HES is preparing for our first ever Fine Arts Night, to be held on Tuesday, December 3. Students and Families are invited to attend this special event that will present a collection of Christmas songs performed by our 1st Graders and an All-Student Art showcase!

Pre-K is movin' right along! We are currently learning how to care for our world as we finish up our theme, Taking Care. We will be learning all about helpers in our community and what they do as we explore our next theme, Everyday Helpers. During our literacy time we will be learning the letters Cc and Nn. We will also blend syllables into words, segment a syllable from a word, and recognize rhyming words. In writing, we will intentionally use marks, letters, or symbols to record language and share the meaning of our written work with others. In math, we will separate items into equal groups, name shapes, create shapes, and begin adding up to 5. In social studies, we will discuss the roles and responsibilities of community helpers. In science, we are learning all about reducing, reusing, and recycling. Pre-K will enjoy some fun and engaging activities, crafts, and songs before winter break.

Second grade has had a great break and are ready to tackle some Christmas activities learning about Holidays Around the World in Social Studies. We are sharpening our reading skills with chronological order and character traits as well as studying lots of various consonant digraphs. We will begin learning vowel teams in December. Our sharp mathematicians are beginning 2, 3, and 4 digit addition and subtraction along with two step word problems. Our scientists will continue the unit of Earth's Processes. We are looking forward to all the fun happening in second grade!!

A reminder to our parents: please be checking your child's folder nightly for fliers, notes, and information on all the great things happening during the month of December.

Need to know:

Please be sure to check your child's communication folder daily for notes that are sent home.

Thank you so much for providing goodies for our Thanksgiving Feast. The students had a GREAT time celebrating with their friends. Please be on the lookout for a note regarding our Christmas Parties soon.

We are continuing to Choose Love during this Holiday Season at HES! The Choose Love for Schools Program emphasizes the simple, universal teachings of courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion in action. During the month of December, we will continue to focus on the character trait of Gratitude in our Choose Love Enrichment lessons as well as in our daily Choose Love time each morning. Students will review that having an “attitude of gratitude” means feeling thankful and wanting to share that feeling with others. They will practice their “Gratitude Breaths” as they focus on the people and things in life for which they are thankful. One of the important benefits of practicing gratitude is that thankful thoughts can replace negative feelings and make people feel happier and healthier.

Once again, below are some optional activities that students and families/ caregivers can use to practice Choose Love skills and concepts at home. If you choose, the following discussion starters and activities can be used with your children to extend their learning of Gratitude beyond the classroom/ school.

• “To me, gratitude is……”

• “I show gratitude at school by….”

• “I show gratitude at home by…..”

• “I show gratitude in my community by……”

• Students show a family member how to do a “Gratitude Breath” and explain how it helps.

• Talk with your family about the benefits of practicing gratitude.

I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Remember…. You can always Choose Love!!

HES Technology Lab - Mrs. Price

December will be a month of review in the HES computer lab. We will be reviewing how and why we use the internet as well as how computers work in the real world. We will also be finishing up the semester with internet safety and rules. For all grades COMMONSENSEMEDIA.ORG and ABCYA.COM are great internet tools for you and your child to use at home. For Kinder - 3rd Typetastic Games are a great way for your child to show you the great typing skills they have been working on.

HES Music Class - Mrs. Abt

December is my favorite time of the year in music class. We will be singing, dancing and playing instruments to seasonal songs.

HES Library Center- Mrs. Wilson

December is a busy month with three distinctly different holidays! We will be reading about Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.

PE @ HES - Coach Franklin

We're coming up on the end of the semester and in PE we will continue to add more team games and sports! We will also review the different workouts we have learned throughout the semester for mastery and then practice for more complex movement patterns for next semester!

HES Art - Ms. Oneill

HES has been blessed to receive a multitude of art supplies from the district! Students will learn multiple art processes and also write about what they are learning in new sketchbooks! Third graders will be working on completing their Rainbow corn watercolor paintings, (where they learn how to transfer a design), and their rose or poinsettia gold and silver paper embossed ornaments. They will also create metallic origami butterfly ornaments! Pk-3rd graders will be creating foam clay candy canes, foam clay gingerbread man ornaments, Hojalata traditional Mexican Tin Ornaments on aluminum foil, Iridescent icicles and snowflakes, and more ornament styles from the traditional glass ornaments of Lauscha, Germany. Merry Christmas from the art room to everyone at HES!

HES ESL - Particia Roberts

Bilingual/ESL students will be learning all about Christmas traditions and important vocabulary. Students will write sentences using new vocabulary and share with classmates.

It's hard to believe December is here! This month our unit is Taking Care, where we learn about taking care of ourselves and others. Just before Christmas break, we will introduce the unit Everyday Helpers, all about how people serve and help in our communities. Some of the skills and knowledge we will be exploring during December include: In Literacy learning the letters and sounds of Ff, Oo, and Cc as well as blending and segmenting phonemes. In Math, recognizing one digit numerals, learning our colors and shapes, rote counting up to 30, and counting up to 10 items. In Science we will touch on the importance of caring for our planet as well as learning about the position and motion of objects. Social Studies will focus on taking care of ourselves and community helpers. It is going to be a great month full of learning and play!