Volume 1, Issue 8
Graymont Grade School Newsletter
NEWSLETTER: April 2007
April 2, 2007
Welcome back to school!! I hope everyone had an enjoyable spring
break and got plenty of rest so that we can finish the year
strong. We have many exciting events coming up this month.
The PE classes will begin the skating unit upon our return from
break. This is always a fun unit for the students. Hopefully,
everyone will stay on their feet!
In preparation for solo and ensemble contest, Mrs. Schrock will be
hosting a dress rehearsal evening on April 3 beginning at 6:30
p.m. This is a great opportunity for the students to perform the
musical selections in front of an audience before facing a judge.
Our students have been working very hard preparing for this
event. Everyone is invited to attend and enjoy the evening. The
actual contest will be April 14 at Dwight.
School will not be in session on April 6 or 9 in respect to Good Friday
and Easter. This will be a nice long weekend for everyone to
enjoy spending time with their families.
The Graymont PTO kicked-off a fundraiser Thursday, March 22. The
students have had the opportunity to sell the product over the
spring break. The event ends April 3. Delivery will be on April 26
from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. and money will be due on May 3.
We are already beginning to make plans for the next school year. For
parents of new kindergarten students, Graymont Grade School
will be holding Kindergarten Orientation on Tuesday, April 10 at
6:15- 6:45 p.m. Parents will find out all about entrance
requirements, school readiness, curriculum, and registration. I
you have a child who will turn 5 years of age on or before
September 1, 2007, please call the school at 743-5346 so that
we can prepare for the orientation. If anyone knows of a family
in the community who may not get this notice, please pass this
information along to them and have them call the school.
Mrs. Fritchtnitch
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Administrative Professionals' Week
Administrative Professionals’ Week is April 22-28!! Students and
Staff at Graymont School would like to say a huge "thank you" to
Mrs. Lori Durham. She wears lots of different hats at Graymont and
always has a smile for everyone. She certainly makes everyone's
days go a lot smoother. THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO!!
Scholastic Bowl Dates for April
Day
Date
Opponent
Location
Time
Wed.
4/25/07
I.E.S.A Regional
TBA
TBA
Mon.
4/30/07
I.E.S.A. Regional
TBA
TBA
“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions
Are made from something they have deep inside
Them – a desire, a dream, a vision.”
~Muhammad Ali
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Teacher News
Mrs. Erickson
Kindergarten is so ready for spring. We are patiently
waiting for good weather to do some outside
experiments and activities for Earth Day.
READING READINESS - We are really concentrating
on blending letters together to form words. Every so
often we review all letters/sounds to keep them
fresh in our minds. We will be checking out leveled
readers to take home and read with our parents. We
will continue to work on singular and plural nouns. The
Pizza Hut Book-It is finished for this school year. I am
very proud of my students and parents for all of the
reading that has gone on at home.
MATH - We can now write a horizontal and/or vertical
addition problem. Work will begin on telling time to the
hour and half-hour. We love money and will continue
to work with the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter.
We have begun to make different coin
combinations. Our class grocery store has helped us
with our money sense. Thanks to parents for all of the
empty food containers that have been sent to school.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES -The ocean and ocean
life will be our new topic. We will be learning
the composition of ocean water, types of living
creatures in the ocean, the names of oceans around
the world. There will be several experiments
conducted and lots of ocean projects! We will be
utilizing computer software that will really enhance our
learning about the ocean.
In addition to the ocean unit, we will begin to learn
about seeds and growing plants. Our classroom
garden will be sprouting and blooming before we know
it. Our class will help in the school and town clean-up
for EARTH DAY. ALL OF US IN KINDERGARTEN
WISH EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY EASTER!!
Ms. Myers
1st Grade Reading: We will be finishing up our fifth
reading unit and entering the final reading unit in our
series. Phonics and studying specific vowel sounds
will continue to be a major push in these units. First
grade will also be focusing on the following concepts:
main idea, cause and effect, sequence, theme, and
drawing conclusions.
2nd Grade Reading: The second graders will be
taking their 5th unit test and working on our sixth and
final unit. Throughout this unit, we will be studying
several different vowel sounds. Furthermore, we will
be working on reading concepts such as: realism and
fantasy, context clues, plot, and theme.
1st Language Arts: We will be working on different
types of troublesome words and introduced to
homophones. We will practice using the words
correctly in our writing and practice the words with
multiple meanings. Throughout the month, we will be
using adjectives in our writing to give stronger detail.
The conclusion of the month will have the students
writing a short story.
2nd Language Arts: 2nd grade will be working more
with verbs .and using helping verbs. We will focus on
how we use them in our speech and writing. We will
also be working on writing following one main idea.
We will be introduced to adverbs and recognizing
them in sentences. At the end of the month, we will
learn how to correctly make a how-to paragraph.
1st/2nd Grade Math: This month both grades will be
working on the same topic - fractions. We will work
on coloring the correct portion of a fraction and what
each number represents in the fraction. Throughout
the unit we will use manipulatives to help the students
reinforce the concepts. We will also be working on
patterns. We are going to practice making and
labeling the different types of patterns. We will also
be learning to extend, transfer, and correct different
patterns.
1st/2nd Grade Social Studies: Together our class
will be studying our Earth - states, continents, and
oceans. We will learn about different types of
landforms including hills, mountains, valleys, and
deserts. We will talk about different monuments and
important places in the United States. Finally, our
class will discuss different ways to protect our Earth.
3
We will be talking about the three R’s: reduce, reuse,
and recycle. This will come just in time for our
celebration of Earth Day.
Ms. Rients
In Math, the 3rd grade is studying customary units,
metric units, and temperature. We are finding length,
capacity, and weight, along with learning ways to
change units. In 4th grade we are finishing up motion
geometry, and then we are going to learn about
fractions.
In Science, we will be finishing up our chapter on
energy. Then we are going to move on to sound and
light. We will find out what causes sound, how it
travels, and how all the parts of the ear work together
so we can hear. We will also learn about sources of
light, how it travels, and how light interacts with matter.
We are continuing our study of the Middle West. We
have finished learning about the geography and natural
resources, so we will now focus on its past and
present. We’ve had fun learning more about where we
live and the states around us. Our next project will be
researching some of the landmarks in our state to
make postcards. This not only helps us understand
more about where we live, but also gives us some
research practice.
For Language Arts, our next parts of speech are
adjectives and adverbs. We will work on being more
descriptive in our writing as we find out the importance
of these. Both grades are moving right along in
reading. 3rd grade is focusing on predictions, fact and
opinion, visualizing, and determining the author’s
purpose. 4th grade is studying plot, using graphic
sources, making generalizations, and defining the
author’s purpose. It’s important that the students are
continuing to read for at least 15 minutes a night, so
please give your child any extra encouragement he or
she needs to accomplish this.
Mrs. Hott
ISATs ARE OVER!!!!
Everyone did a good job focusing and doing their
best each day.
5/6 Social Studies - We have moved on to Ancient
Rome and are learning what their lives were like as
well as how they have influenced civilizations today
(including our government).
7/8 Social Studies - We are currently learning about
Europe in more modern times including the
European Union. We will also be focusing
specifically on the countries of United Kingdom,
Sweden, France, Germany and Poland.
5/6 Science - Energy is our current topic – what
energy is, how it can change forms, etc. For this
section we are discussing how electricity and
magnetism are related and also taking a look at
sound energy. Our next section will focus on
thermal and light energy.
7/8 Science - We are almost finished with our book
on Animals. A test was taken this week on Fishes,
Amphibians and Reptiles and our last chapter is
about Birds and Mammals.
Math – All grades took tests before spring break
(after our hiatus during ISATs) and will begin new
topics after spring break.
5th grade – We have finished long division – keep
them practicing at home! When we get back from
spring break we will start on fractions.
6th graders will be extending their knowledge of
fractions by learning how to add, subtract, multiply
and divide them.
7th grade will be starting on percents after spring
break. 8th grade will be continuing their work on
solving equations
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Ms. Wilson
5-6 – We are moving at a steady pace,
continuing to work on Unit 5 and will shortly
begin Unit 6 of our Reading books. 5th grade
will be working on theme, steps in a process,
and plot. 6th graders are focusing on
generalizing, author’s viewpoint, and graphic
sources. As always there is a spelling test
every Friday. Please encourage your child to
study their words to ensure they will be
successful. Also, each student should be
reading at least 20 minutes every evening.
7-8 – In Reading we have finished our unit
on Black History and have started the novel
“Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson.
We have been focusing (and doing a great
job of) picking out the books major Themes,
Motifs, and Symbols.
5-8 – In Language Arts, as I indicated
during parent/teacher conferences, we are
finished with the grammar section of our
English books. For the remainder of the year
we will focus on applying what we’ve learned
thus far to our writing essays: Expository,
Persuasive, and Narrative. If time allows we
will do some creative writing at the end of the
year. Attached to the newsletter you will find
an example of the 5th and 6th grade
Expository writing. This was a class effort,
every single student contributed to the
completion of this essay paper. I was very
proud of their enthusiasm and creativity while
working on the essay.
Special Dates to
Remember
• April 6 – No School
• April 9 – No School
• April 12 – 5-8 grade War
Museum in Pontiac 9:00am
• April 17 – 2:00 dismissal
• April 19 – 8th grade tetanus
shots
• April 25 – Progress reports
sent home
“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it
and hang on”
~ Thomas Jefferson
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The Way to Spend a Rainy Day
By 5th & 6th Grade
Do you like rainy days, or do they make you down and blue?
Rainy days can be fun; here is a suggestion or two. Sleeping in and being
lazy, reading books, and spending quality time with your family. If you
follow these suggestions you will be glad you do.
First, when your alarm clock starts to beep, beep, beep just
turn that sucker off! Lie back down in your bed and feel the squishy
comfortableness of your sleeping paradise. While you are snoozing,
dream about the scrumptious, syrupy, buttery pancakes and greasy bacon
you hope your parents are preparing. Now that your wishful taste buds
have been tempted, you can listen to the pitter patter of the light rain
tapping on your window.
Now that you are relaxed, reach over and pick up that mystery
novel (or book of your choice) on your night stand you’ve wanted to finish.
While you are reading you can visualize yourself as the lead detective.
You just uncovered the last piece of the puzzle when suddenly, BANG! The
door behind you slams shut! All of a sudden the room goes black and you
hear creaking footsteps getting louder and louder as they are coming
toward you. You turn the final page only to find out its to be
continued…Now that you’ve completed the first volume of the mystery
novel make sure you get a copy of the second volume for your next rainy
day.
Since you have just finished the dramatic ending to the mystery
novel, you can now get your lazy bum out of bed and spend quality time
with your family. One great way to bond with your family is to play board
games. Here are a few fun games you might enjoy: Monopoly (a game
involving money to buy land), Scrabble (a game about creating words for
points), and Clue (a mystery game using detective skills). In addition to
board games you can also spend good quality time playing card games.
Some classic card games include Texas Hold ‘Em, a casino game, UNO,
which involves matching colors and numbers, and Spoons, a game
matching four of a kind but you must also have great agility and cat like
reflexes to snatch a spoon.
Rainy days can be fun if you take full advantage and do it right!
Remember when the rain is coming down you can enjoy your extended
slumber, dive into your next reading novel, and get to know your family
better. Now the next time you hear the rain trickling down you’ll realize it’s 6
not such a bad sound.