Concert

There will be a Holiday Concert that includes PreK through Grade 4, chorus and instrument players, on Monday, December 16, at 12:30p.m.  Miss Harrison and Mrs. Potter look forward to having parents and family attend.

Students in Need

If your student is in need of boots for winter or you are in need of a Right Start application, please contact Darlene in the office.  Right Start applications have to be in by December 5.                       

Fundraiser

The teachers of 5th and 6th grade are planning to take their students to Boston in the spring.  This means the students need to raise money to ride the train and pay for other expenses (museums, etc.).  The first fundraiser will be for online Yankee candles and students will receive 40% of the profit.  This will be done online only.  The information for this fundraiser will be sent home next week.  Thank you for your support.

Flagship Cinema

We have about 70 booklets left, if you are looking for a nice stocking stuffer.  The cost is $25 cash.  If you’d like one or more, please call or see Darlene so we know you are sending money with your student.  We will sell them until they are gone.  They expire January 31, 2020.

Mrs. Clarke

We had a short but happy week.  The children are enjoying the November snow and sunshine.  On Friday, we had our regularly scheduled house meetings.  As a member of Altruismo, it was wonderful to see our house leaders (Emma Cooper and Hunter Brown) take charge of our kindergarten through sixth grade gatherings.  Congratulations to Amistad for winning the Great Pumpkin Walkathon pledge challenge. They were rewarded with a pizza party at their house meeting.
I wanted to let all of you know that next Tuesday I will be operated on at Massachusetts general Hospital to repair the nerves and tendons that were damaged this summer.  As a result, I will be on medical leave until January 2.  Melanie Ellsworth will be acting principal in my absence.  Please enjoy your holiday season.  I will miss the daily existence of your children in my life over the next seven weeks. Enjoy your weekend.
Fondly,
Beth

 Classrooms

Pre-K – What a short week it was for us. We are all super excited about the snow. It is important that we teach our
children how to put their snow gear on and off. While teachers are always willing to help, it can be chaotic gearing up 16 little ones. We sing a song to help that goes to the tune of head, shoulders, knees, and toes:
Snow pants! Boots! Jackets, and Hats! Gloves go on after that!
Wearing boots all the time can be uncomfortable. Your child can leave slippers in our cubbies to change into for
the classroom. Have a great weekend and enjoy the outside.
Ms. Larracey

Kindergarten – Winter has finally hit! We’ve had a very short week! Please make sure your child is dressed for this frigid weather every day. They need a coat, hat, mittens, ski pants and boots. We do have some ski pants on reserve for those who need it on occasion, but please check your child daily to see if he or she is “ready to go.” If you’re in need of any clothing, please let us know and we’ll make sure your child has what they need. We did a little unit on animals during winter, focusing on 3 words: hibernate, migrate and adapt. It was interesting for us to learn that whales migrate to find warmer water! Continue working on letters and their sounds at home as we work on sounding out words and writing what we hear at school.
Mrs. Biggers

Grade One – Even though it was a short week, First Grade has accomplished quite a bit! Please make sure that your child’s home folder with their behavior calendar and their book borrowing bags are returned to school every day. Please check and initial their behavior calendar each day so that I know you have seen it. We are creating How To books while we become Word Detectives and study our sight words that we should know automatically in a “snap!”  We’ve been continuing our Geometry unit in Math and we met with our fifth grade Book Buddies for the first time this week! The students had a fantastic time sharing books with their older friends! Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Chafin

Grade Two – We’ve had a short but wonderful week after our unexpected 4 day weekend! During the month of November, we have been working on our Thankfulness Booklets; taking time out of each day to write about something we’re thankful for. Thank you to all for helping your student with his/her turkey disguise! We have wonderfully decorated turkeys on display this year! This week we also began studying the Pilgrims and their journey they made from England along with the hardships they faced not only on the Mayflower but during their first year. We will continue to study this topic until Thanksgiving break. Please continue reading with your child and helping to practice our math facts!
Mrs. Puiia

Grade Three – Valuable news to convey despite the short week. We enjoyed some extra computer time because, once again, this team has shown that they can pull together and persevere. Each jewel in the jar represents one small thing that a student did to make our classroom run smoothly. Perhaps they used one of our OMKids or Big Deal/Little Deal strategies, or maybe it’s the extra effort in rereading and checking responses on our Mystery Reading Post Assessment. What a pleasure to experience such growth!
Mrs. Cooper

Grade Four – The students are so excited about their Maine Studies project. They are working in teams creating posters, powerpoints, and eventually a diorama. Their topics include Maine wildlife, Maine geography, Maine landforms, Maine counties, Maine state landmarks, and Maine industries. It is great to see the collaboration and teamwork!
The students did a fabulous job with our unit on data. They are working hard on learning their multiplication facts. After Christmas break, the students will be working towards mastery. We already have a few masters in the class! Quite impressive!
We are currently reading “Wish” by Barbara O’Connor. We are comparing the theme and patterns of events with “Tiger Rising” by Kate DeCamillo. Ask your child to tell you about these two stories and how they are similar in many ways.
Mrs. Toita

Grade Five – After our unexpected 4-day weekend, we jumped back into our non-fiction reading unit with great enthusiasm. We’re working on writing summaries that include the main ideas of the text and the key details that support those ideas. We’re also gearing up for the end-of-trimester spelling bee!  This will cover all of the words from the previous 6 weeks’ word work words. More info on this fun event to come!
In math, in both 5th and 6th grades, we’re working on fractions, fractions, fractions! If you use fractions in your work or daily life, talk to your child about it. It’s always great for kids to know how what they’re learning at school is relevant to their lives outside of school. Looking forward to some upcoming book talks to be enjoyed over breakfast this week and next!
Mrs. Timm

Grade Six – Having such a short week did not slow down our reading and writing. Writing has taken a turn into the complex realm of drawing inferences and asking ourselves, “What motivates our characters? What often drives a person’s actions?” As character essayists, these questions form the foundations towards the larger unit of argumentative writing.
In reading we continue to explore and analyze our character relationships. This work allows students to draw parallels to their own lives, laying the foundations needed to foster good supportive relationships. Collaborating and building positive relationships with other people is our underlying theme within the reading unit on social issues. It’s challenging work, we have so many learners. This team continues to build off one another. Shout out to Shilynn. An inspiration and huge positive influencer in our team!
Mr. Onofrio       

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, November 27-Friday, November 29 – No School.  Thanksgiving Break
Wednesday, December 4 – Friends of West Paris Children Meeting, 5 p.m.