The Pakachoag Press THANK YOU!! BOX TOPS. February 2018 Newsletter. Upcoming Events February 1 3:30 March 1 3:30 School Council Meeting

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1 February 2018 Newsletter The Pakachoag Press 110 Pakachoag Street, Auburn, MA Dear Families, Thank you to all the special guests that joined us for our Classroom Showcases! We hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse into a day in the life of a PAK student. It is hard to believe that we are more than half way through the school year and will be celebrating the 100 th day of school very soon! Winter benchmark assessments are complete, and you will be receiving those results very soon. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child s teacher. As always, please don t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns. Yours in Education, Jennifer A. Stanick, M. Ed. THANK YOU!! On behalf of the entire staff of Pakachoag Elementary School, I would like to thank Webster First Federal Credit Union for their generous donations to our school! Thank you!! BOX TOPS Thank you for your help and support sending in Box Tops. March 1 st is the Spring deadline. Upcoming Events February 1 3:30 March 1 3:30 School Council Meeting February 7 th 3:00-7:00 AHS Preschool & Kindergarten Registration February 9 th (Snow Date 2/16) 7:30-8:25 AM RORI Breakfast with Dad February 19 th, 20 th & 21 st No School February 26 th 6:30-8:30 pm SEPAC Meeting Sports Opportunities-School Day Games/Unified Sports February 28 th Rare Disease Day Wear Denim to Show Support March 2 nd PAK Pride T-Shirt Day March 9 th 1 st Grade Community Celebration 2:00 pm March 12 th Staff Professional Dev. Day No School for Students April 9 th Kindergarten Screening No School for Current Kindergarten Students Page 1 of 7

2 Second Grade News In reading, the second grade students are wrapping up Unit 3 and are about to begin Unit 4: Our Life/Our World. During this unit, the students will focus on topics such as how the earth changes, how we understand nature, and how kids around the world are different. Some of the comprehension skills we will practice are compare and contrast and cause and effect. In Go Math, we are beginning Chapter 6: 3-Digit Addition and Subtraction. The students will be using strategies that are familiar to them from adding and subtracting 2-digit numbers. The students will be using strategies such as drawing a picture and regrouping. They will also continue to work on solving word problems in which they have to add or subtract. It is very important to read these carefully and figure out what the question is asking before solving. In writing, the students are learning how to write a book review. This will include their opinion of the book and a brief summary. Our Valentine's Day celebrations will be held on Wednesday, February 14. We look forward to a wonderful day. Please contact your child's teacher if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support, The Grade Two Team Fun in First Grade one students are learning about Numbers and Operations in Base Ten. This unit focuses on counting numbers to 120, understanding place value, including grouping in tens and ones. Please take a minute to review your child s Chapter 5 test scores on Think Central. In Social Studies we are learning our Country s symbols. We learned facts and information about The White House, The Statue of Liberty, The Bald Eagle, and The American Flag to name a few. We are approaching one of our favorite units in Science, the three states of matter. The children will learn about solids, liquids, and gases through hands on experiments done in the classroom. In Literacy, we have completed three out of six units. Unit 4 focuses on Animals Everywhere. They will learn about animal features, how they work together, how they survive in nature, and how people work with animals. In addition, the next selections will help children to develop their oral language and reading fluency skills. They will practice phrasing and reading with expression. Read aloud and talk about it! Continue to read a favorite book with your child. Talk about where the story takes place, who the characters are, and the problem and solution. At times even stop and ask what do they think will happen next. Make sure the books are interesting. The more engaged your child is, the more information you will receive. You might want to ask your child how else this story might have ended as we are working on developing higher level thinking skills. Thank you, The First Grade Team Page 2 of 7

3 Kindergarten News Hello Kindergarten Families! We are more than half-way through the school year! WOW! We are so proud of the progress students continue to make across the curriculum! In our Reading Wonders program, we are focusing on: The four seasons and different weather patterns Letters: Mm, Aa, Ss, Pp, Tt, Ii, Nn, Cc, Oo, Dd, Hh, Ee, Ff, Rr, Bb, Ll, Kk High frequency words: I, can, the, we, see, a, like, to, and, go, you, do, my, are, he, with, is, little, she, was Students are continuing to work on identifying the characters, setting, events, and details of stories in sequence Students are continuing to learn how to tap out and blend the sounds in new words Students are beginning to work on isolating the beginning, middle, and ending sounds in words Writing first and last names with appropriate capitalization In GO Math!, we are focusing on: Counting by 1 s to 100 Counting by 10 s to 100 Addition using manipulatives Numbers Please continue to: Practice lunch codes with your child Remind your child how he/she gets home from school each day, especially if it varies from day to day Send your child in with one small snack and a water bottle every day Keep a labeled spare change of clothes in your child s backpack Keep toys at home so that they don t get lost or broken Please send your child dressed appropriately for the winter weather We look forward to another great month of learning and fun at PAK! The Kindergarten Team Page 3 of 7

4 From the desk of Mrs. Deyoe Rare Disease Day Rare Disease Day takes place on the last day of February each year. The purpose of Rare Disease Day is to raise awareness amongst the general public about rare diseases and their impact on patients' lives. It is important to make people aware of rare diseases because 1 in 20 people will live with a rare disease at some point in their life. Those numbers indicate that one child from every classroom is living with or will be afflicted by a rare disease at some point in their life. Because diagnosis of rare diseases typically takes years and research lacks among rare diseases, there is no cure for the majority of these diseases, and many go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Rare Disease Day increases knowledge among the general population and encourages researchers and decision makers to address the needs of those living with rare diseases. The first Rare Disease Day was celebrated in 2008 on February 29th, a rare date that happens only once every four years. Ever since then, Rare Disease Day has taken place on the last day of February, a month known for having a rare number of days. Pakachoag will be coming together to recognize those living with rare diseases on Wednesday, February 28th. Every student and staff member will be given a denim ribbon to wear all day and will be encouraged to wear denim to show their support for people living with rare diseases. The staff and students will convene to watch a video about children living with a number of rare diseases. The message of this video is that all kids, despite the diseases they are living with, are more alike than different, and they all just want to have fun. We will follow up in our weekly guidance lessons about ways we can make others living with rare diseases feel like they are supported and included in our school and community. We encourage families to talk to their children about how they can include and make children living with rare diseases feel cared for and loved. To learn more about Rare Disease Day please visit: which is put together by Eurordis and its Council of National Alliances. Thanks in advance for your support! Kristie Deyoe School Counselor Page 4 of 7

5 February Preschool News During the month of February, we are going to be learning about Transportation. We are going to discuss the different ways to travel in the air, on the ground, and through the water, and how various vehicles are alike and different. Our focus letters for this month are K, U, G, and W. In math we will continue with one-to-one correspondence, creating patterns, and measuring using scales and manipulatives. When traveling or running errands with your child, discuss your mode of transportation and the different types of transportation that are available to people (walk, car, bike, bus, etc.). Also, please remember to read with your child, enjoy a nice bedtime story together at night! From the desk of Mrs. LeBreton Technology News The excitement continues in Technology class. We are excited about the keyboarding curriculum we are using called Keyboarding Without Tears. This keyboarding curriculum develops pre-keyboarding skills (target practice, clicking skills, drag/drop skills) as well as digital citizenship, literacy and touch typing. Keyboarding and handwriting are essential to student success with written work, and are essential life-long skills that develop through proper instruction. The key is to teach developmentally, according to what students are ready to master at different levels. The curriculum uses rich and varied activities to teach keyboarding skills along with capitalization and punctuation practice, word and sentence practice, and common keyboarding and computer functions. Lessons include multisensory elements and can be easily connected to other subjects. The children have been practicing this program on the ipads and are enjoying the variety of games used to teach skills. One of the classroom skills that we are emphasizing is the Home Row Fingers. Ask your children about the saying: All Ships Do Float and Just Keep Looking Eyes Open Wink Wink. This is something that they will be saying over and over again to practice finger placement on the keyboards (especially in grades 1 and 2). Stay tuned for more fun and exciting things happening in Technology over the next few months! Page 5 of 7

6 From the Desk of Mrs. Cashman, School Nurse With all the publicity in the news lately regarding the Flu, I wanted to share with you some information, published by the Centers for Disease Control, regarding the illness. What is the flu? Influenza (the flu) is an infection of the nose, throat and lungs caused by influenza viruses that are constantly changing. Flu causes illness, hospital stays and deaths in the United States each year. Flu can be very dangerous for children. Each year about 20,000 children younger than 5 years old are hospitalized from flu complications, like pneumonia. How serious is the flu? Flu illness can vary from mild to severe. Flu can be especially dangerous for young children and children of any age who have certain long term health conditions, including asthma (even mild or controlled), neurological conditions, chronic lung disease, heart disease, blood disorders, endocrine disorders (such as diabetes), and weakened immune systems due to disease or medication. Children with these conditions, and those receiving long-term aspirin therapy, can have more severe illness from the flu. How does the flu spread? Most experts believe that flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people with the flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby. Less often, a person might get the flu by touching something that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, eyes or nose. What are the symptoms of flu? Symptoms of flu can include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea. Some people with flu will not have a fever. How can I protect my child against flu? The first and most important thing to do is to get flu vaccine for your child, yourself, and everyone else in your household every year. Get the vaccine as soon as it is available. Vaccination is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. It s especially important that young children and children with certain health conditions (see at left) get vaccinated. It s very important for parents, grandparents, teachers and caregivers to get vaccinated. Everyone caring for infants less than 6 months (who are too young to be vaccinated) should be vaccinated if possible. What else can I do to protect my child? Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue. Throw the tissue in the trash after use. Stay away from people who are sick. Wash hands often with soap and water. Use an alcohol-based hand rub if soap and water are not available. Contact your healthcare provider if your child gets sick, especially if the child is very young (under 5) or has long-term health conditions. Page 6 of 7

7 IMPORTANT: When can my child go back to school after having the flu? Keep your child home until at least 24 hours after their fever is gone, without using fever- reducing medications, like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil). A fever is defined as F (38 C) or higher. Much more information is available at: After School Questions Asking How was school today? might not get you far. Instead, ask questions like these for a better picture of your child s day: Describe a book you enjoyed today. Tell me what you learned that you d like to know more about. What s the coolest thing that happened? Pretend you re the teacher. How would you describe the day? What made you laugh? What was the most creative thing you did? How were you kind or helpful? How was someone kind or helpful to you? Meeting Dates: TAKODA Auburn PTO February 5 th & March 5 th Co-Presidents: Kristina Nashold pudge0129@hotmail.com Andy Paquette andypaquette1@gmail.com Pakachoag Elementary School Representative: Rebecca Shafton rebeccashafton@yahoo.com Auburn MA PTO auburnmapto@yahoo.com Shared from Home & School Connection, Resources for Educators Page 7 of 7