Pine Bend Elementary
January Family Newsletter
Principal Update
December was an exciting month with our music program, gingerbread man play, and our annual pig races. I am even more excited about the start of the new year as we set new goals! In January we have parent/teacher conferences that provide a great opportunity to set goals for the rest of the school year. Also, Pine Bend will continue our partnership with Dakota County as we set new goals in the cafeteria to eliminate food waste. Please follow along on Twitter and Instagram as we set our goals to be more responsible in the cafeteria.
Pine Bend on Instagram @pinebendelementary
Pine Bend on Twitter @mrcooperpb
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Hola familias de Pine Bend!
Deciembre fue un mes muy emocionante con el programa de musica, teatro de pan de jengibre, y nuestro carreras annual de cerdos. Estoy aun mas emocionado por el empiezo de un nuevo año cuando hacemos nuevos metas! En enero tenemos la conferencia de padres y maestros que nos da la oportunidad de hacer metas para el resto de año. Ademas, Pine Bend va a seguir nuestro convenio con el condado de Dakota para hacer metas de eliminar desechos alimentarios. Por favor siganos en el internet de Twitter y Instagram mientras que hacemos mets para ser mas responsables en la cafeteria.
Pine Bend en Instagram @pinebendelementary
Pine Bend en Twitter @mrcooperpb
Winter Conferences This Month!
Tuesday, January 15th - 4:30-8:30 pm
Thursday, January 17th - 4:30-8:30 pm
Friday, January 18th - 8:00 am-2:00 pm
Watch for a flyer coming home in your student's backpack on Friday, January 4th with details for signing up for a conference time.
Kindergarten Registration on January 7th
Lost and Found
SALT Day Volunteers Needed
Hello Pine Bend Families!
SALT Day (Students and Adults Learning Together) is an amazing opportunity to participate in a special Pine Bend event. This annual event is scheduled for Friday, February 8, 2019. Each year students are able to partake in a variety of activities from arts and crafts to cooking, martial arts and more. This event wouldn't be possible without the many, many volunteers that make this event possible! It runs from 12:50 - 3pm on Friday February 9th. Please mark your calendar and sign up here today to be a part of this fun event!
Pennies For Patients
January Box Tops
The next monthly Box Tops for Education contest time is here!! The deadline for this month is January 31st! Ask friends, family and neighbors if they will clip Box Tops labels for you. The class with the most Box Top labels turned in for that month will get the “Top Clippers” trophy (pictured). Our goal is to raise $1,000 and last year we raised $843.80 - so close, but still amazing!
Preschool
Keep sending their outside clothes; we will keep going outside every day, so please send clothes as well as shoes for the classroom.
Kindergarten
Happy New Year!
K Team
First Grade
Students have enjoyed doing art projects and fun activities before winter break. They learned about culture, traditions, and different holidays that are celebrated around the world. The students had fun watching the pig races and finally getting a chance to play in a bit of snow outside. We are looking forward to a joyous January. Have wonderful break!
Second Grade
Busy! That is how we would describe the month of December in 2nd grade!
This month we learned about shapes and telling time in math, states and countries in reading and social studies, and we practiced writing letters. We also found some time to make and decorate our classrooms with winter art projects.
We got to have our day of code in our classrooms. This was a fun hour for our students. They had learned a lot in their computer specialist time and it was fun to see them use what they knew about it.
We hope all students and families have a restful and fun winter break. We look forward to seeing our students back at school on January 2, and seeing parents later in January at conferences.
Third Grade
In math, we are coming to the end of our subtraction unit. Subtracting larger numbers with multiple zeros on top is still tricky for many students. But this type of subtraction is an important skill, especially to know how to give change for a $5.00 or $10.00 bill. After winter break, be ready because we will start multiplication!
Finally, in social studies, we have been learning about the different regions of the United States and about the natural resources that are found in different parts of our country. The text reminds us to reduce, reuse, and recycle too.
As we finish this week before break, third grade students really enjoyed performing for their families, taking the gingerbread STEM challenge, and watching a favorite movie or two. Looking to next month, please help your children get their 18 facts ready for our non-fiction book reports. We are so excited to learn many things about real topics! See you in the new year!
Fourth Grade
All the fourth graders are excited about a secret project they have been working on this month. It is a real masterpiece that all of the families will enjoy over break. It is a big secret so you will find out when it is unveiled at home.
Math has been so fun. We are practicing our facts and have been working on various ways to multiply large numbers. Pretty soon we will be doing long division.
The music program's songs were in our minds in December and it was fun to hear all the humming after music class has ended. We were thrilled to see everyone who came to our performance at the Performing Arts Center.
We are excited for our break, but are super excited about all the events waiting for us when we get back. Pennies for Patients will start on January 2nd, and we will have an art resident visiting our school starting on January 7th to teach us about art.
Fifth Grade
The fifth graders worked hard to prepare for the great music program - Peacemakers. The band sounded wonderful in the Simley PAC, and the classes performed their parts with pride. We have an exciting art project underway. We are studying space and creating a paper mosaic. Look for finished products in January.
Multiplication facts are a real priority for the remainder of the year in math class. Give yourself a gift this season by ensuring you are “automatic” with your multiplication facts. We are studying large multiplication and will be learning about division and fractions in the new year. These concepts are heavily dependent on multiplication facts.
Phy Ed
Dear Parents/Guardians:
December has been a fun month! Students just finished bowling and are now participating in winter wonderland stations. (Thank you Drkula’s Bowling for lending us bowling lanes and balls)
Grades 3-5 will be moving into their snow shoeing unit after Winter break if the weather is cooperative. Grades K-2 will be working on cooperative games.
Don’t forget to send tennis shoes with your child each day. This is important during the Winter Months because physical education activities are difficult in boots!
Upcoming events: Jump Rope for Heart in March!
Happy Holidays to all of you!
~ Mrs. Koch and Miss Darrow
January Reading Connection Newsletter
Upcoming Events
January 1 - NO SCHOOL
January 2 - School resumes
January 7 - Kindergarten Registration 4:30-6:30 pm, Pine Bend IMC
January 8 - PTSA Meeting 6:30 pm, Pine Bend IMC
January 15 - Conferences 4:30-8:30 pm
January 17 - Conferences 4:30-8:30 pm
January 18 - Conferences 8 am-2:30 pm
January 18 - NO SCHOOL
January 21 - NO SCHOOL