The Chronicles of Kiel School

In this issue of The Chronicles..., Kiel students continue to learn and grow through their experiences in the "classroom," both in school and at home. Despite the challenges, attending school during the Covid-19 pandemic has taught even our youngest students that learning is ongoing and knows no bounds. Whether in the living room, car, or physically in school, we can take our "classroom" with us wherever we go. At Kiel School, we ultimately aim to instill a foundational love of learning and growth mindset in each of our students; Kiel students are lifelong learners!

Before you "blast off" into this month's Chronicles, I want to take a moment to give thanks for our Kiel School Community- students, teachers, staff, families- everyone! Our school is a very special place and one that I am grateful to be part of every single day. Our students and staff have kind hearts, caring spirits, and collectively represent one big, happy family. As Thanksgiving approaches next week, please know that here in Kiel School, we are thankful for YOU and each other.

Happy Thanksgiving, Kiel School!

Best,

Jennifer Oluwole (Mrs. O)

Principal

Kindergarteners have been busy this month! We began our new writing unit - Show and Tell Writing. In this unit, writers will make texts that are a written version of show and tell. Students are becoming "Brave Spellers" - using tools to help them write, stretching out words and most importantly, they don't give up! This week, we ended our reading unit by celebrating with some of our favorite storybooks. We were able to act out stories and use different character voices as we read. In our next unit, we will continue to work in our favorite storybooks - looking deeper into the stories; ensuring our pictures and words match and we will learn more about the characters. In Math, students have begun to tell number stories to explore addition and subtraction, as well as continue to develop their number sense. Throughout the month of November, Kindergarteners will have many opportunities to share what they are thankful for.

First Grade Scientists have been working on an exciting unit called the Spinning Sky!

This unit helps students use observations of the sun and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted. For example, the sun and moon appear to rise in one part of the sky, move across the sky, and set; and stars other than our sun are visible at night but not during the day. Scientists are also learning that they can make observations at different times of year to relate the amount of daylight to the time of year.

Recently, the first graders learned how to create a Star Projector using paper cups to project stars of the Big Dipper onto a sky picture. They then observed what happened to these stars when a flashlight acted as a model of the sun.

Kiel's virtual 2nd graders have had a blast launching into some new units of study. They are enjoying reading nonfiction and growing their knowledge, as well as teaching others in writing workshop about topics they are experts in.

Most recently, they finished studying birds in their animals unit of study. Scientists learned that birds eat specific types of food and like to stand in different ways while eating their food. They were challenged to make a prototype of a bird feeder that would attract a specific kind of bird, based upon their knowledge of what type of food that bird would eat and how the bird stands to eat its food.

Students in Mrs. Sorce's second grade class had fun with pumpkin seeds. Students first guessed how many seeds were in their pumpkin. Then they counted all of their seeds by grouping them in piles of ten. The students discovered that there were many more seeds than expected!

Kindergarteners are working hard at using their fingers to point to words they know, or words that are repeated in familiar stories. They are also learning that as writers, they can start writing words in their stories. They have many resources to refer to such as their name wall, alphabet chart, and/or their snap word chart.

First graders are honing their detective skills. They are using different word solving clues to help them when they are stuck reading. As writers, they are exploring what it means to be a "How To" writer. They are spending time identifying things they are good at and can, in turn, teach others.

Second graders are exploring the genre of nonfiction. They are learning that these books have a lot of information, and they need to pay attention to all of the details and features that nonfiction texts offer. They are also learning that as writers, they can teach others about topics they know a lot about.

Kiel First and Second Grade Hybrid students are working hard at home on their virtual days with assistance from Mrs. Yago and Mrs. Velasco.

Students begin the day with a Morning Meeting and overview of the day's assignments where students are reviewing concepts taught at school. Individual class meetings are held throughout the day to reinforce math, language arts, social studies and science skills.

The students are commended for their great participation and their motivation to learn virtually.

All students in grades K-2 are learning these two strategies for solving conflicts:

Every four years, Americans vote to choose the leader of our country. This process is an opportunity to discuss the presidency and American symbols in the Library/Media Center.

This year, we focused on two symbols that are unique to the United States: The White House and Air Force One. As one first grader declared, “Cooooooool!!”

Kiel students had the chance to learn that The White House is both the home and the office of the president. The White House has a movie theater, bowling alley, and swimming pool! Students also learned that Air Force One has meeting rooms, bedrooms, two kitchens, and an operating room!

Finally, our favorite Duck ran for the presidency! Duck for President, written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin, tells the story of Farmer Brown's barnyard animals. When Duck gets tired of working for Farmer Brown, his political ambition eventually leads to his being elected President. Wonder if Duck gets to live in The White House?

November 19: Cohort B & full-time remote student picture retakes

November 23: Cohort A attends school in-person

November 24 (Tuesday): Cohort B attends school in-person

November 25: Minimum Day Schedule

November 26-27: School Closed: Thanksgiving

December 1: Cohort A picture retakes

Email: oluwolej@kinnelon.org
Website: https://www.kinnelonpublicschools.org
Location: 115 Kiel Avenue, Kinnelon, NJ, USA
Phone: 973-838-0611