Mustang Tales

Dear Families,

What a great week to be at Manitou Springs Elementary School. Kindergarten has been studying Native Americans and students have had the opportunity to sit in the teepees they built. The classes have been studying multiple tribes, and comparing and contrasting clothing and various foods.

In art, first graders made an "Alphabet Soup," art project. Check out the cool pictures from Ms. Dunlap's class.

Interventionists have been completing our DIBELS testing, a reading test that we do at least three times a year to ensure that students are making progress. Both staff and students worked hard to complete the tests.

We will not have school on Monday, January 17, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a Baptist minister and civil rights leader who advocated for nonviolent resistance against racial segregation. Fifth graders and kindergartners, together with their music teacher, Ms. Lawson, made beautiful MLK presentations. Please see the presentations below.

Report cards have been sent home . Please check your mailbox in the coming days and let us know if you have not received the communication.

Warmly,

Maria

• Jan 17 - No School - MLK, Jr. Day
• Jan 26 - Late Start Wednesday (2 Hour Delay)
• Feb 2 - Late Start Wednesday, (2 Hour Delay)
• Feb 11 - Early Release, 12:30pm Dismissal
• Feb 17 - Early Release, 12:30pm Dismissal
• Feb 18 - No School for Students - Parent/Teacher Conferences
  
• Feb 21- No School - Presidents' Day

Thank you to Ms. Thomson's kindergartners, Ms. Carley's 1st graders, and Ms. Delarm's students, Amanda and Mirka, for contributing their time and talents to help us all remember why we are celebrating MLK on Monday!

FIfth grade MLK speech

First Grade Poem

First Grade Poem

In preschool, students have been discussing different homes that people live in, and how families work and play together. We have a pediatric nursing station set up in the classroom, this area has been very popular as the preschoolers become more and more curious about their two teachers’ growing bellies. A construction zone is set up in our sensory table. Students gathered nature items from the outdoor classroom and made sensory bottles.

We are continuing to learn about different Native American Tribes. Here are some questions from our domain: What are the three tribes we learned about? (Lakota Sioux, Wampanoag, and Lenape). What was the most important crop to the Lenape? (Corn). What is an appanaug? (A celebration). Are there still Native Americans today? If so, what do they wear? Where do they get their food? Where do they sleep? (Yes, there are still Native Americans around today. They wear clothes like us and shop at grocery stores. They sleep in houses like us).

Emma, Georgina and Easton from Teacher Wood's class show off their amazing "Alphabet Soup" projects created in Art class. Artists learned how lines are one of the most important Elements in Art as they create letters, patterns, and shapes when they intersect and close.

In second grade, we are beginning to learn about cycles in nature. A cycle is a pattern that happens over and over again without changing, such as daytime and nighttime, and the four seasons! Ask your expert 2nd grader: Why is it important for humans, animals, and plants to have daytime and nighttime? How do the four seasons happen? What is the lifecycle of a plant?

Check out these pictures of Ms. Woytko's class investigating transparent, translucent, and opaque objects using finger lights.

Fourth grade has been investigating ENERGY! We have learned about the different types of energy: mechanical, chemical, electrical, gravitational, thermal, radiant, motion, and sound. Then we took that knowledge and have been experimenting with collisions and energy transfer/conversion. This week the kids were able to convert energy themselves with batteries, wires, and mini light bulbs. They took the chemical energy in a battery and converted it to radiant energy by making their light bulb LIGHT up!

1. El Paso County Public Health (EPCPH) updated guidance to match new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) regarding COVID-19 isolation and quarantine for the general population. The updated guidance shortens the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to five days, if asymptomatic on day five, followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others.

If a person is positive with COVID-19 and still symptomatic, they will need to remain at home.

2. We have updated the Symptom Tracker Intake Form, which is now titled Health-Related Absences Form. This has been a critical tool for us to maintain in-person learning. Anyone who is sick or positive with COVID-19 needs to complete this form.

Please continue to enter absences in Frontline for COVID or other illness. Human Resources will work with you on assigning the correct absence reason type.

Manitou Springs and Ute Pass Elementary Schools will be working together with Champions to provide K-6th grade after-school childcare for the spring semester, beginning mid to late January. After-school childcare will take place at Manitou Springs Elementary until 6:00PM, Monday-Friday. Click here to learn more: www.discoverchampions.com

Champions safe and accredited programs have a proven track record of offering top-notch programs for over 30 years and counting. Plus, they partner with our school to extend the learning your kids are doing here each day. When your child enrolls, they’ll get extra STEM learning, literacy, arts, exercise, and more.

After School, 1-2 Days, $48/week

After School, 3-5 Days, $80/week

Registration is open now at discoverchampions.com, and space is limited. Our school office doesn’t handle registration, so please contact the Champions Family Support team at 800-246-2154 or email them at ChampionsHelp@kc-education.com with any questions.

Breakfast and lunch are free for all students. We would still like all families that qualify to fill out the Free and Reduced Lunch form on our district website.

Breakfast and lunch menus are available online here.

Maria Masone, Principal

Jennifer Sueppel, Assistant Principal

Email: mmasone@mssd14.org
Website: mse.mssd14.org
Location: 110 Pawnee Avenue, Manitou Springs, CO, USA
Phone: 719-685-2195
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Manitou-Springs-Elementary-212896538758987/