expected to place students at a higher mastery level for grade-level content and ensure higher performance on the upcoming SOLs. Students will meet on Wednesdays beginning February 13th through March 27th at 8:15 am.
Report cards will be sent home on February 11th. Please reward and encourage students for their hard work. After celebrating their areas of strength, take some time to discuss areas where students need to put forth more effort and motivation. Help them to set goals for the next quarter and monitor and support their progress throughout the process. Please ensure that your child is present daily unless he/she is sick.
Finally, I strongly encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher or me should you have concerns about his/her academic progress. Parent-Teacher conferences is a good way to find out your child’s test scores, reading and math levels, etc. It is also a great way to learn of resources that you can use to support learning at home. I enjoy attending conferences, so I would welcome the opportunity to join you and your child for a conference. Let’s continue to partner together to ensure that every student achieves academic success.
Mark Your Calendar!
Feb. 5- March 28: On Track Academy
Feb. 7: Report Cards Go Home
Feb. 8: Friendship Dance @ 6:30
Feb. 11: Chipotle Night @ 5:00-9:00
Feb. 16: All County Chorus @ Patriot HS @ 3:30
Feb. 18: School Closed: Presidents’ Day
Feb. 19: PTO Meeting @ 6:30 & Advisory Council Meeting @ 7:00
Feb. 21: 2nd Grade Concert @ 6:30
Feb. 22: All Pro Dads @ 8:00
Feb. 22: Jump Rope for Heart @ 6:00
Feb. 27: 3rd Grade Parent SOL Night @ 6:30
Feb. 28: 4th & 5th Grade Parent SOL Night @ 6:30
Feb. 28: Chick-fil-A Night @ 5:00-8:00
Mar. 4: Read Across America Month- more details to come!
No Place for Hate
Chris Yung Elementary School is committed to providing every student with an environment that is safe and where all students feel included, and this year we are excited to introduce the No Place for Hate® Initiative to our school community.
We began introducing the program to students during our Behavior Assemblies at the end of January. Additionally, when students learn the “The Promise of Respect” they will receive a “No Place for Hate” bracelet. Collectively as a school, we will be participating in activities that foster self-awareness for students about respect and fairness.
A committee has been developed to organize the campaign and these activities. Committee members are Mrs. Notyce, Mrs. Quattrone, Dr. McClurg, Ms. Poore, Mrs. Harrison, Mrs. Rose-Roth, and members of the Student Advisory Council. We are fortunate to also have two wonderful parents on the committee, Mrs. A. Epperson and Mrs. Diego. Further information about the activities will be forthcoming. Together we can make our community a safe and welcoming space for all!
Jump Rope for Heart
The students and staff at Chris Yung Elementary will participate in Jump Rope for Heart again this year to raise money to support the American Heart Association. The funds are used to help students with heart diseases and strokes and to conduct research. Folders were sent home with the envelopes to collect the donations. The PE Team will be collecting money from January 29th through February 26th. If you are sending checks, please make the check payable to the American Heart Association. During PE classes, students will become familiar with various jump rope skills and learn how their heart works. Families are invited to participate in Jump Rope for Heart Night on Friday, February 22nd at 6:00.
Mrs. Rose-Roth, PE Teacher
Mrs. Vaziry, PE Teacher Assistant
Art Club!
Exploring Textiles through Kindness
The Art Club will meet on Wednesdays, March 6 through April 10 at 4:00-5:00. Parents are asked to pick up their child in the bus circle promptly at 5:00. The club is open to second and third grade students. They will have the opportunity to experiment with sewing and weaving as they create gifts to give to others.
Permission slips will be sent home on February 22. A lottery will be used if there are more than 30 students who express an interest in joining the club. The deadline to return permission slips is March 1.
SOL Testing
It’s almost that time again –Standards of Learning (SOL) testing is right around the corner. The tests will be administered between April 25 and May 22. Expedited retakes will take place May 24- June 4. You play an important part in helping students give their best performance on these important tests. As you know, we have been busy preparing and reinforcing the skills necessary for students to demonstrate their learning. Even though this assessment is a snapshot—one single perspective – it is important that our students have every advantage to do their very best.
We will be holding SOL Parent Nights and you are highly encouraged to attend. You will receive resources to support your child and prepare them for the testing. The Third Grade SOL Parent Night is February 27 at 6:30 p.m. The Fourth & Fifth Grade SOL Parent Night is February 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Thank you for your continued support and involvement in your child’s education. Together we can make a difference!
Advisory Council
The next Advisory Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 19 at 7:00. Officer Brian Hall from the PWC Office of Risk Management will provide a presentation on “Safety in our Schools.” He will answer questions regarding the initiatives that are in place in PWCS to ensure the safety of our school and the Chris Yung community.
Mrs. Ann Nuzzo
Advisory Council Chairperson
Counselor's Corner
Classroom Guidance: This month in classroom guidance, our focus will be on kindness, empathy, friendship, and respecting differences. Related library book suggestions include: The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss, The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig, Wonder by R. J. Palacio, The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, and The Quilt Maker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau.
The Great Kindness Challenge: The Great Kindness Challenge is a nationwide initiative that seeks to improve school climate while fostering a culture of kindness. Students are encouraged to perform random acts of kindness at school, in the community
and at home. We began our challenge on Tuesday, January 29. Due to snow days, our kindness challenge will continue through Tuesday, February 05 with the following spirit days:
Monday (February 04) – Crazy for Kindness – crazy hats, crazy socks, mismatched outfits Tuesday (February 05) – Powered by Kindness — super hero shirts
On Track with Character: Our Character Counts initiative is still going strong. Teachers and staff continue to “catch” students when they demonstrate strong character throughout the building. Students are recognized for their positive behavior through weekly drawings and school-wide shout-outs. We are very excited about this program and encourage you to speak with your children about ways they can show strong character both at home and in school.
National School Counseling Week: February 4 – 8. School Counselors, Providing Lessons for Life. Sponsored by American School Counselor Association, National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.
Dr. McClurg & Ms. Poore
School Counselors
Kindergarten Registration
Registration for children entering Kindergarten next year will be held:
Thursday, April 4 (9:30 to 3:00)
Thursday, April 11 (10:00-2:00 & 4:30-6:30)
Your child must be five (5) years old by September 30, 2019 to be eligible to register. This means they were born on or before September 30, 2014. Please remember to bring the following documents when registering your child:
· An original copy of the child’s birth certificate.
· Social Security Number
· Immunization Record
· Current Physical Examination (dated after August 30, 2018)
· Proof of Residency (3 are required)
Interpreters will be available on those days to aid in the registration process. You are encouraged to register on these dates as it gives us needed information on class sizes and staffing for the upcoming school year. More information will be sent home shortly detailing the types of documentation needed. If you know of other families in our neighborhood who will be enrolling a child in Kindergarten, please share this information with them as well. If you have any questions, please feel free to call our office staff and they will be happy to assist you.
Chorus Corner
Two of our chorus students (Britney Kay and Jayden Perez-Bernardez) were invited by audition to represent Chris Yung Elementary in the All County Chorus. They are working hard on their songs and look forward to joining other 5th graders from across the county for their performance. You are invited to support them by seeing them perform at Patriot High School, 10504 Kettle Run Rd. Gainesville, on Saturday, February 23, at 3:30 p.m. The snow date is March 9.
Mr. Tarallo
Music Teacher
STEAM Corner
How do we use the design process in STEAM?
At all grade levels we are diving into the Engineering Design Process in more details. What exactly is the engineering design process? In simple terms the steps are: ASK, IMAGINE, PLAN, CREATE, IMPROVE.
The steps allow students to lead with a sense of inquiry as well as an understanding that engineering works in a cycle. The overall goal is that they use what we call a driving question to guide their learning and give them a real world, curriculum relevant focus to what they will be asked to build. We focus along the way on how they work in a group through constant collaboration and communication. Once we start testing we watch other groups closely with the understanding that we can learn and grow from others. The ultimate goal is learning that it is not always about success the first time, engineering is
about asking questions, finding information and improving. We are never really done with a project and can always improve.
What's Happening at each Grade Level
Grade 5 – Students have begun recording combo-creature presentations using the green screen app, DoINK! They will be sharing information about their animal’s ecosystem, behavioral adaptations and physical adaptations. Keep an eye out on twitter for student videos: @cyessteam
Click on link above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-rmSA7t8Jg&index=2&list=PL3ZJqpkTWBGp-ZZ4yORl8FkjZCXXXvwUh&t=0s
Grade 4 – Students have been hard at work in both STEAM and art on their famous Virginian marionettes. In addition, they are completing research in the classroom and library on their famous Virginian. Students successfully built their marionette figures with movable joints. Now they are adding clothing and the control mechanism. The final step will be to record the marionettes talking to each other. 4th grade also spent a week learning how to code a game using scratch. Be sure to visit www.scratch.mit.edu at home!
Grade 3 – Students spent time exploring how to transfer writing code on a computer to programming a robot like the robots they use at Amazon to fulfill orders. Now students are preparing for their next build project based on the book Wild Robot. They have been exploring solid figures, how to draw them and how to combine them to make a robot-lrobot-like Roz from the book.
Grade 2 – Students successfully completed the engineering design process with their catapults and it was a huge success. It takes many weeks to go into each step in detail and the students all worked hard through this difficult challenge. Many groups launched their pumpkins successfully down the hall. We talked about success and failure as we find ways to improve. We continue to focus on how to work successfully with a partner.
Grade 1 – Students spent the first few weeks back reviewing STEAM traditions as they used build boxes to explore new ideas and concepts. They are about to begin their first full build through the engineering design process where they will be asked to help an injured animal survive in the wild.
Kindergarten – Students spent the first few weeks back reviewing STEAM traditions as they used build boxes to explore new ideas and concepts. We are about to begin our first full build through the engineering design process as we tie STEAM to literature and help 3 friends build a new house.
Are you following along with the STEAM lab on twitter? Throughout the day, pictures are posted so that you can see what we are focusing on in the STEAM Lab. Find us: www.twitter.com/cyesSTEAM
Mrs. Chidester
STEAM Coach
Multicultural Night: Date Change
Read Across America- Dr. Seuss' Birthday
Planning Ahead
The PWC School Board has set the Calendar for 2019-2020 school year. Classes will begin on Monday, August 26 and are scheduled to end on Friday, June 12. Please use this information to assist in planning vacations, travel, special events, etc. for the upcoming school year
Chris Yung Elementary School
Website: https://chrisyunges.pwcs.edu/home
Location: 12612 Fog Light Way, Bristow, VA, USA
Phone: 571-598-3500
Twitter: @cyessteamengines