Wrightstown Ravens' News
February, 2017
Mrs. Beth A. Fox, Principal
729 Penns Park Road
Wrightstown, PA 18940
(215) 944-2306
FAX (215) 944-2397
A Note from the Principal
Dear Wrightstown Families,
February is an exciting month! We are celebrating the 100th day of school today, Friday, February 3rd! WES will recognize this special day with many fun activities! Be sure to ask your children about it! February is also Random Acts of Kindness Month. At Wrightstown, we have set a goal for students to collectively demonstrate at least 100 acts of kindness. For every act, a paper heart will be posted to a bulletin board in the APR.
Report cards for Marking Period 2 will be available for viewing in the Home Access Center (HAC) starting at 4:00 p.m. February 3, 2017.
This month’s 7 Habits Home Connection will focus on Habit #5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. Students have the opportunity to participate in another optional family challenge: Family Table Talk! If you choose to participate, please send in the parent signature slip by Friday, February, 24th.
February is Black History Month. Teachers recognize Black History Month with grade level appropriate activities in their classrooms. I have included two links: LINK and LINK2 for families to discuss with their children if you are interested.
Another exciting event happening in February is The Fifth Annual Science Fair on February 8, 2017 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Students have been working hard to prepare their scientific collections, experiments, and demonstrations. We are proud of all our scientists and look forward to an evening of great discovery!
A Sweetheart Dance is on the horizon! On Friday, February 24th from 7:00-9:00 p.m. All WES girls were given an invitation. Please make sure that you send in your RSVPs.
The PSSA testing window is listed below for family vacation planning purposes.
PSSA Testing Window 2016-2017
English Language Arts: April 3-7, 2017 Grades 3-8
Mathematics: April 24-28, 2017 Grades 3-8
Science: May 1-5, 2017 Grades 4 and 8
Make-Up dates: May 8-12, 2017
There is no school for students on Friday, February 17, 2017. Offices are open.
Schools and Offices will be closed on Monday, February 20, 2017 for Presidents’ Day.
Sincerely,
Beth A. Fox
Principal
February Highlights
- Friday, February 3rd - 100th Day of School/Report Cards released to HAC at 4:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, February 7th - Crazy 8's Math Club K-2 (Session #2) at 8:00 a.m./Science Fair Set Up in the APR from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, February 8th - Crazy 8's Math Club K-2 (Session #1) at 8:00 a.m./Science Fair in the APR from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
- Friday, February 10th - STE(A)M Club at 8:00 a.m./Insectarium's Amazing Arthropods Assembly at 2:15 p.m.
- Tuesday, February 14th - Crazy 8's Math Club (K-2) Session #2 at 8:00 a.m./Student Council Meeting at 8:30 a.m./Valentine's Parties
- Wednesday, February 15th - PTO Meeting in the Art Room at 9:30 a.m.
- Friday, February 17th - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS/Teacher In-Service Day
- Monday, February 20th - ALL SCHOOLS and OFFICES CLOSED
- Tuesday, February 21st - Crazy 8's Math Club K-2 (Session #2) at 8:00 a.m.
- Friday, February 24th - STE(A)M Club at 8:00 a.m./Art Goes to School during Art Classes/PTO Sweetheart Dance in the APR from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
- Monday, February 27th - Art Goes to School during Art Classes
- Tuesday, February 28th - Crazy 8's Math Club K-2 (Session #2) at 8:00 a.m./Assembly with Visiting Author Kim Kurki at 1:30 p.m.
Kindergarten & New First Grade Registration for 2017/2018
Tuesday, March 7th - 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 9th - 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 10th - 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Information can be found on the district's website LINK
Literacy Corner with Mrs. Etgen
I hope that you are all enjoying this unusually warm winter. Secretly, I am hoping for a little snow sometime soon. Nothing better than a snow day for sledding, hot cocoa, and snuggling down with a good book. I hope that your children have all shared with you information on our Philadelphia Soul Bookmark program. They are offering a free ticket to their opening game for each student who reads five books.
Here is the website if you need more information - http://www.philadelphiasoul.com/index.cfm?go=groups&show=reading
Book Bowl
Our Book Bowl Reading Enrichment program is also in full swing. Wrightstown has 5 teams participating in the district wide Book Bowl ranging from 2nd grade to 4th grade. The teams have been sharing questions about their books and working on answering questions like a team. I am sure the Book Celebration on March 22nd will be a great event.
Save the Date for our WES Reading Camp In Night!
It is time once again for our Wrightstown Reading Camp In! The date is March 2, 2017 which happens to be Dr. Seuss’ Birthday and Wrightstown is planning on an awesome celebration! There will be an RSVP evite link for the event as the date gets closer. If you have a tent that you would like to share with us for that night, please contact me at petgen@crsd.org. It would be greatly appreciated!
News from the Library
It has been a great start to the new year and I have enjoyed meeting all of Wrightstown’s students.
In kindergarten, we are wrapping up our author studies on Helen Lester and Jan Brett. We will begin a unit exploring how alphabet order helps organize the library.
In first grade, we will continue to read and discuss books from the PA Young Reader’s Choice Awards Program.
In second grade, we are beginning a unit on biographies and will learn how to locate them online and in the library.
In third grade, we are finishing our mammal research unit. We will begin exploring how to better use Destiny, our online library catalog.
In fourth grade, we will discuss the research process and begin research for the fourth grade State Fair project.
~ Ms. Leigh Clark, Librarian
Coming Soon to Your Library!
Spring Portraits
Grandparents Breakfast
Crazy 8's Club Update
We now have two groups of 16 enthusiastic and energetic Kindergarten through 2nd graders. We have a “Tuesday Team” and a “Wednesday Team”. Their bright faces greet us nice and early each week. We have worked on math in some pretty interesting ways:
Glow-stick Geometry: Learning about shapes and other geometric properties
Toilet Paper Olympics: Measuring distances in jumping, throwing, and – just how far DOES that roll go?
Let’s Be Loud: Creating pan flutes and learning about pitch. We also measured with a sound meter just how quiet, quiet is; and how loud, loud is.
I Spy: Being a number detective.
Human Clocks: Learning about time and how it shows on clocks.
STEM Update
We have started a second session for our STEM enthusiasts. Everyone who came for the first session has returned to continue the fun. We continue to work with:
Ozobots: As mazes and races are created, tested, and revised. Some have found some cool “trick” sequences.
Ollie (aka: Raven): Watch where you are walking as it zooms down our hallway. Discovering the many special maneuvers it can make has been a lot of fun – and surprising!
Board “games”: Lazer Maze and Cool Circuits keep us working to master the challenges of completing circuits and paths for lights to shine and music to blare!
Coding websites: Still a favorite are:
Lego WeDo challenges: The current challenge requires students to create a Lego structure that will have a moving part – and then work to program it through the WeDo software. A bit tough – but we are on our way. (….and yes…think beyond the wheel!)
Wrightstown Elementary School presents ….
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS!!
STEM NIGHT
March 14, 2017
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Come and engage in several STEM experiences with your child!
* Catapults * Towers * Coding
* 3-D Shapes * Car Races * Origami
* Ozobots * Meet Ollie
Counselor's Corner with Mrs. Jachimski
February: Random Acts of Kindness Month!
February is Random Acts of Kindness Month, and once again our students will be participating in a Random Acts of Kindness Challenge. We hope to exceed last year’s goal of 100 random acts of kindenss by the end of February!
Research shows that kindness leads to happiness!
Here’s a good reason for us to make time to extend a little more kindness to those around us:
Researchers have found a positive correlation between happiness and kindness. And it’s not just that happier people are kinder, or kinder people are happier. Studies shows that engaging in a random act of kindness (even if you are told by a researcher to do so) improves your happiness level!
7 Habits of Happy Kids - Home Connection
Thank you for participating in January’s poster challenge for Habit 4: Think Win-Win (Everyone Can Win). Our families came up with creative “win-win” solutions for resolving conflicts at home!
Our next Home Connection challenge for Habit 5 – Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood (Listen Before You Talk) is being sent home Friday! Look for information in your students backpack.
Notes on General Music from Mrs. Nanette Lutz
Snow is in the air in the Music Classroom. We’re learning lots of songs and games about our favorite form of precipitation!
Kindergarten used “The Mitten Song” to learn about rhythm. We can now recognize two sounds on a beat (like ‘mitten’) and one sound on a beat (like ‘glove’). We used real mittens and gloves to compose our own rhythms!
In First Grade we learned to sing two beautiful songs about snow. We also began to learn about reading pitches with activities on our giant floor staff.
Second Graders took pitch reading to another level by practicing solfeg singing and hand signs (mi, sol, la . . .) and by learning to read space notes on the treble clef staff. In reality, we’re learning to read another language – the pitch language!
In Third Grade, we used our Music in Education keyboards to learn all about registers (relative highness & lowness). We know how to label the registers, where to find them on the keyboard and how to read register patterns on the staff.
Fourth grade students are working on labeling the keys on our keyboards. This will help us to work on music concepts in the future. We had lots of fun putting together and playing a giant keyboard puzzle.
News from the Art Department
It’s time to order your District Art Show t-shirt! Please click on this LINK, bring completed forms and checks to the Art room. All shirts will be printed in time to wear to the Show.
Help celebrate the visual arts with your shirt order.
News from the PTO
- Our Box Tops for Education collection continues until February 24th
- Science Fair Set Up is Tuesday, February 7th from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
- Science Fair visitation is Wednesday, February 8th from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
- Our Sweetheart Dance will be held on Friday, February 24th from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. in the APR. Don't forget to send in your RSVP!
- SPRING FAIR IS COMING March 11, 2017!! Our theme this year is the Circus! More information to come soon!