Ashburton Elementary School
6314 Lone Oak Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817 * 301-571-6959
PRINCIPAL’S NEWS
December 3, 2009
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you had an enjoyable and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday and are now busily preparing for the upcoming winter holidays. It was wonderful to see so many families in November during Parent-Teacher Conferences, the PTA meeting, at the Book Fair, and our Family Reading Night.
On November 5th Ashburton students participated in our first annual ‘Walk for the Homeless’. Students learned many age appropriate facts about homelessness and the importance of being an involved citizen to help stop the homelessness in Montgomery County. Good news - If you ordered a t-shirt it finally arrived. The Fannie Mae Foundation sends their apologies for the back orders on the t-shirts. Thank you for supporting this meaningful event.
We are getting ready to help our third, fourth, and fifth grade students prepare for the Maryland School Assessment (MSA), which will be administered in March 2010. The Maryland State Department of Education uses the test results to determine whether Ashburton meets the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) needed to be satisfactory in meeting the goals of No Child Left Behind. I know that many families plan for vacations and doctors appointments well in advance so I wanted to provide you with the testing windows so you can plan accordingly: MSA testing will be held for grades 3, 4, and 5 from March 8-17. Additionally, MSA Science for Grade 5 only, will be given on May 5-6, 2010. Mark your calendars for TN2 testing for grade 2 on April 26-30, 2010. The LAS LINKS window for all ESOL students, April 6-26; dates for specific grades will be sent at a later time.
Many students have been arriving late to school each day, which has a significant impact on the educational program. School starts at 8:50 a.m. and children are marked late if they enter the classroom after that time. Children miss critical instructions and organization for the day when they come in late. Please make every effort to send children to school on time and plan to keep afternoon appointments to a minimum. Teachers plan instruction until the end of the day. Also, please remember that we follow a ‘Kiss and Say Goodbye’ policy, which means students should be dropped off at the front or back door and proceed to the classroom on
their own. Once students are in the classroom teachers need to
have their full attention on students. It is not a time for
conferences with the teacher. If you would like to conference
with a teacher you can send a note, email, call, or schedule an
appointment. We appreciate your cooperation in following these requests to ensure the best possible learning environment for your children.
The office will be closed over Winter Break from December
24 through January 1st. I hope you have a wonderful holiday
season and I look forward to seeing you at our many events
throughout the month of December.
Sincerely,
Charlene Eroh, Principal
Please remember: State regulations require us to have a written note when your child is absent. Please call the school and leave a message on the
answering machine or email the teacher or Mrs. Lynch () to let us know when your child is not at school. Ms. Lynch will need to call you if you do not call us. Please follow up the absence with a written note.
Pre-School Education Program
PEP
As we head into the last month of 2009, our December thematic unit will be Nursery Rhymes. We will enjoy reading, singing, chanting, and acting out favorite, familiar, and new rhymes such as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Jack and Jill, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, Humpty Dumpty, and many more. Nursery Rhymes offer opportunities to develop oral language, math, and pre-reading skills through singing, finger play, and lots of fun arts and crafts activities. Since most children have had experience with some of these rhymes and since the rhymes are typically short and involve animation and fantasy, this is usually a fun theme for kids and adults alike!
Sample of Rhymes:
· Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
· Mary Had A Little Lamb
· Little Miss Muffet
· Little Boy Blue
· Humpty Dumpty
· One Two Buckle My Shoe
· Three Little Kittens
· Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
· Hickory Dickory Dock
· Jack and Jill
· Hey, Diddle, Diddle
· The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
· Jack Be Nimble
· Rain, Rain, Go away
Concepts:
Real and nonsense rhyming words, Opposites/Prepositions: up/down, in/out, hot/cold, day/night, under/over, on/off, wet/dry, broken/whole, little/big, white/black. Number concepts: rote counting, sequencing numbers 1-10, making sets 1-5.
Thematic Vocabulary:
Egg, broken, fell, king, horses, fetch, pail, water, tumbling, washed, sun, dried, spider, spout, diamond, sheep, fleece, wool, master, dame, clock, fiddle, dish, spoon, candle stick, meadow, rhyme.
Sample of Activities:
· Group recitation of rhymes with finger play
· Re-telling rhymes with flannel board characters
· Acting out rhymes with props and puppets
· Sequencing the actions in rhymes: first, next, then, last.
· Sorting rhyme characters into groups: people, animals, objects
· Identifying rhyming words; generating real or nonsense rhyming words
· Identifying positional words in rhymes: (up the hill, over the candle stick, on a wall.)
· Identifying opposites in rhymes: (black sheep, white sheep)
· Discussing fantasy, make-believe, pretend, in rhymes
· Motor Activities: jumping over candlesticks
· Science Extension: making predictions; will objects sink or float in a pail of water?; how many cups of water will it take to fill a bucket?
Sample of Art/Craft Activities:
· Handprint sheep (black or white)
· Humpty Dumpty egg carton character
· Humpty Dumpty on wall (whole), on ground (broken)
· Night sky with crayon and black tempera paint
· Twinkle star headbands
· Character paper bag puppets
· Mouse and clock craft
· Candle stick craft with cardboard tube and tissue paper flame
· Paper plate spiders
Home Extensions:
As always, we recommend that you enjoy reading with your child. Because some of the children become very facile in reciting the rhymes and others are able to fill in the rhyming word at the end of each phrase, this is the perfect opportunity for your child to turn the pages with you and help “read” the story. Since these rhymes tend to be short and sweet, you can recite them without a text at stoplights in the car, while waiting in line at the grocery store, etc.
Reminder: No School for PEP Monday, December 7th Staff In-Service Training
Thanks, as always, for your continued support!
The PEP Team
December Happenings In Kindergarten
Science/ Social Studies
We will be exploring the new science unit of Me, Myself, and Others. We will take a look at how we are similar and different from one another including how we each celebrate the upcoming holiday season.
Reading
In December, we will read favorite folk-tales. Here are some examples:
The Little Red Hen
Henny Penny
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Hansel and Gretel
In a Dark, Dark Wood
Little Red and The Wolf
The Gingerbread Boy
We will focus on characters, setting, problems and solutions as well as retelling with these tales.
Writing
In writing, we will continue to practice writing sentences using the Kindergarten words that we know, and also using our letter sound knowledge to stretch out unknown words. We will also be focusing on writing concepts such as using punctuation, leaving spaces between words, starting a sentence with a capital letter, and adding detail and color to our pictures that match our sentences. Please continue to practice these things at home with your child!
Counting on Math
We will continue Unit 2: Exploring Numbers for the second marking period. Over the course of this unit, the students will learn to read, write and count to thirty-one and beyond! They will also be able to count back from ten! They will match numerals to sets, and use objects to make two sets equal. It is very important for your child to be able to consistently and accurately count a number of objects, not just rote count. Along with these concepts we will introduce odd and even numbers, and also ordinal numbers first through tenth. Continue to practice these things at home, outside, and anywhere else you can!
First Grade News
Dear First Grade Parents,
November was a very busy and exciting month at Ashburton!! The students have been hard at work, and they are all making outstanding progress!
Since the month of December is here, we wanted to let you know what we will be focusing on in all areas of the curriculum.
Reading and Writing: First graders will continue reading at their own level and continue to progress at their own pace. We are beginning an author study about Eric Carle, and will continue this unit during the winter. First Grade Authors are writing their own procedural (how-to) texts!
Math: We will continue to develop students’ knowledge of addition and subtraction – students will begin to commit many of these facts to memory. We just finished learning how to tell time to the hour, half-hour, and quarter-hour. At home, you can practice reading an analog clock (a clock with hands) with your child whenever you have to be somewhere at a specific time! We are currently learning how to measure using inches and centimeters, and nonstandard units (ex.: paperclips). Next, we will be studying place value.
Science: Our hands-on Constructions unit helps the students focus on the scientific inquiry method which includes asking questions, gathering and analyzing data and communicating ideas. Each classroom will have its own Constructions kit. We will begin our Constructions unit later in December.
Social Studies: This quarter in Social Studies the students are learning about human made features and other features that are not made by humans (natural features). We have also begun using directional words such as North, South, West and East when we look at maps. Students will also be learning the names of the seven continents and five large oceans. Please be practicing these at home, as they are hard to remember!
Thank you to all of the volunteers! You have all been incredibly helpful and supportive!
As we all get ready for the winter break, the students will become more and more excited. This is a very exciting time of year with the constant possibility of snow, and the upcoming vacations! That is why it is even more important for us to continue to hold our standards high for every first grade student. Parents and teachers will continue to expect that each student will put forth their best work, and make their best effort to follow all school rules.
If you have any questions, please contact us (301-571-6959). We are looking forward to December being a challenging, fun month!
Sincerely,
The First Grade Team
Second Grade Town News
December will be an exciting month for 2nd graders. Here is what we will be learning.
Reading/Language Arts
We will focus on reading a variety of books about the December holidays. We will use these books to discuss story elements, cause and effect, and reading strategies. We will also focus on strategies to use when we read unfamiliar vocabulary. Please help at home by having your child reading nightly for at least 15 minutes. Also, ask them questions about what they are reading.
Writing to Inform
We will complete a variety of writing activities with the purpose of writing to inform others. We will learn how to use procedural words to organize our writing (first, next, then, last). We will continue to focus on developing a topic sentence and supporting details for our writing. Please encourage your child to write at home. They can write to inform you about their day or something they learned in school.
Math
We will finish our unit on geometry and begin unit 3: Computation. We will learn to model, represent, and interpret number relationships to solve problems involving addition and subtraction. We will relate problem situations to different number sentences. Using strategies, we will solve addition and subtraction problems. We will also learn to model and demonstrate adding and subtracting with and without regrouping.
*Please make sure to reinforce all math concepts at home. It is important for students to have a foundation of their basic addition and subtraction facts. You can help your child practice math facts by playing a game or using flash cards.
Math with Ms. Canard
We will finish our unit on measurement and begin unit 3: Multiplication and Division. We will begin by learning how to model multiplication using equal grouping with sets, number lines, and arrays. We will also focus on multiplication story problems.
*Multiplication and division flash cards will be sent home soon. Students should review the flash cards nightly.
Social Studies
We will finish our unit on the Wampanoag and begin on our geography unit. We will explore different characteristics and physical features of the United States. Please help at home by looking over a world map and showing your child were different oceans are located, were the United States is located, and by going over the directions of a compass rose (north, south, east, and west).
Happy Holidays!
Ms. Ashin, Ms. Bouquet, Ms. Canard, Ms. Fox & Mrs. Rush
News From Third Grade
We hope you had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed spending time with your family and friends. Instruction in December will include the following objectives:
Math 3rd Grade:
Students will be starting the third unit in Mathematics. The unit will include mostly multiplication. Students will learn about fact families and how to make models of multiplication problems. Every third grader will be creating flash cards in class, which he or she can use at home to practice computation skills. Please make sure your third grader practices his or her multiplication facts at home. Additionally, Ms. Zeccardi’s math classes should be working on their math calendars as part of their nightly assignments.
Math 4th Grade:
Students instructed in fourth grade Mathematics will be completing the computation unit, but should continue to practice their facts each night. Third graders will be solving expressions and equations with variables. (For example, 3 X b = 21) Students will also be taking the Unit 2 assessment in December.
Science:
Third Graders are finishing the plant growth and development unit in Science. We will be discussing the role of bees in the pollination process. Students will learn the different roles of bees in the hive. At home, you can go to the public library or look on the internet for interesting bee facts.