West District News
J U N E
2 0 1 7
Principal’s Message
Dear West District Families,
I hope that this newsletter finds you well and that you are able to appreciate that all of this gloomy weather will lead to beautiful
summer gardens. The other positive to this cool weather is that your children’s classrooms are a much more comfortable place
to learn and teach.
This time of year is one of the busiest in a school. Principals, teachers and students are all looking back on the work that we
have done this year and reflecting on our successes and thinking about what we can do to improve. As I meet with teachers
and look at the data that they share with me I find that while I love looking at the numbers and seeing growth, my favorite part
is looking at student work with them.
This year all of our plans have aligned very well and I am seeing similar themes at every grade level and it is very impressive. Students at West District have taken ownership of their work and we can see it in the numbers but, more importantly, we
can see it in the work that they are presenting each day. I have seen example after example of students reflecting on their
learning and clearly sharing where they can improve and the great growth that they have made along with evidence from their
own work. This is true in every subject and at every grade level.
Another theme that I have seen evidence of makes me very proud of our teachers and our students and that is a willingness to
make mistakes. Our students are not only asked to share their successes but they are asked to share things that they have
tried that did not work. This works particularly well in helping students to become more efficient mathematicians. Students are
asked to find the right answer but they are also asked to show that they understand the concept behind the answer and that
they aimed for efficiency. Students are asked to share strategies that did not work well. Sometimes those strategies led to
correct answers but took too many steps or too much time.
At West District School we reflect on our work all year long and adjust as we go. We are all learners and are always looking to
get better at what we do. This time of year is very exciting for many of us because we have so much to look back on and we
get to look forward to what is next. This is one of the things that makes this school a special place!
I hope that you will take some time to reflect with your child(ren) on the progress that they have made and help them to start
thinking about what is next for them.
Best,
Peter Michelson
Farmington Board of Education Meetings
West District P.T.O Meeting
June 12& 26th—Farmington High—7:00 p.m.
June 7th—Library—7:00 p.m.
Parents, our Back to School bulletin boards will be dedicated to ‘selfies’
of your children reading in all the ‘cool’ places they will visit this summer...the beach, the back yard, and beyond. More info coming soon!
LAST DAY OF
SCHOOL
Tuesday, June 20
Will be an
Early Dismissal at
1:15
#Summer Reading, # Summer Selfie
(What could be more fun than a selfie of summer reading?!?!)
It’s hard to believe that the school year is
coming to a close! It has been another
wonderful year in the West District Library, and as always, we could not have
done it without our dedicated volunteers. Thank you to everyone who donated their time to shelving, helping with checkout, relabeling books,
and all of the other projects you all so generously took part in.
Please encourage your child to read as much as possible over the
summer! Be sure to visit the Farmington Public Libraries and take
part in their summer reading program. Don’t forget-- you can read
West District Library e-books over the summer too! There are hundreds to choose from. Feel free to contact me ([email protected])
with any questions. Thanks for a great year, and I hope to see you in
the fall!
Monthly Assembly
June 20th - 9:00 a.m.
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Spanish News From Señora Tracy
Kindergarten Spanish Program:
In June, Kindergarten students, had a chance to review what
they have learned this year. Students are practicing numbers, colors,
shapes, weather, calendar, seasons, farm animals, and what they see in
their garden or local park. They can ask or say what they like, don’t like, want and don’t want with
a partner or in small groups. We are practicing using games, songs, videos and finger play. We are
very proud of their progress!
First and Second Grade Spanish Program:
First and Second grade students having been working on a cross curricular unit called
“Organismos” Organisms. Students are learning to identify and ask “What is an organism?” along
with asking and say what an organism needs, how to describe it’s body parts and where it lives.
Gaining Global Perspective Through Music
On Friday, May 26th the West District PTO sponsored the group Surcari to come and perform for students. This was also made possible by a generous Art grant through Dr. CoFrancesco which was
shared with our “Sister School”, the Vance School in New Britain, CT. Surcari is an Arts for Learning
Connecticut group of artists who perform and engage students through music. Students went on a
musical journey through Latin America, Spain and Africa. The artists began each song with an explanation of its origin and purpose and children and teachers had the opportunity to participate
by wearing hats from that region and playing different instruments. Students played the güiro,
chac chas (goat toenails), african bell shakers, maracas and drums. Surcari is a group originally
from Puerto Rico and Chile. ¡Muchas gracias PTO and Dr. CoFrancesco!
Photo courtesy of Arts for Learning Connecticut and affiliate of National
Young Audiences Arts for Learning 2016.
Please take the time to visit our website for practice, games, songs and
fun: https://sites.google.com/fpsct.org/k4worldlanguage
Maintaining all the skills and strategies your child learned during
the school year is so important over the summer. Here are some
ideas to help your child continue his/her learning from kindergarten!

Read every day or every other day for about 10-20 minutes together. Have your
child save his/her reading strategy bookmark to refer to over the summer.

Keep a journal of family events. Have your child draw a picture and write 2-4
sentences about the event.
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
Write sight words with chalk on the driveway (or try a brush and water, make your
own chalk paint, etc).

Make up math stories (addition and subtraction) to act out with family
members and then record the addition/subtraction sentences that
match.

Go on a number hunt while driving on a long trip. How many different
numbers from 0-100 can you find? Record them or highlight those you find on a 100
chart.

Go on a shape hunt while driving or walking. How many different 2D and 3D shapes
can you find? Record them or highlight those you find on a shape chart.

Collect pinecones, rocks, shells, or other natural objects to organize, categorize, and label. Present your own natural history museum.

Design an invention that you can use during summer. Some ideas: a new beach toy, a tool that will help with an everyday routine, something to wear in summer weather, a tool to help measure the rain. Be creative!

Answer a question you are curious about by planning an experiment. For example,
how long does it take an ice cube to melt outside in the summer heat? In the refrigerator? In an air conditioned room? How many licks does it take to get to the gum in
a Blow Pop? Or a Tootsie Pop?

Play outdoors: Go on nature hikes to collect interesting treasures
from nature, create your own outdoor restaurant and invite family
members to be your “customers,” plant a flower or vegetable garden, create a scavenger hunt with clues to find each hidden item in
your yard.

Visit the library often!
Have fun learning!
What could be better
than reading outside
on a bright sunny day!
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The first grade teachers are so very proud of each child’s progress and would like to
say congratulations to the children and their families on a WONDERFUL year! As we
head on to summer vacation, it will be important to find fun and engaging ways for
your children to keep the skills they have gained this year strong. Reading and writing on a regular basis over summer vacation will help your child to be ready for second grade come next school year. Aim for 20-30 minutes of daily reading (including
time your read aloud to your child) to help your child hit the ground running next fall.
One suggestion is for your child to keep a scientist’s journal over the summer. Encourage your child
to choose a topic of interest (a plant, animal, the weather, etc.) and to invest regular time learning
as much as possible about that topic. Suggestions include:

Taking trips to the public library to get books about that topic (books you child can read and
books for you to read to him/her)

Recording notebook entries to capture observations about that topic (labeled scientific drawings, as well as sentences to describe thoughts and observations)

Writing an all-about book to show off new expert knowledge or making an all-about poster

Making up and solve math problems using the topic as the focus

Your children have worked hard this year to gain new skills this year, and we are proud to send
them on to second grade. We wish you all a wonderful and relaxing summer vacation, and don’t
forget to read, read, read
At the end of May, we welcomed
Painted Lady caterpillars into our
classroom. We studied the life cycle
of the Painted Lady butterfly and
observed the stages of metamorphosis right before our eyes.
Students will be preparing for fun summer reading in June. Teachers are happy to suggest “just
right” books to read while everyone’s feet are buried in the sand. Contact your child’s teacher if
you would like some guidance to help make summer reading fun and successful for your child.
We thank everyone for their support throughout this school year. Best wishes for a safe, fun summer!
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Third grade recently went on an exciting field trip
to the Hillstead Museum in Farmington, CT as part
of our Multicultural Arts Program. On this day, third
graders met up with their pen pals from New Britain, CT and, together, took part in many engaging
activities organized by the museum. Students were able to rotate among three
stations, each designed to teach and broaden students’ understanding of the
Arts. Third graders were able to take a tour of the historic Hillstead Museum and
learn about the lifestyle and beautiful art collections acquired by its owners. In
the museum, students were able to view magnificent Impressionist paintings
from artists such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Edvard Manet. In addition, students were able to paint outdoors (peinture au plein air) just like real Impressionist artists, and gathered at the picturesque Sunken Garden to draw
nearby scenery. Students were also exposed to an authentic Chinese music
performance and even learned how to compose different Chinese symbols! This
was a terrific artistic and cultural opportunity for our third graders to participate
in and surely one we know they will not forget!
Hands-on Math in 4th Grade
Hands-on learning is important in the classroom for many reasons. The most
significant reason is that it is engaging. Research shows that when students
are engaged in what they are learning, their learning is more meaningful
and stays with them longer.
Recently, fourth grade students were learning to convert standard and metric units of
measurement. Students measured length, volume, and mass. In order to engage students
in hand-on learning, they were tasked with finding the conversions for gallons, quarts, pints
and cups. Students were given buckets of water, measurement tools, and a conversion
chart. They then worked together in teams to figure out the correct conversions.
Trevor Vaverchak, a fourth-grade student in Mrs. McKenney’s class recently learned that he
is a kinesthetic learner. After learning this information, he reflected on how much more he
takes away from hands-on activities. “To me it is easier to
learn when I am actually doing something. It is harder for me
to just sit and listen. I usually forget what the teacher or my
classmates have said.” Hands-on learning is not just good for
kinesthetic learners; it is also very good for students who are
auditory or visual learners. According to researchers, “Handson projects obviously engage kids who are tactile or kinesthetic learners, who need movement to learn best. They also
engage students who are auditory learners, who talk about
what they're doing, and visual learners, who have the opportunity to see what everyone else is creating.”
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Mrs. Garrity’s Math Corner
Math Terms To Know
Have you ever looked at your child’s homework and thought, “I wish this came with a glossary!” Well, here it
is! Here is a partial list of math vocabulary words that may be unfamiliar to you.
Word
Regroup
Tens Frames
Place Value
Number Bonds
Bar Models
Groups Of
Definition
We used to call this “borrowing” when subtracting, but regrouping
is more accurate and is used for every math operation. An example could be changing tens to ones when subtracting.
A 2 by 5 rectangle used to teach place value.
This is one of the most important things we teach in math. It is
the VALUE of the digit in a number. Ex: 345: the 3 is actually 3hundreds or 300, the 4 is actually 4-tens or 40, the 5 is actually 5ones or 5
A visual representation of part-part-whole. Number bonds are
used to teachaddition, subtraction, bar modeling, and algebra.
A visual representation of a word problem. When done properly,
bar models can make complex problems easier to understand.
Here are 2 examples:
The first example is a complete bar model which shows part-partwhole (20, 15, 35). The second example shows a bar model a student might use to answer this problem. John has 20 apples. Mary
has 15 apples. How many more apples does John have? How
many apples do they have altogether?
We often use the language “groups of” when talking about multiplication or division. For example, 4x5 might be read as “four
groups of 5,” which is a more visual description of multiplication.
If you have heard other math words that are unfamiliar, don’t hesitate to email them to me. I’d be happy
to help you understand them. Have a great summer!
MUSIC
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This month’s Music Spotlight is on…drum roll please!... Fourth Grade! As our fourth graders prepare to move on to
fifth grade, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of them on their phenomenal work this year! In
the music room, they have learned to sight read music (independently singing music they’ve never seen before)
and evaluate their singing. They have studied many songs such as: America, Scotland’s Burning, Pourquoi, Little
Tom Tinker, Rig-a-jig-jig, The Coffee Song, and Jim Along Josie to analyze solfege, note values, and time signatures.
They even created their own Candy Jingle commercials! In addition, the Spring Concert featuring the Chorus, & Orchestra was fabulous to say the least. I wish all of our fourth graders continued success in all of their musical endeavors. Way-to-go Fourth Graders! I will miss you!
Happy June! We had a fabulous turn out at the West District Art Show! I'm so proud
of all our West District Artists! I hope you enjoyed looking at your child's’ artwork at
the Art Show and on artsonia.com this year!
Be sure to encourage your child to color, paint, and draw over the summer, these
skills will build their fine motor muscles and will help them in all academic
areas. There is still time to sign up for our summer multicultural arts program. Check
out the registration form on the Friday Folder or email me for more information! [email protected]
Dear PTO & friends,
A BIG yummy
thank you for the
great staff luncheon!
Mark your Calendars!
Thursday, June 1st—Stings Concert—2 & 7 P.M.
Monday—Friday, June 5th-9th—Book Fair
Tuesday—June 6th—PTO Picnic—5-8 P.M.
Friday, June 9th—Field Day & Fun Run
Wednesday, June 19th—Grade 4 Moving –Up Ceremony
Thursday, June 20th—Last Day of School