Mr. Ward’s Message:
As the beginning of the school year continues to move forward we are continuing to develop and foster our relationships with students. As part of the relationship building process we are ALL working together to ensure we are exhibiting respectful, responsible, and safe behaviors. To help with that process students are participating in weekly Social/Emotional Lessons from the Positive Actions Program. The philosophy of Positive Actions is outlined below…
Positive Action is based on the intuitive philosophy that we feel good about ourselves when we do positive actions.
The Thoughts-Actions-Feelings Circle (TAF) illustrates how this works in life: our thoughts lead to actions and those actions lead to feelings about ourselves which in turn lead to more thoughts. When this cycle is negative, students do not want to learn. When this cycle is positive, students want to learn.
The essence of the program is to emphasize those actions that promote a healthy and positive cycle. The Positive Action program works through these concepts in a systematic way.
Teachers each week will be implementing lessons to discuss various topics outlined in each unit.
Unit 1: Self-Concept
Unit 2: Positive Actions for your body and mind
Unit 3: Managing yourself responsibly
Unit 4: Treating others the way you like to be treated
Unit 5: Telling yourself the truth
Unit 6: Improving yourself continually
Attendance Matters Weekly Update:
Goal: 94% of the FES student population will attend school daily.
September weekly attendance data indicates...
September 11-15: 98%...Met Goal!
Upcoming events:
September 18-22: Scholastic Book Fair Week
September 21: Preschool Open House from 5:30 - 6:30 PM September 21: Book Fair Night from 5:30 - 7:00 PM
September 29: Fall Individual Picture Day - Lifetouch is the provider
October 6: Early Release Day - Students will be dismissed at 12:15 PM. No lunch service.
FES News and Happenings:
Next week will be our Scholastic Book Fair Week. Students will have the opportunity to visit the Book Fair with their classmates. Your child’s teacher will share the schedule with you and your child. In case you would like to enjoy the Book Fair as a family we are hosting a Family Book Fair Night tonight, Thursday, September 21st from 5:30 - 7:00 PM. Families may gain access to the Book Fair using the main entrance on Bullock Road.
Also, on Thursday, September 21st will bring our Preschool Open House Night. The Preschool Open House will take place from 5:30 - 6:30 PM. Again, families may gain access to the Preschool Open House using the main entrance on Bullock Road. This Open House is open to preschool students only!
PTO Corner…
Also, this past Monday, September 11th, FES held their September PTO Meeting. At the meeting we had 24 parents/guardians and staff in the audience. Please note PTO meetings will be held in person and virtually. Mr. Ward will share the meeting invite link the week before the meeting. We encourage more parents/guardians to attend our next meeting, October 16th beginning at 6:30 PM. Let’s make every attempt to keep that momentum going for our next meeting in October.
FES PTO website is...https://freetownelementarypto.weebly.com/
Grade Level Happenings from the Week of 9/11 - 9/15:
Preschool: This week in preschool we discussed rules and how they keep us safe. Some of these rules included bus safety rules, fire drill rules, and recess rules. We are also getting to know each other through fun songs and games. Our themes focused on nursery rhymes and fairy tales.
Kindergarten: Kindergarten is off and running! We’ve been busy making connections and building relationships. We’ve also been working hard to learn expectations and routines. We’re settling in with things like what it means to be a Freetown Fox, cafeteria routines, hallway expectations, specials and especially the playground for recess!
Grade 1: This week in first grade we started reviewing letters and letter formations. We also have been sharing out our All About Me bags and getting to know each other. In math we began learning about math talk and the steps to solving problems. In writing the students are learning the routines and expectations.
Grade 2: This week in second grade we continued getting to know our classmates and practiced routines and meeting classroom/school expectations. In reading we read stories and learned about literary elements such as character and setting and what makes a story fiction vs. nonfiction. In math we began to learn about place value. We worked on developing ideas for writing and learned about map skills.
Grade 3: Third grade is off to a great start this year! In reading, we started a read-aloud book called, Judy Moody. This has been a very engaging and funny story to kick off the year! In both reading and math, students took the I-Ready diagnostic so the teachers can determine all students’ reading and math abilities. This information will help teachers place students in small groups that best meet the needs of each individual. In writing, students started to write a bio poem, which is a poem about themself. They will continue working on this poem next week before presenting it to their classmates. In social studies, students started to explore the question, “what is history?”
Art: Welcome back! It's going to be a great year in art class! I have so many fun projects planned. All the units are designed around the elements of art. All grades are starting with line projects. K students listened to I Am Not Just A Scribble and drew adorable scribble monsters. Grade 1 reviewed types of lines and created colorful reverse line drawings by coloring a paper with oil pastels and then placing a blank page on top and drawing with a pencil. Grade 2 is creating a world collage as their introduction to our year long theme of art around the world. Grade 3 learned how to use a ruler to draw straight lines and are creating mini line designs using this new skill. Please visit the virtual art room to learn more about the art curriculum.
Physical Education: Students reviewed the underhand throw and participated in the game Pizza Party to practice their techniques.
Music: Welcome back to school everyone! This week, students K-3 have started their unit on being expressive in music. We will learn new songs, games, and movements to be performed with appropriate musicality.
Library: Welcome back! During the first week of school, kindergarten and first grade students listened to the read aloud “A Library Book for Bear”. Students filled out examples of their favorite things such as their favorite types of books to read. Second and third grade students listened to the read aloud “My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World”. Students chose a story from their life, designed a cover, created a title and wrote their story. Students will begin taking out books from the library. The book(s) students bring home should be returned every time they have library class unless they want to renew the book(s). Students can take out new books when they return the ones they borrowed.