B.B RICE ELEMENTARY
March 2018
904 Gladstell Street
Conroe, TX 77304
936-709-2700
Fax 936-709-2799
School Mission
More than competency in the basic skills of reading, writing, and math, it is this school’s mission to nurture in each child:
The habit of creative independent thinking, a positive self-image, an attitude of social cooperation and moral responsibility, pride in self, community, state, and country, and
the ability to be a producer, not just a consumer, of Knowledge.
“In this school, we reach for the stars.”
School Information
- The building opens at 7:30 for students to eat breakfast and go to class.
- Please do not drop off students before 7:30 as there is no adult
- supervision.
- Breakfast is served from 7:30-7:55. 1st through 4th grade eat inside their classrooms. PK and Kinder eat in the cafeteria.
- Morning PK students go directly to the cafeteria and meet their teachers.
- The lunch menu is located on the Rice website: Rice.conroeisd.net
- Afternoon PK begins at 12:10. If they are going to eat lunch, then they need to arrive at 11:45.
- Students may not be checked out or change transportation mode after 2:30. This is for the safety of the students.
- Dismissal begins at 3:10.
- Please make sure you have your car rider sign in your car for car rider. You will be asked to park and come inside if you do not have your tag.
- Thank you for all your help to make this the very best year!!!
Pennies for Patients!!!
Go Texan Day!
CHS Feeder Choir Concert
From the Principal's Desk
Happy March,
I hope March is full of beautiful weather. The sun is like an injection of well-being and best of all, free of charge. The school year is flying by and spring is on its way! I want to thank all of you for supporting your child’s education. Just bringing your child to school every day supports a foundation for their education. We are so proud of the progress each child has made over this school year. Parent support is vital to the success of each and every child.
We have many upcoming events this month.
Something to Ponder...
This is such a great reminder from Love and Logic, Inc.
Do you know people who are trying to create a perfect environment for their children? Are they more concerned about getting the world to adjust to their kids than they are about helping their kids learn to cope with and deal with the world as it exists today?
In spite of the efforts of many to create a perfect country where no one will ever be offended, where bad decisions will have limited consequences, where good outcomes are guaranteed regardless of effort and sacrifice, and where kids never have less than the neighbors' kids, our kids are still living in a world that requires effort and resilience.
Our love for our kids tempts us to do all we can to make their childhood better than ours. It tempts us to try to eliminate disappointment, struggle, and inconvenience from their lives.
Each day we need to remind ourselves:
Whose needs are being met when we attempt to guarantee that our kids are never disappointed, never get less than an "A" grade, never have to struggle, never take risks, never fail, and never have less than the neighbor kid?
Is it my job to make the world adjust to my kids, or is my job to help my kids develop resilience so that they can fit into a world they’re going to face?
Trying to create perfect environments for our children is about as successful as creating perfect children. In my eyes, to think otherwise is a delusion.
I hope to see lots of you at school throughout the upcoming events.
Mrs. Stewart
Message From Your Assistant Principal
It’s already that time of the year again. Our students are buckling down in preparation for our first state assessment. The STAAR test will be here soon. This is a time period for our students to “show what they know” and display their learning achievements.
Important Testing Dates for March:
- 3/1/18-4th Grade Reading Benchmark
- 3/2/18-3rd Grade Reading Benchmark
- 3/5/18-2nd Science DCC
- 3/6/18-1st Grade Math DCC
- 3/7/18-2nd Math DCC/4th Science DCC
- 3/8/18-3rd Grade Science DCC
As we continue through the next few weeks, please remember:
Attendance is very important
Encourage all students to work to their fullest potential
Help keep our students motivated and encourage their very best work
Arrive to school on time and stay throughout the day
Get plenty of rest and eat nutritious food
Read daily
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with questions! Your children are our business and we enjoy them everyday!
Message From School Counselor...
Parents,
As we begin gearing up for the testing season, many students experience a difficult time adjusting to the amount of stress they are faced with due to tremendous pressures experienced in everyday life. My guidance lessons this month will continue to focus on The Rice Way, but also stress specifically. Students and I will identify the meaning of stress, things that cause us stress, how it affects us emotionally and physically, and what we can do to help decrease it, both at school and home.
Studies say that parents can be key in helping them in times of stress. In a survey taken from KidsHealth, in students aged 9-13 only about 1 in 5 kids said they talk to a parent when they're upset, but a whopping 75% of kids said they'd like their parents to help them in times of stress.
Here's how kids said parents could help:
Talk together.
Help them feel better, like with a hug.
Give them attention; do something together.
Help them solve the problem.
Stop yelling.
Don't make them feel worse.
Help get their minds off the problem.
Pray with them.
Sometimes parents might feel like kids don't want them to get involved. That's why it’s important to provide that opportunity for communication with your child, even if all they want to say is that this problem is going on and that they’d like to try to solve it on their own. More often, they will want mom or dad to offer ideas or at least a little encouragement. Let them know that stress is normal, and not all stress is bad. By helping guide them in effective measures of dealing with stress, we can provide opportunities for growth
Have a wonderful Spring Break
Information taken from www.kidshealth.org
Pre-K
The children were so happy and grateful for all the parents that helped with their Valentine party! Please continue to practice writing names, recognizing letters and numbers (0-9), and hearing sounds.
Just a reminder:
Write your child’s name on their coats and backpacks.
Keep a clean change of clothes in your child’s backpack.
If you need to change transportation, please do so in writing.
Read to your children daily!
Kinder
First Grade
In Reading, your child will continue to read self selected books in both fiction and non fiction. They are learning that readers have big jobs to do! Ask your child what reading strategy they are learning and to show you how they do it in a book. Please practice sight words every day and continue reading each night! You can also play rhyming games with your child. Give them 3 words and ask them which 2 words rhymed.
In Writing, we will be finishing up our unit on writing All About! Your writer will be continuing to practice becoming an expert non fiction writer. We will be moving into writing personal moments to finish out the month of March.
Your mathematician will be practicing adding and subtracting strategies within 15. Please practice addition and subtraction facts within 10 each night. We will move into place value using numbers 1 through 120. A fun game to practice in the car is asking your child what is 10 more or 10 less than any number between 1 and 120!
Your scientist will be researching animal characteristics, pets and caregiver relationships, and aquariums.
In Social Studies, we will be discussing Texas History and reviewing our map skills!
Please contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions or need any resources. Thank you for all your cooperation and help!
Second Grade
We can't believe spring is almost here, and there is still so much to do and learn! We are looking forward to many upcoming activities this spring. Our Second Graders will be performing their Second Grade program on Friday, March 9th!
We have been as busy as ever in the classroom. We will continue our study of Genres and our Units of Study. We have been working hard on being independent readers for long periods of time. Please remember to read with your child each night. In math, we are finished with our Measurement unit and are continuing to work on subtraction and addition with regrouping. Whenever possible, it would be great to reinforce these skills at home. We would like to continue to encourage you to practice addition and subtraction math facts at home with flash cards. They need to know their facts by 3rd grade. Your children have learned all about verbs, nouns, contractions, and adjectives in Language. We are still seeing big improvements in writing and continue to work on writing in complete sentences. Second Grade will be going on their Field Trip to P-6 Farms in Montgomery on Friday, April 6th. If you are interested in coming on our field as a chaperone, please register as a volunteer on the CISD Home Page prior to the field trip. We hope you can join us. Thank you for your continued support and help. We look forward to a rewarding and exciting spring!
Third Grade
In Social Studies we will be learning about Texas Culture. Your child will learn how culture helps to create identities and that history effects the growth and development of communities in Texas. We will also be covering Economics including wants/needs and producers/consumers. The goal is for our students to understand the needs and wants impact our choices and that people work so they can buy what they want and need.
Your readers will be studying procedural texts as well as reviewing and extending our poetry skills. We will end the month learning about persuasive arguments in texts. Your writers will be wrapping up their persuasive speeches to change the world! We will then work on informational writing after Spring Break until the end of March.
In science, we are exploring ecosystems and the organisms in it. We are finishing up our Freshwater ecosystems (pond, lakes, and rivers). We are moving into food chains and animal structures/functions. We are discussing how animals use their structures to help them live in their environments. We will be moving into Saltwater ecosystems (oceans and salt marsh). Students will learn about the animals, plants, and what the ecosystems provide them to thrive.
In math we will be learning about geometry. Your child will learn how to classify and sort two- and three-dimensional figures based on attributes using formal geometric language. Your child will also be able to use attributes to recognize rhombuses, parallelograms, trapezoids, rectangles, and squares as examples of quadrilaterals. In the last week of March we will be beginning our measurement unit with area and perimeter.
Fourth Grade
Happy Spring! Many thanks to all our wonderful parents for the Valentine goodies and for your support with homework, practicing editing and revising! We appreciate those that joined us for our Math and Science Night held March 1st. Remember Spring Break is March 12th-16th. The fourth grade teachers are super proud of ALL of our babies; they have all been working very hard and showing LOTS of growth!
Language Arts-We will focus on higher level thinking skills, such as predicting outcome, cause & effect, and summarization in novels and STAAR passages. Your child is working on increasing his/her stamina for reading longer periods of time and staying focused on the task. During this time, the students will continue to work on their revising and editing skills to prepare us for the upcoming test. It is important to continue to encourage your student to complete their revising and editing homework. This will help their growth.
Math-We are working on fractions and will begin measurement soon. With fractions, we are comparing two fractions with alike and different denominators and numerators. They are also finding equivalent fractions using pictorial models and written out fractions.
Fourth graders must work multiple step word problems, which involves rereading the problem several times and using many different ways to get to the answer. This takes lots of practice and guidance, so we are doing this daily in the classroom to expose them to the higher level thinking questions! All thinking, as well as steps of their work needs to be proven on papers, so we are able to understand their answer and their process they used to get there.
Science-It is exciting learning about different types of soils, as well as what makes up those soils (textures, retaining of water, and minerals). We are also discovering rapid and slow Earth changes, which develops our different Earth’s structures and landforms.
Social Studies-Texas independence and statehood are the focus this time of year. The students are reading and discovering about different important people that have contributed to Texas Independence and their impact on our Lone Star State.
From The Library ...Ms. Parks
Ask your child to tell you about a book he or she has read lately. Spring Break is a great time to read with your child or have your child read to you. Modeling reading with expression and encouraging your child to read with expression will increase reading success.
I hope you enjoy your Spring Break and thank you for your continued support of the Rice Library!
Nurses Notes...Mrs. McLaren
Spring is here. The weather is warming up, and the children will be playing outside in the sunshine. The regular use of sunscreen in children can lower the risk of skin cancer by almost 78%! There are many different types available, pick one with SPF of 15 or higher. Apply the sunscreen at least 30 minutes before going outside and reapply every two hours.
Here are some other weather tips:
Wear protective clothing, including a hat
Limit exposure when the sun is the strongest (10 am- 4 pm)
Protect your child’s eyes with sunglasses
Have a happy and healthy Spring Break!
Michelle McLaren, RN
PTO
BOXTOPS
Thanks to everyone who turned in BoxTops this year! Keep collecting them and be ready to turn them in for our next collection date.
YEARBOOKS
Yearbooks will go on sale after Spring Break. Please watch your child's Tuesday Folder for the order form.