Knight Notes
Yarbrough Elementary Newsletter - February 2020
Quick Glance at Important Dates
February 7th - Club Day
February 10th - STEM Night from 6:00-7:00 pm
February 11th - Progress Reports
February 13th - First Responders' Breakfast
February 17th - Presidents Day - No School
February 20th - Spring Pictures
February 24th-28th - Book Fair
February 26th - Wax Museum - 4th Grade
March 1st - Deadline for Ordering a Yearbook
March 2nd-6th - National School Breakfast Week
March 5th - Spring Choir Concert at 6:00 pm
March 6th - Jump Rope for Heart Donations Due (online)
March 6th - End of Quarter Celebration at the Movies
March 9th-13th - Spring Break
March 23rd-27th - Teacher Appreciation Week
From our PTO
Thank you to our students and parents for making the first half of the school year successful! We had a wonderful welcome back luncheon for our teachers in August, followed by a successful Amazing Space Race fundraiser where $31,874.57 was collected for YES. Our students enjoyed prizes and parties that were out of this world! Students and staff will benefit from new media center furniture and a total of nine grant submissions were funded. Additional funding was also made available to provide equipment for PE. In December, teachers were treated to a delicious holiday luncheon prepared by parents. Our fall PTO success story was made possible due to the commitment and participation from our YES family and business sponsors. We can't thank you enough!
Please remember to attend our spirit nights this spring and stay tuned for ways to participate in Teacher Appreciation Week, March 23-27th.
Send an email to yarbrough.pto@gmail.com if you'd like to be involved with the PTO board or committees for the 2020-2021 school year.
YES PTO
Help Us Fight Germs!
STEM Night
From the Lunch Line
Because we LOVE school lunch we will have a special treat for Valentine’s.
Coming up the first week of March we will celebrate National Breakfast Week, “Out of This World." Stay tuned for more information.
Nurse Notes with Nurse Julia
Do you know about the Auburn City School Wellness Program?
The Wellness Program is an action plan for students to have access to good nutrition and physical activity at school.
It outlines the ACS District’s approach to ensuring environments and opportunities for students to practice healthy eating and physical activity.
Having healthy choices at school helps students be healthy and ready to learn.
If you are planning a school or class event, please see our program for ideas.
To learn more about the ACS Wellness Program, go to the ACS school website > Services > Health Services > Wellness Policy
Art Action with Mr. Daniel
Our 4th grade art students are using their creative ability, line, shape, form, color, texture, proportion, rhythm, and movement to develop "Story-Board Ilustrations/Collages." They will write a creative story, based on a "World Inside of a World" and illustrate their favorite scene from the story. Next, they will go on to produce a collage based on this favorite scene. We will also explore the works of the famous artist Romare Bearden.
Our 5th grade art students will utilize their vivid imaginations, proportion, shape, form, value, color, space, pattern, and movement to develop their own soda can logos. The soda can renderings will be developed using a variety of media: graphite, colored pencil, crayon, marker, watercolor and tempera paint. We will explore the works of Pop Artist Andy Warhol.
YES Yearbooks can be purchased online at: http://www.jostensyearbook.com
The deadline for ordering a 2019-2020 school year YES Yearbook is March 1, 2020.
Thanks,
Stuart
YES Art Dept.
The Computer Lab Latest with Miss Ball
Fitness Fun with Coach Smith
In February students will participate in Jump Rope for Heart, 4th Grade Bike Safety Course and Fun Games and Skills.
During the Jump Rope Unit students will learn healthy habits and various jump rope skills.
All 4th graders participate in our annual fourth grade Bike Safety Course. This program will teach your child basic traffic skills through classroom lessons and practice riding sessions to be better, safer bicycle riders.
NEWS in PE:
-4th Grade Bike Safety Class Riding Schedule:
February 4th & 11th - Sandersen, Cowell, Sullivan, Henson
February 5th & 12th – Williams, Kerlin, Teel, Ramey, Glagola
- ALL Jump Rope for Heart Donations and paperwork for YES are ONLINE this year- More info will come home with the students.
-Jump Rope for Heart Online donations are due Friday, March 6.
-Visit heart.org/kidsheartchallenge to join our school team or download the mobile app by searching Kids Heart Challenge on your phone’s app store
--Homework Fitness Challenge is in full swing. Students will turn in at the end of each month to win cool prizes
Media Memos with Mrs. McGilberry
This month we will finish our research projects by creating "Clips" videos. This will bring in persuasive writing skills, as well as technology. The kids seem super excited to use the information about their country (5th) or animal (4th). As soon as the videos are complete, they will be available on my website.
Book Fair is coming Feb 24-28. We can't wait! There is a sign up genius for volunteers if you are able. Thank you for all your support!
Music Messages from Mrs. Oprandy
Fifth grade students used the rhythms they’ve learned throughout their time in elementary school to compose a song by creating their own two-measure rhythm and melody. They performed their composition on a glockenspiel. Fifth graders also began a new unit using “Kid Stix." Kid Stix incorporates using large metal cans, small cutting boards, small tambourines, and drum sticks to create and perform percussion routines to different styles of music.
In our fourth-grade classes, students learned to sing and dance the steps to the singing game, “Alabama Gal." Fourth grade students also used plastic cups and rhythm sticks to play rhythms on the top of their cups, flip their sticks, and pass their cups to the steady beat of the song, “Turn the Beat Around." In preparation for learning to make music on the recorder (not just create sound), fourth grade students began learning about the treble clef music staff.
Venture Visit with Mrs. Price
Game on!!! Did you know that teaching chess to kids has a number of benefits that will help them be successful throughout life? According to woochess.com…
· Chess helps prevent Alzheimer's.
· It grows dendrites.
· Chess raises your kids IQ.
· It increases kids’ problem-solving skills.
· Chess improves spatial skills.
· It improves the memory of your child.
· It exercises both sides of the brain.
· It increases the creativity of your kid.
· It improves the concentration of your child.
We have spent the last few weeks learning the moves and importance of each chess piece. As we move into February, we will concentrate on check, checkmate, and stalemate. As the students become more proficient and confident, we will focus on the importance of planning ahead and using strategy to play the game.
I encourage you to challenge your child to a game of chess. If you don’t know how to play, let your child teach you. Chesskids.com is also a great resource!
The Counseling Connection with Mrs. Walsh
In February our Guidance lessons will focus on Career Development. Students will learn about career clusters and career inventories. Please take time to share with your student about careers that are in your family. Help your students set high expectations for themselves and their futures.
February 3–7 is National School Counseling Week. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your child’s school counselor. School counselors are put into schools to help students reach their full potential. Historically, school counselors served more as a teacher, providing education with vocational and career development. Today counselors focus on three domains: academic, personal-social, and career. We also collaborate with parents and teachers to better ensure student success. Counselors utilize community services to enhance the comprehensive counseling program. Services provided daily by counselors consist of guidance lessons, small groups, individual sessions, crisis interventions, collaboration, and student planning.
Happy National School Counseling Week!
Quote of the month:
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." —Confucius