Combs Family Newsletter

We have a lot of exciting events and important opportunities coming up this week at Combs Intermediate! From Parent-Teacher Conferences, where we’re striving for 100% participation, to our Scholastic Book Fair, and a packed schedule of family events such as our PTG and Change Team meetings, there’s something for everyone. It’s also Red Ribbon Week, and we’ll be celebrating with fun dress-up activities each day. Don’t forget about our District Trunk or Treat, canned food drive, and honoring veterans for our Veterans Day Assembly. Additionally, this week's "Did You Know?" focuses on ways to assist with academics and responsibility at home. Be sure to check out all the details below and mark your calendars!

• Now - Thu 10/24 - Scholastic Book Fair
• Mon 10/21 - Fri 10/25 - Red Ribbon Week (details below)
• Tue 10/22:
• 4:00 - Combs Change Team Meeting (contact Kerrah Douthit at kdouthit@fergflor.org for more info)
• 5:00 - Combs Parent Teacher Group (PTG) Meeting
• Scholastic Book Fair open until 7:00pm
• Fri 10/25:
• 5th Grade Music Field Trip (wear uniforms)
• FFSD Fright Night Trunk or Treat at the Field: Monster Mash Party (at McCluer North)
• Mon 10/28 - Wed 10/30 - Parent Teacher Conferences
• Mon 10/28 - Bookmobile
• Wed 10/30 - Tue 11/5 - Fall Break NO SCHOOL
• 11/1 OR 11/2 - Combs PTG Mixer: Details coming soon!
• Mon 11/4 - Bobo's Order Pickup
• Mon 11/11 - Veterans Day Reception and Assembly
• Wed 11/13 - 3rd Grade Music Field Trip (wear uniforms)
• Wed 11/27 - Fri 11/29 - Thanksgiving Break NO SCHOOL
• Fri 12/6 - Make Up Picture Day
• Tue 12/10 - Combs Winter Solstice Fine Arts Night (at STEAM@MSB)
• Tue 12/17 - Combs Change Team Meeting
• Fri 12/20 - Half Day
• Mon 12/23 - Fri 1/3 - Winter Break NO SCHOOL

Parent Teacher Conference sign ups are now open. Go to My Conference Time and select a time to meet with your child's teacher. We are aiming for 100% family participation and teachers will be reaching out soon to schedule those families who haven't yet signed up for a time.

4th & 5th Grade families, sign up with your HOMEROOM teacher only. You will meet individually with each content area teacher during that time.

Red Ribbon Week is October 21st-25th. Red Ribbon Week is a drug and violence prevention awareness campaign that takes place in the United States every October. It began in 1985 as a tribute to DEA special agent Enrique Camerena who had died. The DEA says that Red Ribbon Week is the country's longest-running and largest drug awareness and prevention program.

Red Ribbon Week highlights the importance of living a drug-free life. It presents an opportunity for parents, educators, and communities to reinforce the drug-free messages they share with their children throughout the year.

Students will be learning about responsible choices and how to live drug free in counseling lessons in the upcoming weeks.

The Scholastic Book Fair open through Oct 23rd. Our students are excited to shop for their own books and every purchase at the Fair benefits our school! The Fair will be open until 7:00pm on Tuesday, Oct 22nd, for those who are attending the Change Team or PTG meetings. For more info, visit https://scholastic.com/bf/combs.

The Combs Parent Teacher Group will meet at the school on Tuesday at 5:00, and hopes to see you there!

The PTG is continually looking for volunteers. Here’s a preview of what’s coming up:

Upcoming PTG Events:

• Fri 10/25 – FFSD Trunk or Treat at McCluer North: We need volunteers to host Combs trunks and candy donations.
• Mon 10/28 & Tue 10/29 – Help provide staff dinner: Volunteers needed!
• Fri 11/1 or Sat 11/2 – Combs PTG Parent Mixer: Save the date!
• Mon 11/4 – Bobo's Order Pickup: Volunteers needed to assist.

We appreciate any time or support you can offer to help make these events fun for everyone!

Ferguson Florissant School District Fright Night at the Field

Event Details:

• Event Date: Friday, October 25th, 2024
• Location: McCluer North High School, Parking Lot & Field
• Time: 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Event Highlights:

• Monster Mash Trunk-or-Treat: Trick or treat from trunks decorated in our Monster Mash Party theme contest for best decorated cars.
• Family-Friendly Movie Screening: Enjoy a Halloween movie under the stars!
• Treats: Grab some delicious snacks and treats!
• Games, Crafts, and Monster Fun: Engage in fun activities for all ages, from monster crafts to spooky games!

Why You Should Come:

• Free Admission!
• Safe & Fun for Families
• Perfect for Kids of All Ages
• Spooky, Fun-Filled Atmosphere!

We have only had a few families sign up to honor their family's veterans, so please sign up today!

Combs is proud to host a special Veteran’s Day assembly on November 11th to honor the family members of our students who have served in the U.S. military. We invite families to submit photos of veterans related to Combs students to be featured in a slideshow during the assembly. Veterans who are available to attend are also invited to join us for a brief reception at 9:00 a.m. before being recognized during the assembly. Due to space limitations, we kindly ask that only the veterans being honored attend the event.

As we continue to support our students’ growth both academically and personally, it's important to focus on practices that truly make a difference in their development. Research has shown that certain activities after school can have a more lasting impact than traditional homework assignments. Here's what you should know:

• Reading Matters: Research shows that reading for at least 30 minutes after school, whether independently or with an adult, can significantly improve comprehension, vocabulary, and overall academic success. It's one of the most impactful ways to support your child's learning.
• Math Fluency Counts: Practicing math facts with flash cards or fact family triangles for just a few minutes each day builds fluency, confidence, and long-term retention in math. This targeted practice has been shown to be more beneficial than traditional homework in elementary grades.
• Homework Impact: Studies reveal that homework in elementary school has a low impact on academic achievement. Instead, focusing on reading and math fluency practice at home can lead to greater academic gains.
• Building Responsibility: Assigning homework just for the sake of it, with no clear value to the student, can actually be counterproductive in elementary school, building resistance to the task and resentment towards the adults enforcing it. Encouraging responsibility in ways that have noticeable value to the student and others, such as through household chores or helping out around the home, helps build habits that will translate into success with homework and other responsibilities in middle and high school.
• Homework as a "Second Shift": Think of homework like a "second shift"—we work hard all day at school, but occasionally, there’s unfinished work that might need to be completed. While nobody loves a second shift, sometimes it’s necessary to finish what we started.

By focusing on meaningful activities like reading, math fluency practice, and building responsibility through everyday tasks, we can help our students develop strong academic and life skills. Let's work together to make learning after school both impactful and enjoyable!

Here are a few resources to help families guide working with your student(s) around academics.

Fact families show the relationship between operations (addition/subtraction and multiplication/division) for example, here is the addition and subtraction fact family for the numbers 3, 2, and 5:

• 3+2=5
• 2+3=5
• 5-3=2
• 5-2=3

All of these equations use the same three numbers and this shows how they relate to one another. In multiplication and division, we can do the same. Here is the multiplication and division fact family for the numbers 2, 3, and 9:

• 2x3=6
• 3x2=6
• 6÷2=3
• 6÷3=2

Again, all of these equations use the same three numbers and are related to one another.

Fact family triangles are a great way to help your child practice basic math facts at home! Each triangle shows three related numbers, and your child can use them to find addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division facts. Cover one corner of the triangle, and ask your child to figure out the missing number using the other two. This simple practice helps reinforce math skills and builds confidence in solving problems.

I have added downloads below if you'd like to practice with your child at home. If you are having trouble printing at home you can reach out to the school and we will send home a printed set with your child.

Graham Fletcher is a highly respected educator, speaker, and math specialist, known for his expertise in math education. With experience as a classroom teacher and math instructional lead, he now works across North America and beyond, sharing best practices to support student learning in math. His Making Sense Series offers clear insights into how math concepts build from grade to grade. I wanted to share these resources with you, as they provide a valuable "peek behind the curtain" into how math is taught today—perfect for supporting your child’s learning at home!

While the two videos below look specifically at addition and subtraction along with multiplication, you can find videos for number sense and counting, division, and fractions on his website if you'd like to learn more.

The Ferguson-Florissant School District is proud to partner with the St. Louis Chess Club to offer after-school chess to Combs students. Through a generous donation, this opportunity is available at no cost to families for those who join the Combs Chess Club. An additional thank you goes out to our orchestra teacher, Ms. Bell, for being the club's teacher representative. This is a first-come, first-served program, so sign up today!

The Social Workers team will partner with CKMS for their third Annual Winter Wonderland event, open to all families in the district this holiday season!

We are asking each school to participate in a Canned Food Drive to support families throughout our community. To make it fun and engaging, the school that collects the most canned goods will win a trophy and, most importantly, bragging rights! The Canned goods drive runs until November 15, 2024.

Here are some **suggested items** to collect:
- Canned corn
- Green beans
- Yams
- Jellied cranberry sauce
- Cream of chicken, mushroom, and celery soups
- Spaghetti sauce
- Baked beans

Please participate, and let's make a huge impact together!

Let's wrap up October strong and safely!