December Newsletter

As the holiday season is in full swing, we have a lot of events at Fruchthendler, including basketball games, winter dance, and several OMA performances. We also have our Q2 Benchmark exams in December. Thank you for supporting your student by getting them to school on time every day. I hope everyone has a very happy and blessed holiday season!

• Tax Credit Donations – Tax Credit donations are crucial for funding staff and supplies for our fine arts, band and orchestra, OMA, dance, Discovery Lab, and PE. These classes enrich our students and provide opportunities for our teachers to meet in their professional learning teams to analyze data to help guide their instruction. You can donate online on our website (click on the "Give Kids the Extra Credit" link). Ask your friends and neighbors to donate as well!

• Benchmark Exams – Students will be taking their Q2 benchmark exams this month. Please make sure your students are on time every day.

• OMA Concerts - We have our winter OMA concerts and performances starting next week. On Friday, December 13, we will have our Kinder and 2nd grade will have their dance performances starting at 8:30 in the morning. On Monday, December 16th, we will have our OMA concerts: 5-5:15 pm for 3rd grade recorders, 5:15-5:30 - Choir, 5:45-6:15 pm for 4th grade orchestra, and 6:30-7 pm for 5th grade orchestra/band.

• PTA and Volunteering - We are always looking for volunteers to help out in the classroom. The PTA is always looking for volunteers to help at events. Please contact the front office if you are interested in volunteering. Ms. Kayla or Ms. Carmen can make sure you have any paperwork you need. If you are a parent, you do not need paperwork to volunteer with your child.

Counseling with Ms. Lana:

This month in counseling, all grades will be focusing on empathy! Kindergarten and first grade students will learn the meaning of empathy. Lessons will center on identifying different feelings in ourselves and others, listening skills, and understanding different perspectives. Second and third grade students will focus on friendship skills and how empathy can contribute to stronger friendships. Fourth and fifth grade students will learn about ways to resolve conflict with empathy and perspective taking.

OMA with Mrs. Gale:

This month in OMA, we have many performances taking place. Kindergarten and second grade will be performing the songs they’ve learned this quarter on Friday, December 13th at 8:30 AM in the cafeteria. Third grade and band will demonstrate what they have learned on their instruments on the evening of Monday, December 16th. Fourth grade will perform on their violins that same evening while also learning about the story The Nutcracker Prince in their OMA classes. First grade will sing songs about stars to connect with their astronomy unit, and fifth grade will wrap up songs from the musical Man of La Mancha.

Discovery Lab with Dr. B:

Kinder spent the last several classes working on how to use the keyboard with an awareness of using different fingers to type different keys. Continue helping them by finding time at home to have them log into Clever and access Typing Club. Their username is their matric number. Kinder moves this week into a unit on Trees and Weather, with a focus for this first several weeks on observing and describing parts of trees including the similarities and differences between trees. First grade continues with their second unit on Sound and Light, with investigations to help us understand why sounds are different and how sound is transmitted. Second grade picks up in their Soil, Sand and Silt unit where we left off, observing pebbles and working on ways to separate and sort mixtures of pebbles. We will then learn about the earth materials that comes from pebbles breaking down; sand and silt. Third grade continues their investigations of the forces that create motion, learning to use information they have gathered to make predictions about will happen in our investigations. Fourth and Fifth grade will be using Discovery Lab time to work on their science fair projects. The goal is use this time to make sure that we have good experimental questions, can identify the variable we are testing and the variable that we are measuring, and have designed an experiment that will allow us to accurately test our question. Before winter break we will start a two-week tutorial in how to use Microsoft Excel to organize data in a table and generate a graph from that data.

PE:

4th and 5th PE – We begin our basketball unit in December. The goal of the unit is introduce all students to the basic skills needed to play basketball. We will do lots of skill development work on dribbling, passing, catching and shooting. Additionally, students are working to complete the Firebird Run challenge. The goal is to complete three Firebird laps on different challenge days throughout the year. We have one challenge day per month. A succesful run is a full lap of the field without cutting corners short or stopping to run. This challenge helps students set and achieve goals that stretch their physical abilities and encourage them to maintain a positive attitude during difficult task. Help keep our Firebirds ready by making sure they wear PE appropiate shoes on their PE day, NO CROCS and NO BOOTS.

Kinder-3rd: For K-3 PE during the month of December we will be using scooter boards! This fun piece of equipment offers a fun and engaging way to improve students' balance, coordination, and cardiovascular fitness. By using scooters, children develop motor skills through activities that challenge their coordination and flexibility. Additionally, scooters provide an inclusive, low-impact activity that can be adapted to various skill levels, helping all students participate and enjoy physical exercise. With this variety in movement we hope to keep students excited about physical activity.

11/18 – 12/13 – DIBELS (MOY) Testing Window

12/2 – 12/19 – Quarterly Benchmark Assessments (Q2) 2nd – 5th Grades (score writing by 1/12)

12/2 – Spelling Bee 3rd – 5th Grade - 5:45 PM

12/3 - Kindness Crew

12/5 - Basketball games for all teams at Fruchthendler

12/6 - Spirit Day - Ugly Sweater

12/6 - PTA Meeting - 8:20

12/10 - FCC Meeting

12/13 - Dance Recitals for Kinder and 2nd Grade - Cafeteria at 8:30

12/13 – Winter Dance in Cafeteria 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

12/16 - Fire Drill and Lock Down Drill

12/16 - OMA Concerts 3rd Grade, 4th grade, and 5th Grade, and Choir

12/17 - Kindness Crew

12/20 – Grading Day

12/23 – 1/3 – WINTER BREAK – NO SCHOOL

JANUARY

1/6 – School Resumes

If you ever have a question or concern, please do not hesitate to contact me at (520) 731-4400.

GO FIREBIRDS!!!!

Sincerely,

Mr. E