PRIDE MONTH
For the second year, all KLSD schools will honor PRIDE Month in June. Our COMPACT has given considerable thought to how to best recognize PRIDE Month to publicly remind ourselves and our community that everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect, no matter who they love and how they express their identity. All students will notice the PRIDE flag displayed near our main entrance and a bulletin board inside the building that highlights images of noteworthy individuals of the PRIDE community. And, just as we have with other Heritage/History month celebrations throughout the year, teachers may also introduce other age-appropriate related resources/materials with their students and facts about PRIDE Month will be shared during our daily episodes of "Good Morning, KES."
Juneteenth
Teachers will be highlighting Juneteeth with their students, sharing the significance and importance of the holiday. Books that we have in our classrooms that tell the story of Juneteenth include: All Different Now, Juneteenth for Mazie, Opal Lee and What it Means to Be Free, and The History of Juneteenth. Students will learn about this federal holiday which celebrates when the last enslaved people, in Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free. Students in grades K-2 focus on the Meaning of Freedom and students in grades 3-5 focus on Freedom from Slavery.
In June, many teachers also ask the students to revisit their IDENTITY MAPS and reflect upon the ways in which they have grown and developed over the course of the year.
Green Team Grades 2/3
Our grade 2-3 Green Team canvassed the KES campus for trash and collected a good amount of waste. The children then sorted the pieces for proper disposal and recycling and created an informational poster with the plastics found to remind all students to take care of the earth.
Below are pictures of JJHS student, Gavin George, as a guest speaker teaching the 2nd and 3rd graders how solar panels make electricity.
CURRICULUM UPDATES
Each month, we provide curriculum highlights from each grade level. Please know that these are snapshots and do not reflect all the curriculum and learning taking place in the classroom.
Students in kindergarten will think more actively as they read so that they balance the work of decoding texts and comprehending. They will explore how readers react to books, question what they read, and develop opinions to share with other readers. Children will use what they have learned about letters and sounds to make their reading sound like they are talking rather than reading one word at a time; using phrasing and emotion to make their books come to life. Kindergarten writers continue to use their words to make change in our school and community. During this unit, sentence structure will be reinforced encouraging children to check for capitalization, punctuation, and spacing. In math, students will end the year learning about shapes, analyzing and comparing 2D and 3D shapes, as well as studying measurable attributes. In science, we will wrap up our Sunlight and Weather unit with a special BOCES workshop on Weather and our Senses. We have also been harvesting and tasting leaves and radishes that we planted earlier this year. Many thanks to Margi Corsello for teaching us about plants all year long!
Students in first grade will continue to study the characters in their books. They will pay attention to things characters say and what characters like and dislike. We will wrap up the year comparing characters across series to see the similarities in each of the books. Students will also compare characters to their own lives, noticing ways they connect to their characters that they might not have realized at first. In writing workshop, we will continue writing realistic fiction stories. The students have been enjoying writing about the characters they are creating. Our math work this month will focus on non-standard measurement tools. Students will get to explore this in a fun and in-depth way on June 11 (P Day in our ABC countdown) when we take on the Paper Chain Challenge. Our “Sky Scientists” will continue our investigation of why the sky looks different at different times. Students will observe and record the sun’s location throughout the school day using a sky mural. We look forward to welcoming families to our portfolio celebration on June 4. As we continue to countdown the days left in the year, we are enjoying the time we have left together before students “Zip Bags and Zoom Off!” to summer vacation and second grade!
Students in second grade will continue reading workshop to strengthen comprehension skills while also examining characters and how they change over time. In writing workshop, the children will continue becoming authors of Realistic Fiction Chapter Books. Using all of their amazing writing skills, the 2nd graders will continue to bring characters to life with realistic problems and resolutions. They will write many different stories using their character to create a book series. In math, students will be learning about graphing data on bar graphs, line plots, and pictographs. We will continue with triple digit addition and subtraction. As mathematicians, second graders have learned to see math all around them and are excited to continue using their strong math skills to solve real life problems every day! In social studies, the students are learning about USA symbols. It is fun to learn about the history and meaning behind symbols like the American flag, the Statue of Liberty, and the Liberty Bell. And, of course, it would not be the end of the year in second grade without observing the life cycle of butterflies. Our caterpillars will be going through metamorphosis and then we will be releasing them into the KES Butterfly Garden. Just like our butterflies, the 2nd graders are ready to spread their wings and FLY!
Students in third grade will finish out the year working in research clubs. They will compare and contrast different animals and write about how they are alike and different. Students will use what they learned to solve real-world problems, like designing a better zoo or protecting animals in danger. In the last writing unit of the year, "Changing the World," third graders will learn to write persuasively about causes they care about. They will use their writing voice to inspire others and create positive changes. Students will practice writing powerful speeches, editorials, petitions, and letters to rally people around important issues. In math, third graders will have completed third grade math concepts and explore topics that will help them to “Step Up to 4th Grade.” In Social Studies, third graders will study how and why weather is something that affects all living things on Earth, including us in our daily lives. They will learn how weather has a big impact on where certain animals, like orangutans, can live comfortably. By studying weather data, they will think like meteorologists and pick the best place to create a reserve for protecting orangutans.
Students in fourth grade will apply all they have learned in our Power and Perspective reading unit to historical fiction book clubs. They will jot ideas about their book in their reading notebooks to be prepared to participate in their book club discussions. In writing, students are excited to start working on graphic novels. They are creating their graphic novels into a book form including multiple scenes with lots of action and dialogue. On June 5th, fourth graders are thrilled to celebrate their written poems at the Katonah Museum of Art with their families. They have worked so hard on this project and cannot wait to share it! In math we will be wrapping up our last topic on US customary and metric measurement conversions.
Students in fifth grade will continue to engage in meaningful academic learning experiences in addition to the plethora of exciting 'extra-curricular' plans for the month. In ELA/Social Studies, students will be continuing their interdisciplinary study of Civil Rights and other related topics of interest. Science will entail students engaging in hands-on investigations. In math, fifth graders will finish projects and activities that require applying skills learned throughout the year. Make sure you look at this 2024 5th Grade End of Year Events to keep up to date with all of the exciting activities that have been planned.
Spring Benchmarking
As part of our Response to Intervention (RTI) Plan, we are currently administering our last round of benchmarks in reading and mathematics. This data is useful as it informs us about student growth and identifies students' needs.
Communication regarding Spring Benchmarking will be forthcoming during the week of June 17 for those students receiving services.
