Explore New Horizons
December Parent Newsletter 2024
Early Childhood:
We are wrapping up our community helpers unit, and the kids have been interested in learning all about different people in our community that help others. Starting next week we will begin learning about different holiday traditions and celebrations. We will open new work stations and the students will get to make hot cocoa, bake cookies, wrap presents, and make toys in the workshop area. This is a favorite theme for many of our friends.
In Second Steps we have been focusing on caring and helping others, being a good listener to our friends, and being a good helper.
Our last day before break is Friday, December 20th and will be an early dismissal. Our AM session is 8:45 - 10:45 and our PM session is 10:45 - 12:45.
Warrior Preschool:
Kindergarten News:
Math- We have been learning about addition and subtraction within 5. We discussed how when we add we are putting things together and when we subtract we are breaking things apart and taking away.
Pathways- We have been learning about the following letters and their sounds- Cc, Kk, Gg, Ss, and Zz. We are learning what it means to segment and blend a word and how we can do this to help us read and write. We are practicing these skills everyday on our segment and write boards. Our sight words are the, a, I, at, go, me, my, look, am, can, and for, like, you, is, and it.
Writing/Reading- We have been learning about nonfiction texts and practicing identifying nonfiction text features like table of contents, headings, labels, maps, etc. In writing we have been working on using 5 star writing- using capital letters, punctuation, neat handwriting, finger spaces, and ensuring our sentences make sense.
Science/Social Studies- We have been working lots on pushes and pulls and identifying examples of each. We talked about how when we push something it moves away from our body, and when we pull something it moves towards us. In social studies, we have started discussing the difference between needs and wants, as well as scarcity and opportunity cost.
First Grade News:
We are so proud of how hard our kids are working! They are rock stars!
In Writers Workshop we finished publishing our first personal narrative and our non fiction writing about bats. We will spend December doing some descriptive writing with gingerbread kids and then we will move into letter writing.
We just finished up unit 1 in Math and are moving right along into unit 2. We will focus on teen numbers and making a 10 to add numbers to 20. We will also learn how to add 3 numbers.
In Readers Workshop we just finished learning about the different traits that we find in nonfiction books. We are learning that we can find a lot of information in the captions, headings, table of contents and index. This month we will practice finding story elements in fiction writing such as the setting, characters, problem and solution.
In Social Studies we will spend some time in December learning about how other parts of the world celebrate holidays.
Second Grade:
Hello Second Grade Families,
It’s hard to believe we are nearing the end of the second quarter and heading into the holiday season! Along with festive activities, students will also be completing end-of-quarter assessments and the NWEA. Your child’s teacher will share specific dates soon, so stay tuned. We’re excited to see how much progress and growth our students have made!
Here’s a look at what we’ve been working on in class:
Reading
Students are practicing answering questions with evidence from books, stories, or articles. This skill helps deepen their comprehension and strengthens their ability to support their answers with specific details.
Writing
We are immersed in our literary nonfiction writing pieces! Students have been exploring books and planning their own, blending factual information into creative storytelling.
Math
Our mathematicians have mastered adding and subtracting two-digit numbers using strategies such as:
Break apart
Place value
Place value blocks
Number line
Standard algorithm
Next, we’ll focus on solving word problems by deciding when to add or subtract.
Social Studies
We’re starting our economics unit! Topics include:
Wants vs. needs
Supply and demand
Opportunity cost
The value of money
We’re excited to keep learning and growing as we finish this quarter strong. Thank you for your continued support!
Warm regards,Your Second Grade Team
Third Grade:
It’s hard to believe that it is already December! This past month has been full of lots of learning! We finished up our science unit over Playground Forces, where students learned about moving objects and magnetic force. We switched back to social studies and our current unit focuses on “Coming to Missouri,” and how Missouri has changed over time. Up next in science will be our unit over Inheritance and Traits. In math, we finished our lessons over multiplication and its properties. Next, we will explore the relationship between multiplication and division and we will dive deep into division. After that, we will move on to fractions. In reading, we are wrapping up our summarizing and central message unit and we will be turning our attention to informational texts. In writing, we are working on a unit focused around the genre of fantasy. Students are using their imagination and creativity to write amazing stories. We can’t wait to read them all! We will be focusing on nonfiction pieces in both writing and reading to end the quarter. We are lucky to be able to watch these amazing students grow!
Fourth Grade:
Happy December! As we approach the winter break, we want to take a moment to share what our students will be focusing on in class this month. It’s hard to believe we are already closing in on the end of the year! We have several exciting activities planned that align with our curriculum and help foster a love for learning.
Language Arts: We are wrapping up our Natural Disasters Unit. The students did a great job creating survival guides in writing. They also did a nice job reviewing text and graphic features when reading. Our next unit will focus on Plot, Point of View and Theme.
Math: This month we will be busy working on multi-digit multiplication and long division! We will learn several different strategies so students are able to identify and use a strategy that is best suited to them. We will also be taking our winter iReady Diagnostic to see how much progress we’ve made this year! This will take us through until winter break.
Social Studies:
In Social Studies, we are preparing for our field trip! We are headed to the School of Economics! Each student will get hired for a job, a paycheck, learn how to get a loan, and much more! We are excited for this field trip and cannot wait to be apart of such a great simulation!
Science: We will be moving into Animal and Plant Adaptations as our next unit! Looking forward to carrying over the information we have learned from Human Body, Vision, & the Brain!
Special Events:
January 15th will be our Field Trip to the School of Economics! Please have your student’s permission slip in by Friday, December 20, 2024!
200 NW 14th St, Blue Spring, MO 64015
Warm regards,
Fourth Grade Team
Fifth Grade:
Wow, we cannot believe it is DECEMBER! We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break with family and friends. That time is so important with the people who matter most. When it comes to students and their academics, let’s end this semester with a bang. Projects will be due, current concepts will wrap up, and final assessments will be taken. We know our kiddos can do all these things, and do them well! Let’s go, 5th grade!
SS: We will be wrapping up our Map Skills Unit and our State Project. December is focused on SS! We will finish the last item on our rubric (Historical Event Information) and then we begin putting our project together in whatever style each kiddo would like! Creativity, preciseness, and knowledge of the rubric parts (concepts learned) is key. The week before Winter Break begins, we will share our projects in small groups, as well as turn them into me. I’ll grade them over break and they will be a part of Quarter 2 grades. I know students are going to rock these projects!
Science: We focus on SS in December. Please see info above.
Math: In December we will be working on adding and subtracting decimals. We will use our knowledge of money, time and other real world aspects to assist us with this skill. Then it is on to adding and subtracting fractions! We begin by discussing finding the least common multiple to help us find the least common denominator. Should be a fun and challenging month of learning!
ELA: In December we will wrap up our nonfiction unit in both reading and writing. Students will be able to build knowledge for vacation spots (geographical terms, climate, weather, travel, etc.) and will create a travel brochure using the skills they have developed throughout the unit and apply skills and strategies to read, infer, and draw conclusions in informational texts. We will also be working on our second quarter book project in class starting Dec 9!
Sixth Grade:
of shapes like parallelograms, triangles, polygons, and composite shapes. This will take us through the end of the semester!
ELA - Students have focused on describing how a story’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as analyzing how characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. This learning is directly related to the areas of focus students will be diving into next for reading which include theme and summarizing. Students will also soon engage in the beginning stages of the writing process to compose a personal or imagined narrative.
Science - In our Metabolism Unit, students step into the role of medical students to investigate how the body functions at both large and small scales. They begin by diagnosing a patient whose body systems are not working properly, learning how different systems work together to provide the body’s trillions of cells with the molecules they need to function. This helps students understand the connections between the macro-level processes of the body and the micro-level mechanisms that keep it running. Next, they explore how athletic training improves the body’s performance, focusing on how cells release energy through cellular respiration. This process supports essential functions like movement, growth, and repair. Through these investigations, students gain a deeper understanding of how the body functions as a whole and at the cellular level.
Technology & Innovation
Kindergarten - Students will become toy engineers creating toys of their own that can be pushed and pulled.
1st Grade - Students have started a boat challenge where they must work with a teammate and create a boat that can hold at least 10 marbles…maybe even more!
2nd Grade - Students are exploring the world of coding using programs like Code.org and Osmo along with other opportunities to code using our robots.
3rd Grade - We have learned about Stop Motion and will begin creating a story map to bring our story to life.
4th Grade - It’s Battle Bot time! The kids are budgeting and working on their bots to prepare for the competition.
5th Grade - Students just finished a quick Tinkercad 3D print project. We are going to move into some Robotics work.
Library:
Here’s a look ahead at what will be happening in December:
December Author Visits:
Grades K-2: Adam Rubin author of Dragons Love Tacos
Grades 3-5 Matthew Swanson & Robbi Behr author/illustrator of Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom
These virtual author visits are made possible through your generosity and shopping at our book fair. Thank you for making this possible for our students.
Kindergarten: We will be finishing up our Building Block Nominee reading so that we can vote for our favorites before we leave for break. We will also be sharing some fun holiday stories and doing some hands-on activities to support the story.
First Grade: We will continue to share our Show-Me Nominee books so that we are ready to vote for our favorites in March. We will also be comparing fiction to nonfiction books and studying the jobs of authors and illustrators. We will also be sharing some fun holiday stories and doing some hands-on activities to support the story.
Second Grade: We will continue to share our Show-Me Nominee books so that we are ready to vote for our favorites in March. We will also be comparing fiction to nonfiction books and doing some arctic animal research to practice picking out important facts as we read. We will also be sharing some fun holiday stories and doing some hands-on activities to support the story.
Third through Fifth Grade: Students will continue to work on reading their way through their grade level state nominees. We will also begin researching the way the holidays are celebrated around the world and how different holiday traditions came to be. Students will learn about citing sources and how to responsibly use the internet to find new information.
Sixth Grade (Books vs. Movies): We are finishing our first book vs. movie, StarGirl by Jerry Spinelli. As we finish the book we will watch the movie to compare.
**Crochet Club** - All crochet club members are welcome to attend any crochet club meeting in the month of December. Since there are only 3 meetings I want members to be able to come to as many meetings as they need to work on any projects they might want to use as Christmas gifts.
Art:
Warrior Preschool and Early Childhood: Our littlest Warriors have been working in choice 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 foil printmaking, drawing different lines and shapes, building with block, play doh, beading and lacing, and dot painting.
Kindergarten students have been continuing their learning about our Painting Studio and are now using this area of the classroom independently. They are diving into Collage studio and learning about some artists who use this medium.
1st grade artists have been working hard on their clay projects. They created a winter-themed plate, and got to choose whether to make their plate look like the face of Santa or a snowman. They built these plates out of a slab (a flat piece of clay) and used several coils (a long rolled piece of clay) to add details to their creations. These plates will take a couple of weeks to dry and get fired in the kiln, then we’ll be able to glaze them to add color!
2nd graders have also been working on their clay projects. They created clay rockets with lots of cool textures stamped and rolled into them. They built these rockets out of a slab (a flat piece of clay) and practiced using a template to cut the clay in a particular shape. These rockets will take a couple of weeks to dry and get fired in the kiln, then we’ll be using paint to add color.
3rd graders have been hard at work preparing their choice-based art piece for their grade level art show. This art show will take place at the PAC on the evening of their music performance (December 10th). One art piece of each student’s choosing will be on display in this show. Recent lessons have included reviewing watercolor skills (wet-on-wet, straw, q-tip, wax resist, marker and water) and learning how to use the “bump it up” wall to take our creations to the next level.
4th graders have also been hard at work preparing their choice-based art piece for their grade level art show. This art show will take place at the PAC on the evening of their music performance (December 10th). One art piece of each student’s choosing will be on display in this show. Recent lessons have included learning about the collage techniques of Notan and Mosaic Collage, as well as learning how to use the “bump it up” wall to take our creations to the next level.
5th graders have been learning more about advanced materials and art techniques. Their most recent lessons have included learning about the collage techniques of Notan, Tessellation, and Mosaic Collage. These students are embracing these new techniques and materials during their choice work time.
(Slab Technique), Cardboard Sculpture, Paper Sculpture, Origami Sculpture, and Foil Balloon. 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!
Clay Club: Group B Clay Club will begin December 2nd and will meet each Monday that we have school through February 3rd. Pickup is at 5.
PE:
K-2nd: We will be doing some team games with some competition. Students are getting the opportunity to work together. I will be stressing the importance of positive interactions with teammates and good sportsmanship. These games are meant to have fun whether we win or lose! We will also be doing some holiday themed games later in the month and our students are always looking forward to these activities.
3-6th: We are starting our volleyball unit. We begin with skills stations, serving, setting, and bumping along with some mini games. We will then play full volleyball games and have a tournament for each class. The kids get to come up with their own team names and we have some fun with it! After the volleyball unit at the end of the quarter, we will play holiday themed games in 3rd-6th grade as well!
Music:
Hello Horizon families! Here’s a little bit about what will be happening in the music room this month:
Kindergarten: Kindergarten will continue to learn about the musical opposites loud and soft while learning how to use our singing voice. This unit will also include review of the musical opposites fast and slow. Music games such as “Find the Keys” and “Grizzly Bear” will be incorporated into our lessons for students to practice and experience loud and soft.
1st Grade: 1st grade has been learning about the 3 basic notes/rests of rhythm. This includes Quarter Notes (ta), Eighth Notes (ta-di) and Rest (shhh). After identifying these notes students will apply them through reading and creating rhythms. Students will wrap up the semester applying rhythm in “Rhythm Tic-Tac-Toe” and “Rhythm Bingo”.
2nd Grade: Students are experiencing stations in the music room for the first time! Students will be rotating around to different activities in the classroom where they will practice rhythms and the new note: a half note (ta-a).
3rd & 4th Grade: Both 3rd and 4th grade are learning their music for our upcoming music program! Our program this year is called “Jingle Bell Jukebox” and will take place December 10th at 6pm in the Smithville Performing Arts Center.5th Grade: Students in 5th grade will continue their ukulele unit through the end of the semester. Students are working to learn songs and earn prizes as they earn each ukulele karate belt in our unit. Students have had an amazing response to this curriculum!
6th Grade: In our 6th grade Intro to Instruments class, students are finishing up our ukulele unit and will continue into our final unit of piano. In the last two years, the music room has received Smithville Foundation Grants that helped us purchase more keyboards to use in the classroom. Because of this our 6th graders will get to dive into learning the basics of piano and progress at their own pace. This unit is great for students who have never had any piano experience and for students who do have experience! This unit will also give students the opportunity to apply concepts of pitch and reading pitch, while continuing to work on rhythm concepts.
Choir: The Sunset Singers are preparing for our December concert! We will be singing 2 songs by ourselves and 1 song with Eagle Heights choir for our upcoming concert. This concert will take place on December 3rd at 6pm in the Smithville Performing Arts Center. Students will stay after school on December 3rd for a snack and rehearsal before our concert. Doors for our performance will open at 5:45pm. Students should wear jeans and their Sunset Singer T-shirts the entire day of the performance.
Counseling:
The focus for counseling lessons in December with Ms. Pawlcyn and Ms. Johnson will be emotional regulation. Specifically, students will work on identifying their feelings, coping skills they can use to regulate, and learning there is a connection between thoughts and feelings.
Executive functioning refers to a set of skills that we use everyday to do just about anything. They are the underlying tools that give us the capacity to self-regulate, organize, make decisions and learn from our actions. We are not born with these skills but learn them over time through play, environmental learning and day to day practice while we ‘do school’ to be successful functioning adults. As educators, parents and caregivers it is our role to provide the scaffolding to support the opportunities for students to practice these skills. Depending on the resource you look at there can be as many as 12 different skill sets; flexibility, emotional control, impulse control and self monitoring are just a few.
Early learners at 5-12 years old should have acquired:
Emotional Control - control tantrums and frustrations without adult comfort
Impulse Control - follow safety rules and most social norms for behavior and maintain expected behaviors even when no teachers or parents are around
Self Monitoring - able to complete activities that require reflection on their own
behavior
https://childmind.org/article/helping-kids-who-struggle-with-executive-functions/
https://lifeskillsadvocate.com/blog/executive-function-skills-by-age/
Reading Interventionist:
Happy Holiday Season, Parents! Reading festive books together is a great way to engage students in reading! Please check out our district link. This link was created to support students with Reading Success Plans but it has links to fun activities for students of all ages. Here you are!!! Enjoy! https://sites.google.com/smithville.k12.mo.us/rsp-resources/home
Mrs. Hahn, Mrs. Roske, and Mrs. Miller
