Overall Attendance:
Each day is a new opportunity for students to learn at Horizon. With so many things hands-on and interactive it is so important that students be at school as much as possible. Thank you for helping focus on attendance! We appreciate your support & team effort!
1st Quarter 95.4%
2nd Quarter 94.5%
Thank you to our AMAZING FAMILIES:
September- Valerie Partch with Jackson Animal Clinic
October - Lillie Fitzpatrick with Animal Clinic of the Woodlands and Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch
November - Murphy's Mobile Manicure
December - Elemental Pediatrics
January - 5th Grade Girl Moms (Jamie Talley, Katy Brunker, Kristy Matson & Jonnelle Gentry)
January- Jamie Talley & Jonnelle Gentry(Healthy Headquarters drinks)
Early Childhood:
During the month of February we will spend time talking about Arctic animals, friendship, and finish the month with our unit on Dr. Seuss. March is the last month for Early Childhood screenings this school year. If you have a child that is 3 years old and lives in our district, please make an appointment with Brenda at the Central office if you would like to have your child screened.
Warrior Preschool:
We will be learning about community helpers this month. It’s important for children to understand the different roles in our community and how people work together to solve problems. We will start the unit with the post office. Then we will add in first responders, veterinarian and librarian.
We will also be participating in Valentines Across America. We will be receiving and sending valentines to family and friends. We hope to get cards from as many states and countries as possible. We will be marking them on a map as they arrive.
Kindergarten News:
Math- This month we will be working hard on counting, reading, and writing teen numbers. We will discuss how teen numbers had two place value spots- tens and ones as well as practice counting and getting more familiar with numbers up to 100.
Pathways- We finished learning all the letters in the alphabet! Our next step we will be working on is learning about H Digraphs- sh, ch, th, and wh as well as long vowel sounds!
Writing/Reading- We are starting Unit 3 which is our Personal Narrative unit. We discussed how a personal narrative is a true story about yourself. We have talked about big moments vs. small moments and how writer’s pick a small moment to write about so they can dive deep and add details.
Science/Social Studies- In science we are starting to discuss plants and animals and what they need to survive. With President’s Day right around the corner, we will be learning about two famous President’s- George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
First Grade News:
We will be working hard in February!
In Math we will begin adding two digit numbers. This is a big skill for first graders to master.
In Writing we will write and publish our second personal narrative piece. We will focus on self-assessing our writing and working hard to write a paper that meets our first grade expectations. We will then move onto our second informational writing piece.
This month in Readers Workshop we will look at nonfiction text to learn about finding the main idea of a passage.
In Social Studies we will learn about the importance of President’s Day and the contributions of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
Second Grade:
Third Grade:
It's hard to believe that we are already in the month of February! We have been working hard in 3rd grade and learning a lot of new skills. In math, we have been working hard at our fractions unit, we've been focused on fractions on a number line and comparing fractions. We will soon be expanding our learning by finding equivalent fractions. In science, we are well into our unit over life cycles and inherited traits. We will then be switching back to social studies, where we will be learning about Missouri’s civics, government and influential people. In reading we are learning about text features and in writing we continue to work on our list articles. The students have some great topics and we are looking forward to reading all of them!
Fourth Grade:
Fourth Grade is the BEST! We love our well-rounded learners!
In February, we will be focusing on fractions. We will focus on identifying and generating equivalent fractions, comparing, and adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators. In reading, we will continue to focus on point of view and theme! Additionally, students will become “wordwise,” by studying prefixes, suffixes, roots, and multiple-meaning words. In the area of writing students will craft realistic fiction pieces. With science, we are kicking off the Energy unit and looking at the stored energy in the different fuel types! With Social Studies we will take a peek into the branches of government! We cannot wait to enjoy all of these experiences with such wonderful kiddos!
Fifth Grade:
WE LOVE FIFTH GRADE!! It is the month of February and we are moving and grooving here. Third quarter is always a very busy time. We are really diving into new content and our brains are growing daily. Please encourage your fifth grader to keep their mind in the game as we move into this challenging time. We all believe that this group has the 'HEART' to succeed.
MATH: February is SO fun here in fifth grade mathematics! The students will be exploring the world of multiplying and dividing fractions. With this comes some really awesome realizations and learning outcomes. It is so great to see those wheels turning. These kiddos are true mathematicians and I couldn't be prouder of their progress so far this school year. Let's keep it rolling!
ELA: In February we will continue our fantasy unit in both reading and writing! In reading we will continue looking at story elements, character traits, conflict and theme. In writing we focus on using dialogue and description to make our stories come alive. In this unit, students will really begin to make strong connections from whole group classroom lessons to what we are reading in small groups. Don’t forget we will begin our 3rd quarter book projects March 3!
Science: We will finally begin our Ecosystems: Plants and Animals Unit. With all the AMI days, snow days, etc, plus reviewing, things have taken a bit longer to dive into. We are on our way now though! I am excited to get started, as this unit is over concepts students already have lots of schema over and seem to grasp much easier.
SS: This semester in SS, we focus on Immigration. This is my favorite unit that I teach all year long. It is so important for students to understand different cultures, how immigration works--back in the day (Ellis Island) and currently. Just as the Map Skills Unit was a semester long, this one is the same. Students will end this unit by becoming immigrants themselves, and having to pass all the tests in an Ellis Island Live Simulation. It's a 5th Grade favorite for sure! Who will make it into my country....wait and see!
Sixth Grade:
MATH: February is an exciting time in 6th Grade Math!! Due to snow days we are wrapping up our last Geometry lesson and will quickly be diving into our unit on Algebraic Thinking! This is a unit full of foundational concepts that will build over the next few years for your students! We will work on creating expressions from real world situations, balancing equations, and analyzing variable and number relationships.
Science/S.S: Students will act as forensic meteorologists, investigating severe rainstorms in a fictional town called Galetown. They will explore how water vapor, temperature, energy transfer, and wind create severe weather using models, simulations, and hands-on activities. By studying energy transfer, evaporation, and condensation, they will learn how factors like water vapor, temperature, and air pressure affect rainstorm severity.
ELA: As readers and writers, we are diving into informational text. As we do so, we are working to identify the “ingredients” to achieving success by reading about a variety of people who have done so. We will also work in our book clubs to continue thinking about and discussing the text we read. As we read, we are examining how informational text is structured to support us when we begin researching and writing about and informational topic of choice.
Technology & Innovation
We will continue lots of work in the world of robotics in February.
Kindergarten - problem solving through robotics
1st Grade - They will be working on computer skills and typing to prepare for a collaboration project with their classroom.
2nd Grade - We are wrapping up coding and will move into Circuts!
3rd Grade - Students are working on their final stop motion project. Once we finish, we will begin working on their Influential Missourian artifacts.
4th Grade - Battle Bot Building and Testing phase
5th Grade - Working through our Digital Identify self paced project
Library:
Love is in the air and all over our library as February is National Library Lover’s Month! The entire month is dedicated to celebrating our library and those who love to visit it. But really, who are we kidding? Everyday is the perfect day to share our love of reading!
ONE BOOK - ONE DISTRICT reading of The Wild Robot begins Monday, February 3!
Each family will receive a copy of the book so that they may read along.
A calendar with links to teachers reading the daily chapters.
Activities that go along with the reading to make the experience interactive.
A virtual author visit with Peter Brown!
Kindergarten is working on telling the difference between nonfiction and fiction books. We are also learning where each book can be found in the library and why we choose different books for different reasons. 1st and 2nd grades will be finishing up their Show-Me nominated books this month and will be voting for their favorite book. The winner will be announced in April and we will see if our votes match! We will be learning about illustrators and exploring books that have won and are nominated for the Caldecott Award. We will also be previewing some of the books that will be on our March Book Madness brackets! 3rd-6th grades will be voting for their favorite book from the Great Kids Can Read, Mark Twain, and Truman nominated books this month. Winners for these books will also be announced in April. Students who participated in and completed the Mark Twain reading challenge will be attending the Children’s Literature Festival in Warrensburg on Tuesday, March 11. Information slips and book order forms were sent home last week if your child qualified. More information will be coming home as the date gets closer.
6th grade Books vs. Movies: We have been reading our way through A Series of Unfortunate Events. After we finish reading the book we will watch the movie and
compare/contrast the two. We will follow this with a quick picture book vs. movie match up. Hopefully we will be able to fit in another chapter book before the end of the quarter.
Art:
Warrior Preschool and Early Childhood: Our littlest Warriors have been working in different art centers. These centers encourage them to use a variety of materials and improve their fine motor skills. Some of our most recent center options have been hole punching, color sorting with beads, practicing creating shapes, gluing, drawing, and art puzzles.
Kindergarten students recently built their clay project - a pinch pot. They did a great job building them and are excited to glaze them soon! While we wait for their pinch pots to dry enough to fire in the kiln, Kindergarten artists have been working on drawing different types of lines. They are also learning their first printmaking technique, using foil, markers, and spray bottle
1st grade artists have completed their clay projects and most have been sent home. A few students are still working on glazing and their projects will be completed soon. I have also kept a few of these clay projects for display later in the year. 1st grade is moving on to opening some more materials around the room. Currently they are learning about architecture studio, play-doh studio, and inspiration station.
2nd graders have completed their clay projects, which are on display outside of the art room. They look amazing, I can’t wait for families to see them soon! We have moved on from clay projects to open our architecture studio, origami studio, and learn ways to enhance our artworks using yarn.
3rd graders have learned about and practiced more shading and ways to create light and dark in their artwork. They are now working on a clay project, making robots out of 2 pinch pots. These projects are so fun and students get to add lots of fun details to make their robot unique.
4th graders have been learning basic skills with liquid tempera paint. Our biggest focus has been on color mixing. They learned to mix primary colors to create secondary colors, and used these colors to complete a color wheel. The next week, they learned how to create a value scale with tempera paint by creating tints (color + white) and shades (color + black). To top this lesson off the learned how to make a tone (color + gray) and how to make brown from the primary colors. Another skill they have recently practiced is how to create value with a marker. They learned and practiced techniques such as stippling, hatching, cross-hatching and scrumbling.
5th graders have also been honing their skills with liquid tempera paint. Our biggest focus has been on color mixing. They learned to mix primary colors to create secondary colors. Then using primaries and secondaries to create tertiary/intermediate colors. They used the colors they mixed to complete a color wheel. The next week, they learned how to create a value scale with tempera paint by creating tints (color + white) and shades (color + black). To top this lesson off the learned how to make a tone (color + gray) and how to make brown from the primary colors. Another thing 5th grade has learned about is symmetry and balance in art. They learned about Symmetry, Asymmetry, and Radial Symmetry. We also discussed ways to create balance in our own artworks.6th Grade 3D Art - A new quarter is upon us, which means 6th grade encore classes have switched up. This quarter I am teaching a class on 3D Art and these kids are ROCKING IT! This course is “gamified” into Levels and they earn badges for completing certain projects. The badge options for Level 1 are Clay (Pinch Technique), Clay (Coil Technique), Clay (Slab Technique), Cardboard Sculpture, Paper Sculpture, Origami Sculpture, and Foil Balloon. Once they complete 3 badges in Level 1, they can move to Level 2 (which has different projects / materials options). I really focus on originality, technique, and rigor with my 6th grade groups, and require them to fill out a plan sheet before beginning each project. 3D art can be difficult, and students are challenged to embrace their mistakes and be ready to pivot, because not everything will always go as planned!
Group B Clay Club’s last meeting is on February 3rd.
Group C will have their first meeting on February 24th.
PE:
K-2nd grade classes have been doing exercise stations and throwing target games this month. They have had a blast with the different strategies needed to play these games. We will continue to play new games that require different movements and strategies, as well as stations through the month of February.
3-6th grade classes have been playing team handball the last couple of classes which is a hit with the students. We do not play quite the same game as seen at the Olympic Games but use a softer ball that accommodates all students and they really seemed to enjoy it.
3-4th grade will be doing more station activities and team games upcoming in February.
5-6th grade will be starting their archery unit in two weeks. As always, proper gym shoes are highly recommended for PE days. If a student is wearing crocs or flip flops they will not be able to do archery that day.
Music:
Hello Horizon families and welcome back! Here’s a little bit about what will be happening in the music room in February:
Kindergarten: Kindergarten will end our high and low unit as we move into moving up and down. We will also use the valentine’s holiday to remind ourselves of steady beat and how beat stays steady like our hearts.
1st/2nd Grade: 1st & 2nd Grade have begun working on music for their upcoming music program! Their program will take place on March 18th at 6pm at the PAC. Please make sure to mark this date in your calendars and be on the lookout for more information. I’m so excited for you to see what we have been working on this year in music!
3rd Grade: Students will be beginning the use of stations in the music room as we continue to practice the musical alphabet and reading music on the staff. Students will be moving on to our Recorder unit as we do this as well! If you have not purchased a recorder for your child to use and practice at home, please be sure to do that. We will be learning the notes B, A, and G on the recorder.
4th Grade: In 4th Grade students will be working to learn extended rhythms that include sixteenth notes and extended pitch concepts with solfege. We will then be moving into our ukulele unit! Students will learn basic concepts of ukulele that include reading music and chords.
5th Grade: 5th Grade is moving into our brand new BUCKET DRUM UNIT! Thanks to our amazing PTO fundraiser earlier this year, our music room has enough bucket drums for entire classes to learn! We will work on extended rhythms and how to play this new percussion instrument.
6th Grade: In our 6th grade Music Composition Class, students have just completed their second project of the semester, a presentation on their favorite music artist or band. We will now be moving into our third project, where students will be creating a 2 or 3 part drum piece to present. I’m so excited to see what they come up with!
Choir: The Sunset Singers are hard at work preparing for our annual Smithville Elementary Music Festival. The students will be learning 6 pieces and get the opportunity to work in a festival type setting while being cliniced by all 3 elementary directors in the district!
Counseling:
February is finally here! We are solidly into 2025. We have started a new after school activity - Play Club. This is an opportunity for free-form playing and socializing in person, face to face, unstructured and without screens. This opportunity allows more time for children to experience their fundamental need for play. By experiencing the opportunity to organize their own games and learning to solve problems, kids can learn real-world social skills: social development, leadership skills, cognitive growth, bully reduction, diverse perspectives, creativity and imagination, independence, stress reduction, emotional regulation, communication skills, executive functioning, cooperation, making and keeping friendships.
We have an amazing list of school staff that will be supervising Play Club from week to week, we are all so excited for this opportunity for our students!
Play Club will be held Wednesdays, from 4:00 - 5:00 for registered students. A permission form and confirmation via email will be required before a student will be able to participate. Please be patient as we get this super fun activity up and running.
Check out Letgrow.org
Monthly classroom lessons will focus on digital citizenship and our interactions with others online.
