Washington Word
by Carol Feuerbacher
May 01, 2008
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
As you are now aware, Mr. Cory Worrell has been announced as
the principal of Washington Elementary School for the upcoming
school year. We feel very fortunate to welcome Mr. Worrell to our
school and are excited to get to know him better.
Mr. Worrell has served as an elementary principal in the Norfolk Public School district since 2001. For the past seven year he has served as the principal at both Lincoln Elementary and Norfolk Public Montessori. Cory began his educational career as an elementary school teacher in Grand Island, Nebraska.
Over the next several weeks, Mr. Worrell plans on spending time at Washington getting to know both the staff and students. I am sure that he will take the same time and care in getting to know each of the Washington families next fall.
I am confident that Washington Elementary will continue to excel under the direction of Mr. Cory Worrell. I trust that you will continue to provide him with the same support that has always been in place at Washington Elementary.
End of the School Year
As the school year draws to a close, I encourage you to remind your
children that teaching and learning will continue at Washington
through the end of the school year. It is easy to allow our minds
to wander to thoughts of warm summer days. However, there is still
much to be done through the rest of the school year. I am confident
that, with your support and encouragement, our last month of school
will be as productive as the rest of the school year has been.
2008-2009 KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Though it is hard to believe, we are already beginning to put
together our plans for the upcoming school year. With that thought
in mind, we are beginning to register students who will be entering
kindergarten during the 2008-2009 school year (those who will be
five-years-old by October 15).
In order to register a parent or guardian of the incoming kindergartner needs to come into the school during regular school office hours (8:00-4:15). At that time, we will have the adult complete a small packet of registration information. We will also give them information about physicals and shots that the incoming kindergartner will need.
When you come to register your child it is very helpful if you bring a copy of their birth certificate as well as their Social Security card. If you do not have a copy of their birth certificate, one can be obtained at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services office located at 304 North 5th St. in Norfolk.
If you have any questions, give Mrs. Feuerbacher or Mr. Hastings a call at the office at 644-2557.
MESSAGE FROM READING
As one of the Title I teachers, I have a few reading groups
throughout the day. I get to work with some awesome students! The
main ones I have are a group of 1st and 2nd graders and a group of
4th graders. Each group has worked so hard this year and each
student has grown so much academically!
The 4th graders have done so much this year in reading, spelling, and grammar. We have been reading fictional and nonfictional stories in our Reading Mastery textbooks. Some of the subjects we have learned about are: dinosaurs, ice floes, the seasons and weather, and cold and warm blooded animals. We just finished reading a fictional story about a boy named Leonard and his energy-efficient invention.
Every day, the students have approximately 10-15 minutes to read Accelerated Reader (AR) books in the morning. You can tell how much they love to read!! So, I asked them the following question: What is your favorite book and why? Here is what they said:
My favorite book is The World According to Humphrey because it
is fun.
-Chace H.
My favorite book is The Bailey School Kids, #9: Pirates Don’t
Wear Pink Sunglasses, because it is funny and it is weird, there
are four kids that are friends.
-Esther L.
My favorite book is the Super Mario books, because they have my
favorite video game characters like Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi.
-Felipe N.
My favorite book is called The Old Willis Place, because it’s a
ghost story and because an old woman died and haunts them.
-Marisol Z.
My favorite book is The Ghost of the Chattering Bones, because
it is scary and it is funny and good.
-Alexis T.
My favorite book is Skeleton Man, because it is scary and I like
scary books and it is interesting.
-Haley D.
My favorite book is Here Be Monsters, because it is about monsters
and a kid that lives underground. It’s exciting.
-Selena R.
My favorite book is Rookies Play Ball!, because it’s about
baseball and it’s exciting!
-Kenadee R.
My favorite book is Trouble According to Humphrey, because I
liked the story a lot.
-Alejandro M.
My favorite book is No Dogs Allowed, because I like dogs and it
is about a girl who doesn’t want a dog but she gets one for her
B-day.
-Dominique G.
My favorite books are all the Bailey School Kids. Because they
are mysteries and when the teacher tells me to stop I stop in an
interesting part.
-Cecilia R.
My favorite book is a book called Low Rider, because it’s about
cars that have hydraulics.
-Alejandro C.
My favorite book is Becoming Nomi Leon, because it was sad,
happy, and kinda funny and really good.
-Julissa G.
My favorite book is called Because I Love You. I like what the
Mom does to the boy and what she sings.
-Miguel O.
My favorite books are all of the Harry Potter books, because I
love the characters and all of the exciting things that happen.
-Mrs. Ahlmann
Keep reading over the summer…I know I will!!
Mrs. Ahlmann
MESSAGE FROM THE GUIDANCE OFFICE
HAPPY MAY! DISMISSAL IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER FOR THE
2007-2008 SCHOOL TERM!
Believe it or not, dismissal for the school year brings a lot of mixed emotions for school staff. Yes, a break is always nice, but a number of us become concerned about losing learning ground. For some of our students, when they walk out the door, they walk out on opportunities to continue reading, working with numbers, writing and other functions we want them to continue practicing.
Why do they need to practice over the summer? Because we want them to be the best they know how to be. We want them to be employable someday in a career they want to have…not a “job” they have to do!
Careers? In elementary school? You bet! It’s never too early to start talking with your student(s) about their future. “Someday, down the road, what do you dream about doing?” Ask him, “What do you love to do? Why?” Children are thrilled to tell you and you will learn things about your child you may not have known.
Are dreams realistic? Why not? If your child wants to be an astronaut, find books and stories about astronauts. Somebody had the dream to be an astronaut…why not your child!?
Share things you love to do – talk about how you chose your own path in life. (My example: “I always knew I liked helping people solve problems, so that’s why I became a school counselor.”)
Will there be failures along the way? Absolutely! Remind your child that a failure is just a lesson to be learned, so dream big!
Have a restful, healthy, happy summer! Keep reading!
Anita Theophilus, School Counselor
MESSAGE FROM MUSIC
Students in 5th grade Band participated in All-City Band this
Spring. They met on Tuesdays after school for several weeks and
then had a final performance on March 11 for their families. They
did an outstanding job!!
Students in 4th and 5th Grade Orchestra participated in All-City Orchestra. They met at the Middle School for several practices and then had a final performance at the Johnny Carson Theater on March 11. The program featured Orchestra students in grades 4-12. The evening was fantastic!!
A balanced music program goes beyond the words of the songs and includes opportunities to explore movement, rhythm, tone, and pitch, as well as valuable listening experiences. As we discover more and more in terms of how children think and learn, we gain an awareness of how we should teach, as well as what we should teach. We are learning more about the roles music and movement play in cognitive development, symbolization, language development and imaginative thinking.
We are music makers! We can turn printed pages into a celebration of language. Songs allow us to perceive and understand new possibilities for thinking, feeling, and imagining.
Mrs. Buss
MESSAGE FROM CHALLENGE
Challenge Corner
Please read along and discover what the students are currently doing in the Challenge Classroom!
The fifth-graders are brushing up on their Archaeological knowledge as we prepare for our annual field trip to Ponca State Park. This trip is set for May 15, 2008. Students will have the opportunity to investigate the Visitors Exploratory Center which includes valuable information pertaining to the settlement of this area. Also, the students will meet the Park Ranger who will give a presentation on the geological formation of Ponca State Park. The climax of the day will include students participating in an archaeological dig!
In order to prepare for this field trip, students are completing a Web Quest on the internet to glean information about the study of archaeologists. Students are discovering what tools are used in archaeology and what archaeologists actually do in their field!
The fourth-graders are continuing the unit “Researching
Adventures – Challenging Glyph-Making Activities.” Students are
just completing the “Flag Glyph” which focuses on literature and
the language arts. A couple of questions that students must
research include: “Name each sister in the novel, Little Women.”
“What item does Laura treasure in the play The Glass
Menagerie?”
After students have researched all the answers to the six
questions, students will create an original flag. Students must
take careful notes and read all the clues before they can design
their flag.
Our third-graders are just about finished being members of the “Detective Club.” I have been extremely impressed how well the students have used their reasoning skills to complete each puzzle. Students welcome each puzzle with enthusiasm and determination.
The final unit for the third-graders will be based on the “The Research Book – For Gifted Programs.” Students will complete various activities in which students will gather information from various resource materials to answer questions. The first activity will include researching their favorite state and answering questions such as the following…”The President is coming to dinner! Plan a menu using only food and ingredients grown or produced in your state!”
The second-graders are currently working on the “ABC’s of Non Fiction Research” from The Research Book for Gifted Programs. Students are completing questions that pertain to different topics from A to Z. Students are independently gathering information and researching various subjects. Some questions include… “What color are glaciers and can people walk on glaciers?” “Where can you see microbes and name on good thing microbes do?”
The Research Book for Gifted Programs has been carefully designed and field tested with gifted students to speak to the needs of the gifted learner. Hopefully, these needs are being met as the second and third grade students complete the selected activities in this book!
Last but not least, the first-graders are continuing the unit
Primary Education Thinking Skills. The students have just been
introduced to Isabella the Inventor. Isabella has introduced the
students to divergent thinking.
The lessons introduce the following concepts:
*In divergent thinking, there are many correct responses
*It is important to be able to see ordinary things in new and
unusual ways
*Unusual ideas are encouraged
*It is OK and encouraged to piggyback ideas!
This has been a great year at Washington, and I look forward to next year!
Have a great summer!
Nancy Boche
Challenge facilitator
nboche@npsne.org
