image of an american flag against a whitewashed wood background and text of FES Updates, November 10, 2024

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 October these students best exemplify what it means to be a Freetown Elementary Student.  Congratulations to the October students that were nominated…

Kindergarten:  Emily Freire, Trevor Baker, Reagan McCabe

Grade 1:  Maddox Moniz, Lucas Kahler, Myles Cardoza, Theodore Ross

Grade 2: Eli Amaral, Morgan Lawless, Emma Desroches, Frankie Memmo, Delaney Martin

Grade 3:  June Rezendes, Harrison Dudley, Charley Salmond, Nathan DeChambeau, Avery Senecal 

Specialists:  Max Clondas


Attendance Matters Weekly Update:

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

September Daily Student Attendance for September was 96% - Goal achieved!

October Daily Student Attendance for October was 97% - Goal achieved!

November weekly attendance data indicates…

November 1: 95%...Met goal!

November 4-8: 95%...Met goal!


Upcoming events:

November 11th: No School - Veterans’ Day

November 11-15: Scholastic Book Fair Week

November 14th: Cup-Stacking Night & Scholastic Book Fair Night

November 18th: November PTO Meeting beginning at 6:30 PM

November 27th: Early Release Day - Students dismissed at 12:15 PM

November 28th & 29th: Happy Thanksgiving - No School 


FES News and Happenings:

With the holiday season approaching we are hoping to spread some holiday cheer by getting our littles some new fox gear!   FES Apparel sale is now live!  Sale ends Tuesday, November 19th. No late orders can be accepted to ensure delivery by winter break. There are so many new products and colors to choose from.  See the link below for more information. 

https://spiritsale.online/freetown  

*Please note this is not a FUNDRAISER.  The prices are not marked up to make money for the school. 


The week of November 11-15…

  • November 11:  No school due to Veterans’ Day observance.

  • November 12-15:  Scholastic Book Fair Week.  Your child’s teacher will share what day your child will be visiting the book fair. 

  • November 14:  Family Book Fair Night from 5:30 - 7:00 PM in the auditorium.  Also, on November 14th it will be Cup-Stacking Night in the gym with Mrs. L’Heureux from 5:30 - 7:00 PM.  


PTO Corner:  

PTO meetings are held in person and virtually.  The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 18th from 6:30 - 7:30 PM.  The meeting will be in person as well as virtual to accommodate for families.  Hope you will consider joining the FES PTO.


News and Happenings from around the classrooms - Week of November 4 - 8:

Pre-School: This week in preschool we learned about voting and we practiced voting.  We learned about Veterans Day and we made cards for local veterans to thank them for their service.  We began learning about the first Thanksgiving, with a specific focus on the Pilgrims.  The children also brainstormed things for which they are thankful.


Kindergarten:   This week in kindergarten we focused on the letter Pp. Our HFW was “a”. In print concepts we continued with right/left and top/bottom progression and locating a specific word. In phonemic awareness, we continued to work on isolating and blending sounds as well as the initial and final sound of Pp.  In math our lesson focused on three-dimensional shapes and weight. 


Grade 1: This week in first grade we reviewed bonus letters f, l, s, & z, digraphs and blends. We also reviewed comprehension skills from unit 1 in Wonders. For writing we are continuing to work on writing a complete thought to compose a sentence. The students are working on making sure they have a who and a what to their sentence. In math we worked on making a ten to add. In social studies, we are starting to discuss the first Thanksgiving and why we are thankful.


Save the Date:  Our Holiday Story Hour will be held Wednesday, December 4th from 5:00-6:30.

Grade 2:  This week, second graders started to tackle 2 digit addition with and without regrouping using various strategies. In phonics, we continue to learn about magic e and spelled and read words with long vowel u sounds. We also read multisyllabic words containing the vowel consonant e syllable. In reading, students continued to identify the main idea and details of a text. We read passages that answer the essential question “How are offspring like their parents?” In writing, students continued to research their animals. Additionally, students learned about elections and Veteran’s Day. 


Grade 3:  This week in math, third graders reviewed place value skills and used these skills to  learn how to round two and three digit numbers to the nearest ten. In reading, we continued to focus on the essential question “How do people make government work?”  In writing, students used the RACES graphic organizer to answer specific comprehension questions and citing text evidence. We continued to learn about Pilgrims and also learned about Veterans’ Day. 


Art:   Kindergarteners learned about organic shapes as they took crayon rubbings from leaves.  Grade 1 finished their Alphabet Abstraction drawings.  This week they colored with markers while thinking about color balance.  Grade 2 continued their work on a paper version of a Mexican Mirror.  Grade 3 is learning about the importance of symmetry in design as they turn their name into a symmetrical creature.


Physical Education:   This week students learned and practiced their cup stacking skills. Cup stacking is a competitive sport where children are the best! It helps with bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination, muscle memory skills, concentration, improved self-esteem and brings lots of fun and smiles.


The annual family cup stacking night will be held jointly with the family night of the book fair on Thursday, November 10 from 5:30-7:00.That night, in conjunction with the Tuesday Club of Freetown’s annual Veteran’s drive, we will be collecting items to help local Veterans at the Veteran’s Hospital in Brockton and the Veterans’ transition home in New Bedford. If you are interested in helping, please bring some of the following: Note pads, pens and pencils, writing paper and plain envelopes, playing cards, crossword puzzles & game books, toothbrushes toothpaste, dental floss, combs and brushes, chapstick, deodorant, regular and sugar free candy, white crew socks, bath towels, hand towels and more.


Music:  This week, students K-3 have started the 2nd week of their unit on improvising. Grade 3 will begin improvising movements in Mama Lama, Grade 2 will explore improvising using mallet instruments. Grade 1 and Kindergarten will improvise with arioso type songs. In addition, Grade 3 has the opportunity to take a “virtual field trip” to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. They will view pictures of his mansion in music class. 


Library:  This week during library class, kindergarten students joined their Google Classroom and listened to a Capstone Ebook called "How Computers Work".  First grade students also listened to the Ebook "How Computers work" and then shared their understanding of what computer hardware is on Seesaw.  As we are getting ready to code soon, second and third grade students listened to a Capstone Ebook about algorithms and responded to question about what an algorithm is.