Noah Wallace Newsletter January 2017

From the Principal’s Desk Dear Noah Wallace Families,

Happy New Year! We once again kicked off the New Year with our fourth annual I CARE Day. This routine not only helps us recommit to our school-wide expectations, but it also helps all members of our community understand their roles in creating and maintaining our positive learning community. These important traditions also provide students with opportunities to reflect on their progress toward showing respectful behavior that supports learning for all students. We began I CARE Day with a short school-wide assembly. Some of our fourth grade ambassadors shared stories about how they have been working to follow our school wide expectations. The assembly was followed by a “field trip” around the school to review the expectations for behavior in the hallways, cafeteria, bathrooms, bus, and at recess. Our fourth grade ambassadors did a great job teaching students at the different stations, taking on important leadership roles in our school. Ask your child about I CARE Day which took place on January 3rd. Warmly,

Noah Wallace School-wide Expectations I CARE for myself I work hard and put forth my best effort I am responsible for my own choices I seek help when I need it I CARE for others

I am a positive role model I use kind language I follow SLANT when others are speaking I respect others’ needs

I CARE for my school

I keep my school clean I take care of our materials

Huge Success for our Wish Upon A Star Holiday Gift Drive To All of our Families, Faculty and Friends of the Noah Wallace School Community Thank you for the support and generosity you have given in putting forth gifts, donations, gift cards and more to families in need. We were able to help eleven families. The care and kindness was overwhelming to many. You have all made the holidays much brighter!

Kindergarten News Mrs. Cutino, Mrs. Gingras, Mrs. MacDermott, Ms. Nelson

This month in Reading Workshop Kindergarteners will:   

Teach themselves and their partners to use all they know to read. Learn about the power of re-reading. Build their reading stamina and read for longer periods of time in school and at home.

This month in Writing Workshop Kindergarteners will:  Write how-to books to teach others something step by step.  Use mentor texts for inspiration when writing and revising how-to books.

This month in Math Kindergarteners will:   

Learn about relative size and positional words. Compare sizes of objects. Describe the spatial position of an object in relation to other objects.

This month in Explorations Kindergarteners will: 

Learn about making safe and healthy choices by taking care of their body, using good hygiene, expressing feelings in appropriate ways, and solving conflicts.

First Grade News Mr. Abraham, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Rodrigues, Mrs. Zygiel

This month in Reading 1st graders will:   

Begin the reading unit “Readers Have Big Jobs to Do,” and take charge of their reading. Learn to monitor their reading and take action when they encounter problems. Learn to develop efficient strategies for word solving, while maintaining comprehension in longer texts.

This month in Writing 1st graders will:   

Learn how to write an opinion piece by judging personal collections. Learn how to write persuasive reviews and book reviews. Use an opinion checklist to set new writing goals.

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This month in Math 1st graders will:

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Continue working on addition and subtraction facts to solve problems that include numbers to 20. Learn how to compare the height and length of objects, measuring with non-standard units.

This month in Science 1st graders will:  

Learn about data analysis and how this relates to the work we will be doing in Science. Learn how data can be collected and compiled into picture graphs or bar graphs. They will also learn to interpret information from graphs.

First graders sharing their best nonfiction writing with reading buddies and their goals with parents through a class blog.

Second Grade News Mrs. Ayers, Ms. Castiglione, Mrs. Cox

This month in Reading 2nd graders will: 

Read fiction stories and talk about the characters’ traits and the author’s intended lesson.

This month in Writing 2nd graders will: 

Write short fiction stories, with a character who is solving a trouble or problem, with some actions that will pull the reader to the edge of their seats, before the solution is revealed at the end.

This month in Mathematics 2nd graders will: 

Gain an understanding of multiplication and division through the use of repeated addition and subtraction.

Try this at home! Skip count forwards and backwards by twos, fives, tens. This month in Science 2nd graders will: 

Begin their study of forces.

Third Grade News Mrs. Budlong, Mrs. Collins, Ms. Dillaway, Mrs. Gilligan

This month in Reading 3rd graders are: Finishing up a unit on mystery stories. Students worked hard to make predictions and solve the mystery using clues from the text like the detectives in their books!  Beginning a new integrated unit called Habitats and Organisms where students will be researching various habitats in small groups. Students will learn about reading nonfiction texts to become experts on a specified topic. Try This at Home! While your child is reading nonfiction at home, ask them questions such as, “What is the text mostly about?”, “What text features help you understand what you are reading?”, “How is this text similar to this other text?”, “Summarize what you just read.”, “Why do think the author included that text feature?” 

This month in Writing Workshop 3rd graders are: 

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Finishing up our Gripping Fiction unit where students wrote page-turning stories. During this unit, students created criteria for a successful gripping story, set goals for their new writing piece, and provided feedback to one another. Beginning our integrated Habitats and Organisms unit by planning, drafting, revising, and editing an informational piece about a specific habitat they are interested in learning more about.

Try this at home! Have your child explain the habitat they are researching. Ask them questions such as, “What sections have you thought about including in your informational piece?”, “How are you organizing your research about your piece?”, “What text features are you including in your piece?”

Third Grade News continued. . . This month in Mathematics 3rd graders are:   

Thinking flexibly by explaining their math thinking in many ways while completing anchor tasks every day! Working on multiplication strategies such as using arrays, area models, skip counting by using number lines, using dot paper, etc. Practicing their multiplication facts by thinking of creative ways to remember facts and teaching others!

Try this at home! Students should be practicing their multiplication facts at home in order to become fluent when completing more complex multiplication problems. Try creating a multiplication game at home where students can practice! Also, try xtramath.com! This is a great website to practice math fact fluency!

Below are pictures of students showing different ways to practice their multiplication facts! Can you spot the array model in the second picture?

Fourth Grade News Ms. Gallo, Mr. O’Donoghue, Ms. Palm, Mr. Williams

How a whale bone was found at the top of a mountain? Fourth grade classes are working on mountain formation and fossil formation explorations. Students are gathering information about mountain and fossil formation to build their understanding to prove a phenomenon. In math, fourth graders have begun learning about fractions. We began our fraction unit by thinking about equivalent fractions and their meaning. Students have been taking risks and challenging themselves to try new and different methods to solve problems. When learning, we are often trying to prove or disprove other’s thinking to practice writing about math. We take time every day to journal about our math learning.

Fourth Grade News continued... Fourth graders worked on creating a Thanksgiving Feast in math. They had to plan a feast with a defined amount of money and work within the parameters of the task. Students applied critical thinking skills to a real life situation by planning the feast.

Students are wrapping up a nonfiction unit of study about natural disasters. One of the primary learning targets from this unit is to synthesize information across texts. Students researched one natural disaster in small groups, and, after creating an informational book, switched topics to build a stronger understanding and build a broader perspective about natural disasters. Students also created posters to display throughout the halls of Noah Wallace to teach others about natural disasters.

P. E. Central Mr. Henne

This month in Physical Education Kindergarteners, and 1st and 2nd graders will:   

Work on hand dribbling skills, as well as some of the more basic basketball skills. Complete some rolling activities not finished in the month of December. Begin to learn some different dances and rhythms!

Try this at home: With dance not very prominent in the P.E. curriculum, it is important that students find some time to practice and experience it at home! Every year we do the “Chicken Dance” after Field Day and you can never practice that dance enough, especially with the younger grades!

This month in Physical Education 3rd and 4th graders will:   

Continue to practice volleying skills in partners and groups. Engage in basketball-type activities/games. Learn the basics of dribbling, passing, receiving, and shooting.

Try this at home: With basketball as the theme for basically the whole month in P.E., try to find some time to play indoors at a gym, at a school, or somewhere else!

To build a positive classroom culture Physical Education students will:  

Remember the importance of sportsmanship and treating EVERYONE with respect. Continue utilizing “peer feedback” to offer constructive criticism and advice to fellow friends.

This month in Before and After School Intramural Sports, 3rd and 4th graders will:   

Build upon their practices in P.E. by participating in basketball games and game-like situations. Experience an indoor soccer unit. Continue to participate in cooperative games to further strengthen teamwork and bonding.

More News and Reminders from Physical Education! PLEASE remember to have sneakers and appropriate play clothing each time you come to P.E. Some students have been storing sneakers in their classroom closets or lockers so that they are always prepared. I will gladly help accommodate you to ensure that students are properly prepared.

Music, Chorus and Strings News Mrs. Kenyon, Ms. Mattie, Ms. Marsan

Congratulations to Noah Wallace Chorus members for two wonderful concerts in December. The students sang beautifully and added to the wonderment and festivity of the season. Chorus will start again on Thursday, January 19th at 7:45 a.m. in the music room. All fourth graders are invited to join chorus at this time. We will be rehearsing for our annual Spring Concert with the Noah Wallace Orchestra at Farmington High School, on Wednesday, May 10th at 7:00 p.m. In addition to our music literacy curriculum, music students in all grade levels are learning about Peter Tchaikovsky’s, “Nutcracker”. Students will learn about the composer, and will study the form, instrumentation, and ballet of The Nutcracker. Dances and activities will later be performed to the music. The Noah Wallace Grade 4 Orchestra will be having its WINTER STRING CONCERT on Tuesday, January 10, 2017, at 2:25 and 7:00 p.m. These concerts will be held in the Noah Wallace Gym. Please save these concert dates as you are all welcome to attend. Orchestra Dress As members of the orchestra, 4th graders should wear the following dress for orchestra concerts: Boys—White button up shirt or white polo shirt, black dress pants, dressy shoes. Ties and jackets are optional. Girls—Dress or skirt and blouse, dressy shoes. Our best wishes to you for a happy and musical New Year!

Art News Mrs. Straughn

Noah Wallace artists are working hard to give accurate and specific feedback to their peers in order to improve work. By understanding how to give accurate and specific feedback , we can also understand how to self-evaluate our own work! 

Kindergarten has continued their learning of design through with lines, shapes, and colors in a robot unit.

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First Grade is beginning a unit on architecture. We will be learning about different castles throughout time and around the world.

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Second grade has begun a whimsical unit on animals in nature. We are creating animals in winter landscapes wearing clothes.

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Third graders are continuing a unit on Georgia O'Keeffe. They are working on fabric flowers with a simple batik method.

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Fourth graders are creating videos discussing their artwork, and explaining why they made specific choices.

Library News Ms. Jusseaume

Thank you so much to everyone who donated food and personal care items to our November food drive! We were able to donate 689 pounds of food and other items to the Farmington Food Pantry!

Brrrr! With the cold weather settling in, nothing is better than curling up with a good book! Please consider having your child visit our library website’s Reading Resources page where they can read and listen to books on the go! One of our favorite reading spots is Storyline Online which features celebrity read-alouds! And don’t forget you can download ebooks and audiobooks right from the Farmington Public Library! These are great ways to engage your children with books during those cold winter nights!

Literacy and Math Links Mrs. Nardini, Literacy Specialist—Mrs. Tara Lucidon, Math Specialist

Challenging Ourselves with the Simplest of Tasks You’ve probably heard by now about the I CARE day we had on January 3, 2017. This is a day, like Mrs. Sanders wrote, where students are able to recommit to our school-wide rules and expectations--a New Year’s Resolution of sorts. This may seem simple, but our fourth grade student ambassadors challenged themselves to go above and beyond by not just recommitting to the expectations, but also re-teaching the rest of our school these expectations. Ambassadors served as teachers at the various locations throughout the school, where they had to clearly communicate what the expectations were for that location as well as be engaging and informative while presenting. It sure is risky to get up in front of your teachers, peers, and fellow students to present--talk about a challenge! Enjoy the pictures below of some of our ambassadors in action.

Hola Familias

Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Spanish Programs Señora Vaughn, Señora Tagg, Señora Tracy

Kindergarten Spanish Program: ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Happy New Year! Kindergarten kicked off the new year by looking at what they see or can do in winter! Our learning targets include “I can say what I see, need and wear in the winter”. Students are continuing to describe using colors, shapes and sizes. In addition they are expressing what winter activities and clothing they like, don’t like or love.

First and Second Grade Spanish Program: Expanding on their knowledge of pets first and second graders created Alebrijes. Alebrijes are brightly colored Mexican folkart sculptures of fantastical creatures. Students made one-dimensional Alebrijes made up of different parts of domestic animals. They described their Alebrijes with a partner including details such as paws, tails, head, wings, body and beaks. Students took the time to create holiday cards in Spanish for the staff members and their own families. We hope you enjoyed their messages! Please take the time to visit our newly launched website for practice, games, songs and fun: https://sites.google.com/fpsct.org/k4worldlanguage

Reading Recovery News Ms. Ross Hickey, Ms. Trusiewicz

What can you say besides “Sound it out?” There are many things you can say to help your child figure out a word. Being flexible in problem solving provides more information to allow the child to be successful. To help a child use meaning (of the story or illustrations):  Look at the picture to help yourself.  Think about what would make sense. To help a child use language structure (the way we talk):  Does that sound right?  Can we say it that way? To help a child use information in print (the way the word looks):  Look at how the word begins.  Read the words up to the tricky word and start it.  Say more of the word.  Does that look right to you? To help a child use two sources of information:  Think about what would look right and make sense.  Think about what would make sense and start like that.

A frustrated reader is a reader who is not going to take necessary risks to improve his skills. If your child is still struggling after 5-6 seconds, say the word. Praise the child’s attempt by saying:  I like the way you tried to help yourself.  You were nearly right.  You noticed it wasn’t right. What did you notice? A reader is like an athlete. The more a child reads, the better his or her reading becomes.

Message Board 

FHS Building Project Update - Draft Conceptual Options Available for Public Comment

Kaestle Boos Associates, the architects selected for the Farmington High School (FHS) Building Project, presented three (3) draft conceptual options to the public at a community meeting on December 8, 2016. Each concept is designed to be representative of the vision and goals of the FHS Educational Specifications. Public comment and feedback regarding the concepts are encouraged, as the plans will be modified based on the input from the FHS Building Committee and the Farmington community. Kaestle Boos Associates will finalize the conceptual designs by the end of December and the FHS Building Committee is expected to select a preferred option by the end of January. The concepts may be viewed on the project website at fhsbuildingproject.org under “Plans & Renderings.” To comment on the conceptual design plans, please complete the form on the “Contact” page of the project website. The Farmington High School Building Committee was formed in January 2016 to address significant facility issues including accessibility, security, building sprawl and inefficient energy performance. These deficiencies are outlined in the “Statement of Need” that was approved by both the Farmington Board of Education and Town Council. The committee has been charged with completing an extensive review of Farmington High School’s existing conditions and developing a recommended project scope and cost estimate to address and prioritize the high school facility needs. The committee meets bi-weekly at 4:30 PM in the FHS Library. Meetings are open to the public and all community members are invited to participate. Information including meeting schedules and events, minutes and agendas, and reference documents can be found on the project’s website at fhsbuildingproject.org. 

Incoming Kindergarten: If you know of any children who will be 5 years old by December 31, 2017, they are eligible to begin kindergarten in September 2017. New student registration 2017-2018 can be accessed at www.fpsct.org GOOD START DATES 2017 February 1, 2017 6:00 p.m. March 1, 2017 6:00 p.m. April 5, 2017 6:00 p.m.

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Inclement Weather Conditions: School Delays and Cancellations are posted on our website www.fpsct.org This is the most timely, detailed and accurate source of early morning information. You can obtain the new FPS weather app, by visiting http://fpsct.org/weather from your mobile device. All cancellations and delayed openings are broadcasted on the following stations: WTIC AM 1080/WTIC FM 96.5 WFSB TV Channel 3 (TV) WTNH Channel 8 (TV) WVIT Channel 30 (TV)

DATES TO REMEMBER JANUARY See attached: Mon. 9th—Board of Education Meeting @ FHS 7:00p Town of Farmington Tue. 10th—Winter Concert Assembly 2:25p Farmington High School Tue. 10th—Gr 4 Winter Orchestra Concert 7:00p Building Project Important Dates Mon. 16th—NO SCHOOL, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Tue. 17th—PTO Meeting 6:30p Mon. 23rd—Board of Education Meeting @ WWUES 7:00p Fri. 26th—Looking In Theatre, Hartford Academy of Arts Program Assembly 9:00 a.m. FEBRUARY Wed. 1st—A Good Start Parent Meeting for Incoming Kindergarten 2017 Mon. 6th—Board of Education Meeting @ FHS 7:00p Wed. 8th AND Thu. 9th—EARLY RELEASE DAY 1:15p Dismissal Fri. 10th—Taste of Noah Wallace 6:00p The Farmington Board of Education will not make employment decisions (including decisions related to hiring, assignment, compensation, promotion, demotion, disciplinary action and termination) on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, or gender identity or expression, except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification. Questions concerning Title VI or Title IX compliance should be directed to: Kim Wynne, 1 Monteith Drive, Farmington, CT 06032 or at 860-673-8270. Questions concerning section 504 compliance should be directed to: Dr. Laurie Singer, 2 School Street, Farmington, CT 06032 or at 860-677-1791.