Steere Farm Elementary School

Happy March! I hope everyone had a fun and restful February break. Students returned eager to learn and seamlessly settled back into their school routines.

Our state testing window for RICAS (RI Comprehensive Assessment System) and NGSA (RI Next Generation Science Assessment) begins in April. Students in grades 3-5 will take an ELA and math assessment and students in grade 5 will take the NGSA. More information will be sent home to families prior to testing.

Please note the following testing dates have been scheduled:

• ELA (grades 3-5): April 8-9

• Math (grade 3-5): May 6-7

• NGSA (Gr. 5 only): May 13-14

Thank you for your ongoing support! We hope to see you at our Learning Showcase on March 31st! Please see the flyer below for more details.

Warm Regards,

Courtney Francis

READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY and DR. SEUSS DAY is MARCH 2!

The National Education Association annually sponsors Read Across America. The focus is on how important it is to motivate children to read, in addition to helping them master basic skills. The nationwide reading celebration takes place each year on or near March 2, the birthday of children's author Dr. Seuss. Thousands of schools, libraries and community centers participate by bringing together kids and books. You can too!

Your reading event can be as simple or elaborate as time and inclination allow. Whether you choose to scale up or down, keep in mind the basic premise and it's almost sure to be a success: On March 2, the National Education Association is calling for every child to be reading in the company of a caring adult.

TIPS FOR READING TO YOUNG SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN:

Your child has started school, but he still needs you to read to him at home. Your child will do better in school, and you'll enjoy the time spent together. Here are helpful tips for reading to and with young children in school, kindergarten through third grade:

• Keep reading to your child even when he can read. Read books that are too difficult or long for him to read alone.

• Try reading books with chapters and talk about what is happening in the story. Encourage your child to make predictions about what will happen next, and connect characters or events to those in other books and stories.

• Talk with your child about reading preferences that are beginning to develop. Ask whether she likes adventure stories, mysteries, science fiction, animal stories, or stories about other children. Encourage her to explain the reasons for preferences.

• Talk with your child about favorite authors and help him find additional books by those authors.

• Take turns reading a story with your child. Don't interrupt to correct mistakes that do not change the meaning.

• Talk about the meaning of new words and ideas introduced in books. Help your child think of examples of new concepts.

• Talk with your child about stories using the notions of the beginning, middle, and end of the story to organize thinking and discussion.

• Ask your child to tell why a character might have taken a specific action. Ask for information from the story to support her answer.

• Enjoy yourself and have fun. The most important thing you can do to help your child become a successful reader is communicate that reading is valuable and enjoyable.

TIPS IN READING TO CHILDREN IN GRADES FOUR TO SIX:

It is critical that your child keeps reading and being read to at this age. Young readers need to become practiced at reading, and the only way to get good at it -- is to practice!

Helpful tips for reading to and with children in grades four through six:

• Take turns reading a book with your child.

• Ask your child to compare a book to another familiar book. How are the characters alike or different? Do the stories take place in similar settings? How are the illustrations the same or different?

ASK:

Ask what part of the story or book your child liked best and why.

Ask if your child liked the ending of the story. Why or why not?

Ask your child what type of mood the story or chapter in a book creates.

Ask how the author creates the mood. For example, does she use certain words, events, or settings that create a particular feeling? If your child has read more than one book by the same author, ask how the books are similar or different.

Source: www.nea.org

• SurveyWorks is a statewide survey sent out annually to students, families, and teachers to hear from Rhode Islanders directly about their experiences in our state's public schools.
• SurveyWorks will be given to all students in grades 3-12, parents, teachers, support professionals and building administrators.
  
• The Rhode Island Family Survey is for all parents to complete. Parents of students receiving special education services will receive a single survey that combines the Rhode Island Family Survey and the Special Education Survey.
  
• Our chosen window is February 24th-March 7th.
• The Rhode Island Family Survey is for all parents to complete. To take the survey, visit: https://surveys.panoramaed.com/ride/ridefamily/surveys. Your feedback is so important to us!

Congratulations to 4th grader Gunner Soares for being one of The Feinstein Foundation golden ticket winners! The Feinstein Foundation golden ticket program gives Jr. Scholars a chance to win money for their school, money for a non-profit of their choice, and other special prizes!​

Thanks to Gunner's big win, SFE received a grant $5,500 grant! A big THANK YOU to The Feinstein Foundation for your generous grants and investment in our community!

The first floor paint at SFE was completed over February vacation! Check it out!

Each month SFE recognizes students who have gone above and beyond to show their 3Rs: Respectful, Responsible and Ready to Learn! Students are nominated by their classroom and/or special subject teachers. Congratulations to our February recipients!

Toodle Tickets continue to be a hit! Students are invited to fill out a Toodle Ticket to give a special shout out to another student who was kind or helpful! At the end of every month, Toodle Tickets are chosen from grades 2-5. These students are then invited to have a special popsicle with Mrs. Francis. Check out the pictures below from our recent Pops with the Principal!

Teachers are nominated by students, who were extremely thoughtful about their nominations! Congratulations to Mrs. Venditelli, our February Teacher of the Month!

Students continue to participate in a weekly lesson rooted in one of the four Units: Courage, Gratitude, Forgiveness and Compassion in Action; all part of the Choose Love Formula. This month is a focus on Forgiveness!

A copy of the Choose Love calendar was sent home to all families. We hope the calendar is a daily reminder of the small steps we can take daily to Choose Love at home!

Thank you to all our second grade family members who joined us for 100th day of school activities at Steere Fam! We were so excited that you could be a part of our celebration!

We are halfway through our fifth reading module which is all about teamwork! Third graders have been working really hard on transferring over their grammar skills into their writing and constructing short responses to the texts they are reading. Every week they have a chance to work with a different buddy in an area of the room that works best for them.

Fourth graders have been investigating what happens to the force of attraction between two magnets as distance changes!

Fifth grade wrapped up a reading module all about The Wild West! Students quickly learned that the Wild West was all about territory! Students recently played a strategy game called Dots and Boxes to see who could gain the most land for their new western farms. They also played Oregon Trail, an educational game that simulates the hardships of the Oregon Trail, teaching players about history, geography, and decision-making.

Special thanks to our PBIS team (Mr. LaDuke, Mrs. Dittrich, Mrs. Richards, Mrs. Gould, and Mr. Latendresse) for planning a memorable and fun Kindness Week!

Students participated in many fun activities including being paired up for a Secret Kindness Mission! Throughout the week, students secretly decorated classroom doors, made cards & bookmarks, and even sent gifts to their sister classroom! On Friday, we had a special meetup to reveal who classes were paired up with! Those classes then enjoyed an activity together.

**Special thanks to all who donated to our PJ and blanket drive! All items were donated to Between the Cracks, a local nonprofit organization working to support Burrillville families.

We are two weeks away from our first March Madness basketball fundraiser at the Burrillville High School dome on March 14 from 6:00-8:00 (doors open at 5:30)! There are two exciting games to watch as well as some fun competitions for students and adults! Come and cheer on your favorite teacher and friends.

*Competition signs ups will be outside the dome that night.*

Woohoo! We surpassed our fundraising goal and had over $11,000 in sales! Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. The funds will help with field trips, school assemblies, playground equipment and so much more.

The Spring book fair is scheduled for March 31st-April 4th! Mrs. Adams is in need of volunteers! Please sign up using the link below. A current BCI is required!

March 5th: Student of the Month Assembly

March 7th: VAASA Visit (grades 4 & 5)

March 12th: Student of the Month Family Ceremony @ 8:25 a.m.

March 12th: PTA Meeting @ 6:30 p.m.

March 14th: End of Trimester 2

March 14th: PTA March Madness Basketball Fundraiser 6:00 p.m. @ BHS

March 21st: Rock Your Socks - World Down Syndrome Day

March 21st: Earth Dome Assembly

March 28th: Bronco Friday

March 31st: No School - Professional Development Day, Parent Teacher Conferences, Spring Showcase

March 31st-April 4th: Scholastic Book Fair