Expect the Extraordinary!
Patriot Post
Notes from the Principal’s Desk
Volume 8 Issue 6
March 2017
Attendance is Crucial During Terra Nova
Gordon Elementary School
had an outstanding Black
History Assembly.
The
Cumberland County Arts
Council and our Parent
Teacher
Association
sponsored a play for the
students. In addition, many
Joel Grim
guest readers visited our
classrooms to participate in our African American
“Read In”. We thank Ms. Bailey and our Diversity
Committee for the many exciting activities, during the
month of February.
grade to be escorted to and from school. We appreciate
children not being picked up after 2:00 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and 1:00 p.m. on
Wednesdays. Picking up children at these times disrupts the end of day routines, especially review, homework, and end of day transitions. If your child arrives
to school after 8:20 a.m., please escort him to the office,
and sign him in. Also, please remember to always
bring your identification cards, when picking up your
child.
One morning a week, third and fourth grade students
conduct a live stream broadcast of our morning announcements through YouTube. On the other days,
announcements are done through the public address
system. The students in the Broadcasting Club write
scripts, rehearse, and operate cameras. Everything is
student led! I am very proud of our students. They do
a superb job with our broadcast and morning announcements. Ms. Bailey and Ms. Colley sponsor the Broadcasting Club. All broadcasts can be viewed from the
Gordon Elementary School homepage.
Our school will hold the 2017 – 2018 Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Registration in May at
Gordon Elementary School. In addition to registration,
Terra Nova Testing is scheduled from Monday,
March 6, 2017 to Friday, March 10, 2017 for third and
fourth grade students. It is extremely important that
your child is well rested and available for testing. We
appreciate you scheduling all appointments for a different week. Terra Nova results are one measure of your
As we continue throughout the school year, should
child’s progress. The school and district use these re- you have any classroom concerns, please contact your
sults to show strengths and plan instruction. Please child’s teacher. If the problem is not resolved, contact
contact your child’s teacher with any questions.
the front office for assistance. Our school believes in
As a reminder, only service dogs are allowed on using a chain of command, as most problems will be
campus. Please leave dogs at home, when picking up resolved at the classroom level.
your children from the walking line. Also, Fort Bragg
It is great serving our military families!
Master Policy 87 requires all children through fourth
DoDEA Mission: Educate, Engage, and Empower each student to succeed in a dynamic world.
Goal One: All students will increase reading comprehension and vocabulary development by analyzing
text to make inferences and draw conclusions.
Goal Two: All students will increase mathematical communication by explaining mathematical
reasoning to find solutions.
Expect the Extraordinary!
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Expect the Extraordinary!
Home Reading Program
Facts about Reading
The only behavior measure that correlates significantly with reading scores is the
number of books in the home. The Literacy Crisis: False Claims, Real Solutions, 1998.
Out-of-school reading habits of students has shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent
reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year. Anderson,
Wilson, & Fielding, 1988
Ways Parents Can Promote Reading at Home
Scout for things your children might like to read.
Use their interests and hobbies as starting points.
Observe what attracts your children's attention, even if they only look at the
pictures. Build on that interest; read a short selection aloud, or simply bring
home more information on the same subject.
Do not forget! Students need to read or be read to every day at home.
Help your child meet the monthly Home Reading goals and receive Home Reading incentives.
Home Reading Records must be filled out, signed, and turned in each month to receive a treat or prize.
Congratulations to the following classes which earned a Gold Star (100%) in January:
PreK
Long AM
2nd Grade
Wilson
Long PM
Congratulations to the following classes which earned a Silver Star (90%) in January:
1st Grade
3rd Grade
4th Grade
Washington
Colley
Capers
Gerhardt
Greene
Congratulations to the following classes which earned Bronze Star (80%)
in January:
PreK
1st Grade
2nd Grade
Cooper PM
Holladay
Sigler
Sylvester
Szymborski
For more information, contact your child’s teacher or Ms. Festa,
the Home Reading Program Coordinator, at (910) 907-1300.
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Expect the Extraordinary!
Build and Draw Shapes Found in the World
Ms. Howard’s H.O.O.T.S. (Happy-Optimistic-Outstanding-Talented-Students) had a
Hoot-Tastic time exploring S.T.E.A.M. activities during S.T.E.A.M. Week! In this activity,
students were given toothpicks and marshmallows. They had to figure out how to build a cube. They had to make sense of the problem. Some students began by creating a square, but
they realized it was not a 3D shape. They attended to precision by discussing how many faces and vertices they needed in order to build their cube. Great job HOOTs!
Building 3D Shapes
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Expect the Extraordinary!
Count to 100 by Ones and Tens
Ms. Howard’s class had a HOOT on the 100th day of school! Students rotated from center
to center counting various objects by ones and tens. In one center, students had to work as a
team to stack 100 cups. Believe it or not, it is not an easy task, but our HOOTs did it!
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Expect the Extraordinary!
PTA Corner
Yearbooks
Month of the Military Child T-shirts
Don't forget to
order your yearThere is an extension
book!
The
on our Month of the
deadline for orMilitary Child T-shirt
ders is Monday,
Design Contest. SubMarch 20 2017.
mit your designs no
No late orders
later
than
Friday,
will be accepted, as it affects the delivery
March 10, 2017. The
date of the yearbooks. Yearbooks will be dewinning shirt design
livered in May before the early withdrawal will be used for our Month of the Military
date. If you PCS before the yearbooks ar- Child Spirit Wear shirt. T-shirts will be
rive, we can mail it to you.
worn in April.
Bookfair - Our second
Scholastic Book Fair is
scheduled from Monday,
March 20, 2017 to
Friday, Mach 24, 2017.
It will be held in the
Patriot Café.
Around the World
Dance.
Our
"Around the World"
dance has been rescheduled
for
March. More
details will be sent
home.
Sun Catchers for
Skate Night
Fun Friday.
We are excited about
Sun catchers will be
our upcoming Spirit
sold for the Fun
Night
at
Round
Friday in March.
About Skating Rink
Complete and subin Fayetteville. Join
mit your order forms
us
on
Tuesday,
before March 15, 2017. Two sun catchers
March
14,
2017
cost $1.00. The two sun catchers will be
from 5:30 p.m. to
randomly selected and delivered on Friday,
7:30
p.m.
for
a
night
of
family fun.
March 24, 2017.
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Expect the Extraordinary!
PTA Corner (continued)
Grade Level T-shirts
You have one last
chance to order grade
level Spirit Wear
T-shirts. Why should
you purchase a shirt?
Lifetouch is coming to
take a picture of our
whole student body.
Each grade level will
be assigned a letter to
spell out G O R D O N. Each grade level will
be wearing their assigned grade level color.
If you are unable to purchase a grade level
Spirit Wear T-shirt, we ask that you send
your child to school in the assigned class
color. Pre-kindergarten = orange; kindergarten = purple; first grade = red; second grade
= gold; third grade = navy blue; fourth grade
= hunter green. Be on the alert for a flyer
with more details about the student body
picture. Our pre-kindergarten PM students
must visit school in the morning so that
they can participate or be included in the
picture.
Box Tops are one of
our largest and easiest
fundraisers.
Help us reach our
goal by collecting
and submitting your
Box Tops to your
teacher.
Parent Teacher
Association
Membership.
It is not too late to
join the
Parent
Teacher
Association (PTA).
We need two more
memberships for our PTA to earn the Bronze
Acorn Award. Certificates are awarded to
the Parent Teacher Association units which
submit dues before Wednesday, March 15,
2017 and show a 10% increase in membership in comparison to the previous year.
Please submit your membership forms as
soon as possible, so that we can earn this
award.
PTA Officers Needed
We are currently recruiting
individuals
who are interested in
becoming an elected
officer or chairperson
of our committees.
Due to the redistricting, we are actively recruiting individuals who are interested in
one of these positions for both Gary Ivan
Gordon Elementary and Mildred Poole Elementary Schools. We gladly welcome anyone who would like to shadow any of our
Board of Directors to observe the roles and
responsibilities. Elections will take place at
the General Membership Meeting in May.
Expect the Extraordinary!
Stay Healthy and Fit
By: Hunter Luneke and Misatu Yarsiah
They strive to
make sure there is no
fast food in the cafeteria. They do this because healthy eating
helps you stay wide
awake and ready to
learn.
In addition,
nutritious meals keep students healthy. Most
importantly, it is to comply with the Healthy
Initiative in the School.
Have you ever wondered what your child
eats in the Patriot Café? Rest assured, your
child eats well at Gordon Elementary School.
In the cafeteria they serve fruit, vegetables,
dairy, and protein. They serve fruits such as
pineapple, apples, peaches, and much more.
They also serve
green beans, white
milk, and healthy
meats. With many
Parents are encouraged to bring healthy
vitamins, this cremeals to the school so that students can have a
ates a healthy, balgood, yet junk food free day.
anced meal.
Stay healthy and fit for a day of learning!
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School Snapshots
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Expect the Extraordinary!
100 Days Smarter
By Genesis Levinthol-Winkler,
Isabella Hernandez & Kamiah Wilson
To add to the mathematical aspect of the
100th Day of School, the students counted and
placed 100 items on shirts. They used items
such as eyeballs, stars, and many other obOne hundred years equals a century.
jects. Students added up to one hundred.
One hundred pennies will give us one dollar.
Ten decades equals a century. On the 100th
Day of School, the students at Gordon Elementary School dressed up as older people.
They wore gray or white beards, hair or fashionable wigs. If they did not wear a wig, some
of the students wore hair rollers. Many of
them walked to class with their canes. Additionally, students accented their outfits with
colorful spectacles and suspenders.
Some teachers, such as Mrs. Caston,
Mrs. Hart, Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Salazar, and
Mrs. Sylvester, incorporated a fun class party.
They made banners and a variety of take home
crafts and projects. Overall, the students were
excited to participate in the 100th Day of
School.
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Expect the Extraordinary!
Sing Your Way through Black History
By Scarlett Bemis, Reina Fernandez and
Genesis Levinthol-Winkler
audience laughing and excited about the assembly.
One of the most interesting facts from
the assembly was about Harriet Tubman. Did
you know that she freed approximately 300
slaves through the Underground Railroad?
Undoubtedly, the Underground Railroad was
neither underground nor a railroad. It was actually a path that led slaves to freedom. According to The World Book Encyclopedia, the
Underground Railroad was a network of escape routes used by slaves, during the mid1800’s. In addition, it was considered an underground railroad because of the quick and
hidden path the escaped slaves used with Harriet Tubman.
Bright Star. Singers. Activists. What
Along with interesting
do these three words mean to the students at
facts, Branden and Taler
Gordon Elementary School? Bright Star
sang musical spirituals.
Touring Company is a traveling theater which
During their time of
visits schools all around the United States.
working in the fields, on
The talented performers who visited Gordon
the railroads, and other
Elementary School were Branden Smith and
places, many of the slaves sang songs to keep
Taler Finch. Their performance at our school
them cheerful. They sang uplifting songs so
was in observance of Black History Month.
that they would persevere and never give up,
Throughout the assembly, Branden and
during those difficult times and journeys.
Taler shared interesting facts about many faSongs which uplifted them were Follow the
mous Black Americans. As they conveyed
Drinking Gourd, We Shall not be Moved, We
facts, they performed
Shall Overcome, and Didn’t My Lord Deliver
skits about Harriet
Tubman, Little Rich- Daniel. The other types of music they mentioned within the performance were rhythm
ard, Chuck Berry,
Bruno Mars, Michael and blues, jazz, country, and Be-bop. Brandon and Taler performed the listed skits and
Jackson, Beyonce,
sang various songs to show the importance of
and Martin Luther
King, Jr. Their per- Black History and the impact that Black
Americans have in society.
formances of these famous people kept the
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Expect the Extraordinary!
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