Dear Families,

Welcome to the month of November and the beautiful colors of fall. November has brought us great learning opportunities for both staff and students.

Fourth grade has been studying Native American tribes that have lived in Colorado: Ute, Cheyenne and Arapaho. Kindergarten has been learning about trees, deciduous and evergreens, while second grade has been exploring Ancient Greece and the Olympics. Second grade students even had the opportunity to meet an Olympian virtually. Our curriculum, CKLA, Core Knowledge Language Arts, is filled with myriad opportunities to learn more about social studies, science, history and literature. If you want to learn more about our Language Arts curriculum, check out CKLA.

One of our goals at MSES is to increase student engagement. Our staff is exploring student engagement through a book study called, 7 Steps to a Language Rich Classroom, by Bill Perryman and John Seidlitz. This week, our Instructional Coach, Natascha Leonardo, taught our staff a new strategy from the book called QSSSA. QSSSA is an acronym for: Question, Signal, Stem, Share, Assess. Learn more here: QSSSA.

Our Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) is meeting the second Tuesday of each month at 10:00am and 5:30pm, in person. The next meeting is November 9th. PAC is planning on helping MSES fund a service dog and would like your input and suggestions. Join us to hear more!

Have a lovely weekend!

Warmly,

Maria

• Nov 9 - PAC Meeting 10:00am and 5:30pm
  
• Nov 10 - Late Start Wednesday (2 Hour Delay)
• Nov 12 - COVID Vaccine Clinic 12pm - 4pm - see flyer below
• Nov 16 -SAC meeting, 8:15am
  
• Nov 17 - Late Start Wednesday (2 Hour Delay)
• Nov 22-26 - Thanksgiving Break
• Dec 1 - Late Start Wednesday (2 Hour Delay)
• Dec 8 - Late Start Wednesday (2 Hour Delay)
• Dec 15 - Late Start Wednesday (2 Hour Delay)
• Dec 20 - Jan 5 - Winter Holiday Break
  

What is a Deciduous Tree? (A tree that loses it leaves). Why is an Evergreen Tree called an Evergreen Tree? (It never loses its leaves and it is always green). What season do Deciduous Trees get blossoms on them? (Spring) What season do Deciduous Trees have a full canopy of green leaves? (Summer) What season do Deciduous Trees lose their leaves? (Fall/Autumn). What season are Deciduous Trees bare? (Winter). What does it mean when we say Deciduous Trees are bare in the winter? (They have no leaves covering their branches). How do trees help us? (They give us oxygen and materials to make things like paper, syrup, rubber, and houses).

After finishing up our unit on Ancient Greece, we were able to talk to an Olympic silver medalist in three-meter synchronized diving, Andrew Capobianco. We learned about the ancient Olympics and how the Olympic games started as a way to honor the king of the gods, Zeus. The students were learning about the similarities and differences of the ancient and modern Olympics. The second graders did some research on Andrew, and prepared questions to ask him. They asked him about his experiences in the Olympics and what it felt like to be an Olympian! Students even saw his silver medal and Andrew told students that he aspired to be a part of 2024 Olympic team. Keep an eye out for Andrew in the future!

Fourth Grade has started our Historic Colorado Native Americans unit. We kicked this unit off with our field trip to Starsmore Discovery Center in Cheyenne Canyon to learn about the Utes. The three main tribes we focus on are the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. The kids are researching one of those tribes and creating a multimedia presentation to show their knowledge of the tribes’ food, shelter, clothing, traditions, location, and present day situation (reservations and number of active members). We will be reading many legends to show how Native Americans explained natural phenomena, great feats and deeds. Ask your student which tribe they chose and a few details about their way of life.

In P.E., we are starting our Juggling, Jump Ropes and Hula-Hoop unit! The students are learning about hand-eye coordination skills using a wide variety of equipment. You can also view this on my canvas pages. All the things we are using can be purchased in local stores and are fairly cheap to buy, plus many of these items can be made at home. We will be working on this unit until Thanksgiving break. If you have any questions feel free to email me: rniebuhr@mssd14.org

Students excitedly gobbled down their fresh pancakes (made by the hardworking Nutrition Services team AND... was that Mr. Niebuhr?!) so that they could race out to the play park for our first Fitness Friday! Students chose to jog around the track with Mr. Pletsch or play a massive soccer game with Teacher Wood, play a game of giant checkers, practice their hula hoop skills and more! Thank you to Mustang Might for pitching in to set up this event, and a special thanks to all staff who participated in Walking School Bus!

If your family could use some extra help (food, clothing, toys) during the upcoming holiday season, or you want to sponsor a family who is needing help, check out the flyers below before November 15th!

Breakfast and lunch are free for all students. We would still like all families that qualify to fill out the Free and Reduced Lunch form on our district website.

Breakfast and lunch menus are available online here.