Upcoming dates:
October 10 - Columbus Day - No School
October 11 - PTO meeting 7:00 p.m. AES Cafeteria
October 23 - Trunk or Treat
October 25 - Picture Day
November 1 - No school for students
November 8 - PTO meeting 7:00 p.m. AES Cafeteria
November 11 - Veterans Day - NO school
November 23 to November 25th - Thanksgiving Break
LUNCH UPDATE:
Our lunch company, Sysco drivers are currently on strike, which has resulted in some limited items. You will notice changes to the lunch menu as we move existing products around and some options will be unavailable. We appreciate your patience and flexibility during this issue.
We have had another wonderful week here at AES! Despite the wet weather, we enjoyed the ed of the week being able to finally get outdoors. Just a reminder that October is Bullying Prevention Month - bullying is a topic that we discuss regularly throughout the day with students where we encourage and focus on being kind, respectful and accepting of all!
October is quite the month ahead! We are getting ready for some VERY exciting activities!
Fire Prevention Week - October 9 - 15
Kindergarten will be participating in their annual Fire Station Visit and grade 1, 2 and 3 will have a presentation by our local Lakeville Firefighters!
STEM week - October 17 - 21 - students will be engaging in various STEM related activities. We are very excited to kick off our week with a STEM assembly on Robots.
Our grade level teams have several various activities from:
Pumpkin towers
Apple boats
Jack O lantern Geoboards
Exploding lemons
Building bridges
Turkey Ziplines
Let’s embrace our individuality and be UNIQUE! And celebrate all the differences! October 19th is UNITY DAY and we will come together as a school and wear orange to support UNITY!
OCTOBER - anti bullying month!
Spirit Week - Let’s Embrace being UNIQUE!
October 17 | October 18 | October 19 | October 20 | October 21 |
Unique Sock Day |
October 17 - Unique Sock Day
October 18 - Wacky wardrobe!
October 19 - Unity Day - wear ORANGE
October 20 - Crazy Hair Day
October 21 - BE YOU DAY! (if you like baseball, wear a baseball shirt. If you like dance and have a medal from a show, wear it! If you love hiking, wear your hiking boots! Have fun)
A look into our classrooms:
Art:
I had the pleasure of seeing authors Susan Verde and Peter Reynolds this week, at the launch of their newest book, I am Me. Peter owns Blue Bunny Books, in Dedham.
Kindergarten students learned about all different kind of lines. Check them out!
First graders painted eight different kinds of lines as well.
Grade two students are beginning an artist study of Hundertwasser .
Grade three students are completing their Mad Hatter teacups.
Music:
K: Students are working on knowing when to play and when to wait using unpitched percussion instruments. We also worked on some new warmups this week to be sure that we are all using our singing voices.
1st: First graders have been working on using a singing voice and matching pitch. They are also working on keeping a steady beat with a partner to the song Peas, Porridge, Hot. We transferred the beat to the unpitched percussion instruments and practiced listening to each other play along.
2nd: This week the second graders are working on a piece that uses body percussion, which we then transferred to unpitched percussion instruments to perform as a class. We also introduced new warm ups to work in the upper register.
3rd: Third graders are getting ready for their big performance on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 in the AES gymnasium!
Library:
Students in Kindergarten are learning about the parts of a book and identifying those parts on their library books. Students in first grade are learning about chapter book call numbers and playing the call number game using chapter book call numbers. Students in second and third grades are learning how to search for books using Destiny, our online catalog. Then students are using the call numbers to locate the books on the shelves.
Just a reminder that library books are due on their next library day. They are able to renew the book as well!
PE
This week in the gym we are continuing our soccer unit. In grades 1-3 we are building on the first lessons on dribbling and passing. This week we are combining those skills and having students practice moving to open space, and passing with a moving partner. Our focus is on delivering good passes, and moving safely in a shared space. After practicing these skills we are playing a game that introduces the concept of a defense coming to take the ball from your team while you pass in open space.
In kindergarten this week we are also continuing our soccer unit by working on dribbling and passing with a partner.
Kindergarten
Kindergarteners have had another busy week of settling into school routines. We have begun to work on beginning sounds, especially those words that begin with b, t, and f. We are learning about the letters Mm and Nn this week and are practicing our new sight words: the, little. In English Language Arts, we are reading the story Plaidypus Lost and are discussing the sequence of events and opposite words in the story. In Math, we are learning about and working with the number 4 this week. We are counting things in our classrooms, around the school and outside. For Science, we are continuing to discuss the change in seasons with the help of this week’s fall weather. We are looking forward to learning more about each other and the world around us this year!
Grade 1
First graders have been busy this week with settling into routines throughout the day. They have already come such a long way and the curriculum is moving along to a faster pace. In English Language Arts, students are working on reviewing color and number sight words and in Math they are working on counting by 1's, 2's, 5's, and 10's. The children are also working on identifying how to count up or down from a number. In Science, students are working on learning about the changes of seasons and the patterns in the sky that cause the seasons to change. In Social Studies, we are discussing diversity, differences, and embracing various cultures while learning about one another. We are looking forward to getting to know each other even more this year!
Grade 2
October is here and the second graders have been excited to learn about fall and participate in fall activities. Also, this week, the students have been identifying and describing the story elements in a story (characters, setting, problem, solution). In math, the students have been learning a variety of strategies to strengthen math fact fluency. A few of the strategies the students are practicing are “Make a Ten”, “Doubles and Doubles Plus One”, and “Fact Families”. In Social Studies, the students continue to explore three different communities (urban, suburban, and rural). The second grade team hopes everyone will have a fun filled day off on Monday.
Grade 3
In grade 3 this week we read an informational piece called Penguin Chick. Ask your children what they learned about penguins and how they care for their young. In math we continue to work on multiplication and division; keep practicing those facts! In social studies we are still practicing map skills and learning about the regions of Massachusetts. We are also planning a fun activity which we will do grade wide during stem week, the week of October 17.
Nurse’s Nook:
Current students in 3rd grade need a recent physical on file. A friendly email was sent out if a physical is needed. Please leave a message on the Sickline when you are keeping a student home. 508-947-1403 or email: Namaral@freelake.org
Counselor’s Corner:
Top 5 Homework Challenges
(referenced from the editors of ADDitude)
As homework begins some students will have difficulties completing it. Here are some identified challenges and strategies to assist families.
Disorganized - Dealing with messy folders or binders can be frustrating. Rather than start homework, treat organizing as a subject and spend 10 minutes getting organized before starting academics. Each Sunday, go through your child’s backpack and folders and teach your child how to be organized.
Procrastination - Procrastination can be a sign that your child may feel overwhelmed or underprepared. Help your child by either starting a small task that can be completed independently or set a timer for ten minutes to try before you help. After this, take a short break then try other homework together by identifying what to do next.
Distractible - Is your child a fidgeter or daydreamer? Fidgeters need to move to focus so telling them to sit still is counterproductive. Provide your child with a fidget (not a toy) to use during homework time. Daydreamers have a hard time beginning their work, so provide them with reminders (start with three) or a stop time to prompt them back to task. Also, allowing your child to chew gum or stand while working can assist with focusing.
Rushing - Some students rush through homework just to get it done. A general rule for students is approximately ten minutes of homework per grade level (a grade 3 student may have 30 minutes). Set a designated homework time and no matter when the child completes the work, the child must sit for the entire time. This strategy avoids children rushing just to go do other things such as playing video games.
Frustration - Children with academic difficulties or challenges with executive functioning can become easily frustrated with homework. When this happens, a child is less able to focus or reason. The best strategy here is to disengage with your child. When your child is calm, you can try the homework together. If this does not work, have your child name their feeling, validate it and try to problem solve together.
This message is posted in both the Superintendent's Sunday Message and Ms. Pineault’s Friday message.
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Thank you! Have a great weekend.
Bethany Pineault
Principal