The Mammoth Mailing
January Issue
Important Dates
1/11- Northwest and Southwest Advisory Meeting 7pm
1/17- School Closed for Martin Luther King Day
1/18- Winfield Elementary Opens for In-person Learning pending approval from BCPS Office of Health
1/21- Second Marking Period Ends- Schools Close 3-hours Early (1pm)
Keeping Healthy in the New Year
We continue to pledge our commitment to keeping our staff and students healthy in 2022. The surge in COVID 19 cases across the state has impacted our community. In alignment with BCPS guidelines, we would like to highlight some mitigation strategies we will continue.
- Students are required to wear a (clean) mask daily. Please make sure your child's mask fits properly, covering both their mouth and nose. Adult-sized masks are often too big for our younger students, and they struggle to keep them on their faces properly.
- Meetings with families will be conducted remotely or outside, whenever possible. If an indoor visit is required, visitors will be required to wear a face-covering and practice social distancing.
- The physical distancing of students from each other and between students & adults will be provided to the greatest extent possible, considering school enrollment and facility constraints.
- All families should screen students for symptoms before sending them to school. Please keep your child home if they are sick.
- Persons with COVID-19 symptoms will be required to be tested or will be placed on quarantine, in alignment with guidance from the Maryland Department of Health.
- Students will be required to bring their device (fully charged) and charger to school daily. If we need to transition to virtual instruction, students will have their devices available.
As always, our priority is to keep students and staff safe while maintaining high-quality instruction. We thank all our families for your continued support, patience, and commitment to our school community and look forward to working with all our families during these challenging times.
Virtual Schedule
Tuesday 1/11/21 through Friday 1/14/21:
Students should log onto Google Meets at 9:00 am to engage in LIVE instruction for their classes 9 am-4 pm. Virtual classroom links may be found on each course's home page in Schoology.
Although the building is not open for students, Ms. Weston and Ms. Velasquez will continue to assist our families through both phone and email. If you need assistance, don't hesitate to contact the office between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm for the reminder of the week. If your call is not answered immediately, please leave a message, and we will return your call ASAP.
Tuesday 1/18/21:
Return to in-person learning
A Message from Kindergarten
January Newsletter
Welcome back, and Happy New Year!
During the month of January, students will continue identifying high-frequency words and letter sounds in Phonics. We will be blending letters to read words with the short /a/, /i/, and /o/ vowels.
In unit 5 of ELA, Wonders of Nature, students will identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. They will explore the relationship between illustrations and the text. Students will identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. They will also have the opportunity to identify basic similarities and differences between two texts on the same topic. Our read alouds this month will focus on the following essential questions:
- What kinds of things can you find growing in nature?
- How do living things change as they grow?
- What kinds of things grow on a farm?
In math, we are working on Unit 4.
Students begin this unit by building a number line to model the number sequence from 0 to 10. They continue to practice counting forward and backward between 0 and 50, starting with any number in the range. They also solve addition and subtraction problems, compute with pennies and nickels, and measure length using non-standard units. The number line and measurement activities provide many opportunities for students to consider the relationships between numbers and quantities, including making comparisons about which are greater and which are less.
Friendly reminders:
-Wear a clean mask to school every day.
-Bring at least two extra masks.
-Bring a water bottle to school.
-Dress for the weather and label all winter items.
-Return homework notebooks every Friday.
A Message from First Grade
Dear First Grade Families,
We are still working hard in first grade!
Phonics: Unit 5 long vowel patterns
Reading: Unit 3 Tales over Time Objective: Students will explore folktales as stories that have been passed down over time that often contain a lesson or central message.
Writing: Small Moment about a lesson learned Objective: Students will write a "small moment" narrative about a lesson learned from a personal experience.
Math: Unit 3 Adding, Subtracting, Counting, and Comparing Objective: Students will add sums to 20 by counting on or counting back to solve addition and subtraction problems.
Science: Unit 2 Creeper and creature features Objective: Students will be able to improve a design by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts so they can find a solution to a human problem.
Gentle Reminders:
-Please continue to send extra masks.
- First in Math and Raz-kids are excellent online resources for home practice.
Thank you for your support at home!
A Message from Second Grade
Welcome back! We hope you had an enjoyable holiday and winter break. With the transition back to school, we will review routines and expectations.
In math, the unit focuses on multi-digit addition and subtraction strategies within the range of 0 to 100. It explores base ten concepts and models within 1,000 to develop counting, measurement, and double-digit computation skills. Second graders have been using open number lines as a visual model to develop flexible solutions when solving addition and subtraction problems. Students will also graph and analyze data in this unit.
In the ELA unit, students will read a variety of literary and informational texts which are connected to the big idea, Unique. Through these texts, students will be introduced to unique cultures, environments, plants, and animals from around the world and focus on the qualities that make them unique. Students will have opportunities to read and compare texts on the same topics.
It is helpful for students to share their thinking and explanations orally before writing them on paper. We’ll continue to practice representing our thinking and show work when solving problems. Encourage your child to complete homework. Homework reinforces skills that are taught in class. Thank you so much for being so supportive!
The marking period ends Friday, January 21st. Information will be shared later regarding when report cards will be accessible.
Contact your child’s teacher via email if you have questions, concerns or if you’d like support.
A Message from Third Grade
A Message from Fourth Grade
As we move into the second half of the year, we will prepare students for fifth grade. This means we will be modeling those behaviors that will make them successful fifth-grade learners.
In Reading, students will be completing a persuasive writing essay about a topic of their choice. They will be focusing on the research process and how to support their opinion with facts from multiple resources. We will also be integrating Reading with our Social Studies unit on The First Americans. In this way, we will be providing supplemental material for our Social Studies unit and building their background knowledge.
In Math, students will study addition, subtraction, and measurement concepts. As part of their work, students investigate and use the standard addition and subtraction algorithms. They compare algorithms to other methods and generalize about which works best for certain problems. In Module 3, students explore length and distance, liquid volume, time, mass, and weight. They investigate the relationships between common measures and solve problems requiring them to convert measurements to smaller units within the same system of measure.
Homework is assigned Monday through Thursday and is due by Friday. Please make sure your child is completing their homework as it reinforces the skills we are learning in the classroom.
A Message from Fifth Grade
SEL Corner
Reading Corner
Comprehension Questions for Reading at Home with Your Child
Why ask questions when reading with your child? Asking questions during reading and talking about books at home helps your child develop their literacy skills as well as engages them in critical thinking- a skill that they will need throughout their lives. Use the questions on the resource attached below as you read with your child to help you start a book discussion with your child.
Math Corner
Making Math a Family Thing
BY: Margaret Caspe
Suggestions for Parents
Read books that highlight mathematical themes. Herb Ginsburg and colleagues from Teachers College, Columbia University, stress the importance of reading books with mathematical themes together. While reading, parents can ask questions that get children to count, identify shapes, and explain their thinking. Early-childhood educators and librarians are good resources to talk to about books and digital media with mathematical content, and many libraries offer story times and playful activities with math content.
Let children wrangle with math questions and derive their own solutions. Laura Overdeck, the founder of Bedtime Math, reminds families that it’s sometimes good to let children struggle with math problems. Students of all ages need time to figure out why answers are what they are. Don’t just jump right in and give them the solutions. She also reminds parents to be aware of how you talk about math. It’s important to avoid saying you hate it.
Use “math talk.” Taniesha Woods, co-editor of Mathematics Learning in Early Childhood, stresses that families are perfectly situated to talk about quantity, counting, and shapes anywhere children and families are — at home, in the park, or in the grocery store. For example, when you are eating cookies, count how many you have, talk about their shape, and ask what happens when you break them apart, eat them up, or ask for more.
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/18/01/making-math-family-thing
Check out the BCPS Virtual Calming Room!
Virtual Calming Room
If you have not checked out the BCPS Virtual Calming Room, please do! It is a great resource for students and adults alike!
Southwest Area and Northwest Area Education Advisory Council Meeting for January
About Us
Website: https://winfieldes.bcps.org/
Location: 8300 Carlson Lane, Windsor Mill, MD, USA
Phone: 410-887-0766
Twitter: @WinfieldESBCPS