Gravely Connection
December 2018
Seadog Families,
We are extremely proud to congratulate the entire Gravely family on earning the status of a "School of Excellence." This is a result of the dedication and perseverance of our amazing students, staff, and community.
At Gravely, the month of November was highlighted by celebrating Veterans Day with a performance from the Navy Sea Chanters, a school wide Stand Up and Step In Bully Free Assembly, Parent Teacher conferences, the end of the first quarter, and our school Superintendent Dr. Walts visiting and reading to the entire first grade.
This month we look forward to Mrs. Gravely's Birthday, the Groovers/Percussion Winter Concert, 2nd grade Market Day, classroom holiday parties, Holiday Sing Along, numerous PTO events which can be seen below, and Winter Break.
We hope you have a wonderful Holiday season with friends and family.
Michael Kelchlin - Principal
Kisha Trammell - Assistant Principal
USS Gravely
Dates
December 6 PTO Art Night
December 8 PTO Holiday Bazaar 10:00am-2:00pm
December 13 Groovers/Percussion Winter Concert 7:00
December 14 PTO Parents Night Out 6:30pm - 9:00pm
December 19 Interims
December 22 MRS. GRAVELY'S BIRTHDAY
Grade Level Holiday Parties Throughout the month
December 21 -January 1 Winter Break
January 2 - School Resumes
PTO November Newsletter
Kindergarten
1st Grade
First grade has had a busy month! We have been working on patterns and geometry in math, and have been discussing what makes people in Virginia the same and different. We have also been studying water and talking about different properties. In writing, we wrote about things that we are thankful for, while also exploring the differences and similarities of the first Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving now.
The day before break, we gathered as a grade level in the story room to sing some Thanksgiving songs and learned some dance moves to go with them. We look forward to December!
2nd Grade
Second Grade is so excited to begin their new writing unit on Author Studies! The classes have been studying the techniques of Mo Willems, Robert Munsch and Chris Van Allsburg. The Second Grade authors are now incorporating the methods used by famous authors in their own stories. Mo Willems sure would be proud of the students' stories!
Economics is what we are all looking forward to in Second Grade. Each student is writing a business plan and making their own company. As producers, students will each make 20 items to sell at our Second Grade Market Day on December 18th. Students will also be making advertisements for their companies and deciding on the price of their products. All month the students have been earning Seadog Dollars to use as consumers on Market Day. It is one of the BEST days of the year in Second Grade. We can't wait for Market Day!
3rd Grade
This month in 3rd grade, the students began a Project Based Learning (PBL) unit on Economics. The students are producers who are working in small groups to design bracelets to sell to consumers. They are creating and planning the method in which they choose to present their bracelet ranging from a PowerPoint and poster, to a commercial. They will be completing the PBL in the beginning of December.
In math, we are wrapping up our unit on Place Value to the hundred thousands. The students are able to round and comparing to 9,999, identify the place and value in a six digit number, and count money and give change to $5.00. Our next unit will be Multiplication and Division. For the fall season, the students made place value pumpkins.
In reading, the students have been learning about nonfiction text. The students are able to identify text features, ask and answer questions, and use reference materials to better understand text. Some of the students made Thesaurus Turkey where they used a thesaurus to find synonyms for a given word.4th Grade
5th Grade
Art
Art News: Students have been working hard to create a variety of art pieces using printmaking, wax resist, and drawing techniques. A reminder that 3rd-5th grade students will only bring home art at the end of each grading period. They should have just brought home a few art pieces. K-2nd grade students will bring home art as they complete it. I do borrow art to hang in the hallway but all art will be returned before the end of the school year.
First graders have been working standing up as this gets them moving at the end of the day and it is working out so well. They really love it. All students are welcome to grab a chair if they would like but most choose to create standing up.
I would like to encourage you to check the Gravely art website weekly to see what each grade level is working on and to find any art announcements. I have also created an Instagram page where I will also post pictures of the art we are creating. Here is the link to the Instagram page. https://www.instagram.com/missbonner_art/
There will be a county art show on April 27th. All information on that show will be available on the Gravely art website closer to the date of the event. There will be a PWC summer art enrichment program and applications will be available for the in the spring.
There will be an art club for 4th and 5th grade students. 15 members will be chosen via a blind lottery. Applications will be available from December 3rd- December 14th in the art room, the office, the Gravely Art website, or email me for the application. They are DUE by DECEMBER 14th. I will hold the drawing that day and send acceptance letters home the following Tuesday. The dates of the meetings will be available on the website on December 3rd. Please contact me with any questions about the club.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at bonnersl@pwcs.edu
Miss Bonner (Art Teacher)
SIGNET
Literacy on FIre - KINDLE Project
Dear Second Grade Parents and Guardians,
We are excited to announce that our school is fortunate to be a part of a new Prince William County Schools (PWCS) initiative called The Second-Grade Literacy Project. This project is focused on helping our second grade students build strong literacy (reading and writing) skills. Through the Second Grade Literacy Project students will concentrate on learning the sounds of letters, letter groups, and how sounds in words work – also known as phonics and phonemic awareness. As part of this work our teachers will use tablet computers that have been provided at no cost to the school division. These devices will be used to help create engaging lessons and spark student interest. We believe our students will emerge from second grade with a strong foundation to thrive.
If you have questions about this program we encourage you to speak with your child’s teacher.
Thank you –
Library
Our fall book fair was very successful! It would not have been possible without the help of our wonderful parent volunteers! Thank you so much for helping us promote literacy and supporting our library program. We would also like to thank Girl Scout Troop #90063 for donating the book, Dear Girl to our library.
Makerspace is up and running and is being utilized daily. Legos, drawing, codable mice, Ozobots, origami, board games, puzzles, a marble run, Geomags and a Rainbow Loom are available in our Makerspace.
The week before Thanksgiving the students were busy completing STEM challenges. The older Seadogs created a table out of paper and tape that was sturdy enough to hold at least one can of food. One group was able to build a table sturdy enough to hold eight cans of food. Kindergarten and Second grade-built traps to capture a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner as a follow up to Thanksgiving books we read. First Grade had a great time using the App Chatterbox to create talking turkeys.
In the upcoming weeks our lessons will be based on the different literary genres and comparing different versions of books.
Reading Room
November has been a fun month of reading as the bookcart has been visiting cassrooms again and we celebrated National Young Reader’s Day with the help of volunteers from Northern Virginia Community College.
With the help of our wonderful PTO, our school is starting to read The World According to Humphrey. We will enjoy a fun-filled evening of activities related to the book at the PTO scheduled family game night in January.
COUNSELORS’ CONNECTION
THIS MONTH IN CLASSROOM GUIDANCE – December
Kindergarten: Students will be able to name a variety of feelings and will identify appropriate feelings displayed in response to scenarios.
Grade 1: Students will demonstrate strategies for handling mistakes in the learning process.
Grade 2: Students will be able to name a variety of feelings, and will be able to distinguish between comfortable and uncomfortable feelings. Students will be able to determine the feelings of others using physical, verbal, and situational clues.
Grade 3: Students will be able to name a variety of feelings, and will be able to determine the feelings of others using physical, verbal, and situational clues. Students will label their own feelings as the same or different from others’ feelings.
Grade 4: Students will define empathy and respect; Students will identify different perspectives in given scenarios.
Grade 5: Students will define empathy, respect, and prejudice; Students will identify similarities and differences between two people.
WHAT DO SCHOOL COUNSELORS DO? – Individual Counseling
The school counselors at Gravely Elementary strive to meet the needs of each child at our school so they may develop and succeed in academic, social/emotional, and career goals. All students at Gravely have the opportunity to meet with the school counselors individually to explore issues in these areas that may impact learning and school performance. In individual counseling, a counselor works with a student to set realistic goals and discuss healthy choices for resolving or coping with social/emotional, academic, career, and developmental concerns. Long-term intensive counseling needs will be referred to an appropriate community agency or private mental health care provider. Students may refer themselves to the counselor by filling out a “Notes to the Counselor” form located in the hallway outside of the counseling offices. Besides self-referral, students can be referred to the counselor by teachers, parents, administrators, or the Intervention Team.
Un-Trim-A-Tree
Volunteer Prince William’s Un-Trim-A-Tree program needs our help! Thousands of children in our community live under the poverty level. Each year, Volunteer Prince William works to provide those children with Christmas gifts. Some of these children ask for very practical things like clothing or shoes. Some ask for that special gift that they’ve dreamed about all year. You can help us to grant these wishes by signing up at the link below. Gravely has been kind enough to allow us to drop gifts at the school. All gifts should be dropped off no later than December 7th and should NOT be wrapped. Please direct any questions to Lisa Young aandgmom@msn.com or 703-627-8742. Thank you all in advance for your generosity!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d4dafad2da31-untrimatree31
Advisory Council
What is the Advisory Council? The advisory council is a group parents that represent the different areas within Gravely boundaries, along with staff members, and the schools administration. The Advisory Council holds monthly meetings to provide input on matters relating to the school: from finance to instruction, to school improvement. Throughout the year they work collaboratively to highlight our programs, monitor the implementation of our School Plan, and ensure a high quality education for all of our stakeholders.
How does the council affect me? If you have a concern, see a need, have a suggestion, or are pleased about something going on at Gravely, then let us know. Please contact a member of the council or come to a council meeting and share your thoughts. Also, 15 minutes of the advisory council meeting will be designated citizens’ time and any staff member, parent, or member of the council may address the advisory council. Each person will have 3 minutes.
Below is a list of the advisory council members for 2018-2019. If you would like to recognize something great that is occurring at Gravely, or have our committee discuss a concern you may have, feel free to stop by for our monthly meeting, or email your feedback to any of the members listed below.
Mrs. Tulip Saad bibaanddida@gmail.com (Chairperson)
Mrs. Mae Earman dmearman@comcast.net
Mr. Marvin Harley mharley1991@gmail.com
Mrs. Caroline Dickens crdickens@verizon.net (Secretary)
Mrs. Lauren Laviolette Lauren.laviolete@gmail.com (Vice Chairperson)
Mrs. Erin Tracey ErinMTracy2@gmail.com
Mrs. Ashley Cavossa abasquin@gmail.com
Advisory Council Meeting 5:30 pm / PTO 6:30 pm
January 14, 2019
February 1, 2019
March 1, 2019
April 8, 2019
May 13, 2019
Samuel L. Gravely Jr. Elementary
Website: https://gravelyes.pwcs.edu/
Location: 4670 Waverly Farm Drive, Haymarket, VA, United States
Phone: 571-248-4930
Facebook: facebook.com/SamuelLGravelyJr