The Month in VIEW
January 2020
Principal news
Happy New Year!! I hope that 2020 is a wonderful year for you and your family.
Delay, Cancellation, Arctic Academy??
- School Messenger calls and texts will continue to be used in the case of delays, cancellations, or Arctic Academy. In addition, you can find updates posted on the main county school website, announced on the radio, and posted to our school's Facebook and Twitter accounts.
- If there is a 2-hour delay, all before school care programs are cancelled and our doors open at 10:30.
- If school is cancelled due to the extreme cold, this will be called as an Arctic Academy day. Arctic Academy is a Monongalia County Schools program that allows school to re-imagine classroom time disrupted by inclement weather or unforeseen calamities preventing a traditional day of instruction. Arctic Academy days will be announced by School Messenger to both staff and students with instruction pertaining to the day.
On these days, students will complete assignments designed by their educators that have been loaded on their student Chromebooks. These assignments do not require internet for completion. Arctic Academy counts as a day of instruction. Students who complete the assignments will be counted present for the day. Students have five (5) school days to turn the assignments in to their teacher.
Teachers will be available to answer any questions students may have or provide needed support as students complete the assignments. Emailing, using Google Classroom, or calling the office are options to have questions answered.
- If school is cancelled due to unsafe conditions, a traditional snow day will be called. In this case, students and staff remain safely at home. Students do not work on Arctic Academy assignments.
Weather
As temperatures continue to drop and the possibility of inclement weather increases, please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the colder weather each day. Students need to be prepared to go outside for 30 minutes of recess each day. Students go out to recess as long as it is not raining and temperatures are not “frigid”. Coats, hats, and gloves are essential for recess. Please be sure your child is prepared for the elements. You may also want to consider labeling the inside of his/her clothing as many student items look similar. Encourage your children to visit the “Lost & Found” bin located in the cafeteria; there are SEVERAL items that have been “found” this school year.
Speaking of inclement weather, at the beginning of the school year, you were asked to complete a form letting your child's teacher know how you wanted your child to get home in the case of an unplanned early dismissal. Please reach out to your child's teacher if you are unsure of the directions you gave or if something has changed.
Body Safety Education
On March 5, 2018, Governor Justice signed House Bill 4402, requiring that all West Virginia students, grades K-12, receive age-appropriate body safety education at least once during the school year. Through the implementation of these lessons, Monongalia County Schools aims to educate and empower students by providing knowledge and skills that may be used for personal protection and self advocacy.
At Mountainview, this lesson will be taught to each classroom by our counselors. I have attached a letter from our Superintendent that contains more information.
Thank you!
Once again, our Holiday Angel program was a huge success! This is a great program that has been in place at Mountainview since we opened the doors 26 years ago, and it is organized by our school counselors, Mr. Ryan and Ms. Kendall. We raise money throughout the fall to make the holidays a little brighter for some of our students. We take them shopping to pick out clothes, shoes, coats, and a toy.
Thank you to those who adopted an angel and provided shoes or a coat. Thank you to everyone who donated money as well. We are already looking forward to next year!
Another thank you goes out to Mr. Bowders and everyone associated with making the winter program so wonderful for our students and their families. As always, the turn out for this event was great!
Mid-year assessments
Teachers will be taking some time this month to perform mid-year assessments. These more formal assessments are a nice addition to the ongoing observations and assessments teachers do every day. Using all this information, teachers are able to plan instruction that is based on what students need in order to continue progressing.
You can continue to support your child by reviewing the completed work that comes home, monitor their homework, encourage nightly reading, and practice math facts.
As always, if you have questions or concerns about how your child is performing, don't hesitate to contact his/her teacher.
School Cash Online
We are excited to announce that we will offer a new and preferred method of payment for school fees beginning this month! School Cash Online is a secure form of online payment that allows you to pay for your child’s school expenses – such as field trips – from your computer or hand-held device using Visa or Mastercard. Look for more information coming home with your child soon!
January Lunch Menu
Check out what's for lunch!!
Grade Level news
Pre-K
This month in Pre-K we will be learning about Winter and how it effects animals.
As the weather gets colder, we may be inside the gym for recess. Students have been riding bikes in addition to other gross motor skill activities. If weather permits, we will still go outside. Dress your child in a warm winter coat, hat, and gloves with their name labeled.
Please continue to practice good hand washing skills at home, as we continue to wash often at school. Remember the county's sick policy. Fever free for 24 hours without medication and vomiting and diarrhea free for 24 hours. If your child is sent home sick, they must remain symptom and medication free for 24 hours before returning to school. In Pre-K we share everything- including lots of germs. Help us keep your child, you, and other medically fragile children healthy by following our county's sick policy.
Kindergarten:
- Happy New Year! As we begin the New Year, we are reviewing classroom rules and procedures. We are also working hard to practice good work habits.
- This month we will learn about winter and the impact it has on our lives, including the fun activities we enjoy in the snow.
- We will discuss Martin Luther King, Jr. and his message of peace and brotherhood.
- We continue to practice counting to 100 as our 100th day approaches. Remember to practice counting to 100 at home by 1s and 10s.
First Grade:
Please be sure to check the weather for each day. We go outside if the real feel is 30 degrees or higher (rain or snow permitting). If your child wears a jacket to school please label it with their name. Your child is responsible for bringing their jacket and any other belongings in from the playground; please remind them of this.
In math, we are working on adding and subtracting within 20 using different strategies. We have talked about using a number line, drawing pictures, using counters, and using a 120 or 100 chart to help us.
In reading, we are working on short vowel sounds and blending sounds. Please continue to read with your child for at least twenty minutes each night to further develop their reading abilities. Be sure to ask them about the story they are reading to check for comprehension. The setting, characters, and looking at the differences between fiction and non-fiction are all elements that we are exploring in our small group instruction.
Your child should have also brought home a list of sight words. Please practice these using any of the suggested activities (or any fun and creative ones that you've found). A new list will come home each month.
This year we have had many discussions on what we are feeling and how to express our emotions when we are feeling a certain way. Please ask your child to share what strategies they have learned for handling a frustrating situation. Remind them that taking a deep breath and walking away are great things to do when someone is upsetting them!
Please continue to check your child's folder each night for any important information that will be coming home. Arctic academy assignments have been placed in the back of your child's folder. Please keep them there until needed. More information will be coming home as the weather gets colder.
Please do not allow your child to bring any toys to school unless their teacher has given them a show and tell day. Your child's teacher will send a note home if that is happening.
Thank you for all that you do!
Second Grade:
Happy New Year!
In Math, comparing numbers is the math thing to do, you can do it too. We will also be adding three 2-digit numbers. As always, story problems will be included, they don’t want to be excluded.
In writing, we will ride on over and start using TIDE (topic sentence, information, detail and ending).
In Reading, students will continue reading grade level text and determining what to do next. Look and see what we learn and don’t be concerned. We love to demonstrate our new skills and are so thrilled.
Remember the weather is unpredictable, make sure hats and coats are detectable. Arctic Academy is the game, if freezing is proclaimed.
Third Grade:
As the holidays come to an end, the students will focus on reteach of classroom procedures and rules within the first week of January.
We will continue word problems, but work on two step problems using the four basic operations to solve. Multiplication Masters will end soon, so be sure to continue to practices those facts at home!
Student will begin to write expository essays using the writing process. Through a variety of fiction and non fiction stories, students will work on making inferences, main idea/details, cause and effect, text features, and various grammar skills.
Fourth Grade:
- In math, fourth grade will be moving from multiplication onto dividing with whole numbers and wrapping up Unit 3 in I-Ready. Please keep encouraging your child to continue practicing multiplication facts and 2 digit multiplication with the area model and partial products strategies
- In reading, we will be focusing on Story Structure, Theme, and Questioning for the first week back in January. Then we will focus on the Author's Purpose, Historical Events, and Clarifying.
- Our focus in social studies will turn to the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies, then transitioning to the causes of the Revolution.
- As we finish our fiction stories, our focus will now be on expository nonfiction writing.
- Remember we go outside to recess in all kinds of weather. Please make sure your child is dressed warmly because we go outside whenever possible.
- As we approach the season of snow, students should be taking their Chromebook home each evening and return with them to school. If an Arctic Academy Day is called, students will have their materials to access our Arctic Classroom to complete the required activities.
Fifth Grade:
January Calendar
January 6- school resumes
January 15- midterm
January 17- 2 hour early dismissal
January 20- No School- Martin Luther King Jr. Day