South Elementary Family Newsletter

Dear South Elementary School Families,

Spring is in the air....and, hopefully it will be warmer air soon! April is a month of growth and change, from longer days, to flowers blooming, and students learning. In keeping with the Growing and Changing theme, we will focus on learning and responsibility this month.

Attendance is a topic that helps to promote both learning and responsibility. We have spent a lot of time on finding ways to emphasize how important attendance is this year. A flyer went out last week with all of our Attendance Challenge incentives. With so much learning happening this spring, consistent attendance is more important than ever! Being at school on time each day helps students start the day off on the right foot, without rushing or falling behind. It also builds good habits and makes the most of learning opportunities. School starts at 8:45AM. Please have students to school BEFORE that. Thank you for making attendance a priority.

Staying safe with Technology is another critical area for learning and responsibility. As students continue to use technology for learning, it is necessary to ensure they are using it responsibly. There have been many "out of school" issues with technology recently that have "come into school", causing disruptions to the school day. Here are some suggestions to help with this at home:

1. Monitor and Limit Screen Time: encourage breaks, set time limits; and get outside to move and enjoy nature. 2. Talk About Online Safety: please remind your child/ren NOT to share personal information, or that of their peers, online. 3. Use school and personal devices properly: do not take out cell phones, or use watches for anything other than time, during the school day. If they are in school, phones must be off and in backpacks. Students should NOT be taking pictures of other students and not posting them when they are at school or on the bus. If you have any questions, or need any support with these topics, please let us know.

State testing starts this week for students in grades 3-5. MCAS ELA is the first two weeks in April and MCAS Math/STE is the first two weeks in May. Please remember that this is a chance for students to demonstrate their learning and growth from last year. No matter the results, as long as they try their best, we celebrate those efforts. To help your child do their best, please ensure a good night's sleep before the test and remind your child/ren that this helps them, and us, to see our strengths and weaknesses. In turn, we can analyze data and make plans to address areas of concern.

We appreciate you working with us to foster a love for learning in our students. Looking forward to a great month!

April is Autism Acceptance Month

The Autism Society of America is proud to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month, continuing our commitment to #CelebrateDifferences throughout April and beyond. Autism Acceptance Month recognizes that Autism is more than a diagnosis—it is identity, community, and a lived experience that encompasses both challenges and triumphs.

Throughout Autism Acceptance Month, the Autism Society will engage the Autism community through awareness events, educational resources, and advocacy initiatives that uplift Autistic voices and create pathways for neurodiversity inclusion.

Every April

We Highlight and Celebrate Autism

It is important to know as much as we can in order to accept all individuals who are autistic. While at the same time supporting families, students, and staff in how to best provide them with what they need to be successful.

Check out the links: What is autism Impact Flyer

Locally, we work closely with Balanced Learning Center who provides several services:

CHECK OUT THE INVITATION FROM BALANCED LEARNING CENTER FOR GROUPS.

Hello Wonderful Humans,

This is just a quick and friendly reminder that our Session 3 group registrations are officially closing on Wednesday, April 2nd at 6 PM! We wouldn't want anyone to miss out on this opportunity, so if you have any families or clients who might be interested, now’s the time to get them signed up!

As always, we’re thrilled to be offering these groups to support neurodiverse individuals and families with a whole lot of care, creativity, and a touch of quirkiness. Whether it’s executive functioning support, social skills development, or simply creating a space where people feel seen and heard – we’ve got something for everyone.

How to Sign Up: Simply reach out to us at groups.programsBLC@gmail.com or visit registration link.

Thank you for your support. Best, Allie https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i2Xe0wCoMIM6xdB33bJcDTKPd_kx78aY/view?usp=sharing

**Reach out to Mrs. Huard and Mrs. Shaw if you need additional information or resources to help support your neurodivergent child. Also if you are questioning or just are simply not sure of what steps to take to obtain resources for your child or yourself please contact us so that we can help guide you in the right direction.

VIDEOS:

Molly Wright: How Every Child Can Thrive by Five | TED

COUNSELOR’S CORNER TOP BOOK PICKS FOR APRIL:

Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8, by David Mitchell

The Scenic Route, by Leigh Merryday Porch

Look Me in the Eye, by John Elder Robisen

Unmasking Autism, by Devon Price

The Reason I Jump, by Naoki Higashida

UPCOMING SEL DATES:

April 2nd, Autism Awareness Day, Wear Infinity symbol or Autism Shirts

Monday April 14th, Sensory Support Day, Wear comfy Clothes

Tuesday April 15th, Healthy Kids Day, Bring your favorite healthy Snack and sports attire.

Wednesday April 16th, Hat Day to Celebrate minds of all kinds.

Thursday April 17th, Wear your Bracelete and Be Kind to all who are special and Unique.

Thursday, April 3rd: Papa Gino’s Night 4PM-9PM

• 869 GAR Highway, Somerset

• Walk-in or phone orders: Mention this fundraiser when you place your order for South School to get the credit for your order.

• Online Orders: Enter Code 19 at the payment screen and click redeem.

• South School earns 20% of orders!

Tuesday, April 15th: PTO Meeting

• South School Cafe at 6PM

• The PTO will be planning Teacher Appreciation Week. All are welcome to attend.

• This meeting will also recap the year and plan for end of the year events.

Open Positions for PTO Board:

• Each position is held for a two-year term.

• If anyone is interested in running for a position, please email the PTO.

• Voting will take place at the May PTO meeting.

• The following positions will be open at the end of this school year.

• President

• Vice President

• Secretary

Contact PTO

• Follow South Elementary PTO on Facebook for updates and information!

• somersetsouthelementarypto@gmail.com

Happy Spring! It has certainly been a busy March! We will be cheering on our 5th Grade Buddies starting this week as they begin to take MCAS. In class, our read alouds this month have been focusing on humorous characters and books by Helen Lester. In our own reading, we have been exploring characters including their thoughts, feelings, and what they are like. In writing, we have begun exploring the genre of informational, including brainstorming lists of words that are related to a certain topic, deciding on a few main ideas, and elaborating on those main ideas. We will begin writing our own informational text based on a topic we know a lot about. In phonics, we have wrapped up our study of unpredictable vowel teams, and will now be working with r-controlled vowels including ar, or, w+or, w+ar, er, ir, and ur. In math, we began Unit 6 which focuses on attributes of two dimensional shapes and exploring numbers with shapes. In science, we began our unit on Animal Adventures by looking at animal classifications and habitats.

Dear Third Grade Families,

We cannot believe that we are already in trimester 3! In our daily Number Corner routine, students have been engaged in various hands-on activities to explore area and perimeter. Each student created their own 12x12 tile containing an interesting fact about an animal of their choice and a photograph of their animal. Each day, students add a tile to the collection and work to find the area and perimeter of the rectilinear figure that we have created. We have also been practicing telling time and analyzing graphs. In April, we will revisit fractions, continue to grow our multiplication and division skills, and learn about fractions of an hour. In mathematics, we wrapped up Unit 5: Multiplication, Division, and Area. During this unit of learning, students were formally introduced to division based off of their previous knowledge of multiplication. Third grade mathematicians have learned all about fact families for multiplication and division, solving and creating division word problems as well as exploring area through hands-on activities. We are currently working on Unit 6: Geometry. Students have worked diligently to explore polygons including quadrilaterals and triangles. As we progress into the unit, we are looking forward to using geoboards and tangrams to construct our own polygons.

This month, we have been learning all about informational writing! Each third grade class worked together to create an infographic on a particular animal. Students have been learning how to research, take notes, and transform their ideas into informational writing! We have been learning how to write strong and educational introduction, body and conclusion paragraphs. To create an infographic, students have also learned how to insert images into a document, underline and change the color of text. Through the use of a checklist, students are learning to proofread and edit their own writing. We are currently writing another informational piece on an animal of our choice with a partner.

In reading, we have had a busy month of read-alouds and lessons. Both read-alouds and lessons have focused on understanding fables, folktales, and Porquoi (why) tales. We have been analyzing these texts to understand what makes these stories fables or folktales, the message, and author’s purpose for writing. In phonics, we have been learning about parts of speech and figurative language. Finally, students have been working hard to prepare for the upcoming ELA MCAS. We have been practicing reading a text, answering multiple choice questions about the reading, and crafting an open response essay.

Finally, in science, we have been learning about life cycles of animals, plants, and how those are similar to our own. Eventually, animals will become a fossil to be later discovered. Third grade students have been learning about different types of fossils and how they are created.

March was a month filled with hard-work and focused students. These fourth graders are certainly preparing themselves to show their best for our upcoming MCAS testing.

Mrs. Pimentel’s class even earned an extra P.E class, as their attendance rate placed them as the 2nd place class with the highest attendance for the month.

In Math, students are wrapping up their work in geometry, focusing on angles and using 180 degree protractors. They've also been focusing on polygon classifications and using shape dimensions to solve for perimeter and area. In Science, we’re closing off our unit on animal and plant adaptations, focusing on the structures of organisms. Students have been hard at work creating dioramas of their own animal structures and habitats. They are super excited to welcome families into the classroom to see them later this month!

In ELA, we are continuing with narrative writing. We are learning how to write an entertaining beginning and elaborate on a critical character, setting, or object. We’re also learning how to build suspense and construct main event details that allow the reader to visualize and understand the feelings and perspectives of the characters. Finally, students will learn how to wrap it up and conclude their narrative writing in an interesting way.

In Social Studies, we are concluding our unit focused on European's exploration to North America. We have begun learning about the regions of the United States, focusing on natural landmarks, capital cities, geographical features, and statehood.

March was a month filled with hard-work and focused students. These fifth graders are certainly preparing themselves to show their best for our upcoming MCAS testing. Mrs. Mendoza’s class even earned an extra P.E class, as their attendance rate placed them as the 1st place class with the highest attendance for the month.

In Math, we are completing our multiplication of fractions unit. We will be moving towards classifying shapes, ordered pairs, and reading line plots. For Science, we have completed all of our science units! For our end of the year performance task, students will be creating their own ecosystem. Please ask your child what they are thinking of creating!

In ELA, we are continuing with narrative writing. We are learning how to write an entertaining beginning and elaborate on a critical character, setting, or object. We’re also learning how to build suspense and construct main event details that allow the reader to visualize and understand the feelings and perspectives of the characters. Finally, students will learn how to wrap it up and conclude their narrative writing in an interesting way. For Social Studies, we are further exploring the foundation of our country, focusing on our systems of government.