Patriots Press
December Edition
A note from the principal...
The Holidays are now upon us and I want to wish each of you a safe and restful holiday season as you make memories with families and friends. I would also like to thank the students, staff, and families for a successful can food drive. I also want to thank our families for bringing in food for our staff lunch and the PTO and volunteers who helped serve and take pictures. A special thank you to our students and families who donated to our “Care for Custodians”. Our PTO collected the money and each custodian was given over $184 for the holidays. It is an honor to work with a community that loves to give back.
Again, I wish you a safe and wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year!
See you in 2018.
Billy Davis
Kindergarten News
In Reader’s Workshop we have joined our super powers together with our animal friends! We are excited to use all of our strategies while we are reading. Stamina reading has become an important part of our day to practice all of our reading strategies! Have your child read at least 10 minutes a day at home and talk about all of the learned reading strategies. Every minute counts!
In Writer’s Workshop we are writing a small moments story across three pages. We begin with sketching out our story across three pages on the same topic. Then we go back and write a simple sentence to match each picture. Over the break as you have adventures with your family, practice writing a small moment story. The teachers would love to see all of your hard work!
Kindergarten loved participating in the December design challenge, design a race car! Thank you so much for sending in the materials that the students used to create their 2-D or 3-D race car. We have also just finished our forces and motion unit and have been working with needs and wants in social studies. It was interesting to see the lightbulb go off when students discovered what was truly a need and what was a want!
Thank you for all your support each and every day!
First Grade News
This month in math we will continue to work on solving addition problems and will start to focus on subtraction. Students will learn how to solve both addition and subtraction equations and word problems using pictures, number lines and equations. We will also be learning about fact families. Students will complete a gingerbread house PBL where they will be buying decorations within a $20 budget to decorate their house.
Fact Family Example: 2, 4, 6
2 +4 = 6
4 + 2 = 6
6 – 2 = 4
6 – 4 = 6
Reading:
This month in reading we will continue to dig deep into Informational Texts. We are now focusing on how to find the main idea in a text and identifying supporting details for the main idea within the text. We will start by finding one supporting detail and then will move up to three. We will be working a lot on our written comprehension skills as well!
Writing:
This month in writing we will be working on writing informational pieces based on topics that we are experts on. We will work on adding informational text features to our writing as well.
STEM & Social Studies:
This month in social studies we will be learning about the holidays and traditions from around the world and how they are celebrated. Students will participate in a Polar Express PBL where they have to map out a path for Santa to travel during a certain amount of hours so that he visits all the continents.
Second Grade News
Science and Social Studies classes will delve into traditions, foods, decorations, customs, and the climate of many countries to learn more about holidays around the world. As a culminating project, the children will become Travel Agents and try to persuade customers to book a vacation. To do this, they must create a brochure for a specific continent telling about its history, culture, etc. The children will also be learning about the wonders of world. With each continent, they will have a design challenge. Our designs will vary from the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing to a zip line of Victoria Falls. Our vocabulary words the unit are culture, language, roles, religion, ancestors, traditions, fold tales, customs, holidays, immigrants, and diversity.
In Reading and Writing lessons the focus is on non-fiction, which fits perfectly! The children will learn to read non-fiction texts on various countries utilizing text features. They will also be involved in writing non-fiction to demonstrate their understanding of what they’ve learned about these holidays. Additionally, they will be researching, planning, and writing their own non-fiction book!
In Math, students will develop their foundation for fractions and will use 2D shape attributes to name, draw, compose, and decompose 3D shapes. They will partition rectangles into rows and columns using square tiles and also using graphing paper. They’ll also partition a whole shape in different ways to see that they share the same total value (halves, thirds, fourths)
We wish all of you a relaxing, fun-filled break at the end of the month. Thank you so much for all you are doing to support our classrooms! ~ We really appreciate it!
Third Grade News
Reason with shapes and their attributes.
3.G.1
Understand that shapes in different categories (e.g., rhombuses, rectangles, and others) may share attributes (e.g., having four sides), and that the shared attributes can define a larger category (e.g., quadrilaterals). Recognize rhombuses, rectangles, and squares as examples of quadrilaterals, and draw examples of quadrilaterals that do not belong to any of these subcategories.
3.G.2
Partition shapes into parts with equal areas. Express the area of each part as a unit fraction of the whole. For example, partition a shape into 4 parts with equal area, and describe the area of each part as 1/4 of the area of the shape.
In Science: Students are continuing to grow their understanding about Force and Motion. Students are in the process or beginning to complete a NASCAR PBL when we return from break.
In ELA: Students are wrapping up book clubs and their character study unit. Upon returning after break, mClass assessments will begin.
In Social Studies: Students are working on learning and understanding current events and the impact they have on our world around us.
Fourth Grade News
Fourth grade math teams will be wrapping up 2017with a Panther's Payzone Penaly PBL where students use their math skills to sort out mixed up salaries of the Carolina Panthers football team. We hope they enjoy the winter break and are ready to enter into the world of fractions at the beginning of the New Year! They will start their fractions unit with first reviewing what fractions are, using key vocabulary: numerator, denominator, equivalent, and comparisons, and that a fraction can be a part of a whole or a part of a set. From there they will learn what equivalent fractions are, and how to order and compare fractions with like and unlike denominators by using graphs and number lines. They will also learn how we use fractions in our everyday lives. In addition to fractions, 4th graders will stay sharp on skills previously learned by completing a Weekly Skills Review. These skills are still being assessed as our goal is to get all students to mastery or as close to mastery as they can. Fourth graders are still expected to complete all homework and Weekly Reviews and will receive participation points for completing their work on time each day.
In Science, 4th graders are closing out their unit of Fossils, Rocks, and Minerals. Fossils help us learn about the past Geologic Eras and plants and animals that have long since gone extinct. Students have learned about the three types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic) and how they are formed through the processes on Earth. They have also learned that minerals are the building blocks of rocks.
Lessons in the history of North Carolina have brought us into the settling of our state. We are learning why the colonists came to America and how they began their lives here. We are following the settlers as they move farther across North Carolina and begin settling the Piedmont region and the Mountain region. We will learn much about the celebrations, and also the low-times, of being a settler in a new place 300 years ago. We are also investigating the points of view of the major issues they had to contend with as they settled in America.
Fifth Grade News
Reading- we continue our non-fiction unit with a focus on biographies and autobiographies which will continue into January. New vocabulary words will start again in January.
Science- Students have finished a unit on Chemical and Physical Changes. Students completed a lab in which they had to examine the properties of several white powders and based on texture, wafting, reaction to vinegar, water, etc.
they had to identify each.
In the December Design Squad Challenge students were asked to collaborate and design and build a race car. 18 teams built cars to be entered into the grade level competition. Three of these awesome looking cars will move on to the school competition.
Congratulations to the two grade level Science Fair Competition Winners!
Kelly E from Jones/Syracuse/Phillips team and Ava M from the Autry/Walker/Eason team. The winners will now move onto the Regional Competition. Go Science Redhawks, Kelly and Ava! The 5th graders produced some very imaginative and innovative projects! After the holiday break students will begin the unit on weather ( including the water cycle).
Information about the Night at the Museum at NASCAR will be coming home shortly. Please look for details in upcoming newsletters.
If you were making the three payments for Camp Thunderbird, then you should be finished with your payments. Celebrate!! If you are behind, please contact your child's homeroom teacher to let her know your plan to get caught up. We are so excited about this trip and hope your child is as well!
AIG News
Math Olympiad Teams finished their first competition and the 8:30 and 10:30 blocks tied for first place! Caileb K, Abby C and Jonny B tied for high scorers!!
Media/STEM News
Mark these dates on your calendar for some family fun! --
Night at the Museum - Saturday, February 24th at the NASCAR Hall of Fame museum in Charlotte. Come see student exhibits from our NASCAR and racing themed PBL's that students have been working on this year. More information to come.
STEM Night (formerly Math and Science Night) on Thursday, March 1, 2018 from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. This is a night of free family hands-on fun where you and your children can have fun creating and learning together!
Family Fuel Up - Come out to the field behind Legends (Hwy 49 Harrisburg) for some racing themed fun and food trucks. Wednesday, March 28th from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
December Design Squad Challenge Winners - Congratulations to Angela S who was the Individual Winner of the Gingerbread Racer challenge. Congratulations to Mrs. Eason's class for being the Class Winner and to Mrs. Wallace's class for 2nd place. Thank you to Eliza Russell, from NASCAR Hall of Fame, and Michelle Staadt and the rest of the Cafeteria Staff for judging this event.
Thanks to everyone who sent in canned foods for the food drive. Cooperative Christian Ministry appreciates your donations!!
Cold Weather Information
Winter Break
Thursday, Dec 21, 2017, 08:00 AM
Patriots Elementary School, Holden Avenue, Concord, NC, United States
Tasty Tuesday-Dominos
Tuesday, Jan 9, 2018, 05:00 PM
Harrisburg Domino's Pizza, School House Commons, Harrisburg, NC, United States
Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
Monday, Jan 15, 2018, 08:00 AM
Patriots Elementary School, Holden Avenue, Concord, NC, United States
Tasty Tuesday-Chick-Fil-A
Tuesday, Jan 16, 2018, 05:00 PM
Chick-fil-A, Concord Parkway South, Concord, NC, United States
Patriots STEM Elementary School
Email: william.davis@cabarrus.k12.nc.us
Website: www.cabarrus.k12.nc.us/Domain/17
Location: 1510 Holden Avenue, Concord, NC, United States
Phone: 704-455-1882
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatriotsElementary/
Twitter: @Patriots_Elem