Scootney Springs Elementary

Principal's Message:

Dear Scootney Springs Families, The warmer weather over the past few days has been a welcome change, bringing a renewed sense of energy to both students and staff. After weeks of frigid temperatures and wet, soggy conditions, our students have been eager to enjoy their time outside again!

We are also excited to share that we have successfully completed our WIDA testing, which assesses English language proficiency. Approximately 250 students participated in this important assessment, and we are proud of their hard work and effort throughout the process.

With only five weeks until Spring Break, our teachers and students are making the most of this valuable learning time. We appreciate your continued support in ensuring that students are attending school regularly, arriving on time, and staying engaged in their learning.

We have some fantastic news, Scootney Springs Elementary will be creating and selling yearbooks this year! This is an exciting opportunity for students and families to capture and cherish the memories of this school year. More details will be shared soon, so stay tuned!

Thank you for your ongoing partnership in your child’s education. We look forward to a great few weeks ahead!

Best regards,

Denise

Daily Schedule:

• Doors open: 8:25 am

• Late Bell: 8:30 am

• Dismissal: 3:20 pm

Late Start Mondays

• Doors open: 9:55 am

• Late Bell: 10:00 am

• Dismissal: 3:20 pm

If you would like to volunteer for field trips or activities on campus make sure to complete the volunteer form that was sent out through Parent Square or stop by the main office to get a form to complete. This will need to be done 3 days prior to the event to allow time to process. Thank you.

Unleash the Data Detective in Your Child

You don't need a fancy lab or complex tools to turn your little ones into budding data scientists. Your home is a treasure trove of opportunities for kids to explore the fascinating world of data. These simple, home-based activities can nurture this vital skill set.

Early Childhood (Ages 3-5): Laying the Foundation
At this stage, the goal is to introduce basic concepts of sorting and counting, setting the stage for more complex data skills later on.

• Toy Sorting: Encourage your little ones to group their toys by color, size, or type. This simple act of categorization is the first step in data organization.
• Weather Window: Create a basic weather chart with pictures (sunny, rainy, cloudy). Have your child place a sticker on the appropriate image each day.
• Snack Count: During snack time, have your child count out items like crackers or grapes, introducing the concept of data collection in a tasty way.

Elementary (Ages 6-11): Building Analytical Skills
As children grow, they can start engaging with more complex data concepts and begin to draw conclusions from their observations.

• Family Favorite Survey: Encourage your child to survey family members about their preferences (favorite colors, foods, activities) and create simple bar graphs to represent the results.

• Plant Growth Experiment: Measure and record the height of a plant every few days, then create a line graph to visualize its growth over time. • Screen Time Tracker: Have your child log their daily screen time and create a weekly report, introducing the concept of self-monitoring through data.
  
  

Middle Level (Ages 12-14): Advanced Analysis and Real-World Applications
At this stage, children can tackle more sophisticated data projects and start to see how data analysis applies to real-world situations.

• Household Energy Audit: Have your child track daily electricity usage by reading the meter. They can analyze patterns and propose energy-saving strategies based on their findings.

• Social Media Engagement Study: If age-appropriate, let them analyze engagement rates on their social media posts, introducing concepts of data privacy and digital literacy alongside analytical skills.

• Local Wildlife Survey: Encourage them to keep a log of wildlife sightings in your neighborhood, creating a database that can be analyzed for patterns in animal behavior or population changes.
  
  

The Long-Term Impact of Home-Based Data Activities
Regardless of age, engaging children in data activities at home offers numerous benefits:

• Critical Thinking: Analyzing data helps kids question, interpret, and draw conclusions from information.

• Math Proficiency: Regular practice with numbers, measurements, and graphs enhances math skills. • Scientific Curiosity: Data projects often spark interest in scientific methods and inquiry-based learning.

• Digital Literacy: Understanding data is crucial for navigating digital landscapes responsibly.

• Future Readiness: Data literacy is increasingly valuable in many careers, giving data-savvy kids a head start.

By integrating these age-appropriate data activities into daily life, parents can create a home environment that nurtures analytical thinking and prepares children for a data-centric future. Remember, the goal isn't to create mini data scientists but to foster curiosity, critical thinking, and comfort with numbers that will serve children well in any future endeavor.

6th grade has been working hard all year long! Currently, in ELA we are reading a biography of Harriet Tubman. We continue to practice answering questions to fully understand what we read. In Social Studies and Writing, we learned all about Ancient Egypt and are now preparing to write an explanatory essay about the tombs. In Math we are wrapping up rational numbers and coordinate planes. In Science, we are studying Geoscience processes.

As the year goes on we encourage students to keep trying and to do their best! They are part of the learning process and need to be an active learner. Shortly you will see focused homework start to come home each week to practice academic skills, being responsible, and showing the best effort. Soon we will be working with McFarland to help 6th graders register for middle school & go tour MMS.

Be looking for important dates for various events from the school! We know that the last part of the year can be an exciting time and see a variety of reactions from our students. Please encourage them to make great choices and finish their elementary time being the best they can be!

-The 6th Grade Team
Mrs. Gomez, Miss Rackham, Mrs. Taylor & Mr. Reichert

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In Physical Education (PE), We are finishing up our basketball unit this week here at Scootney Springs and getting ready to transition to soccer.

The younger grades have been working on dribbling skills and form shooting while grades 3-6 have been playing basketball-type games, ie. Bump, Champion, Moon, Bowling for Baskets, and 3-up. These are unconventional games that all students can play regardless of skill level. On the way are Soccer, Volleyball, and Kickball.

PE Teacher, Mr. Davis

“Success isn’t always about “greatness”, it’s about consistency. Consistent hard work gains success. Greatness will come.”-The Rock