Elm Road Express November 2022

"Putting Dreams into Flight"

#PHMExcellence

Your children are taught by the state's leading and award winning educators. Teachers, along with families, are an integral part of our “Triangle of Success”-- providing academic excellence in all 15 P-H-M schools. All P-H-M teachers are rated either "Highly Effective" or "Effective," according to IDOE evaluation ratings. Excellence Happens Here!
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From the Office of Mrs. Beers

Hello Elm Families,


Please see the district letter regarding Elearning Reminders from Dr. Short. This same letter was sent home in paper form this week with your child. Attached here are instructions for accessing Google Classroom, which is utilized on Elearning days. If you indicated that you needed a Chromebook for Elearning, our building tech at Elm Road, Mrs. Mahoney, will reach out to you soon regarding a date and time to pick it up.


This coming week our Elm Road students will participate in a canned food drive for the Food Bank of Northern Indiana. We will be collecting non-perishable food items to donate throughout the week of November 14-18.


The week of Thanksgiving, we do not have school on Wednesday- Friday. After Thanksgiving break, Cogat testing will occur in kindergarten, second and fifth grade. Cogat is one measure used in our high ability identification process.


Have a great weekend!


Mrs. Beers

Health Room News

1) Please do not send medication in with your student. A parent must bring it in, no matter what it is, including cough drops.

Medication needs to be in original packing and an authorization form has to be completed as well.


2) We do not have a lot of extra clothes, should students need them, so please send your student with extra clothes.


3) If your student is 11 years old, please get their vaccines updated for 6th grade and send the vaccine records into the school.

Music at Elm Road

In the month of October we had a good time learning about our Composer of the Month, Felix Mendelssohn. We practiced slower and longer notes in rhythms such as half notes and whole notes. Younger students have practiced high sounds vs. low sounds, instrument and mallet techniques, and movement games. Older students have been learning about songs that can be sung as rounds and practicing how those sound when sung together.

What's Happening in Gym

Autumn Greetings,


The gym has been a busy place! We have learned about the skeletal system and played some lead up soccer games and tag games integrating the skeleton, healthy eating and fall theme. A large focus has been placed on teamwork and sportsmanship through some relays and games such as: “Cross the River”, “Skeleton Relays”, “Hula Hut Relays” and “Hula Hut Throwdown”.


The month of November will consist of Veteran’s Day games focusing on throwing, striking with our feet and shooting through the games “Minefield” and “Battleship”. We will also have a visit from a Martial Artist this month. We will be learning about the food groups and how what foods we eat help provide our body with certain vitamins and minerals. We will also be learning a little about properly setting a table and the history of thanksgiving holiday through our Mayflower and table setting relay.


Each PE day all students continue to develop our gross locomotor skills, fine locomotive skills, balance, eye tracking, catching, tossing and agility training through our “Minds in Motion” maze.


Congratulations to our NEW Jumpin’ Eagles Team Members: Gabby H., Lucas U., Aubrielle Z., Lauren M., Levi S., Sam M., Finnegan F., Jordyn H., Zakaiyah M., Anavaya H., Hunter L., Richard D., Reese F. and Lucy B. We are also excited to announce we have two girls that have offered to help by being managers for our team, Emily S. and Peyton G!!! Welcome to our team!!


Our 4th and 5th graders participating in the Mileage Club at recess on Wednesday and Thursday are rocking it! We have Finnegan F. and Lauren M. leading the pack with over 20 miles completed so far. Lydia M has over 15 miles. We have numerous 4th and 5th graders with at least 10 miles complete! Way to utilize your recess to become stronger runners!


Mrs. Parisi

Growing Readers

Marcie Ritchie, Title 1 Reading Specialist

OCTOBER 2022


Dear SOARing Readers,

Happy Fall Elm Road Families! We are well into the school routine and it’s possible the “honeymoon” period of back to school may have worn off for your student. You may be experiencing some struggles and frustrations when it comes to doing homework or reading with your student. I came across the following article about after school restraint collapse and thought it might be helpful in understanding these struggles. The term after-school restraint collapse was coined by counselor and parenting educator Andrea Loewen Nair. It describes a type of behavior in children who behave well at school but come home upset and often angry and crying. The article focuses on students with reading or learning difficulties, but in reality it is applicable to all our students. Hopefully some of the following tips will help in keeping the reading time happy in your home!! Happy Reading!!


What is After School Restraint Collapse?

Emily Gibbons, www.theliteracynest.com

When you have kids with dyslexia or any challenging learning differences, you may witness something called after school restraint collapse. They've held in their emotions and held it together ALL day in school. When they get home, they seemingly unleash. This can look like meltdowns, low patience, low energy or trigger arguments with caregivers and siblings. Even a simple request to sit down and complete homework can feel like a heavy lift to kids.

Sound familiar?

Kids who experience after school restraint collapse may need some downtime. Getting a drink and a snack, fresh air, connection with you, and simply just quiet space before jumping into homework are things we can be mindful of when it comes to this situation. In the world of busy schedules, it can be challenging for families, but when we look at it through the lens of a child, offering that time to unwind will pay off.


SOARing Readers of the Month

To celebrate success in reading, each classroom teacher has selected two readers as their Readers of the Month. These readers will be recognized on our morning news, receive a book of their choosing, certificate, and bookmark, and have their picture displayed on our readers' bulletin board. Congratulations to the following October Soaring Readers.


Kindergarten

Mrs. Barnes: Finley and Akins

Mrs. Gagyi: Levi and Corrigan

Mrs.Geyer: Nora and Andrew

First Grade

Mrs. Bush: Kylah and Carter

Mrs. Hinton: Joseph and Bailey

Mrs. Portolese: Zekiah and Loganne

Mrs. Taylor: Gwyneth and Evan

Second Grade

Mrs. Clark: Bentley and Abelina

Miss M. Miller: Justice and Jonah

Mrs. Richard: Iris and Blake

Mrs. Tornquist: Gus and Audri

Third Grade

Ms. Anderson: Sydney and Alex

Mrs. C. Miller: Raegan and Tyler

Miss Railton: Xavier and Elena

Fourth Grade

Mrs. Cook: Addy and Levi

Mrs. Freeman: Aydin and Lily

Mrs. Newcomer: Mauricia and Martin

Fifth Grade

Miss Funkhouser: Harlie and Jaxon

Mrs. Mellor: Graham and Mason

Mrs. Napolitan: Kathryn and Gael

Mrs. Shreiner: Lucas and Emily

Twin Day

ENL

During ENL groups we practice our speaking skills every week. One way we practice speaking is by recording the answer to a question on Seesaw. We will often plan what the students should say before recording so that the students are prepared. Using grant money from the PHM Education Foundation, I was able to purchase headphones with microphones to help with those recordings.The students have been doing a great job of listening to their recordings, and then fixing their mistakes when they rerecord. I am proud of the progress they are all making.


Ms. Pillow

ENL Travel Teacher

Youth Service Bureau

Well, it is getting close to that festive time of year….Thanksgiving!


Saying “Thank You”

An important theme of Thanksgiving is saying “thank you.” What better way to do this than to write thank you cards to the people we are grateful for such as family members, friends, our troops around the November Veteran’s Day holiday? This is only one way to say thank you. Talk with your child(ren) about how they can show their thankfulness towards others.

As the cold winter approaches, winter coats, hats and mittens will be necessary. If you need a referral for Christ Child, please contact Andrea Shell at 259-3743. All requests are confidential.

If interested in any assistance, please contact Mrs. Shell to get more information.

STEM