Elm Road Express May 2021

May is an exciting month at Elm Road! Grades K-2 are taking their Dibels assessment and grades 3-5 are taking iLearn. Please remember to schedule appointments after school hours, as the iLearn window does not close until May 14. Third grade students recently received their iRead results. I am proud of how hard the students have been working on their important tests. Our virtual learners will take their assessments on May 3 and May 4 at Grissom Middle School.

This week, we are participating in Screen Free Week at Elm Road! Where we cannot totally stay away from our screens at times, we can try replacement activities, when able. Read a new book, enjoy a walk outside, play a board game, or learn a new screen free activity or skill. We have many wonderful opportunities to turn off those screens when we put our minds to it. At Elm Road, we look forward to participating in some spirit wear days next week as well as a way to celebrate our pledge to look for more ways to be Screen Free when able.

April 19th - May 14th : iLearn Testing

May 3rd and 4th: Grissom Instrument Selection Night (by appt only, info below)

May 3-7 : Screen Free Week

May 10th : Running is Elementary 2:45-4pm (rain date May 12th)

May 24th : PTO Meeting 3-4 pm (Virtual)

May 31st: No school, Memorial Day

June 2nd : Fun In The Sun Day

June 2nd : Last Day of School for the Students

• If you have moved, please call the office to update your address.
• If your child will not be returning next school year, please call the office.

Congratulations to the following

“Eagles” for their wonderful

“SOAR” behavior

Barnes: Jackson Smith &Noel Grant

Portolese: Graysen Hallaert & Elaine Aquilar

Renz: Piper Wilson & Bruce Stephenson

Bush: Will Meszaros & Zakaiyah Mafuleka

Hinton: Lucy Blimling, Tabitha Walker & Zi'Yonn Broadnax

Taylor: Sydney Roberts & Evelyn Stephenson

Clark: Bentley Baney, Sunshyne Cook & Claire Slee

Richard: Colton Selner, Lincoln Caston, James Thompson

Tornquist: Avery Coffin, Amaya Hernandez & Liam Phillips

Anderson: Kaliyah Mikulyuk & Brielle Black

Miller: Madison Weldy, John Bulger & Jackson Pennington

Myers: Collin Hintz, Lucas Ulrich & Dixie Mencias

Pillow: Joanna Jong & Christopher Neer

Cook: Emerald Allen & Ian Levendoski

Freeman: Parker Wolfe & Gavin Fisher

Keough: Chase Montague & Brielle Moore

Newcomer: Briar Barrier & Leo Grimm

Kertai: Malika Mosley & Angelica Kousky

Mellor: Dominik Loveless & Eli Coleman

Shreiner: Surayyah Starks & Elear Kraftor

May starts out with Screen Free Week, celebrating all the great ideas we have to be screen free. I hope all families will participate to see if they can meet the challenge and reap the rewards. Many times, I have had feedback from students and parents about how surprised they were at how easy and enriching it was. Have a family “Read aloud”, play board games, go for a walk along the Mishawaka riverwalk, start a garden or a new hobby...the ideas are endless.

As we finish up the year, I look forward to sharing more fun library books and teaching about genres to our chapter book readers. Remember that the Public Library is open to use throughout the summer months. Read! Read! Read!

Mrs. Linda Knapp

• If your child needs a medication, please do not send them in with your child, a parent needs to bring them in to the nurse.
• Students need to arrive at school with a face mask every day and they should be washed several times a week.
• If their mask is getting wet at recess, send a second one with them.
• Students should not come to school ill. Please call the office if they need to stay home.
• Wash your hands often and do not touch your face.

5th Grade Transition

This month, I want to encourage those families with fifth grade students to discuss what they might expect when they make their way to Grissom Middle School next year. If you have a fifth grade student, you may notice they are both excited and nervous…this is completely normal and expected. Next year is going to be a year of growth and exciting new opportunities.

If they are having a difficult time with the transition, take advantage of the time we have before the next school year to talk with your child. The 5th grade teachers and myself are here to assist your student in working through the emotions of moving onto middle school. Please reach out if you have any questions.

It’s also a great idea to encourage them to get involved; generally, students who are involved in activities (clubs, sports, etc.) outside of the classroom become more connected to the school community and do better academically.

Important Christ Child Information

Christ Child referral forms should be available soon for the next school year. Christ Child will open again in August 2021. Christ Child is a wonderful organization that helps eligible families with new clothes and winter coats for children 12 and under. In order to see if your family qualifies, please give Mrs. Shell a call to set up an appointment. All information is confidential. Reminder-All students receiving service need to complete the permission slip EACH year.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to give me a call at 259-3743. Thank you! - Mrs. Shell

Happy May, Elm Road!

We are entering the final month of our SOARing Readers, Reader of the Month program at Elm Road! Encourage your child(ren) to finish strong this school year by completing their reading goals on time with their classmates. Provide opportunities for students to try reading outside as a way to unplug and enjoy the outdoors in a new way. We have one month left to celebrate our SOARing Readers this school year. Let’s make it a great one!

Be on the lookout for a new Title I Parent Newsletter, The Literacy Hub. This Smore newsletter will be packed with summer resources, local events, reading guides, and activities to complete at home with your child. In the meantime, if you need additional literacy resources to utilize at home, do not forget to check out our Title I Resource Website.

Congratulations to our April SOARing Readers of the Month!

Barnes: Mya McKinnies & Isaac Knefely

Portolese: Quinn Howard & Jonah Yoder

Renz: Laney Gibson & Hayes Bevis

Bush: Hunter Leahy & Avery Smith

Hinton: Pierceton Daniel & Frida Hill

Taylor: Ellison Potts & Landyn Laidig

Clark: Finnegan Higgins & Alaina Benson

Richard: Kamdyn Graham & Jakob Erbeck

Tornquist: Owen Pitt & Henry Stephens

Anderson: Royce Henry & Eli Neuenschwander

Miller: AJ Hudnall & Evelyn Szymarek

Myers: Anna Gordenier & Max Shook

Pillow: Graham Folkerts

Cook: Anthony Cenkush & Connor Szakaly

Freeman: Jace Boyd & Brady McGillem

Keough: Chase Montague & Abigail Gerber

Newcomer: Ivanna Sibira Ramos & Ashton Dunn

Kertai: Katarina Obradovic & Maddox McClain

Mellor: Charlie Christianson & Jackson Higgins

Shreiner: Harman Kaur

Happy Reading, Eagles!

Miss Peluso

Title I Reading Specialist

fpeluso@phm.k12.in.us

574-259-3743

Title I Resources - website

Happy Spring!

During the month of April, we practiced our basketball ball handling, dribbling and passing skills. First and second graders designed a dribbling course with some equipment and demonstrated “tricky dribbling” with their class. All grade levels learned a new recess game called “Switch” and had a great time getting exercise by playing “Flippy Cone”. Our first and second graders learned a dance called “Bunny Hop”. To celebrate Earth Day all grade levels played “Hungry Hippo” to learn about the importance of recycling and reusing. K-2nd graders also had some nice afternoons to go outside and practice some base sports by playing

kickball. As the weather warms up, we will try to go outside as much as possible.

Our 4th and 5th graders have begun P-H-M’s Running is Elementary program! This is a running club that takes place after school for four practices from 2:15-3:00 (4/27, 4/30, 5/4 and 5/7) and then a meet on May 10th. Good luck to all the students registered! If you have any questions you can contact, Mrs. Parisi (dparisi@phm.k12.in.us), Mrs. Newcomer (snewcomer@phm.k12.in.us) or Mrs. Shreiner (kshreiner@phm.k12.in.us) .

On the last day of school we will be having a “Fun in the Sun Day” (field day). Due to Covid restrictions, we will not have any volunteers for this day nor outside vendors (bounce houses, dunk tank, guest speakers, etc). 3-5 will have stations (relays, tag games, etc) in the am from and K-2 will participate in these activities in the afternoon. All grade levels will have a picnic lunch on the hill with their class. We are looking for donations of 18 oz Solo cups, pizza boxes and new, unopened sponges. Please send them to school with your child if you are able to help!

Stay healthy,

Sarah Sime (K pe ssime@phm.k12.in.us)

Debbie Parisi (1st-5th pe dparisi@phm.k12.in.us)

We are looking forward to May being filled with Recycling Projects, Robots, Virtual Reality Headsets, Coding, Experiments and more for all our K-5 Students. April was fun with a fizzing hand experiment, Keva Plank structures, observing the nesting Eagle on the eagle cam from Iowa, and paper mazes in some of the grade levels. There's so much to learn and grow using STEM!

We have had several exciting things happening in music class recently. Fourth and fifth graders are continuing to learn the ukulele. They have made a lot of progress in a short amount of time and are really enjoying this instrument! Third graders have been learning and challenging themselves by singing rounds and partner songs. First and second graders are creating their own music by learning a song, and then making that song their own by arranging it with different instruments and movements. All students enjoyed our unit about John Williams, who was our composer of the month in April. We heard some of the most famous movie music ever by listening to him and learning about his journey into doing film scores.

Enrichment Academies (June 7 – July 30, 2021)

• Visual Arts Academy (July 12 - 16, July 19 – 23, or July 26 - 30): In this award-winning academy, current P-H-M K – 5th grade students learn art history, art production and writing through a unique integration program. The same content will be repeated for each week. The Academy will be held entirely at Penn High School from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Monday - Friday, and is FREE. Parents choose which week they want their student(s) to attend. Click here to fill out the online registration form.

• Junior Foreign Language Academy (July 12 - 16): This in-person academy integrates the Spanish language, social studies, culture, visual arts and music into an intensive and enriching learning experience. The one-week camp is held at Penn High School from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Monday - Friday, and is FREE to current P-H-M 3rd, 4th or 5th grade students. Click here to fill out the online registration form.

• Junior STEM Academy: In this one-week FREE academy, current P-H-M K – 5th graders will discover how math and science are applied in the real world. The 2021 STEM Academy will be held at Penn High School from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Monday - Friday. Each week is reserved for specific grades and will be held at Penn High School. Click here to fill out the online registration form; within the form you will be directed to the week reserved for your child’s specific grade. Students will attend the one-week academy based on their grade level:

  • Kindergarten and 1st grade registration for the week of July 19 – 23
  • 2nd and 3rd grade registration for the week of July 26 - 30
  • 4th and 5th grade registration for the week of July 12 - 16
    

• Learn a Foreign Language Academy (June 7 – 18) This FREE two-week academy is open to current 6th and 7th graders. The course will be taught by Penn High School Language teachers who will teach the students how to read, write, and speak in French or Spanish. This academy will be held 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Monday - Friday at Schmucker Middle School. Click here to fill out the online registration form.

Website: elmroad.phmschools.org
Location: 59400 Elm Road, Mishawaka, IN, USA
Phone: (574)259-3743
Twitter: @ElmroadES