Chatham Elementary School
Where We Are Proud To Be SHARKS
Monomoy Regional School District: Our Home Away From Home...Where Everyone has a Voice at the Table
September 13, 2019
Fin'tastic CES Students Are:
Safe
Honest
Accepting
Respectful
Kind
Successful!
Important Dates:
September 16, 2019:
- Instrument Rental Night (grade 4 caregivers)-6-8pm MRMS
September 24, 2019:
- After-school clubs begin: Club Catalog and Registration
- CES Curriculum Night (more information below)
September 25, 2019:
- Early Release Wednesday (student dismissal at 1:35pm)
September 26, 2019:
- MRSD School Committee (MRHS media center, 6:30pm)
October 2, 2019:
- 1st Proud to Be A SHARK event with A rtist Rob Surette; Amazing Hero Program (all of our community is invited to join us at our Proud to Be A SHARK events)-1pm; CES gymnasium
2019-2020 CES PTO Meetings Will Be Held on the 2nd THURSDAY of Each Month-ALL Welcome
Dear Families,
Would you be interested in having an interpreter/translator available at Curriculum Night to help you in understanding the information presented in English? If you are interested, we will try our best to have an interpreter/translator available to you. Curriculum Night is this Tuesday, September 24. PreK, Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 presentations begin at 5:00 in classrooms. At 6:10 the Principal and School Council will present the Schoolwide Improvement Plan in the gymnasium. Grade 3 and Grade 4 present in their classrooms at 6:30.
Please contact Ms. Meghan Lampert (mlampert@monomoy.edu).
Thank you!
Notice to Families:
Weekly Article: "Ask Me About..."
Each week the grade level teams will publish two to three statements for caregivers to use as conversation starters with their child(ren). Although the Scoop is a great place to see and discuss end-of-learning products, these "ask me about" conversation starters will help promote discussions about current learning. For additional questions to ask your child about school, please visit "Understood's" article:
How to Say It: Better Questions to Ask Your Child About School and keep us updated on how these questions are working!
Ask Me About...From PreK
What are my five senses?
What are the rules of the classroom?
What is the first letter in my name?
Ask Me About...From Grade K
Ask me about ABC bootcamp.
Ask me what we do to answer the mystery question.
Ask me to tell you about my favorite Pete the Cat story.
Ask Me About...From Grade 1
Ask me about the book "Jack's Talent" and ask me what my talent is.
Ask me about ways to make 5.
Ask Me About About...From Grade 2
Ask me about Tomie dePaola.
Ask me to draw 12 into 4 equal groups and then into 2 equal groups.
Ask me to identify the subject and predicate of this sentence: The children walked to school.
Ask Me About...From Grade 3
How can you tell if a vegetable is really a science fruit?
Why is it important to be able to solve a problem using different methods?
How do I choose books to read on my own?
Ask Me About...From Grade 4
Explain the CUBES strategy to someone at home.
Make an inference about the weather based on your observations.
What story elements were on your beach ball?
Attendance Matters:
Parents and families are essential partners in promoting good attendance because they have the bottom-line responsibility for making sure their children get to school every day. Just as parents should focus on how their children are performing academically, they have a responsibility to set expectations for good attendance and to monitor their children’s absences, so that missed days don’t add up to academic trouble. Lowering the number of days missed by our students will be a continued focus for our school and district this year. Please reference the attendance policy and procedures in our School Handbook and help us make "Every Day Count" by:
- Make getting students to school on time every day a top priority.
- Alert schools and community agencies to barriers that keep kids from attending class.
- Ask for and monitor data on chronic absence.
- Demand action to address systemic barriers that may be causing large numbers of students to miss too much school.
SHARK Shout Out
A SHARK Shout Out to Mr. Toppa and Mr. Gordon (MRMS music director) for coordinating an instrumental information session at school today, and for hosting the instrumental rental night for families on the 16th from 6-8pm. See information flyer above.
A SHARK Shout Out to Mrs. King for going above and beyond to mentor her silent mentee. (from Ms. M.)
SHARK Shout Out
Shark Shout Out to Miss Allyssa Flynn for demonstrating, modeling, reinforcing and rewarding all our students' expected behaviors. (from Mrs. M. and Ms. Speakman)
SHARK Shout Out
Ms. Lampert's Room News:
In Mrs. Lampert’s classroom, 3rd grade student D.C. helped new kindergarten student Y.B. learn what it means to be a SHARK!
Ms. King's Classroom News:
This was our first full week of kindergarten and already we have learned so many new routines and rules for being a learner. Each day we have earned sharks in our tank for following the rules that we are learning. We have almost 50 sharks this week alone!
In ABC bootcamp we learn about a new letter each day. We learn how to read it and how to spell it. We think of words that start with the beginning sound of the letter.
We have written a morning message each day and are learning to make a line for every word of our message.
We are learning about the rules of listening. "Eyes are looking. Ears are listening. Voice is off. Body still."
We finished our Pete the Cat week by making our own Pete with his four groovy buttons.
We are learning how to use our math journals. We started by drawing one thing that Spikey ( a stick figure math friend!) would like.
4th grade news:
4th grade news:
4th grade news:
Kindness Club Interviews Our New Teachers and Staff
Ms. Beatty-Art
How do you motivate students that feel they are not “good at art?” I tell them to think of the easiest thing they can think of.
How can you incorporate your students’ artwork into the school and community? I will display students’ artwork in the hallway. I will also publish an art newspaper to inform caretakers of the students’ projects being completed in school.
What type of teaching strategies do you feel work best for an art class? Encourage students to try their best, to never give up and to support your friends to succeed.
How can you make art accessible to all types of learners? Everyone can become an artist.
How do you create a positive culture of achievement in an art room? I use a tally system to reward students. When a classroom earns 50 tallies they can earn an open studio day.
Ms. Nyerick-Science
How will you relate science to real world career experiences?
We are going to learn about real scientists and engineers.
What type of teaching strategies would you use to make learning accessible for all learners?
We are going to do lots of hands on learning and
project-based learning in the science room.
What type of practices would one expect to see in your science classroom?
One would see investigation, collaboration, experimentation and observation.
How do you create a safe, supportive learning environment?
We are going to accept all different ideas, strategies and strengths.
How will you incorporate writing into your science class?
We are going to have science journals that will travel to and from your classroom and the science room.
Ms. Basso-Occupational Therapy
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am the OT. I work in all four Monomoy Schools. I have a 12 year old son. I live in Orleans. I have a dog named “Pepper.”
How would you define OT to someone who has never heard of it before?
It is called occupational therapy because it helps people gain the skills to do their daily activities. An example would be helping students to learn how to hold pencils.
What is the difference between OT and PT?
OT works on fine motor skills and sensory motor planning. PT works on gross motor skills such as running, walking and jumping.
What would one see happening in the OT room?
You would see students working on making their hands stronger. You would see students on the swing learning to focus and stay on task. You would also see students on laptops working on improving their typing skills.
How does OT help support student learning?
We help by improving the access to all areas in school and in the environment such as being able to write and use computers, being able to sit-up and pay attention easier.
Ms. Petrucci-School Nurse
Please tell us about your nursing background and experience?
Before I became a nurse I was in the operating room in the hospital and I delivered babies. I have been a nurse for 11 years.
What are your key strengths working as a nurse?
I have patience and I am kind. I am also organized and I am able to multi-task.
Providing health care to students is an unpredictable job. Describe what you think a typical school nurse’s day is like?
Sometimes we can be busy when lots of kids need our help. There is also a lot of paperwork to be completed and lots of meetings to go to.
Describe a time when you were able to console an emotional youth, how did you do it? I used a soft, friendly voice so they were able to calm down and I made a little joke to make them feel better.
PreK News:
We were able to get back into our routine very quickly! Students decorated the first letter in their name, made a first-day of preschool crown, and sorted Pete the Cat figures. Later, we reviewed our shark classroom expectations and decided to have an outer space party when we fill our jar.
In class, students were were happy and engaged this week. They did a lot of cooking in our pretend kitchen and building. They loved trains and puzzles. Everyone had a successful second day. We decorated bus placements. Later, we counted the number of people on a bus. Ms. Nyrick, the science teacher, worked on our 5 senses using jello, baking soda, and vinegar.
CES and HES Grade 1 Team Work Together on Early Release Wednesday
Early Release Wednesdays: Do you wonder what the teachers are doing?
- What do we want each student to learn?
- How will we know when each student has learned it?
- How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty/excels in learning?
This time expands the responsibility of student success beyond the classroom and creates a culture of collaboration and "no excuse" student success. Ultimately, all are focused on the process of learning and the results.
Thus experts note, "the professional learning community model is a grand design—a powerful [new] way of working together that profoundly affects the practices of schooling. But initiating and sustaining the concept requires hard work. It requires the school staff to focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively on matters related to learning, and hold itself accountable for the kind of results that fuel continual improvement" (DuFour, 2004). Thank you for sharing in our commitment to this work!
General School Information
CES School Handbook 2019-2020
Healthy Choices: MRSD Wellness Policy
Chatham Elementary School and MRSD Website
Quips and Clips From Week Two: What do you love learning about?
Science
CB Grade 2
Music
DM Grade 2
Math
BH Grade 2
Math
GA Grade 2
Science
TL Grade 2
I love learning about how to ride my four wheeler.
NK Grade 4
I love learning about Science because it involves volcanoes, air pressure and rocket ships.
JB Grade 4
I love learning about Math because it is fun and a little hard.
EV Grade 4
What is something new you’d like to build?
I would like to build a train bridge for the Science Fair and learn how it works.
BM Grade 4
2019-2020 School Council Members:
Ms. Meghan Lampert (EL teacher)
Ms. Lenore Chieffo (Gr 3 teacher)
Ms. Lindsay Bierwirth (CES parent)
Ms. Ann Barnard (Gr 2 teacher)
Ms. Kathy Ware (Library Media teacher)
Ms. Maegan Story (MRSD parent and community representative)
Ms. Jessica Rogers (CES parent)
Ms. Deb Lopes (CES parent)
Dr. Millen (Principal)
An election at Curriculum Night is not necessary as we have have all necessary roles filled.
A school council is a representative, school building-based committee composed of the principal, parents, teachers, community members and, at the secondary level, students, required to be established by each school pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 59C. School councils enhance site-based decision making because they expand the participation of the school community in its schools' decision making. The involvement of different groups on the council -- teachers, parents, and non parent community members -- provides the school with different and mutually complementary perspectives on its improvement goals and plans. In addition, by involving people who work in and support the school in the development of the school's improvement plan, the likelihood will increase that the plan will be successfully implemented (DESE, http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/advisory/schoolcouncils/part1.html)
The law outlines four major areas of responsibility for councils. School councils are to assist principals in:
Adopting educational goals for the school that are consistent with local educational policies and statewide student performance standards
Identifying the educational needs of students attending the school
Reviewing the annual school building budget
- Formulating a school improvement plan (DESE)
The CES School Council meets the first Thursday of each month from 2:30-3:30pm starting again in September. If you are interested in joining this team, please email Robin Millen, principal (rmillen@monomoy.edu), with a letter of intent by 9/20/2019. Elections will be held at Curriculum Night in September, if needed.
Meeting agenda and minutes from past meetings online.
Click here for the 2018-2021 Schoolwide Improvement Plan
Media Center News:
Now on Facebook! Please "LIKE" us!
Although we received a very generous grant from Chatham's CPC, we are still seeking additional donations for items not covered by this grant. Please support this endeavor as we move forward to our build!
Quote of the Issue:
“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” – Randy Pausch
Community News:
PMC Kids Lower Cape Ride-September 29th
I'm coordinating the Kids Pan Mass Challenge bike ride for the Lower Cape this year. The ride is getting ready for its 12th annual ride on Sunday, September 29th. This event allows children of all ages, and their families, to come together for a good cause. Each year the Lower Cape, Kids Ride raises about $10,000 for the Jimmy Fund.
Please let me know If you have any questions regarding the event (or if your free on September 29 and would like to potentially stand along the bike path....perhaps the 1mile marker....and cheer the students on -especially your CES students.
Attached below is the flyer. There's also more details on the website: kids.pmc.org (Lower Cape) and our Facebook page PMC Kids Lower Cape Ride. It's a great cause and fun event!
Thanks!
Joe Webster
PE teacher MRMS
2019 Lower Cape PMC Kids Ride Coordinator
Chatham Elementary School
Website: www.monomoy.edu
Location: 147 Depot Road, Chatham, MA, USA
Phone: 508-945-5135
Twitter: @ChathamElemMRSD