Ellington Elementary Update

Ellington Elementary Update December 2011 Ellington Elementary Volume 4, Issue 6 One School Road Ellington, Missouri 63638 Principal: Carolyn Bouma Phone: 663-2293 Fax 663-2144

Coats LEAP It is the time of year when the On December 7th, all 83 weather is getting colder. Since children attending that evening students will be going outside went to the Brent Tinnin for recess, please remember to Nursing Home to deliver gifts send your child to school with a Sunny D Labels made by the students coat, gloves, hat, and/or boots Our district is participating in especially for the residents. for outside playtime. the Sunny D Book Spree. This The nursing home was is a program that will donate 20 decorated with all the trimmings books to every classroom that needed to bring good cheer to send in 20 Sunny D UPC the holiday. The children were labels. The program will also at their best and with Mr. award hundreds of books to the Johnson wonderful guidance of PTO Christmas Store top ten schools that collect the Christmas songs, the students We would like to thank the most labels. filled the room with joy. The Ellington PTO, volunteers, and We hope you will help support residents of about 32 were filled community members for all this worthy program by getting with so much happiness in their their hard work to make the involved in any way you can. eyes just to see the children Christmas Store possible for We would like every classroom and also joined in to help them the students! in our school to receive 20 free sing. It was a heartwarming books and we would love to win trip. Thank you to Brent Tinnin hundreds of books for our for allowing us to bring the Lost and Found school libraries. For more whole LEAP group and We have a large collection of information, you may go to teachers. Thank you to Mr. coats. If your child is missing a www.Sunnyd.com/bookspree. Johnson for leading us in our coat, please check in the office. You can even track our district’s music. Mostly, thank you Remember to write your child’s progress and see how many students for being so great and name in his/her coat so we can labels we have collected. singing so beautiful!! return it if it gets lost. Thank you in advance for helping all of our students shine in school.

Preschool News We hope everyone had a Lunch Accounts Wonderful Winter Break! We We have several students that are excited about starting the are over on his/her lunch New Year off with lots of account. Please pay your learning. We will be working on child’s lunch account dues. writing last names and learning new letters and start numbers. sentences each week. In Math, Patterning, matching, and we are working on counting sorting should be mastered by different collections of coins. this month. The themes for the This is a skill that your child can month will include “Gingerbread First Grade News practice at home as well. We and the letter Gg”, “Winter, the We hope you had a great are also going to be reviewing letter Ww and number Zero”, holiday and you are refreshed basic addition and subtraction “Space, the letter Ss and and ready to start the New facts. We will be taking Mad number 1”, “Transportation, Year! January will be a busy Minute Math drills. This allows letter Tt and number 2” and month for our first graders. In your child to become quicker “Shadows, the letter Kk and reading, we will be starting long and more accurate with these number 3”. vowels. Our reading stories will facts. Flash cards are a good Mrs. Chase and Mrs. Eddington be getting longer and harder. It way to help practice this skill, is important that your child so your child is not using their starts developing appropriate fingers and recognizes all of phrasing and fluency. So, their basic facts. We thank the please continue to practice parent's who did such a great reading with them every night. job planning a wonderful Their ideal reading level is an 8 Christmas Party for the 2nd graders. We appreciate Kindergarten News by now. Please notice their all your dedication to your Welcome back to school. After reading level on their report child's education and wish you this long break your child may cards. a very wonderful New Year! have forgotten some of the In math, we will be starting Mrs. Loyd and Mrs. Tucker expectations for behavior at patterns. They will be learning school. To help with getting how to recognize and extend back into the swing of things we patterns. Also, we will be will be reviewing with Positive starting skip counting soon. Behavior Supports lessons for Please continue to practice expectations in all settings addition and subtraction facts at home. These are very including hallways, classroom, Third Grade News important concepts for the playground, cafeteria, and the Welcome back to school! We students and help build a solid bus. It would also be helpful for hope everyone had a great foundation in math. you to go over at home with Christmas break. We would Our first grade parent night will your child the behavior like to say “Thank you”to the be January 24th from 6:00-7:00 expected of them at school. room mothers and parents who in the Elementary Cafeteria. With all of us working together helped with our class parties. Please come join us for some we can accomplish so much We couldn’t do it without you! Valentine fun! more. We are ready to get 2012 Mrs. Long and Ms. Morrison We will begin the year with a started and get back to the new Reading theme about business of educating our animals. Our new words will be wonderful third graders. In the is, play and are our new month of January, we will be letter/sounds will be o, f, and h. working on many new skills. In Math, we will start a Unit on We will be starting multiplication fractions and ordinal numbers Second Grade News in math – something the (first through tenth). We will It is hard to believe that the first students have been looking also continue to review all the semester is already over. In forward to. Eventually, they will skills we have learned up until second grade, we will be be bringing home flashcards to this point. working hard to read and follow study their multiplication facts. Thank you for all your support. directions more independently. It is very important that they Ms. Blakemore and Mrs. Hime Remember reading with your take the time to do this. The child each night is very sooner they get the basic beneficial. Spelling words are multiplication facts memorized, growing increasingly harder the easier it will be for them. In please see that your child is reading we will be working reviewing their words and mostly with nonfiction articles and autobiographies to apply practice our skills of Ganeshram. Anjali has a new skills during the month of summarize, identifying facts passion for cooking because it January. In Social Studies, the and opinions, identifying allows her to express who she third graders will be learning problems and solutions, and really is. Her parents want her about the rights and many other skills. to attend a special academic responsibilities of good citizen We wish you a happy new year high school and let cooking be and in Science the focus will be and as always if you have any a hobby. But Anjali has other to review and finish Chapter 4 questions, contact us anytime. plans. With the help of her best over ecosystems. Please don’t Mrs. Bass and Mrs. Shrum friend and cooking teacher, she forget to make sure your child decides to audition for a brings a coat and gloves to kids’reality cooking show on the school every day. We hope day she should be taking an your new year is off to a great entrance exam. Anjali knows start! she can become a star, but is Mrs. Loyd and Mrs. Whited Fifth Grade News she willing to make sacrifices to We hope everyone had a fulfill her dream? WARNING: wonderful holiday break. It's This story will make you time to start the second half of hungry! --This title is available the year; we have a lot of through Scholastic and the interesting and exciting things Scholastic Book Fair. Be Fourth Grade News planned. In reading we have looking for future information We hope everyone enjoyed just started Unit 4: Experiences. about our Spring Book Fair their Christmas break and is Please remember that this is a which will take place in March. ready to get back into the swing new quarter, so each student Have a great winter season and of things. For the next few has a new AR goal. catch up on some “cool” months, we will continue In language, the students will reading. preparing for the MAP test in be working on pronouns. We Mrs. Lee April, which will require a few have started a new chapter in changes in our rooms. The social studies. We will be students will no longer be able covering chapter 8: The War for to use their multiplication Independence. In science we charts, so they really need to will be starting Chapter 11: memorize those multiplication Forms of Matter and Energy. In Nurse’s Notes facts. They will also be math we are working on Once more, we ask you to practicing more in Math and fractions and decimals. please help us help the children Communication Arts, so be Ms. Clark and Mrs. Francis at St. Jude Children’s looking for and talking with your Research Hospital as student about everything they Counselor’s Corner elementary students participate read and practice. I hope everyone enjoyed their in the Math-a-Thon in February. We are very excited that our time off over the holiday No doubt you know of someone Field Trip is coming up on the season. Our character word for who has received life-saving 27th. If you still haven’t returned this month is positive attitude. treatment at this world-leading your permission slip or money, We will continue to explore center in the fight against please do so as soon as careers in Guidance Class this childhood cancer. St. Jude possible. month. Please stop by or give Hospital covers all costs for In Math, we will be reviewing me a call if you need any families without insurance and finishing up Long Division assistance. Try to stay warm and will cover all costs above and be moving on to a this winer! those reimbursable by third Geometry unit of Lines, Angles, Mrs. Goodman party insurance for families and Shapes. In MO History, we who have insurance. will be learning about Missouri Librarian’s Tales Students will complete fun math during the French and Spanish Happy New Year!! Welcome problems at school as they help rule. In Science, we will 2012! I hope everyone had a the children at St. Jude’s. learning about the Earth’s wonderful Christmas Holiday! Thank you so much for your Surface and Interior. In The Book-talk for January is supporting this crucial project. Reading, we will continue to “Stir it Up!” by Ramin Carol Massie and Jodi Richards Looking ahead: A note from the Principal Feb. 1: 3:15 LEAP Advisory Wow…first semester has really Committee Meeting flown by and we are ready to Booster Club Meeting begin our second semester. I Feb. 14: 11:30 PTO Meeting am very proud of our Ellington Valentine’s Day Elementary students and all of Parties their accomplishments this Feb. 16: Board Meeting year. I am looking forward to Feb. 17: NO SCHOOL the rest of the school year and Feb. 20: NO SCHOOL watching our students grow. Remember, if I can ever be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. Feel free to stop by the school or call the elementary. Mrs. Bouma

Dates to remember:

Jan. 3: School resumes LEAP Dance Club Prac Jan. 4: Booster Club Mtg Jan. 5: LEAP Dance Club Prac Jan. 6: 2nd Quarter Awards Assembly LEAP Dance Club Performance – Bball game Jan. 10: 11:30 PTO Mtg Jan. 16: No School Jan. 19: Board Meeting Jan. 20: Homecoming LEAP Dance Club Performance Jan. 24: 1st Grade Parent Night Jan. 27: 4th Grade Field Trip