October 21, 2016
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER!
Oct 21
Oct 24
Oct 26
Oct 27
Nov 1
Nov 2
Nov 4
Nov 6
Nov 10
Nov 10
Nov 15
Nov 21
Nov 23-25
PTC Fall Family Fun Night 6:00-8:00 p.m. - TONIGHT!
School Picture Retake/Make-up Day
4th Grade Field Trip - Downtown Holland 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Family Science Night 6:30-7:15 p.m. in the gym
PTC Meeting 6:30 p.m. in the library
1st Grade “Where the Wild Things Are” Performance 1:30 p.m. in the gym
3rd Grade Field Trip - Grand Rapids Public Museum 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Daylight Saving Time Ends - Turn clocks back 1 hour!
Half Day of School - Dismissal at 12:07 p.m.
Parent/Teacher Conferences 1:00-4:00 p.m. & 5:00-8:00 p.m.
Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00-8:00 p.m.
District Board Meeting 7:00 p.m. Administration Building
No School - Happy Thanksgiving!
Dear North Holland Families,
We love our parent volunteers; the many ways our PTC helps out, classroom volunteers and field trip chaperones. But, for many of
us, we don’t always feel as if we can be as involved in our child’s education as we may want to be. Research shows that supporting
your child’s education at home is just as important as helping out in the school. Here are three conversations you can have with
your child that will help you stay involved.
“Show me what you have for homework.”
It’s your child’s job to complete assignments, but you have a role as well. Ask your child to explain the homework to you and then
check to make sure it is finished.
“Tell me what you learned about that. What would you like to know more about?”
Use the answer to this question to guide possible activities for the evening or weekend.
“Let’s see what is in your backpack.”
With your child, look at the work that comes home and talk about what he or she is learning in school. Respond to notes from the
teacher and sign anything required. If you have questions about something that is in your child’s backpack, always feel free to
email or call their teacher.
Kevin Westrate, Principal
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
It is hard to believe that conference time is right around the corner. Conference request forms were sent home today.
The conference dates and times are:
Thursday, November 10 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. & 5:00-8:00 p.m. - Half day of school - Dismissal at 12:07 p.m.
and
Tuesday, November 15 from 5:00-8:00 p.m.
STUDENT ILLNESS GUIDELINES
PICTURE MAKE-UP/RETAKE DAY
Please follow these important guidelines. We want to keep
everyone as healthy as possible. In the early morning before
school, it is often difficult to determine whether or not to send
your child to school. Most illnesses children have are contagious, meaning other children can catch them. For that specific
reason, we have guidelines for school attendance so children
will not infect or endanger the health of other children. If your
child has these symptoms, please keep him/her home from
school:
Fever - A person’s “normal” body temperature can vary from
person to person. Generally speaking, any temperature over a
person’s “normal” temperature (usually 98.6°) can be considered a fever. Your child’s temperature should be “normal” for
24 hours before sending him/her back to school.
Geskus Photography will be back on Monday,
October 24 to take pictures of students who have
not yet had their picture taken or for students
who need their picture retaken.
Bad cough - Defined as persistent and interfering with schoolwork. Children often do not remember to cover their mouths.
Coughing can easily spread germs.
Diarrhea, vomiting or severe stomachaches - These symptoms
should be gone 24 hours before sending your child back to
school.
Red eyes (with yellow drainage) - Your child may wake up in
the morning with his/her eye “stuck shut.” This may indicate
conjunctivitis (pink eye) which is extremely contagious. Please
check with your physician.
TECHNOLOGY with Mr. Johnson
We are really starting to get into a groove in Technology!
3rd – 5th graders joined my Google Classroom this week. There
are two current assignments in there. The first
assignment is an online typing test found here.
The students type in home row position for 1
minute after choosing from different text options.
Then they record their speed in words per minute
(wpm) and accuracy (%) in a Google Sheet data
table I shared with them. Students will take 1-2
tests per month and record each time. We are
looking for an increased speed growth throughout the year as well as an 85% accuracy or higher.
2nd graders have been working on their home row position as
well through dancemattyping.com. 1st grade has been writing
sentences about fall and seasons using Tux Paint. Still working
on using the shift key to make capitals, punctuation, and proper spacing. Kinders are getting so much
better at their mouse control! They are
just about done working through the
alphabet in starfall.com. They are also
doing a much better job navigating my
Moodle. Lots of growth so far!
If your child needs his/her picture retaken, please return the
picture package to school on retake day and the picture will be
retaken at no charge. Please attach a note indicating what it is
that you did not like about the pictures so the photographer
can do their best to correct the problem.
Order forms for students who still need to have their pictures
taken are available in the school office. Thank you!
MUSIC NOTES from Mrs. Mungia
It has been another wonderful week with the
students. They are making so much progress!
In Kindergarten this week we continued to work on our
sound story “The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.” This is the first year that I have tried a sound story with
Kindergarten and they have exceeded my expectations! They
know the words to play on and they know the instrument that
goes with the word as well. Great job!
In 1st grade we are still working on our sound story “The Wild
Things”. We will be performing this on November 2 at 1:30 pm
in the gym. We also have finished learning about the Bass and
the Harp which completes our first family in the orchestra.
In 2nd grade we are just finishing our first Orff unit. We have
now begun learning the basics on our keyboards. The students
are SO excited to finally get to use them! Our first lesson, after
learning where all the buttons are located and their functions,
will be on the steady beat.
3rd grade has begun working on the keyboards this week also.
We are focusing on learning about notes that step, stay the
same and repeat. This is a difficult lesson and we spend about
3 to 4 weeks getting this concept solid!
4th grade has moved on to Tempos. We learned 6 different
tempos and are learning 2 songs and dances to go with those
tempos. They are also learning to identify different tempos by
listening.
5th grade is just finishing taking a rhythm test that they will
repeat in the spring to monitor their progress and growth. We
will be working on the song “Danse Macabre” by Camille SaintSaens this week. This is a fun song especially this time of year!
NEWS FROM THE STUDIO by Miss Camp
The students in kindergarten cut painted lines and glued them to paper. A collage is when you cut and glue paper to paper. Next
they colored patterns in between their lines using art stix.
Grade 1 added patterns to their body, arms, legs, and tail of their wild thing monster. Some students even got their feet or hands
cut out and glued on. We will have a performance coming up on Nov. 2 during their first grade class. A flyer will be sent home
with your child.
Grades 2 and 3 began/continued working on their landscape. A landscape is a picture of the outdoors. Our landscapes are in a
rural setting. The students are showing their understanding of a foreground, middle ground, and back ground. They also have
included a horizon line.
Grades 4 and 5 completed their diamond optical illusion. This image appears to be coming forward when in reality it is simply a
drawing on a flat piece of paper.
Grade 1 has a performance coming up! We hope you can attend!
Where the Wild Things Are:
A Performance by North Holland First
Graders on Nov. 2 @ 1:30 in the
Multi-Purpose Room
Dear Parents,
You are invited to see your child perform a collaborative retelling with their peers. Each student will
take a turn being a “Wild Thing” and an “Orchestra” member. Each performance will last approximately 20 minutes. We look forward to seeing you there!
Thank you,
Mrs. Mungia and Miss Camp
Noticias de Español
We are wrapping up our unit about school. We have been learning about classroom objects, places in the school,
and school subjects. My hope is that I will be able to use these words with the students in conversation through
the rest of the year as these are common words that could be used on a daily basis at school.
Kindergarten & 1st grade vocabulary words:
el lapiz – pencil
las tijeras – scissors
el libro – book
los crayones - crayons
el papel – paper
This week kindergarteners and first graders will also be learning about fall. They will learn a song about fall,
listen to a story and review color words through an activity page.
2nd & 3rd grade vocabulary words:
We review the words from kindergarten and first grade and add these:
la mesa - table
los amigos - friends
la silla - chair
el cuaderno – notebook
la regla – ruler
la computadora - computer
la clase – the classroom
la biblioteca – library
el bañp – bathroom
el gimnasio – gym
la oficina – the office
Here is a link to a song we’ve been learning to help with vocabulary: La Mochila
2nd grade will be taking a quiz on school objects. 3rd grade will be taking a quiz on places in the school.
4th & 5th grade vocabulary words:
We review all the words from the previous grades and add these:
los marcadores – markers
la tiza – chalk
el borrador – eraser
la pizarra – board
el escritorio – desk
el pupitre – student desk
el estante de libros – bookshelf
la mochilla – backpack
Los estudios sociales – social studies
las ciencias - science
la clase de computadoras – computer class
el ingles – English
la clase de educacion fisica – physical education
las matimaticas – math
la clase de esañol – Spanish class
la musica – music
el arte - art
Here is a link to a song we’ve been learning to help with vocabulary: Que Tienes en la Mochila?
4th grade will be taking a quiz on school objects and 5 th grade will be taking a quiz on classes.