DERBY RIDGE DRAGON TALES
JANUARY 2017 NEWSLETTER
HAVE A GREAT SECOND PART OF THE YEAR
Happy 2017 Dragons!
“Time flies when you are havin’ fun Always a Learner, Always a Leader, Always a Dragon!”
Let me begin with a bit of gratitude to kick off 2017! As we concluded our 2016 year, December saw an amazing Fancy Lunch! Thank you to our incredible volunteers who made this day so special for our Dragon Leaders! A HUGE SHOUT OUT to our fabulous Family School Partnership (FSP) who provided all the ice cream, the fancy plates, cups and finery to make our day so special! Fancy Lunch is a Dragon Favorite—next Fancy Lunch is in March—we hope you can join us!
A Tip of the Hat for a spectacular Math Spirit Week and Family Night! We celebrated our learning and leadership and are grateful for all that attended! Thank you to our amazing Mathletes and Coach Buddemeyer for all their planning and preparation to make this happen! Job Well Done!
As we usher in 2017, we review our Dragon Leader expectations and provide examples of “What Dragon Leadership looks like.” As Dragon leaders we are safe! We are respectful! We are responsible! We are problem solvers! Speak with your Dragon Leaders and ask them what it looks like to be these things in the classroom, on the playground, in the lunchroom. We appreciate your partnership to ensure success for all our Dragon Leaders!
January 13th, Now Showing a Derby Ridge Elementary FSP Movie Night! Concessions open at 5:30 p.m. and the movie and family fun begin at 6:00 p.m. It’s another wonderful night for the whole family! Join us!
During the month of January we continue to count down to our 100th day of school! Oh, what a grand celebration of 100 days of Dragon-filled learning! Stay alert to see when we hit 100 days for Learning and Leading!
Winter is upon us, please make certain as the temperatures continue to fall that your children are dressed appropriately with coats, hats and gloves. We will continue to take the students outside for a breath of fresh air as long as weather permits. Please make an effort to mark your children’s belongings with a name inside. If an item ends up in our lost and found it is easier to return to its rightful owner with a name inside. Thank you for the opportunity to partner with you as your child’s principal; it is through this partnership that we are able to learn and lead with our Derby Ridge Dragons! It’s a great day to be a dragon!
Yours in education,
Mrs. Kristi Shinn
STRIKING SKILLS IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION
As the end of the year draws near, all Physical Education classes are working on striking skills. This includes a wide variety of games and equipment. The students have really enjoyed the volleyball aspect of this unit. When we return from break, classes will embark on the journey of dance. We will be doing a lot of different dances that will include a lot of different cultures. I look forward to this unit every year. I hope you and your families have a wonderful winter break! See you in the new year!
OUR HALLS ARE ALIVE WITH MUSIC
December has been a flurry of activity in the music room. Our fifth grade musicians have all completed their note reading prep work for recorders and have been learning how to sing a challenging song that will be sung with every fifth grade student in the district during the Fine Arts Extravaganza field trip in January. Our fourth grade students have really been working hard on some challenging rhythm notes, and recently were able to compose some interesting rhythmic patterns using their newest notes. Third grade friends have enjoyed having several instruments from the woodwind family brought to class so that they could see and feel the instruments “up close,” and they are anxious to meet the next instrument family in January. Second grade learners have just recently expanded their rhythmic knowledge with more notes, and they are continuing to grow in their independence as musicians. Our first grade music students have been taking steps toward musical notation and are working on knowing and demonstrating the difference between rhythm and beat. Kindergarten learners have continued to work on keeping the steady beat, using different kinds of voices (high, low, whisper, talk, soft, loud, etc.), and listening for musical cues in music. I hope that all of our Dragons and their families have a great winter break. See you in January!
DRAGON ART GALLERY IS UP!!!!!!!!
The Dragon Gallery is up! Come by and check out all of our hard work, located in the commons. Our Dragon Artists have been working hard to help each other be the best they can be while creating amazing works of art. We are wrapping up projects as the semester comes to an end and preparing the studio for our return in January. Dragon Artists will be creating with clay when we return from break. Third grade has plans to work with the community, and will create ceramic bowls to donate to the Empty Bowls project (more information to come). Art Club has been hard at work creating displays for our school-wide Kindness Challenge and brainstorming our next mural. This month we visited the STEAM bus and created miniature robots with everyday household items. Finally, the December Drawing Challenge is still going. Artists that are participating in the December Drawing Challenge, please turn in your drawings by January 4, 2017, to Ms. Howell.
Happy Creating!
Hour of Code in Media
At the beginning of December, all of the grade levels participated in the Hour of Code, where they spent one class period learning basic computer programming. This is a skill that we will continue working on throughout the year, because it could help them get jobs in the future, as well as working on problem-solving.
As the end of the year gets here, first grade continues to work on their keyboarding skills. They have started learning the home row keys and where their fingers should be. Second through fifth grade have been working on typing.com to improve their typing skills. They are working on their accuracy. Kindergarten continues to do ST Math once a week in Media class, as well as working on their mouse skills. They also are continuing to learn how to use myON Reader to read e-books.
CPS is offering prizes to the three students who read the most minutes on myON Reader over break. Students can read on a tablet or smart phone using a web browser. The link on the Derby home page will take them to the myON login page. Happy reading!JANUARY 2017 CALENDAR
January 4 - CYBA basketball practice 5:30
January 4 - Boy Scouts of AMerica meeting 6:30-7:30
January 5 - CYBA basketball practice 5:30-8:30
January 5 - DRE FSP board meeting 6:00
January 6 - K-Kids and Mini-Mac meeting in media center 3:30-4:30
January 6 - Cinco Estrelles soccer practice 6-8
January 9 - CYBA basketball practice 7-8:30
January 10 - CYBA basketball practice 5:30-8:30
January 11 - 5th grade fine art day
January 11 - CYA soccer practice 6-7
January 11 - Boy scouts of America meeting 6:30-7:30
January 11 - Cinco Estelles soccer practice 7-9
January 12 - Nature club Room 221 grades 4/5 3:45-4:45
January 12 - CYBA basketball practice 7-8:30
January 13 - Grades K-2 distinguished dragon awards @ morning gathering 8:20-8:50
January 13 - FSP movie night
January 16 - No school - Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. day
January 16 - Girl scouts in art room 6-7
January 17 - Art club meeing 3:20-5:00
January 17 - CYBA basketball practice 5:30-7:00
January 18 - Principal birthday lunches for January
January 18 - CYBA basketball practice 5:30-8:30
January 18 - Boy scouts of America meeting 6:30-7:30
January 19 - FSP meeting 6:00
January 19 - CYBA basketball practice 6:30-8:30
January 20 - Grades 3-5 distinguished dragon awards @ morning gathering 8:20-8:50
January 20 - Cinco Estelles soccer practice 6-8
January 24 - Art club meeting 3:20-5:00
January 24 - CYBA bAsketball practice 5:30-7:00
January 25 - CYA soccer practice 6-7
January 25 - Boy scouts of America meeting 6:30-7:30
January 25 - Cinco Estrelles soccer practice 7-9
January 26 - Nature club room 221 grades 4-5 3:45-4:45
January 30 - 100th day of school (pending snow days)
January 31 - CYBA basketball practice 5:30-7:00
DERBY RIDGE ELEMENTARY
4000 Derby Ridge Dr., Columbia, MO 65202 573-214-3270
cpsk12.org/dre