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October Newsletter
Donnelly Elementary
Dear Donnelly families,
Happy October! The students have settled into their new classrooms nicely, are adjusting to new routines and are well on their way to a great year of learning.
As always, we are committed to providing a safe and caring learning environment designed to educate the mind, heart and spirit of each student here at Donnelly. Please ask your child about our CUBS kick-off program. It was a wonderful opportunity for all of us to renew our pledge to be Saber CUBS (Caring, Understanding, Bully-free, Safe).
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Curriculum Night. It was wonderful to see and chat with you about the new school year. We hope you enjoyed the evening and feel well informed about your child’s classroom and school year. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are always here to support our Donnelly families.
Sincerely,
Jill Rich
Principal
Word of the month: Courage, Manner of the month: Table manners
- “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher
Dates to Remember:
Thurs., Oct. 5 - 4:00 - PTA Meeting via Zoom
Thurs., Oct. 5 - Early Dismissal at 3:05
Mon., Oct. 9 - Columbus Day - No School
Thurs., Oct. 12 – School Picture Day
Fri., Oct. 13 – 6:00-8:00 – Fall Fun Night and Trunk or Treat
October 18, 19, 20 – Scholastic Book Fair
Wed., Oct. 18 – 6:00 – BOE Meeting
Fri., Oct. 20 – 5:00-6:30 – Scholastic Book Fair & Ice Cream Social
Thurs., Nov. 9 – School Picture Make-ups
Important Information:
STUDENT DROP-OFF
Students arriving by car in the morning between 8:55 - 9:05 need to use the South Entrance. For your child’s safety, please refrain from dropping off at the Main Entrance during bus arrival.
Students arriving after 9:05 a.m. are considered late. Please accompany your child to the main entrance and sign them in.
Thank you for helping to keep kids safe!!
HALLOWEEN
REMINDER: Children may not wear costumes to school. Please save costumes for the PTA Fall Fun Night and Trunk or Treat on Friday, October 13.
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Students are more likely to be successful in school when they attend consistently. It’s difficult for the teacher and the class to build their skills and progress if a large number of students are frequently absent. If you need assistance getting your child to school, please contact Mrs. Stilloe, our school social worker, for tips and strategies.
BREAKFAST/LUNCH
Please visit the school website for the October Breakfast and Lunch Menus. This year ice cream costs $1.00. It will be sold every day. Please let us know if you’d like to limit your child’s ice cream purchases.
CELEBRATIONS
Due to allergy concerns here at school, please refrain from sending in homemade items. Snacks that are being shared with the class must be pre-packaged and labeled with ingredients. We appreciate your assistance with keeping our students safe and healthy.
SNEAKERS NEEDED FOR P.E.
Please remember students in grades PreK – 3 need to have sneakers every day for Physical Education class. Students in grades 4 and 5 need to have sneakers every other day for Physical Education class. Thank you.
NEWS FROM MRS. STILLOE
SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER
October is here and Donnelly students and staff are getting back into classroom routines and settling in nicely. Thank you Donnelly parents, families, students, and staff for doing an amazing job helping new and returning students transition back to school with a smile and a positive outlook. We are certainly off to a great year.
The Donnelly C.U.B.S character education program is also off to a great start. We had our first assembly on September 14th and it was a success! The monthly C.U.B.S assemblies are a great way to encourage our students to be Caring and Understanding and to promote a Bully-Free school by making Safe choices. We will continue to recognize students for their positive behaviors and progress throughout the school year during our monthly Saber Award Assemblies. We will also recognize classrooms who display positive and respectful behaviors in their special area classrooms (Art, Music, Library and PE) with a monthly Golden Award. Continuing our assemblies is important to maintain a sense of community for our students and it also gives us some free time to laugh and play.
Transitioning back to school after a much needed summer vacation can take time. Please continue to be patient and positive and we will all find our balance this year. Enjoy the beautiful fall season and please don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions, suggestions or concerns.
DONNELLY FAMILIES...
When parents and families are involved in their children’s education, students do better and feel better about going to school. In fact, many studies show what the family does at home is crucial to a child’s success in school. There are many ways that parents can support their children’s learning at home. Here are some ideas to get you started.
- Demonstrate a positive attitude about education to your children. What we say and do in our daily lives can help them develop positive attitudes towards school and learning. It can also help them to build confidence in themselves as learners.
- Show interest in your child’s education. Parents and families can spark enthusiasm that encourages a love for learning.
- Encourage your children to complete their homework. Let your child know that you think education is important and that homework needs to be done each day.
Let’s have a great school year!
Sincerely,
Donnelly Teachers
News from the classrooms:
PreK
Hello UPK Families! We would like to extend a thank you to all who were able to attend Curriculum Night to learn more about our school day and curriculum. We have been working so hard to build a positive learning environment and as the year progresses, having your support at home will be an essential part to your child's success in school. If you have not already connected with your child's SeeSaw account, please do so soon. This is where you will find the assignments they do in class as well as any classroom communications. September was a busy month learning new routines and rules as well as making new friendships. We will continue to work on making positive choices. In math, students have been learning about matching objects and counting objects to two. In writing, students are working on identifying the first letter in their name as well as writing it. In ELA, we are learning to listen to a story and our theme is ‘All About Me’. Please reach out if you have any questions.
Kindergarten
We are making progress in kindergarten! Students are working hard learning the rules and procedures in our classrooms. In math, we are focusing on learning numbers 0-5 and simple AB patterns. We have been exploring letters and their sounds through ABC Bootcamp. Please encourage your child to practice these sounds at home! Writer's workshop is taking off as students learn the skills of how to grasp a pencil and how to make different writing strokes as we move into writing letters and adding details to our pictures! In ELA, we have been listening to stories and nursery rhymes and discussing the characters and setting.
First Grade
Well, the month of September has flown by like a fall leaf in the wind. All the students have adjusted well to 1st grade and have worked hard in learning class procedures. In first grade, we did some get to know you activities to help students get acquainted. We have started building on our reading, writing and math skills. First graders have also listened to many stories including fables that taught a lesson. It was great to see many parents at curriculum night.
Second Grade
We are off to a great start in second grade! We are learning so many new things. In Science, we are learning about states of matter. Did you know that anything and everything is matter? In Social Studies, we are learning about communities and we will be starting a unit on making and reading maps. In ELA, we are enjoying listening to and discussing various fairytales and we are also continuing our phonics work to help us become better readers and writers. In math, we are working on the place value system and fluency with numbers to build a strong foundation for when we work on more difficult concepts. Thank you to everyone who attended Curriculum Night and we look forward to a successful school year
Third Grade
In third grade, we had a fantastic start to our new school year. We have been getting to know each other through a variety of activities. In math, we have started learning about multiplication. We have been discussing arrays, as well as, focusing on the number of groups and the size of each group to help us multiply. In reading, we have been focusing on what good reader’s do while reading and how to choose the “just right” book for independent reading. We are setting ourselves up to make our reading and writing experiences the best they can be! The third graders have been a terrific group, and we are looking forward to an amazing year!
Fourth Grade
Our fourth graders have been very busy learning our new schedule and switching classes for the first time! In ELA, we have been working hard on reading fluency and finding evidence in a text. We have already read a fun story called Because of Winn-Dixie and we created story element pamphlets. We have been “getting to know” our Chromebooks and using tools to help us with taking notes (“annotating” is what we are learning to say) when reading texts online. In Social Studies, we have been learning about New York State geography and locating important landscapes and landmarks on a map. We are describing what New York State looks like and writing about important facts. In Math, we’ve been working on the place value of multi-digit whole numbers up to millions, reviewing the RDW (Read, Draw, Write) procedure of problem solving and practicing facts for multiplication and division. Please keep practicing facts at home! In Science, we’ve been learning about Scientific Method, the difference between making an observation and an inference, what makes a good experiment to test a hypothesis and why it’s ok for a hypothesis to be wrong.
Fifth Grade
We are so proud of how the students have settled in and have been performing so far to start off the new year. In ELA, we have begun working with the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and we will continue to do so as the year progresses. It is strongly encouraged that students read at home at least 3 times a week for at least 15 minutes. In Math, we have been working with place value. We have been practicing with numbers including decimals. We will be continuing with decimals in this unit, as we will be comparing, adding and subtracting, and eventually multiplying and dividing with decimals. It is strongly encouraged that students continue practicing their math skills at home, whenever possible. We recommend IXL or even spending a few minutes daily practicing their facts. In Science, we have begun our unit on the Structure and Properties of Matter. In Social Studies, we have been working on identifying the 50 States of America.
Special Area Classes:
NEWS FROM PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Happy October from Ms. Shea & Mr. Ligeikis at Donnelly P.E.! We hope your family has had a good start to the school year. We would like to remind all Donnelly families to please send their kiddos to school with appropriate P.E. clothing (sneakers, fitted pants → loose clothing has been a safety hazard).
This past month we started with cooperative games, soccer, and fitness stations. In October, we will be continuing our soccer unit and transitioning to a throwing/catching unit. Hope everyone continues to be well and have a healthy month!
As always, any family that can spare an extra box of tissues for our classroom would be greatly appreciated.
WELCOME BACK TO THE ART ROOM!!!
Here we are in September and back in the art room for another school year!! As we start a new year, we are refreshing ourselves with classroom procedures and how we create art in the art room. All kiddos had the chance to explore the types of lines that we use in art. Using strips of paper, artists learned how to bend and glue their paper successfully to create a paper sculpture. Each one is unique, colorful and expressive. This was a great intro as we start into our fall projects.
This summer, I participated in the Summer Enrichment program and created some fun paper mache projects using recycled materials. As the year progresses, we will be collecting toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls. So, if you’d like to have your artist bring them into school, I would be so grateful! :) Artists will be able to use them as a base to create their own pencil or crayon sculpture. There are many other options for my younger kiddos too!! I am looking forward to exploring this art medium with them!!!
WELCOME BACK KIDDOS!!!
MRS. RAY
Music Corner
We are off to a great musical start at Donnelly Elementary School. It has been wonderful getting to know the new students and reuniting with the returning students. This month PreK is learning to move and play instruments to a steady beat. Kindergarteners are learning to sing in tune while keeping a steady beat. First grade is diving into playing four beat rhythm patterns and second grade has been learning about rounds. The third grade is beginning to learn about music notation by writing musical symbols on the treble clef staff. The fourth and fifth graders are beginning to learn how to play the ukulele.
Our musical ensembles are off to a great start as well. Mr. Johnson is leading the Fifth Grade Band on Day 4 and the Fourth Grade Band on Day 1. The Fourth and Fifth Grade Chorus is rehearsing on Day 2. Fifth Grade Orchestra is rehearsing on Day 4 and the Fourth Grade Orchestra is on Day 1. It is so wonderful to hear beautiful music being made at Donnelly!
If you are a parent of a student in 4th and 5th Grade Band/Orchestra, please sign up for the Band/Orchestra Remind so that you can get morning reminders about your child’s lesson and rehearsal days. Most students/parents find it a GREAT help during those busy mornings getting everyone ready for school!
4th Grade Band - Text @dc89cf69 to the number 81010
5th Grade Band - Text @g7k23k to the number 81010
4th Grade Orchestra - Text @don4orch23 to the number 81010
5th Grade Orchestra - Text @6d2hhc to the number 81010
If you have any questions regarding the music program please reach out to us. We are looking forward to a wonderful year full of great music.
Mrs. Stafford wstaffor@svsabers.org
Mr. Johnson rjohnson@svsabers.org
Math and Literacy:
MATH CORNER
Parents often wonder what they can do at home to help their child(ren) with math. Our one word answer: FLUENCY! It takes time and repeated practice to become fast and accurate with math facts. Extra practice at home can really speed things up for your child.
Practice does not need to be long or boring. Asking math facts while waiting in line or in the car can help pass the time. A little flash card review can be a game. Skip counting (by 2’s, 5’s…) or by fractions (1/3, 2/3, 1, 1 1/3, 1 2/3, 2…) is excellent practice. Games with dice, dominoes, or cards can be fun for all.
In school, all students at Donnelly use Mobymax.com as part of their daily math lessons for building fact fluency and extra math practice. In conjunction with Mobymax, the 4th and 5th graders have been assigned an IXL.com account for additional math practice. Both IXL and Mobymax can be access at home. There are many great websites dedicated to helping your children improve while enjoying themselves. For additional websites try these: fun4thebrain.com, abcya.com, multiplication.com, and xtramath.org.
Parents of BK and Kindergarteners should help students practice recognizing and writing numbers. First graders need to internalize combinations that make ten (10 + 0, 9 + 1…). Second graders need to know the addition and subtraction facts up to 9 + 9 = 18. Grades three through five must know their multiplication and division facts up to 9 X 9 = 81.
Keep it short, keep it fun, but keep it a part of your home routine and soon your kids will be able to whiz through math facts with speed and confidence.
Make Reading a Part
of Family Time
Family time is so important and is a great time to include reading! Create a comfy place in your home for reading fun. Here are some ways to include reading every day.
* Read bedtime stories
* Play a board game
* Listen to stories on tape
* Make a book together
* Read favorite stories over and over
* Visit your local library
* Read a recipe and cook something yummy together!
* Read comics, magazines, short stories, poems and rhymes
* Read directions and signs when driving and shopping
* Play I spy: “I spy something beginning with a d.”
* Let your child see you enjoy reading
* Make words with magnetic letters
* Treasure hunt for words
* Write in a journal to each other
* Story telling – Talk about family history.
From the Health Office
The following information can be used to contact the health office on Remind. If you have any questions, please call Mrs. Flanders in the health office.
Saber Food Center
Food supplied by The Food Bank of the Southern Tier
CHOW, and the SV Community
The Susquehanna Valley Sabers Food Center, located at Donnelly Elementary School,
stocks non-perishable food items and offers some refrigerated foods (proteins and dairy
when available). There are also personal hygiene and dental supplies available to those
in our community who may need them.
Request Confidential Support: If you or someone you know in the Susquehanna Valley
School District is in need of assistance from the Sabers Food Center, please contact
Stacey Stilloe, School Social Worker at Donnelly Elementary, at 607-775-9149 to make a
confidential appointment.
Make a Donation: Donations of non-perishable food items, new hygiene and dental
items or funding for the Saber Food Center can be made by calling Stacey Stilloe at
(607)775-9149
PTA
October PTA Meeting
We had excellent attendance at our September PTA meeting! Please join us again:
Where: Virtual via ZOOM
When: Thursday, October 5th at 4 pm
ZOOM Meeting ID: 498 001 3029
Password: PTA
Fall Fun Night will take place on
Friday, October 13th!!
The Fall Book Fair will be held in school October 18, 19 and 20th.
See the attachment on how you can preorder:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, No Brainer
and
CATKID Comic Club Influencers
See additional attachments for more information!
Check out the Printable Pages below from Scholastic!