Cardinal Connection
December 2018
As our winter break quickly approaches, we thought it may be helpful to provide tips and resources for you to continue learning. Here are some Mallinson teacher-approved ideas:
READ, READ, READ!
http://www.gregtangmath.com/games
http://www.mathplayground.com/
I hope you have a wonderful December!
Sarah Brown
Principal
Important Dates
Mark your calendars for upcoming dates at Mallinson Elementary! You can also view our Mallinson Google Calendar here.
December 1: Optimist Club's Breakfast with Santa at Mallinson, 8:00-11:00
December 2: Mayor's Christmas Concert with 4th Grade performing, 2:30
December 3: PTA Meeting, 4:45
December 12: Breakfast and a Book, 8:35
December 18: 2nd Grade Concert, 6:30
December 21: Winter Parties, 2:30
December 23: Facebook Live Bedtime Story with Miss Wiese, 7:30
December 22-January 2: Winter Break
January 3: Classes resume
December Specials
From Art- Mrs. Vance
The year is really flying by and the kids have been doing a great job in the art room! The holiday season is upon us already, and we have many projects to create during the month of December.
5th Grade has been working on their simulated texture castles. They are very realistic looking and the students are really taking their time adding extra details.
4th Grade has been working on abstract portraits in the style of Pablo Picasso. These are stunningly beautiful and very colorful!
3rd Grade has been working on drawing realistic pumpkins during the Thanksgiving season, and they also have been working on pop-up Christmas cards this last week.
2nd Grade has been working on torn paper texture owls and will begin studying patterns during the upcoming month.
From Music- Ms. Clark
What a wonderful time of year! November has felt like it has just flown by and we’re already strolling into December! This time of year is so busy for music class and I love hearing all the singing we get to do. On Sunday, December 2nd we have the 4th graders performing at the annual Mayor’s Christmas Concert at the Community of Christ Auditorium. This is a district-wide event for 4th graders, high school choir members, and community band members. It’s an awesome day of celebrating the holidays with music and the whole community! We’ll be learning all about the Nutcracker in 3rd and 5th grades while the 2nd graders are eagerly rehearsing for their program on Tuesday, December 18th at 6:30pm. Their program is entitled “The Incredible Reindeer” and it’s one of my favorites to teach and perform. We love this season and everything it brings musically! Happy Holidays!
Emily Clark, music teacher
From PE- Coach Ross
Hello again Mallinson Parents:
Well, we are almost completely finished with the Fitness Gram physical fitness testing. We still have a few students who have been sick or unable to finish the test with their peers.
There is not much to report other than your students have done a very good job with their testing. We had one third grade girl do 76 curl ups which happens to be the most in all four grade levels! Wow!
In Addition to finishing our testing, we have started our volleyball/basketball unit. Your students are starting to learn specific skills in each of the two sports. This will help them to have a better understanding of what coaches, at the next levels, are looking for in a player for their teams.
I will soon start having volleyball and basketball clinics for those students who want to learn specific sport skills during the 1st period of the day and will also announce after school clinics when available!
If you have questions, you may call me at the school! Again, thank you in advance for your support!
Respectfully,
Coach Ross
From the Counselor- Ms. Wiese
Holiday Helpers Change Challenge: We had a spirit week November 27-30th and during the week of December 3rd-7th, students are able to send Candy Cane grams with sweet messages to their friends, teachers and siblings. All of this benefit the Holiday Helpers, a program that helps ISD families afford holiday gifts and meals. We are so impressed by the generosity of our Cardinals! You can view the video here: https://youtu.be/P0yoco6BayA
Fifth graders learned about coping skills and how they are ways to help everyone manage with the stress that may occur in our their lives. After a discussion about what coping skills they already use, students made a coping skills tools box with tools that can help them when they are mad. sad. scared, stressed and bored.
At Home: Ask your fifth grader what coping skills they can use and share which ones you use.
Fourth graders learned about empathy. They discussed how empathy means thinking about how other people are feeling. The students practiced "standing in another's shoes" and thinking about how students in sample scenarios might feel. Students then through about what they could do to help someone out, based on how that person was feeling.
At Home: While reading a book or watching a movie with your student, ask them how they think the characters are feeling. If they were in the story, what could they do to help?
Third graders reviewed STAR problem solving and used the strategy to find compromises or win/win solutions. The steps to STAR problem solving are:
Stop: What is the problem?
Think: What are my choices?
Act: Pick the choice you think is best.
Review: Did the choice work or do I need to try again?
At Home: You can ask your 3rd grader to use STAR problem solving to solve a problem. You can watch an example of STAR problem solving here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHnHAIVqE4w
Second graders learned about the four basic feelings during guidance lessons. The discussed how faces look for each feeling and appropriate ways to express each feeling. The four basic feelings are: happy, sad, mad and scared. They also continued to learn more about their classmates and practice good manners by meeting and greeting each other using smiles, eye contact, a just-right hand shake and polite words.
At Home: Ask your student what the four basic feelings are. Can they recall a time they have felt each of these feelings? Share about a time you have felt these feelings.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at hannah_wiese@isdschools.org or 816-521-5530.
IMPACT- Screening vs. Testing
When IMPACT begins looking for students that will qualify for our gifted program, we start with referrals. A referral can come from a teacher, parent, principal, or counselor. The deadline for first through fifth grade student names from each elementary school counselor to be turned in to the IMPACT teachers will be January 25. After a child is referred the next step is screening. The screening process helps us determine who is likely to qualify during summer testing. Screening is different than testing, but some parents confuse it with testing. If your child does not pass the screening process, you will receive a letter thanking you for allowing us to screen your child and your child will not move forward in the process. If your child passes the screening stage, you will receive a letter explaining that your child will go on to summer testing. This does not mean your child has qualified for IMPACT. Students must meet the state guidelines; they will be required to qualify on an IQ test as well as an achievement test or a creativity test. After all testing is completed, a letter will be sent home during the summer listing test scores and informing parents if their child has qualified for IMPACT.
Many times the classroom teacher’s input is requested during the referral process, so parents should talk with their classroom teacher to determine if they believe the student could be gifted.
School Hours
School starts at 9:00 AM.
School is dismissed at 4:03 PM.
Being here on time and being here every day is critical to your child's success. Please help your child do the very best they can each and every day!
About Us
Counselor- Hannah Wiese
Family School Liaison- Nikki Merritt
Secretary- Tina Giammalva
Building Clerk- Kim Eib
School Nurse- Terry Sexton
Website: http://sites.isdschools.org/abrahammallinson
Location: 709 North Forest Street, Sugar Creek, MO, United States
Phone: 816-521-5330
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MallinsonISD/
Twitter: @MallinsonISD