Old Mill Pond News
January, 2019
ParentPlus Portal - Grades 4 and 5
The ParentPlus Portal provides 4th and 5th grade students and their parents’ access to assignments, grades, attendance and the ability to download any attachments the teachers may provide. In addition, students and parents may email their teachers via the portal. Parents may also update phone and address information.
Teachers can post helpful links and send email alerts with important information regarding grades and upcoming assignments.
At this time, Old Mill Pond is only utilizing the PlusPortal for grades 4 and 5.
You may now log in to the ParentPlus Portal by selecting the link below or copying and pasting it into your browser:Your User Name (Login ID) is your email address.
Selecting this link will lead you to a page where you can set your password.
After setting your password, you will be able to log in to Parent PlusPortals. The link to access the portal can be found below and on the Palmer Public Schools website (www.palmerschools.org) under the Parents/Students tab.
www.plusportals.com/PalmerSchools
If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please contact the OMP office
at 413-283-4300.
Thank you!
Happy New Year from Kindergarten!
Winter is here and what a perfect time to learn more about some winter animals like polar bears and penguins in science class.
In ELA, we will begin unit 4 in Wonders and ECRI. Letters Oo, Dd will be introduced and a review of Cc, Ii, Nn will take place. Initial, medial, and ending sounds of those letters will be focused on. The Essential Themes are Time for Work, Meet Your Neighbors and Pitch In. New sight words are you and do. Children are using decodable texts and leveled readers during center time in small group. These all relate to the essential questions and letters/sounds in this theme.
In math, work with numbers 1-10 continue and teen numbers will be introduced. Comparison of length, weight, and capacity will also be explored.
Happy New Year from Grade 1
Over the next month or so, many students will begin orchestrating all that has been taught up to now and you will see an increase in their reading abilityand fluency. Please continue to read with your little ones nightly. The big idea for the next unit in reading is changes over time. Long vowels will be introduced as well as verbs.
In math, we will begin module 2. This module serves as a bridge from students' prior work with problem solving within 10 to work within 100 as students begin to solve addition and subtraction problems involving teen numbers. Students go beyond the Level 2 strategies of counting on and counting back as they learn Level 3 strategies informally called "make ten" or "take from ten.
Happy New Year from Grade 2!
We hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas break and wish you a very happy New Year! In the new year we will be very busy in 2nd grade. We will start unit 3 in Wonders. In this unit our big idea is “What have you learned about the world that surprises you.” In this unit we will be reading about earth’s forces, what we see in the sky, helping in our community, and weather. These reading units tie in nicely with our science units of Earth’s properties. In math we will also be starting a new module. In Module 3 we will be working on place value, counting and comparison of numbers to 1,000. Also thrown in for the month of January we will be talking about MLK Jr., winter and resolutions. So here is to 2019! Hang on tight because 2nd grade is going to ROCK 2019!
Happy New Year from the 3rd grade!!
As usual, this will be a busy and exciting month. For starters, all 3rd grade classes will be working on multiplication. It is extremely important that ALL students practice and master facts 0-12. Studying facts at home, in order, is essential in helping with the work taking place in class. Mastery of facts in 3rd grade builds the base your child will need to be successful in 4th and 5th grade math classes. Also, all classes are using an online math practice program called ZEARN. Students are able to access this program at home by simply going to ZEARN.org and entering their log-in information. Any questions, please contact your child’s teacher.
On January 7 and 8, students will work to complete their second round of STAR testing in Reading and Math. Starting this week as well, we will begin Unit 3 in our new WONDERS program in English, Language Arts. Spelling words and tests will resume again each week.
In science, all classes will be working on a Weather Unit. Students will engage in lessons about clouds, the water cycle, weather patterns and more.
We are looking forward to a great month and study those MATH FACTS!
Grade 4 News
5th Grade January Newsletter
Happy New Year’s from the 5th grade team. We’re looking forward to an excellent start to 2019!
5th grade ELA will be finishing Unit 2 in Wonders and begin reading a novel entitled The Liberation of Gabriel King. This novel, set in Georgia in the 1970’s, tells the story of Gabe King and his best friend, Frita Wilson. Gabe is afraid of everything related to the fifth grade while Frita has to be brave living in a town where many still support segregation. Together Gabe and Frita are going to spend the summer of 1976 facing down Gabe’s fears and while doing so learn that Frita has some fears to face as well. More information regarding this novel will be sent home to parents.
In Science, students will take part in energy and chemistry units. These units will wrap up science for this school year until we do a review boot camp in the Spring to prepare for MCAS. Towards the middle of January, beginning of the third term, classes will switch from science to social studies for the remainder of the year. To be prepared for the transition to social studies, students will need a new notebook and folder. Just a reminder, we use a lot of glue sticks in both science and social studies so donations are always welcome.
In Math classes, students have been working EXTRA hard on division with both single and double digit divisors. After vacation we will begin our unit on fractions. We will be adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing with fractions. We also continue to reinforce measurement, geometry, and previously learned skills through our warm-up stations. You may see notebooks come home if your child has not finished a particular station.
Reminders:
On most days, students go outside for recess. Please make sure your child has an appropriate coat, gloves, and a hat. 5th graders often don’t pay attention to how cold it is outside until they are out there.
If your child plans to stay for extra help, please make sure he/she has a note.
Student grades are also available on the Parent Portal.
Wonders is accessible online
Please, please continue to practice multiplication facts at home, so we can add more names to our multiplication race. As we remind all students, “The better you know them the easier all math will be.” Even if your child is an expert, they can increase recall speed.
Also with Flu/Cold season in full swing we always need donations of tissues and hand sanitizer.
Literacy News at OMP
Wonders Update
In September OMP implemented a new literacy program, Wonders, in K-5 this year. One component of this comprehensive literacy program is the digital platform that allows students to access the literature anthology, vocabulary activities, games, guided readers, etc. on electronic devices at school and/or at home. Students in grades K-5 all have usernames and passwords and have successfully accessed their individual accounts at school. Some grade 1 classes are also beginning to use the digit platform in their rooms with individual students.
The digital platform can be accessed by going to my.mheducation.com. For most students, their username is their year of graduation followed by their first initial and last name (Ex. a grade 4 student whose name is John Devens has the username 27jdevens). The password is always their 5 digit lasid number (students often call this their lexia number) followed by the letters pps (Ex.. John Devens lasid number is 62453 so his password will be 62453pps).
To just check out the Wonders digital platform, go to my.mheducation.com. For the username, enter: wondersstudent. For the password, enter Readingelem2018. This site will allow you to see a small sampling of what students have access to on a daily basis.
Six Flags Six Hour Reading Logs
Just a reminder that Six Flags Six Hour Reading Logs must be turned in no later than Thursday, February 14th. Students who read 6 hours or more and turn in a completed log will receive a one day Six Flags New England ticket in the spring. Here is the link to print a copy of the log if needed: Six Flags Six Hour Reading Log.
If you ever have questions about your child’s reading/writing development, the difference between grades and progress, tips to help your child at home, understanding the MCAS, etc., please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or Ivy Peritz-Smith, OMP K-5 Literacy Interventionist, at iperitz-smith@palmerschools.org.
Happy reading! Mrs. Ivy Peritz-Smith
January Technology Class
Old Mill Pond students are doing a wonderful job working with technology this year! This month we are implementing S.T.E.M. Bins into the fun. S.T.E.M. stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. S.T.E.M. Bins allow students to focus on problem solving and teamwork. Collaboration is an important part of life as well as in technology. Students will be given a challenge, asked to brainstorm a solution with their team and then use their brainstorming plans to work together to try to solve the challenge.
January Dates to Remember
Wednesday, January 2 - School Reopens
Monday, January 7 - OMP PAWS Meeting, 6pm
Tuesday, January 8 - School BankingThursday, January 17 - Grades Close
Monday, January 21 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Tuesday, January 22 - School Banking
Wednesday, January 23 - OMP PAWS Swim Night, 6-8pm
Friday, January 25 - Report Cards Issued