Monarch News January 2017 201 SW Clay - Topeka, KS 66606 - (785) 235-7150 Attendance Line - (785) 235 - 7151

Calendar of Events: Wed., Jan. 4th—school resumes; 2:45 PBIS assembly Fri., Jan. 6th—Pajama Day $1 Wed., Jan. 11—4th grade spelling bee Thur., Jan. 12—5th grade spelling bee; STUCO 8:00 Fri., Jan. 13– Written spelling bee Mon., Jan. 16—No School—MLK Tues., Jan. 24—Class Pictures

Dear Families, Happy 2017! We hope all of the Meadows’ families had a great break and are ready for the down hill slide to the end of the 2016-2017 school year. It is important you have your child at school. The teachers are continuing to work hard to teach all the standards to our children. If any family has needs, please contact the school. We have and know of resources that may be of assistance. Have a great month, Mrs. Johnson—Principal Mrs. Norton—Assistant Principal

Thur., Jan. 26—STUCO 8:00; Reading Night 5:30-6:30 Tues., Jan., 31—PTO 6:00

Weather Reminder Please continue to monitor the weather and outside temperatures. Students will go out for recess if the wind chill and temperature are above 20 degrees. If the district has to cancel school due to bad weather— postings will be on local radio, TV and social media.

Bus Expectations Please remind your child about proper bus behavior. Students are expected to remain in their seat and talk quietly so that the bus driver can focus and all students remain safe. Distracting behavior on the bus may result in bus detention or bus suspension. Please see Mrs. Norton

Lunch and Recess Times Kindergarten: 11:15-11:45 First Grade: 11:30-12:00 Second Grade: 11:45-12:15 Third Grade: 12:00-12:30 Fourth Grade: 12:15-12:45 Fifth Grade: 12:30-1:00 Lunch is the first 15 min and recess immediately follows.

Preschool News Looking for something to do with holiday cards now that the new year is here? Think of all the ways you can use them with your young children. They can be used for cutting practice as the heavier paper is easy for little hands to hold. You can also use the pictures for an Eye Spy game or cut them into puzzle pieces for your children. You can also let your children cut and glue them into a collage. Have fun!

Kindergarten News: We have been working on retell stories (character, setting, beginning, middle, and end) and will now be working on understanding the relationship between pictures in a story and how they match the text. As you read a book with your child, talk about why the illustrator drew a particular picture to match the author's words. In math, we are still working on teen numbers (1019) and counting quantities of objects to match. You can also practice decomposing groups of objects (take a pile of 8 cheerios and break them into smaller groups, i.e. 2+6=8, 3+5=8, etc.). Thank you!

First Grade News: Baby it’s cold outside!

Please send your child to school with clothing appropriate to the weather. First Grade ventures outside for recess almost every day. Children need adequate coats, hats, scarves, gloves and warm socks, too. In math we continue to add and subtract within 30. We will begin telling time to the hour and solving 2 digit number stories. Please assist your child to count groups of objects, (beans, hairpins, pennies, etc.), then add them together to solve a number story: ‘Ned had 7 pencils and Fred had 12 pencils. How many pencils did they have altogether? How many more pencils did Fred have than Ned?’ Subtracting is easiest to understand if a child can touch and count items; visually see what is being ‘taken away’.

Second Grade News:

Third Grade News: Third Graders are continuing our basic facts practice. They are still practicing addition and subtraction; however, we have also added multiplication and division. Please help us by asking your child addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. We are also starting fractions. You can help at home by asking questions like: There are 8 pieces of pizza, 2 pieces were eaten, how much pizza is left over? The answer is 6/8. In reading, we are focusing on Main Idea and supporting details. Please ask your child what their chapter or story was about, what was the main idea of the story, what details are there to support that main idea? We will also be starting our Living Wax Museum projects soon - so be looking for that information coming home. Remember, if you have any questions you can contact your 3rd grade teacher at any time! Thank you for all that you do. Third Grade Team

Fourth Grade News: In fourth grade we will be wrapping up our understanding of fractions and decimals. We are working on converting fractions to decimals, and comparing decimals. A good way to practice decimals at home, is to practice with money. For example, you could ask your child to write $3.02 and write .02 as a decimal and fraction! We will be starting to work on multi-digit multiplication, for example 32x7. In reading we are continuing to work our way through the different regions within the United States. We are working on the Midwest Region. This is a perfect time to talk about the states surrounding Kansas! Please remember that the weather is continually getting warmer. Please make sure that your child is dressed properly for the weather! Continue reading for 20 minutes each night and practicing basic facts!

Fifth Grade News: Happy New Year from the 5th Grade Team! Please remember to dress your children for the weather. If you need any assistance with coats, hats, or gloves please let us know and we will do what we can to help Math: We will be working on decimals and fractions. Reading: We will be celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and learning facts about him and the Civil Rights Movement. Homework: Basic fact practice on a regular basis will help your student be successful in all areas of math. Encourage them to read at least 20 minutes a day. You can ask them comprehension questions about what they are reading. *What was the main idea? *Who were the main characters? *Summarize what you read.

Physical Education: Happy New Year!!!

Are you going to make a new year's resolution to exercise more or eat better? Make a small change in your diet or exercise habits and it will make a big difference. Hopefully 2017 will be a happy and healthy year for your entire family. January we will have the bowling unit come to PE class. We will be bowling for 2 weeks in the gym. This is a traveling set of equipment that uses carpet bowling lanes. The balls are made out of rubber and we will have plastic pins. This is a good way to bowl but not have to go to the real bowling alley. Maybe after your students practice here at Meadows you can take a family trip to the bowling alley.

Music: Primary grades have been learning winter songs and also learning about the different pieces in the Nutcracker ballet. Third grade students are finishing the month by ending a unit on the Classical Era, learning about composers such as Beethoven and Mozart. Fourth grade students have learned new instruments (recorder and ukulele, depending on their teacher), and fourth and fifth grade students have studied musicals and audience etiquette. Our home teaching tip for the month is just one word: GENTLE. Whether singing, playing recorder, or drumming on pots and pans, students often like to be as loud as possible. We consistently remind our students to be gentle at school, which in turn produces a more appropriate volume. Please help us by using this word at home. Example: "I love the gentle voice you used to sing."

Stuco: Student Council is fundraising to buy new learning supplies for each classroom! This would include a class set of

headphones, art supplies, cleaning materials, and various other things! Keep an eye out in the halls for the different fundraisers we will be doing to raise money for this project! This month Student Council will also begin greeting students at the front doors before morning announcements. STUCO members make sure you check your morning announcements schedule to know when it is your

A note from the School Nurse…. Head Lice—unfortunately, head lice is a part of school. The best way to treat lice is to purchase and apply an over the counter or pre-scribed anti-parasitic (lice removal) product. Follow the labeled directions. You must also comb out and remove all nits (lice eggs). Washing all bedding, clothing, car seats and cloth and treating all other fabric that has been exposed to any lice must be treated as well. Once you think all of the live lice are dead, a parent or guardian has to accompany the child to school for the nurse to check. If there are any live lice remaining, the child must return home for additional treatments. 

Reading

SAVE THE DATE! January 26 from 5:30 - 6:30 Meadows is having Reading Night!

Math Intervention: Happy

New Year! Did you know that every snowflake is unique because not one is alike? Take this opportunity to discuss geometry with your child. Geometry is all around us! Geometry is shapes, solid figures, symmetry, line segments, and patterns.

During December students are talking about the theme “Throw Kindness Around Like Confetti.” Kindergarten and 1st grade students were reading books about friendship. We also learned about the singer Emily Arrow. Emily used to be a music teacher, but spends her time writing songs about books. We have listened to several of her songs after reading the books. 2nd grade students are being introduced to a variety of age appropriate series and/or authors. New authors introduced this month include Marjorie Sharmat (Nate the Great and Olivia Sharp series), Suzy Kline (Horrible Harry), and Jeff Brown (Flat Stanley). 3rd grade students are learning how to use the app Seesaw to tell why they selected the books they checked out. 4th grade students are learning to do searches in the Destiny online card catalog. They are working on author searches. All the classes participated in an author visit with Liesl Shurtliff, author of Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin on December 6th. A grant secured from Azura Credit Union allowed me to purchase a copy of Rump for every 4th grader at Meadows. We really enjoyed our time talking with Ms. Shurtliff 5th grade students have learned about the genre of historical fiction, and we have read some historical fiction picture books The library has even been a busy place after school. Our Mock Newbery book club has been meeting, discussing books, giving book talks and watching book trailers, and even Skyping with one of the authors. The award winner will be announced in January, so we are trying to read as many of the books as we can before then. Some of the most popular books from the book club so far: The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown * Gertie’s Leap to Greatness, by Kate Beasley * Raymie Nightengale, by Kate DiCamillo * Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story, by Nora Raleigh Baskin * Ghost, by Jason Reynolds * Weekends with Max and His Dad, by Linda Urban

orner

Counselor’s In the month of January, we will be diving into the diverse world that we have here at Meadows Elementary. By doing so, our students can develop an understanding of the perspective of other children from a different background then their own, as well as learn to function in a multicultural and multi-ethnic environment.

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President: Hannah Schumacher

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Vice President: Sabrina Womach

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Treasurer: Serah Weichert

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Secretary: Lisa Chappell

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Volunteer Coordinator: JennyFitgerald

Please turn in box tops

Next Meeting: Tuesday, Jan. 31st at 6:00

PICK UP LANE EXPECTATIONS: The PICK UP lane is the immediate lane next to the curbside north of the building. ALL OTHER LANES ARE FOR THROUGH TRAFFIC ONLY. VIOLATORS CAN BE TICKETED BY TOPEKA POLICE DEPT. Vehicles should not be left unattended so we can keep traffic moving smoothly.

Band & Orchestra: Greetings from Band and Orchestra! Students are continuing

to learn more notes and rhythms on their instruments. Please continue to encourage your student to play their instrument at home. Practice should be fun for students. Listen to the students perform a mini "concert" for you and your family. Make sure that your student has the items that they need to be successful in band and orchestra. ELL: In kindergarten, we will be focusing on learning to read 3-letter words. These words have a consonant, a vowel, and a consonant (vowels are A, E, I, O, U; consonants are all the others). You can practice these words with your child at home by saying a word and having your child write it (examples: dog, hat, bug). You can also write two copies of the same word on note cards or scraps of paper. Then you can play Memory with your child (lay out cards face down; pick up two and if they match, you keep them). Make sure your child reads the two words out loud to see if they match. In first grade, we will be focusing on becoming more fluent with reading “sneaky E” words. These are 4-letter words where they follow the pattern of consonant-vowel-consonant-letter e. The vowel will say the name of the letter (the long vowel sound). You can practice by playing Go Fish. Write two copies of the same word on note cards. Give each player 5-7 cards. When it is your turn, ask, “Do you have ______?” (and ask for a word that is a sneaky E word) If the other player has the card, they have to give you the card. If the other player does not have the card, he or she will say, “Go fish!” Then you must pick up the top card on the draw pile. The winner is the player who has the most cards or matches once all cards have been matched up and no one has any cards left to hold. In second grade will will be focusing on becoming more fluent with reading many different kinds of words we’ve reviewed or learned this year - CVC words, sneaky E words, words with blends (two letters at the beginning or end of a word that make a distinct sound), and vowel team words (words that have two vowels sitting next to each other in words). You can play Go Fish or Memory by writing down a mixture of the different types of words on note cards. Ms. Wissman’s English Language Learners in grades 3-5 are working hard to improve their reading skills. Not only are they improving their reading fluency (to read like we speak), but identifying the main idea and details, getting the meaning of unknown words, and making inferences. Being able to answer higher level thinking questions is evidence of solid comprehension, and the goal for each ELL student.

How do I find out what’s going on at Meadows? Facebook: Meadows Elementary School Website: http://meadows.topekapublicschools.net

The Topeka Public Schools, Unified School District No. 501 is committed to affirmative action and equal opportunity. No person shall, on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin or ancestry be denied lawful access to any appropriate educational service, program or activity provided by the school district. The Title VI and Title IX compliance coordinator is the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching/Learning/Administration. The Section 504/Title II compliance coordinator is the Coordinator of College and Career Ready Services. For employment, the EEO/AA officer is the General Director of Human Resources. All compliance coordinators may be contacted at 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294, (785) 295-3000. The clerk of the Board of Education has been designated to receive and redirect or handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies, regulations and procedures. The clerk may be contacted by calling (785) 295-3045 or by writing to 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294.