Early Childhood:
As we head into November we will learn all about fall and explore nature all around us. We will spend some time learning about community helpers, and we will have our Pete the Cat unit. The end of November will be spent learning about Thanksgiving. In Second Steps we have been focusing on feelings. We are learning to name our feelings, and recognize how others are feeling.
The district offers free Early Childhood screenings once a month at the Central Office for children ages 3 and up that live in our district. If you have questions, concerns, or are just curious about your child’s development, please contact Brenda Dion at 532-0406 to set up a screening appointment.
Warrior Preschool:
The class will start out the month exploring the wilderness around them. They will use their imagination to set up a campsite in the dramatic play center. The children will build a fire and cook food. They will role-play different camping roles like park ranger and camper. They will be introduced to new vocabulary like nature, campfire and insects.
We will then transition to lessons on gratitude. The dramatic play center will be set up for a Thanksgiving dinner scenario. The children can take on different roles and engage in conversation related to Thanksgiving. The children will also practice vocabulary related to the holiday.
During morning circle time we discuss the weather outside. We review the days of the week, month and what season we are in. We have weekly lessons on fine motor skills, alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, early reading, science, art and social and emotional skills. The majority of the lessons are based on the theory that children learn best through active, play-based learning.
Kindergarten News:
Math- We have been continuing working on our number sense. We practiced using ten frames and Rekenreks. We learned about 2D and 3D shapes and practiced identifying and finding these shapes around our classrooms. We started learning about addition and what it means to put things together.
Pathways- We have been learning about the following letters and their sounds- Tt, Dd, Bb, Qq, and Uu. We are learning what it means to segment a word and how we can do this to help us spell. Our sight words are the, a, I, at, go, me, my, look, am, can, and for.
Writing/Reading- We have been learning about fiction stories and identifying characters, setting, and key events. We have also been learning about the importance of illustrations in our books. We have practiced drawing our own illustrations in our writer’s journals.
Science/Social Studies- We have been reviewing weather and seasons. Discussing how seasons change and doing a lot of fun fall activities! Coming up we will start learning about forces like push and pull. In Social Studies we will start learning about scarcity and opportunity cost.
First Grade News:
We are settling into our routines and getting a lot of learning done. We finished up our personal narrative writing and will be starting an informative writing about bats. In math we continue to focus on addition and subtraction strategies. We will learn how to use those strategies to solve word problems. We are meeting with small groups for reading instruction and we have started weekly spelling lessons. In Readers Workshop we are learning about what makes a book nonfiction. We are learning about American Symbols in Social Studies. Our Second Steps lessons have focused on how to be a good learner. We will spend the next few lessons on developing empathy for others.
Second Grade:
Third Grade:
Can you believe it is already November?! We loved getting to see everyone at conferences and are so grateful for your support! Our third graders have started the second quarter strong. Soon, we will finish up our science unit over Playground Force, where students learned about moving objects and magnetic force. We will be switching back to social studies and our unit will focus on “Coming to Missouri." In math we are continuing with multiplication and its properties. Up next, we will dive into division. In reading and writing, we've wrapped things up with our narrative unit and have begun a new unit on the fantasy genre. We will also be working hard on summarizing and determining the central message. We are so excited to see all the growth that the 2nd quarter brings!
Fourth Grade:
It was great to see you during conferences. We enjoyed discussing your child’s progress and achievements.
In social studies, we’re wrapping up The Declaration of Independence. Next, we will focus on Vision and Light in science. In ELA, students are focusing on reading and writing non-fiction. Fourth graders are reading and learning about natural disasters. They will create survival guides about a natural disaster, as students navigate through this procedural writing. We will be wrapping up our second unit on operations in the area of mathematics. We will begin multiplying multi-digit numbers. Students will learn different strategies to help them tackle larger numbers.
Fifth Grade:
Second quarter is a very busy time of the year here in fifth grade. We are growing and learning new concepts daily! It is crucial that students are in attendance as much as possible!! We understand that some absences are unavoidable, but we LOVE to see our students daily. Daily attendance also allows students to keep pace with their peers academically, which is something we all want our students to do. Thanks for your support!
Math: November in fifth grade mathematics will be ALL about decimals and fractions. We will start the month with decimals. We will be comparing them, rounding them, adding them and subtracting them. Many of these concepts will be new to our fifth graders...so that is always a challenge. Later in the month we will move into our exploration of fraction computation. We begin this journey with adding fractions with unlike denominators. We will build on our knowledge of equivalent fractions to assist us in our adding. Should be great fun!
Science: Now that we are experts on how to be a scientist, we’ve begun our first unit, which is all about Matter! Matter makes up everything, did you know that?! This unit is very hands on, so kids remain very engaged the entire time. This unit will take us up to Christmas Break!
SS: Now that we have tested over our States, we can begin our States Project. Students will become a tour guide over their state of choice and incorporate all the map skills lessons/concepts that are taught within their project. This project will be complete in December, and students will share their project in small groups before Christmas Break! Continue to read my newsletter weekly to see rubric/keep up with where we’re at throughout the unit.
ELA: In November we are moving onto our first nonfiction unit! In this unit we will review text features, practice identifying and writing in different text structures (description, compare & contrast, sequence, cause & effect, problem & solution) in order to deepen our understanding of the text and understand the author’s purpose. In writing we will also be focusing on a nonfiction piece. We will be researching topics, collecting and organizing our ideas in order to write for a specific audience and purpose.
Sixth Grade:
MATH - Students have been working through all things ratios! We have become experts on what ratios are, what types of ratios we have, and how we can write ratios. We’ve also been practicing solving real world problems with ratios. Alongside our work with ratios, we have begun working on our Student Learning Objective of Converting Fractions, Decimals, and Percents.
ELA - Writers have completed their first writing unit that focused on the process of taking an idea, drafting it, revising it to make it more clear or interesting, editing to make our writing correct, and finally putting all of that work together into a neat, published final copy. Readers have engaged in deep thinking about how an author develops the point of view of characters/narrators in literary text. Point of view helps us understand the way a character or narrator views the world around them. We can better understand motivations, actions, and decisions made by the characters or narrator as we read.
Science/S.S. - Students will begin exploring our next civilization: Ancient Egypt! They’ll uncover the characteristics of the three major Egyptian kingdoms and examine how each contributed to the development of Egyptian culture. They'll also delve into the belief systems that shaped their society, including the gods they worshiped. A key focus will be on the art of mummification, where they’ll learn about the methods and meanings behind preserving the dead for the afterlife. Additionally, we’ll study Egypt’s social structure to understand the roles and responsibilities of different classes, from pharaohs to laborers. Finally, we’ll dive into the world of hieroglyphics, exploring how these symbols communicated stories, religious beliefs, and daily activities.
Technology & Innovation
Kindergarten - We have been hard at work understanding how to balance our time on and off of devices here at school and at home. We have discussed things we can do when we notice our eyes getting tired or our bodies needing to move. Students also have been practicing their listening skills when asked to switch turns on the iPads. We will be working on some Turkey traps and will become toy engineers as the holidays approach.
1st Grade - Students have been hard at work learning all about mazes. We have learned about them, and explored different types of mazes and now they are designing and building their own. We will wrap up by testing out our peers mazes and giving feedback.
2nd Grade - We have teamed up with the 2nd grade teachers to accomplish a Google Slides presentation to support their research and writing they are doing in the classrooms. Students are learning how to add transitions, change fonts, insert and adjust picture sizes, and more!
3rd Grade - We have just wrapped up some work in Google Drive using Google Drawings, Google Docs, and Google Sheets. Students will be learning about Stop Motion and creating their own stop motion videos using Google Slides and an app on our iPads!
4th Grade - We have just finished our 3D printed keychains so I am working tirelessly to get these printed for them. We will be moving into some activities that force them to challenge their growth mindset and their ability to work in teams!
5th Grade - We have wrapped up Tiny Homes and will be doing a Peer Review on our work. Students will then move into a 3D printing project!
6th Grade Engineering - We are hard at work with our choice projects. Hydraulic bridges, mini golf courses, and trebuchets just to name a few!
Library:
Happy November Horizon Families! For the month of November we will be sharing stories that celebrate Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, being thankful, and will continue to share books that have been nominated for our state awards. Students in 3-6th grade are being challenged to try books in our Historical Fiction section, biographies, and 900’s.
November virtual author visits will be The Pumphrey Brothers for grades K-1, Dawn Quigley for grades 2-3, and Carmen Oliver for grades 4-5. I
hope that the students are enjoying the opportunity to hear from these great authors and illustrators as much as I am.
Kindergarten - Oge Mora author/illustrator study
1st Grade - Folktales
2nd Grade - Dan Santat author/illustrator study
3rd Grade - Technology in the world around us - nonfiction research
4th Grade - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier research and virtual field trips to historic locations.
5th Grade - Digital Literacy
6th Grade - Books vs. Movies: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Reading Incentive for November: Northland Rolladium in Liberty, MO
Students are being challenged to read 5 books for the months of November and December. They have been given a bookmark to log their finished books on. When they have read all 5 of their books they need to get their bookmark signed by myself or their classroom teacher. They can then turn in their bookmark to the roller skating rink for a free Icee, Dip-n-Dots, or $5 gift card to the concession stand!
Art:
Artsonia Info: We have recently started uploading artwork to our digital portfolio, Artsonia. 2nd-6th graders are uploading their own work, and I upload work for Kindergarten and 1st grade. If you don’t see anything added for this year yet, you will soon. I love that Artsonia gives you a chance to see what students are working on in art class before the art comes home (I often keep pieces for displays and grade level art shows). Parents can be connected to their students’ account so that you can see when artwork is added. You can add additional parents if needed, and can create a “fanclub” for your student (grandparents, aunts, etc) if you’d like others to be able to see their art. You can comment on your students' artwork and they will be able to see your comments when they log on to upload their next art piece (2nd - 6th grade only will see this, since I upload K-1st). There’s an awesome gift shop through Artsonia that many families love to check out, especially with the holidays coming up. If you are not connected to Artsonia, and would like to be, feel free to reach out to me (waye@smithville.k12.mo.us).
Upcoming Art Shows: 3rd and 4th grade parents, we will have a small art show along with the music program at the PAC on December 10th. Each student will select one art piece to prepare for display. I can’t wait for you to see what they’ve been working on!
Warrior Preschool and Early Childhood: Our littlest Warriors have been working in art centers with some fall-themed centers mixed in. These centers encourage them to use a variety of materials and improve their fine motor skills.
Kindergarten students have been learning about our Painting Studio the past few weeks. They are learning how to get out their own paint, how to use 4 different types of paint, basic paint brush technique, and how to clean up after they’re done. They’ve completed some guided practice, and soon students will be able to use the painting studio independently during their Choice Work time.
1st grade artists have been learning more about collage and printmaking the last several weeks. Although Collage Studio has been “open” for them for a while, we had a mini lesson about how to add flaps and doors into a collage. They were also reintroduced to our Origami Studio and 2 simple origami folds. The past two weeks, 1st grade has learned about the process of Printmaking (transferring an image from one surface to another). They have learned how to create a colorful background using Foil and Marker Printmaking, as well as learning to use shape stamps and ink pads to add to their creations.
2nd and 3rd graders have been learning lots and gaining new responsibilities in the art room! 2nd graders have learned to photograph their own artwork to add to Artsonia this year (3rd grade learned this last year), as well as learning how to help with extra jobs around the art room if they complete their own clean up early. They learned about the process of paper weaving and a variety of ideas of things they could create with their weavings. This has been a very popular choice with this group! Most recently they have learned about our Printmaking studio, including Foil and Marker Printmaking and Shape Stamping.
4th and 5th graders have been learning more about advanced materials and art techniques. Their most recent lessons have included advanced watercolor skills (including watercolor pencils, tape resist, salt sprinkle, wax resist, and using a straw to blow the paint around the paper), an introduction to 1 Point Perspective, a review of Foil Printmaking, Paper Weaving, and Notan, and an introduction to foam printmaking. These students are embracing these new techniques and materials during their choice work time.
PE:
K-2nd Grade: We have wrapped up soccer and were lucky to have such a great month of weather so we could go outside! We have been doing stations that include the climbing wall and rope, shooting hoops on low goals, having fun on the rolling scooter carts, and jump roping. Students are getting better each week at jumping rope and are setting personal goals for how many they can get in a row!
3rd-5th Grade: We are finishing our fitness testing, everyone has run the pacer, and some classes only have upper body strength tests to go. They will be doing these tests again in March. We will soon be doing volleyball, starting with individual skills and eventually playing volleyball games. This is a favorite for many students when they get to choose their team names and have fun competition with their classmates.
6th Grade: In 6th grade we are playing some new gym games with a lot of movement and action. We will have Warrior Workout stations that include jump rope, box jumps, vertical jump test, planks and more. We will also be starting our volleyball unit later this month, which every student who has been at Horizon in prior years has done before and I look forward to seeing their skill progression!
Music:
Hello Horizon families! Here’s a little bit about what will be happening in the music room this month:
Kindergarten: Kindergarten is moving from steady beat to our musical opposites. We will begin learning about all of our musical opposites with fast and slow. Books such as “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” and “Tiger Tempo” will incorporate literacy into our lessons.
1st Grade: 1st grade is finishing up their review of all the musical opposites we learned in kindergarten. This includes high and low, loud and soft, up and down, and more. After this we are moving on to learn about rhythm with quarter notes, eighth notes, and rests.
2nd Grade: Students are experiencing stations in the music room for the first time! Students will be rotating around to different activities in the classroom where they will practice rhythms and the new note: a half note (ta-a).
3rd & 4th Grade: Both 3rd and 4th grade are learning their music for our upcoming music program! Our program this year is called “Jingle Bell Jukebox” and will take place December 10th at 6pm in the Smithville Performing Arts Center. Be on the lookout for an email with more details about this show!
Counseling:
Counselor- Pawlcyn:
November classroom lessons with Ms. Pawlcyn and Ms. Johnson will focus on empathy and perspective taking. Sometimes we confuse sympathy with empathy, they really are very different.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Sympathy can be defined as feeling bad or sorry for someone else's misfortune. We use perspective taking skills to help understand where another is coming from. This can help us predict what someone may do next or how they are feeling. In the younger grades we focus on identifying emotions and what that looks like in ourselves and others, what can make us feel that way.
Empathy:
Helps build healthy positive relationships with peers and family members today and into their adult life because they understand and connect the feelings and perspectives of others.
Enhances emotional intelligence, when children can recognize and understand their own emotions and the emotions of others they are better equipped to manage their feelings and make healthier decisions
Fosters better communication skills. Empathetic children are more likely to listen actively, ask questions and respond thoughtfully to others, leading to more meaningful conversations. They are better equipped to resolve conflicts and communicate more effectively.
Enhances problem-solving skills by allowing children to consider various perspectives and think critically about complex issues. This is valuable in academic, professional and personal contexts.
Hope Squad continues to meet the 1st & 3rd Tuesday @ week 3:55 - 4:40. Our junior Hope Squad Conference was 10/29! Our members came up with some great ideas to spread HOPE, resilience and community throughout Horizon Elementary. Be on the lookout for information about our annual Turkey Drive to raise items for local food banks. Food items will be collected November 14-20th.
