Herman E. Dummer
December 2023 Newsletter
A Warm Message from our Principal, Mrs. Ford
May Your Season be Filled With Wonder
May your season be filled with wonder and your hearts be filled with joy,
As we enter this holiday season, with excitement from every girl and boy.
As the frosty air hits the fresh fallen leaves,
Leaving behind wonders of intricate art, that only this season can bring,
Our staff sends love and wishes during this time spent together,
For by being a team, we truly make each other better!
The true gift of kindness can last the whole year through,
By working together, Me (H.E. Dummer School) and YOU!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Thank You For Attending Parent/Teacher Conferences
If you have not had a chance to do so, and you attended your child's Dummer P/T conference, please fill out the very short survey regarding P/T conferences so we can look at this data to make improvements. Thank you for your feedback!
Nurse's Notes
Healthy Sleep for the HOLIDAYZZZZ
Make the most of the season by staying well-rested with these science-based sleep tips:
- Kids 12 and under need at least 9 hours of sleep each night.
- Try to keep a consistent sleep schedule by having your family go to bed and get up at the same times every day, even on holiday breaks or when learning remotely.
- Avoid caffeine and avoid large meals right before bed.
- If you want to nap over the holiday break, aim for a 20-minute nap, which experts say is the best time length to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go.
- We sleep better when the room is between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit (65-70 degrees for babies and toddlers).
- Make sure to stay active over the holidays, as physical activity during the day can facilitate better sleep at night.
- Turn all screens off at least an hour before bedtime.
Cold Weather is Here
As a reminder, we will be going outside if the weather and playground conditions permit if the temperature is 10 degrees or higher. (This includes the wind-chill.) Please make sure your child(ren) have the appropriate outerwear.
FANTASTIC 4TH GRADE
We are excited to begin another busy month of learning and growing in fourth grade. December brings many opportunities to discover new concepts, enjoy some winter activities, and take some time to rest as well with our winter break approaching.
Our second reading unit will be wrapping up this month. We are currently learning about the culture and customs of different Native American tribes. We are practicing skills such as finding the main idea, summarizing nonfiction text, and determining text structure.
Fourth graders have been working very hard on long division and also problem solving. These are both difficult concepts and we love the perseverance we are seeing in many of our students. Those daily green lights in Reflex are really helping with our division skills!
We are busy writing narrative stories and will be publishing our stories soon, and hopefully sharing them with each other. The students have worked on adding details and emotions to their stories to help create vivid pictures of what is taking place.
The Earth’s Features & Processes Unit in Science is almost finished. We have learned so much about how our earth changes over time and the processes that contribute to those changes. We will switch to Social Studies next to study the state of Illinois. We will cover geography, history, symbols, and the economics of our state.
We are thankful for the fun upcoming activities sponsored by our parent group. Candy grams, a winter workshop, and the “Mr. Freeze” science presentation will all add to our enjoyment this month at Dummer. We wish you all a happy December.
FABULOUS 5TH GRADE
Thanksgiving is over and the first snow is here! Fifth grade is looking forward to the change of seasons and the next few weeks at school as there are a lot of fun activities planned!
In December we are looking forward to visiting Kindergarten classes to help them write letters to Santa, a holiday sing along, and a craft planned by the PTO.
In Math we will be working on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. Please reach out if you need resources to help with homework at home. Students can also continue to practice multiplication and long division as those skills will be used throughout the year.
Our Reading will focus on the theme of Finding Courage. We will read Real Life Superheroes, Angel Island, and The Great Migration. These stories all focus on historical events and individuals during those events. Students will be researching and writing about a historical person, as well. In Grammar we will continue to work on Roots and Affixes and DOL, along with prepositional phrases, commas, and punctuating titles.
In Science we will be finishing our unit about Ecosystems and the Food Web. Our next unit is about The Water Cycle and Earth’s Systems. During Social Studies we will continue reading our biweekly Scholastic News Magazines.
We hope you all enjoy the change of seasons and enjoy preparing for the holidays!
MONTHLY MUSIC NOTES
During our short month of November, new activities were introduced to fourth grade while fifth graders expanded upon them from last year. Both grades started reading the treble music staff and played games to reinforce their musical literacy. We also briefly played Tone Chimes; an instrument similar to a hand bell. Using teamwork, all classes started playing “Trepak” from “The Nutcracker” ballet. After Thanksgiving break, students will learn the melody and harmony parts on tone chimes to “Carol of the Bells,” “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies.” Additionally, students will prepare for a holiday sing along on December 20th. The first band concert will feature students from 5th to 12th grade on Thursday, December 14th at 5pm in the high school gym.
Learning Center
Here is the finished result of our thankfulness project. We read two amazing books that sparked some very good conversation about being thankful and we made a thankfulness chain that gave the students an outlet to write what they are thankful for the most.
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12 DAYS OF DRESS UP FUN!
OCTOBER 2023 CHARACTER COUNTS
Liam Lomeli, Matthew Wengren & Chase Bock
OCTOBER 4TH GRADE STUDENTS OF THE MONTH
Back Row: Grayson Seaton, Jackson Schwickerath, Kane Conklin, Joseph Loconte, Brayden Schlick; Front Row: Gianna Dolce, Miranda Mestemaker & Harper Weygand Not pictured: Max Denny
5TH GRADE OCTOBER STUDENTS OF THE MONTH
Back Row: Dean Shaw, Liam Lomeli, Aiden Trojanowski, Allie Hernandez, Kiera Villagomez & Abigale Hulne; Front Row: Natalie Popp, Zoey Cole & Grace Schmitt
RAISERIGHT FUNDRAISER/GIFT CARDS
Due December 5th!
PARENT GROUP BUNDT CAKE FUNDRAISER
Due December 6th!
CANDY GRAMS
DUE DECEMBER 15TH!
Dummer Artwork Displayed Around Town
A huge thank you goes out to Antique Warehouse, Spotted Sparrow, Bella Tressa Hair, Dojo Dynamics, First Impressions, Meadowvale, Midland State Bank, Heartland Bank, State Farm, Leo's, Sandwich YMCA, Northwestern, Audacious Woman, and Centennial Counseling. If you get a chance, please check these amazing businesses and our student artwork out!
FRANKLIN MALL FOOD PROJECT
Sandwich Education Foundation
DECEMBER BREAKFAST MENU
DECEMBER LUNCH MENU
IMPORTANT DATES:
12/1: Bundt Cake Order Forms Due
12/1: Candy Gram Notes Go Home
12/1-12/10: Collecting for Franklin Mall
12/7: Mrs. Harmon & Mrs. Bright's Classes to Hoover
12/7: Homework Club 3 pm - 4 pm
12/12: Character Counts Club 3 pm - 4pm
12/12: School Board Meeting
12/12: Mrs. Hoag & Mrs. Bright's Classes to Haskin for Santa Letters
12/13: Bundt Cake Pick-up 3:15 pm - 5 pm
12/13: Mrs. Reuter & Mrs. Hallman's Classes to Woodbury for Santa Letters
12/14: 4th Grade Winter Craft with Parent Group
12/14: Homework Club 3 pm - 4 pm
12/14: Holiday Concert at the HS
12/15: 5th Grade Winter Craft with Parent Group
12/15: Candy Gram orders due
12/18: Mrs. Harmon & Ms. Prucha's Classes to Prairie View for Santa Letters
12/20: Dummer Holiday Sing-a-long at Haskin 9:30
12/20: Mr. Freeze Presentation - 4th Grade @ 12:15, 5th Grade @ 1:30
12/21: Candy Grams go home
12/21: 1:10 pm Dismissal -
12/22: Winter Break Begins
12/25: Merry Christmas
1/1/24: Happy New Year
1/9/: School Resumes
1/12: School Improvement - Dismissal 11:10