Fredericktown Elementary
Family Newsletter
Dear Families,
Today I am reminding myself, "No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn"(Hal Borland). And like many of you I'm looking forward to a full week of school. This winter we have weathered many snows, and they have not hindered the flurry of learning. As you will read our students have been busy making discoveries, creating, and reading. Warmer days are coming and we'll be ready, no matter the weather our young Freddies will continue to learn.
Stay curious and keep reading,
Gina Sackman, Principal
Fredericktown Elementary
Third graders are "egg"cited about their newest science investigation. They are setting up incubators and preparing to hatch chickens. They are starting a life science unit on animals and their life cycles. Mrs. Parry and Mrs. Brake went to a professional workshop, ChickQuest, a Classroom Journey Through the Life Cycle of Chickens which is a 4-H School Enrichment Program. This program has students use Science, Engineering,Technology, and Math to investigate the life cycle of a chicken egg. Our teachers were able to attend this workshop free of charge and were given all the materials needed to facilitate the investigations for our students. This is bound to provide our young scientists with unforgettable learning experiences!
Happy 100th Day of School!
We have done so much great learning in these 100 days of first grade! To celebrate the 100th day we grouped painted “gumballs” into tens. We stamped ten gumballs of the ten flavors (paint) to get 100 gumballs on our gumball machine. We also stacked 100 cups, made bracelets for the 100th day, and did 100 different exercise moves (also in groups of ten).
Everybody needs someone to read with...
Every Kindergartener received a book and reading buddy! Mrs. Crumm generously donated the books and stuffed animal reading buddies. The students were excited about their reading buddy and book. And we are thankful for Mrs. Crumm's generous and thoughtful gift that will encourage our students to read!
Second grade Bugz musical a hit!
Kindergarten has been exploring high and low sounds with songs about Snowmen. We have also been practicing how to control our movement with a song called “Freeze!”
First Grade is learning about musical instruments by exploring the characters in the story of Peter and the Wolf, music written by Sergei Prokofiev.
Second Grade entertained a full house during our “Bugz!” show performed on Friday, January 31.
Third Grade is working on their melodic and rhythmic note reading as well as learning about instruments that are popular in other parts of the world.
Fourth Grade is being more fluent in note reading. We have been practicing our recorders to produce a clear tone and will soon begin our work to learn songs in the Recorder Karate curriculum.
Fifth Grade Band students have learned all of the notes in the pentatonic scale and are beginning to prepare for our concert in May. Fifth Grade Recorder students are advancing in the Recorder Karate curriculum. We even have some students working on their purple belt!
A Jazzy winter concert!
Second grade classes are working on their PE assessment posters.
Third, fourth, and fifth grade PE classes are starting their two-sided game units with an emphasis on teamwork.
Fifth Grade
Fifth Graders are starting a large unit learning about bridges. The first project was to create a bridge using straws. They created beam and truss bridges, two types that we have studied in the library. The next step will be to try a suspension bridge soon!
Fourth Grade
Fourth Graders just finished a unit on snow. The unit included learning about snowflakes, making paper snowflakes, and making fake snow. They had a lot of fun and made a few messes!
Third Grade
Third grade students are becoming computer programmers. They are using a sight called Code.org to learn to make code and debug code.
Second Grade
Second grade students learned about inclined planes, also called ramps. Then, they designed a ramp that a car could go down. We measured how far they went and learned a lot about measuring.
First Grade
First grade students investigated and learned a lot about animals in the winter. They conducted a science experiment to help them understand how certain animals have insulation that helps them stay warm in the cold.
Currently, they are working on an engineering project and building a little red fort based on a book they read in the library called The Little Red Fort.
Kindergarten
The Kindergarten students have been working on an engineering unit based on the story of the Three Little Pigs. They built houses made of straws, popsicle sticks, and “bricks”, also known as Legos. They will test their structures by putting them in front of a fan to see which ones are sturdy and which ones will blow down!
