Physical Education News Letter
Fitness, Fun, and Learning!
IND Physical Education just finished up our winter roller skating unit. We transformed the gymnasium into a roller skating rink, with dance music and flashing lights. Roller skating and rollerblading can also be a great way to enjoy fitness and fun outdoors as well.
We
are now ready for spring! We are looking forward to finishing up the school year
outdoors with cooperative learning activities and team sports. We are also
excited about our annual fifth grade Physical Education field trip to the AMF
bowling alley at the end of this month.
Nutrition
Nuggets
……from the
Valley View District Food Service Department
May
begins National Physical Fitness and Sports Month!
This is a
great time of the year to enjoy being active, whether play tag, biking, or
playing a game of ball, its just feels good to stretch and work your muscles
after the long winter months.
Did you know??
School-age kids should get 60 minutes or more of physical activity a
day!
Healthy
Meals for Healthy Minds!
Eating
breakfast and lunch at school is a great way to fuel your body with healthy and
nutritious foods!
Valley View Schoo District Meal
Prices
2008 – 2009 School Year:
Elementary
Breakfast $1.00
Lunch $1.50
Middle and High School
Breakfast $1.25
Lunch
$1.75, 2.00, 2.25, 2.50
8 oz Milk Chug included with
all meals
2% White, 1% Chocolate, 1%
Strawberry or
Skim Milk Carton available
8oz Milk Chug – ala carte $0.50
Fifth Grade Team
Wow!! The end of the year is almost here!! We have put a lot of energy learning for nine straight weeks!! We all have grown so much! This last month will add to the many concepts we still need to learn and maintain as we prepare to move onto middle school.
Fractions have been our main focus in math and will be until the end of the year. We will work on many different facets when we solve problems with fractions. Our smart boards continue to keep us engaged!!
The students did an awesome job in the science fair! Thank you to all the parents to make this huge project a success!!
We will be taking a few field trips this month, one to the AMF bowling alley with our P.E. teacher Mrs. Tumilty on May 20th and another to Cantigny Park (June 4th - Healy/Mitchem and June 5th - Pankow/Witt) in Wheaton. Parents are encouraged to attend the Cantigny trip!!
Spring fever tends to kick in with the warmer weather. Please remind your child to continue working to the best of his/her ability until the end of the year. We have a fifth grade DJ party and Awards Night on Monday, June 9th. This is a special night for the students. Parents and family are invited to the Awards Night portion of the evening.
This year our students have done an amazing job unlocking their strengths. As a whole, we have worked together to create a well-rounded learning experience and instilling values such as respect and responsibility. Thank you for all of your support that made this year so memorable!!
Have a fabulous summer and we would like to wish everyone the best for the future!
Fifth Grade Team
Update from our
“SERT’s”
(Supported Ed / Resource Teachers)
It is hard to believe that that we are in out last quarter of the school year! The SERTS teachers here at Independence have had an eventful and exciting year.
We are enjoying our new beautiful school building and also our brand new classroom.
This is a very busy time of year for us as we are testing and continuing to provide academic support for our students. We are so pleased with all of the growth we have seen both socially and academically at every grade level that we work with this year.
We are continuing to use the Aims Web program that we started last year to monitor our student’s progress in the areas of reading fluency, comprehension, math, and writing. It has been a very useful tool for us as teachers as well as for parents and students to see the growth they have made throughout the year.
We also have been using a new reading program with our students this year. It was called reading “Reading Triumphs”. The program is a component of the new reading series that our school is using. “Triumphs” follows the stories and skills that the classroom teacher is working on but it is written at the level that our students are working at so that they are better able to read and understand it. The program also gives them a chance to work on phonics skills, reading fluency, and comprehension. This program is proving to be an effective intervention for many of our students as it gives them the chance to practice the same skills that their classmates are working on while reading at a level that is more comfortable for them.
The SERTS would like to thank you for all of your hard work and support this year! We are team in your child’s education and we could not do it without you! Remember to read with your child every day and continue to practice with them this summer.
Mrs. Renn’s Second Grade News
Wow, it’s hard to believe that May has arrived already! The second graders have been working very hard this final quarter of the school year.
The final theme in our reading book is called Expressions. In this theme, the stories help students understand the different ways that we express ourselves. Please continue to read and discuss each story with your child at home. It is also important to encourage your child to pay attention to the punctuation marks and to read with expression.
Second graders have also been writing… writing… writing! In addition to writing poetry and short stories, students have also written personal narrative, expository, and persuasive papers. These are kept in writing folders here at school. Flowers aren’t the only things blooming here at Independence!
In math, May brings fractions and multiplication into the second grade classrooms. When helping your child at home in these areas, emphasize equal parts or groups. Look around your home for items that contain equal parts such as packages of juice boxes, packages of batteries, or egg cartons. These things will help your child grasp the concepts being taught.
Thank you for all of your hard work and support this year!
Patriot Press News from Mrs. Jenkins’ room:
As the days get warmer outside, the minds are blooming inside! We have had such an adventure this year in room 22. Students have come a long way since the beginning of the school year. It is just spectacular to look back on writing, reading scores, and math abilities from first quarter and compare those to the word being done at this time of the year.
Students are now writing full paragraphs about plants, chicks, and butterflies. In April we became guardians to 24 chicken eggs. It was fascinating keeping track and writing about the development of the embryos and then watching the chicks hatch. Many classrooms in the school came to visit our room to see the eggs and the chicks! Painted Lady Butterflies were also a welcomed addition to our science activity in April. We spent many days watching the caterpillars grow bigger and bigger until they finally formed the chrysalis.
We have also been exploring our new reading series this year. One of our favorite stories was about inventions that kids created. We created our own “can telephones”. THEY REALLY WORKED! We also read stories about famous people and far away places. Our class created several class books based on themes from our reading series. It has been fun for all to go back and revisit books we made during the year.
In Social Studies, we thought about future careers we might want to pursue. We learned songs about jobs, read about many famous people, and even created clay models of career symbols. For instance: a hammer was made by someone wanting to be a builder, a bus was made to represent a bus driver job. It was very exciting to watch the creativity come to life with the project.
Our “Reaching for the Stars” at home reading program has been a huge success this year. The students have read over 2000 books at home with their families! Don’t forget to keep reading during the summer months.
We are well on our way to becoming second grade students. With more of the year yet to come, the sky is the limit. Stop by anytime to check us out in room 22. You never know what we will be exploring next!!
Parent/Guardians:
I can’t believe that this school year is already coming to an end. This school year every student has metamorphosized like butterflies. All they have to do now is stretch out their wings to reach their dreams and goals. Your unconditional support in making sure your child meets his/her goals was a major factor in our success. I am truly grateful and appreciative of your support and cooperation. Trust me that without your help, first grade would not have been so great.
I would like to thank all our parent volunteers. Some parents helped out with project preparation from home while others helped in the classroom for math and/or reading. Thank You! I truly believe we’re a team. I would also like to thank everyone that helped with our program “Aprendemos Juntos” (learning together). Anyone is welcome to attend our meetings without prior notice. April 28th will be silent reading. May 5th we’ll be visiting The Bolingbrook Library. May 19th we’ll have our hands on session.
I’ll take this opportunity to remind everyone that the all students should be reading at a level “I” by the end of 1st grade. If your child is not meeting their reading goal please contact me so that I can give you some reading strategies you can work on at home during the last quarter as well as over summer break. I’ve already made summer school recommendations for our class. Summer school recommendations must be entered by the teacher. You’ll receive written notification in the mail before this school year is over. Remember, should your child qualify for summer school classes are from July 14th – August 8th. If your child is absent 3 or more days they will be dismissed from summer school.
There are many fun activities you could do with your child over summer break. Some suggested activities are; Taking turns reading, a game of “I Spy”, various day camps, recycling and sorting, various events at your local public library, or a trip to the zoo. Remember these types of activities serve as positive motivation for your child.
In conclusion, it’s been a pleasure working with you and your children. Throughout the laughter, tears, and frustrations, our triumphs supersede everything. Remember that your constant assistance, support and most of all your love will be necessary in second grade as well.
Mrs. Salvitano Sotelo
Estimados padres de familia:
Es increíble saber que nuestro ciclo escolar esta llegando a su fin. Los cambios que se han dado durante el curso del ciclo escolar han sido como la transformación de una mariposa en sus hijos, las cuales al final solo tendrán que extender sus brazos para poder seguir alcanzando sueños y metas. Su apoyo incondicional y su constante preocupación por el logro de las metas escolares de sus hijos han sido el resultado de logros obtenidos por los niños. Quiero decirles que estoy realmente emocionada y agradecida por todo su apoyo y cooperación; créanme que sin su ayuda este viaje increíble por el primer grado no hubiese sido tan placentero.
Quiero dar las gracias a todos nuestros padres voluntarios, quienes en algunos casos desde casa nos han apoyado así como todos aquellos que se hicieron presentes en nuestro salón para ayudarnos con grupos de lectura y matemáticas. ¡Muchas gracias! Creo que somos un gran equipo. También quiero dar las gracias a todos los padres de familia quienes han venido asistiendo a nuestro curso de Aprendamos Juntos; esta ha sido una aventura mas en donde el aprendizaje ha sido mutuo. Me permito recordarles que aun tendremos reuniones y que puede asistir a ellas sin previa reservación. Las fechas que aun tenemos pendientes son las siguientes: Lectura en voz baja abril 28, Visita de la bibliotecaria del pueblo de Bolingbrook y sus programas de verano mayo 5 y manos a la obra mayo 19.
Quiero aprovechar la ocasión para recordarles que el nivel de lectura mínimo requeridos al finalizar el primer año es la letra I; si su hijo(a) no ha alcanzado ese nivel aun, por favor platique conmigo para poder recomendarle algunas estrategias que puede implementar en casa durante este cuarto escolar y el verano. También comentarle que se han hecho las recomendaciones para escuela de verano de nuestro salón. Estas recomendaciones solo se otorgan por recomendación del maestro y les será notificado por escrito antes del término del ciclo escolar. Recuerde de que en caso de que su hijo(a) haya sido recomendada, deberá asistir a clases de julio 14 a agosto 8 de manera diaria ya que la acumulación de tres ausencias hará que su hijo(a) pierda su lugar.
Así mismo aprovecho la ocasión para comentar con ustedes de posibles actividades que podría realizar con sus hijos durante el verano y estas son: reciclando y clasificación, lectura por turnos, dime a que pienso, asistir a algún campamento de día, asistir a las actividades de la biblioteca de Bolingbrook, visitar el zoológico o alguno de los museos. Recuerde que todas estas actividades serna de gran motivación para su hijo(a) ya que el solo hecho de pasear y estar con usted lo hace una aventura.
Finalmente comentarles que ha sido un gran placer el poder trabajar para sus hijos y para ustedes. He disfrutado de cada uno de los momentos que he tenido la oportunidad de compartir con sus hijos, sus lagrimas, sus frustraciones, sus alegrías pero sobre todo sus triunfos. No se olvide que aunque en segundo grado, aun requieren de su ayuda constante, de su apoyo pero sobre todo de su amor.
Sra. Salvitano-Sotelo