Elm Road Express January 2020
"Putting Dreams into Flight"
Welcome 2020
From the Desk of Dr. Soto Kile
Happy New Year! I hope you and your family enjoyed the two-week break and relaxed with family and friends. We have many exciting events taking place in the next few months, and I hope you are able to join in the fun. The Young Author’s Conference information will be going home soon! This opportunity allows all students a chance to listen to a featured author and share their writing with other students in the district.
This is a busy time of year during the school day as well. All of our students will be taking either the Dibels and Airways benchmark assessments. The next few months we will be progress monitoring and conducting further enrichment in the classroom and computer lab to enhance student learning. Our intermediate classrooms are gearing up for iLearn and iRead as well. Student writing prompts are being written and Focus Instruction scores monitored for grade level standards development. Please ask your child how he/she is performing in these areas.
Lost anything? I would like to ask that you take a moment to see if your child is missing any clothing items. Our lost and found is overflowing! Please pick up any items that belong to you by January 10. Anything left will be donated after this date to a community organization.
We are Elm Road Eagles
Website: elmroad.phmschools.org
Location: 59400 Elm Road, Mishawaka, IN, USA
Phone: (574)259-3743
Twitter: @ElmroadES
Important Dates
Jan 13th - PTO Meeting 6 pm
Jan 13th - Jumping Eagles at Penn BB Game
Jan 13th - Feb 28th WIDA testing
Jan 14th - 4th Grade to Planetarium 10:40 am-12:15 pm
Jan 15th - End of the Grading Period
Jan 20th - Recess Day Martin Luther King Day
Jan 21-24 - Kindergarten Registration Week
Holiday Card Winner
I am proud to announce that our very own Peyton from third grade is this year's winner! Peyton's design was chosen out of hundreds of submissions from our 10 Kids Club sites.
The cards should be in sometime next week.
We are so proud and congratulations again to Peyton!
Notes from the Office
Office Notes
Kindergarten registration week for next year is January 22 - 24 between 7:30 am-3 pm. If you missed this week, you can still register in the office. Please bring your child's birth certificate, immunization records and two identifications of proof of residency. Proof of residency can be a lease/rental agreement or a utility bill and must have a current date on it. During registration, you will sign up for a time to bring your child back in May for the Kindergarten screening assessment.
Car Riders
- Student safety is important to us!
- If you drop off or pick up your child, ONLY enter our lot from the south. Do not go around the buses that are waiting to enter our lot or around the cones.
- All children are reminded to exit and enter their cars on the curbside ONLY.
- Please pull up as far as safely possible to the next car before having students exit your vehicle. Please follow the direction of the safety patrol assistants.
- Please refrain from using your cell phones when you are not idling. Use this time to talk with your child or enjoy a read along chapter book. They are young, but for such a little time.
Mrs. Freeman’s T.E. Group STEM Project Written by Ella N., Aiden K. and Ben D.
During Mrs. Freeman ́s 5th grade T.E. group, we used paper and duct tape to make paper roller coasters. We used marbles to race them. First, we had to plan with our group and design our roller coasters on paper and what they would look like. We had to make support beams and tape them to the track while the others worked on the track. When we finished, we all gathered around and watched other roller coasters at different tables while they explained what was happening.
Snow Days and 2 hr. Delays
Health Room
Youth Service Bureau
Happy New Year! This month the Great Kindness Challenge is January 27th – 31st. This event empowers our students to create a culture of kindness within our school, families, and community. I challenge you to come up with a Random Act of Kindness to practice this month. There are several ways to show kindness towards others, such as saying hello and thank you, holding the door for someone, writing a kind note to a friend, and many more.
During SEL this month we will be discussing how to resolve conflicts, stress management, resiliency and optimism. Check in with your child(ren) to see what they are learning when they are with Mrs. Shell for the SEL lesson.
If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Shell at 259-3743 or email me at ashell@phm.k12.in.us.
Mrs. Zache's Literacy Corner
Winter break is here! We all know how important reading is to the overall success of a child. It is important to maintain good reading habits over break. To encourage these habits I have listed some ideas of how you and your family can incorporate reading daily over break!
Build a fort and read inside it!
Read winter themed books.
Read with your scarf and gloves on.
Read the instructions to game a game and then play it!
Read to a friend or family member over the phone.
Read to a pet or stuffed animal.
Read with a flashlight!
Read a recipe and then make it!
Read to someone younger or older than you.
Head to your local library, find a good book and read!
Congratulations to Mrs.Tornquist’s Class. They were Elm’s November Reading Calendar stand outs with a perfect 100%! Every student completed their reading and turned in their calendar!!
Make sure your child is reading nightly and documenting their reading! At the end of each month, have your child turn in their reading calendar to their teacher! I would love to visit your child’s classroom next!
Due to winter break, our next “Spotlight Readers” will be announced at the end of January.
Any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at azache@phm.k12.in.us
Wishing all of you a wonderful and safe winter break!
Happy Reading!
Mrs. Zache
Library Lines
Happy New Year! Let’s start the year off right with new reading goals such as scheduling family reading time, trips to the public library or bookstores. Challenge every family member to read a certain number of books.
Please encourage your student to keep their books in a safe place, away from pets, younger siblings and water. Books are checked out for two weeks, but most students return them sooner.
We have plans for an Aviation/STEM presentation, fun library activities and we will be using chrome books, reading aloud and checking out new books. Please mark your calendars for your student to attend the Young Author's Conference on March 7, 2020. Lola Schaeffer will be the guest author.
Thank you to the many volunteers who work with the students and books in our library.
Have fun reading during these cold indoor days!
Girls on the Run Contact Jackie Anderson
Greetings from Elm Road's Music Room
We will be kicking the new year off with composers Amy Beach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. First grade will be practicing the steady beat, reading quarter and eighth note rhythms, and singing songs with So, Mi, and La. Second grade will be continuing a unit in 6/8 time and beginning to focus on Do, Re, Mi songs. Third grade will continue to build on their sight-singing skills and singing in rounds.
The 4th and 5th graders will be hard at work preparing music for their spring program! Both programs are on March 31st (4th at 6pm, 5th at 7pm). The concert is part of their music grade, so please let me know in advance if you anticipate any conflicts. Practice recordings will be posted on my website in preparation for the concert.
Mrs. Nakayama
Snow and Sledding
What's Happening in PE
We have concluded our bowling unit with glow bowling the gym! The second graders had a blast on the field trip with CAMPE teachers. A huge “thank you” to all the 2nd grade parents that accompanied us on the trip to Chippewa Bowl! The last week of December we also played some holiday games (“Santa’s Sleigh”, “Tree Relays”, and “Grinch Tag”) in gym before our winter break.
First through fifth grade competed in “The Fastest Class Challenge” during physical education this month. Congratulations to Mrs.Freeman’s/Mellor’s class for earning the title of “Fastest Class” at Elm. They ran 434 laps in 5 minutes which averaged 14.47 laps per student! Mrs. Taylor’s class won for first grade (12.3 per student), Mrs. Tornquist’s won second grade (12 per student), Mrs. Pillow’s/Anderson’s class won for 3rd grade (12.56 per student) and Mrs. Cook’s class won 4th grade (13.21 per student). We will complete the challenge again in February and May!
Every grade will begin a floor hockey unit upon returning from winter break. Then, throughout the months of Jan. and Feb. during gym class, we will be busy discussing cardiovascular health and the circulatory system. Each class will have the opportunity to journey through the heart obstacle course. The students will pretend they are a blood cell following a path through the heart. Each grade level will also be jumping rope and raising funds for the American Heart Association through Jump Rope for Heart.
Our jump rope team has performed at half time of Penn High School girls and boys basketball games in December as well as Bethel University boys game. They will be performing at Penn on January 14 at 7:30 and Bethel January 21 at 7:00!
Please remind your child to bring tennis shoes in his/her backpack when coming to school in boots. Tennis shoes are the best choice for a day in the gym or classroom!
Enjoy the holidays with your family!
Sincerely,
Debbie Parisi and Sarah Sime