February 12, 2016 - Black Elk Elementary School

February 12, 2016
http://mps.bees.schoolfusion.us
Black Elk Mission Statement
The mission of Black Elk Elementary is to guarantee that all students achieve academic
excellence and are responsible, engaged citizens as a result of challenging, innovative,
and diverse educational experiences through a strong collaborative relationship with
students, staff, parents and community.
Black Elk Motto
Individual Success Driven by Black Elk’s Best
School Board Members
President: Mike Kennedy
Vice President: Dave Anderson
Secretary: Linda Poole
Treasurer: Mike Pate
Members: Patrick Ricketts & Paul Meyer Dr. Jim Sutfin, Superintendent
February 11-16
NO SCHOOL
February 25
P.T.T. meeting 6pm
February 29-March 4
March 3
Teacher Appreciation Week
1st grade program 7pm
Comments From Mr. Farwell
Students keep reading at home for the Omaha Storm Chasers Hit the Books program. If you make
it all around the bases, on your book mark, you win two free tickets to a Storm Chasers game.
Parents ask your child’s teacher for more details.
If you know of any families that have not received our registration packet for Kindergarten (20162017 school year) yet please have them contact the office at 402-715-6200. Our Kindergarten
Round Up and parent meeting is set for Friday, April 15th.
Thanks to all the parents for coming to
conferences and taking the time to learn
about the progress your child has
made. Continue to ask them about their
goals for the rest of the school year.
If you were unable to make your
appointment please contact your child’s
teacher about rescheduling next week.
Mrs. Hedstrom
Mrs. Hedstrom is in
her tenth year at Black Elk
as one of our 4th grade
teachers. Overall she is in
her 20th year as a teacher.
Mrs. Hedstrom and her
husband, Heath, have two
boys, Auggie, 1st grade,
and Gunnar who is four
years old.
In her free time she
enjoys spending time with
her boys, reading and
visiting new places.
Goal for life #1-I can take
good care of myself, even if I am
mad or have an overwhelming
feeling. We all have times when
we feel angry or overwhelmed.
It is normal. As adults we have
learned ways to manage these
feelings. Our job as adults is to
teach students strategies to cope
with
their
overwhelming
feelings in a respectful and
productive way.
Look for BIST tips in each of
our
Eagle
Express
Newsletters.
Spotlight on Mrs. Kahm and PE
Students have been very active throughout gym the past few weeks. After winter break,
all students were involved in a basketball unit. Throughout this unit students practiced
dribbling, passing, shooting, and various basketball skills. At the end of this unit, students
were able to take all the previously learned skills and apply them to a culminating activity to
end the unit. We might have a future basketball star in the making here at Black Elk!
The past two weeks, K -3 grade students have been actively practicing their
throwing/catching, fleeing/dodging, and teamwork skills throughout various activities. They
have really enjoyed combining all theses skills into activities that help promote a healthy
and active lifestyle.
The 4th and 5th graders have been engaged in an Archery Unit the past two
weeks. Students learned all the basic skills needed in order to be able to properly shoot a
bow at a target. This unit can be very challenging for most students, but they have done a
great job of being successful. We finished up the unit with a little special target
practice. Our targets consisted of a picture of Mr. Farwell with an apple sitting on his
head. Students really enjoyed the challenge of trying to hit the apple bullseye. We
may have the next Katniss Everdeen here at Black Elk.
Upcoming units: Hockey, Badminton, Fitness Testing, and Jump Roping
Mission:
The mission of Black Elk Elementary is to guarantee that all students achieve academic
excellence and are responsible, engaged citizens as a result of challenging, innovative, and
diverse educational experiences through a strong collaborative relationship with students, staff,
parents and community.
Objectives:
All students will meet or exceed district and state standards; the achievement gap between
subgroups will decrease annually; and overall performance on district and state assessments will
increase annually.
Each student will set and achieve challenging educational and career goals tailored to his/her
abilities, interests and aspirations.
The percentage of students participating in and performing at high levels on measures of national
educational excellence will increase annually.
All students will develop and consistently demonstrate character traits and positive behaviors
necessary for personal excellence and responsible citizenship.
Strategies:
1. We will develop and implement plans to increase academic achievement for all students.
2. We will develop and implement plans to communicate effectively amongst all school
stakeholders.
3. We will develop and implement plans to increase the effectiveness of BIST.
Millard Public Schools
February 2016
Read-aloud favorites
■ Bridges Are to Cross (Philemon
Sturges)
Llamas cross a
rope suspension
bridge in Peru, big ships pass beneath
a drawbridge in England, and trains
travel over a double-cantilever steel
bridge in Scotland. In this nonfiction
book, young readers will see pictures
of bridges around the world and learn
how they’re designed and used.
■ If You Give a Pig a Pancake
(Laura Numeroff)
When an adorable piglet climbs
through the kitchen window, a little
girl offers him a pancake.
Then the pig wants one
thing after another,
including a bubble bath,
a field trip —and more pancakes. Your
child can predict what the pig will
request next as the story comes full
circle. Part of the If You Give series.
(Also available in Spanish.)
■ Ling & Ting Share a Birthday
(Grace Lin)
Six-year-old twins Ling and Ting face
a few mishaps on their birthday as
they dress up and open gifts. Their
creativity and cooperation save the
day in this collection of short stories
for early readers. A cute look at similarities and differences between twins.
■ What Really Happened to
Humpty? (Jeanie Franz Ransom)
Did Humpty Dumpty really fall off
the wall, or was he pushed? This
sequel tells the story from the point
of view of Humpty’s detective brother,
Joe. Now several nursery
rhyme characters are suspects in his investigation! A
funny read-aloud sprinkled
with egg jokes.
© 2015 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated
The magic of graphics
Charts, tables, graphs, and
more—your child will read
a lot of graphics in school. Help
him prepare with these ideas
for reading graphics in
everyday life.
Name the facts
Your youngster may be
surprised by how much
information a graphic can
provide at a glance. Have
your family look at the
weekend weather chart.
Together, make a list of all
the facts you learn from it. If your child
sees a snowflake in the “Friday” column,
for instance, he may want you to help
him write, “It might snow on Friday!”
How many facts will you list?
Go on a nutrition mission
While grocery shopping, tell your
youngster he’s on a nutrition mission.
First, show him how to read the table on
a nutrition label. For example, tell him
that “4g” next to “protein” on a box of
rice means 1 serving has 4 grams of protein. Can he find yogurt with fewer than
10 grams of sugar per serving? How
about bread with more than 2 grams of
fiber? He’ll practice reading tables—and
get an introduction to nutrition labels.
Match it up
Let your child see how text and
graphics work as a team. Find three kidfriendly newspaper or magazine articles
that include graphics. Cut out the articles and graphics separately, and mix
them all up. Read the articles to him,
and see if he can match each graphic
with its article. For instance, he might
say that a graph showing Asian elephants and Bengal tigers goes with the
article about endangered species.♥
Colorful handwriting boosters
w What does finger paint have in common with a colander?
Both can improve your youngster’s handwriting! Try these
suggestions for building hand strength and coordination:
● For a squishy yet mess-free paint activity, help your child
spoon finger paint into a small freezer bag. Seal the bag tightly,
and have her move her finger gently over the bag to form letters,
numbers, and shapes in the paint.
● Give your youngster a colander and shoelaces or a ribbon. She can weave the
material in and out of the holes. Add even more fun by encouraging her to use
different colors and to weave up, down, or diagonally.♥