South Elementary Family Newsletter

Volume 9 May 2025

Message from the Principals

Dear South Elementary School Families,

It’s hard to believe we’ve made it to May already! This is one of the busiest—and most exciting—months of the school year, and we’re looking forward to all the fun ahead. From field trips and Day of Fun to the Spring Scholastic Book Fair and the Annual Student Showcase, there’s so much happening across the school this month. We love seeing our students enjoy these experiences, and we’re hoping to see many of you at the events we have planned! Be sure to check back to this newsletter and/or the weekly updates so you don’t miss anything.

We’re also heading into our final round of MCAS testing starting next week with Math and finishing with Grade 5 Science and Technology the week after.. Please help your child feel confident and prepared by reminding them to do their best, get a good night’s sleep, and not to stress—just show what they know! Your support at home makes a big difference.

As always, thank you for being such an important part of our school community.

Aloha, Steph Brown and Rebecca Hurley

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Thursday, 5/1-Somerset Papa Gino's South Night, PTO earns 20% of sales from 4-9PM *Mention this fundraise in person or enter code 19 online.

Thursday, 5/1-Lip Sync @ 6:00-7:30PM @ South

Friday, 5/2-Cricket Convention @ 2:30PM-Grade 3 Presents! Wear Green

Friday, 5/2-Somerset Girl Scouts present STEAM night, 6-8PM @ Church of Our Savior. Info is HERE.

Saturday, 5/3-Walk the Walk @ 1:30-3PM @ SBRHS Track. Info is HERE.

Monday, 5/5-Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Tuesday, 5/6-Gr 3 Math1 MCAS

Wednesday, 5/7-Gr 3 Math2 MCAS

Thursday, 5/8-Gr 5 Math1 MCAS

Friday, 5/9-Gr 5 Math2 MCAS

Tuesday, 5/13- Gr 4 Math1 MCAS

Tuesday, 5/13-PTO Meeting @ 6PM @ South

Wednesday, 5/14- Gr 4 Math2 MCAS

Thursday, 5/15-Gr 5 STE1 MCAS

Thursday, 5/15-Gr 1 Field Trip to Coggeshall Farm

Friday, 5/16-Gr 5 STE2 MCAS

Friday, 5/16, Gr 4 Field Trip to Fort Adams

Monday, 5/19-Thursday, 5/20-MCAS Makeups

Thursday, 5/22-Gr 2 Field Trip to Roger Williams Zoo

Friday, 5/23-Cricket Convention @ 2:30PM-Grade 2 Presents! Wear Green!

Monday, 5/26-No School-Memorial Day....Remembering and honoring those who have served!

Wednesday, 5/28-Gr 3 Field Trip to Coggeshall Farm

Thursday, 5/29-South Student Showcase @ 4:30-5:30PM

Thursday, 5/29-Incoming Kindergarten Parents' Information Night @ 6PM

From Nurse Bertrand.....

SUN & WATER SAFETY

Now that the weather is finally getting warmer, it is time to prepare for sunny and hot days! Please keep in mind the following when planning your spring and summer fun in the sun and near the water.

Wear sunscreen SPF 15 or higher-please put this on your child before coming to school.
Clothing to cover entire body
Wear a hat
Wear sunglasses
Stay hydrated with water-please send your child to school with a labeled, refillable water bottle.
If your too hot, move to a cooler place
Beach and Pool Safety:

Always stay within arms reach if parent
Wear life jacket if not a strong swimmer
Keep gates to pools closed
Do NOT run around open water
Enter water feet first
Do NOT dive into shallow water

School Counseling Corner

From Mrs. H. and Mrs. Shaw

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

We are all going through something or know someone who is.

This month, we’re learning how to take care of our feelings and be kind to our minds. Just like we keep our bodies healthy by eating good food and moving around, we can keep our brains and hearts healthy by talking about our feelings, asking for help, and being kind to others.

It’s okay to feel sad, mad, or worried sometimes. Grown-ups and friends are here to help!

Let’s take care of ourselves and each other!

Local Services

https://cfservices.org/mh-month.php

Local Events Listing

https://www.eventbrite.com/d/united-states--massachusetts/mental-health/

Summer Camps and Ideas

Camp Welch 2025- English (1).pdf

Camp Welch 2025 - Spanish (1).pdf

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP FLYER 2024.pdf

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP FLYER 2024 SPANISH.pdf

https://youngscholarsacademy.org/courses/summer-camps

Relaxation ideas and coping strategies

Guided Watercolor Meditation

Books

Understanding Emotions & Self-Regulation

"The Color Monster" by Anna Llenas
– A simple, visual story about sorting and understanding feelings.
"In My Heart: A Book of Feelings" by Jo Witek
– Explores a range of emotions through metaphor and colorful illustrations.
"When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry" by Molly Bang
– A relatable story about managing anger in healthy ways.
"My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss
– Uses colors and animals to describe feelings.

Anxiety & Worry

"Wilma Jean the Worry Machine" by Julia Cook
– Helps kids identify worries and gives tools to manage them.
"What to Do When You Worry Too Much" by Dawn Huebner
– A self-help guide for children with interactive exercises (great for guided reading).
"Ruby Finds a Worry" by Tom Percival
– Shows how talking about worries helps them shrink.

Self-Esteem & Resilience

"I Am Enough" by Grace Byers
– A celebration of self-worth and kindness.
"Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon" by Patty Lovell
– Promotes confidence and being proud of who you are.
"The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes" by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein
– Teaches the value of making mistakes and learning from them.

Empathy & Kindness

"Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" by Carol McCloud
– A classic about how small acts of kindness matter.
"Be Kind" by Pat Zietlow Miller
– Simple examples of what kindness can look like in a child’s world.

As always, Mrs. H and Mrs. Shaw are here to help you answer any questions and guidance to help support both our students and the caretakers.

Reach out anytime.

Cecilia.huard@somersetsetschools.org

Jennifer.shaw@somersetschools.org

From Our Amazing PTO!

PTO’s May Newsletter

Upcoming Events: Mark your Calendars!

Thursday, May 1st: Papa Gino’s Night 4PM-9PM

869 GAR Highway, Somerset
Walk-in or phone orders: Mention this fundraiser when you place your order for South School to get the credit for your order.
Online Orders: Enter Code 19 at the payment screen and click redeem.
South School earns 20% of orders!

Week of May 5th-9th Teacher Appreciation Week

The PTO has meals planned and tokens of appreciation for staff during this week. This year’s theme is Wicked Oz-Some Teachers and Staff.
Below are ways families can participate in Teacher Appreciation Week:

Monday: Popular: Bring or draw a flower for your teacher.
Tuesday: Elphaba’s Wisdom: Bring your treacher their favorite school supply.
Wednesday: Defy Gravity: Lift your teacher up with a kind note or card.
Thursday: Glinda’s Goodness: Bring your teacher their favorite snack.
Friday: Emerald City Celebration: Bring your teacher a gift card or token of appreciation.

These are simply suggestions. Feel free to participate when you are able or show your appreciation in a different way.

Tuesday May 13th: PTO Meeting

South School Cafe at 6PM
This is the last meeting of the year.
Voting for board members will take place at the meeting.

Open Positions for PTO Board:

Each position is held for a two-year term.
If anyone is interested in running for a position, please email the PTO.
Voting will take place at the May PTO meeting.
The following positions will be open at the end of this school year.

President
Vice President
Secretary

Contact PTO

Follow South Elementary PTO on Facebook for updates and information!
somersetsouthelementarypto@gmail.com

Parent Resources

May Lunch Menu: please click HERE.

Click HERE for May Read Aloud Books for Elementary Students

South Elementary MCAS Dates, Spring 2025

Click HERE for a 100s Chart to help count to 100, add, subtract, and notice number patterns.

Click HERE for an Alphabet Linking Chart to help your child match sounds and letters when writing/reading.

Click HERE for Multiplication Charts to practice math facts or use for a reference.

Somerset Public Schools, SY' 24-25 Calendar- please click HERE

Somerset Public Schools, SY' 25-26 Calendar-please click HERE.

KINDERGARTEN

As we prepare to be first graders, students are learning how to monitor and check their writing for correct sentence conventions. We will continue to be working on writing multiple sounds in words and writing multiple sentences about a topic. Students are working on strengthening their high frequency word knowledge to be able to read grade level text. In math, we have introduced teen numbers and are learning the place value of the numbers, such as 10 + 4 = 14. We make a teen number by starting with a group of ten and then some extra ones. We will also be learning 3D shapes and how they are formed. In social studies, students will be working to memorize their address and phone number. Please help them with this skill at home as they can be difficult to memorize. We are so excited to end our year in science with Our Living Things unit. We will be planting seeds and observing their growth. We soon will have caterpillars and we will observe their growth and changes. We have loved sharing the April family projects on ways to take care of the earth! Our final family project, a timeline of your child’s life, will be sent home soon. For our student showcase project, each student will need a shoe box, please send one in by Friday, May 9.

GRADE 1

We are busy as ever getting ready for second grade! Your first graders have grown so much and made so much progress this year and we still have lots to do! In math, we spent some time learning geometry. The first graders learned about 2-D and three dimensional shapes. They learned about fractions, we focused on 1/4 and 1/2. We have also begun learning about two digit numbers as we glide into the end of the school year.

In phonics, we have learned about phonograms and vowel teams. These boys and girls are really soaring with what they know about how to read and write words and I bet you’ll be impressed. If you ask them to help you spell some multi syllable words as well! During these last few months, we are going to be learning how to write nonfiction. This will help us learn how to research about selected topics and share facts in the form of writing.

Best of all, we have certainly become a little family. We have formed the best friendships and learned a lot from each other.

GRADE 2

Happy Spring! It has certainly been a busy March! We will be cheering on our 5th Grade Buddies starting this week as they begin to take MCAS. In class, our read alouds this month have been focusing on humorous characters and books by Helen Lester. In our own reading, we have been exploring characters including their thoughts, feelings, and what they are like. In writing, we have begun exploring the genre of informational, including brainstorming lists of words that are related to a certain topic, deciding on a few main ideas, and elaborating on those main ideas. We will begin writing our own informational text based on a topic we know a lot about. In phonics, we have wrapped up our study of unpredictable vowel teams, and will now be working with r-controlled vowels including ar, or, w+or, w+ar, er, ir, and ur. In math, we began Unit 6 which focuses on attributes of two dimensional shapes and exploring numbers with shapes. In science, we began our unit on Animal Adventures by looking at animal classifications and habitats.

GRADE 3

Dear Third Grade Families,

It is hard to believe that it is already May! We have had another busy month of learning in third grade! Our April Number Corner morning routine has emphasized identifying fractions in relation to various wholes, such as a carton of eggs or slices in a pizza. Through our Calendar Collector activity, students continue to strengthen their time-telling skills by regularly adding time to our classroom clock. The time collected is represented as a fraction, prompting students to engage in deeper thinking about the relationship between time and fractional values. In mathematics, we are wrapping up Unit 6: Geometry. We have learned a lot about types of lines, angles, polygons, and the various types of quadrilaterals! Students have explored quadrilaterals by creating their own notes on the different types, solving quadrilateral riddles, and constructing various quadrilaterals using geoboards. Additionally, students have also learned to calculate area and perimeter.

In reading, we have had an exciting month of read-aloud books and lessons! We have enjoyed reading fractured fairy tales and discussing what makes them “fractured”, as well as genre and theme. We are currently focusing on understanding hybrid texts which are a mix of fiction and nonfiction. In writing, we are continuing our animal research unit. After completing an informational writing piece with a partner, students are now researching an animal of their choice. We are continuing to use graphic organizers to aid us in the writing process. Students will turn their research into an engaging infographic that incorporates photographs and text boxes to educate their readers.

In science, we wrapped up our unit on the life cycles of plants and animals. We have explored how animal life cycles are similar to our own and learned all about pollination! We are currently learning about heredity and how traits are passed down from parent to offspring.

We are looking forward to all that May has to offer, including Market Day and our field trip to Coggeshall farm!

Grade 4

April has come and gone so quickly. These fourth graders certainly gave it their all on our ELA

MCAS tests. We are all proud of their efforts and grit to show their best work and fourth-grade

knowledge.

In Math, students are wrapping up their work in geometry, focusing on angles and using 180

degree protractors. They've also been utilizing the area model for division. We hope that

families enjoyed our Science animal adaptation projects. It was a wonderful night to share our

understanding of animals’ unique abilities to adjust to their surroundings and climate.

In ELA, we are continuing with narrative writing. We are learning how to write an entertaining

beginning and elaborate on a critical character, setting, or object. We’re also learning how to

build suspense and construct main event details that allow the reader to visualize and

understand the feelings and perspectives of the characters. Finally, students will learn how to

wrap it up and conclude their narrative writing in an interesting way.

We’re also studying the genre of Traditional Literature, such as fairy tales, fables, and folktales.

We will be reading various versions of a familiar tale and comparing perspectives, point of view,

character development, and outcomes.

In Social Studies, we are learning about the regions of the United States, focusing on natural

landmarks, capital cities, geographical features, and statehood.

Grade 5

April has come and gone so quickly. These fifth graders certainly gave it their all on our ELA

MCAS tests. We are all proud of their efforts and attention to show their best work and

fifth-grade knowledge.

In Math, we’ve been focusing on division, fractions, and decimals. For Science, we have

completed all of our science units! For our end of the year performance task, students are

creating their own ecosystem. We can’t wait to share these with you at our upcoming Student

Showcase.