BOBCAT NEWS October 2017

Principal’s Notes—Mr. Matt Daly, Principal & Julie Tjagvad, Asst. Principal

With such warm weather lately, it is hard to believe that October is here! September went by so quickly.

During the first month of school, we accomplished much including reviewing our behavior expectations in areas such as the classroom, cafeteria, hallways and the bus. We also held our Back to School Cook Out with the PTA and we held our Open House! Indeed, we had a very busy month!

I would like to share with you that all our students are working very hard in school. During the first month of school, we focused on reviewing our classroom routines as well as introducing to all our students how we set up our classroom procedures when we are teaching reading, writing and numeracy. During the month of October, we will be fully administering benchmark assessments so we can have a baseline on all our students.

As a friendly reminder, we hold emergency drills once a month. These emergency drills include fire drills and lockdown drills. Please know that these drills are meant for practice.

For your planning purposes, listed below are dates of a few events taking here at Buckley School.

October 3 School Picture Day October 4 Half Day, dismissal at 1:17 p.m. October 6 Book Bingo Night (PTA) October 9 No School October 12 PTA Meeting October 13 First Pep Rally of the School Year! October 16 Pre-K-3 Fire Prevention assembly October 27 Trunk or Treat event (PTA)

As I have done in past years, in an effort to strengthen communication between Buckley School and all families, I will be offering office hours during this school year. These will take place both early in the morning as well as in the early evening. The purpose of these office hours is to hear from all parents/guardians. I am always looking at ways to improve and this is a great way to do this. It is also a way for you to come in and discuss anything you may want to discuss. Please look for information during the school year. . Thank you again for all that you do as we continue to build a strong partnership between school and home. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at school. As a reminder, please follow me on twitter @ Buck- ley Bobcats.

Please Note: I have included a few important items in this newsletter including Drop Off/Arrival letter, an overview of our SRBI program, and our School Improvement Plan.

Buckley Elementary School 250 Vernon St., Manchester, CT Office: 860-647-3302 Absentee Line: 860-647-3344 www.mpspride.org

Mrs. Shirley

Welcome Back! What an exciting time of year for all of us as we kick off the 2017-18 school year at Buckley Elemen- tary. Just a few tips and reminders as we enter into this year…

1) Please ensure your child has a healthy breakfast at home (or school if they receive the breakfast option). I under- stand it can be difficult during the morning rush, but when a child comes in and has not had breakfast, hunger be- comes a terrible distraction causing them to miss instruction time as they come to eat in my office. Also, as you have likely heard, it’s now essential that students bring a healthy snack each day from home, as the district no longer pro- vides free snacks.

2) If your child should need medication during school hours, please remember to get a medical authorization form signed by your child's physician. The doctor's office can fax it to the school nurse at 860-647-5007. This includes all inhalers, nebulized meds., creams, drops, antibiotics, daily medications and any other FDA approved, doctor recom- mended interventions that your child may require. Additionally, as so many of us have environmentally-induced aller- gies, please consider medicating your child before school, if appropriate, as runny noses, irritated throats, itchy eyes, etc. can make it difficult for your child to focus. Also, if appropriate for your child, consider packing a couple of cough drops with them as you see fit to make them more comfortable throughout the day.

3) Please review the district-wide policy that indicates when a child should be kept home and the criteria for which a child may need to be sent home. When in doubt, call me. The more information I have regarding your child’s health history, or the health concerns you have for your child while at school, the better able I am to help them have a suc- cessful and comfortable year.

4) Should your home, work or cell phone number change, please keep us updated so that we can contact you in the event of an emergency.

Thank you for helping to keep our students well! The healthier the child the better able they are to learn. Stay Well!

Don’t forget School Picture Day

Tuesday, October 3!

Miss Adams, Mrs. Hoffman, Mrs. Miner, Mrs. Martin

We are off to a great start in our 2017-2018 school year. The kindergarteners have been very busy learning all about how to be a Buckley Bobcat. We spent time learning our rules and classroom routines. At Buckley School, we are safe, respectful, and responsible. We started our launch units in reading, writing, and math.

In reading, we are learning how to read independently and with a partner in the classroom. We are focusing on reading behaviors, such as sitting in a quiet “bubble” and making sure we do not pop our bubble by making too much noise. We are also exploring our classroom reading centers.

In writing, our focus has been on choosing what to write. We want to write about something we are passionate about. We created writing folders that we decorated with things we love. Our hope is that these folders will help inspire our young writers!

In math, we have had the opportunity to explore our manipulatives in the classroom. We are learning how to use these appropriately in math. We can count, sort, and compare using our manipulatives. Our focus is on numbers 0- 5. We spend a lot of time on these numbers helping students gain a strong understanding. We compare using terms such as more and less. We also explore all of the ways that we can show these numbers (number writing, number words, and various arrangements of objects, using a five frame).

The kindergarten team would like to thank all of you for all of your help and support. It has been a smooth transition into the new school year. We are excited to work with your children and watch them learn and grow.

Mrs. Bourcier, Miss Lavallee, Miss Rivers, Ms. Seaha

We are off to a wonderful start in First Grade! It was delightful to meet so many family members during open house. Thank you for taking the time to join us. We have been reviewing lots of Kindergarten skills and now we are working on first grade curriculum. Students participate in a variety of activities throughout the school day. Have a conversation about these learning experiences with your child each night. You should also be helping your child to read books and the word cards we are sending home. The district policy states that all students in first grade should be engaged in reading activities for 20 minutes a night. Practice with addition and subtraction facts, sums to 10 would also be very helpful. Thank you for all your support!

Miss Seaha, Ms. Strickland, Miss Sargent

Second graders have been welcoming fall by practicing what makes a good reader both independently and with a partner in order to build stamina. We have also been learning the expectations of what it looks like to be a community of readers. In the month to come, we will be working hard learning strategies that will help us to solve tricky words.

As you know, second graders LOVE to tell stories. In writing, students will have the opportunity to make these personal experiences come to life! We have modeled and practiced positive writing habits as well.

In math, we have been reviewing addition and subtraction strategies that help make our math facts automatic. We are moving toward mental math facts like: doubles plus one (5+6), tens partners (3+7), counting up (14-12) and think addition (if 7+3=10, then 10-3=7).

As part of our social thinking curriculum, second graders have been refining their ability to be mindful of others’ feelings.

Miss Rollins, Mr. Sweetland Hello Parents and Guardians!

It has been a pleasure getting to know your children over the past month. During the month of October, we will continue practicing our routines and procedures in Reading, Writing and Math.

More specifically, we will start introducing guided groups and strategy groups during Reading to focus on students needs. These groups will be determined based on our Fountas and Pinnell assessments that we will administer through the month of October.

The Writer’s Workshop consists of a mini-lesson, guided practice, and a lot of time for individual practice with group sharing occurring at regular intervals. The first unit will focus on personal narratives based on the students’ true life experiences.

In Math, we will start multiplication and division. We will work on a variety of strategies that include drawing arrays, using the distributive property, and using repeated addition. We will also be practicing our fact fluency with factors from 0 through 10.

In SEL we will be learning about how to be “social detectives” and how to use our social cues in different situa- tions. We will also be building on the vocabulary that they have used in previous grades.

Ms. Kay, Miss Taylor, Miss Walker

Hello families! We have enjoyed the last couple of weeks with your kids. We have worked a lot on building a positive classroom community, where we collaborate and encourage one another to try our best. Our focus in the next couple of weeks will be on kindness, finding ways to include one another, and support one another in our academic journeys. As a part of this focus, we will be reading Wonder in all classes, in order to help us create a safe space for all students.

In Math, we have begun to go over some foundational skills, in order to make sure that all of our students are set up for success for the school year. It is important for students to be working as much as possible on their math facts. This includes not only addition and subtraction facts, but especially multiplication, and as a challenge, division.

In Reading, we have begun to discuss how to make connections to our text in order to help us think more deeply about the text. To further this thoughtful understanding of text, we have begun to have conversations around theme, thinking about what the author is trying to teach us about, whether that is related to a specific subject, topic, or if it is a life lesson.

In Writing, we have begun to learn strategies in order to start creating our personal narratives. We are going over the basic structures in our writing, coming up with ways that we can make sure we are writing clearly, and thought- fully.

We are looking forward to a great rest of the school year!

Mrs. Brahm, Mrs. Jodoin

Our fifth graders have settled in to switching classrooms daily. We are working on classroom expectations, procedures, and expected behaviors. Please talk with your child about meeting expectations of being safe, respectful, and engaged in their work to support their learning at school. At Buckley School, we are educating our students about being kind. The playground and lunchroom are often a difficult and stressful social setting for some of our students. Please have a discussion with your child about the ways they are preventing mean-spirited behavior at Buckley, and what they can do to make Buckley a friendly environment. As always, we strive to have our fifth graders practice being respectful, responsible, and safe at all times.

We are learning how to be divergent thinkers, to be respectful of each other’s opinions, and to work cooperatively as a team towards our solutions. Don’t forget those basic facts! We are still working to improve our multiplication and division. How fast can YOU answer 100 facts?

Please continue to encourage your child with the independent reading assignment. Every student should be reading novels for a period of 20 minutes each day, 20 pages per day, and 100 pages each week. This is part of the language arts assessment and reflects responsibility and commitment to learning. “The more you read, the more you know; the more you know, the smarter you grow. The smarter you grow, the stronger your voice, when speak- ing your mind or making your choice!”

Miss Patrylak, Miss Curtin

During the month of October students will be starting their first units of study. September was spent getting into the mindset of being a scientist! We did hands on investigations which refreshed our minds about making predictions, observations and forming a hypothesis. This allowed us to explore with a variety of science tools and show that we can use them safely and appropriately. Each class has STEM twice a week and it is a very exciting time! So make sure to ask your child about what they did!

Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Rapp

The year is off to a fabulous start in Art! Mr. Rapp and I are both adjusting to being on a cart this year at Buckley which means we travel to the classrooms for Art. We are busy practicing routines and procedures and working on “Making the Most of Our Art Time”. In Kindergarten, we have been getting to know our tools and practicing using them. We have also been discussing lines, shapes, and colors. At this point in 1st through 5th grade, we are mostly using our drawing and coloring tools while we learn about how artists use lines, shapes, colors, patterns, and tex- tures to create their Art. We have also been experimenting with creating Collage art while reacquainting ourselves with our scissors and our glue. Our hands can also be useful in creating torn paper collage. Please encourage your students to be kind and respectful, as well as responsible and safe! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us! It will be a great year!

Mrs. Leonard, Mrs. Fuller

Greetings from music class!

What an exciting start to our new year - so many songs, dances, and games to play! New to our school this year is Mrs. Abigail Fuller, who teaches many of our Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade general music classes. She is joining us from Martin School and has taught in Manchester for 11 years. Welcome to the Buckley family!

So far this year, kindergarten has been playing a frog-shaped instrument called the guiro, while first grade has been copying each other's motions in "Did You Ever See a Lassie?" Second Grade has been working identifying their feet, hands, and elbows in the Spanish song "El Juego Chirimbolo", while Third Grade been dancing in circles with "Weevily Wheat." Fourth Grade has been singing in a three part round called "Sweetly Sings the Donkey", while Fifth Grade has been focused on learning all about the Star Spangled Banner - ask them who their favorite perform- er was!

Keep singing, everybody! 6

Mr.s. Lake, Mrs. Samborski

On October 14th, Winnie the Pooh celebrates his 83rd birthday. A children's book character that endures and is loved for so long must be something special and Winnie the Pooh certainly is. Although, A.A. Milne first introduced Pooh in his poetry collection When We Were Very Young (1924). Winnie wasn’t really born until he starred in his very first book, Winnie the Pooh, which was published on on October 14, 1926. His adventures with his friends Ee- yore, Piglet and Tigger and his protector Christopher Robin continued in two more books by A.A. Milne Now We Are Six (1927) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928). In the 1960’s Pooh and his friends were animated by Walt Dis- ney, and they have since been featured in dozens of movies, videos, easy-reader books, and even have their own attractions at Disneyland and Disney World. We will also be introducing the 2nd graders to the true story of the world’s most famous bear with the Caldecott winner - Finding Winnie. The official website for Winnie the Pooh fea- turing all-new LEARNING ABC’s and 123’s...www.winniethepooh.disney.com

Mr. Kolze, Ms. Falkowski

The biggest news from the gym is our newly refinished floor. The students and staff that see it for the first time are wide-eyed and amazed. The sanded and polished floors have brightened our space and the gym feels bigger. It is a nice pick me up for our beloved gymnasium. When you come visit Buckley please be sure to check it out.

When we are not admiring our beautiful space, we are doing all sorts of fun things. Here is the “playlist” for our preschool thru 5th grade:

Preschool students are new to the gym space. It is an exciting time for them as they find their way around such a big room. We are working on following simple instructions and sorting different colored balls and beanbags into matching baskets and buckets.

Kindergarten students are learning basic locomotor movements and slowly being introduced to safe tagging and tagging games.

First and second graders really have their locomotor skills figured out and are using these skills while playing some more advanced tag games. Noodle Bug Doodle Bug is a favorite!

Third through Fifth grade students are doing a combination of cooperative games and playground games. We are working on sportsmanship, teamwork, friendly competition and other recreational activities that will help us have a happy and healthy recess everyday at Buckley.

WELCOME BACK to all of our returning Bobcats and a very SPECIAL welcome to new Bobcats joining our Buckley community. We are glad that you are here! 7

Mr. Webster

Hello Buckley Bobcats!

Welcome Back!!! It has been great to see so many smiling faces as we kick off the 2017-2018 school year. The Family Resource Center (FRC) has some great things planned for this year. The Family Resource Center will continues to offer Lunch Bunch to families with students in grades Kindergarten - through Third on Mondays and Tuesdays every other week during lunch. Lunch Bunch invites parents, guardians and adult family members into the school to eat with their student and participate in age-appropriate readings and activities. The groups are organized by grade to ensure the student is comfortable with the reading content and engaged in the activities. If you are interested in participating in Lunch Bunch, please contact me at the school. Thank you.

The Buckley FRC will be hosting it's 2nd year of Adult ESL classes through the Alliance Program offered by Man- chester Adult and Continuing Education. Registration and pre-testing took place from September 18-21st. Classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30am-11:30am in the FRC from September 26th to November 30th. Even though classes have started you may still be able to join if interested. Please contact the FRC if you have any questions or are interested.

As always the FRC is here to support all families at Buckley, so please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, or if you're looking for information on specific resources in town. I will do all I can to help support you, your student, and your family. I can be reached by phone @ 860-645-4825 *21202 or by email at [email protected]. You can also check the Buckley FRC calendar at http://mpsfcp.com/buckley for information on things taking place at Buckley and in town. Thanks so much!

Just a reminder… Wednesday, October 4 is a Half Day Dismissal at 1:17 p.m.

Mrs. Schuetz, Mrs. Solito

Hi from the Cafeteria !

So, what did you think about our first month of school? We started the year off great with the PTA’s cookout, then we had Open House. Our younger students love to show the grown-ups how they get their meals and how they enter their ID# on the keypad. They are very proud when they can do this by themselves.

Just a quick reminder about lunch prices going up. This year the price for a student lunch is $2.25 for a full-priced meal and 40¢ for reduced meals. A full-priced breakfast is $1.00, and it is 30¢ for a reduced breakfast. The adult meals are now $3.75. The Manchester Public School District participates in the National School Lunch Program that allows families meeting federal income guidelines to receive free or reduced meals for their children. All students who might be eligible are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Applications for free or reduced meals can be found & filled out online at www.EZMealApp.com. Also, please use the envelopes that are handed out in the cafeteria to put your child’s cash or check into with their first & last name. The ID# helps too.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns feel free to stop by or call us at 860-645-4818. We are available from 8:00 am – 10:30 am, or after we serve lunch, from 1:45 pm – 2:15 pm. You can also call the Office of Food and Nutrition at 860-647-3462. The office is open from 8 am – 4:00 pm every school day.

Please note: If you want to stop by the kitchen, please go to the school office to get a visitor’s pass. All of us at Buckley School are working to keep everyone safe and healthy.

MANCHESTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS NON-DISCRIMINATION NOTICE Manchester Public Schools does not discriminate in any employment practice, education program, or educational activity on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability (including, but not limited to, intellectual disability, past or present history of mental disorder, physical disability or learning disability), genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by Connecticut state and/or federal nondiscrimination laws. Manchester Public Schools does not unlawfully discriminate in employment and licensing against qualified persons with a prior criminal convic- tion. Manchester Public Schools is committed to a policy of equal opportunity/affirmative ac- tion for all qualified persons and equal access to Boy Scouts of America and other designated youth groups. Inquiries regarding Manchester Public Schools nondiscrimination policies and practices should be directed to: Terri Smith, Human Resources Specialist/Title IX Coordinator Manchester Public Schools 45 North School Street Manchester, CT 06042 860-647-3595 or Marney Reardon, Coordinator of School Health Services Section 504 Co-Coordinator Man- chester Public Schools 45 North School Street Manchester, CT 06042 860-647-3324

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