Eagle News

This month for our class lessons, students learned about empathy. In our class lesson, students learned about and discussed the importance of empathy, who to show empathy to, and how we can show empathy to others. We discussed different scenarios in which empathy would be helpful and worked through different situations to focus on how we can show empathy.

If you feel that your child is in need of counseling services, please fill out the referral form. Please ensure to answer each question to the best of your ability, as the more information I have, the better I can support your child. This referral form can be used throughout the year if at any point you feel your child is needing support

Referral Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFb6porLNZ0juSuVQdg6-e1Wcodiis9wKO10QW_INzT5Adnw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Happy January!

Cold weather is here to stay for the foreseeable future! Please make sure kids are coming to school in long pants and coats. Recess is outdoors if the “feels like” temperature is above 20 degrees. Two local churches have generously donated hats, gloves, and coats. If your child is in need of any of those items, we are happy to provide them!

If your child has been sent home with an extra pair of pants or other clothing item, please send them back in as soon as possible so they may be used by others in need. Thank you!

The mobile dentist was here Monday, January 13th, teaching kids about oral health. Each child received a toothbrush and a coloring page. Forms were also passed out to all children for their upcoming visit in March. If you did not receive one and would like your child seen, please let me know!

Community Schools of Frankfort now has a website for Health Services. This includes phone numbers to all nurses on staff throughout the corporation, and phone numbers for two of our local clinics. In addition, there are links to paperwork such as medication consent forms. As a reminder-Tylenol, Ibuprofen and cough drops require a signed consent form if you would like your child to have these things as needed. Otherwise, I will be calling home each time to get permission. Thank you for understanding!

Health Services – Community Schools Of Frankfort

Nurse Kelsey’s Tip of the Month: When Should I Keep My Child Home?

Many illnesses are going around. If you are wondering if you should send your child to school, check out the chart below!

These are also the guidelines I follow when sending kids home. One thing to note is, if given a positive COVID test, your child may come to school as long as they are 24 hours fever free.

January has been a busy month of learning in preschool! We have studied the books The Hat, The Mitten, and Penguin Problems. The students have loved learning about winter and all the story details! They are still working hard on their letters, please continue practicing these at home! More information will be coming from your classroom teacher on Valentine’s Day Celebrations!

Please make sure your children are washing their hands and washing rest time blankets when they are sent home. We are battling all of the germs at school right now, and are trying to keep the kids and staff healthy! We are washing and sanitizing extra at school and need your help at home too!

Please make sure your child is wearing a coat to school, while we do not go outside if the temperature is below 20 degrees, they still have to go outside for dismissal, etc. If you need a coat, please let us know and we can help!

Come learn about our new Distance Learning Immersion Program on Thursday, February 6 at 5:30 – 6:30pm. This is for Kindergarteners for the 25-26 school year. Students will learn in both Spanish and English, come learn more about the exciting program!

Kindergarten Round Up is March 19th. At this time, you DO NOT need to come since your child is already registered at Suncrest.

We cannot believe that we have already finished one month of our second semester of kindergarten! We hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing break. We are so excited to be back and we got right back into our learning! We had a visit from the mobile dentist and learned all about healthy teeth habits. We had so much fun celebrating the 100th day of school! We cannot believe that we are well over halfway to the end of kindergarten! Reports recently went home. Please let us know if you are interested in meeting about your child’s progress.

In OG, we started the month by reviewing our digraphs: sh, ch, th, and wh. We have learned that digraphs are two individual sounds that come together to make a new sound. We ended the month by beginning to learn all about blends. Blends are two letters that come together but we can still hear both individual sounds. We have learned st, sn, sm, and sp so far. We will continue to work on reading and writing words with blends in February. As fluency passages continue to come home, please read these with your child! We are working so hard on building our fluency. In writing, we continued working on personal narratives. We have worked hard making sure to create a clear beginning, middle, and end to our stories. We also spent a lot of January really working on our sentence writing and making sure our sentences and pictures match each other. In reading, we spent the month learning all about nonfiction text features. We learned about title pages, table of contents, photographs, labels, captions, diagrams, and maps. We learned how these text features can help us better understand the texts we are reading. In math, we spent the month learning all about subtraction. We learned different strategies to help us subtract within 10. Continue practicing counting to 100 at home! Our goal is for all kindergarteners to count to 100 by the end of the year!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us! :)

First graders are SOARING like crazy already in the month of January. We’ve had some changes and they have been so positive for our students. The growth we’re already seeing is incredible. A special thanks to all of our first grade teachers: Mrs. Fitzgerald, Mrs. Hazlett, Miss Rupert, Mr. Skinner, and Mrs. Wolfe. They are putting so much into helping our first graders and we appreciate them so much!

This month first graders have been working on making predictions during reading time. We’re using context clues, character expressions, dialogue, and background knowledge to make some predictions about what is going to happen. Our first graders have done a great job with this! This is something that is very easy to practice at home, too. As you’re reading with your child, ask them “What do you think is going to happen next?” and then ask them “Why do you think that?”

During Math time we’ve been working on subtraction and using many different strategies to help us understand. This is another skill you can work on at home, too. As papers come home, have your child work some of the problems out again. Write them on a piece of paper and have your child practice subtracting. The more they practice at home, the better they will understand!

Thanks for all of your help and please don’t hesitate to contact any of the first grade teachers if you have questions!

We started our 2nd semester in 2nd grade off strong!

We had so much fun on our field trip to the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Our 2nd graders were so well behaved and represented Suncrest well! :) A huge THANK YOU to our chaperones. We could not have had such a successful trip without each of YOU!!!

In March we will be taking the state IREAD assessment. This is an important test that all 2nd and 3rd graders in the state of Indiana take. There will be a parent information meeting on February 13 to explain all that we know about the requirements of this assessment. More information on this will be sent home soon.

All classrooms have started a weekly homework packet. Your child should bring home a packet of homework on Mondays. There will be something to complete each day. The packets should be returned to school on Fridays. Thank you so much for your help with this.

Power School is updated weekly. Let us know if you have any questions or problems seeing what has been added.

What have we been learning!

Reading - We have been reading nonfiction texts. We have learned about the author's point and reasons to support the point. We are working on this in whole group and small group lessons.

Math - We have started a unit on measurement. We are measuring length with rulers, yard sticks and measuring tapes in inches, cm, feet, yards and meters. We are also solving problems about length.

Writing - This month we started a unit on opinion writing. We are writing paragraphs about our opinion on different topics and supporting our opinions with reasons. Be on the look-out for writing papers to come home so you can see our progress.

It was another great month of learning in third grade! Report cards came home on Friday, January 10. If you haven’t seen your child’s report card, please reach out to your child’s teacher. The IREAD 3 test is coming up in March. We are working hard at school to practice and review the skills the students will see on the test. Please continue to review the IREAD 3 papers sent home weekly with your child. Going over those papers is a great way to practice IREAD 3 skills at home. Third grade is hosting a second IREAD 3 Parent Night on Thursday, February 13. More information about this night will be sent home soon.

Reading: We practiced several skills during reading in January. We practiced finding multiple main ideas within a text. Did you know that a text can have more than one main idea? A text can have an overall main idea, but each section of the text can too. We also continued to locate explicit information in a text in order to answer comprehension questions. The students know explicit information as details that are “right there in the text.” Finally, we looked at two texts and compared and contrasted the most important points and key details.

Writing: During the month of January the students participated in a research unit. Each student selected a state to research and then created a presentation based on the information gathered during their research. We practiced recognizing that some sources of information are more reliable than others and the students recorded relevant information in their own words. The students could choose the format of their presentation.

Math: January was a month of deepening our understanding of fractions. We practiced understanding what a fraction is. We learned that fractions are part of a whole or a set. We also learned several new terms such as numerator, denominator, unit fraction, interval, and so many more. We also learned how to find equivalent fractions by using number lines and comparison models. One final thing that we did was compare fractions with the same and different denominators. This is still a new topic for the students so we will continue to learn and grow as fraction experts.

We’ve had a great start in 2025! Students came back refreshed, excited, and ready to learn!

Math: In Unit 13, there are a variety of skill being practiced. Students having been using both the metric system and customary units to convert measurements. It requires students to determine whether they’ll be using multiplication or division to solve the problems. They’ve been accessing conversion charts to help along the way, and there are many conversions that they have memorized! Also, we are looking at area and perimeter, and students are using the formulas to solve the problems. BUT, it gets a little trickier in 4th grade, because for example, they are now given the end result (the perimeter or area) and are required to determine the missing side! This definitely pushes their thinking deeper!

Reading: We’ve had a focus on historical fiction while we work on our reading skills. This time period works really well with the social studies that they learn in class! Students are using their knowledge of sequencing, context clues, main idea, and how story elements are impacted by the setting to gain a better understanding of what they are reading. Our whole class read aloud has been Number the Stars. This amazing book with the main characters who are their ages helps students to understand the time period of WW2, while learning empathy through the events that take place.

Writing: We continued a focus on persuasive writing, with this time having the students choose a topic that they think is important. They then had to develop at least three reasons with supporting evidence that would back up their opinion. We now are transitioning to informative writing, where students read multiple articles and write an informational piece which combines evidence from the text they’ve read. This sounds easier than it is! Students must develop a writing that is cohesive while paraphrasing and citing the text from where they obtained the evidence, all while using transitional words to tie it all together.

Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns.

General Information:

Please make sure you get your permission slips in for the upcoming Field Trip. If you are signed up as a chaperone then you NEED to complete your background check immediately. If you don’t know how to do this then please call the office. If you are having trouble coming up with the money for the trip then please let us know!

Reading:

We just completed a test over text structure and main idea. Students will next be looking at both media and text to make claims using evidence and reasoning. They will also be looking at information in different formats to make opinions based upon facts.

Math:

Students have been learning about how to multiply fractions. Some vocabulary they should know include improper fractions, mixed numbers, and area models. Next up will be learning about dividing fractions. As students learn new material it is very important they continue to review old skills.

Writing:

Students are going to be creating Informational Writing pieces this month.

Content:

In Social Studies, students have been reviewing the Revolution. They have also been learning about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Optional Practice at Home:

1. Write and illustrate a detailed How-To Book using chronological order.

2. Have your child read a chapter of a book and then tell you the main idea and supporting details.

3. Review multiplication and division problems with students.

4. Look at recipes and ask your child to find how much of each ingredient you would need if you doubled or tripled the recipe.

5. Have your child help make a (real or fake) budget. Have students take out expenses and determine how much is left.

6. Look at the Bill of Rights together and discuss each amendment.

WELCOME TO PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Please check out the below schedule to find your student’s PE day! Your student will need to wear clothing and shoes to safely move in on their PE day. We do go outside if the weather is nice. If your student normally wears sandals,crocs, boots or “HeyDude” type shoes--please send tennis shoes on the PE days for your student.

Monday Benefiel (5th), Claxton (4th), Palmer (2nd), Arnold (3rd), Rupert (1st), Pompei (K)

Tuesday Vickary (4th), Woods (2nd), Jones (PK), Miller (PK), Fewell (3rd), Wolfe/Skinner(1st) Alanis (K)

Wednesday Griffith (5th), Kidwell (4th), Paige (2nd), Mathis (3rd), Raley (K) Hazlett(1st)

Thursday Tiedeman (5th), Shore (4th), Hettsmansperger (2nd), Jones (PK), Miller (PK), Parvin (3rd), Fitzgerald (1st), Klyczek (K)

All students will be participating in Physical Education class unless the student has a doctor’s note excusing the student from participating.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY!!

Field Day ’25 will take place on Tuesday, May 27, 2025! This year all the classes will be outside for

Please be mindful of your student’s footwear. No boots are permitted for PE class. Crocs are not safe for PE class! We have had several injuries in crocs because they do not support changing direction in movement. Also, boots can damage the gym floor along with other student’s as we play games in the gym.

** I hope you’ve all had an amazing break! It’s been great to see your students' faces this month!**

• 4th/5th: Our 4th and 5th graders have been doing an amazing job practicing on the recorder! This week, we have learned our first song: B-Ginnings! It’s been a blast having them read and play the music. They’re only going to get better from here.

• 2nd/3rd: Our 2nd and 3rd graders have still been fluently identifying the names of note on the staff, but are now reviewing melodic contour (the direction and shape a melody takes). They have also listened to and learned a lot about the composer Billie Holiday! They were able to listen to and draw pictures to the song ‘Blue Moon.’

• K/1st: Our Kindergarten and 1st graders have been working hard on identifying quarter notes, eighth notes, double eighth notes, and quarter rests. They are now beginning to read rhythms on a staff! We have been practicing these rhythms using body percussion, hand drums, and boom whackers.

• PK: This month, we were able to talk about the passing of time (Days of the Week, specifically), Outer Space, and fun undersea animals!

Young Hoosier Books

The Young Hoosier Book Contest is continuing until April. The 4th and 5th grade students are encouraged to read the twenty books that the Indiana Library Federation has recommended for them. These books are chosen to encourage self-selected reading.Students who read at least 10 will receive prizes. The featured book this month is Falling Short by Ernesto Cisneros.

Issac and Marco are best friends but have very little in common, and both are starting sixth grade at a new school. Both boys have uncertain relationships with their Dads that they want to improve. With Marco’s smarts and Isaac’s athleticism, these boys can persevere through family, friendship, and middle school if they work together!

The top readers so far are:

1. Torin Pritzer, 5th Grade- 6 books

2. Carlos Vasquez-Figeroa, 4th Grade- 6 books

3. Angel Lopez-Bautista, 5th Grade - 5 Books

4. Harlem Hall, 4th Grade- 5 Books

5. Hazel Kirpatrick, 4th Grade- 5 Books

6. Daniella Rivero-Carapia, 4th Grade- 5 Books

We are off to a great start with our English Language Testing. We will be taking this test all of January and into February. Your child’s scores from last year were sent home last spring. As a reminder, all of our multilingual students have to take this test until they score a 5 or a 6, which means they are fluent in English. Your child will take 4 tests: one in listening, one in reading, one in writing, and one in speaking. The test is designed to see how well they understand English. Scores from this year’s test will arrive in April and we will have a parent night to go over those scores with you.

This is a very important test and like I said, one they will take every year of school (middle school and high school included) until they score a 5 or a 6. Encourage your child to take their time and do their best. We always have amazing growth and I know we will this year, too! Reach out to Mrs. Fresch or Mrs. Normann if you have any questions about the test!