Principal's Page
Jesse Boyd Elementary School ~~~October 29, 2017
Greetings from Dr. Rose
Kindergarten
Kindergarten has been very busy since the beginning of school as we explored Who We Are. We have learned about our friends through our "Me Bags." We have even learned about our teachers, principals, and the superintendent as they have all shared their Me Bag with the kids. Developing our classroom community has been another focus. The students continue to learn how to show respect and cooperation to their new friends and teachers. Our current planner is How We Express Ourselves. During this unit we are diving into reader's and writer's workshop. The kids are learning that reading and writing communicate ideas. They are doing an awesome job! This planner will continue the entire year. It's amazing to see their growth as readers and writers. We will begin our 3rd planner, Where we are in Place and Time in a couple of weeks. This unit will focus on the past and present.
1st
First Grade has finished our first planner which was Who We Are and our central idea was focused on cooperation and building classroom communities. Try asking your child if they know the importance of following our classroom and school-wide essential agreements. We are starting our 2nd planner, which is How we Organize Ourselves. The central idea is how relationships help to build understanding. We have been looking at the relationship between cause and effect using the life cycle of plants.
Congratulations to those who have already earned their Manager status by reading their first set of 25 books. Please assist your child on reading their 2nd set of 25 books to earn Councilperson status.
First grade teachers are excited about our upcoming field trip to Strawberry Hill. It will be a hands-on experience to go with our current planner.
2nd
We have had a sensational start to school in second grade! The first quarter has flown by as we focused learning around our first central idea: Inquiry and questioning can lead to knowledge. In science we had many questions and learned lots about weather, especially as so much severe weather happened all around us. Readers and writers workshop is in full swing as we learned how to be engaged readers and writers who can stop and jot responses and share our ideas with classmates. Now we are learning how stories and books are organized with our second I.B. Unit central idea: Organization improves function. In math, we have worked on how numbers are organized with place value and addition/subtraction strategies. For social studies, we had a fabulous field trip learning about community organization as we visited city hall, the police station and fire station. Other fun experiences of the first quarter were a visit from the Spartanburg Science Center with a lesson on friction and getting our own MacBooks to use in class.
3rd
Third grade has started off fabulously this year! We are in the middle of our first IB planner: How the World Works. In this planner we are focusing on the central idea Resources Impact Location. Students have learned all about natural resources and the regions of South Carolina. We have researched the three Native American tribes that were found in South Carolina and explored how those tribes used the resources of each region and the impact of those regions on the tribes. Additionally we have been learning about minerals and rocks! The students are excited for our first "field trip" coming up soon with Diamond Del!! In math we have started learning multiplication and multiplication expressions. Students are investing different ways to show or represent multiplication and exploring those uses.
4th
We’ve had a great start in 4th grade. Our first unit of inquiry, Where We Are In Place and Time allowed us to get to know each other and build a strong classroom community of learners. We explored how the first Americans came to North and South America as well as the interactions between the Natives and the European people who came here long ago. In math, we discovered new ways to solve problems. Astronomy has been our focus during Science, and we have learned a lot about our planet and other parts of our solar system. During ELA, we have been building skills that will help us become better readers and writers throughout the year. MacBooks have been a great addition to our classrooms this year, and we are finding new ways to integrate and use technology throughout the day. Our next unit if inquiry—Who We Are—is quickly approaching, and we are excited for the new learning experiences our fourth graders will be involved in next!
5th
This year in 5th grade has been off to a fabulous start! We began the year with our first unit of inquiry- How We Organize Ourselves. Throughout the course of this unit, we have learned all about reorganization. We studied Reconstruction, the period of history right after the American Civil War. The students found out how difficult rebuilding can be firsthand using an inquiry-driven Lego activity. We discovered how difficult life could still be for freed slaves and the measures that were taken to alleviate those prejudices.
Currently, we are working on our second unit of inquiry- Where We Are in Place and Time. This unit allows us to focus on migration and the effects of migration on various groups of people throughout history. Ask your child about all of the interesting facts they have learned about the effects of the California Gold Rush, traveling on the Oregon Trail, and the building of the trans-continental railroad. We have been working hard by putting ourselves in the shoes of the pioneers and immigrants and seeing famous events in history through their perspectives. In addition, students have reflected upon their own experiences and how migration has affected them personally. We are gearing up for our culminating event, Westward Expansion Day, where students will be able to experience the life of a pioneer firsthand. We are so proud of all of the hard work going on so far and are looking forward to what the rest of the year has in store.
Milam/Duncan
Ms. Milam's class has been working on following rules and they have been reading The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. They have been sequencing the story and identifying objects in the story. They have also been working on repetition with Ms. Ray as they read the story together.
Ms. Duncan's class has been working on using Unique Curriculum, Make It Move. We have been learning about force and motion. We made ramps to see how fast we could make objects roll down the ramps.
Veteran's Day
My Energy Kit
PTSO -JBE merchandise
We also have $5 JBE water bottles still for sale in the front office.
Yellow Pumpkin Parade
JBE family mourns
I write with a heavy heart to share the news of a death in our Jesse Boyd Family.
As the Principal of this incredible school, I have no doubt that our children and parents will rally around one another during this time of sadness, but I wanted to let you know about the events surrounding the passing of Mrs. Bryant’s 19-month-old son and the support we offer to your students as they process this tragedy.
As most of you know, Mrs. Bryant is a beloved 5th grade teacher here at Jesse Boyd. She is one of those educators every parent wants for their children. Mrs. Bryant's son, Camden, was born with a seizure disorder, and while he was progressing in his therapy, a complication arouse Wednesday morning and he suddenly passed away. He was laid to rest in a beautiful service on Saturday. Mrs. Bryant's older son is a first-grader here at JBE.
Our talented guidance counselor, Ms. Pressley, has been working with the students in Mrs. Bryant's class. Many of our other students have heard about this tragedy and we wanted you to know that if your student needs to talk with our guidance counselor, please do not hesitate to let us know. Grief is a real emotion that we certainly want to help our students work through as we know many have had loss in their lives also. If you have any thoughts or questions about ways in which we might address your student’s particular needs, please don’t hesitate to be in touch. In the coming weeks, you'll hear more about a memorial that we plan to create at our school for Camden.
Dates Coming Soon
Tuesday, October 31- Halloween parties
Monday, November 6- Ladies Lunch (grades 3-5)
Tuesday, November 7- No School-Election Day
Wednesday, November 8- BOOSTERTHON begins
Friday, November 10- Veteran's Day Assembly-9am
Wednesday, November 15- Early Release Day-Dismiss at 11:30am
Friday, November 17- Boosterthon Fun Run
Tuesday, November 21- Team Spirit Day
Wednesday, November 22-Friday, November 24- Thanksgiving Holidays