Hello families! Thank you so much for welcoming us into your homes this month for our home visits! It was nice to be able to go over your child’s progress and make our goals for the remainder of the school year. Thank you for all of your help to support your children at home….it is a group effort and we appreciate you! We finished up our pet study in February and we have now begun an investigation all about trees! We will learn about parts of trees, what grows and lives in trees, and what things are made from trees! We had the special treat of visiting Mr. Todd’s 2nd grade classroom this month! His students taught our students about the life cycle of a baby chick! Our students even got to hold a baby chick! We look forward to seeing everyone this Friday, March 3rd, for our book character parade!

This month we have finished up our unit on fiction, looking at characters, setting, retelling stories, problem and solution and comparing like stories. In Fundations have continued tapping out words to read, spell and write. In Math we are finishing up module 4, learning to make number bonds, find parts, find totals and solving story problems.

In March first graders will continue focusing on nonfiction books. Students have been learning how to identify the main topic of a text and key details. We will also read two different texts on the same topic and compare them by looking at the information each book gives. In Science we will be learning about Forces and Motion. Students learn for every action there is a reaction. In Writing we will continue our narrative unit. Students will be writing stories about themselves and people who are important to them. In Phonics students will complete Unit 9 and Unit 10 in Fundations. Throughout Unit 9 students will learn the concept of a closed syllable.
A closed syllable ends in a consonant and only has one vowel. The vowel in a closed syllable is short, as in the word “math” or “cat.” In Unit 10,we will be working with closed syllables that have five sounds. We will be adding the suffixes s, ed (/ed/ or /id/), and ing to these five sound words as well (as long as the base word is unchanging). In Math we will continue Module 5 (Place Value Concepts to Compare, Add, and Subtract). Students develop an understanding of the base ten system. They continue to advance their use of tens and ones as they compose and compare numbers. Students then make easier problems to add and subtract within 100.

This has been a busy month for second grade! We enjoyed learning about the life cycle of the chicken and were excited to watch the baby chicks hatch. The students enjoyed having them in the classroom and were sad to see them go.

In math, we are learning to use efficient strategies when adding and subtracting three-digit numbers. Students reason about place value, properties of operations, and relationships between numbers as they choose efficient solution strategies to solve problems.

In reading, we are studying nonfiction texts. Students will take a closer look at identifying nonfiction text features in order to understand the information in the text. Students will learn to think about what they already know, generate questions about what they want to know, and learn new information to deepen their understanding. We will also take a closer look at the main topic of a book and focus on the main idea and supporting details. In writing, we will use the skills learned in reading nonfiction to write our nonfiction books.

3rd grade is learning more about dramas, plays and poems during our English Language Arts time! We are studying the attributes of shapes and learning how to find the area of a shape in math. In social studies, we are studying about our economy, specifically our North Carolina economy. We continue to work hard every day!

In Reading students have been working on reviewing all reading standards and practicing test taking strategies. We are finishing up our grade level novel study, The Wild Robot. Projects coming soon!

In Math students are working through Module 4: Fractions (Decomposing Fractions, Equivalent Fractions, Comparing Fractions, and Adding & Subtracting Fractions and Mixed Numbers.

In Social Studies students are learning about the different roles and responsibilities of our state government. Soon we will take a "Virtual Field Trip" to Raleigh, our state capital.

In Math, your fifth grader has been adding, subtracting, and multiplying decimals. We will divide decimals by whole numbers and then whole numbers by decimal numbers next. After this, we will classify different quadrilaterals. In Science, we just wrapped up our Body Systems unit. We are just getting started on our genetics/Heredity unit. In Literacy, we have been reading various nonfiction texts and determining the authors main point of each text and evidence to support the claims/points.

Our Black History Celebration was full of exciting presenters!

Thank you to the following people:

Alicia Montgomery (Zeta Phi Beta)

Rebecca Hixon (Alpha Kappa Alpha)

Nakia Robbins (Delta Sigma Theta)

Aviqon Graham (Sigma Gamma Rho)

Karolyn Martin (Ms. North Carolina)

Sonja Adger Redd (Alpha Kappa Alpha)

Anthony Nixon (Community In Schools)

Jay Ross (Omega Psi Phi)

Debra Brunson (Zeta Phi Beta)

Jarrett Gattison (Omega Psi Phi)

Kevin Spears (Wilmington City Councilman)

Ivy Murrin (Alpha Kappa Alpha)

James Peters (Omega Psi Phi)

Yushonda Midgette (Alpha Kappa Alpha)

Monesha Harris (Sigma Gamma Rho)

Carlos Braxton (Omega Psi Phi)

Kameko Howell (Zeta Phi Beta)

Brian Deshields (Omega Psi Phi)

Brandon "Bigg B" Hickman (MC)

Marva Moss (Storyteller)

Attendance policy and recycle program details below.

Families with children who will be 5 on OR before August 31, 2023 it's that time of year again. Time to start thinking about Kindergarten enrollment.

Do you want a year round schedule? Are you looking for a bilingual option? Maybe you want a school with a focus on the arts or STEM or you have selected your districted school? Whatever your choice, NHCS has options.

Enrollment begins March 1-15

Thank you for supporting the PTA!! We had a great turn out at Scooters Skating Rink in February. We hope to see you all on Thursday, March 16th from 6-8pm at Defy Gravity for our next PTA Spirit Night!

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.
2. Follow us on Facebook.
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!