TCES/SEC Newsletter
January 2025
Parents and Families of TCES
I want to take this time to welcome all our students, parents and families of TCES back for the second half of the school year. The first half of the year was very positive and our students showed some wonderful growth in achievement and in behavior. December ended with 42% of our students being proficient in the area of Reading and 45% of our students being proficient in Math. Although we have work to do, these numbers are significant improvements.
In addition, I am pleased to announce that far fewer students visited the principal's office due to misbehavior than in the last three years. Overall our students are making some great decisions and some great gains, and I am extremely proud of the work and effort that our students and staff are putting in to make TCES a positive learning environment.
I would like to thank all of our parents for your work in getting your children to school and assisting in instilling those positive ideas and traits into your children.
Rey Gonzalez
Principal TCES/District Hearing Officer
1-575-740-4604
HELLO PARENTS!!!
We want to take this time to welcome you back from winter break, we are so grateful to be here with each of your children. We hope you all are keeping warm as the weather is cooling down fast!
As we get back into a routine, we will continue to improve the students’ math abilities by deepening their understanding of addition and subtraction within 10 by identifying fact families and breaking apart numbers 5-10.
As for reading and writing, we will be introducing new Red Words each week as well as some CVC words. The students will be able to identify the letters and the corresponding sounds in these words. We will work to encourage students to learn spelling practices by using tapping methods and word maps. We believe in each individual student and strive to meet their needs each day.
We hope that you continue working at home with your child to as it is imperative to their success in both inside and outside of the classroom. As always, we appreciate all you do and look forward to yet another month full of growth and individual development.
Mrs. Reyes
Mrs. Silva
Ms. Gustin
& Mrs.Perez
Welcome back from Winter Break! We hope you had some quality time with your family and are ready for a new semester. Please encourage your child to work on their decodables that are sent home throughout the week; these will count toward the Book It program. They will also help with each area in Istation such as Reading Comprehension, Phonemic Awareness, Vocabulary and Letter Recognition. Our focus for math in the month of January is fluently adding/subtracting within 10 (practicing adding/subtracting within 20). We also introduced long vowels and will continue working on them for a few weeks. 😊
We need:
Hand Sanitizer
Reminders:
Spelling Words – These are sent home weekly. Be sure to study them!
School Behavior – Please remind your child about appropriate school behavior.
Coats – Please send your child with a jacket EVERY DAY! Despite nice weather, it can change. Also remind them to keep track of their jackets.
January 28th – 100th Day of School. Be on the lookout for a flyer and a fun at home project!
January 29th – Field Trip to the local Library! More information to come.
- January 31st – Backwards Day (flyer to come)
Happy New Year Families! We hope everyone had a relaxing, fun, and safe winter break! As we welcome students back, we will take time to review behavior expectations in the classroom and around the school. Please help encourage students to always be on their best behavior while at school.
With the cold weather upon us, please remind students to dress appropriately and bring jackets. It is also helpful if student names are somewhere on their jackets. Our lost and found is getting quite large, so if you are missing a jacket, feel free to come look!
In math we are beginning Topic 7 in our curriculum. This focuses on students solving word problems using addition and subtraction. Throughout this topic, we will also continue to practice multiple addition and subtraction strategies with numbers up to the 100s place. We also frequently review skills such as: place value, telling time, and counting money. Please continue to help your kiddos practice their addition and subtraction facts at home for at least 5-10 minutes a night.
Students are continuing to work on reading every day. Some things that we are practicing this month are: schwa words, silent letters, compound words, grammar elements (adverbs, pronouns), writing complete sentences, with writing prompts and comprehension skills after reading or hearing a read aloud. It is so important to read to and with your students, even a few minutes each night can make a difference and help give students a love for reading!
We are also beginning an exciting Science unit in which we will learn all about weather! Some topics will include: extreme weather, natural disasters, types of clouds, and the water cycle. Some fun projects will be included!
Other important info:
- Things we need donated to classrooms: Clorox/Lysol wipes, Kleenex, and classroom snacks.
- Please remind students to wear tennis shoes and appropriate clothes on PE days: Jankowski-Monday, J. Tolley- Thursday, M. Tolley- Friday
Happy New Year from 3rd grade! We are excited to have students back for the new year! Here are some exciting things taking place in our classrooms.
Math: We are currently working on fractions. This unit focuses on understanding that fractions are numbers that represent a portion of a whole or a point on a number line. Practice at home with baking and crafts!
Reading: Over the next three weeks, our class will build their knowledge about animal behavior, with a focus on the nonfiction genre. We will read texts about the behaviors and characteristics that animals use to survive.
Science: We will begin learning about animal life cycles and the stages of development that animals undergo from birth to adulthood. We will be getting some fun animal habitats to explore!
Please remind students to bring their jackets every day. Any parents willing to donate the following to classrooms would be greatly appreciated: Clorox/Lysol wipes and classroom snacks. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to your child's teacher.
Welcome Back, 4th Graders!
Welcome back to an exciting school year!! We are thrilled to have our 4th-grade students back and ready to learn, grow, and make lasting memories. Even more exciting, we’re finally back in our regular classroom now that construction is complete! We can’t wait to settle into our refreshed learning space and make it feel like home again! It’s hard to believe that half the school year is already behind us, but we are eager and energized to see all the amazing opportunities, achievements, and growth the second half will bring!
What’s Happening in the Classroom
In Math, we will kick off the year by reviewing division concepts to ensure a strong foundation. Then, we’ll dive into a brand-new unit on fractions, a huge fourth grade standard, that will challenge and engage students as they explore this important topic.
In Language Arts, our focus is comparing and contrasting two texts, helping students develop critical thinking and analytical skills that will serve them well across all subjects.
We are also continuing to prioritize social-emotional well-being, creating a safe and supportive space for students to share, reflect, and build strong interpersonal skills.
School-Wide Focus Areas
This year, we continue emphasizing:
Attendance: Being present and on time is key to learning and building strong routines. “When you miss school, you miss out!”
Character Counts Traits: We will highlight traits like respect, responsibility, and kindness to foster a positive classroom community.
CHAMPS Expectations: These classroom and school wide behavior expectations will help us create a productive and supportive learning environment for all students.
We are so excited to partner with you to make this school year the best one yet! If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Here’s to a fantastic year of growth, discovery, and success in 4th grade!
Dear 5th Grade Families,
We are excited to ring in a fantastic New Year with you! We are busy learning and growing in 5th grade.
Upcoming Events
Istation Testing for January
Learning Highlights:
Math: We are starting our unit on fractions.
Reading: We are learning how to "Notice and Note" as we close reading fictional texts in preparation for our first novel study unit. We will be reading "Freak the Mighty." We are also writing more, and completing a daily writing prompt.
Science: We are learning about Earth's interactive systems, such as Earth's Water Systems. This includes water distribution on Earth, human impact on water resources, and the effects of the hydrosphere.
Reminders
- Dress for the Weather: As the temperatures drop, please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for outdoor recess.
Thank you for your continued support! We look forward to an exciting month ahead and wish everyone a wonderful month!
5th Grade Teachers
In Physical Education for the month of January, students will be finishing a basketball unit. Please remember to send your child with appropriate footwear on their PE day of the week. Also, if your child has any sort of injury or sickness that may prevent them from participating, please send a note and I will excuse them from PE. Without a note, their grade will be significantly reduced for lack of participation. Thanks for all your help!
Chase Brownfield
Hi Families!
January 2025
Happy New Year!
All students did a great job creating functional art during the month of December. It felt like a factory here in the art room.
This month, all students will be working on Poppy Posters for the American Legion Auxiliary. During this project, students will learn about colored pencil techniques, as well as principals and elements of design. The poppy posters are a great way for kids to show their appreciation of veterans, and for them to engage with their community.
After poppy posters, students will create a self portrait for the Square 1 Art fundraiser. As always, kids will be engaging with state standards while working on these projects.
As always, please reach out with questions or concerns or ideas. We welcome your input about current and future art projects!
Be well,
Thea Storz
Rhonda Nickles
Art Supplies to have at home:
Crayons, markers, glue, scissors, watercolor paints, paper, modeling clay, model magic clay.
Fun art websites:
https://archived.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/metkids/
https://www.sfmoma.org/visit/sfmoma-for-kids/
PLEASE CHECK OUT THE AWESOME FIFTH GRADE ART PROJECTS (hanging in SEC 5th grade hall)
Hello from music!!
This month kinder, 1st and 2nd grade will be learning the story of Peter and The Wolf. Each character in the story is represented by a different instrument, we will learn about each instrument while discussing various musical elements associated with each, such as tempo and pitch.
3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will begin learning how to play the soprano ukulele. So far, we have learned how to hold and strum the ukulele. Next, students will learn chords and strum patterns. If you would like to purchase a ukulele for your musician, there are some great options on amazon! Some recommended brands for soprano ukuleles would include Kala, Donner, Aklot, and Rockjam.
Thank you!
-Mrs. Abby Harrison
Bookshelf Bulletin with Mrs. Q
Hello TCES families! Can you believe 2025 is here?!? The year is going so fast.
We are going to be resuming with book check out and we have our spring BOGO book fair coming up in April. Please keep an eye out for flyers for that.
Thank you to everyone who turned in their overdue books before the holidays. If there are still outstanding books, I will be sending letters home again for those.
Don't forget to read to/with your students at home to help nurture their love of reading.
Happy New Year!
For the month of January in the Save the Children classroom 1st grade will continue practicing text fluency through read together poems and will continue to work on high frequency words through writing and games. 3rd and 4th grade will continue to work on their independent reading and comprehension skills.
Starting in February Save the Children will be refining their literacy intervention program to better align with the Science of Reading. The biggest change is that we will be transitioning from 2 separate literacy blocks, emergent readers and developing readers, to a single literacy block for grades k-5. These literacy blocks will be tailored to each child’s specific needs and will include things like phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. We will no longer be doing GIRP (Guided Independent Reading Practice) and AR (accelerated reader) once this starts.
Mary Reuland