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- Mr. Small's BB team1/31/2012
100 Days Smarter!
On Tuesday, January 24th, students at Deerfield and West Primary Schools celebrated being 100 Days SMARTER with many fun and mathematical activities. Some classes made 10 groups of 10 for 100 snack items, went on a number hunt for a secret message, counted 100 items, wrote 100 words, read books about 100, wrote about what they would do with $100 and discussed how 100 days in school have made them smarter! Kindergarten students at Deerfield had a SPECIAL guest for their celebration! Pockets the Clown, joined the classes and showed them how she applies her make-up and costume before playing fun and magical tricks on the kids.
RUBBISH!
Recently in 3rd grade, we read an excerpt from a Judy Moody book called, A Mr. Rubbish Mood. Students spent the week learning about vocabulary words including the word rubbish, which means trash.
A Mr. Rubbish Mood was about how Judy was trying to save the world and it started at home with her family. She was very concerned about the rain forest, recycling, and minimalizing waste. Judy drove her family crazy while trying to explain to them how using certain things can harm the environment. In our classroom we talked a lot about recycling. I challenged the students to create a new product using only recycled materials. They brought in their projects to share with each other. The creative ideas were amazing! Listed below are the projects that were created:
· Board Game
· Kite
· Robots
· Plastic Bag Dispenser
· Pop can flowers
· Chair
· Pencil Holders
· Telephone
· Wall Art
· Sidewalk Chalk Milk Jug Container
· Jet Pack
· Cardboard Car
· Bird Feeder
Show Choirs Tour Elementary Schools
On Tuesday, January 10th, the Blair High Show Choirs, Encore and Ovation, toured the elementary schools, performing their shows for the PK-3 students. The choirs were preparing for their first competition of the year and used this day to perform in front of their first audience. As an extra treat, West School students hosted the high school students for lunch! It was a swinging good time!
School Improvement
Please visit our School Improvement link on the left side of our page to view our newest assessment data and updated plans. Please send us your feedback!
Math Academy to Begin
Selected Deerfield and West students will soon have the opportunity to participate in an after-school Math academy. This program will give students some additional practice on Math skills. Students will meet with teachers, participate in collaborative center activities and work on computer guided instructional lessons. Parents of the students selected to participate were informed through a letter and application form in early January. Please check the school building calendar for the scheduled class times.
Read for 20!
Reading with your children has been called the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for success in reading. Reading aloud, with children participating actively, helps children learn new words, learn more about the world, learn about written language, and see the connection between words that are spoken and words that are written.
The benefits of reading with your child go far beyond the mechanics of word decoding and vocabulary lists. Reading sharpens listening and conversation skills, sparks the imagination, and expands a child's knowledge of the world around him. Chat about a book and you'll help him practice using words correctly. Pick up a book about the rain forest, King Arthur's round table, or the Mayan Indians and you'll ignite an interest in people, places, and ideas outside of his daily life.
Home reading is beginning on Sept. 12th. Students will receive a calendar to keep track of their home reading. This means ANY kind of reading or being read to - comics, cereal boxes, books, magazines and newspapers. Please send the calendar back the last school day of the month. We will add all of our minutes together and try to reach 1,000,000 home reading minutes! Readers make leaders! So...read for 20 minutes each night!
