Brilliant Baltz Bears
Winter Newsletter 2021
Kindergarten Chronicles
Baltz Kindergarteners continue to impress! Our kiddos have been so flexible and positive with all of the constant changes going on around them. Teachers are noticing students practicing safety routines, being kind to one another, and bringing smiles to school each day.
In Reading, students are using their knowledge of letter sounds to start focusing more on writing independently. We are drawing pictures and then adding words to match using inventive spelling. Inventive spelling is typically where students are in Kindergarten, this means that they try to write the sounds they hear in words. This might look like spelling the word “pickle” like “pikl”. Teachers are encouraging students to sound out words on their own and praising their efforts!
In Math, students are working on recognizing shapes and putting shapes together to create new ones. Each class is practicing rote counting from 0-100 daily, as well as number recognition. In class, students are learning about simple addition and subtraction equations by drawing pictures then adding more or taking away some.
In science, students are reviewing Trees and how they change during the seasons. We are also learning about weather and animals. In social studies, students receive a Second Step lesson each week that focuses on social and emotional skills that are crucial especially today. Some examples include: naming feelings, how to calm down BIG feelings, and how to wait your turn.
We are excited for Valentine’s celebrations in February and virtual field trips in March and April!
First Grade News Flash!
First graders rocked their way through the second marking period! They continued to learn a lot about stories including characters, setting, plot, ending, and how authors use details to write! They also strengthened their writing as they started learning about fact and opinion. Not only are first graders readers and writers, but they are mathematicians too! They are now learning about unknown partners in an equation. All five first grade classes also worked hard to understand economics and topics such as saving and spending money, opportunity cost, and scarcity! But don’t forget, first graders are scientists too and they can tell you all about solids and liquids! Miss Trate, Miss Flowers, Mrs. Campanella, Miss Rooney, and Miss Dale are so excited to continue rocking this school year as we enter the third marking period! Goooo Baltz!
Second Grade Successes!
Our responsible, ready and respectful 2nd graders are working and growing! December and January was filled with learning at home and school and a well-deserved Winter Break. 2nd graders just finished some mid-year assessments and have shown growth…which is so exciting! Their hard work is paying off! They will continue to become better readers, writers and mathematicians. In math, we are focusing on adding and subtracting double-digit numbers. Students started counting coins, including a quarter and are now moving into solving problems using different subtraction strategies. In Reading, we are now in the middle of Unit 3. We are focusing on how readers use illustrations and text features to better understand the text. In addition, we work on different phonics and grammar skills on a daily basis.. Thanks for all you do to help us get all these kiddos ready for 3rd grade!
Parents often ask for copies of math papers to work on fluency….this site is great for kids of all ages. The pages can be printed for extra addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions etc. practice. https://www.math-drills.com/
Zoom, zoom zoom!
Hands on Learning!
Problem Solving with Resources!
Third Grade Tidings!
Hello from 3rd grade! This has been a year like no other and after all of us starting the winter on Zoom, some of us have been back in school in person for several weeks now. No matter how we’re working, we’re all still working hard. In Math we are working our way through a unit on place value, rounding, addition and subtraction. Up next will be our introduction to fractions! In reading we have looked at several informational stories and are now reading a narrative about children in Alaska. We’ve been focusing on finding and using text features and identifying main ideas. To go along with that, the kids have also been working on writing an informational piece of their own on dinosaurs and fossils. It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through the year! The kids had a lot of fun with our Winter Workshop and we’re all looking forward to the Spring!
Fourth Grade Facts!
There is a lot happening in Fourth Grade-both online and in person! Fourth Graders are working hard. This past month we have worked on multiplication of two and three digits by one digit and are moving into two digits by two digits in math. Remember to practice your multiplication facts nightly to help your child be successful! In reading, we have finished our first Unit. We have learned skills such as identifying Main Idea and Details, Compare and Contrast, and a variety of grammar and phonics skills.
In Science, we have covered Energy with our new Mystery Science website. The students seem to really love it. In Social Studies, we have started to discuss the birth of America and the Constitution. Towards the end of February, we will have a virtual field trip to learn more about the Constitution and the branches of government. More information will be coming home soon. Teachers held conferences this month. If you did not get a chance to speak to your child’s teacher and would like to, please make sure to set something up. There is still time.
For those students who are in person, please remember masks are needed DAILY. Please clean your child’s mask and make sure they know the proper way to wear them. This is to ensure we are all safe.
Thank you for all your hard work and continued support.
Fifth Grade Flight!
For those of us that are teaching on campus, we'd like to share that it's been wonderful and exciting to see the student's faces walk through the door each morning. They have been doing a great job keeping our classes safe learning environments. All of us are continuing to get your children ready for Middle School. Two skills they have developed better than any other year that will help them in Middle School and life are flexibility and their technology skills. All of the 5th grade teachers, whether remote or on campus, plan our lessons as a team so all students are learning the same things.
In Math we are learning about decimals. After decimals, we will return to fractions. It's been fun learning all about Astronomy in Science which will be followed up by Matter. In Social Studies we are learning about the Western Expansion of the United States and Slavery. Of course, in Reading we are continuing with our Ready Gen curriculum teaching reading skills while reading fantastic books. We are continuing our Informative writing unit in Writing class. As you can see, we've been busy and learning a great deal.
If you have any questions, always feel free to contact your child's teacher. Stay healthy and safe.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Munoz
Mrs. Loughrey
Ms. Ruiz
Mrs. Klink
Mrs. Weaver
Mrs. Watkins
Unique Unified Arts!
March is Youth Art month and we have three students from Baltz Elementary school representing our school with their amazing talent. The students are Evanyelin Rosas Rojas from Ms. Czulewicz class, Chanell Vazquez from Ms. Czulewicz class and Giselle Rodriquez Santoya from Ms. Fuentes’s class. This exhibit is to celebrate amazing artwork created by students in the state of Delaware for National Youth Art month. The virtual gallery on the Delaware Art Education Association website will be displayed throughout the month of March. daea.weebly.com
Another great program to look forward to for all our families is a program offered through DIAE (Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education.) This amazing organization does a lot with various artists and art forms in schools across Delaware. DIAE has adopted our school for this free program which is a project to be done at home as a family. The art project is to create and complete a kit together. Every family will receive their kit project in the next couple of months. The kit is a Pillow Box Totem, which is a paper collage project with the DIAE teaching artist, Yolanda Chetwynd. Students will receive a small box with a variety of papers and other supplies to create a special totem creature box. This box will serve as a "guardian" to hold their memories and feelings.
Pioneering @ PBS
Hi Baltz Families!
We are so excited to share about some of the fun that we have been having at Baltz this year! Our school wide PBS "Winter Workshop" for January had us feeling like we were truly in a Winter Wonderland! During our event, everyone enjoyed watching the wordless book, "The Snowman'' as they participated on campus & virtually on Zoom! In-person learners got creative and made many COOL crafts including, snow globes, picture frames, & snowmen! Virtual learners were busy making & sharing virtual gingerbread houses & snowmen of their own! It was SNOW cool to see how excited all of our learners were as they created in their own way! We can't wait for our next event! Keep up the great work Baltz Bears!
Health Tips for us All!
WHAT A LONG YEAR IN PANDEMIC IT’S BEEN. EVERYDAY HAS BEEN DIFFERENT FROM THE NEXT AND LOOKING AHEAD SEEMS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE BUT DAY BY DAY WE HAVE MADE IT THROUGH! AND WITH ALL THAT WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT COVID-19 DISEASE AND PREVENTION AND WITH THE PROMISE OF COVID-19 VACCINATIONS AHEAD GIVES US HOPE AND EMPHASIZES THAT ‘NOW MORE THAN EVER WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER’.
BALTZ COVID HEROS
BY FOLLOWING THE NEW COVID 19 GUIDELINES AND COMPLETING DAILY HOME SCREENINGS YOU ARE NOT ONLY PROTECTING YOUR FAMILY, YOU ARE DIRECTLY PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF COVID IN YOUR SCHOOL, YOUR COMMUNITY AND OUR WORLD!
H-elp to stop the spread How to Prevent the SPREAD Covid-19 Daily Home Self Screen, DE Covid Test,COVID-19 Vaccine Enrollment
E-ducate yourself from trusted sources Delaware Public Health Delaware Schools 211- DE
Delaware FAQ COVID Delaware online
R-elax, care for yourself, ask for and offer help Community Social Services resources, Children's Feelings Covid-19 Nemours Kids Health Coronavirus Mental Health and Crisis Services How to help neighbors during Covid-19
O-pt in for emergency alerts-My Healthy Community DE Get Text Alerts- COVID19AppDelaware
SHEILA RIMMER RNBC NCSN 302 992-5564
Stay in Touch!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7vMLb7XV730318BJI2fu2Q
Email: amy.oneill@redclay.k12.de.us
Website: www.redclayschools.com/Baltz
Location: 1500 Spruce Avenue, Wilmington, DE, USA
Phone: (302) 992-5560
Facebook: facebook.com/BaltzElementarySchool
Twitter: @baltzbears