Kindergarten

A month into Kindergarten, and we are at full speed ahead! Learning is the name of the game!

We have learned the words: I, like, the, and. In October, we will be working on our new words: see, we, to, a. We have worked on letters: “Mm” and “Ss”. Now we will be working on letters: “Aa, Tt, Cc, Pp.”  In Math we have been counting, learning, writing, and representing the numbers 0,1,2,3,4,5.

We have done a unit on safety and learning about crossing the street safely and using the traffic light and what a stop sign means. We have also learned to cough into our elbow, so we don’t spread germs to our friends. We have also learned about our community and helpers in our community.

The teachers want to say a big “Thank You!” to parents who came to our classroom presentations on King Night. It was wonderful to have you and be able to share our classroom goals with you.

Continue to read with your child every day.

Your Kindergarten Team,
Mrs. Andrews, Ms. Bales & Mrs. Edwards

First Grade

We had an exciting week in first grade here at King.  We had a great time on our field trip to Jester Park.  The students learned about animals and their habitats.  Students were able to see elk, buffalo and even pelicans on their migration south.   Students also caught many I interesting bugs on their bug hunt. Please ask your child about the trip. Ask them if they remember how seeds from trees travel.

This week in math we have started working on subtraction. At home you can ask your child questions like, “If I gave you three hotdogs but the dog ate one. How many would be left?”

This week in reading we are working on learning characters and setting in out books and we are learning words with the short U sound such as “bug”.  We are also working on adding details to the stories we write.

Thank you so much for sharing your amazing kids with us.  We are very lucky to have them here at King.

Your First Grade Team,
Mrs. Schwertley, Mrs. Mutapcic, Ms. Campero

Second Grade

Second grade just wrapped up the first units in reading and math!

Going forward we will start working with three-digit numbers in math. Second graders will be learning how to count tens and make them into hundreds. In addition, they will be learning different ways to write a three-digit number. In health, we are learning about ways to keep our bodies healthy. One great way is to get plenty of sleep!

Social studies has been fun because students are doing fun activities to represent communities that they are a part of. Reading is going very well for second grade. Our students are working on their reading comprehension and fluency. They are becoming great readers! Second grade are also becoming amazing writers! Students have now recognized what makes a complete paragraph.

Your Second Grade Team,
Mrs. Spreitzer, Mrs. Taylor & Mr. Sanford

Third Grade

Third grade is starting to get settled into our new routine.  We are looking forward to a very successful year.  To help us get started on the right foot we are working on walking in the hallways and practicing what a level 1,2 and 0 voice is. Third grade is a year of lots of changes and building independence. One of the new things is our planners. Each day you will find our homework for the day and will have anything special going to happen in them. Please look for these every day. The blue folders will be coming home on Tuesdays and Thursdays for now. Look for important information and paychecks in them.

We are just beginning multiplication in math, we are very excited. Things that will help us be successful are practicing our basic addition and subtraction facts. Working on our doubles addition and how many more to make ten are things we should know quick as a snap.  For reading we are just finishing up our first unit.  We are looking forward to seeing our scores.  The best thing we can do to help our reading is to read every day and be read to. Thank you all for supporting your third graders!! As a team we see our students soaring to greatness!!!

Your Third Grade Team,
Ms. Cousins, Miss Derr, Ms. MaGrath

Fourth Grade

Math—we recently finished our chapter 1 test over place value and multi-digit addition and subtraction. We are nearing the end of Chapter 2, and the 4^th graders have been working really hard on their multiplication and understanding some tough story problems! We’ve also gotten a new addition to our classroom, our gerbils!  Their names are Sunflower and Snowball. Be looking for pictures in our next newsletter!

Reading— It has been an exciting beginning to the school year in reading in 4^th grade.  We have completed Unit #1.  In Unit #1, we learned about story structure, how to summarize, theme, author’s purpose, cause and effect, and author’s point of view.  We will be starting Unit #2.  For the next 6 weeks, we will be learning about compare and contrast, fact and opinion, and different kinds of questions.  Always remember to keep reading at home.

Social Studies— In Social Studies, we started the school year by learning about the seven continents and the four oceans of the world. Since then we have started learning about the Midwest region of the United States and its importance to us.

Writing— In writing, we have been focusing on our personal fictional narratives and the parts of a story.

Your Fourth Grade Team,
Mrs. Studer, Miss Jenn, Miss Holub

Fifth Grade

5^th graders are working hard in all areas and exhibiting good behavior as well!

Students are staying busy in math by working through the Common Core standards for our first quarter.  First quarter assessment will cover chapters 1 & 2.  Students are focusing on place value and multiplication and division of whole numbers.  Students need to be able to complete multiplication using the standard algorithm.  As usual, the focus of the year will be problem solving and having students really think deeply about math.  In addition to math, students are also studying the Solar System in Science.

In reading we are wrapping up Unit 1 which focused on story elements, comparing and contrasting characters, and finding the theme or themes of a story. We will be taking the Unit 1 assessment on Friday, October 3rd. In Unit 2 we will be focusing on cause/effect relationships, drawing conclusions, and finding the main idea of a text. The overlying theme for Unit 2 is respecting nature.

In writing, students are finishing their final drafts of fairy tales or personal memoirs. Next, students will be writing personal narratives and nonfiction books about animals.

Your Fifth Grade Team,
Mrs. Fry & Ms. Vandagriff

Physical Education

Students in grades 1-5 have been completing their fitness tests for the fall. Students have already completed their flexibility tests, and the curl-up test. They are currently testing the PACER (running) test, and are working extremely hard! We still have to complete the push-up tests and record students’ height and weight to figure their BMI. It is important for students to take these fitness tests for a couple of reasons. One, it shows them areas where they excel in fitness, as well as areas that still need improvement; and two, the data taken helps our district apply for different grants and look at physical education practices for the entire district. We will do these tests again later this school year around March/April.

Kindergarten students have been getting oriented to the gym. We are working on how to move in the gym by practice personal and general space, pathways, locomotor skills, shapes, levels and balance. We continue these ideas through October before we start working on specific skills and tasks. Our kindergartners have been quick learners so far!
Remember, you can always follow along with some of the things happing in the gym on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kingphysed) or Twitter (@kingphysed).

Your PE Teacher,
Mrs. Frohwein

Art

In art we are working on a variety of things.  5^th grade is working on a pop art piece inspired by Andy Warhol using key elements of repetition, emphasis as well as complimentary colors. 4^th grade is working on self-portraits inspired by the artist Frida Kahlo, they are using proportion and incorporating a background that tells a story about who they are and what they like. 3^rd grade is working on foodscapes in the style of Carl Warne. We are studying perspective, which is how to make something look like it is close or far away, we are using size, layout, and value to create our perspective. 2^nd grade is working on an awesome hand piece that shows a focal point, repeating shapes, and uses warm and cool colors. 1^st grade is making their very own wild things, we are studying how to outline something and how to create texture in our art work. Kindergarten is working on drawing all of their basic shapes and then using their shapes to create their very own robot.

Your Art Teacher,
Miss Harder

Music

Library

Box Tops
Please turn in last month’s box top collection sheets. October collection sheets will come home the first week of the month. Keep Calm! Clip On!

Coin Challenge
Oct. 20^th -23^rd we will have a school wide LOOSE CHANGE challenge. This is to help raise money for new classroom library books. If you have loose coins hiding under couch cushions, floor mats, in pants pockets or in the car put them to use by giving students more access to books they’ll want to read. The class that wins gets a prize

Book Fair
Oct. 27^th -31^st 7:30-3:30

 Your Librarian,
Mrs. Phanfil

Counseling

This year, we are using PATHS materials in every classroom.  PATHS stands for Promoting Alternative THinking and focuses on problem solving skills.  In Kindergarten, students have been learning to identify basic feelings and learning that all feelings are ok.  In first and second grades, students have been learning how to be good listeners and how to work well with others.  Third, fourth and fifth grade students have been working on problem solving skills and how to work collaboratively as a group.

I am looking forward to using these skills throughout the school year to help our students feel happy, safe and successful.

Your School Counselor,
Mrs. Mowery