Hello Leib Families,
Happy New Year to you and your family. I hope you were able to find time to spend with loved ones. As my own children get older, I am reminded of how quickly time goes. I have learned to cherish family time even more than ever before. I am looking forward to seeing our students return to Leib on Monday, January 3.
January 3 will be a White out! Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to wear white as we welcome in 2022! ❅
Did you know we have a new PROUD Student Council consisting of several Fifth Grade students? The students met with advisors, Ms. Berger and Mrs. Stormes, in December to plan several Spirit Days. Be sure to check out the January calendar (below) for these dates.
Buddy, our elf, was eagerly found each morning during the month of December. I was so excited to share in our children's excitement each day. Check out some of the fun Buddy had this season at Leib. (Click link.)
Our top Read-a-Thon prize was for two students to be Principal for the Day. Miss Maya DePatto and Mr. Wyatt Markle did a FANTASTIC job taking the lead. When I asked them what their favorite part of the day was, both students shared walking around the building seeing all the kids and teachers. I would have to agree! Check out the pictures in our monthly slideshow.
During the month of January, student middle of year data will be analyzed to identify areas of growth as well as areas of needed improvement. The Intervention Team and classroom teachers have been meeting with all students to complete Winter Benchmark screening for Reading. This data will be analyzed to identify students who may need extra support with specific reading and math skills. We celebrate the growth our students are making during the 21-22 School Year.
Take a few moments to enjoy our December 2021 Slideshow.
Wishing you a wonderful New Year,
Mrs. Jody L. Wickenheiser
Principal
School Board Meeting Information
The Dover Area School Board of Directors has called a special meeting scheduled for January 3, 2022, at 7:00 pm. The purpose of the meeting is to adjust one component of the Health and Safety Plan: contact tracing and quarantining procedures. Face coverings remain optional for staff and students on Dover Area School District property.Masks will still be required on district transportation in compliance with federal CDC mandates regarding public transportation. A draft copy of the proposed Health and Safety Plan is attached. The meeting will be held in the board room located in the Dover Area School District Administration Office located at 101 Edgeway Road, Dover, PA 17315 or live streamed via https://www.doversd.org/live-stream/.
Tech Bytes
• Coding: Code Karts, codeSpark, Code Kingdom, Kodable, Scratch Jr., Tynker, and Tynker Jr.
• Art: Canva, Flipaclip (Animation), Joy Doodle, Sketchbook, Stop Motion Studio (Animation), and Tayasui Sketches School
• Video: Chatterkid, Clips, iMovie
• Music: Garage Band (Use caution here! Songs that are created can take up a lot of storage space and may need to be deleted for classroom apps to be used)
PROUD Student Council
Meet Leib's Budding Artist
PBIS News
Envirothon
Spelling Bee
Art Studio News
Kindergarten News
First Grade News
Second Grade News
Third Grade News
Fourth Grade News
In Science, students have continued their study of Earth by learning about water, watersheds, wetlands and weather this past month. Students classified fresh water systems as lentic (still water) or lotic (moving water) and reviewed the steps of the water cycle. We also learned about different types of clouds and tools meteorologists use to study weather. By using charts, graphs and watching local weather forecasts, students are practicing making predictions about weather. January brings a short study of space including motions of Earth and the moon before beginning our Physical Science unit by learning about matter.
4th Graders spent the month of December learning about the Southeastern United States in Social Studies. In this unit, we identified the states and capitals of the region and focused on natural resources and products of these states examining how geography and landforms have an impact on them. Our next unit of study will be the Southwestern U.S.
In ELA, students continue to do a phenomenal job of citing evidence within any text when supporting answers to analytical questions. We worked collaboratively with our small groups in each ELA Block as students practiced a Play (Script) that they chose for Reader's Theater. Reader's Theater is a strategy we used this month that combined reading practice with performance. The goal was to enhance students' reading skills and their confidence by having them practice reading with a purpose. Their "Play" choice gave the students a real reason to read aloud. "Break a leg!" Figuratively speaking, they did indeed!!
In Math, students tackled Unit 3 which was full of fractions and decimals. They learned multiple strategies to solve problems involving fractions and decimals.
Fifth Grade News
In ELA class we have finished our Study Island and Acadience benchmark assessments. In January, we will complete our Exact Path benchmark. We will also continue to focus on text that have animals as our main focus. Upon return from our holiday break we will read a favorite, Old Yeller.
In math, we finished our first unit on fractions and completed our Study Island benchmark. When we return after the break, we will begin our fourth unit, which involves decimal concepts and coordinate grids. We will also complete our Exact Path benchmarks.
In science class we learned how scientists classify living things. We made dichotomous keys, learned the scientific names of animals, memorized the eight levels of classification and did many fun activities. One of our highlights in science was our film canister rocket experiment! We used different size Alka Seltzer tablets to determine which canister flew the highest by timing how long it was in the air. The kids had a blast.
Leib Elementary School
