Words from Walsh
Volume 16, Issue 5
Jan.
Home of the Wildcats
January, 2017
Dear Parents/Guardians: As we begin the New Year, let
us take the opportunity to reflect on the past year with all of its blessings, as well as
all of the challenges that faced us. I am always overwhelmed and touched by the
generosity that our families extend to others during the holiday season. This past
year was no exception. The PFA “Giving Tree” helped make the holidays a little
brighter for some of our families, and we thank everyone who made a donation. The
PFA also held the first Polar Express Interactive Movie Experience, which seemed to
be a hit with the kids! A special thank you to Mrs. Shanle for conducting the train
along the tracks, so to speak. I also want to recognize and thank all of our staff,
teachers, and volunteers who continually give their all in their commitment and
dedication to our students and to this district.
This month we will be getting back to business, working hard to move our students
forward in their educational journeys. Please keep the lines of communication open
with your teacher, and discuss any concerns you may have. Report cards will be
issued on the 20th. If you have any concerns or if I can help explain our grading
system, please do not hesitate to contact me. I wish all our families a healthy, happy
and prosperous new year!
~ Mrs. Teresa Martin
Dates to Remember
3 – School Resumes
6 – Spirit Day/PJs&Slippers
13 – School Improvement
11:55 Dismissal
No EC Classes
13 - Daddy/Daughter Dance
13 – End of 2nd Quarter
16 – NO SCHOOL
Martin Luther King’s
Birthday
17 – BOE Mtg./District
17 – Start 3rd Quarter
20 – Report Cards Issued
20 – Spirit Day/Favorite
Color
23 – First Grade Field Trip
31 – Fitness Night
Remember to dress your child
appropriately with a coat, hat, scarf,
mittens and boots. Students will be
outside on days where the wind chill is
above 10 degrees. All students will be
going out unless they have a doctor’s
note to keep them inside for medical
reasons.
P.E. News by Mr. Wallace
InJanuary,wewillbeloadedwith
fitnessactivitiesasusual,buttheywill
beneededmorethaneverwithall
theextrasnacks,treatsandless
physicalactivityduringthewinter
break.Wewillgetoutonthemats
anddoalittletumblingthismonth.
Wealsowillhostafitnessnight,so
watchformoreinformationcoming
homesoon.Ihopeeveryonehada
wonderfulandrestfulholidaywith
theirfamilies.
Music News, by Mrs. Rutkiewicz
Happy New Year! I can’t believe it is 2017! I hope you all had a nice winter break with your
families. Kindergarten and first grade students had great fun in December with our hand bells. First
grade students accompanied some fun holiday poems with bells, and played a song called “Chime In.”
We also watched a puppet version of “The Nutcracker.” Kindergarten students played hand bells to the
song “Hear Those Bells.”
First Grade will begin the new year by finishing our shoe tying challenge. Keep practicing, kids! I
will soon be teaching the musical hand signs for the musical scale. Listen for a song called “Whacky Do
Re Mi.” We will also learn about the musical scale and music symbols. Kindergarten students will
continue to explore new musical concepts such as tone color and high and low sounds. Listen for the
tune “Doggie Doggie, Where’s Your Bone?” We use this song to explore the unique sounds of our
voices.
Advance notice: The kindergarten musical will be on Friday, April 28, 2017. Mark your calendars
now – you won’t want to miss it! More details will be coming soon.
Keep on singing! Mrs. Rutkiewicz
News from the Media Center, by Mrs. Rusick
This past month the students have worked on Coding. We participated in an “Hour of
Code” and practiced writing directions for programs. The students can also continue to work
on coding while they are at home. There is a link on the Library Media Website to the Coding
games we practiced.
During the winter months, students have time to work on reinforcing skills learned in the
classroom. Tumble Books, Raz Kids and Bookflix are all programs that are displayed on our
Library Media Center web site. These sites all provide fun ways for students to practice
reading. Students have worked with each of these sites during Media time and they should
be able to navigate each site. You can access these sites through any Internet browser by
going to https://www.d92.org, then selecting Walsh, navigate down the drop down menu to
curriculum and choose the Media Center, each of the links is located on the Media Center Site.
Drop off times: no earlier than 8:40 a.m.
Please be prompt for pick-up at 3:30 p.m.
Remember to call the office by 9:00 a.m. if your child will be absent.
Office hours are 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. ~ 815-838-7858 www.d92.org
District 92 – A Community Partnership Dedicated to Children
Making Math Count by Mrs. Romeo
Studentsareworkinghardatidentifying,
writing,addingandsubtractingnumbers.Our
staffisalsoworkinghardonplanninga
wonderfulMathNightforWalshstudents.Our
themethisyearwillbe,AMinionWaystoUse
Numbers!Pleasemarkyourcalendarsfor
rd
February23 ,at5:45.
Belowaretwonewwebsitesandactivities
totrywithyourchildren.
Thismonth’sfocus:
Kindergartenwillbeabletosolvesubtraction
problemslessthanorequalto10.
Website:http://www.ictgames.com/partition.
html
Activity:Havestudentsmakenumbercardsto
40.Studentsshouldputtheminorder,
removeone,andseeiftheycanidentifythe
missingnumber.
FirstgradeStudentswillunderstandthatthe
twodigitsofatwo-digitnumberrepresent
amountsoftensandones.Studentsshould
alsopracticewritingtheirteens.
Website:http://www.toonuniversity.com/flas
h.asp?err=313&engine=6
Activity:
1.Rollandaddwith3dice,thentellwhatis
onelessoronemore.Havethemwritethe
numeral.
2.Makeindexcardscountingto100.Have
studentsgroupthemby10’s,20’s30’sandso
on.Nexthavethemputcardsinorder.
KindergartenNews
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that it is 2017! January will be a busy
month for kindergarten. In Schoolwide, we will begin our Non-Fiction Unit. We
will be learning about the structure of non-fiction books, as well as learning about
different types of non-fiction books. In math, we will continue Unit 4 in the
Bridges curriculum. Unit 4 focuses on paths to adding, subtracting and
measuring. As you can see, it is back to business after our holiday break!
1st Grade News
Happy New Year and welcome back! The New Year brings us a fresh start with
many academic topics. We will begin with a new Schoolwide Non-Fiction Unit.
This unit focuses mainly on non-fiction text. Nonfiction books present interesting
facts about important people, places, and things in our world. There are three
types of nonfiction books that the first graders will study: literary nonfiction,
reference books, and biographies: Literary nonfiction provides readers with facts
while sharing a story; reference books give facts. These books contain useful
facts or specific organized information and are consulted for information on
specific matters; and biographies tell information about a real person. It is an
account of someone’s life written by someone else.
You might want to take a look at the books you have in your home and
determine with your child if they are literary nonfiction, reference books or
biographies. We will continue to work on reading with accuracy and fluency. The
children will be taking the AIMSweb and CPAA tests in January. Please continue to
have your child read and review comprehension of text with you during baggie
book time. Just a reminder, the winter fluency goal for the AIMSweb test is to read
31 words per minute; the only way to increase fluency is to practice. Students will
also learn how to write informational paragraphs.
Fundations will progressively become more difficult as students learn:
consonant blends, diagraph blends, the suffix -s added to words with up to four
sounds, and the R-controlled vowel sounds ar, or, er, ir, ur.
Phew! Thank goodness January is a long month, because we have a lot of
learning going on!
Early Childhood
Theearlychildhoodclassesareofftoagreat2017.Wewillworkonawinterunit,and
our“ReadItOnceAgain”selectionswillbe“TheMitten,”and“TheNappingHouse."Our
lettersforthismonthwillbeM,N,andO.Wearecountingto15,andworkingon
namingnumberandlettersymbolspresentedinrandomorder.Inaddition,wewilllearn
aboutstayinghealthyduringthesecoldwintermonths.Staywarmandreadlotsof
books!
Art News
ThekindergartenclasseswillbeginanotherwinterthemedprojectinJanuary.We’llstartbyreadingthebookSnowmenAtNight.We’llbedrawing
snowmenonblackconstructionpaperandthenusinggluetooutlinetheirshapes.Next,we’llexperimentwithpastelchalkforthefirsttimeandlearn
someshadingtechniquestoaddformtooursnowmen.
Thefirstgradestudentswillbelearningaboutabstractart.WewillstudytheworkofRussianartistWassilyKandinsky,whoisconsideredtobe
“thefatherofabstractpainting”.We’lluseblackglueto“draw”shapesandlinessimilartothoseseeninKandinsky’swork,andthenusewatercolor
painttoaddboldcolors.PlanatriptoPop’sinLockport,whereyou’llseedozensofprintsofKandinsky’spaintingsonthewalls!
The Reading Corner by Mrs. Squires, Kindergarten Reading Specialist
With the cold weather upon us, it’s the perfect opportunity to cuddle up with your child and read a good book! Creating a literacy-rich environment in
your home is easy and so important in fostering a love for reading. Below are some ideas offered from the Reading is Fundamental website
(www.rif.org) on helping to provide a literacy-rich home environment:
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Establish a regular time and place for reading together, such as after dinner or before bed. Read daily to your child.
Share your love for books. Read stories you enjoyed as a child and share why they were your favorite.
Talk with your child before, during and after reading together. Make predictions, ask questions or have your child try to retell the story in
his/her own words.
Store books and writing materials in places where your child can easily reach them.
Model reading and writing for specific tasks, such as making out a grocery list or cooking a recipe.
Visit the library often and have your child get his/her own library card! Children love the task of choosing their own books and checking them
out. This can also provide opportunities for lessons on responsibility, too!
District 92 – A Community Partnership Dedicated to Children