Dear GRAIS Families,
We had a busy week at GRAIS. The boys and girls are to be commended for settling right back into the routines of the school day following their week off, even with several special events this past week.
GRAIS PTO Call for Help:
The PTO will be holding another Scholastic Book Fair next week. This book fair will feature a BOGO offer. This is a great time to stock up for summertime pleasure reading! We are in great need of volunteers from 8:30 - 2:30 for any amount of time you can offer on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Please contact Katie Elderkin (elderkinkatie@yahoo.com) or Kate Martin (katenb29@yahoo.com) if you can help!
Thank you to the volunteers who assisted with the first round of MCAS testing! There are a few more dates available in May, so if you can help, the sign-up link is also on the GRAIS PTO Facebook page. Thanks again for all your support!
FLMS PTO:
The FLMS PTO is excited to welcome any interested parents of incoming 6th graders into the PTO. We are looking for board members to join our team in the roles of correspondence secretary (sending out Facebook posts and thank you notes), recording secretary (keeping minutes in the monthly meetings), and co-treasurer (assisting our treasurer with documentation tasks as needed.) If you have any interest in joining please reach out to Amy Sypher, co president FLMS at asyph107@yahoo.com.
Pie Throwing Event:
The highest earners from our Color Run in each grade–Kaitlyn P and Orion W–participated in the pie-in-face event Friday during an extra recess period. Thanks to these students and their families for their outstanding participation in the fund raiser, to the PTO and Booster for their support, and to the superintendent for his enthusiastic willingness to participate!
From the Library:
Congratulations to all of the students who participated in this year's Massachusetts Children's Book Award (MCBA) Reading Challenge. We had 15 students complete the challenge. A special shout-out to Lucy G, Brooke P, Tyler F, Autumn D, Ebi A, Noah S, and Makenna B. in fifth grade and to Zoe M, Althea B, Enzo B, Hailey G, Katelyn T, Lajon P, Nadia E, and and Lily B. in fourth grade who read at least FIVE of the MCBA books between October and April! These students, along with students from the rest of the state, voted for their favorite book and the winner was Alone by Megan Freeman. Information will be sent home with the students soon on our special MCBA celebration in June.
Grade Five ELA and Social Studies:
In ELA, fifth graders are doing one last novel study before the end of the school year. During this novel study students will be reading closely in order to understand how characters change over time. They will also be exploring themes throughout the novel. In social studies, fifth graders continue to learn about the Constitution of the United States. This unit helps students engage in important discussions about the importance of local governments here in our community too.
Grade Four ELA and Social Studies
In ELA, we are working to increase our students' love of reading while building stamina through an end of year novel study! Social studie classes are concluding their study of the regions of the United States and moving on to our neighbor to the north, Canada.
Grade Four Math and Science:
Fourth graders are working on adding and subtracting mixed numbers. They have been drawing models and using number lines to show how mixed numbers and improper fractions can be equivalent and represent the same amount. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts often show up during our fraction unit so continue to practice those facts. We have also been reviewing important measurement and geometry skills before the upcoming math MCAS on May 10th and May 11th!
Grade Five Math and Science:
In fifth grade math and science, we are working hard to prepare for our upcoming MCAS assessments. Students are learning to describe and complete number patterns, compare terms in patterns, and graph terms as ordered pairs on a coordinate plane. We are also extending students’ prior knowledge about perimeter and area to find the volumes of rectangular prisms and of 3D figures made from rectangular prisms (for example, two boxes stuck together in an “L” shape). Students are learning that the volume of a rectangular prism can be found by multiplying length x width x height or by multiplying the area of the base x height. In science, students are learning about the water cycle, the amount and locations of freshwater and saltwater on Earth, and how humans impact their environment.
Nurse’s Suite:
While having outdoor fun this spring, please encourage the children to be safe by wearing a helmet while riding bikes, skateboards, and scooters. Your child’s helmet should fit properly and be:
Well maintained
Age appropriate
Worn consistently and correctly
Appropriately certified for use
https://www.cdc.gov/headsup/helmets/index.html
Also, please note that poison ivy, oak, and sumac contain oil causing an allergic skin reaction that looks like swollen itchy red bumps and blisters appearing wherever the oil has touched the skin. Check around your home and teach your kids to recognize and avoid it.
Stinging insects are back! If you or your child is stung, remove the stinger as soon as possible with a scraping motion. Wash with soap and water and apply a cold compress. If there is any trouble breathing noted, severe swelling, or fainting occurs, call 911 right away!
Ticks are already a problem in our area – use tweezers or fingers to grasp as close to the head as possible and pull the tick away from where it is attached. Call the pediatrician for symptoms of a rash or fever. See this link on tick removal :https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/injured-skin/bites/remove-a-tick.
Dates to Remember:
Early Dismissal - May 5th
Grade Five Math MCAS - May 8th and 9th
Grade Four Math MCAS - May 10th and 11th
Grade Five Science MCAS -May 15th and 16th
GRAIS Music and Art Evening Held at FLMS - May 18th from 6-8 p.m.
No School - May 29th
Kindly,
Dr. Sullivan
508.923.3506 x 3150/esullivan@freelake.org