BUBBLES’ BLOG
OCTOBER 2015 NEWS FOR
S. B. BUTLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
UPCOMING EVENTS
Fri, Oct 2nd Roller Skating with NEA – Galaxy Skating Rink 5-7pm
Fri, Oct 9th Picture Day!!
Mon, Oct 12th No School – Columbus Day
Tue, Oct 20th PTO Meeting – Media Center 6:30-7:30pm
Oct 19-23rd Book Fair – Media Center
Oct 21-23rd Early Dismissal 1:12pm
Oct 21 & 22nd Parent/Teacher Conferences
Fri, Oct 30th Costume Dance 5:30-7pm
Tue, Nov 3rd No School for Students – Election Day
Staff Professional Development
5th Grade Bake Sale
Wed, Nov 11th No School-Veteran’s Day
Tue, Nov 17th PTO Meeting – Media Center 6:30-7:30pm
Wed, Nov 25th Early Dismissal – Thanksgiving Recess 1:12pm
Nov 26 & 27th No School –Thanksgiving Recess
PRINCIPAL’S CORNER
Dear S.B. Butler Families,
It was nice to see many of you at our curriculum nights a couple of weeks back. There was an ST Math representative in the computer lab walking some parents through demo lessons and answering questions about the program. ST Math is a computer based math program that assists students in mastering math concepts and multi-step problem solving. (Please see the attached flyer.)
Our students at Butler are benefitting from the implementation of the Writing Workshop. Representatives from Teachers College, Columbia University are involved in the Professional Development that teachers are receiving throughout the year. It is great to see students writing for longer periods of time and focusing on the organization and craft of their piece.
All students spent part of their day on September 24th with author Steve Swinburne. He shared his love of writing and learning about various different animals from around the world. Students were able to purchase some of his books and Mr. Swinburne autographed many during his lunch hour.
In Partnership,
Mr. Wheeler
Principal
S.B. Butler Elementary School
October Events for Preschool
Mrs. Field & Mrs. Mangelinkx
The preschool classes are working hard to learn about school and their new friends. It has been a wonderful start to the school year. As we move into our Fall themes, we are looking for objects from nature to explore with our senses. Think crunchy leaves, prickly pine cones, and smooth shells. As a class, we will take lots of nature walks around the school to discover clues and objects related to the season. The preschool staff are planning a surprise for the preschool students to find involving hay bales, pumpkins and apples right here in our schoolyard. Shhh! It’s a surprise!!
October in Kindergarten
Mrs. Horler & Mrs. Whitten
We’re off to a wonderful start in Kindergarten. Children have become acquainted with the school and their classroom. We have been learning routines and made the classroom rules together. In math, we have been exploring manipulatives and numbers 1 through 5. We are working on making our own book based on Anno’s Counting Book. The children are focusing on creating scenes of a given number. We will begin our exploration of the seasons with a focus on autumn and trees. During literacy, we have been sharing alphabet books and practicing naming the letters. The children are enjoying writers’ workshop and sharing their stories with the class. Upcoming field trips will be posted on the Kindergarten page on the SBB website.
First Grade
Mrs. Celtruda & Mrs. Grigg
The first graders have started off the new school year with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. We have been spending these past few weeks becoming familiar with the class routines. The children are becoming familiar with the literacy stations used in first grade classes during guided reading time and are looking forward to beginning reading groups.
We have begun writing personal narratives in Writing Workshop. The children are learning to plan, write, and revise their narratives.
In Social Studies, we are reading, discussing, and writing about citizenship, friendships, and how we can be a good friend and citizen in our classroom. This coincides with establishing and incorporating our classroom rules throughout our day.
In math, we are currently working on numeracy, number partners up to ten, and beginning addition and subtraction up to ten. The children are learning how to break down a number in order to see how the two partners join together to make the total. For instance the number partners for 6 are: 1 and 5, 2 and 4, 3 and 3. The “switch partners” would then be 5 and 1, 4 and 2. This first unit in math really lays the groundwork for future addition and subtraction up to 20.
Second Grade
Mrs. Bailey & Mrs. Westkott
Fall is fast approaching and the children are settling nicely into a routine at school. We have focused on establishing appropriate behaviors in the classroom to ensure a positive learning environment for all.
In math we are focusing on addition and subtraction strategies along with story problems. We continue to work on “Small Moment” stories during writing workshop.
Open House was a huge success! It was a pleasure to meet those of you that were able to attend. Fall conferences will take place October 21st and 22nd. Please contact Mrs. Clang if you do not have a conference scheduled. We will send home reminders the week before.
We look forward to working with you as partners in your child’s education!
Third Grade
Mrs. Gwaltney & Mrs. Zuliani
We have had a busy month in third grade. In reading, we have been learning how to write a written response. We have worked on turning the question into an answer. Third graders are also expected to give two supportive details from the text in their response. In Writing, we have been work in our writing notebooks on true stories.
We will start to write poems about fall. In Math, we continue to learn strategies for multiplication and division. This has been a challenging concept for our third graders. We look forward to discussing your child’s progress at fall conferences!
Fourth Grade
Mrs. Burdick, Mrs. Genovese & Mrs. O’Connell
* In reading, we are focusing on characters. We are learning how to read intensely to notice important details about characters.
* In writing, our focus is also on characters. We have been working hard to use details to develop strong characters.
* Our math focus this month is multiplication. Please ensure your child is practicing math facts daily!
* We will have a special guest, Sara Aiken, from Dominion to teach electricity and magnetism.
* We are studying the northeast region states in social studies.
Fifth Grade
Mrs. Hubbard & Mrs. Wilson
We are off to a quick start in fifth grade. In Social Studies, we are beginning our Native American unit. We have begun Health which will run for a total of 9 weeks. In Language Arts, we are building our reading stamina and beginning our whole group book, Wonder. In Math, we are learning exploring fractions: comparing fractions, adding and subtracting fractions, and finding equivalent fractions. Science has us looking at the Phases of the Moon – students should be observing and documenting the phases of the moon through October 23rd.
On Open House night, we met with 5th grade parents regarding our annual 5th grade field trip. We will be holding an Election Day Bake Sale on Tuesday, November 3rd. If you are a parent of a 5th grade student, please consider volunteering to help make this event a success! We will have a sign up at the October conferences.
PE/Health
Mr. DeMario
Happy Fall!
A few things to remember when your child has PE:
- Grade four students are learning and preparing for the Connecticut Physical Fitness Assessment. There are four parts to the assessment: mile run, push-ups, sit ups, and sit & reach. All results have to be sent to the state, so it is important for your child to practice/train for all four areas of the assessment. Encourage your child to get into the habit of practicing in the morning before school or after school. We have been reviewing and helping each other to prepare for the assessment during PE classes, but at home practice is what will really help them achieve their goals.
- Any parents have skills or fun activities that they may want to teach or share with S. B. Butler students during recess? It’s only a half hour and students would love to have parents come in as coaches and put on mini clinics. For example, if you are skilled at soccer, you could come in once a week and set up drills for students soccer balls, or teach footwork and such. If interested, please get in touch with me via email.
- Please encourage your child to dress for physical activities on their day of PE. Sneakers are the best and safest footwear. Please refrain from having students wear dress shoes, sandals, Crocs and the like. If students want to wear dress shoes or the like to school on the day of PE, have them put their sneakers in their backpacks to change into for PE.
- Healthy snacks are highly encouraged for your child’s snack at school. Whole fruits and veggies are best at providing energy till lunch. Sugary snacks don’t have the long lasting energy and nutrition that whole fruits and veggies have. Snack Attack will be starting up in October, so let’s get our children on the right track.
Summer Reading Celebration
Mrs. Fridinger & Mrs. Pombrio
On Friday, September 11th, eighty eight SBB students participated in the Summer Reading Celebration. These students each read and recorded the books they read all summer long and handed in their Summer Reading Logs by the deadline. The celebration took place in the cafeteria where they played BINGO for prizes! After several games were played, the students got to eat their BINGO chips, cheddar goldfish. At the conclusion of the celebration, each student was given a certificate of participation and a pencil of their choice.
We are very proud of these students and their decision to make reading a part of their summer vacation!
Math News
Mrs. Fleming
We’ve had an exciting start to the school year with some big changes! The first change is that I am here full time this year so I get to teach my favorite subject all day every day with all different grades! We also have a brand new computer lab which is where you can find me when I’m not in classrooms working with students. The computer lab has been very busy as all of our classes have started using ST Math this year. This is a fun and exciting math program that uses Spatial-Temporal (ST) reasoning to teach math concepts that are aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Students play games using Jiji the penguin to help develop their critical thinking skills. This school year is sure to be a great one!!
Media Center
Ms. Harper
On September 24th SB Butler welcomed nonfiction author Steve Swinburne. Steve gave three presentations gearing each one to the specific grade level preK – 5th grades. Steve took students on an adventure with manatees, wolves, black bears and sea turtles through his lively power point presentation. He also focused on the importance of research, journal keeping, writing first drafts and the passion of storytelling.
Hopefully the young authors at SBB were inspired to strengthen their own writing by listening to his advice!
The Scholastic Book fair will be held in the Media Center the week of October 19-23. Thanks to the PTO for sponsoring this event which enables the library to acquire books!!
Art
With Ms. Whitchelo
This year we are starting off quickly and jumping right in to art work.
Please join us at Fall conferences for an art show we are calling “The Faces of S.B.B.” This will feature self-portraits from every grade level. I can’t wait to start the year off with a school full of art!
This year the PTO is helping the art room again by doing The Original Artworks fundraiser. Please look for more information in November, and help the art room reach our goal of getting a new drying rack.
Here is a sneak peak of some of the amazing self-portraits that will be part of our “Faces of S.B.B.” art show next month:
Music Classes Are Making Lovely Music at SBB!
Mrs. Martelle, Mrs. Stevenson & Mr. Schneider
Preschool classes are discovering music through echo songs, call and response, simple songs, rhythm instruments, finger plays, action songs, and circle games.
In Kindergarten, we are learning music concepts such as rhythm vs. beat, loud/soft, high/low, and fast/slow. Themes include making friends, following directions, letters, colors, numbers/counting, health/safety and shapes. We are also looking specifically at songs for Fall.
First graders are learning about beat, high/low, fast/slow, and loud/soft. Students are also working on creating their own movements and words to songs. We are also looking at songs forFall. The students just created their own verses for "Little Red Wagon". Hope you enjoyed the Little Red Wagon song books that came home.
In second grade, weare learning about beat, high/low, fast/slow, loud/soft.
In grade three, the students are reviewing note naming and playing xylophones.
In fourth and fifth grade, the students are learning about different composers and following listening maps. They are creating movements for pieces of music and have centers they can work on.
Our S.B. Butler musicians are off to a great start this year! Concerts will be upon us before we know it! Please mark your calendars now so you don’t miss out on hearing our talented music groups!
· Band/Chorus Winter Concert:
o Tuesday, December 15th, 6:30pm at SB Butler
· Groton String Festival/Winter Concert:
o Wednesday, December 16, 2015 (6:30pm) at Fitch High School
· Celebrate the Arts at Northeast Academy:
o January 21-22, 2016;
Snow date: Jan. 28-29
o Our SBB students will take part in this event once again this year! Details to follow…