DECEMBER 2012 Riddle Reporter

DECEMBER 2012
Riddle Reporter
Riddle Elementary School, 4201 Western Avenue, Mattoon IL 61938
Virtues for December:
Joyfulness Dec. 3
Generosity Dec. 17
238-3800
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK . . .
We do a lot of talking. We tell the children to be kind to each other.
Help a person if you can. Treat others the way you want to be treated. I
think it is important for us to restate these basic “rules” for successful interaction. The same things the children hear over and over from their parents.
Talking is a good start.
Really showing them how it’s done is even more important. Live it out demonstrate it - model the behavior. The children watch everything we do
- and they learn. Let’s all be very sure we are setting the strong, positive example we want to be for our precious children.
Sincerely,
Bruce E. Barnard
Bruce E. Barnard, Principal
FOOD AND PENNY DRIVE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
MRS. KAI
MRS. MALESKE
2
MRS. STORM
MRS. JOHNSON
3
ARBORETUM
MRS. SCHEFFER
4
VETERANS DAY
5
CALENDARS
6
Riddle School collected nonperishable food items and pennies
for the Mattoon Community
Food Center. Riddle families
sent in 880 pounds of food items
and donated $300.00! What generous families we have at Riddle!
We are sure the Community
Food Center is very happy with
these amounts.
RIDDLE
PAGE 2
VOLCANO ERUPTIONS IN MRS. KAI’S CLASS!
Mrs. Kai’s class just completed a
study of basic geology. We learned about
the Earth and the layers of the Earth. We
created our own models of the Earth using play-dough to demonstrate what these
layers look like. We studied the many
types of rocks found on Earth. We classified and sorted our rocks according to their different characteristics. The students learned about how different
types of rocks are formed and were able to see examples of each type. We also
learned about the ways that the Earth can change. We studied erosion, earthquakes, and volcanoes. The students finished their study of geology by building their own volcano and watching it erupt
THIRD GRADERS ARE MAKING WORDS!
SUBMITTED BY MRS. MALESKE
As part of American Education Week, families were invited into classrooms to participate in an activity. In Mrs.
Maleske’s third grade classroom, the activity was making words. The students’ activity was to make as many words possible
from a mystery word. The mystery word must use all of the letters that they received. The goal is to make as many words as
possible out of the letters while trying to discover what the mystery word is at the end. It was amazing how many different
words the students could make! Thank you to the parents who participated in this fun activity. We look forward to the end of
the year when we challenge the secretaries, Mr. Barnard, and Mrs. Bough to a Making Words Competition.
PAGE 3
WE ARE THANKFUL IN MRS. STORM’S CLASS
We had an Eastern Illinois
University practicum student, Miss
Smith, in our classroom for a few
weeks. One of Miss Smith’s lessons
was about being thankful at Thanksgiving. She read a story entitled
Thanks for Thanksgiving written by
Julie Markes and beautifully illustrated by Doris Barrette. She then had
students make turkeys showing what
they are thankful for during this special season. She made a colorful display of these turkeys on a bulletin
board in the hallway. Mrs. Storm
was very thankful for Miss Smith’s
help during her practicum experience
here at Riddle.
EXPLORING THE MOON IN FOURTH GRADE
Mrs. Johnson’s fourth graders have been learning all about the moon. They mimicked the moon’s surface and created a variety of different craters on the surface of their moons. They watched the moon for a week and were frustrated by several cloudy nights in a row. Using what they saw in the sky they learned about the phases of the moon. The students were
able to eat the phases of the moon using an Oreo cookie. They will continue their journey through space to learn about the
planets.
The students nibbled away at
their Oreos to show the different phases of the moon.
Students experiment with
different size objects to create
craters on their moon.
RIDDLE REPORTER
PAGE 4
ARBORETUM
The Mattoon Lions Club has generously donated a hackberry tree to Riddle School. Recently, members of the Club and
Riddle students planted this tree in our Arboretum. It will be exciting to watch this tree grow over the years. Thank you Lions Club!
MRS. SCHEFFER’S CLASS DOES YOGA!
Every Friday in 2nd grade we have a reading test AND a spelling test. Yuck! Boy, do our brains get tired! Before each test,
we take “deep cleansing breaths” to give our brains an extra boost of oxygen and get it ready for the test. After each test, we
take a brain break to ease our minds. We learn different yoga poses and get up to move and groove. We know how to beat the
testing blues!
PAGE 5
RIDDLE SCHOOL CELEBRATES VETERANS DAY
Students and staff welcomed family and friends to honor and thank our
veterans during an annual parade through the hallways of Riddle Elementary School. Students were asked to express what Veterans Day meant to
them. Please enjoy this selection of their sincere and heartfelt responses:
“Veterans Day is to show the veterans we love them. I love the flags.” “To
me, Veterans Day brings joy and also sometimes makes me cry. It brings
me joy because when the soldiers come for the Veterans Day parade, you
can see the light in their eyes. Also, it makes me cry because so many people I know have died in the war.” “Veterans Day means that I can respect
troops. I can pay my respect to those people that protect our country. I can
also show my great-uncle and great-grandpa respect.” “We honor the
troops and give them thanks for saving our country on Veterans Day. We
also welcome them home.” “I’m happy that Grandpa is a veteran.” “It
means a lot to me because it means to show respect for the soldiers that
fought for us.” “My dad is a veteran. I am proud for my dad in my heart.
Maybe I can be a veteran when I grow up. I love you Dad!” “We should celebrate our own veterans and march for this if
they can’t make it.” “It is to remind our heroes we’re thinking of them” “It’s a special day because it means a lot to me. My
dad used to be in the army.” “Hold flags for old men and march.”
“Honor. The veterans do a lot of hard work and sacrifice for us. They
fight for our country. You honor them and the flag this day.” “It’s a
whole day just to honor veterans. It’s a day to tell them thank you for serving my country. You tell them thank you for keeping me safe and risking
your life for me.” “Without them I couldn’t be doing what I do
best...being me.” It means hope for the people of the United States of
America.” “Without them, we wouldn’t be the country we are today.”
“Parades!” “Celebrate America!” “Men and Women protect our country.” “We need to honor our Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force. They
fought for us. We celebrate because it is the right thing to do.” “Veterans
Day means that when all the wars were fought in the past, they kept on
trying and trying until America was free.” “It is a day to give them praise
and honor people who bravely fought for me. Veterans Day is a good tradition!” “It reminds us that we are special because some people are not
free yet.” “I have a few people who served in the military in my family. The first one who served is my dad, then two of my
uncles. All soldiers mean a lot to everyone.” “It reminds me of my dad’s friend in the Army. He’s alive, not dead. It also
reminds me of the time my dad was in Army school. He sent us letters while he was there. It’s a special day to me because
it’s a time to remember soldiers who fought in wars.” “It’s a day when you celebrate for all the good things the veterans have
done for us. It means a lot to me because my dad’s a veteran.” “We get to
make cards for them. We also get to see them with their uniforms on.”
“We honor our soldiers that were, or are
in the military and
Air Force. It’s also a
day to thank the men
who died who gave
the right for me to do
whatever I want. I
will always honor
veterans.”
“My
grandpa and my aunt
are veterans.” “We
honor our Army, Marines, and everybody who served our country. We should be thankful for
those people who served in the Armed Forces.” “Veterans Day means to
say thank you to my grandpa because he was in WWII. I love him so
much. I thank him a lot. He is still alive.”
Mattoon CUSD #2
Riddle Elementary School
4201 Western Avenue
Mattoon IL 61938
238-3800(p) 238-3805(f)
We’re on the Web!
mattoon.k12.il.us
Mr. Bruce E. Barnard, Principal
Mrs. Christine Bough, Assistant Principal
Respect+Responsibility+Relationships=Results
SPECIAL DATES
DECEMBER
4
5
6
8
10
11
13
18
19
21
22
3:15
PALS
SACIS Grs K & 2
SACIS Grs 1 & 2
3:15
PALS Last Day
7:00
Band @RES Gym
11:00 Band Rehearsal @ RES
2:00
Band Concert @ RES
9:00
Band Assembly @ RES
10:00 Band Assembly @ RES
3:15
Brownie Troop 2251
SACIS Gr 1
7:00
School Board Meeting
2:00
Gr 5 Musical
7:00
Gr 5 Musical
2:30
Fire Drill
2:45
Grs 4-5 Birthday Assembly
2:45
Grs 1-3 Birthday Assembly
2nd Quarter/1st Semester Ends
2:30
Winter Parties
NO SCHOOL Winter Break Begins
JANUARY
1
2
3
7
8
11
14
15
17
18
21
22
28
30
31
NO SCHOOL New Year’s Day
NO SCHOOL Teacher Institute Day
School Resumes - Kids Start!
9:00
Fire Drill
6:00
PTA
7:00
School Board Meeting
Report Cards go Home
3:15
Brownie Troop 2251
PM
Grs K-2
Visiting Author Assemblies
3:30
Young Authors Writing
Workshop
5:30
Visiting Author - Parent Night
7:00
Band @ RES
12:40 STUDENT DISMISSAL
NO SCHOOL Martin Luther King Day
7:00
Band @ RES
3:15
Brownie Troop 2251
2:45
Grs 1-3 Birthday Assembly
2:45
Grs 4-5 Birthday Assembly
7:00
Band @ RES