#WEareBALTZ
Believing, Achieving, Learning and Team Building with Zeal
September 2019 Baltz Bear News!
Hello Baltz Families,
We are excited to begin a new school year! It was so nice to see so many families at the Meet and Greet & Back to School Night. We know that working together is the best way to help our students be as successful as possible.
It is going to be a great school year!
Ms. O'Neill and Mrs. Palma
For Spanish, go to the bottom and click translate.
Para español, vaya a la parte inferior y haga clic en traducir.
Upcoming Events!
Wednesday 10/9 - No School for Students
Friday 10/11 - NUT DAY (no uniforms today!)
Friday 10/25 - Trunk or Treat at Baltz - 6 pm
Thursday 10/31 - End of Marking Period 1
Friday 11/1 - No School for Students
Friday 11/8 - NUT DAY (no uniforms today!)
Monday 11/11 - No School for Students
A Peek Into What We Are Learning...
Kindergarten
Welcome to Kindergarten! The K staff is thrilled to be working with you and your children this year. At the beginning of school our primary focus is building a safe community within our classrooms. We do this by learning school and classroom expectations and by getting to know one another. This will create friendships and a sense of belonging. We have enjoyed learning what similarities and differences we all have through sharing experiences and playing games. We will continue this throughout the year in order to create an environment that promotes happiness and success for all students. Help your children be their best by reinforcing the 3 R’s, Ready, Respectful, Responsible!
We are looking forward to a phenomenal year!
Ms. Scott, Ms. Sedar, Ms. Burkhardt, Ms. Lou, and Ms. Gotthold
First Grade
What a great first few weeks of school we have had! First graders have learned many new routines and expectations and are working hard to practice them daily! Our focus during the first month of school is to build a classroom community by getting to know one another. We have had so much fun making new friends and reconnecting with familiar faces from last school year! Our reading curriculum is beginning, which will allow students to practice skills learned in Kindergarten such as short vowel sounds. In Math, students are learning what it means to be a math leader as they learn new and improved daily routines. We are looking forward to a great rest of the first marking period! We really enjoyed seeing so many families at Back to School Night last week. Look for upcoming information about a fluency event that will allow you to learn more about the importance of fluency in first grade! For updates on what is happening in the first grade classrooms, follow the first grade teacher's twitter accounts:
Miss Trate- @MissTrate
Mrs. Campanella- @MrsCampanella_
Miss Flowers- @Miss_Flowers109
Miss Dale- @miss_dale
Second Grade
2nd graders at Baltz Elementary are working hard! We have finished our math and language arts assessments and are now really getting into a routine at school and hopefully at home with homework. 2nd graders have started each day off with a Morning Meeting since the first day of school. It is a great way for all the students to get to know each other and to create a community and sense of belonging in each classroom. During our Morning Meeting, we have a greeting, a “share”, a short inclusive group activity and we read a morning message. This also creates opportunities for students to foster speaking/listening skills and cooperative interaction. It’s a positive way to begin each day.
In math, we are starting our year with lessons to build fact fluency. Students have been working on addition and subtraction equations and moving into word problems. We are working on different strategies with the goal being that students solve fluently within 20. Practicing math facts with flash cards, computer games etc. would be a great use of any extra time at home. In Reading, we have started a new reading series and are excited to really dive deep into books using different reading strategies. Our focus right now is whole group and working on taking those skills and applying them independently or with a partner. The goal is to become fluent readers AND comprehend what is being read. All 2nd grader should be reading at home! The best way for the kids to become better readers is if they read, read, read…and read some more!!
Contact Us!
Odette Fuentes - odette.funetes@redclay.k12.de.us (302) 992-5560 ext. 213
Jeanine Mauchin – jeanine.mauchin@redclay.k12.de.us (302) 992-5560 ext. 211
Karen O’Brien – karen.obrien@redclay.k12.de.us (302) 992-5560 ext. 215
Andrea Simmons – andrea.oreilly@redclay.k12.de.us (302) 992-5560 ext. 209
Third Grade
Hello Baltz families! We have gotten off to a great start in Third Grade. The first few weeks of school are always spent getting to know all the new faces in class and getting everyone back into the school routine but we’ve also gotten off to a fast start academically. In Math we have started our multiplication unit, which is a skill that is completely new to the students this year. We’ve started with the 5’s and 2’s so far and also started some division, which is another brand new skill. We will be learning multiplication and division side by side for the next several weeks. If you get the chance, please review multiplication and division facts with your kids whenever you can. If you need flashcards the students have the chance to make their own using a set in their homework books.
In reading, we are reading a chapter book and focusing on how characters act and can affect the story. If you have the chance, please read with them at home and ask them questions about the characters. If you have any questions or concerns about your third grader please don’t hesitate to contact us! We look forward to working with you to make this a great year!
Fourth Grade
Our Baltz 4th graders have arrived and are ready to get the year off to a great start by following the dress code, practicing their daily routines, and following the 3 R’s. Fourth grade has been busy with beginning of year testing and connecting with their classroom communities. Fourth grade will be focusing on place value and number sense in math, in ELA we will be locating key details to support evidence found in text, in Language Arts we will be working on informative writing, and in Social Studies we will learn about geography and mapping. We were so happy to see so many of you at our Back to School Night last week. With your participation and communication, we will have a great year in 4th grade!
Fifth Grade
We are off to a busy start in 5th grade. The first few weeks were dedicated to teaching the students procedures and routines. Our focus going forward will be on improving math computation skills, solving word problems and reading comprehension. Please encourage your child to read every night and practice multiplication facts. We are looking forward to an exciting school year.
The 5th grade team,
Mrs. Klink, Mrs. Loughrey. Mrs. Munoz and Mrs. Watkins
Unified Arts Spotlight: Technology!
We celebrated International Dot Day (9/15/19) by listening and viewing The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds. Students used Quiver app on iPads and brought the dot they created to life using augmented reality: bringing an object to life in the real world. They could bounce their dot, split it and make in larger and smaller. They could even take their dot for “walk”. Ask your student about it the experience, most students loved it! October is Digital Safety Month. Students in all grades will learn ways to stay safe in their digital world. We use iSafe curriculum and the website: www.NetzSmartz.org. Students will complete online activities, group discussions and role play activities to learn what is considered personal and private information, what to do if something online makes them scared or uncomfortable and how to use their manners online. In grades 2-5 students will also practice keyboarding and become familiar with Google applications. It’s going to be a great year in Technology Special!
English Language Development News!
Meet the English Language Development (ELD) Team: Mrs. Ashley Weaver, Mrs. Jaclyn Skipski, and Mrs. Evonne Whiteside. Mrs. Skipski is on maternity leave and will return in November.
Mrs. Whiteside has previously worked with young learners in First Grade. She is very excited to work with students in all grade levels this year! Mrs. Weaver is excited to be back at Baltz after being on maternity leave. She is excited for another year working with our ELL’s and families. It is her 3rd year at Baltz and 9th year teaching ELD. In her free time she enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her two daughters. This is Mrs. Skipski’s 7th year at Baltz and her second year teaching English Language Development. She welcomed her daughter in August and looks forward to returning in November. Her two older boys are excited to have a little sister. Miss Spencer is a student teacher from the University of Delaware and is thrilled to be working with the ELD team at Baltz for the next 10 weeks! She is studying elementary education and teaching ELD as well as working towards her masters degree in special education.
The ELD Team is excited to be using a new curriculum for all grade levels: National Geographic Reach. The curriculum is designed to help students acquire academic language through speaking, listening, reading and writing activities.
Coming soon: Parent Resource Center in Room 116!
Have you checked out Sunday Storytime yet?
Contact Us!
Website: https://www.redclayschools.com/baltz
Location: 1500 Spruce Avenue, Wilmington, Delaware 19805, USA
Phone: (302) 992-5560
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BaltzBears/
Twitter: @baltzbears