South Elementary Family Newsletter

PTO’s May Newsletter

Upcoming Events: Mark your Calendars!

Thursday, May 2nd: Papa Gino’s Night 4PM-9PM

• 869 GAR Highway, Somerset

• Walk-in or phone orders: Mention this fundraiser when you place your order for South School to get the credit for your order.

• Online Orders: Enter Code 19 at the payment screen and click redeem.

• South School earns 20% of orders!

Week of May 6th-May 10th: Teacher Appreciation Week

• The PTO has meals planned and tokens of appreciation for staff during this week.

• Below are ways families can participate in Teacher Appreciation Week:

• Monday: Teachers are Noteworthy! Write a note describing how your teacher is amazing!

• Tuesday: You Make Us Bloom! Bring or draw a flower for your teacher.

• Wednesday: Time to Refuel! Donate a classroom supply that is running low.

• Thursday: My Teacher is a Treat! Bring your teacher their favorite snack.

• Friday: Thanks are in the Cards! Bring a gift card to your teacher’s favorite place or a small token of appreciation.

• These are simply suggestions. Feel free to participate when you are able or show your appreciation in a different way.

Friday, May 17th: Fundrive Savers 4PM-7:00PM

• Start your spring cleaning!

• South PTO is collecting bags of clothes.

• Drop off will take place at South School parking lot from 4PM-7PM.

• A donation to our FUNDRIVE is worth a FREE extra BINGO card.

• **One free BINGO card per drop off not per bag** See more details about BINGO below.

Friday, May 17th: South School BINGO Night! 6:00PM-8:00PM

• Friday, May 17th: 6:00PM-8:00PM at South School

• Doors open at 5:30PM.

• Reserve your spot on Cheddar Up! https://somersetsouthelementarypto-181.mycheddarup.com/

• Free Admission and one free BINGO card per person.

• Each additional card is $1.00

• County Fare will be at the event selling food.

• Pizza and treats will also be available to purchase. *cash only*

• A donation to our FUNDRIVE Savers clothing collection will earn a free card.

Tuesday, May 21st: PTO Meeting

• South School Cafe at 6PM

• Voting for board positions will take place at this meeting.

• This meeting will recap the year so far and discuss upcoming events such as BINGO Night and Teacher Appreciation Week!

• All are welcome!

PTO Review and Updates:

• The PTO has donated a raffle gift basket to the 6th Annual Autism/Neurodiversity Walk on May 25th.

Contact PTO

• Follow South Elementary PTO on Facebook for updates and information!

• somersetsouthelementarypto@gmail.com

Finally, spring is here and with it comes more outside playing time! Playgrounds are fun places for kids because there's so much to do and other kids to have fun with. But sometimes kids get hurt at playgrounds. That's no fun, so here are 10 ways to keep safe when you are at recess in school or anytime you decide to visit a playground:

1. Take a grown-up. As kids get bigger, they like doing things on their own. Going to the playground shouldn't be one of them, though. Grown-ups come in handy because they might spot problems at the playground, they can help you down if you get in a tight spot, and they can help if you happen to get hurt.

2. Take a good look around. If the playground has lots of trash, such as broken glass, or the equipment looks broken, don't play there.

3. Keep your size in mind. Many playgrounds have some equipment that's for little kids (like 2- to 5-year-olds) and other equipment that's meant for older kids. Use the equipment that's right for your age. If you squeeze yourself onto a swing for toddlers, you might get stuck. Likewise, if your little brother or sister starts climbing something meant for older kids, guide him or her to the little-kid stuff.

4. Don't go too high. Many playgrounds have tall stuff to play on, such as towers or open passageways between equipment. Don't climb higher than you feel comfortable, and feel free to ask your grown-up if you need help getting down. Never climb up the outside of equipment, or hoist yourself up on the roof. The view might be cool, but it's a long way down.

5. Look out below. The best playgrounds put down special surfacing material, such as mulch, wood chips, sand, gravel, or rubber matting. These surfaces can help soften a fall, but that doesn't mean you won't get hurt, especially if you tumble from a high spot.

6. Swing safely. Kids often get hurt at the playground because they get hit by someone on a swing. If you're swinging, watch out for people who might be getting too close. And if you're walking around the playground, don't get too close to the swingers.

7. Use your head. Sometimes you'll see kids going headfirst down the slide or maybe two or three kids will get on a piece of equipment that's only meant for one. Or some kids might start goofing around and trying to push each other off a swing or off of a high spot. If your grown-up sees you doing this, he or she will probably say, "Knock it off. Someone's going to get hurt." It's true, so try to use the playground equipment properly. And if you get stuck or don't know how to get down from something, call your grown-up over so he or she can help you down.

8. Report problems. If you see graffiti (when people write or paint on stuff), a broken swing, or find any other problems while you're playing, tell your grown-up. He or she can report the problem so it can be fixed.

9. Clean up. If you bring a drink or snack to the playground, clean up your trash before you leave. When you do, the park will look nice when the next kid comes along to play and you will have shown that you're a good playground citizen.

10. Have a great time! How can you make a good time at the playground even better? Bring a friend and only complain a little when it's time to leave.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

What can you do for yourself and your family to be your healthiest self?

What do you need to help support you and your family for the summer break?

LOOK BELOW FOR SOME IDEAS AND JOIN US ON MAY 17TH FOR A SUMMER RESOURCE NIGHT.

Come visit our table at the PTO Bingo Night from 5-8 to get some summer resource ideas.

May National Health Observances: Physical Fitness, Mental Health, Older Adults, and Women’s Health

National health Observance

We also hope to see you on 4/30 from 5-7 at the High School for an informational Digital Safety presentation.

Safety and well being is always our priority. Hope to see you there.

Mrs. Shaw our school social worker and Myself had a wonderful discussion with all of our South Students on Wednesday to end our Autism Acceptance Month. Please view the video we watched and continue your own discussion at home. Autism acceptance

As always,

In your corner

Mrs. H

Cecilia Huard, LMHC

School Adjustment Counselor

Mrs. Shaw

School Social Worker

For a short month, first graders really packed in the learning! In our number corner sessions, we worked with greater than/less than, as well as counting with tally marks. In our math classes, we are adding and subtracting with two-digit numbers, measuring, and comparing measurements. In phonics and reading, first graders continue to practice with silent e and reading two syllable words. They recently added sounding out words that end in ng or nk to their skills! First graders learned about informational writing and did some of their own, including adding interesting opening and closing sentences to their work. Finally, science took center stage on April 8th with eclipse activities, lessons and even an eclipse viewing!

We hope everyone had a restful vacation. is hard to believe we are in the final stretch of the school year… wasn’t it just September? In reading, we have been thinking about the topics in nonfiction books and learning about the author’s purpose in fiction and nonfiction books. Our read alouds have focused on exploring the natural world and living and working together in a community. In writing, we are answering questions by turning our reading questions into part of our responses. Our next step is going to be on elaboration, and detail-generated questions. In phonics, we are wrapping up our unit on unpredictable vowel teams. Up next, we will be working on vowel-r patterns which include ar, or, w+ar, w+or. In math, we have started our unit on measurement. We will be learning to measure length in centimeters, inches and feet! In science, we will be exploring how to get more bird feeders to visit a bird feeder. We will also be continuing our study of animals at our field trip to the zoo on Monday, May 13!

Dear Third Grade Families,

Spring has sprung in third grade! Math MCAS is early this month and the third grade team is confident in the students that they will do their very best! As with ELA, we are providing ample practice for them in order to ease their concerns and give them exposure. Students did a wonderful job with the math concepts thus far, and in May we will be wrapping up our Area and Perimeter unit, and moving on to our final unit of Geometry. Our daily phonics activities continue to focus on decoding simple and complex multisyllabic words, and the students do quite well with this skill. Science focuses on Life Cycles and May will bring a new unit in Social Studies where students will begin learning about the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. Writing is focused on biography and students will be researching and writing a biography on an individually chosen figure of interest. Students are becoming quite familiar with this genre of writing and doing well. Reading brings rhyme and creativity through our poetry unit. The air is warming, and the kids are getting some much needed outdoor recess time. Please continue to send in plenty of water and water bottles with your student, and dress accordingly for cooler classrooms and warmer weather. As always, thank you for your continued support!

The Third Grade Team