Words from Walsh January, 2019
Staying connected with Walsh School
Greetings from Principal Martin
Dear Parents/Guardians: As we begin the New Year, let us take the opportunity to reflect on the past year with all of its blessings, as well as all of the challenges that faced us. I am always overwhelmed and touched by the generosity that our families extend to others during the holiday season. This past year was no exception. The PFA “Giving Tree” helped make the holidays a little brighter for some of our families, and we thank everyone who made a donation. I also want to recognize and thank all of our staff, teachers, and volunteers who continually give their all in their commitment and dedication to our students and to this district.
This month we will be getting back to business, working hard to move our students forward in their educational journeys. Please keep the lines of communication open with your teacher, and discuss any concerns you may have. If you have any questions that I can help answer, please do not hesitate to contact me. I wish all our families a healthy, happy and prosperous new year! ~ Mrs. Teresa Martin
Important Dates in January
Mark Your Calendars
7 – School Resumes
15 – BOE Mtg./District
18 – School Improvement Day - 11:55 Dismissal - No EC Classes
18 - Spirit Day - Pirate Day (Arrr you ready to show your spirit?)
21 - NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King’s Birthday
25 - Western Day (Yee Ha! Learning is fun!)
28 - 1st Grade Field Trip (Shedd)
Coming up: February 6, 2019, 7:00 pm - Parent Informational Meeting on Student Vaping - click here for more information.
Drop off times: no earlier than 8:40 a.m.
Please be prompt for pick-up at 3:30 p.m.
Remember to call the office by 9:00 a.m. if your child will be absent.
Office hours are 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. ~ 815-838-7858 www.d92.org
A Note from the Nurse
Remember to dress your child appropriately with a coat, hat, scarf, mittens, and boots. Students will be outside on days where the wind chill is above 10 degrees. All students will be going out unless they have a doctor’s note to keep them inside for medical reasons.
The dental bus will be at Walsh School on February 7th. Information was sent via email before the winter break. If you didn't receive the flyer, or If you have any questions,
please contact the school nurse.
P.E. News by Mr. Wallace
Kindergarten News
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that it is 2019! January will be a busy month for kindergarten. In Schoolwide, we will begin our Non-Fiction Unit. We will be learning about the structure of non-fiction books, as well as learning about different types of non-fiction books. We will be exploring Table of Contents, Captions, Glossaries, and Indexes. In math, we will continue Unit 4 in the Bridges curriculum. Unit 4 focuses on paths to adding, subtracting and measuring. As you can see, it is back to business after our holiday break!
First Grade News
Welcome back and happy 2019! The new year brings us a fresh start with many exciting academic topics. We will begin the year with a new writing unit on arctic animals. We will spend the month of January researching and exploring the writing process. The end result will be that the children will be publishing their own books on arctic animals. They will be introduced to many nonfiction reference books and literary nonfiction books. The children will then make a decision on whether they want to write a reference or literary nonfiction book. At home, looking at the different texts can help the children decide which one they might like the most, and ultimately help them choose the one that they want to write! We are so excited to see their final published pieces!
We will continue to work on reading with accuracy and fluency. The children will be taking the FastBridge test in January. Please continue to have your child read and review comprehension of text with you during baggie book time at home. The only way to increase fluency is through practice.
Fundations will progressively become more challenging as students learn:
~ Closed syllable concept with short vowels
~ Closed syllable vs. open syllable
~ Vowel team sounds for: ai, ay, ee, ea, ey, oi, oy
~ Narrative fiction vs. informational books
~ Reading with accuracy and prosody
We will continue Unit 4 in our Bridges in Mathematics (which revolves around the number line, an essential mathematical model) for the month of January. What a great and busy start to the new year!
Early Childhood and Community Preschool News
The early childhood classes are off to a great 2019. We will work on a winter unit, and our “Read It Once Again” selections will be “The Mitten,” and “The Napping House." Our letters for this month will be M, N, and O. In our Bridges math program we will be counting, comparing, sorting, patterning, graphing, and problem-solving this month. We are counting to 25, and working on naming number and letter symbols presented in random order. In addition, we will learn about staying healthy during these cold winter months. Stay warm and read lots of books!
The Reading Corner by Mrs. Senders, 1st Grade Reading Specialist
Some kids love to read, but it can be difficult to motivate a child who doesn’t. It may even seem impossible. Research confirms that motivation is a key factor in becoming a successful reader. Here are some tips to help you motivate a reluctant reader:
Make time for reading – Allow reading to be a relaxing and enjoyable time.
Set aside a regular read-aloud time with your children – Reading aloud helps your child develop an interest in reading.
Make sure the reading material is on your child’s level – If the book is hard, your child’s motivation will diminish.
Look for a variety of reading material – Joke books, cookbooks, how-to books, graphic novels, magazines, and biographies are all great possibilities.
Partner read – Select a book at your child’s reading level and read the first part aloud. Then stop and have your child finish the story.
Provide access to books – Use your public library.
Music News by Mrs. Rutkiewicz
Happy New Year!
I can’t believe it is 2019! I hope you all had a nice winter break with your families.
Both kindergarten and first-grade students had great fun in December with our handbells, playing songs called “Hear Those Bells” and "Chime In.” First graders watched an exciting movie version of The Nutcracker called The Nutcracker Sweet.
Kindergarten students learned how music can help tell a story as we watched the adventures of Jingle the dog in the movies “Jingle All the Way” and “Jingle and Bell’s Christmas Star.” We also told the story of the gingerbread man with musical instruments.
First grade will begin the new year reviewing and learning more music notes and symbols! I will soon be teaching the musical hand signs for the musical scale. Listen for a song called “Whacky Do Re Mi.”
Kindergarten students will continue to explore new musical concepts such as tone color and high and low sounds. Listen for the tune “Doggie Doggie. Where’s Your Bone?” We use this song to explore the unique sounds of our voices.
Advance notice: The kindergarten musical will be on Friday, April 26, 2019. Mark your calendars now – you won’t want to miss it! More details will be coming soon.
Keep on singing! It will keep you warm!
Mrs. Rutkiewicz
News from the Media Center
The students have been working on coding. We participated in an “Hour of Code” through the “Code.org” website. The students can also continue to work on coding while they are at home. There is a link on the Library Media Website to the coding games we practiced. We also practiced our coding skills using the app “Code Spark Academy”. Coding is a great start to working with S.T.E.M activities along with using problem-solving and sequencing skills.
During the winter months, students have time to work on reinforcing skills learned in the classroom. Tumble Books, Raz Kids and Bookflix are all programs that are displayed on our Library Media Center website. These sites all provide fun ways for students to practice reading. Students have worked with each of these sites during Media time and they should be able to navigate each site. You can access these sites through any internet browser by going to https://www.d92.org, then selecting Walsh, navigate down the drop-down menu to curriculum and choose the Media Center, each of the links is located on the Media Center Site.
Art News by Mrs. Deckinga
Happy new year! This month, the kindergarten classes will be continuing their winter bird collages inspired by the book, Snowballs by Lois Elhert. The first-grade students will be reading the classic, Owl Moon, by Jane Yolen. We'll be using the medium of clay to create our own owls.
Making Math Count by Mrs. Romeo
Students are working hard at identifying, writing, adding and subtracting numbers. Our staff is also working hard on planning a wonderful Math Night for Walsh students. This year it will be provided by DuPage Children’s Museum. Please mark your calendars for February 6th.
Below are two new websites and activities to try with your children.
This month’s focus:
Kindergarten will be able to solve subtraction problems less than or equal to 10.
Website: http://www.ictgames.com/partition.html
Activity: Have students make number cards to 40. Students should put them in order, remove one, and see if they can identify the missing number.
First grade: Students will understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones. Students should also practice writing their teens.
Website: http://www.toonuniversity.com/flash.asp?err=313&engine=6
Activity:
1. Roll and add with 3 dice, then tell what is one less or one more. Have them write the numeral.
2. Make index cards counting to 100. Have students group them by 10’s, 20s, 30s and so on. Next, have them put cards in order.