Volume 1, Issue 8 April 2, 2007

1. Volume 1, Issue 8 April 2, 2007 Welcome back to school!! I hope everyone had an enjoyable spring break and got plenty of rest so that we can finish the year strong. We have many exciting events coming up this month. The PE classes will begin the skating unit upon our return from break. This is always a fun unit for the students. Hopefully, everyone will stay on their feet! In preparation for solo and ensemble contest, Mrs. Schrock will be hosting a dress rehearsal evening on April 3 beginning at 6:30 p.m. This is a great opportunity for the students to perform the musical selections in front of an audience before facing a judge. Our students have been working very hard preparing for this event. Everyone is invited to attend and enjoy the evening. The actual contest will be April 14 at Dwight. School will not be in session on April 6 or 9 in respect to Good Friday and Easter. This will be a nice long weekend for everyone to enjoy spending time with their families. The Graymont PTO kicked-off a fundraiser Thursday, March 22. The students have had the opportunity to sell the product over the spring break. The event ends April 3. Delivery will be on April 26 from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. and money will be due on May 3. We are already beginning to make plans for the next school year.  For parents of new kindergarten students, Graymont Grade School will be holding Kindergarten Orientation on Tuesday, April 10 at 6:15- 6:45 p.m. Parents will find out all about entrance requirements, school readiness, curriculum, and registration. I you have a child who will turn 5 years of age on or before September 1, 2007, please call the school at 743-5346 so that we can prepare for the orientation.  If anyone knows of a family in the community who may not get this notice, please pass this information along to them and have them call the school. Mrs. Fritchtnitch NEWSLETTER: April 2007 Graymont Grade School Newsletter

2. Administrative Professionals'  Week Administrative Professionals’ Week is April 22-28!!  Students and Staff at Graymont School would like to say a huge "thank you" to Mrs. Lori Durham.  She wears lots of different hats at Graymont and always has a smile for everyone.  She certainly makes everyone's days go a lot smoother.   THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO!!  Scholastic Bowl Dates for April DayDateOpponentLocationTime Wed. 4/25/07 I.E.S.A Regional TBA TBA Mon. 4/30/07 I.E.S.A. Regional TBA TBA “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions Are made from something they have deep inside Them – a desire, a dream, a vision.” ~Muhammad Ali

3. Teacher News Mrs. Erickson Ms. Myers 1st Grade Reading: We will be finishing up our fifth reading unit and entering the final reading unit in our series. Phonics and studying specific vowel sounds will continue to be a major push in these units. First grade will also be focusing on the following concepts: main idea, cause and effect, sequence, theme, and drawing conclusions. 2nd Grade Reading: The second graders will be taking their 5th unit test and working on our sixth and final unit. Throughout this unit, we will be studying several different vowel sounds. Furthermore, we will be working on reading concepts such as: realism and fantasy, context clues, plot, and theme. 1st Language Arts: We will be working on different types of troublesome words and introduced to homophones. We will practice using the words correctly in our writing and practice the words with multiple meanings. Throughout the month, we will be using adjectives in our writing to give stronger detail. The conclusion of the month will have the students writing a short story. 2nd Language Arts: 2nd grade will be working more with verbs .and using helping verbs. We will focus on how we use them in our speech and writing. We will also be working on writing following one main idea. We will be introduced to adverbs and recognizing them in sentences. At the end of the month, we will learn how to correctly make a how-to paragraph. 1st/2nd Grade Math: This month both grades will be working on the same topic - fractions. We will work on coloring the correct portion of a fraction and what each number represents in the fraction. Throughout the unit we will use manipulatives to help the students reinforce the concepts. We will also be working on patterns. We are going to practice making and labeling the different types of patterns. We will also be learning to extend, transfer, and correct different patterns. 1st/2nd Grade Social Studies: Together our class will be studying our Earth - states, continents, and oceans. We will learn about different types of landforms including hills, mountains, valleys, and deserts. We will talk about different monuments and important places in the United States. Finally, our class will discuss different ways to protect our Earth. We will be talking about the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle. This will come just in time for our celebration of Earth Day. Kindergarten is so ready for spring.  We are patiently waiting for good weather to do some outside experiments and activities for Earth Day. READING READINESS -  We are really concentrating on blending letters together to form words.  Every so often we review all letters/sounds to keep them fresh in our minds.  We will be checking out leveled readers to take home and read with our parents.  We will continue to work on singular and plural nouns.  The Pizza Hut Book-It is finished for this school year.  I am very proud of my students and parents for all of the reading that has gone on at home. MATH - We can now write a horizontal and/or vertical addition problem. Work will begin on telling time to the hour and half-hour.  We love money and will continue to work with the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. We have begun to make different coin combinations.  Our class grocery store has helped us with our money sense.  Thanks to parents for all of the empty food containers that have been sent to school. SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES -The ocean and ocean life will be our new topic.  We will be learning the composition of ocean water, types of living creatures in the ocean, the names of oceans around the world.  There will be several experiments conducted and lots of ocean projects!  We will be utilizing computer software that will really enhance our learning about the ocean.   In addition to the ocean unit, we will begin to learn about seeds and growing plants.  Our classroom garden will be sprouting and blooming before we know it.  Our class will help in the school and town clean-up for EARTH DAY. ALL OF US IN KINDERGARTEN WISH EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY EASTER!!

4. Ms. Rients Mrs. Hott In Math, the 3rd grade is studying customary units, metric units, and temperature. We are finding length, capacity, and weight, along with learning ways to change units. In 4th grade we are finishing up motion geometry, and then we are going to learn about fractions. In Science, we will be finishing up our chapter on energy. Then we are going to move on to sound and light. We will find out what causes sound, how it travels, and how all the parts of the ear work together so we can hear. We will also learn about sources of light, how it travels, and how light interacts with matter. We are continuing our study of the Middle West. We have finished learning about the geography and natural resources, so we will now focus on its past and present. We’ve had fun learning more about where we live and the states around us. Our next project will be researching some of the landmarks in our state to make postcards. This not only helps us understand more about where we live, but also gives us some research practice. For Language Arts, our next parts of speech are adjectives and adverbs. We will work on being more descriptive in our writing as we find out the importance of these. Both grades are moving right along in reading. 3rd grade is focusing on predictions, fact and opinion, visualizing, and determining the author’s purpose. 4th grade is studying plot, using graphic sources, making generalizations, and defining the author’s purpose. It’s important that the students are continuing to read for at least 15 minutes a night, so please give your child any extra encouragement he or she needs to accomplish this. ISATs ARE OVER!!!! Everyone did a good job focusing and doing their best each day. 5/6 Social Studies - We have moved on to Ancient Rome and are learning what their lives were like as well as how they have influenced civilizations today (including our government). 7/8 Social Studies - We are currently learning about Europe in more modern times including the European Union. We will also be focusing specifically on the countries of United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany and Poland. 5/6 Science - Energy is our current topic – what energy is, how it can change forms, etc. For this section we are discussing how electricity and magnetism are related and also taking a look at sound energy. Our next section will focus on thermal and light energy. 7/8 Science - We are almost finished with our book on Animals. A test was taken this week on Fishes, Amphibians and Reptiles and our last chapter is about Birds and Mammals. Math – All grades took tests before spring break (after our hiatus during ISATs) and will begin new topics after spring break. 5th grade – We have finished long division – keep them practicing at home! When we get back from spring break we will start on fractions. 6th graders will be extending their knowledge of fractions by learning how to add, subtract, multiply and divide them. 7th grade will be starting on percents after spring break. 8th grade will be continuing their work on solving equations

5. Ms. Wilson 5-6 – We are moving at a steady pace, continuing to work on Unit 5 and will shortly begin Unit 6 of our Reading books. 5th grade will be working on theme, steps in a process, and plot. 6th graders are focusing on generalizing, author’s viewpoint, and graphic sources. As always there is a spelling test every Friday. Please encourage your child to study their words to ensure they will be successful. Also, each student should be reading at least 20 minutes every evening. 7-8 – In Reading we have finished our unit on Black History and have started the novel “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson. We have been focusing (and doing a great job of) picking out the books major Themes, Motifs, and Symbols. 5-8 – In Language Arts, as I indicated during parent/teacher conferences, we are finished with the grammar section of our English books. For the remainder of the year we will focus on applying what we’ve learned thus far to our writing essays: Expository, Persuasive, and Narrative. If time allows we will do some creative writing at the end of the year. Attached to the newsletter you will find an example of the 5th and 6th grade Expository writing. This was a class effort, every single student contributed to the completion of this essay paper. I was very proud of their enthusiasm and creativity while working on the essay. • Special Dates to Remember • April 6 – No School • April 9 – No School • April 12 – 5-8 grade War Museum in Pontiac 9:00am • April 17 – 2:00 dismissal • April 19 – 8th grade tetanus shots • April 25 – Progress reports sent home “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on” ~ Thomas Jefferson

6. The Way to Spend a Rainy Day By 5th & 6th Grade Do you like rainy days, or do they make you down and blue? Rainy days can be fun; here is a suggestion or two. Sleeping in and being lazy, reading books, and spending quality time with your family. If you follow these suggestions you will be glad you do. First, when your alarm clock starts to beep, beep, beep just turn that sucker off! Lie back down in your bed and feel the squishy comfortableness of your sleeping paradise. While you are snoozing, dream about the scrumptious, syrupy, buttery pancakes and greasy bacon you hope your parents are preparing. Now that your wishful taste buds have been tempted, you can listen to the pitter patter of the light rain tapping on your window. Now that you are relaxed, reach over and pick up that mystery novel (or book of your choice) on your night stand you’ve wanted to finish. While you are reading you can visualize yourself as the lead detective. You just uncovered the last piece of the puzzle when suddenly, BANG! The door behind you slams shut! All of a sudden the room goes black and you hear creaking footsteps getting louder and louder as they are coming toward you. You turn the final page only to find out its to be continued…Now that you’ve completed the first volume of the mystery novel make sure you get a copy of the second volume for your next rainy day. Since you have just finished the dramatic ending to the mystery novel, you can now get your lazy bum out of bed and spend quality time with your family. One great way to bond with your family is to play board games. Here are a few fun games you might enjoy: Monopoly (a game involving money to buy land), Scrabble (a game about creating words for points), and Clue (a mystery game using detective skills). In addition to board games you can also spend good quality time playing card games. Some classic card games include Texas Hold ‘Em, a casino game, UNO, which involves matching colors and numbers, and Spoons, a game matching four of a kind but you must also have great agility and cat like reflexes to snatch a spoon. Rainy days can be fun if you take full advantage and do it right! Remember when the rain is coming down you can enjoy your extended slumber, dive into your next reading novel, and get to know your family better. Now the next time you hear the rain trickling down you’ll realize it’s not such a bad sound. The Way to Spend a Rainy Day By 5th & 6th Grade