Weekly Newsletter
October 3, 2024
News from Principal Emma Liebowitz
The month of September zipped by! We are looking forward to the fall activities coming up. Please take a look at the events below. Mountain Day is October 11th and we will be hiking from Sanderson. More event details will be shared as we approach each activity. Caregivers are welcome to attend these events!
Upcoming Events
Friday, October 4 - Third Grade Field Trip to Mt. Greylock
Wednesday, October 9 - 1:50 Release
Friday, October 11 - Mountain Day
Saturday/Sunday, October 12/13 - Ashfield Fall Festival
Monday, October 14 - No School
Wednesday, October 23 - 1:50 Release
Thursday, October 24 - Hick’s Corn Maze
Wednesday, October 30 - 1:50 Release
Friday, November 1 - Sugar Rush at 10:30
Link to Sanderson Academy calendar.
PTO News
Hello Sanderson Families,
We had record attendance at our last PTO meeting and look forward to all the great activities, field trips, dances and fundraisers ahead of us!
All are still welcome to join, help and participate! Levels of commitment can be up to you!
If you would like to be added to future PTO emails, please email Meg at meg_lilly@hotmail.com
We still need help filling shifts for our Walking Taco Fundraiser at the Ashfield Fall Festival.
Below is the link. Please feel free to share the Sign-up link with anyone who may want to volunteer. Friends, neighbors, family, previous elementary parents etc. Many hands make light work!
Our next meeting is October 21st, 7pm. Below is the Link
We look forward to seeing everyone.
Fall Festival Shift Sign Up Link
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44A4AA2AA2F8C16-51604913-ashfield
Octpber 21st Meeting - Google Meets Link
Health Office News from Nurse Mikaela
There are packets being sent home this week with information about dental services being offered in-school by CHCFC (Community Health Center of Franklin County). They offer free dental screenings, as well as other services that they bill insurance for. Please return these packets by October 9th, and let me know if you have any questions.
Library News from Ms. Wilson
Did you know that approximately 14% of Americans speak Spanish, and 19% identify as Hispanic, Latinx, or both? At the Sanderson Library, students have been learning about and reading books that recognize Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month, which takes place from September 15 - October 15. Though we read books written by Hispanic and Latinx Americans throughout the year, I appreciate the opportunity to acknowledge the many achievements and contributions made by Hispanic and Latinx Americans this time of year, and learn about various cultures within the Hispanic and Latinx community. In library class, fifth graders practiced library navigation skills with Destiny Discover (our online library catalog) to locate library books written and/or illustrated by Hispanic and Latinx Americans, while 6th graders explored various Online Information Databases to research and write fact cards about famous Hispanic and latinx Americans. Together, the fifth and sixth graders created a wonderful display for our library.
I also wanted to give a big shoutout to Everett Miller, who applied for and won the Time for Change Youth Award through First Book. Not only did Everett distribute litter cleanup kits to local soccer teams and public libraries, he also donated two great books about caring for our planet to the Sanderson Library. Thank you Everett, and way to go!!!
Preschool News from Ms. Casey and Ms. Becky
We have been learning about apples. We learned about where they grow and the parts of the apple. The kids enjoyed having a taste test and describing how the different apples were the same and different. We also have been focusing on the shape of a circle and enjoyed playing shape Ispy.
Preschool News from Ms. Melanie and Ms. Kylee
Preschoolers have been excited to learn about all of the seasonal changes. They have noticed the leaves beginning to change color and the orange pumpkins in our school garden. We have been reading many books that describe the changing season. A classroom favorite has been, Leaf Man, by Lois Ehlert. In the story a man made of different leaves gets blown by the wind. He goes on an adventure over many animals and vegetables, all of which are made out of leaves. After reading the story the children collected leaves and other natural items to make their own leaf picture. We have cats, cows, an elephant, a monkey and a T. Rex, just to name some. They are all so creative and sweet. Fall is such a magical time!
Kindergarten News from Ms. Sarah and Ms. Veronica
Last week, kindergarteners harvested the carrots planted by last year's class. They worked as a team to pull the carrots from the garden bed, break off the leaves, wash them, and bag them for the kitchen. The whole school enjoyed eating the carrots for lunch on Friday! In the spring, this class will plant carrot seeds for the next class to harvest--it's a kindergarten life cycle!
First Grade News from Ms. Wyckoff and Ms. April
First grade has been such a busy place this past month and it’s hard to believe it is already October! There has been so much learning and growing happening across our day, especially in writing and reading. In our new phonics program (UFLI) first graders were introduced to our sound wall which includes vowel valley and our consonant grid. Each time students learn a new grapheme (A letter or letter combination that represents a single phoneme which is known as the smallest unit of sound in the spoken language as well as the physical act used to produce the sound) we add it to our sound wall. We use this sound wall as a reference when working on spelling words during writing and word work. Other than all the academic growth that is happening, a highlight for us is our 6th grade buddy time! It has been wonderful to watch the connections between buddies build and all the fun they have together. During a recent buddy gathering we enjoyed a walk around the nature loop collecting colors from nature and sorting them into color palette trays. We have also enjoyed making owl glyphs to help us get to know each other more. These owl glyphs are on display in our hallway for all to enjoy!
Second Grade News from Ms. Lilly and Ms. Laura
Over the last few weeks second grade has been so busy learning about so many new things! In math, we have been brushing up on our doubles facts and learning how to use those facts to help us solve problems. For example: if we have the problem 6 + 5, we know that 5 + 5 = 10 then add one more! This is a great trick instead of counting on one-by-one from 6 to add 5. In UFLI, our reading program, we are reviewing some skills that the class learned in first grade, like the FLSZ rule and what a digraph is. If you aren’t familiar with those rules, ask your second grader! Science has been the most fun! We went out last week to explore the vernal pond in the woods behind Sanderson. Unfortunately due to the lack of rain the pond was almost gone. But there were still many frogs and other insects to find and investigate.
Third Grade News from Ms. Carole, Mr. Luke and Ms. Taylor
Third graders have been very busy in the past few weeks. In math we are tackling multi-digit addition using a number line these days. We measured items around the room with partners, and then are using those measurements to practice adding. We will soon be using number lines to do multi-digit subtraction as well.
With our buddies this week we created a mural celebrating the things we love about fall. This mural was a magnificent, collaborative effort. It is hanging in the hallway for all to enjoy.
We have also been learning about Mount Greylock in preparation for our visit to both the Visitor Center and the Summit this Friday. Our fingers are crossed for beautiful weather and ninety-mile views!
Fourth Grade News from Ms. Lagoy and Ms. Upright
Students are really enjoying poetry writing with Mrs. Upright. They have learned about, and written, 16-word poems and poems with rhyme and meter. They are currently reading poems with personification and will begin writing their own personification poems soon.
In geography, we are reading about products and natural resources of the Northeast Region and will begin exploring some famous landmarks next week. Be sure to ask your kiddo to tell you about a place they’d like to visit.
Students loved our first STEM Challenge: Spaghetti Towers and are really looking forward to our October STEM Challenge: Pumpkin Launchers. Mrs. Upright and I observed thoughtful planning, teamwork, perseverance and success!
Fifth Grade News from Ms. Johnson and Ms. Glenda
Fifth grade has just finished researching, creating projects, and presenting about the thirteen colonies. Students have also finished unit one in math about volume and equations. They persevered through their assessment on Tuesday. Also this week, students finished practicing the skills they learned in the second unit of our Second Step program about how to manage emotions and how to apply those steps in various situations (such as taking a math test). Finally, students also finished the first unit of the module we are in about human rights. Students recently learned how to write summaries and how to compare events from the book, Esperanza Rising, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is satisfying to finish units and sections of study and exciting to start new topics.
Sixth Grade News from Ms. West and Ms. Shero
1st and 6th graders are buddies this year, and we have already had many fun activities to get to know each other! This week we enjoyed a beautiful nature walk on school trails doing an activity designed by 6th grader Brooke Walker. Buddy pairs had paint palettes and looked for all the colors of the rainbow in nature as they walked together.
The 6th graders have many exciting activities coming up! Next Thursday, we are visiting the Beneski Museum of Natural History with a specially designed tour for us to see human prehistoric artifacts (including their collection of early hominin skulls) and to have a lesson in “deep time” and fossil formation. We will then journey to Holyoke to visit the Dinosaur Footprints.
Be sure to support the 6th graders at the Fall Festival! They will be hosting the Dime Toss game.
News from Ms. Prew
Our school uses an RTI (Response to Intervention) model, where all students are getting the instruction that they need. In my role I support mathematics small group instruction. This may be working on specific skills that need more practice, previewing or revisiting lessons from class, or focusing on building mathematics practice standards such as “Make sense of problems & persevere in solving them”. The groups are based on data and are fluid - changing based on students’ needs throughout the year. It is always the right of the caregiver to request additional support with math through Title I programming. Another reminder, I run the Homework Club every morning at 8:30. This is the perfect space for students to complete their homework, ask clarifying questions, or simply have a quiet space to start the school day. As always, please reach out to me with any questions or comments! Happy October, all! :) aprew@mtrsd.org
News from Mrs. Morey
“Teaching foundational skills starts with simple letters and patterns and becomes more and more difficult (advanced) as a child's skills get stronger and as they go on to higher grades. When learning sounds and letters in English, multilingual learners may apply knowledge about sounds from their native language because it is helpful to see what is similar and different between the languages.”
Source: https://www.doe.mass.edu/massliteracy/families/foundational-skills.html
Speech and Langauge News from Ms. Godden
It’s hard to believe that October is already here... This is a great time of year to encourage communication! When outside with your younger student, talk about the things you notice as the seasons change (colors of the leaves, changing weather, and different things you may need like jackets, umbrellas, etc.). See what they notice about the changing seasons. Your older students may enjoy talking about their favorite fall activities, foods and/or holidays. Encourage students of all ages to tell you more details and don’t forget to share some of your fall favorites too!
Please feel free to reach out with any speech, language or communication questions or concerns you may have! I can be reached at dgodden@mtrsd.org
Community News and Events
Check out what is happening in our area!
October
Lunch Menu
About Us
Email: eliebowitz@mtrsd.org
Website: https://sanderson.mohawktrailschools.org/
Location: 808 Cape Street, Ashfield, MA, USA
Phone: (413) 628-4404
Facebook: facebook.com/SandersonAcademy