December 2012 LAFAYETTE UPPER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THREE LEARNING LANE Issue 4 FREDERICKSBURG, VA 22401 (540) 310-0029 Fax—(540) 310-0671 Dear Lafayette Families, Inside this issue: The month of December often brings diverse opportunities for discussion, celebration, personal re- Inclement Weather 3 flection, and many mixed emotions. While it can bring the most joyous occasions, there is often a break from routine and potential stressors that leave our children open for confusion, anxiety, and a need for Counseling Corner 4 security. I often find myself rushing around trying to run more errands than usual, eating quick meals, not sleeping enough, and making plans with family and friends that are outside the normal family rou- SCA News 5 tine. Sound familiar? If so, you may also be able to relate to my mistakes of rarely stopping to see how Winter Concert 5 it may be affecting my children. At home, I sometimes see changes in my children’s behavior and their social/emotional functioning, and I can also see similar patterns in the school environment this time of Adopt-A-Classroom 6 year. I have come to realize that children of this generation are more perceptive than we may give them credit for. Therefore, while I realize that we all have unique situations, I encourage you to be in Health Update 6 tune with your children’s needs and provide them with some predictability, patience, and attention so Honor Roll 7 that they can remain productive and healthy. LUES Clues 8 Last month, I shared comments and ideas about setting goals with your children or as a family. As we Perfect Attendance 9 bring in the New Year, your children will hear many people talking about what their “New Year resolu- tions” will be and what they want to accomplish. Take time to include them and ask them guided ques- Family Life Opt-Out 10 tions about their goals. Encourage them to share what is important to them. Then simply listen. This is not easy, and I can honestly say that I sometimes do this better with the 715 students (and with more Menu 11 patience) that with my own children. However, I do know that, when I ask the right questions at the right times and then remain quiet, I usually hear some of the most interesting thoughts and ideas from my children and yours. I hope you all get to experience that at least once over the Winter Break with your children. December has only 13 instructional days this year, and teachers continue to do the best that they can to keep students engaged and moving forward. Please encourage your children to practice good study habits over the winter break and motivate them to read daily. Be proactive and get them some books UPCOMING EVENTS of interest now that they can read independently and/or sit and read with you. The time and effort you invest in these activities now will give them more confidence and success later in the school year. 12/4-Jingle Bell Jog I am thrilled that last month we observed increased parent involvement and had many parent volun- 12/10-PTA Game Truck teers, who were greatly appreciated. Whether it was attendance at our concerts, assistance at the dunk show, involvement in parent-teacher conference, or chaperoning our field trips, we were grateful for 12/11-Family Life Night your support. Our Family Math Night last month was a huge success with over 350 people in attend- ance! It was terrific to see so many families out to join us for math games and fun activities. In addi- 12/12-Principal’s Adviso- tion, it was great to see all of the students recognized at our honor roll assemblies for their hard work ry Comm. Mtg. and diligence so far. I hope to see even more of you attend future school events that we have planned this year. Please take some time to look over your calendar and get involved. Your children will benefit 12/13-Winter Concert and appreciate it most. As we prepare for our winter break, I wish you all a very safe and happy holiday season. As always, if 12/14-Winter Concert you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. 12/14-Interims Sincerely, 12/19-Film Festival 12/20-1/1-Winter Break Page 2 GRADE 3 Can you believe that it is already December? The year is flying by. We would like to thank all of the families who came out to help with our donated food for our Ancient Civilization Day Celebration in November. It was a fun learning experience for all of the students. During the month of December, we will explore multiplication and division in math. This is a great time for you to work with your child at home to help him/her begin memorizing the 0-12 multiplication facts. Around the middle of the month, we will begin working on a set of multiplication facts each week to help the students with this process. At the end of the month, we will begin learning about how to name and to write fractions. In reading, the students will do some work with words by looking at syllables, roots, prefixes, suffices, and homo- phones. We will also explore the meaning of words by using dictionaries and context clues. In writing, we will practice using verbs correctly and using transition words as we craft stories this month. Don’t forget to have your child spend time each night reading independently at home. We will start the month off by wrapping up our science unit on the six simples machines. We will then move on to our exploration of the European explorers, Christopher Columbus, Ponce de Leon, Jacques Cartier, and Christopher Newport. Students will learn which country sponsored each explorer, their reasons for exploring, and their major ac- complishments/discoveries. After all that hard work, students will have earned a much needed winter break! We hope that all families have a GRADE 4 We are heading toward our winter break, but there is still a lot of great learning ahead for our students. In reading, students will be focusing on summarizing and determining the author’s purpose of fiction and nonfiction. In math, we will continue to focus on multiplication and division. We have learned several different methods and strategies for solving problems. Please continue to practice multiplication facts with your child. Our students did such a fabulous job writing their animal reports. This month, we will be writing letters and essays about our winter break. In social studies, we will study the growth and expansion of Virginia. That will be followed by an exciting unit on the Revolutionary War. We hope that you and your family enjoy your holiday break! Page 3 GRADE 5 Students have been using our technology skills a lot this month! We recently completed a project in the computer lab using Microsoft Word to create fliers based on the U.S. geographic regions that we previously studied in geography. We also worked on a research project for language arts, investigating internet sources, and using Word to format our final drafts. In reading, we are working with non-fiction texts to identify structural patterns such as cause and effect and compare and contrast. In science class, we completed a challenging unit on atoms, elements, molecules, and com- pounds and will soon be moving on to a biology unit. In social studies, we are learning about Colonial America. During the month of November, we went on a field trip to Friends of the Rappahannock to learn more about our local culture and the early settlers who used the Rappahannock River and surrounding land in order to survive and thrive. We took a nature walk, and one group of students saw a snake in the woods. We made clay pots and partici- pated in an activity where we had to pretend we were English settlers struggling to find food and shelter in an unfamil- iar place before the long, harsh winter began. Many of us also got to attend this school year’s first Lion Fun Day at the Fredericksburg Field House. We played Capture the Pin, Agility Ball, and Mat Ball. We are looking forward to a well- deserved Winter Break! INCLEMENT WEATHER Information concerning school closings or delays for Fredericksburg City Public Schools may be found by checking one of the fol- lowing: Fredericksburg City Public Schools website: www.cityschools.com www.fredericksburg.com Local Educational Access Channel 18 WFLS Radio (FM 93.3) WVBX Radio – The Vibe (FM 99.3) WWUZ Radio – Classic Rock (FM 96.9) WFVA/B101.5 Radio (FM 101.5) (AM 1230) WGRQ Radio (Q 96) WGRX Radio (Thunder 104.5) WTVR Television – Channel 6 (Richmond) WRIC Television – Channel 8 (Richmond) WRC Television – Channel 4 (DC) WUSA Television – Channel 9 (DC) We encourage parents to visit our website or listen to one of the radio or television stations listed above. Announcements are posted as quickly as possible. Page 4 COUNSELING CORNER The Character Education Word of the Month is “Kindness” - Kindness means a kind, respectful or considerate act per- formed from one person to another without any expectation of return. Olweus Bullying Prevention Program We are in the process of training all faculty and staff for implementation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. The big school-wide kick-off will be January 3, 2013. “Bullying is when someone repeatedly and on purpose says or does mean or hurtful things to an- other person who has a hard time defending himself or herself.” HOMEWORK TIPS: Homework should not be a battle.