Lone Star Tribune
Lone Star Elementary News, May/June 2016
Lone Star Elementary
Catherine Bartlett, Ed.D. Principal
Melissa Freeman Assistant Principal
Kelly Lout Assistant Principal
Elisa Krug Counselor
Email: cbartlett@misd.org
Website: www.misd.org
Location: 16600 FM 2854, Montgomery, TX 77316
Phone: (936) 276-4500
Important Dates This Month
May 6 - 4th Graders Tour MIS
May 9 - 3rd & 4th Grade Math STAAR
May 10 - 3rd & 4th Grade Reading STAAR
May 11 - Kindergarten Garden Day
May 16 - Jump Houses in PE
May 17 - Jump Houses in PE
May 19 - Field Day for K, 1, 2
May 19 - Choir End of Year Performance, 6:00
May 20 - Field Day for 3, 4
May 25 - 4th Grade Garden Day
May 25 - 3rd Grade Awards in Classrooms, 2:00
May 26 - 3rd Grade Island Hopping Day
May 27 - Kindergarten Graduation in Cafeteria, 9:00
May 27 - 1st Grade Awards in Classrooms, 12:00
May 27 - Ambulance Visit for all 4th Grade Clinic Cubs
May 30 - Memorial Day Staff and Student Holiday
May 31 - 4th Grade End of Year Celebration in Cafeteria, 9:00
May 31 - 2nd Grade Awards in Classrooms. 2:00
June 1 - Early Release, 1:00
June 2 - Early Release, 1:00
Looking Ahead to 2016-17
Periodically I am asked how we place children into homerooms. It is a responsibility that Mrs. Krug, Mrs. Freeman, Ms. Lout, and I take very seriously. We will look at children's achievement, ability, and temperament, and then we will work to make the best fit with an upcoming teacher. We consider the current teacher's success with a child, and we may take parent input into account regarding certain characteristics.
For example, it is helpful to us if you know that your child needs a structured environment or a teacher with a higher tolerance for movement/noise. Whether your child is shy, outgoing, anxious, or struggling in a subject - that is information that comes into play as we work to make the best grouping possible. We do NOT take or honor specific teacher requests. I have found that specific requests are based upon prior experience with an older sibling or a neighbor's child. Not only is that misguided or even inappropriate, there is always the possibility that the requested teacher may change positions or grade levels before we return in August. You can see how it is more helpful to focus on the child rather than the teacher.
While we do not honor "buddy requests", we do need to know if there are circumstances between your child and another that might result in a conflict should they end up in the same homeroom. I want you to know that many hours and many discussions are put into creating homerooms for the upcoming school year. I feel comfortable in sharing that responsibility with the teachers and administrative team, all of whom know your children well. I am by no means soliciting letters from you. However, if you do need to alert us to certain concerns, please address your emails to our counselor, Mrs. Krug by May 20 at ekrug@misd.org. We will not be able to entertain input after that time. I want to assure you that this is a responsibility we do not take lightly. We are all here to help every child have a great year… year, after year, after year!
Thank you, Lone Star Families! We LOVE working with your children!!
Kindergarten Kiddos
What an awesome year we have had in kindergarten! May will be a busy month for us as we continue to learn all we can before summer vacation arrives in June. We will read and write each day to improve our literacy skills. We are on the path to becoming terrific first graders.
Each day we will use our problem-solving skills to join and separate sets, read graphs, and identify coins. The students will learn interesting facts about farm animals and ocean creatures during our last science and social studies units.
The students are practicing events for our Kindergarten Field Day that will be held on Thursday, May 19th. It will be a fun-filled day and the boys and girls will get plenty of exercise!
We are looking forward to our Kindergarten Celebration that will be on Friday, May 27th at 9:00.
Please mark your calendar and plan to join us for this spectacular program and treats afterward in your child’s classroom!
Fantastic Firsties
It is hard to believe it is May already! It seems like just yesterday our firsties were eagerly or not so eagerly entering our classrooms. It is amazing to see just how far they have come. This is the time of year when they get to show off everything they have learned this year. We encourage students to make an effort to be at school everyday, because each week we will be reviewing and assessing skills we have learned this year in reading and math. We are in the process of completing our final DRA assessments and we can't wait to see how much our firsties have improved their reading levels. Along, with all of their chances to show what they know, we will have some fun and exciting activities to wrap up our year! When that final day arrives we will be sad to see them go, but we say goodbye knowing that our firsties will make great second graders!
Superstar Second Graders
with all of the learning and excitement that we can! Your second graders have grown so much and we are so proud to put the final touches on their foundation for third grade.
In all subjects we will continue to introduce new material and revisit the material that has been learned throughout the year. In science we will study the life cycle of butterflies, and in social studies we will look at current events and the impact we have on the world around us. Our language arts lessons will focus on comprehension and how changing one story element can change the entire story. Math will look at standard measurement and application of the skills learned over the course of the year.
We are looking forward to Field Day, May 19th (specific details coming home in folders soon), and our classroom awards on May 31st. Thank you for all you have done to support your super second graders!
Thrilling Third Grade
Wow! It's hard to believe that the end of this school year is quickly approaching. Our third graders have been working diligently and they are ready to SHINE on the Math and Reading STAAR test on May 9th and 10th. We have a lot of fun and exciting activities going on the month of May as we continue to prepare for fourth grade.
We are finishing the year by mastering our multiplication facts, learning cursive, novel studies, and doing many fun science experiments! Our year will conclude with Battle of the Books competition, Island Hopping, and Awards on May 25th at 2pm.
Fabulous Fourth
C. A. M. P. (Computer - Art - Music - PE)
Computer/Bibliotech:
Kindergarten –We are using the Chatterpix app to create a movie with three descriptive words about an animal we researched using Britannica Online. We modeled this project after the book I Love Bugs by Emma Dodd.
First Grade – We are writing Tanka poems based on the book Orangutanka by Margarita Engle using Microsoft Word.
2nd Grade – We are writing fantasy stories about our characters created using the Augmented Reality app Chromville.
3rd Grade – We are creating graphic novels about forces of nature using Microsoft PowerPoint, Britannica Online and Kidzsearch.
4th Grade – We are researching animals using Britannica Online and creating an Augment Reality movie using the app Zookazam. We will create a riddle about our movie and use a QR code to access our movie.
We are also going to experiment with Maker Space in our Library the last rotation of the year. Maker Space provides students with an opportunity to collaborate, exchange new ideas, and problem solve using real world applications. The Maker Space movement started to deepen student understand of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). At Lone Star, we are going to add R for Reading so our acronym will be STREAM!
Art:
Star light, star bright,
We are creating a Starry Night!
Students are having a blast painting their own version of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night to end the year. Kindergarten and 1st grade are using oil pastels and watercolor to create a watercolor resist. Second and Third grade are using oil pastel and tempera paint on black paper to make their stars twinkle.
Fourth Graders are hard at work painting, cutting, glueing and posing for pictures! They are incorporating themselves into a piece of art to show the places that they dream of visiting one day. We have students dreaming of France, Italy, Australia, Antartica and even the moon!
Music Notes:
In April, students had an opportunity to sign up to participate in our annual
“Lone Star Has Talent,” which will be held during each group’s scheduled music class in May. Talent show days are a way to allow students the opportunity to share a talent, hobby, or skill with their peers in a relaxed and supportive environment. If students signed up, parents will receive an “invitation” the week prior to their child’s talent show date; however, it is NOT mandatory for parents to attend. If you do plan on attending, please be sure to arrive early enough to sign in at the front desk before your child’s music class time.
The main instruction regarding participation is that everything must be school appropriate and safe (music must be free of inappropriate language and subject matter). If a student wishes to use music, they may bring it in on a cd or electronic device on their designated day. Grade levels will perform during their normal music class time as listed below:
3rd = 8:45-9:35 2nd = 9:45-10:45 1st = 10:45-11:35 K = 1:15-2:05 4th = 2:15-3:05
The exact dates for each group are as follows:
F: Wednesday, 5/11/16 C: Thursday, 5/12/16
B: Tuesday, 5/17/16 E: Wednesday, 5/18/16
D: Monday, 5/23/16 A: Tuesday, 5/24/16
P.E.
Field Day is right around the corner with lots of fun activities planned. Monday, May 16th and Tuesday, May 17th, we will kick it off with Jump Houses in the gym during all PE classes. Field Day will begin on Thursday, May 19th for Kinder, 1st, and 2nd graders. Third and fourth graders will have Field Day on Friday, May 20th. There will be classroom relay races and buddy stations. A detailed schedule will be in Tuesday folders tomorrow, May 3rd.
Also, in order to make this day a HUGE success, we need parent volunteers. Volunteer forms will be in Tuesday folders. Parents are needed to help set up and decorate canopies, cheer on your child's class during the relay races and work at buddy stations. Thank you in advance for making this a fantastic day for our kiddos.
Students will be finishing up the year with a variety of games that will incorporate fundamental skills, team work and great sportsmanship.
We would like to wish all of you a relaxing and safe summer. Good luck to all the 4th graders next year. You will be missed!!
PE is always a BALL!
Artists Hard at Work!
2nd graders creating in the library
Lone Star Leadership
Each month, 2 fourth graders from each homeroom meet with Mrs. Krug, Mrs. Freeman, Ms. Lout, and Dr. Bartlett. We visit two times with the students to collaborate on campus concerns and brainstorm ideas. Thank you to our April Leaders: Allyson Lane, Justin Carswell, Shantell Brown, Lawson Robinson, Anon Hoffman, Livy Plaisance, Isabella Perez, Karis Winski, Parker Smith, Maegan Thrasher, Hudson West, Alyssa Allen, Kai Davis, Kyla Housman, Brianna Davis, Nathan Abel, Lauren Hoke, Sara Sultemeier, Marcos Morales, and Kadence Fitzgerald.