Lansing Intermediate Roar

May is here and we are proud of how this school year has gone and we're already planning and preparing to make LIS a better educational experience for our students next year. A shout out to our Site Council for supporting and partnering with our staff to improve our school for both students and staff.

State testing has concluded and we will wrap up our spring FastBridge screeners this month. Our staff will use the data to plan intervention groups for next year, so students hit the ground running in the fall.

We will hold our first annual Mufasa Leadership Award assembly this month and I am honored to celebrate the success of all sixteen students who were nominated for the award - they have all had a grrrrr-eat year at LIS! Here’s to a relaxing summer and coming back in the fall ready to support the Lansing community!

5/1 - Site Council Meeting (5-6pm)

5/6 - 5th grade field day

5/7 - 4th grade field day

5/9 - 5th grade tour of LMS

5/10 - Glow Dance (6-8pm)

5/17 - Mufasa Leadership Award assembly (2:15pm)

5/21 - 5th grade field trip to Science City

5/22 - Last day of school - 1pm dismissal

Social Studies State Assessment - we have completed the project based state assessment and will grade it with the rubric provided by the state and then submit the scores to the state.

Our Topeka Capital field trip was canceled due to a scheduling error but Senator Jeff Pittman came and spoke to all our 4th graders about his elected job. He walked the kids through a mock bill of providing free pizza everyday for all kids. The kids did an excellent job of making arguments for and against free pizza but in the end they were all excited to have actual pizza as an afternoon snack provided by Senator Pittman.

Our spring Fastbridge screening will be given May 6-10. Fastbridge testing is the data that we analyze all year long and the tests that we give that we can see growth throughout the year. It truly shows where kids came to us and where they are leaving us after a year.

iXL - we can not say enough about what an amazing resource iXL has been this year. We are excited to implement even more next year.

The days can sometimes be long, but the years are short. It is hard to believe that the school year is almost over. It has been another great year in 4th grade and we are already looking forward to next year. We are thrilled to be going back to 8 sections!

Math - Since we have finished state assessments, we have been focusing on project based learning activities that incorporate our standards. Not every class is doing the exact same projects. Students have been busy with projects like, Balancing a Budget, An Elapsed Time Theater, Math Mysteries, Equivalent Fraction Pizzas, Geometric Cities, Area and Perimeter Dream Houses and Amusement parks, and creating their own math board games.

ELA:

Writing - This year we implemented a new strategy of Lion Paragraphs. We are seeing much better writing because of this strategy. They know exactly what a good 4th grade paragraph looks like and can produce them. Topic sentence, concrete detail, commentary sentence, and closing sentence.

Reading - DIRT continues to show so many positive effects. The amount of books that they have read this year for FUN is impressive. The conversations where kids recommend books to other students or share what they are reading is a highlight. We used our reading block time after testing to have more time to complete our social studies state assessment project. We are finishing the year with novel studies.

Social Studies/Science - Our final science unit will cover rocks and Earth’s features. We will finish social studies out with virtual field trips to national parks. Do you know that all 4th graders get a year long free pass for their families to all national parks? A perk of all 4th graders studying the regions of the US.

It is a busy time for 5th grade as we near the end of the school year. We celebrated Earth Day by picking up trash around the school grounds. Students enthusiastically helped to clean up our space. Fastbridge testing is quickly approaching. Skills from the year have been being reviewed in Reading and Math.

Tuesday, April 30th we will be going on our Skate City Field Trip. Students will have the chance to demonstrate their skating skills learned in PE. They are very excited to be going.

In Social Studies, we have been learning about the colonies. We will end the year talking about the Road to the Revolution.

Math time has been filled with review for Fastbridge testing. We have also been doing Step up to 6th grade Lessons through Go Math. Students will end the year by completing a math project. Each student will create their own board game to review all the concepts we covered in 5th grade.

Reading time has also been filled with reviews for Fastbridge testing. We have continued in the Wonders program doing grammar, spelling, and reading comprehension. Students studied Expository Writing and read a story about Why is a Planet not a Planet.

April was quite an eventful month. Our Fifth and Fourth grade students finished up their Project Lead the Way Module Animal Structure and Function with their prosthetic build. I am very impressed with the creative thinking and designs our students came up with for the challenge of “Can you build a prosthetic to help an animal?”

We then had a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience a total solar eclipse. So we took the opportunity to learn about the different types of eclipses and why this one was so special. The last eclipse happened in 2017 and the next one will not happen for another 45 years. These kiddos will be parents.

In honor of Earth Day, our students designed and built Bird Feeders from recyclable materials. After designing and building their designs the students had to present their builds to the class.

Our next build is a ferris wheel build. The students will learn about the function of wheel and axle and the history of the ferris wheel. The fourth grade students will be focusing more on the wheel and axle side of the ferris wheel and create a paper wheel. While the fifth graders will be building an entire ferris wheel from popsicle sticks. I am excited to see how these turn out.

4-5 Students learned about the eclipse in art history through different cultures and made their own pieces based on their experience of the eclipse. These students also made giant Swatch wall hangings. Students have begun work on proportions and grid drawings. Some students completed clay projects.

4-5 students have been busily preparing for an art competition hosted by the Leavenworth County Attorney. The 5th graders have been creating art that encourages voting. The 4th graders have been critiquing the artwork, giving constructive feedback, and choosing the 30 pieces that will represent USD 469 in the contest. Winners will be announced May 1.

We finished up our Jump Rope for Heart event and jump rope unit in our classes a week or so ago. Although only 57 students in grades K-5 participated in the fundraising portion, a total of $5340 was raised for the American Heart Association. Fourth grader Carson Asher collected the most donations coming in at $1012.85! A special Thank You to Carson and his supporters! We began our basketball unit this month and that will run through April and into the first week of May. We will take our 4th and 5th graders to Skate City on April 29 and 30th. Our annual Field Day events will be May 6, 7 and 8.

We have come to the end of another great year of reading! Fifth graders learned about the library functions, why we catalog, and how to find the kind of book they would like to read. They also learned about genres, the dewey decimal system, researched an author, and learned many things about their choice in a book.

Fourth graders accomplished many skills as well. The final project was to create a book cover. They did an amazing job with their creations. Reading some of them makes me wish they were real books.

Our students ended the year with 1,375 reading links on our chain. This was a group effort, and I am proud of all the reading they did.

May you all have a wonderful summer break and I encourage you and your child to KEEP READING!!!

Mrs. Clemens works with a wide range of students at LIS. She has a smile on her face every day and provides speech support for our students. Mrs. Clemens is always willing to provide assistance to students and staff and thorough in her job responsibilities. We are happy to have her professionalism and positive attitude at LIS!

LIS has implemented many new procedures allowing students to participate in the upkeep of their school and provide incentives for students to do well in and out of the classroom. Teachers nominate students in their classrooms who demonstrate responsibility for our weekly pickup patrol. These students, along with

Mr. Altieri and Mrs. Settles, walk the school grounds and help pick up trash. It is a great way to keep our school clean, enjoy a sunny day with friends, and have a role in maintaining our school. In addition, students receive a certificate for free ice cream and the opportunity to hold Mufasa, our school mascot.

In April, we had our final PRIDE assembly of the year. It focused on students (and staff!) displaying excellence in their work at LIS. Students are nominated by staff members and are recognized in front of their grade level peers.

Students continue to be recognized for their success both in and out of the classroom. In April, our four Mufasa Leadership Awards nominees were Alejandro Silva from Mrs. Euler’s class, Chloe Stafford (Mrs. Wynn), and Brooklyn Baragary (Mrs. Eaton), Nathaniel Carey (Mr. Brown), Marlowe Marshall (Mrs. Dill), Chas Nasternak (Mrs. Rothmeyer), Kyle Nelson (Mrs. Feitl), and Ainsley Tystad (Mrs. Martin). These eight students wrap up the sixteen MLA nominations this school year.

Students receive the prestigious Mufasa Leadership Award for showing exemplary leadership. They are nominated by LIS staff during the school year. Students who receive a MLA get to call home with the grrr-eat news, receive a customized certificate, their recognition on the LIS website and Facebook page, and an opportunity to hold Mufasa, our pet snake and impromptu mascot.