image of green cutout clovers with text of FFES updates, March 12, 2023

FES Updates, March 12, 2023

Mr. Ward, Principal

March 12, 2023

Mr. Ward’s Message:

With each passing month it is with great pride at Freetown Elementary School that we continue the deep, embedded tradition of Student of Month ceremonies.  With each month a student from each classroom is nominated by peers and/or their teacher.  Students nominated have put forth their best efforts in their school work, behavior, and efforts.  For the month of February these students best exemplify what it means to be a Freetown Elementary Student.  Congratulations to the February students that were nominated…

Kindergarten:  Adelynn Martin, Molly Andrade, Radhey Patel, Jacob Farmer, Aria DeGroat

Grade 1:  Charlotte Carreiro, Liam Borba, Alexandra Lakey, Daniel Freira, Julia Westgate

Grade 2:  Brier DeMelo, Quinn Rodrigues, Mila Talbot, Adelaide Sanford, Evelyn Westgate, Benjamin Badurina

Grade 3: Miah Amaral, Christian Emery, Ava Couto, Amier Pimental, Kobe Lees, Eli DaSilva 

FES News and Happenings…

Grade 3 Student Council kicked off a school wide FES Kindness Challenge at FES.  The FES Student Council hosted a school-wide assembly on Wednesday, March 8th in which they posed a Kindness Challenge.  The challenge calls for FES as a school community to create a Rainbow of Kindness using cut-out hands to create the rainbow.  Each grade level has a designated color, including staff, to help develop the rainbow.  Our hope is that by the end of the year we have a Rainbow of Kindness.  

News and Happenings around FES…

  • Recently the Town of Freetown applied and was awarded a MA DOT Safe Routes to School Project Grant.  The Safe Routes to School Project is a 5 year project that will enhance the roadways and safety on Memorial Drive.  On Tuesday, parent pick-up families may have noticed several MA DOT project workers in high-res vests completing an observation of the dismissal at Freetown Elementary.  Please make special note that we are working closely with the Town of Freetown and the MA DOT Safe Routes to School Team to enhance the safety of our students and families while using Memorial Drive.  We will keep you updated with any progress.

  • Next week, March 13-17 will be Math Week at Freetown Elementary School.  Each day of the week will have a special math theme.  Please see below for details…

    • Monday - Word Problem Day 

    • Tuesday - Pi/Number Day - Wear a number to school

    • Wednesday - Estimation Day - estimating jars in the cafe and video estimating how tall Mr. Ward is using playing cards.  

    • Thursday - Graph in the Cafe - voting on school-wide reward

    • Friday - Pattern Day - Wear a pattern to school day 

  • Class Picture Day on Thursday, March 16.  Students will take their class picture and individual pictures for the spring.  Envelopes were sent home with Picture Day information and payment options.  

PTO Corner:

Attendance Matters Weekly Update:

Goal:  94% of the FES student population will attend school daily.  

  • The September average student daily attendance was 95%.  Goal achieved!

  • The October average student daily attendance was 95%.  Goal achieved!  

  • The November average student daily attendance was 94%.  Goal achieved!  

  • The December average student daily attendance was 89%.  We did not achieve our goal!

  • The January average student daily attendance was 95%.  Goal achieved! 

  • The February average students daily attendance was 93.4%.  We did not achieve our goal!

March student daily attendance rate…

  • March 1 & 2: 96.5%...Goal achieved!  

  • March 6-10: 94%....Goal achieved!  

Upcoming Events:

  • Grade 3 Choral Members will be performing God Bless America at the Providence Bruins game on Sunday, March 12th at 3:05 PM.  Thank you Mr. Moreira for planning this fun event and we look forward to seeing our choral members in action on the ice. 

Upcoming Events:

March 16:  Spring Class Picture Day

News and Happenings from the classrooms for the week of March 6-10:

Pre-School: This week in preschool we introduced the Lively Letter u, a toddler who wants to get up and out of her crib!  We kicked off our Community Helpers Theme with a study of dental health and the importance of dentists.  We sorted pictures of foods into groups according to what is healthy and unhealthy for our teeth.  We conducted an experiment using eggs left in various liquids including juice, milk, water, soda, coffee, and vinegar.  We observed how these liquids affected or changed the egg shells.  We discussed how these liquids have  a similar effect on our teeth, especially if we don’t brush daily!  Lastly, we watched a video presentation by a real Dental Hygienist who gave us a virtual tour of her dental office.

Kindergarten: This week in kindergarten our Fundations lesson focused on decoding and spelling words and also listening to long and short vowels in words. Our high frequency words were- was and she. In Wonders, our comprehension skills were visualizing, sequencing and speech bubbles. Print concepts were capitalizing the first letter of the first word  in a sentence and punctuation(Periods and exclamation marks). In math we made teen numbers. We’ve been reading and learning about leprechauns so we can make our traps and hopefully, finally, catch that tricky little guy! 

Grade 1:  This week in first grade we started unit 9 in FUNdations. We focused on closed syllable words. In writing we responded to a non-fiction text using details from the text. For comprehension we read “Animals in Winter” and asked and answered questions about key details in a text. For math this week, we learned multiple ways to write 2 digit numbers (ex. 34 = 3 tens and 4 ones or 2 tens and 14 ones). In science we are learning about seasonal patterns. 

Grade 2: This week in second grade reading we worked on asking and answering questions about a text. In Fundations we worked on spelling and reading words with the double vowel teams “oi” and “oy”. In math we learned how to estimate and worked on measuring lengths using different units. In writing we began to brainstorm ideas for personal narratives. In Science we explored changes from heat.

Grade 3:  In reading, students explored a new essential question:  how is each event in history unique?  Students read short stories and answered comprehension questions through discussions to explore this question deeper.  In math, students used greater than, less than, and equal to signs to compare fractions. In writing, students completed a practice MCAS story titled, “Willy Wriggler’s Wheels' ' and answered comprehension questions along with an open response about the character’s perspective throughout the story.  In social studies, students continued to learn about the causes of the American Revolution. 

Art:  Kindergarteners created a warm sun and on a cool sky project from last week’s painted paper.  Grade 1 completed a few projects, reviewed everything we have learned about the color and wheel filled their portfolios with finished work.  Grade 2 added tissue paper flowers to their Japanese vase project.  Grade 3 finished their non-objective textile project.   

Music: This week, students K-3 have started the 6th and final week of their unit on listening. Grade 1 and Kindergarten will listen to music for dynamics, tempo and directions as well as music from Haydn. 2nd grade will listen to music of Beethoven and respond to vocal and instrumental musical elements. 3rd grade will listen to music to evaluate their own performance on the recorder.

Physical Education: This week all grade levels will finish their round of mini golf. Second and Third grade will concentrate on their golf stance and putt. They will also be introduced to scoring in golf to prepare them for next week’s 9 hole round of golf. First grade and Kindergarten students will focus on their grip and putt and will learn and practice the proper stance.