Elm Street School
Fall 2018 Newsletter
Elm Street Eagles S.O.A.R
Safe -- On Task -- Always Respectful - Responsible
Principal Message
Dear Families,
It has only been a few months but It genuinely feels like I have been a part of the Elm community for a long time. The students are truly a pleasure to welcome into the building each day. It has been wonderful getting to know them. It is evident that teachers, staff, and parents work collaboratively with the students' best interest in mind.
There is a strong focus on our SOARing expectations where students demonstrate expected behaviors in all areas of their day. These expected behaviors focus on being Safe, On task, Always respectful, and Responsible. We review and model these expected behaviors on a consistent basis and appreciate the work you do to reinforce them at home.
Research shows a strong connection between home and school increases student success rates. A great place to have conversations and discuss expected behaviors is around the family dinner table. Check out www.familydinnerproject.org for age appropriate conversation starters. I know my boys get bored when my husband and I ask them the same questions over and over. It is incredible how much we learn when spending quality time together around the dinner table.
Be on the lookout for the next principal's coffee in December. I look forward to continuing our strong partnership and thank you for all you do.
Best,
Carrie
Nurse's Notes
Just a reminder- unless it is raining, snowing heavily, or bitterly cold, the children will be going out for recess everyday. Students should be bringing jackets to school, and on cold or windy days, hat and mittens too!
If your child has borrowed any clothes from the health office, please return them so that they are available for the next child that needs them.
The health screenings for grades K through 5 are now in progress. If your child had difficulty with their health screening, they will be re-screened over the next several weeks. If your child continues to have difficulty, I will send you a note asking that you have your child evaluated by their pediatrician for a possible referral to an audiologist or ophthalmologist. If you do not receive a note from me, your child has passed their health screenings at this time.
Please remember to be pro-active and check your child’s hair on a regular basis for head lice. It only takes a few minutes and prevents a bigger problem!
I have several students who do not have med orders for their Epi-Pens or inhalers; please get this information to the Health Office ASAP.
Have a wonderful holiday !
Curriculum Updates
Kindergarten
Kindergarten has been focused on things to be thankful for and kindness. Echo the Owl from our new Fundations Program helped our K students structure thankful thoughts on their turkey feathers.
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
The fifth-graders were fortunate to have a visit by employees of Siemens to recognize Siemens STEM Day. The students were active participants in a series of experiments and activities that explores curriculum topics like plate tectonics, volcanoes, and earthquakes. This annual visit has become a special treat for our students for which we are grateful. Thank you, Siemens!
Technology at Elm
Digital Learning
The Digital Learning Coach assists students and teachers. Together we use technology to assess student learning, differentiate instruction and provide rigorous, relevant and engaging learning experiences for all students.
Students at Fisher have been creating:
Voice recordings with “Vocaroo” and converting them to QR codes
“All About Me” posters with Google Drawing
Coding with Bee Bots
Fall Poetry with Google Slides
Writing e-books with “Book Creator”
There is much more Digital Learning to come!
Stay connected!
Karen Wolff
Digital Learning Coach
Elm Street/Fisher Elementary School
Art News
Elm Street Art Work
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Exciting, new 3-D lesson for grade five, creating very realistic spooky fall trees. There is so much expression in this sample tree and the paper bag material used lends itself well to get that real tree feel. Students used tissue paper for the leaves.
Battle of the Books
Music News
Composer of the Month: Our composer of the month is Bobby McFerrin, who is an American Jazz Vocalist and Conductor, a 10-time Grammy Award winner, and uses improvisation in his music! Click here to sing with Bobby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne6tB2KiZuk.
Music Events: Thank you so much to everyone who joined us at our second annual Pajama Jam for kindergarten and first grade! It was so wonderful to see our students making music with their families! A big thank you to Ravi Varanasi for assisting with photography and videography for the event, here are some beautiful photos of our students making music in their pj's! Please make sure to mark your calendar for our Winter Sing-A-Long which will take place on Monday, December 10th @ 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. in our school cafeteria! Come prepared to sing, hear the Elm Street Singers perform, and celebrate this wonderful time of year!
Music Curriculum Update: All of our students are exploring Unit 1 of their grade-level curriculum. Students learning is measured through assignments where they create, perform, and respond through developmentally appropriate music making!
Kindergarten
Music is Everywhere
Essential Questions: What is noise? What is music? Why do people everywhere make music?
Enduring Understandings: I can make music in many ways. Music can be found all around us.
Student Learning Activities: Students have been focusing on Speaking voice vs. Singing voice and High vs. Low, along with developing basic musicianship skills such as solo singing, steady beat, and expressive movement to music.
First Grade
Musical Elements
Essential Questions: What makes a composer? What can I hear and identify in music?
Enduring Understandings: "Tempo" is the speed of music. "Beat" is the steady pulse in music. "Rhythms" are patterns of sounds and silence.
Student Learning Activities: Students have been focusing on Loud vs. Soft and Fast vs. Slow, along with developing basic musicianship skills such as solo singing and creating solo songs, steady beat and rhythm performance, and expressive and creative movement to music.
Second Grade
More Elements of Music
Essential Questions: How can musicians make their music sound interesting to listeners? How do composers and performers express ideas in their music?
Enduring Understandings: "Pitches" make up melodies that are sung or played on instruments. "Tone Color" is the characteristic sound of an instrument or voice. "Dynamics" are the volume of music.
Student Learning Activities: Students have learned about the musical terms for dynamics, or how loud or soft music is (Forte and Piano), and the musical terms for tempos or how fast or slow music is (Presto and Largo). Students are also learning how to read and write rhythms in duple meter, or groups of 2. Students will use all of this knowledge in an upcoming Arts Integration unit where the music room is connecting Sergei Prokofiev's Symphonic Fairy Tale, "Peter and the Wolf" with the English Language Arts unit on fairy tales! Students will simultaneously be learning about Russian art and lines and shapes with Mrs. Robbins in art class along with movement in gym with Mrs. Carty inspired by the story of Peter and the Wolf. It is an exciting time of collaboration in our school!
Third Grade
Learning to Play the Recorder
Essential Questions: What makes a recorder? Why play the recorder? How do I play the recorder properly and musically?
Enduring Understandings: The recorder is a simple wind instrument that has a long history. The recorder is played by covering finger holes and blowing air through a shaped mouthpiece. There is a large amount of music composed for the recorder ranging from beginning to advanced.
Student Learning Activities: Students are focusing on learning how to read G, A, and B on the music staff, along with accurately singing and performing using Dynamics (Piano, Mezzo Piano, Mezzo Forte, Forte), Tempos (Presto, Andante, Largo), and reading and performing rhythms in duple meter (groups of 2) using whole and half notes, quarter notes and rests, and paired-eighth notes.
Fourth Grade
America's Musical Heritage
Essential Questions: What makes a piece of music "American"? What causes American music to evolve and change over time?
Enduring Understandings: American music is continuously changing and evolving. Music brought to America by people who came both voluntarily and involuntarily evolved within the regions of the country where the people settled.
Student Learning Activities: Students are continuing to work at their own pace through their recorder books, and will be learning a new note (high C) on the recorder next week! We are also studying Native American music, dance, history, and culture. Students are using their knowledge of tempo and dynamics to create their own recorder composition using Do, Re, and Mi, and will be able to share this composition with you before the winter break!
Fifth Grade
Musical Expression in World Cultures
Essential Questions: What do different world cultures share in common in their musical expressions? What makes music from different world cultures sound so different? Why do people in cultures from all around the world express themselves through music?
Enduring Understandings: Musical expression through singing, playing instruments, and dancing is a common and important part of most cultures around the world. Discovering what is similar and unique about music from around the world helps us understand how people express themselves through music. Music from a variety of world cultures may sound different, but has similar elements.
Student Learning Activities: Students have begun to learn the basics for playing Ukulele, and a little about the history of the instrument. They are working on reading notation and identifying the four open strings on the Ukuleles. They are also honing their rhythm reading skills, and preparing to learn about sixteenth-notes in duple meter (steady beat in groups of 2). Students will learn how to tune their Ukuleles, and are beginning to study chords and chord progressions. We will explore what a chord is, how to create a chord, and how to use our note reading skills to play chords and simple melodies on the Ukuleles. Students are also creating a composition using Do, Re, Mi and So, and applying their knowledge of tempo and dynamics to make their composition musical and expressive.
PE News
K-5 classes have been working hard while having lots of fun in their PE classes. Students have worked on throwing skills using beanbags, playing messy backyard, pin bombardment and haunted house. They have also worked on locomoter skills and strengthening in various tag games, dance, parachute, and the obstacle course. This week's activity is "crab soccer" which develops upper body strength. All students, k-5, have shown great enthusiasm for all the activities!
Excellence at Elm Street
Elm Street Eagles S.O.A.R
SAFE--- ON TASK AND READY--- ALWAYS RESPECTFUL--- RESPONSIBLE
Congratulations to our Eagles of the Month and Classroom of the Month
September Eagles of the Month
Kindergarten - Eamon J.
Grade 1 - J.P. D.
Grade 2 - Emma S.
Grade 3 - Tyler C.
Grade 4 - Jacoby H.
Grade 5 - Sasha F.
September Classroom of the Month
Mrs. Torigian's Class
October Eagles of the Month:
Kindergarten - Ruthwuk V.
Grade 1 - Conor M.
Grade 2 - Otto V.
Grade 3 - Inri M.
Grade 4 - Lillian F.
Grade 5 - Caroline M.
October Classroom of the Month
Miss Vetrino's Class
Guidance News
Student Council News
The Student Council has announced two upcoming "Spirit Days". December 13th is Pajama Day and January 17th will be "Wear Blue for Peace Day", this is in honor of MLK Day.
Cultural Arts
Programs range from Puppet Shows and authors to presentations by Bay Colony Educators in addition to STEM interactive programs. Each grade level will have at least 2 programs this year in addition to whole school assemblies that are scheduled for later in the school year.
The Cultural Arts Program Coordinator, Mrs. Perlman, is doing a fabulous job working closely with teachers to select programs that are directly related to their curriculum.
Here are some of the programs that will take place this Fall:
Wingmaster: Grade 3
Techsploration: Kindergarten
HighTouch-Dig it: Grade 4
ELM STREET SCHOOL PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL (PAC)
The next PAC meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 9th at 7:00 pm in the Media Center.
Winter Sing-a-long
Monday, Dec 10, 2018, 06:30 PM
Elm Street School, Elm Street, Walpole, MA, USA
Elm Street School
Email: cruggiero@walpole.k12.ma.us
Website: walpoleess.ss5.sharpschool.com/
Location: 415 Elm Street, Walpole, MA, USA
Phone: 508-660-7374
Twitter: @elmwalpole