Upper El Weekly Newsletter
Friday, October 20, 2023
Students calculating the "unit rates" of products we can buy at local grocery stores
Dear Upper El Parents,
Dear Upper El. families,
We were excited to welcome our students back to school from the October break. It is always fun to hear what students focus on when they're not at school. Many relaxed (and slept in) while others were able to enjoy the annular solar eclipse and do other fun activities. Students are always excited to see their friends back at school again after a break.
Highlights from the week:
6th graders took the Cogat test this week. Thanks to Jennie Chavez for organizing it for them and providing snacks!
Students worked very hard on their research paragraphs this week and on a poem related to their Universe project. Next week they will finalize their paragraphs, finish visuals, and put everything on a trifold for presentations on Thursday, the 26th. See information below if you are interested in attending these “fair-style” presentations.
Other academics included: grammar and reading for RWC; factors and multiples for 6th grade, metric conversions and decimal multiplication for 5th grade, and equivalent fractions and adding and subtracting mixed numbers for 4th grade in math. In science, 4th graders are studying energy (thermodynamics) and 5th graders did a fun experiment involving shadows. 6th graders took a break from science this week because of the Cogat test.
Congratulations to our 6th grade Spelling Bee participants: Mia, Ruben, and Colin.
Upcoming events and important notices:
Universe Research Presentations: Thursday, October 26, 10:45 - 11:45am in our school gym. Please join us if you are interested in seeing your child’s presentation trifold. Presentations will be “fair-style” where students will take turns standing in front of their own trifolds and presenting to others while other students are milling around, listening to presentations.
IMPORTANT NOTE: your child needs a trifold for this research presentation by Tuesday, October 24. These can generally be purchased at stores that sell school / office supplies (Walmart, Office Depot, Target, Family Dollar, etc.) but may be available more locally (please let us know if you find some). Your child will need one at school by Tuesday of next week (the 24th). We also welcome donations if you are able to purchase more than one (thank you!!!!).
CMAS celebration at school will take place on Thursday, October 26 at 2:30pm. Our students (once again) did really well on the state standardized tests, and we want to celebrate them! Students are welcome to dress up and will walk the “red carpet.” Our school superintendent will be coming to celebrate with us, to recognize our students who “exceeded expectations” on the tests, and to congratulate our school and Esther Alsum for winning best of Delta County school and teacher, respectively.
Big B’s / Delicious Orchards Cider Fest booth: another opportunity to volunteer to help fundraise for our school (especially for raising money to pay for scholarships for our field trips). Saturday, October 28, 12 - 4pm. We will have a kids’ games booth at ciderfest. Please come help if you can. We are asking for people to come volunteer in 2 hour shifts: 11am - 1pm, 1pm - 3pm, 3pm - 5pm. Email Esther if you can volunteer esther.alsum@deltaschools.com
5th grade parents: a puberty class opt out letter for 5th grade is in your child’s Friday folder. The class is being offered at our school on November 8. See the letter for more details.
We really would love some regular volunteers in our classrooms. Two needs we see are:
Spelling helpers on Thursday mornings, 8:30 - 9 or 9:30. Volunteer(s) would help give, grade, and record spelling tests as well as pulling new lists for children for the next week.
Photocopy master: would be most helpful later in the week (Wednesday afternoon, Thursday, or Friday morning) to help make photocopies for the following week. We can train you how to use our photocopier.
Please let us know if you are available and interested in helping!
Other events:
November 3: no school. Teacher professional development in-service day.
November 9: 6th grade Knowledge Bowl competition at HK8.
November 16: Thanksgiving potluck.
November 20 - 24: Thanksgiving break. No school.
Recurring Notices / Information:
Please send a snack with your child to school. We also appreciate the donations from parents/grandparents of snacks to share with hungry children. Thank you!!!
Volunteers are welcome in our classrooms, at home, on committees, and on field trips. We couldn’t do all that we do without your help, so let us know if you have some extra time, talent, or treasure you are willing to donate or volunteer.
We are not asking our students to do formal homework over the weekend this year. In Upper Elementary, they work really hard during the week, and we feel it is very important for them to be able to play, relax, and spend time with their families on the weekend. If they need (or want) something to do, you can always have them read a book, work on Moby Max (math) on the computer, practice math facts, practice spelling, or help you with cooking or a chore. We try to work with each child to complete all works each day/week in school, but please keep in mind that your child will bring homework home over the weekend when he/she hasn’t finished his/her work during the week. We will try to let you know when work is coming home that needs to be completed.
Have a great weekend! Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Email is the easiest way to communicate with us, and be sure to check out our school website for important information, dates, and our staff bios.
Spectacled Bears Homeroom:
Esther Alsum esther.alsum@deltaschools.com
Shannon Castle shannon.castle@deltaschools.com
Black Bears Homeroom
Carrie Lerner carrie.lerner@deltaschools.com
Jack Bair jack.bair@deltaschools.com
Shadows experiment
Math facts practice
Equivalent fractions work using fraction pieces
5th graders experiment with shadows
Playing grounders at recess
partner math facts practice
Puzzles
6th grade pelling bee participants
Animal prints day--we LOVE our teachers!!!
Upper El Contacts:
Ms. Esther - esther.alsum@deltaschools.com
Ms. Shannon - shannon.castle@deltaschools.com
Mr. Jack - jack.bair@deltaschools.com
Website: https://nfmc.deltaschools.com/
Location: 51 Fir Avenue, Crawford, CO, USA
Phone: 970-921-4935