Pine Bend Elementary
March Family Newsletter
Principal Update
What a snowy February! February was an exciting month with E-Learning Days, SALT Day, and Read Across America! Thank you to the PTSA and all of our volunteers for making SALT Day a special experience for our students.
Pine Bend completed its first Waste Food Audit to determine how much food and what type of food was being wasted. Can you guess the number one food item wasted? It was milk! I'll be working with the Green Team to set goals for decreasing our waste.
We have some fun events happening in March, including an author visit and Jump Rope for Heart! Stay connected on Instagram and Twitter for all the excitement.
Pine Bend on Instagram @pinebendelementary
Pine Bend on Twitter @mrcooperpb
Author Visit! Mary Bleckwehl is coming on March 18th!
Pine Bend Staff and Students,
If you have ever been late to school or eaten too much junk food, you will love these entertaining tales. Mary Bleckwehl's characters come to life through her humorous stories and fabulous illustrations. Students will have the opportunity to hear Mary share her next adventure called Claire's Hair. They will hear how Claire's fantastically hilarious red hair rescues her very best friend. Her books will have all PIne Bend students discovering that laughter truly is the best medicine!
Autographed copies of all three of Mary's books are available for purchase February 22nd- March 8th. Cost per book is $15.
Agenda for the Day
Grades K-1 8:45-9:15 (Book Signing 9:15-9:30)
Grades 4-5 9:30-10:15 (Book Signing 10:15-10:30)
Grades 2-3 10:30-11:20 (Book Signing 11:20-11:35)
Henry! you're late AGAIN!
Henry! you're hungry AGAIN!
Claire's Hair
Title 1 - you are invited (RESCHEDULED)!/¡están invitados! (HA SIDO REPROGRAMADO)
All families of students participating in the Title 1 program are invited to the Annual Pine Bend Elementary Title 1 Parent Meeting. The brief meeting will be an agenda item during our PTSA Meeting on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Childcare will be provided.
The purpose of this meeting is to connect with families and staff to review the Pine Bend Parent Involvement Plan and the District Parent Involvement Plan. The annual meeting is held for compliance with the Every Student Succeeds Act legislation and to hear the voices of all stakeholders at Pine Bend. We want to know what is working for our students and families and welcome suggestions to improve our Title 1 program.
Thank you & hope to see you there! Mrs. Kelly & Mrs. McHenry
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Todas las familias que tienen hijos que participan en el programa de Título 1 están invitados a la reunión anual. La breve reunión será un tema durante nuestra reunion de APF - Asociación de Padres de Familia (PTSA por sus siglas en inglés) en la Pine Bend el martes, 12 de marzo, 2019 comenzando a las 6:30 de la tarde. Se provee cuidado de niños gratuito.
El objetivo de esta reunión es unirse con familias y el personal para revisar el Plan de Participación de Padres de Pine Bend y el Plan de Participación de Padres del Distrito. La reunión anual es un requisito federal para la conformidad con la legislación del Acto Cada Estudiante Sucede y para escuchar a las voces de todos los accionistas en la Pine Bend. Queremos saber lo que sirve nuestros estudiantes y familias y dé la bienvenida a sugerencias para mejorar nuestro programa.
Register for the Summer GRASP Program Today!
What is GRASP?
The Grand Rapids Academic Summer Program is a correspondence program in reading and math for grades K-8. There is also an online version for grades 4-8. The program seeks to help students retain skills learned during the past school year by providing review exercises.
How does GRASP work?
A student is enrolled in reading and/or math in the grade level just completed. GRASP has 9 lessons to be submitted during the summer—one per week or at the student’s own pace. Each lesson reinforces the basic skills typically found in most curricula at that particular grade level. GRASP staff score the lesson and return it to the student with comments.
Who may participate?
Anyone may participate in GRASP! Students are in the program because they;
Enjoy math or reading
Need extra time in the summer to learn concepts
Want to retain what they learned
Aree required by their district in order to move to the next grade
How does GRASP work around family vacations?
Students are encouraged to complete one lesson a week and we send a suggested schedule. They can go at their own pace and work around their other activities as long as everything is submitted by the deadline. Also, you can use a summer address if it is different than your home address.
Are there awards?
Students who successfully complete at least 7 of 9 lessons by the deadline are awarded a GRASP certificate. A medal is awarded for 9 successfully completed lessons.
Click here for more GRASP information and sample lessons
Registration
Online
Grades K-5 GRASP: Register Here
Grades 6-8 GRASP: Register Here
Phone:
For more information or to register by phone call 651-306-7870
In Person:
Registration Forms available in the Office
March Box Tops
The next monthly Box Tops for Education contest time is here!! The deadline for this month is March 22nd! Ask friends, family and neighbors if they will clip Box Tops labels for you. The class with the most Box Top labels turned in for that month will get the “Top Clippers” trophy (pictured). Our goal is to raise $1,000 and last year we raised $843.80 - so close, but still amazing!
Preschool
SD 917 Therapeutic Preschool
We have been focusing on primarily learning self regulation skills such as using a variety of breaths (balloon, pretzel, drain, star) to disengage the stress response and help our brains to get back to learning. We have been learning about friendships, dental health and rhyming. We are also working on handling big feelings by naming basic feelings so we can "Name it to Tame it". We use a conscious discipline framework, which is an evidence-based, trauma-informed approach to behavior management strategies and taking everyday situations into learning opportunities. More information can be found at: https://consciousdiscipline.com/about/
Kindergarten
First Grade
First graders had a fantastic and busy February! Students enjoyed many fun activities during the month, including SALT day, in which students got to participate in various classes led by teachers. Students also celebrated the 100th day of school, Valentine's Day, and Read Across America Week.
Students had the opportunity to visit the Science Museum of Minnesota to explore the many different areas and watch an Omnitheatre film. With the snow days, students were able to complete parts of the E-learning grid from home. Students also worked on tables and graphs, comparing characters in stories, and mastering their sight words. First grade is ready for a marvelous March!
Second Grade
February went so fast and was filled with activities, learning, and celebrating. We made it to the 100th day of school, talked about our presidents, and enjoyed Valentines Day. We were lucky enough to have another S.A.L.T. Day put on by our P.T.S.A., and have Dr. Jennifer Eisenhuth's office visit us and remind us how to take care of our teeth.
A lot of learning happened as we started practicing two-digit addition, experimented with magnets, and wrote and read biographies and autobiographies.
We are hoping March is a tad warmer so students are able to have more outside recess. Please continue to be sure they are dressed warm to have fun outside in the snow!
Third Grade
February was filled with surprises in third grade, including surprise teachers, surprise guests, and of course, surprise E-learning days! In addition to finishing up multiplication, students got to mix science with math while learning from all the teachers in third grade. They studied about measuring the mass of solid items with Mr. Franson, looking at the volume and capacity of liquids with Mrs. Gagne, and being precise with measuring items and the perimeters of solid items (to the nearest half-inch) with Mrs. Williams. Students will now learn how to measure the change in temperature, but we feel pretty confident that this measurement has been on their minds with many indoor recess and snow days.
In language arts, we are looking closely at the text features in our non-fiction texts. We spent time completing a text feature hunt for eighteen different things that make a non-fiction book more interesting. In writing, we finished our focus on visualization by writing about our favorite activities in a Minnesota winter. Cahill Dentist also came to visit our third grade classes last week, and we found out how to take care of our teeth including brushing, flossing and choosing healthy drinks without too much sugar.
Finally, students should now be working hard on their fifteen facts and ten important dates for our famous people biography reports. As a reminder, your child's slide show should be complete and will be presented to the class on March 19th.
Fourth Grade
We have had a fabulous month in fourth grade. Our field trip to The Science Museum was a blast. We were able to explore all the new exhibits and everyone had such a fun experience. We also saw the film Airplanes at the Omni Theater and was amazed with the history of flight. We would love to thank Flint Hills and Pine Bend PTSA for making wonderful memories for us.
We have enjoyed our E-Learning experiences with all the cold/snow days we have been having. The activities have been so much fun and the teachers are very impressed with the hard work kids are putting into their choices.
We have been doing a lot of engineering projects and learning from all the activities we have been given to construct. We have made bridges, towers, boats, and even folded a plastic bag as small as possible. Who knew learning could be so fun!!!
In reading we are learning about the Earth. We have learned about the soil and how to keep it healthy. We have seen the natural disasters that happen when we don't take care of our Earth's topsoil and wetlands. We have learned about marshes, swamps, and bogs and how important they are to our Earth.
In math we are reviewing for the MCA's and practicing multiplication and division. We have been learning about area and perimeter. We continue to work on our multiplication and division facts so they stay in our memories. Every day we are always solving problems and practicing problem solving.
Fifth Grade
The time has come to learn about fractions. We will study equivalent fractions, addition and subtraction with like and unlike denominators, and how to convert fractions to a decimal and a percent.
Our next science unit will be environments. We will plant a terrarium, and will be adding isopods and beetles in order to study an environment. Looking forward to more sun and less snow in March!
Phy Ed
March is almost here in physical education! We have just finished up jump roping and gymnastics. Classes will be moving into our upcoming units which include: softball/baseball, Frisbee throwing, hurdles and fitness testing.
Attention all 2nd -5th graders - please save the date for April 1 – 12! All Pine Bend students in 2nd -5th grade will be participating in a roller blading unit for 2 weeks during physical education. Thank you to our PTSA for sponsoring this wonderful opportunity! Each student will be provided roller blades, helmets, and all necessary safety gear for skating. Students may bring their own safety equipment from home, but must use the roller blades provided at school as they have special wheels for the gym floor.
Last, but not least…. Jump Rope for Heart will take place at Pine Bend Elementary on March 7th. There will be two groups jumping: an in-school group and one after school. All students participating after school will jump from 3:15-5:00 pm. Parents remember to please pick your son or daughter up promptly at 5:00 in the gym. All money collected is due on March 12th. Thank you to everyone for all your hard work and dedication to Jump Rope for Heart!!
Mrs. Koch and Ms. Darrow
MUSIC
Second trimester has been wonderful! We hope you've enjoyed the eLearning opportunities from the music column. Third through Fifth grades have the option of working in Schoology, and K-2 will have a new music option every time there is an eLearning day. We love to keep things new and fun! Please make sure you use the most updated eLearning pages (accessible through the school website).
All our students just finished an in-depth experience of Orff instruments (xylophones, bells, etc...). We love connecting literature during this study.
Kindergarten used the book, Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp. Ask them to sing the "Stomp It, Stomp It" song at home! They also learned the appropriate way to hold mallets and play the instruments using the book The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
First Grade learned about the different types of orff using the book Peanut Butter and Jelly: a Play Rhyme. They also learned a poem, Bate, Bate. Students also enjoyed the instruments and a game with "Mouse, Mousie."
Second Grade enjoyed Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. We've also been working on grouping beats in music with fun songs such as "Mabel," "My Bonnie," and a self-composed song based on the Roses are Red poem.
Third Grade has been very busy learning recorders (please encourage them to remember recorders every music class) and the instruments of the orchestra in prep for our March 7th field trip to Orchestra Hall.
Fourth Grade is continuing recorder instruction, as well. It is very important they bring their recorders to the 50 minute music class. If they forget, they are behind in instruction. Students are welcome to upload recorder karate videos to Schoology in order to earn recorder karate belts more quickly! We've enjoyed some dancing and orff instruments tied in with limited edition belts (Ding Dong and Cedar Swamp).
Fifth Grade progressed through second trimester standards quickly, enabling us to learn some ukulele! Students can play along with Thunder by Imagine Dragons! If your student wants to play the Uke at home, but you don't own one. Check out the free app for a phone on their Schoology page! Most cell phones are the perfect size of a fingerboard for the ukulele.
May your days be full of light hearted song.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Klotz and Mrs. Hoffman
March Reading Connection Newsletter
Upcoming Events
March 7 - Jump Rope For Heart
March 7 - Spring Pictures
March 8 - NO SCHOOL
March 12 - PTSA Meeting, IMC - 6:30 pm
March 15 - Trimester 2 Report Cards Viewable on Campus
March 21 - Last Day of Spring PBU
March 25-29 - NO SCHOOL Spring Break