
Algonkian Elementary
September Newletter
Principal Page
At this time of year students and teachers have developed routines and it is great to see the academic progress of our students.
I want to thank the community for all their donations and support of our Walk-a-thon fundraiser. Thanks to Ms. Duffy for her hard work in running the Walk a Thon, our PTA and all of our volunteers that made it a succesful day.
I will be mentioning in my weekly message the importance of attendance. We ask that all families make attendance a priority. Research shows the more students are in the school the better they will do.
October is a busy month with lots of events at school and with the PTA. Please join us for these events.
Below are some important dates for October.
10/6 Donuts with Grownups 7:00-7:40
10/9 Indigenous People’s Day -Student and Staff Holiday
10/10 PTA Meeting 7:00 Library
10/12 Fall Picture Day
10/16 Author Assembly for students- Jennifer O’Connel
10/20 Monster Mash 5:00-7:00
10/20-27 Book Fair
10/27 Book Character Parade-Pfalls band -Around 2:00, will update time later
10/27 End of 1st quarter
10/30-31 Teacher Workdays- No School for Student
Library
Author Assembly on October 16 and Book Fair from Oct. 20-27.
More information will come out later of both of these events.
Feel free to email Mrs. Whitehouse with any questions: susanne.whitehouse@lcps.org
HAPPY READING!
Art
Hello Bobcat Artists!!!
I hope that you all are doing well and having an ARTASTIC Month!
This month students will be creating a variety of projects inspired by artists from diverse backgrounds.
Kindergarten- Spider Web Color Wheels
1st Grade- World Palaces
2nd Grade- Dia de los Muertos Origami Skull
3rd Grade- Quilted Ghost
4th Grade- Gargoyle Portrait
5th Grade- Origami Pirate Ships
Check out your Art Schoology Page for fun Art Activities and more!
If you have questions, please contact me at Caryn.Michael@lcps.org
Music
Music Newsletter
What is going on in the music room?
Music classes are off to a great start this year. All grades attend music once a week for 50 minutes each time.
Loudoun County’s music curriculum is based on the National Standards for Music Education and the Virginia Standards of Learning for Music.
Throughout the year each grade will study several elements of music including rhythm, melody, harmony/texture, form, expression, timbre, genre, and movement. In addition, students will learn to identify instruments of the orchestra and will explore different composers and their music. Students will be learning about a wide variety of music through singing, speaking, playing, listening, movement, and dramatization. 4th and 5th graders will be playing the recorder in music. Information about recorders will be sent home soon.
Each grade level will be involved in a performance this year. Detailed information will be provided prior each event. Please make sure to add the following dates to your calendars:
Friday November 10th Veteran’s Day Assembly
8:15- Breakfast for Veterans; 9:00- Assembly featuring 2nd, 3rd & 4th graders
November 13th – 17th American Education Week
Kindergarten and 1st Grade will perform songs in their classrooms (TBD)
Thursday March 21st 5th Grade Program
1:15 & 6:30 performances
Thursday April 25th Talent Show
6:30 p.m. performance – all students are welcome
If you have any questions or concerns about the music program here at Algonkian, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Kim.comrie@lcps.org.
Health Clinic Specialist
Health Updates
Back-to-school time is busy for kids and parents. Coordinating schedules, making sure everyone has what they need and getting into a new routine can be difficult as we all get back into the groove after the summer break. Make sure you take the right precautions to make this the healthiest school year yet. Here are some health tips to follow:
Get vaccinations up to date
Check with your provider to ensure your child is up to date on vaccinates prior to the start of the new academic year. You may wish to consider a flu shot before the virus begins its rounds.
Set a strict bedtime and stick to it
A good night’s sleep is essential to good health. Back to school health depends on sound sleep habits, so set a strict bedtime. School-aged children require 9-11 hours.
If your child has trouble falling asleep, consider their screen time. Put all electronic devices “to bed” at least 2 hours before your child’s bedtime. Incorporate bedtime rituals that are relaxing; a warm bath and some cuddle time while you read them a story is a fantastic way to unwind.
Maintain good hygiene
Thorough handwashing throughout the day cannot be stressed enough, especially when back-to-school time arrives. Germs lurk on every surface of the classroom. It is important to your child’s health to teach them to wash their hands after using the restroom, before lunch, and after recess.
Ensure a healthy diet
Begin your child’s day with a healthy breakfast. For lunch, bypass the convenience foods, such as prepackaged snacks and grab-n-go lunches. Although it can be time consuming to make your child’s lunch, it is far healthier for them.
Control stress
Stress is not good for anyone, and without the tools to manage it, your kids can suffer weakened immune systems, insomnia, and a whole host of other health problems. Back to school time can be stressful, especially if your child is attending a new school.
PE
Kindergarten, First, Second and Third Grades participated in the following lessons during Physical Education class during the month of September:
- Playground and gymnasium safety awareness
- Personal and General Spatial awareness
- Locomotor skills: Galloping and Skipping
- Striking targets with an underhand toss or throw
Currently and near future activities include:
- Hula Hoop manipulation skills
- Short jump rope skills
- Dribbling Skills
Fourth and Fifth Grade students participated in the following lessons during the month of September:
- Playground and gymnasium safety awareness
- Organized games unit
- Fitness test preparations
Currently and near future activities include:
- Fitness Gram Fitness Test
- Algonkian Basketball League Preparations
A reminder that Algonkian Basketball League registration will start very soon. Please lookout for a notice from Algonkian PTA for more information about our in house basketball league for fourth and fifth graders.
Have a great month,
Kris Goodwin and Joe Terango
Parent Liaison- Casey Hansen
September 2023
Family Liaison Newsletter from Casey Hansen (casey.hansen@lcps.org)
If you would like assistance with clothing for your child, please email me and let me know the clothing size needed for shirts and pants. Please include any specific needs and clothing preferences (i.e. needs socks, prefers hooded sweatshirts, etc.)
With the cooler weather approaching, if you would like a winter jacket for your child, please email me by Friday, October 6. Please let me know your child’s coat size needed.
If you would like assistance with holiday toys for your child age 12 or younger, the Salvation Army opens their online application on September 25. You can register at www.sasangeltree.org. Do not wait to register since spaces fill up quickly.
If you need a birthday baked good for your child, please let me know at least 2 weeks prior to your child’s birthday. A homemade baker can bake a cake, cupcakes, cookies, brownies or bars to help make your child’s birthday extra special at no cost to you.
Si desea ayuda con la ropa para su hijo, envíeme un correo electrónico y déjeme saber la talla de ropa necesaria para camisas y pantalones. Incluya cualquier necesidad específica y preferencia de vestimenta (es decir, necesita calcetines, prefiere sudaderas con capucha, etc.)
Ahora que se acerca el clima más fresco, si desea una chaqueta de invierno para su hijo, envíeme un correo electrónico antes del viernes 6 de octubre. Infórmeme la talla de abrigo que necesita su hijo.
Si desea ayuda con los juguetes navideños para su hijo de 12 años o menos, el Ejército de Salvación abre su solicitud en línea el 25 de septiembre. Puede registrarse en www.sasangeltree.org. No esperes para registrarte ya que los espacios se llenan rápidamente.
Si necesita un producto horneado de cumpleaños para su hijo, hágamelo saber al menos 2 semanas antes del cumpleaños de su hijo. Un panadero casero puede hornear pasteles, cupcakes, galletas, brownies o barras para ayudar a que el cumpleaños de su hijo sea muy especial sin costo alguno para usted.
Search/Fusion/Edge
Our first lessons for K, 1, and 2 focused on reasoning and logic.
Kindergarten students listened to the story, Goodnight Gorilla, and learned about the five SEARCH thinking keys: perceiving, reasoning, connecting, creating, and evaluating. They colored a key to match the kind of thinking they like to do best. In their second lesson the students looked at four pictures and considered why three of the pictures might go together. They had to explain why they thought the fourth picture did not belong. The best part of this activity is that there are no wrong answers as long as you can explain your thinking. Up next is problem solving with SuperGrover!
First grade students heard the story, Most Marshmallows. They colored a marshmallow to show what they want to be when they grow up. In their second lesson First-graders determined how to fill a train with attribute blocks so that each “car” on the train holds a block that is different in just one way from the block before it. They are now learning about “permutations” - figuring out the many different ways to arrange a group of objects - by dressing a scarecrow.
Second grade students colored and tried to complete “Squzzles” - puzzles comprised of nine squares that must be arranged in three rows of three squares so that the split pictures along the edges match. These are quite challenging! They then applied reasoning to add attribute blocks that are different in one way from adjoining blocks on special grids, then blocks that are different in two ways. The thinking skills become more complex as they grow. Their next lesson is a creativity lesson based on the book, -Ish. I am excited to see their ideas!
Third grade students played a Back-to-School Go-Getter game. Pathway pieces are arranged on a gameboard to allow one person or object to connect to another. It is a lot of fun - but also quite challenging. Only one third grader completed all six challenges! Students worked on Strimko number grid puzzles in their second lesson. In these challenges, which share some characteristics with Sudoku, students must place numbers in a grid so that there is one of each number in every row, every column, and in every group of connected spaces (stream). It is harder than it sounds! Google Strimko puzzles and try one at home! Spatial reasoning is their current focus - completing Q-Bitz puzzles.
Our 4th and 5th grade EDGE groups have begun and third grade will begin soon. EDGE lessons can be based on any of the SEARCH thinking skills (perceiving, reasoning, connecting, creating, or evaluating) and are intended to help develop student talents. This week’s focus was mathematical reasoning.
FUSION lessons have focused on the social and emotional challenges of being identified as “gifted”, and preparing to set personal or academic growth goals. Students responded to the book, What The Road Said, by creating their own road - their concept of where they hope their life will go. We started the year in language arts with a fun “Pass-the -story” writing activity. The stories always seem to get very silly, but it is a lot of fun to see how different perspectives can change the direction of the tale. Our current story, “A Literary Lesson on Making Mistakes” was written by a student for a writing competition. The author speaks about how her perfectionism affected her life and how she learned from reading the series Anne of Green Gables that mistakes should be looked at as opportunities to learn and grow. Perfectionism is a common trait of gifted people, so the story provided a wonderful opportunity to share to talk about failure to students who may not have experienced much failure in the academic setting. Both the fourth and fifth grade classes could relate to the questions about whether some failures are felt hardest because we have not met the expectations of others or because we have not achieved our personal goals. It was a light-hearted way to talk about serious issues. In math we had a great lesson exploring collaboration (one of our 5 Cs!) as students attempted to form squares using twelve lines, but each student controls just four of the lines. To be successful teams had to be open to the ideas of the others in the group.
Technology
Welcome Back Algonkian!
Algonkian Elementary is a Common-Sense Digital Citizenship Certified school. We now renew our certification each and every year. We will continue to share resources for parents on topics that hopefully are important to you.
Algonkian is starting this year off with Digital Citizenship lessons focusing on High Security Passwords, Privacy and Internet Safety, and the Power of Words. This link gives you choices to explore questions and concerns based on your student’s age.
Little Kids - https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/little-kids
Big Kids - https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/big-kids
If you scroll to the bottom of the linked page, there are a series of short videos to watch and possibly share with your student if you choose. Have fun and safe surfing the web!
Internet safety site for Parents:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/privacy-and-internet-safety
Internet Safety Video for Kids:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/5-internet-safety-tips-for-kids
Algonkian Elementary School
Assistant Principal: Karen Shields
Bookkeeper:Gayle Cowden
Registrar: Peggy Franzen
Health Specialist-:Meg Tuma
Email: brian.blubaugh@lcps.org
Website: https://www.lcps.org/algonkian
Location: 20196 Carter Court, Sterling, VA, USA
Phone: 571-434-3240
Twitter: @ALG_LCPS