E-News on the Lane
Highlights from the week at Indian Lane
September 15-18, 2015
Message from our Principal
After a long weekend, the children and staff came back ready, willing,
and able. On Tuesday, I held the first of many “Principal’s Chats.” I
was able to meet with parents on a more informal basis to discuss their
questions or concerns. This was followed by a productive PTG meeting.
Kudos to all who give of their time and expertise to help make Indian
Lane such a positive place to be.
DIBELS benchmark assessments began this week for first and second
grades. Next week, we will continue with Kindergarten and third grade.
MAP testing also began this week and continues throughout the month
of September. The kids are doing a great job. We ended the week
with Picture Day. It was great to see all those smiles.
Teachers will begin to hand out Bobcat Brags to students next week in
an effort to recognize “Ready, Respectful, and Responsible” behaviors.
We will use the brags to cover a large purple bobcat paw outside our
cafeteria doors. Once the paw is covered with brags, there will be a
school-wide recognition of this accomplishment. Examples could be
crazy sock/hat/hair day, backwards day, dress like the teacher day,
special recess games, IL Spirit Day, and many more fun ideas.
From our Classrooms
Kindergarten
After an exciting first week in kindergarten the children were ready
to settle down and start working more with the curriculum. The
kindergarten students learned how to write the uppercase letters E &
F correctly using the Handwriting Without Tears method.They started
the counting unit in math enVisions and are now recognizing numbers
and symbols for the numbers 1, 2, and 3. The children also learned that
they were already reading the first day of school. Every child in the
kindergarten classrooms are able to read the pictures and tell a story
while looking at at books. On Constitution Day the classes read the
Bobcat Pledge, discussed its meaning, and discussed how we can use the
Pledge to help us be the best Indian Lane Bobcats.
First Grade
Writing complete sentences was our big objective in 1st grade this
week. The children learned all sentences need to have:
·
A capital letter at the beginning
·
A naming part (the who/what)
·
A telling part (did what)
·
A period at the end
The children also practice trying to write with lower case letters,
putting “meatball” spaces between their words, and doing their best
spelling by listening to all the sounds in a word.
All of these skills are very important stepping-stones to all the writing
your child will do this year.
Second Grade
In Reading Workshop, we discussed ways to increase our reading
stamina. We used storytelling voices for fiction and teacher voices for
informational text to help us understand what we were reading. In
Math, we began Topic 1: Fluently Add and Subtract Within 20. We
reviewed previous skills and worked with addition fact strategies. Our
vocabulary words are: sum, difference, addends, equations, doubles and
near doubles. One of our goals for Topic 1 is to be more fluent with
our math facts, so keep up the practice!
Third Grade
Third grade has had quite the week! We have been working on how to
multiply using repeated addition, a number line, skip counting, and
arrays. We have been practicing our cursive letters during Word
Study. In Reading Workshop, we have been learning how to build our
reading lives by taking a look at our reading history, finding reading
spots, and shopping for Just-Right books. We have been thinking of
small moments with certain people and at certain places in Writing
Workshop. During Social Studies, we have been learning about the
globe, continents, and oceans. We were even able to learn about
Constitution Day! We are eager to see what next week will bring!
Fourth Grade
The first two weeks of school has been a whirlwind. Students have
been getting to know their teachers, and the teachers have been
learning about their students. Initial assessments in Reading, Math,
Writing, and Word Study have been given to students in order to find
out how teachers can best help their students to learn and to grow. In
Fourth Grade, students are being introduced to the new Envision Math
program, how to change classrooms, and how to make sure they have
everything they need before switching to another classroom. During
Social Studies, we have been learning about the four types of social
scientists, who will be assisting us in understanding the Regions of the
United States and Pennsylvania.
Fifth Grade
In fifth grade we are in full swing of our academics. The students are
being leveled for Reader’s Workshop, and they have all begun writing
narratives. Each fifth grade math class has begun their new curriculum
that the district purchased for us. We are excited to say the new
program looks terrific and we are hitting the common core standards
each and every day. We look forward to Back to School Night on
Monday so we can set the stage with how our great year will flow.
In fifth grade we have run a primary election for student council
officers. A general election will be run September 29th right after an
assembly so the students in third through fifth grade can hear the
candidates speeches. We are all looking forward to a great year at
Indian Lane.
From our Specialists:
Art
First graders are learning about line! Second graders are traveling the
world through art, our first stop is India. Third graders are learning
about art through time travel, we are reviewing prehistoric art. Fourth
graders are discovering the regions of the United States and are
celebrating a particular artist. Our focus is John Audubon, we are
creating clay owls. Fifth graders are exploring contemporary sculptor,
Roxy Paine. Paine is famous for his industrial tree sculptures in the
round. All students should have a smock on art day.
Gym
First and second graders started their tag unit! Third through fifth
started their fitness testing. Please remember your sneakers on P.E.
days!
Library
Students in all grades reviewed library rules and procedures
throughout the first six days of school, a complete cycle of library.
We also checked out library books for the first time this school year.
Please note your child’s library day on Mrs. Hatton’s schedule and
remind your child to return his/her library books. Thanks so much!
Music
Fifth grade parents should be looking for information that was handed
out in class to ALL students concerning future concert dates and times
(green). Some Fifth graders also requested permission slips pertaining
to joining our Fifth Dimension choral group (gold) and/or Bobcat
Ensemble instrumental group (purple). These are two music enrichment
groups offered at Indian Lane. This information can also be found on
my website by clicking on “forms.” All 5th graders need to return the
bottom portion of the ​
green​
parent letter. All permission slips are due
by 9/25/15.
Upcoming Events & Reminders
● Monday, 9/21 - “News On The Lane” begins, 8:55 a.m.
● Monday, 9/21 - Back to School Night, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
● Wednesday, 9/23 - No School
● Thursday, 9/24 - School Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m.
● Tuesday, 9/29 - PTG Homeroom Parent Tea, 3:30-4:15, library
● Wednesday, 9/30 - Virtual Kindergarten Parent Meeting,
7:00-8:00 p.m., library
● Thursday, 10/1 - School snack starts during lunches
● Friday, 10/2 - Box Tops are due