End of 2nd 9 Weeks- Newsletter
Title I School
Keister Chronicle
Julie Zook- Principal
Mark Miller- Assistant Principal
February Events:
Dear Parents,
Can you believe it is February? We can’t! We want you to know that we
are so proud of our students and the work they are doing each day. They
are continuing to develop social and academic skills and it is fun to visit
classrooms and see them happy and engaged in collaborative learning. I
recently observed a 4th grade class do PALS (Peer assisted Learning) for
40 minutes. They read to one another, held each other accountable,
checked each other for accuracy and made predictions. It was wonderful
to see these students supporting one another with their reading growth.
At this time, I would also like to remind you that Harrisonburg City Schools
has established redistricting lines for the 2017-18 school year. Please visit
the HCPS website, Keister website or visit the school for additional
information. In all of these locations, you can find information on
redistricting and view the new city map to see where your child will attend
school next year. The division is also holding parent information meetings
on the following dates. All meetings will be held at 7:00pm and you can
attend whichever suits your schedule:
 Keister
February 8
 Smithland
February 9
 Spotswood
February 14
 Stone Spring February 15
 Waterman
February 22
 THMS
February 23
 SKMS
February 27
We appreciate you and the support you provide to us and your
student(s). Thank you for partnering with us and for sharing your
child(ren) with us.
Sincerely,
Julie K. Zook
Principal
Feb. 8- Redistricting Information
(700-800pm)
Feb. 9- PTO Meeting(530-630pm)
Feb. 9 & 16 & 23-Family Fun Nights
(630-730pm)
Feb. 28- Chipotle Fundraiser
From the Asst. Principal
Beginning in February, all levels 1-5 English
Language Learners in Harrisonburg City will
take the ACCESS test to measure English
language proficiency development. The test
covers the four domains of listening, speaking,
reading, and writing. A team of teachers and
other staff members will work to complete
testing in a timely manner.
The results of the ACCESS test determine a
student’s English Language Proficiency Level.
These levels are reported on a scale of 1-6.
English Language Proficiency Levels help
determine appropriate instruction and support
services provided to students. When a student
reaches a level 6 they are no longer considered
LEP.
Parents will be notified of new LEP levels and
will receive a parent report form with detailed
information in the late summer or early fall.
We look forward to seeing all of the growth
that our LEP students have made!
Sincerely,
Mark Miller
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The first half of the year has been filled with exciting I-STEM units. It is so
much fun to be in the classroom when the students are acting like
engineers. Student engagement is very high as small groups work
cooperatively to solve design challenges. The solutions they devise are
creative and unique! Please ask your child about the lessons they
participated in this nine weeks.
K
Sink and Float: Will design and create a boat that will float in water, be able to hold
at least 15 pennies, and measure no longer or wider than 5 paper clips! COMING
SOON!
1st
Solving Dissolving: Designed and created a habitat for a snail using only materials that
did not dissolve in water!
2nd
Keep It Cool: Will design and create an insulated container to keep a student-made
popsicle from turning into a liquid! COMING SOON!
Build A Beak: Designed and created a beak for an injured bird that can pick up a piece
of food from its habitat!
3rd
Multiplication Model: Designed and created a cityscape using array models!
Cool Kinetic Cars: Designed and created a car out of recycled materials that carried
15 grams and moved 60 centimeters!
4th
Thank you for all the recyclables you have sent in for I-STEM. If you would like to send materials for
the next nine weeks, we will need:
●
●
Paper towel and toilet paper tubes
Flattened cardboard cereal and cracker boxes
Please label them I-STEM and put them on the floor by the mailboxes in the front office.
Thank you!
 Jackie Gulino – Advanced Learning and STEM Specialist [email protected]
Third graders gathering data about straw, sample spoon and toothpick beaks:
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LA CLASE DE ESPAÑOL
¡Feliz Año Nuevo 2017! Nos divertimos mucho en la clase de español estas 9 semanas. Los estudiantes continúan trabajando en
sus habilidades de conversación en español y en su progreso se plantean a menudo nuevas preguntas. Nuestro enfoque para los
estudiantes de 2o a 4o grado han sido los números, y estoy orgullosa del esfuerzo de los estudiantes por haber aprendido a
contar hasta al menos 100 en español, por haber jugado a juegos de matemáticas, y por haber resuelto problemas de
matemáticas en español. Para culminar las 9 semanas, los estudiantes de segundo y tercer grado escribirán sobre un Número
Misterioso basado en lo que han aprendido y luego compartirán su número con sus compañeros e intentarán adivinar los números
de los demás. Estos números se mostrarán en el aula de español para que otros estudiantes traten de adivinarlos. Los alumnos
de cuarto grado han estado trabajando en los números y también en saber decir la hora. Ahora van a hacer un proyecto basado
en la obra “La persistencia de la memoria” del famoso artista español Salvador Dalí. ¡Próximamente tendremos más fotos de
estos proyectos!
Este año habrán más escuelas en más estados participando en el concurso de ortografía nacional en
Nuevo México. Esta primavera,tendrá lugar un concurso de ortografía en español en Keister para estudiantes de cuarto
grado. Todos harán un breve examen escrito de ortografía en la clase de español en febrero y luego los 3 estudiantes de cada
clase que hayan deletreado más palabras correctas en español participarán en marzo en el concurso de ortografía de Keister.
Mucha suerte a todos
LA CLASE DE ESPAÑOL
¡Feliz Año Nuevo 2017! We have had a lot of fun in Spanish class these 9 weeks. Students continue to work on their
conversational skills in Spanish and are expanding the questions that they ask each other. Our focus for students in grades
2-4 has been numbers, and I am proud of the students' efforts to have learned to count to at least 100 in Spanish, having
played math games, and solving math problems in Spanish. To finish the 9 weeks, second and third grade students will write
about a Número Misterioso based on what they have learned and then share their number with their peers and try to guess
the numbers of others. These numbers will be displayed in the Spanish classroom for other students to try to guess. Fourth
graders have been working on the numbers and also know how to tell the time. Now they will be starting a project based on
the work "The Persistence of Memory" of the famous Spanish artist Salvador Dalí. Soon we will share pictures of these
projects!
There will be more schools in more states participating in the National Spanish Spelling Bee in New
Mexico this year. A Spanish spelling contest will be held at Keister for fourth grade students this spring. All 4th graders
will take a brief written spelling test in Spanish class in February and then the 3 students in each class who have spelled the
more words correctly in Spanish will participate in the Keister Spelling Bee in March. Good luck to all our 4th graders!
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News from the Library!
Second graders complete a series of tests to determine which type of paper would be best to use for printing
the school brochure.
All students in grades K-4 have been engaged in project based learning! To begin, students were
presented with an actual problem at Keister-the school brochure was outdated and incorrect. The
children were assigned the task of creating a new and current school brochure. After brainstorming
a list of information they wanted to include, students generated a list of decisions that would have
to be made in order to complete the project. Each grade level had specific tasks to complete
such as determining which type of paper to use to print the brochure and which template to use,
creating IMOVIES and images, writing about Keister and why it is special, writing captions,
persuading peers, and voting. Students are looking forward to seeing the final product.
In addition to this project, children began reading books from the Reading Makes Cents program, a
financial literacy reading program in which students learn economic and SOL concepts through
engaging texts.
In March, children’s author, Julia Cook will visit students at Keister. As we prepare for her visit,
children will be listening to several of her books in the library. Ms. Cook is a former school counselor
and teacher and she has written over 80 books in which she provides lessons on good behavior and
life skills.. To learn more about Julia and her books, check out her website at
http://www.juliacookonline.com/
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Mrs. Dameron
Keister Counselor’s Notes
We’re saying adiós to the second, 9 weeks of school.
by Whitney Kinkead - January 2017
So many wonderful things are taking place at Keister
Elementary!
One event that the students are looking forward to is the
Snowflake Competition. The staff leader from each team (4th
grade, 3rd grade, 2nd grade, etc.) submits a snowflake to be
voted on by the students. Of the twelve snowflakes submitted
by staff, students will be able to vote for their favorite. We will
announce the winner of the competition on February 13th at our
next school meeting. The students are always anxious to see
what the staff are able to create!
Another highly anticipated event is the author visit planned for
March 8th. Former teacher and school counselor, Julia Cook,
has published over 80 stories encouraging students to be better
problem solvers. Students have heard several of her stories
during guidance time in the library. Teachers will soon have
access to many of her books for read alouds in their classroom
and students will be able to check them out shortly after. Keister
librarian, Mrs. Dameron and I could not be more excited about
Julia’s visit. Her energy and enthusiasm is sure to leave a lasting
impression on our students. Parents will be receiving additional
information about her visit soon.
Guidance lessons continue in the library as well. Fourth, third
and second grade just completed lessons on caring and conflict
resolution where they focused on developing dialogue with
others, knowing how to respond to teasing, and safe ways to
deal with anger. Lessons with kindergarten and first grade begin
again where we will be talking about the importance of being
polite and ways to maintain a positive attitude.
But you should read the
book first…
Many wonderful children’s
books have been made into
movies. Because of Winn
Dixie, The BFG, Jumanji, Diary
of a Wimpy Kid...the list goes
on and on. Back in the day,
we often heard teachers
and parents say that you
should always read the book
before you saw the movie.
This actually depends on the
child. If your child is an avid
and imaginative reader,
reading the book first makes
sense. For other children,
watching movies actually
inspires them to read more.
This can be especially helpful
for a child who struggles to
read or who is learning
English. There is no one
correct approach here. So
enjoy books and the movies
made from them in a way
that is most inspirational for
your child!
The KES Reading Team
Some exciting personal news is that I am pregnant with my first
child! Myself, my husband and our families are excited for this
new addition which is set to arrive in April. If all goes as planned,
my maternity leave will begin April 7th and continue for the
remainder of the school year.
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The Keister Art Studio
New things have been happening in the art room. We have a student
teacher from JMU, Ms. Richardson, who will be here through the first week of March.
We now have 8 centers open in the art room! The last to open has been the
ceramics center where children have the opportunity to work with clay. Other
centers the students may choose from are drawing, collage, painting, sculpture,
printmaking, fiber arts, and temporary art.
Your child might be bringing home creations from the art room. When you see
these, ask your child, “What inspired you to create this?” or “Could you tell me how
you made this?” If you aren’t seeing artwork coming home, it might be because
your child is spending multiple classes working on a particular piece. Sometimes
your child might decide to create “temporary art” with materials that stay in the art
room. Students also have the option of displaying their artwork in the Keister Gallery
which covers the walls in the cafeteria and the display boards outside the library. If
they choose to hang their artwork up, it will be up for a couple months before it is
comes home. If you are at school, peek in the cafeteria or at the display boards to
see some fantastic student artwork!
-Kathleen Johnston
We've been busy in the gym during quarter number 2! With grades K-1 we've been working on chasing,
fleeing, and dodging, overhand throwing, and we also pulled out the parachute which is a favorite of the
teachers and students!
With grades 2-4 we've done an overhand throwing unit, a chasing, fleeing, and dodging unit and a fitness
unit! The students always love to practice throwing by playing the game Battleship, where they get to throw to
knock over bowling pins!
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Greetings from the music room! As the second half of our school year
begins, the sights and sounds of singing, moving, listening and playing
continue to fill the music room. While rhythm was the foundation of
our experiences at the beginning of the year, we add the intentional
exploration of pitch and melody as we continue to explore the world of
music. From opportunities to lead and sing “echo scats” to the
Lice Information
recorder. All grades continue to examine expressive aspects of music
Head lice are a nuisance but not a bug
that spreads disease. They are most
commonly found among school age
children. Lice don’t fly or jump and they
can’t be transferred by pets. In fact, it is
rare that they are even shared at
school. Since they are transferred
mostly by head to head contact, they
are most often passed along at play
dates, sleepovers and within families
and close friends.
including dynamics, tempo, and how words and text impact the
Prevention Ideas:
exploration of the treble and bass clefs, we are exploring the nature
and creation of melody in all grades.
Primary students explore melodic direction and contour, and creating
melody with their voices, while third and fourth grades work on
improvising and playing melodies on the Orff instruments and the
development of both rhythm and melody.
The fourth grade will be playing the recorder beginning in
January. The recorder is a flute-type instrument that provides a very
practical and exciting way of applying the musical concepts and skills
the students have learned. It may also assist in determining interest in
participating in the band program that will be offered in the middle
school.
The Keister Singers will resume rehearsals January 18th and begin
work on the All-City Elementary Choral Festival music to be presented
in April. As in past years, it promises to be a wonderful event.
Music is an essential part of each child’s learning experience here at
Keister Elementary. Please encourage them to share what they have
learned, and continue to support their interest in this wonderful avenue
of self-expression. If I can be of assistance in this important effort,
please do not hesitate to be in touch.
Check your child’s head every week.
Look for lice the size of a sesame seed
and tiny eggs (nits) near the scalp that
stick to the hair shaft and are the size of
a poppy seed. Look for a red patch of
skin at the back of the neck in the hair.
If your child is scratching or says they are
itchy, check them for lice. Lice are very
small and hard to see but with good
light or a magnifying glass you can see
them.
Avoid head to head contact.
Do not share combs, brushes, hats,
head gear, jackets or ear phones.
Keep coats and hats in backpacks
when not in use.
Do not share beds and personal items at
home during treatment for lice.
If you hear of a friend or classmate that
was treated for lice, check your child
daily for 2 weeks for nits and lice.
If you find lice take a deep breath. It is
a lot of work, but it isn’t the end of the
world. Nurse Regina has literature about
how to get rid of lice and coupons for
lice removing shampoo. The teachers,
administration and the nurse want to
limit the number of missed days from
school. So treat a person only when
they have live lice and no more than
once a week per the recommended
method, after the shampoo, comb their
hair well with a fine toothed metal
comb, do the household cleaning as
recommended, then return them to
school the very next day.
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