Northern Hills April Newsletter
April 10, 2008
The Principal’s Page
Dear Parents/Guardians of Northern Hills’ Students:
Family Fun Night: Please reserve Thursday evening, April 24th for the PTO Family Fun Night, from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Parents and students are invited to play a board game in the student’s homeroom. A list of games that are available will be printed and sent home. Following that, Teachers, students, and parents will meet in the gym for a brief meeting to install the new PTO officers for the upcoming year. We will then have a game of “Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?” from 7:15 to 7:30 p.m. Mike Chittenden has agreed to be the host of the game show. Thanks, Mike!
PTO Fundraiser Results: The Northern Hills PTO Fundraiser
sales made a profit of $3,500.00.
Way to go! Thanks for all of your efforts! Each of the top sellers
tossed a bean bag to earn a specific money amount. A huge thank
you to Mandy Hansen who was the fundraiser chairperson!
Dates and Activities:
We have many activities for the remaining weeks of school. You may
want to jot some of them down.
April 7th – PTO Planning Meeting – 6:00 p.m. – Northern Hills
Library
April 18th – No School - District Music and Track meet
April 21st – Mid-Terms sent home for 4th & 5th graders
April 24th – PTO Family Fun Night – 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.
April 25th – Quizno’s Night – 5:00 to 10:00 p.m.
May 1st – NO SCHOOL – Staff Development Day
May 5th – Kindergarten Round-up – 6:45 – 7:30 p.m.
May 6th – Challenge Breakfast
May 9th – All Library Books due back into the Northern Hills
library
May 13th – Kind Kids Luncheon with Mr. and Mrs. Jim Scheer
May 16th – Northern Hills’ PTO Carnival – 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.
May 20th – 5th grade Farewell – 2:00 p.m. Northern Hills
library
May 21st – PTO Fun Celebration (AM) with 11:30 dismissal
May 21st – End of 4th Quarter – Report Cards sent home
May 22nd – Have a Safe and Fun Summer! Mrs. Trudie DePasquale,
Principal
The Preschool Nook
It’s hard to believe that the school year is almost over! Over the
past few months we have worked on many new topics. One of our
favorite topics was penguins! We really enjoyed learning all
about the Emperor penguins and how they live. We have also become
very interested in reading and retelling stories. Some of our
favorite stories to use props with include “Silly Sally” and “The
Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
Our recent goal of reading 100 books together was a very fun
challenge and we all really enjoyed working together to reach a
goal. This challenge helped us learn a lot about reading and
numbers. It also allowed us to help make a difference in the world
through Scholastic Book Club. Scholastic donates money/supplies to
different causes for every 100 books read.
We are making many new friends and learning to share with these
friends. We have also grown much taller since the beginning of the
year and are learning to fix our own problems. Our journals are
almost finished and we are enjoying sharing our thoughts through
drawings. Every day we are faced with new challenges and
information and we are excited to keep learning.
Your children have grown in so many ways! Throughout the year we
have worked hard to prepare for their transition into Kindergarten.
We have focused on learning names, colors, shapes, social skills,
and much more. As we move closer to the end of Preschool and the
beginning of Kindergarten, we will continue to work on the skills
that will best help your children as they transition through
life.
We would like to send out a big “THANK YOU” to all our
parents. Throughout the year many of you have helped our
preschool program in various ways. Always remember, you are your
child’s first teacher. It is your patience and guidance that helps
your child grow to be the best they can be. We are very
proud of each and every one of our Preschool students!!!
Mrs. Todd and class
Kindergarten Letters to the Tooth Fairy
Dear Tooth Fairy, Dear Tooth Fairy,
How do you make money? How can you get in my house?
Love, Love,
Masson Karlie
Dear Tooth Fairy,
Dear
Tooth Fairy,
What do you do with the tooth?
When
I lose my tooth, give me ten
Love,
dollars?
SamiJo
Love,
Kenny
Dear Tooth Fairy,
How do you get so much money? And, how do you get into my
house?
Love,
Shaelee
Dear Tooth Fairy,
Dear
Tooth Fairy,
I had a wish for you. Can you
How
do you get our money in our
bring some money?
pillow?
Love,
Love,
Maria
Eli
Dear Tooth Fairy,
Bring the tooth. Bring it in the night while I sleep.
Love,
Quintyn
Second Grade
We are now in our final quarter of the school year! Each of us
are striving to do our best work and display the progress we have
made. We continue to work hard in our reading program. Every
student will be taking some important tests at the end of April so
we want to continue on our road of achievement.
Our class participated in the Life On The Farm program at
the Madison County Fairgrounds. We learned many new things about
our Ag In The Classroom partner, the Neal and Deb Neidig family. It
was interesting to learn about so many different farm animals. A
special thanks to our parents who assisted on our field trip.
Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Our staff appreciation days at Northern Hills Elementary School
were truly special. The assembly and song performed by our student
body was very touching. It was a meaningful experience and we are
truly grateful!
The second grade at Northern Hills has been growing in size and
numbers. We have added three new students in the past few weeks. We
welcome our new students and hope they have a wonderful experience
at Northern Hills Elementary School.
Keep up the great work and we look forward to continued progress in
our last few weeks!
Mrs. Andrews and class
Third Grade
Third graders are zooming into the fourth and final quarter of our
school year with a math study of M&M’s: Money and
Multiplication! Do you know why the back of the dollar bill has
an unfinished pyramid on it? Do you know why “E Pluribus Unum” is
on all of our coins or what it means? Ask a Northern Hills third
grader for the answer to that and many more historical facts about
our nation’s money!
In Social Studies, we just finished president reports and are
racing to the end of our Presidential Homework Challenge! We have
split the class into Washington and Lincoln teams. The first team
to “build” their president by completing and returning homework,
wins the presidential “sweet”! Ask a third grader if the Lincoln
team won “Lincoln logs” or if the Washington team pulled ahead and
won cherry pies!
As we finish the year, we are looking forward to meeting our pen
pals from Tilden! We are finalizing the plans of a day filled with
fun, sun, picnics, and play time!!
As we close, we want to thank the PTO for encouraging us to read
with the book bucks program and the special valentine for extra
classroom supplies!!! We love all of the awesome parents of
Northern Hills School who push us to do our best every day!!! Mrs.
Coffin and class
Notes from Fourth Grade
One student said to me the other day, “Wow! Mrs. Wittgow, this year
went fast!” I thought to myself, how perceptive of that student
because I was feeling the same way. We are looking at the last
quarter of the school year already. During the last quarter we will
be taking four more tests in language arts and math. I have seen
tremendous growth in these students academically, emotionally, and
physically. The true joy of teaching is seeing this growth from
when students enter the classroom in August and leave the classroom
in May. It gives teachers a real sense of satisfaction to have the
privilege of playing a small part in the growth of each
student.
We are excited about going to Lincoln on April 9th. We will visit
Morrill Hall. This visit will reinforce our study of fossils.
Students will have the opportunity to see for themselves some real
fossils and view the gigantic Nebraska mammoth skeletons. Then we
will also visit the state capital. Every year we have traveled to
the state capital. Fourth graders come away amazed at the size of
the building as well as the beauty.
As the school year slips away, we are still working hard to learn
as much as we can before the last day. Let me take this opportunity
to thank all of the parents for your support this year. Parents,
teachers, and students working together are a winning combination.
Its’ been a great year!
Mrs. Wittgow and class
From the 4th/5th grade class:
So much has happened and we are anticipating even more to come. We
are slowly finishing up the Oregon Trail in the fourth grade. We
will be floating our wagons to see if they can cross the Platte
River. Then we will be studying landmarks in Nebraska and Nebraska
government to finish up the year.
The fifth grade is presenting their diorama depictions of the
Revolutionary War, also. After this, they will study the Civil War
and Reconstruction in American History. This will take us through
the presidency of Abraham Lincoln and the issues of slavery.
In Math, we will be studying fractions and decimals. These concepts
are challenging our knowledge of the times tables that we reviewed
at the beginning of the year. Then we will be studying measurements
and data to complete the year.
Science took a turn and studying plants and animals is our new
focus. We originally were going to study weather, but as the year
nears the end, we decided to jump into this other concept. We have
guest speakers coming in to enlighten us to the career choices in
this area of study. Our first speaker will be Janelle Clocker, who
trains animals to visit health care facilities and sick people. She
is bringing her dog, Penny, who will surely be a joy to the
class.
Mrs. Korth and class
News from the 5th Grade Classroom
The 5th graders are anxiously waiting for their farewell ceremony.
They have worked diligently in every study area, concentrating on
good work and study habits, organizing their materials and
time.
I have enjoyed working with your children. They are a group of very
talented artists, creative thinkers and hard workers. They will
enjoy the Middle School and its curriculum.
Thank you, parents, for your support during this school year. I
certainly appreciated all of your involvement. Have a safe and fun
summer.
To The Students: When you leave Northern Hills, you will take a
part of it with you, and you will leave a part of you with Northern
Hills. Best of everything – Mrs. Blakeman
March is National Women’s History Month. The 5th graders have honored the women in their lives with timeline accomplishments of the women who have inspired them. These timelines are displayed in the hallway outside our room. Stop by and view them. These wonderful women are mothers, grandmothers, sisters, cousins, and aunts. All are great role models and are worthy of being admired! We want to thank you for helping the students with their projects; you are the “BEST”!
From the English Language Learners’ Table
"But what if I don't know English?"
By: Colorín Colorado (2007) www.colorincolorado.org
If your Spanish is a lot better than your English, then speak,
read, and sing to your child in Spanish. Whether in English or
Spanish, you can spend time reading, singing, and talking to your
child every day. Doing so will increase your child's ability to use
language.
Even when your child is still a baby, there are things you can do
to help him learn! The first three years of life are very important
in developing your child's mind and abilities. Here are some ways
to give your child an early and strong start:
Talk to your child all the time
Beginning with the day your child is born, talk to him or her
whenever you're together. When you're making dinner, cleaning, or
going somewhere, let your child hear you talk about what you're
seeing, doing, or thinking. As your child gets older, ask questions
and engage him or her in conversation.
Say rhymes
Rhymes are fun to listen to and they help your child hear the
different sounds in words. Say rhymes like this one:
Bate, bate, chocolate
tu nariz de cacahuate Uno, dos, tres, CHO!
Uno, dos, tres, CO! Uno, dos, tres, LA!
Uno, dos, tres, TE! Chocolate, chocolate!
Bate, bate, chocolate! Bate, bate, bate, bate,
Bate, bate, CHOCOLATE!
Sing songs
Children love to hear people sing. Songs have rhymes and rhythms
that help them learn. Here is one lullaby:
Duérmete, mi niño
Duérmete, mi niño,
duérmete solito,
que cuando despiertes
te daré atolito. Duérmete, mi niña,
duérmete, mi sol,
duérmete pedazo
de mi córazon.
Tell stories
Tell your child a story you already know – or just make one up! It
could be a folk tale, stories about your family, funny stories, or
any story you both like.
Give everything a name
Tell your child what different things are called and explain what
they do. Say things like "This is a phone. We use it to call
grandmother." Or "This is a clock. We use it to tell the time."
When talking to your child, use the names of things instead of
words like "it" and "that."
You can also put labels on things in your home — the labels would
say "Chair" or "Table" or "Doll." You can also play games that
involve naming things. Ask your child, "Where's your nose?" and
then, "Where's Mommy's nose?" Then touch your child's nose and say,
"What's this?"
Point out words in the world
Show your child all the words you see while driving, walking, or
taking the bus. Point out the word "stop" on a stop sign, for
example. Ask your child to find a new word every time you go out.
This helps your child notice words and letters.
Read together every day
Once your child is six months old, read to him or her for at least
15 minutes each day. Experts say this is one of the most important
things you can do! Make reading together a warm and loving
time.
Listen to your child, too
Pay attention to what your child says, even if he or she is just a
baby. Look your child in the eyes and show that you've heard him or
her. This encourages children to keep trying to use words.
Submitted by Mrs. Peterson
From the Resource Room
Accommodations for Students with LD Submitted by Mrs. Herpy
By: National Center for Learning Disabilities (2006) This
information was obtained from LD on Line at
http://www.ldonline.org/article/8022)
What are accommodations?
Accommodations are alterations in the way tasks are presented that
allow children with learning disabilities to complete the same
assignments as other students. Accommodations do not alter the
content of assignments, give students an unfair advantage or in the
case of assessments, change what a test measures. They do make it
possible for students with LD to show what they know without being
impeded by their disability.
Should accommodations have an impact on how assignments are
graded?
School assignments and tests completed with accommodations should
be graded the same way as those completed without accommodations.
After all, accommodations are meant to “level the playing field”,
provide equal and ready access to the task at hand, and not meant
to provide an undue advantage to the user.
How does a child receive accommodations?
Once a child has been formally identified with a learning
disability, the child or parent may request accommodations for that
child's specific needs. The Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act states that a child's IEP (Individualized Education Program)
team which both parent and child are a part of – must decide which
accommodations are appropriate for him or her. Any appropriate
accommodations should be written into a student's IEP.
Here are some examples of possible accommodations for an IEP team
to consider, broken into six categories:
Presentation:
Provide on audio tape
Provide in large print
Reduce number of items per page or line
Provide a designated reader
Present instructions orally Timing:
Allow frequent breaks
Extend allotted time for a test
Response:
Allow for verbal responses
Allow for answers to be dictated to a scribe
Allow the use of a tape recorder to capture responses
Permit responses to be given via computer
Permit answers to be recorded directly into test booklet
Setting:
Provide preferential seating
Provide special lighting or acoustics
Provide a space with minimal distractions
Administer a test in small group setting
Administer a test in private room or alternative test site
Test Scheduling
Administer a test in several timed sessions or over several
days
Allow subtests to be taken in a different order
Administer a test at a specific time of day Other
Provide special test preparation
Provide on-task/focusing prompts
Provide any reasonable accommodation that a student needs that does
not fit under the existing categories
Earth Day is April 22! Here is an activity for a rainy
day in April!
Junk Mail Jewelry
Commonly referred to as junk mail, the letters, flyers, and
brochures sent by direct marketers are often very colorful and well
designed. While we may prefer to not receive this type of mail, you
can help the environment and save landfill space by making paper
beads from it. Many of the mail pieces you receive are varnished,
making this type of paper expensive to recycle. Because of their
coated surface, however, beads made from junk mail are very strong
and fairly waterproof.
You will need:
• Junk mail with a coated, shiny surface
• Newspapers to keep area clean
• Broken jewelry to string with paper beads (optional)
• Ruler, pencil, and scissors
• White glue
• Round tooth picks
• Strong, thin string, such as kite string
• Needle for threading beads
How to:
Cut the paper into small strips approximately 3/4" wide by 41/2"
long. Roll each bead by wrapping it tightly around a toothpick.
Complete the bead by gluing the last 1/2" of the strip. Remove the
toothpick and repeat until all the beads are made.
Beads of different sizes may be made by varying the dimensions
given. For example, to make the beads bigger, use longer strips of
paper. Change the width of the strips to make wider or narrower
beads.
When stringing beads, alternate handmade paper beads with beads
rescued from broken necklaces and bracelets, or make your own with
pulp papier mache mixture. Tie a knot in the string to complete the
necklace, or use a professional clasp which may be purchased at a
craft store.
Tips and Tricks:
You can also use magazine covers and other slick papers to make
beads. Even materials with some printing will do, since only the
last inch or so of the bead is visible.
© 1996 Marilyn J. Brackney courtesy of the Imagination Factory at
Web Site address http://www.kid-at-art.com/
