Calendar

Counselor’s Corner
By Mrs. Staab

Here are some helpful suggestions for parents, courtesy of the American School Counselor Association:

How to talk to kids so they will listen:

Plan a quiet, non-threatening time to talk.
Listen without interruption.
Ask for their ideas and opinions.
Keep your voice calm and low and your body language non-defensive.
Realize that all generations have their trends.
Avoid being overly critical.
Tell your child that you love him/her. Follow up with actions – a positive note in his/her lunch box and a kept promise.

How to set reasonable rules:

Don’t make rules so restrictive that neither you nor your child can follow them.
Get feedback from your child.
Follow through on what you’re going to do but don’t be afraid to admit when you’ve made a mistake.
Remember that you have control over the three “Ts” – telephone, television and transportation.

Helping your child achieve in school:

Keep communication lines open with the school.
Be supportive of the school and education.
Provide an adequate study atmosphere and study materials at home.
Try the suggestions of teachers and other school staff.
Give the school information about your child that may be helpful.

Kindergarten One, Two, Buckle My Shoe! The Kindergarten classes have excitedly begun reading their next reading book, “Buckle My Shoe.” We will learn new word families such as, mat, hat, pig, wig, etc. Please continue to practice “letter recognition” at home. This will make the transition from letters to the “printed word” a lot easier. “Happy readers make good learners!” say your Kindergarten teachers.	Third Grade Communications All third graders have been studying the different forms of communication. The highlight of our reading unit was Miss Griffin’s friend, Alice Bionco who talked about living in a hearing world when you are deaf. Alice discussed her everyday struggles and coping skills. The students learned that something as simple as answering a telephone or doorbell is a challenge to the deaf. Mrs. Tucker also joined the third graders to talk about sign language. A special thanks to all our guest speakers.
First Grade Our first graders are becoming such terrific readers and are preparing to read lots of books for our Spring Reading Contest! We would really like to see Mrs. Colella and Mr. deCant kiss llamas in their pajamas! We are also making plans with Ms. Villa to prepare for our Spring Program coming in April. In reading we have graduated to Level 5, a hardcover book entitled Make a Wish , which is filled with lots of animal stories. In Math we are adding and subtracting like math whizzes. We are now on Chapter 7, which is filled with estimation, place value, and numbers to sixty – WOW! As always we thank you for the work and time you spend with your first graders at home. Keep practicing the vocabulary, sight words and spelling lists, and continue reading. Parents are strongly encouraged to keep reading to your child. In addition, you can ask your child questions about the story. It only takes a few minutes and will help your child’s comprehension. Please try it with next week’s Library Book: Can they retell the story in their own words? “Who are the characters?” “Where does the story take place?” “What are some of the events?” “Does the story have a problem?” “What is the solution? How is the problem solved?”	Second Grade The Prince and The Penguin Where does a penguin keep his money? In a snow-bank! The second grade penguins will be acting in the play “The Prince and the Penguin” on February 16th at a time to be announced at a later date. We are practicing our songs and our speaking parts. We still need help for our scenery and costumes. If you can help our penguins, please send in your name and phone number. We will gladly get in touch with you. Until then, see you on Broadway in February! Fourth Grade The 4th grade finally made it to the Science Museum in West Hartford. Here, we participated in a classroom activity with legos. Each group had to build a car made of legos. After the car was made, each group used an inclined plane to see which car would go the farthest. This trip was an excellent culminating lesson on simple machines! In Social Studies we are studying the globe. Reading longitude and latitude lines, as well as finding exact locations on maps are some of the skills we are learning. In Science we just began our new “hands-on” Foss Kit. Almost all the work we are doing involves cooperative learning and experiments. We are studying the human body, including the skeleton, body systems, etc
Fifth Grade The fifth grade classes are wrapping up their discoveries of Mixtures and Solutions in Science. They are currently involved in finding out the kinds of materials that will produce a chemical reaction. Ask your favorite fifth grade student what will happen when baking soda is mixed with citric acid. They’ll love to fill you in! In Social Studies classes, students are beginning their investigations of the early Colonial American life. Each class has been broken into three groups who are studying the three different sets of colonies: the Northern Colonies, the Southern Colonies, and the Middle Colonies. As students work in their cooperative groups they teach their peers about their colonies and engage in small group, whole group, and individual activities. One topic that is explored are the geography of the colony and its effect on the lives of the colonists in terms of foods grown and occupations of the colonists. This is a unit which will continue for quite some time and conclude with a visit to David Humphreys House in May. Our classes thoroughly enjoyed the program presented last month entitled “Lights, Camera, Action.” Two students from each class acted in front of the camera while we learned about what it takes to produce a television program. We found the presentation enlightening!	Competitive Spirit It’s been a competitive month for the sixth graders. They have had the Geography Bee, which was won by Dan Saksa. He is awaiting word as to whether he advances to the State Competition. The students also just completed the second round of the Current Events Contest. The third round will begin in a few months. Upcoming is the Language Arts and Science Olympiads. Good luck to all!