E-News on the Lane
Highlights from the week at Indian Lane
January 4-8, 2016
Message from our Principal
Welcome Back!!!! It was a wonderful week at Indian Lane. Although
there were no extra events during the week, it was great to see all the
students and teachers filled with energy and enthusiasm. Students
settled into a regular routine, and the classrooms were filled with
engaging learning activities.
We are excited to be able to participate in a collection for the Media
Food Bank as part of our Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at
Indian Lane. Our collection will run all next week and students should
bring in their donations to the homeroom teacher. Our goal is to
donate at least as many items as we have students. During the day
Friday, teachers and students will participate in a grade level service
project to conclude our MLK Day Celebration.
Please continue to send your children to school dressed appropriately
for the cold weather. We plan to send students out for recess
whenever possible. Long pants, coats, hats, gloves, and scarves are
recommended to keep your child warm enough to enjoy the time outside
playing with friends.
From our Classrooms
Kindergarten
We returned to school with excitement. During the week the children
completed Topic 5 in math and began Topic 6. In Topic 6 the children
are learning that addition is adding to a number. In Reading Workshop
the children learned that super readers recognize their popcorn words
and use them to help read the story. They also learned that super
readers tell a story using pictures. The children received new popcorn
words this week and have been practicing them daily. The also started
reading nonsense words this week.
First Grade
This week we got back into the swing of things! During reading
workshop we reviewed how we “set our table” for reading, picked new
reading spots, picked new books, and continued working on our reading
stamina. In writing workshop we began our new writing unit-opinion
writing. During math we reviewed topics 1-4 and took a cumulative
test. We began a new unit in Social Studies. Our focus for the next
few weeks will be reading maps, directions and different land forms.
Second Grade
It was great to be back in school for a full week once again! The
children jumped right back into their routines as we picked up where
we left off in December. During Writing Workshop, they are writing
opinion pieces and supporting their views with evidence. The children
are now regularly including opening and ending sentences in their
writing! In Math, the students are being introduced to subtracting
double-digit numbers using several different strategies. Social
Studies has our second graders examining different landforms such as
mountains and valleys. Reading Workshop has them noticing when
characters act “out of character”, or differently than usual. Then our
readers are charged with discovering ​
why ​
their characters behaved in
this manner.
Third Grade
What a wonderful week it has been! We were excited to return to
school. This week we began to explore Area in math. In Science, we
continued to learn about the human body. We learned about parts of
the digestive system, kidney, and bladder this week. In Reading, we
completed our non-fiction unit with a final poster project. The
students are excited about our upcoming Mystery unit which we
introduced at the end of the week. In Writer’s Workshop, we
completed our non-fiction books and enjoyed sharing them with the
class. The students were introduced to our next unit in Writing, our
persuasive unit. Many interesting lessons and more fun is on the way
this month!
Fourth Grade
Fourth graders returned from their winter break and have been
completing their tour of the Northeast Region of the United States.
They have learned about the Erie Canal and how it transformed New
York into a major city. They also learned about mass production and
how Milton Hershey put it to use and became the world’s largest
chocolate candy manufacturer. Students will be completing the tour
and test sometime next week.
In the Math, students have either completed or are in the
process of finishing up their discussions of factors and multiples. We
are looking forward to switching gears and reviewing and learning some
geometry terms. All students will also be learning to use a protractor
and either measure or make angles.
Fifth Grade
In Reader's Workshop, we are continuing our Historical Fiction Book
Clubs. Students will begin with a second round of books to practice
skills and strategies covered in the first part of the unit. Students are
doing a great job discussing theories and characters as we progress
through the unit.
In Writer's Workshop, we will wrap up our opinion research-based
essays about whether chocolate milk should be served in school. From
there, students will choose an independent topic and begin research to
cite evidence, use quotes, and explain their reasoning.
In AMP, students are finishing a unit on Geometry and starting a unit
about ratios.
In Math, we are practicing dividing whole numbers with multi-digit
divisors, and divide by multiples of 10. We are getting ready to switch
for Science, Seminar, and Social Studies.
From our Specialists:
Art
First graders are outlining their still-life work with glue. Second
graders are outlining their rainforest animals with gel markers to pay
tribute to the Molas of Panama. Third graders are using glazes on their
Roman columns. Fourth graders are reviewing the Amish of Lancaster,
PA. Fifth graders are enlarging their tool drawings they made to
celebrate the work of pop artist Jim Dine.
Library
Kindergarteners began using “magic wands” to search for library books
on the shelves. All other grades began learning about the Caldecott
Medal and reading some of the books which have won this prestigious
award. Fourth graders learned about the requirements for the NAACP
Black History Month Poster Contest. More information will be shared
next week as they begin to work on this project in library class.
The January Library Volunteer Schedule is now available. If you would
like to volunteer in the library, please visit Mrs. Hatton’s website or
click here​
to sign up. Thank you!
Music
If you would like to see a video of the December 18th All-School
Holiday Concert, ​
click here​
.
From our Student Council
Food Drive for the Media Food Bank
Next week, the entire school will be participating in a food drive
collection for the Media Food Bank. The food bank often receives a
great many donations around the traditional holidays but tends to need
additional support throughout the year. As a school, we are asking that
each student bring in one or more of the following items:
● Dry goods: pasta, rice, cereal, etc.
● Paper goods: paper towels, tissues, etc.
● Canned goods
● Personal Items: soaps, shampoo, deodorant, etc.
● No sodas or unhealthy items please
The school store is back! Students can visit the school store to
purchase various fun, school supplies on Wednesday mornings from
8:30 to 8:50 in the cafeteria. Item prices range from 25 cents to
$1.50.
From our PTG
PTG teacher representatives Mrs. Barton and Mrs. Meile would like to
hear what you want them to share at the meetings. Please submit ideas
and any school-related questions through our website. The link is on
the PTG page or you can ​
click here​
.
The next PTG meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 19th in the
library at 7:00 p.m. We hope to see you there!
Upcoming Events and Reminders
● January 11th through 15th - Food Drive for the Media Food Bank
● Friday, 1/15 - Bobcat Pride Breakfast, 8:15 a.m., cafeteria
● Friday, 1/15 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Service Projects
● Tuesday, 1/19 - PTG meeting, 7:00 p.m., library
● Tuesday, 1/19 - Auditions for “Notables 2016,” the Penncrest
musical, 6:00 p.m., Media Elementary School Auditorium. Please
bring completed audition form with you.
● Friday, 1/22 - Geography Bee, 9:00 a.m., cafeteria