Hello families! We are having a great time in Pre-K! We are continuing to focus on school routines and creating a loving, class family environment. Thank you all for participating in our first school spirit week! It was a lot of fun to see all the students so excited each day and what they were wearing to go along with each day! We have completed our second family project and we loved seeing all of the different pumpkin personalities in our classrooms! We have also been enjoying our first study in the classroom-all about balls! Students have asked questions, made predictions, done investigations, and explored balls with hands-on activities. We have learned which balls sink and float, which balls are heavy and light, which balls bounce, what balls look and feel like on the inside. We will continue our ball study in November and also discuss what we are thankful for! We have introduced Hatch Ignite and students have loved learning on this platform! Students should also continue to get on Hatch for approximately 5-10 minutes a day at home. Our first parent conferences are coming in mid-November, so please be on the lookout for more information. We are looking forward to discussing the amazing things your students are doing in Pre-K!

In Fundations we have been finishing up learning the lowercase letters of the alphabet, beginning our FUNctional writing unit in Writer’s Workshop, and completed our first narrative writing piece. Continue reviewing letter names and sounds daily with your child to support their learning in Fundations. Go on a “FUNctional Writing Scavenger Hunt” at home and search for: lists, letters (friendly/ persuasive), postcards, advertisements, recipes, etc. Find flat (2D) and solid (3D) shapes around your house and compare the number of sides, points, and faces together. We are learning circle, square, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, sphere, cylinder, cube, and cone. We have learned about different weather conditions, seasons, and maps. We will begin our social studies units on landforms and bodies of water over the next few weeks. Please continue to review the S.T.O.R.M. skills with your child in the F.I.S.H. binder weekly together, read with your child daily, and work on skills listed on the first quarter report card. Don’t forget to pack a filled water bottle and a snack in your child’s backpack daily too.

In November first graders will continue to explore and become familiar with nonfiction text features. As we incorporate our Social Studies into Literacy, students will have the opportunity to read nonfiction books on Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. Students will also learn how to retell a fiction story. Students will learn that when we read a fiction text we must read it from beginning to end. We will continue informational writing throughout November. Students will get to write about Wampanoag and Pilgrim children and compare them to the children in the present day. In Phonics students will begin Unit 4 in Fundations. Throughout this unit students will learn about one of our first spelling rules, bonus letters (f, l, s) in words like puff, hill, kiss. We will also learn about the all sound as in ball, tall, wall. In Math we will continue Module 2 (Addition and Subtraction Relationships). Module 2 uses word problems to help students notice relationships between addition and subtraction. Students are introduced to change unknown and comparison problem types, and they explore ways of finding an unknown part for the first time.

Second grade has been learning all about the different types of fiction. They’ve enjoyed listening to stories from Kevin Henkes, Dav Pilkey, and Amanda Noll. We will continue our author study with Janell Cannon and focus our studies on the main character. Students will learn how to use the details in the text to gain a better understanding of the characters’ traits, problems, actions, and feelings. Students will also take a closer look at how characters may change throughout the story.

In math, we are wrapping up place value and measurement and preparing to begin Module 2. Students will begin to solve problems in addition and subtraction.

In science students have been enjoying the exploration of sound and vibration and are looking forward to the life cycle of a chicken.

The Second Graders are getting very excited about their performance of No Turkey for Perky on November 17th.

We want to thank you for all the support and participation In the Run for Fun and Spirit Week. The students had a wonderful time!

Third Grade is looking forward to the second 9 weeks. We will be moving into place value concepts in math. We will be analyzing informational texts and diving into all of the various text features found in informational texts.

Pictured below Mrs. Stamm's class on the "Tar Heels Go Walking" field trip.

In Reading students have been working on Making Inferences, finding the Theme of a Fiction story and the finding Main Idea/Writing Summaries for a Nonfiction text. Students have also started a new vocabulary unit in which they learn new words, use these words in a sentence, and create synonyms and antonyms for these words.

In Math students are starting Module 2: Composing/decomposing units of ten, multiplication of tens and ones by one-digit numbers, division of tens and ones of one-digit numbers, problem solving with measurement, factors, multiples, and prime or composite numbers,

In Science students have been learning about the different types of Energy. Students have applied their learnings about Energy by creating an Energy Robot. Next, they will be learning about Electric Circuits. This is a fun unit for the kids because there are lots of hands-on experiments.

The fifth graders had a great time on their field trip to Masonboro Island, see pictures below. They learned about the estuary ecosystem, biotic/abiotic factors, went crabbing, created their own ecosystem, and went on a scavenger hunt for shells. We will be learning about ecosystems in Science so this was the perfect trip to build background knowledge. In Math, we solved multi-step word problems using multiplication and division. We recently started our fraction unit. In Science, we learned about the conservation of matter and the different types of heat transfer. We will be starting the Force and Motion unit next. In Literacy, students determined the author’s point of view, analyzed characters, determined the different story elements, and were introduced to their vocabulary activities. In Social Studies, students learned about the unique customs and culture of the first peoples of North America.

Students have been busy building literacy skills during our focus on story elements. Students worked through retelling stories by identifying characters, setting, problem solution, plot, theme and main idea. They even recorded themselves retelling stories.

We have also spent time choosing academic "today goals" that will help us grow in the future. talk to your child about the goal he/she has set for future success.

Congratulations to the following CHES students for representing our school and New Hanover County School thru exhibiting their outstanding artworks at the statewide North Carolina Art Educator Association Conference held this year in Wilmington October 27-29th at the Convention Center.

Our girls have been working hard and they have a really fun 5k coming up in December. If you are interested in joining our Castle Hayne team we would LOVE to have you!

Please use the link below to sign up. There is a price increase on the 15th of this month but if you sign up now it is only $30. Let me know if you have any questions!

https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Wilmington/WilliamHCraigRaceforLife

On behalf of the PTA, we want to thank everyone who helped us raise $16,949!! We could not have done it without you!! The money raised is allowing us to purchase buddy benches and picnic tables for the playground.

We would like to recognize our top 3 earning students:

1. Harrison Burney

2. Landon Jones

3. Prince James

1. NHCS uses School Messenger to connect with families regarding district and school happenings. Use this link to opt-in to receive text messages from School Messenger. Flyer below with instructions.
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3. Our website.

Volunteers are our partners in education. They take an active role to support and enhance the development of our students. Every day, family and community member volunteers bring enthusiasm and skill into our schools while assisting staff, teachers and students. All volunteers are required to obtain volunteer training annually.

If you would like to move forward with volunteering at Castle Hayne Elementary School these are the following steps you will need to complete:

1. View the volunteer orientation presentation/Spanish and volunteer handbook/Spanish.

2. Submit the Volunteer Application Form/Spanish to Danielle Metty, danielle.metty@nhcs.net via email or send a printed copy to school with your student labeled with Danielle Metty, Family Liaison.

3. Complete the Volunteer Orientation Assessment with a score of 80% or higher.

4. To become a level 2 volunteer, complete a background check application ($20 until October 1 then the cost will be $22.50). You will receive a verification email and card from the Background Investigation Bureau upon approval.

Notify Danielle Metty, danielle.metty@nhcs.net when you have completed steps 1-4.

If you are interested in volunteering or chaperoning a field trip at Castle Hayne you MUST complete the Volunteer Training, please contact Danielle Metty at danielle.metty@nhcs.net.

The "Hurricane Forecast" is a monthly digital newsletter that contains information regarding all things happening at Castle Hayne Elementary School. We hope you find this communication helpful!