Pomaria-Garmany Post
2017 School Newsletter
Important Dates:
December 22nd: End of 2nd Nine Weeks
December 22nd: Half Day for Students
December 25th-January 5th: Winter Holidays
January 8th: Teacher Planning & Preparation Day (No School for Students)
January 9th: Students Return
January 18th: Parent-Teacher Conferences (PM)
January 19th: Parent-Teacher Conferences (AM-No School for Students)
Upcoming Testing Dates
- ACCESS for ELL's- Feb. 5th- March 23rd
- Performance Task testing Feb. 20th-March 8th
SCPASS and SCREADY Testing must occur during the last 20 days of the school year. That timeline is May 4th- June 1st. Exact dates for your child will come closer to the testing window.
- SCREADY- ELA and Math- 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders
- SCPASS- Science- grades 4th, 6th, and 8th graders only
- SCPASS- Social Studies- grades 5th and 7th graders only
Energy Bus Principle #4
This month students will focus on revealing ways to become a more positive person while learning how your behavior can impact everyone in the learning community.
You can help by having conversation with your child(ren) at home. This Holiday Season, make a list of all the positive things you have going on in your home. Take some quiet time to think of the most positive person you know- list their qualities and share with each other the attributes these positive people have/do.
Reading Calendars
Be on the lookout for your child’s December reading calendar. It is on red paper for the month of December. Each grade level has set a goal for minutes read each night, Monday-Thursday nights.
Grade level minutes for the month of December are as follows:
PreK & Kindergarten – 60 minutes
First and Second Grade – 120 minutes
Third Grade – 180 minutes
Fourth Grade – 240 minutes
Fifth Grade 300 minutes
There are many benefits that come from reading to your child or with your child. Some of the benefits are:
- Children who read often and widely get better at it. After all, practice makes perfect in almost everything humans do, and reading in no different.
- Reading improves concentration. Children have to sit still and quietly so that they can focus on the story when they are reading. If the read often, they will develop the skill to do this for longer.
- Reading exercises our brain. Reading is a much more complex task for the human brain rather than watching TV, for example. Reading strengthens brains connections and builds NEW connections.
- Reading teaches children about the world around them. Through reading a variety of books children learn about people, places, and events outside of their own experience.
- Reading improves vocabulary and language skills. Children learn new words as they read. Subconsciously, they absorb information on how to structure sentences and how to use words and other language features effectively in their writing and speaking.
- Reading develops a child's imagination. As we read our brains translate the descriptions we read of people, places and things into pictures. While we are engaged in a story we are also imagining how a character is feeling. Young children then bring this knowledge into their everyday play.
- Reading is a fun. A book or an e-reader doesn't take up much space and is light to carry, so you take it anywhere so you can never be bored if you have a book in your bag.
- Reading is a great way to spend time together. Reading together on the sofa, bedtimes stories and visiting the library are just some ways of spending time together.
- Children who read achieve better in school. Reading promotes achievement in all subjects, not just English. Children who are good readers tend to achieve better across other subject areas.
Please help us develop literacy and language skills with your child by reading to them or with them daily!
Can Food Drive Success
A Note from Nurse Maggie
Illness Reminder:
We need your help to reduce the spread of germs! By working together, taking precautions, we can help to minimize the impact of any illness that can be spread to others.
Please be reminded of the following:
- Wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds;
- Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands;
- Avoid kissing, hugging, and sharing cups or eating utensils with people who are sick;
- Disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as toys and doorknobs, especially if someone is sick;
- Stay home when feeling sick, and obtain consultation from your health care provider.
-Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have
vomiting or diarrhea
-Ill children should stay home until 24 hours after they are fever free without the
use of fever-reducing medicines.
- Cover your cough/sneeze. It is best to cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hands. If you cough/sneeze in your hands or in a tissue, make sure you wash your hands afterwards.
- These everyday steps are a good way to reduce your chances of getting the flu. However, a yearly flu vaccine is the best protection against flu illness.
From the Guidance Couselor's Office
“How Was Your School Day?”
It’s natural when you see your child after their school day to ask, “How was your day at school?” This question will most likely get you the same answer every day: “Fine.” “Good.” “Okay.” If you want to really know how your child’s day was at school, ask open-ended questions. Here are a few examples:
1. What was the best thing that happened at school today? (What was the worst thing that happened at school today?)
2. Tell me something that made you laugh today.
3. What word did your teacher say most today?
4. If you got to be the teacher tomorrow, what would you do?
5. Tell me about three different times you used your pencil today at school.
Open-ended questions offer children the opportunity to freely express feelings, motives and ideas. These type questions also give children opportunities to use an expanded vocabulary. The response you get will most likely create and give you more insight and sometimes wonderfully creative answers.
Reading and Writing Under The Stars
Thursday, November 30th was a fun-filled night with students and families enjoying reading and writing activities to promote literacy! The theme this year was Reading and Writing Under the Stars! Many stations were held outside, but a few were inside with the room illuminated with a star light ceiling and lanterns! Families also enjoyed a hot dog supper along with hot chocolate and a cookie as they rotated through the different literacy stations. Stations were a HUGE hit LOVED by the students and families of PGE! Families participated in the following activities:
Reading Under the Stars: At this station families enjoyed reading a great book using a lantern, flashlight, or the moonlight! Families were in the intimate setting of hay bales and the night sky!
Graffiti Wall: At this station students could write or draw about their favorite book! Students are enjoying reading about different books on the sidewalk as they walk laps around the loop!
Face Painting: Students enjoyed choosing a fall design to have painted on their faces. They also received a tattoo to remind them to be readers!
Fishing for A Good Book: There were some amazing catches at this station! Here students fished for a book that they can take home and read for their monthly reading logs. Students’ excitement was precious as they reeled in their catch!
Writing Under the Stars: Letter writing was also a BIG hit at Literacy Night! Students could write letters to friends, teachers, parents, and some even wrote to Santa! Parents could also write a letter to their child to be mailed through the school wide mailing system, PGE Tiger Mail. Students enjoy receiving their mail and reading these special notes!
Writing Walk Under the Stars: At this station students could win certain prizes that can help them during Writing Workshop! They enjoyed playing to win items such as unique erasers, pens, pencil grips, and mini notepads.
Family Photo Booth and Selfie Station: Families not only had the opportunity to read and write under the stars, they could also take a picture with a local star, C.J. Edwards, pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. He took the opportunity to snap pictures with families, and to write a letter to the students of PGE reminding them to set positive visions for themselves! He also encouraged them to read daily with the statement “READERS ARE LEADERS!”
As you can see, Reading and Writing Under the Stars was a night enjoyed by ALL!!!
Half Day for Students
Hour of Code
PGE students will be joining the millions of students all over the world during the week of Dec. 4-10 in the global movement of “The Hour of Code”. “The Hour of Code” gives students a fun introduction to computer science and has become a global learning event, celebration, and awareness event. Our students love to choose an activity from their web site: https://hourofcode.com/us/learn.
There are some good free apps that you can download on iPads or phones for students to use at home. A few of them are:
Lightbot: Code Hour
Scratch, Jr.
SpriteBox: Code Hour
Tynker Coding for Kids
In addition to this designated week of “The Hour of Code”, PGE also offers a Coding Club that meets once a month. The club has eight members from Grades 3- 5.
We are excited about giving our students an opportunity in Computer Science that helps them nurture creativity and problem-solving skills to prepare them for any future careers.
1st Graders utilize the IPAD's
**Special THANK YOU to our PTO for the purchase of this class set (25 to be exact) IPAD's that are checking out and used by our teachers with our students.**