Kensington Parkwood Elementary School & PTA newsletter • January 2015

www.kppta.org

Key dates

KP Eaglenews A note from the Principal Dear KP Families:

JAN. 5 First day back to school JAN. 16 2nd marking period ends

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a relaxing winter break and enjoyed time with family and friends. We look forward to a fun and exciting 2015. Please make sure to stop by the lost and found by Friday, January 9th as we will pack up the items on Monday, January 12th to donate. There will be exciting updates about PBIS, Arts Integration, and school events so make sure to read for updates in our newsletters. I hope to see many of you during 2015 as you visit and volunteer at KP.

JAN. 19 No school, Martin Luther King Day

All the best, Barbara Liess

JAN. 20 No school, Professional Day FEB. 3 PTA Meeting featuring final plans for KP expansion, 7:30 PM in the Media Center FEB. 13 Valentine’s Day Parties, 2:30 PM

A note from the PTA President Dear KP Families, I would like to welcome you all back from winter break and begin by wishing you a very happy new year. We ended 2014 on a high note having met our Eagle Fund goal thanks to the generous contributions from our parent community as well as the hard work of our fabulous chairs, Kerry Pratt and Ann Lichter. We enjoyed PTA events and activities, such as the Back to School Picnic, Dads and Donuts, Bingo Night, the Scholastic Book Fair, and Holiday Bazaar. These events are a success because of our dedicated parent volunteers, and 2015 has many more fun times in store for us. First and foremost though, I urge all of you to attend our February 3rd PTA meeting, where the final plans and sketches for the KP expansion will be presented. Much of the input and recommendations that were received from both teachers and parents at previous meetings have been incorporated, and I for one am anxious to see what the new KP will look like (since I will still be here in 2027!!). Second, it is around this time of year that we begin PTA planning for the next school year. It is an incredible opportunity to become more involved and have an important say in your child's education and environment. I urge you to consider a position on the board or as a chair. More information regarding available positions will be forthcoming in the next two months. But in the meantime, please contact me if you are interested.  Warmly, Dafna Silberfeld

1

Physical Education Grades K-2 In the primary grades, we will be working on the concepts of throwing and catching, relationships with objects, relationships with body parts, and the effects of exercise on the body. Activities will include throwing and catching with various objects, overhand and underhand throwing games, and aerobic exercises. Grades 3-5 In the upper grades, we will be working on the concepts of striking with body parts to a partner, and effort and improvement, and goal setting. Activities will include individual and team volleyball skills, fitness challenges, and strength activities.

January Testing With the beginning of the New Year comes a new cycle of district-mandated testing that will take place across the grades at Kensington Parkwood. All students will participate in a grade-level Measurement of Academic Progress Assessment. Students in grades kindergarten through 2nd will take the Measure of Academic Progress in Math (MAP-P). Students in grades 3rd through 5th will take both the Measurement of Academic Progress in Reading (MAP-R) and in Math (MAP-M). The assessment window extends from January 5th through February 27th. For the first time, students in 3rd and 5th grade will be able to take this assessment using their Chrome Books. Also during the month of January, students in grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade will participate in m-Class, the Montgomery County Public Schools Primary Reading Assessment. This is a teacher administered test to determine the student’s current reading performance level. Access for ELLs, the Maryland state English Language Learners’ assessment will take place from January 12th through February 13th. Any ELL student who has not yet demonstrated proficiency with participate in Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing tasks. Some of these tasks are administered individually and some in small groups by age and proficiency level. Kensington Parkwood was also selected this year to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). A random selection of 4th graders (approximately 100) will participate in this assessment, which will take about 2 hours on February 3rd. For more information about this assessment, please see: http://nationsreportcard.gov/parents.asp

In the Art Room All students will study and analyze the work of Gustav Klimt. He is known for the amazing patterns in his artwork. He was influenced by Venetian mosaics. Given this new knowledge, each grade will use the inspiration in their artwork. Kindergartners: Will create self-portrait puppets that incorporate multiple patterns in their clothing. First Graders: Will create paper sculptures that contain multiple patterns. Second Graders: Will create patterned slab relief sculptures. Third Graders: Will create self-portraits that contain patterned backgrounds. Fourth Graders: Will create patterned clay boxes. Fifth Graders: Will create self-portraits that contain patterned clothing.

2

PTA Thanks A huge thank you to Susan VanHorn and Pam Luskin for organizing the amazing Holiday Bazaar and White Elephant sale. Thank you also to all of the volunteers who helped with sales, set-up, clean-up and so much more! Thanks also are extended to Ms. Randall and Ms. Moraca for coordinating a great winter concert. 

Kudos to KP Jr. Chorus & KP Singers Our very own KP Jr. Chorus and KP Singers performed at the National Christmas Tree lighting on December 20th! Congratulations to all of the students who participated in this historic event!

Arts Integration Explores Radio Drama In November and December, the third grade worked with artist in residence, Lenore Blank Kelner, to learn about the history of radio in preparation to record radio drama podcasts. Along the way, students listened to a radio show and identified elements such as word choice, music, and sound effects that made the radio drama successful. The discussions included explorations of ways to use their bodies and voices to show different types of characters and how to convey different types of emotions. Groups were formed and scripts were assigned. Over the course of several weeks and several sessions with the artist in residence, groups took on the body of the characters, changed the tone and volume of their voices to portray that character, developed original sound effects, chose a musical score to introduce and exit their piece, wrote an original title, and practiced, practiced, practiced! This process incorporated reading objectives (including visualizing, comparing and contrasting, analyzing, reading with purpose, fluency, and accurate expression, and working diligently over time) and drama objectives (including using imagination, mind, voice, and body to create a character, and cooperating and concentrating in order to work as a respectful team and listen intently). The third grade will be hosting a radio drama night for third grade students and parents on Wednesday, February 18th from 7 -8 pm, and the shows will be released on the KP website the following day.

Eagle Fund Update The Eagle has landed!  The Eagle Fund exceeded its goal of raising $25,000, and we can’t thank you enough!  In 2015, we will look to spend more in arts integration, teacher mini-grants, technology, and academic enrichment.  A reminder to Eagle Fund contributors to e-mail [email protected], if you would like a letter for tax purposes regarding your donation.  

3

Grade & Team Information Social Studies: In January, we will identify ways people modify the environment to meet their needs and wants. We will also identify situations where people make helpful or harmful choices and the reasons for making each choice.

Kindergarten Happy New Year! We are thrilled to begin a new year of engaging experiences and learning. We are working on the following objectives: Reading: Cuddle up with a good book in the New Year with your child!  Before reading have your child practice his/her intellectual risk taking by predicting what the story could be about by hearing the title and observing the picture on the front cover.  While reading, discuss the relationship between the illustrations and the words.   After reading, have him/her Identify the main topic and retell key details of the story.  Continue to practice finding, reading, and writing the Kindergarten Word Wall Words.  We have posted the list on the KP website under classrooms and Kindergarten.

First Grade First grade continues to be exciting! Reading: As the second quarter comes to a close and the third quarter begins, we will continue to focus on informational texts.  Ask and answering questions and retelling texts to determine key details, and identifying the main idea will become a more independent skill.  We will also be making connections to science topics such as magnets through vocabulary.  Writing: We will continue to work on our narrative pieces to make sure there is a beginning, middle, and end.  This quarter we focused on writing about a problem we had and how we solved our problem.  Quarter three will begin with informative writing.

Writing: In writing kindergartners are learning how to write an informative/explanatory text about a topic. The students are doing research on a topic and are asking and answering questions to learn more about the topic. The students will then create a book on their topic. The students are also learning about and practicing their understanding of short vowel sounds. Kindergarten students will also begin to write about the beginning, middle and end part of events.

Math: At the end of the second quarter, we will focus on adding three numbers.  We will use what we know about doubles, doubles +1, and making ten facts to help us choose which two numbers to add together first.  As quarter three starts, we will develop an understanding of the meaning and processes of measurement. We will use nonstandard units to measure lengths of objects and order three objects by length.

Math: In January, we will count by tens to 100, apply understandings of counting and cardinality to combine and compare quantities, model addition and subtraction word problems and apply counting strategies to solve, decompose a quantity into two parts in more than one way, and count across decade numbers to 50 Identify the number needed to make 5 in order to build fluency within 5.

Science: We will end the second quarter learning about magnets and the effect they have on a variety of objects.  We will begin quarter three learning about materials that make up natural features of Earth’s surface. Social Studies: We will be finishing up our past and present unit.  We will begin our third quarter study of maps by learning the names of the continents and the oceans.

Science: To end quarter 2 in science, we will be continuing to study the life cycles of various animals and insects. We will be studying the life cycle of mealworms by close observation and exploration. We will learn the sequence and vocabulary connected to the life cycle of mealworms. 4

Grade & Team Information, continued We so thoroughly enjoyed December’s Wax Museum book reports and thank everyone who helped their child prepare, and everyone who was able to attend.  Looking ahead, our January/ February book report will be in response to a biography text and will ask students to create a “larger than life” portrait of an important person.  If you’d like to get a head start, please help your child choose a biography and start reading!

Second Grade Welcome back.  We hope you all had a wonderful winter break.  We are almost half-way through the year.  It is hard to believe.  We have been working really hard, and have so much more to do. In Social Studies, we compared the culture of Wampanoags and Pilgrims.  We studied their shelter, food, beliefs, and activities.  We looked at how the interactions among Wampanoags and Pilgrims helped to pass on traditions that are still present today.  Our field trip to Woodlawn Manor brought this information alive!

We would like to continue to encourage students to practice typing.  Typing Club is an application they can access at home that tracks students’ progress through specific and explicit lessons.  Typing a self-generated story is also a great way to increase typing fluency.  Coming up this quarter in writing, we will be developing our research skills to research and compare two different types of structures and create a Google Slides presentation.

Science: Students investigated and created objects made of parts. In addition to the science kit materials (e.g. interlocking fish), we used found materials to design and create musical instruments. We have been studying Cinderella stories in reading.  We read various versions and compared them.  We asked who, what, when, where and why questions as well.  In addition, we read fables and learned about how characters respond to challenges and the cause and effects that happen.

Many of you may be familiar with Moby Max as a Math tool that can be accessed both at home and school.  We would like to remind parents that Moby Max is accessible with your child’s student ID number and the password “mobymax”.  We would also like to let you know there are reading experiences and opportunities available through the same tool.  We are encouraging students to do more reading directly on Chromebooks, laptops, computers, etc. in order to build their technology capacity in many ways.

In writing, students have worked hard to complete their state research projects. Students began by completing online and print research on a state. They then took what they had learned and turned it into a multi-paragraph informative writing piece. Students took this writing through the complete writing process, starting from a rough draft, then editing their writing and producing a final draft.

Finally we would like to thank everyone for their encouragement, help, and support while we rehearsed for our Radio Drama recordings!  We look forward to inviting third grade families to a Radio Drama Night to be held at KP the evening of Wednesday, February 18th from 7 – 8 pm.  You will have the opportunity to hear from Lenore Blank Kelner, our fantastic artist in residence, and hear the Radio Drama shows recorded by your child and his or her classmates.  All shows will then be available on KP’s website for all to enjoy!

In math, students worked on subtraction.  They learned to subtract two digit numbers using a thinking line and base 10 blocks.  We also worked on word problems.  PLEASE, have your kids practice math facts every night.  It is apparent that many of the kids are still struggling with these.  They should know their facts to 20. 

Third Grade Welcome back!  We hope everyone enjoyed their Winter Break and is ready to start the second half of the school year! 5

Grade & Team Information, continued students will also begin recorders in late January and start reading absolute pitch on the musical staff. 4th graders are learning song and dances from historical periods and world cultures. 4th and 5th graders are beginning to take on the task of musical dictation, writing down what they hear. They will both begin by writing out rhythm patterns they hear and move to pitch patterns. 5th graders are also beginning to learn about different key signatures.

Fourth Grade In fourth grade, we are continuing to work on our economics inquiry writing project.  The students have researched the Town of Kensington and are in the process of proposing a business that would be a necessary addition to the community.  In Social Studies, we have started to talk about explorers and the various perspectives associated with them.  In reading, we will continue reading informational text and identifying informational text features. In math, students are using the area model and regular algorithm to solve division problems and division word problems. They are also learning different types of measurements in the metric and customary systems and will be able to convert larger measurements into their smaller components. In science, students are continuing work on the ecosystems, studying the effects of pollution on our environment. They will also study the effects of pollution on the Chesapeake Bay area and its surrounding areas.

KP Singers will begin their spring concert repertoire starting in January. Any student interested in joining singers may do so this month!! KP Players have their first after-school rehearsal on January 6th from 3:30-5:00 pm in the music room. Any 3rd grade student interested in participating should come to this first rehearsal!

Math Card Games “Math Cards” are just regular playing cards that you probably have at home or can pick up at the store. It is a great use of that almost complete deck of cards that you might otherwise throw away. Depending on the level of your child or the game, you can either remove the face cards or assign them a point value of 11, 12 and 13. This is a fantastic way to build fluency with basic facts. Addition War: Each player turns over one card. The first person to correctly give the sum of the two cards wins both cards. Challenge: Use 3 or 4 cards. Subtraction War: Each player turns over one card and you always subtract the smaller number from the larger number. Multiplication War: Each player turns over one card and the first student to correctly identify the product wins both cards. Challenge: Use 3 or 4 cards. Multi-digit War: Each player turns over two, three or four cards depending on the level. The player who creates the highest or lowest (depending on the goal) number wins all cards. Fraction War: Players turn up two digit cards and make a fraction using the smaller card as the numerator. Greatest fraction wins. Challenge: Build the largest fraction you can and explain.

Fifth Grade During the month of January, fifth grade math students will use various strategies to multiply whole numbers by fractions and fractions by fractions.  They will also solve real world math problems involving fractions and mixed numbers, by using visual fraction models.   Multi-digit multiplication of whole numbers will be revisited at the end of the quarter. In reading, fifth graders will continue to focus on reading and analyzing informational text.  They will compare text structure, inferring and identifying main ideas and details.  Students will also create a multi-media presentation to accompany their inquiry projects. 

Music In Kindergarten, students are now reading and writing musical opposites using pictorial representations. 1st grade students are reading ta, ti-ti and rest along with the solfege pitches so and mi on a five line staff. 2nd grade students are reading the pitches do, mi, so and la on a 5 line staff and reading ta, ti-ti, rest, and ta-a. 3rd grade students are now reading all of the solfege scale and will begin  using dotted rhythms. These

6

Special Needs & Learning Differences We had a great turn out to our December meet and greet!  We will be meeting again in February; more information to come in the next few weeks.

Travel the World at KP’s International Night Friday February 13th, 2015 from 7-9 pm Country Representatives Needed Once again, we are beginning to plan for another fun-filled and exciting International Night at Kensington Parkwood Elementary.  This year we will be exploring “an important holiday, festival, or event” on our journey. We are in need of representatives from around the world to represent their country. Families are encouraged to represent a country if: • You have visited a country and loved it- and want to share that love and interest with the KP community • You are an immigrant or descendant of immigrants from a country and want to share your heritage!

KP wins when you shop on Amazon Calling all Amazon shopping fans! Did you know you can support KP just by doing your online shopping for the holidays?  All you have to do is register with Amazon Smile and start your Amazon shopping there.  Amazon will donate a percentage of anything you buy any time of year to KP. To get started, go to smile.amazon.com, sign in with your existing Amazon account and search for Kensington Parkwood as your charity of choice.   

• You are married to someone from another country and want to share your spouses’ heritage! It is easy to show your interest, knowledge and love for the country of your choice. You can set up a display for your country with games, clothing/fabric, food, pictures, products, writing, etc., anything that you can easily do and feel comfortable with. And if you can represent an important festivity, holiday or event of your country for this year’s theme, it would be greatly appreciated. You can present it however you may want, it can be elaborate or something fairly simple- the choice is all yours! Over the past years, we have had great success with themes such as “Celebration around the world,” “Music around the world,” ”Dancing around the world,” taking a "submarine around the world" and taking a "balloon ride around the world.” To make the event a success, we need your help and participation. The International night committee is looking forward to hearing from you! It is NOT too early to send us an email. Roshanak Semnani ([email protected]) and Lea Hackmann ([email protected]) will be involved in making this year’s event a success. You are also more than welcome to help with organizing, set up and clean up for the event if you don’t want to represent a country. Any help is appreciated. International Night at KP is always fun for the kids and the parents- we learn, we eat and we sing and dance- Participate, come and enjoy in the fun. This year, we will also have a DJ to assist us with this multicultural celebration. Thanks! The International night organizers: Roshanak Semnani and Lea Hackmann

7