Ford Elementary School First Quarter Newsletter
What We’re Learning in 4K
- Recognizing, identifying and writing letters in our name
- Creating and extending AB patterns
- Retelling stories
- Identifying characters
- Identifying numbers 0-5
- Identifying and drawing shapes
- Counting to 20
Reminders:
- As the colder weather is approaching we would like to make sure your child has warmer clothes in their cubby incase of an accident. Please send a pair of pants and a long sleeve shirt in your child’s bookbag. We will switch out their extra clothes and send their warmer ones back home.
- Please make sure you label any of your child’s coats, gloves, hats, etc. It is hard for us to know whose stuff belongs to who.
Class Wish List:
- We are starting to run low on Snacks. If you would like to send some for the class that would be greatly appreciated. (goldfish, fruit Loops, animal crackers, etc.)
- Kleenex and Sanitizer
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5-Year-Kindergarten
It's beginning to look a lot like excitement in the air! The Kindergarteners here at Ford Elementary are learning to identify, write and recall letters and letter sounds, identify sight words and retell vocabulary, compose and decompose using mental images, pictures and a variety of manipulatives to solve and write equations. We also have learned about voting and elections with Duck for President! We have been busy but learning. We have taken a trip to Stewart farms learning all about pumpkins, enjoyed a tractor ride and every child was able to receive a pumpkin to take home.
We are looking forward to enjoying the Holiday season with your children. It is such a special time to learn about giving and receiving.
It’s been a very busy time in kindergarten!!!
1st Grade
We are working hard in 1st grade! You can help your child achieve mastery in ALL areas by further developing these skills at home!
In writing, we are focused on writing personal narratives! A personal narrative is a story about yourself. Our students are learning how to use temporal words such as first, next, then and finally. You can encourage your first grader by using temporal words in conversation.
In math we are building our foundational fluency through ten. Fluency simply means how quickly students can recall facts. If your child can quickly recall addition and subtraction facts through ten, he/she is fluent!
We have learned all about the moon in science! Our first graders can explain the moon cycle and illustrate the different phases of the moon!
Our reading focus is retelling! We have learned story retell to tell us the characters, setting, beginning, middle and end of stories read in our classrooms! Please encourage your students to retell their books while you are reading your 30 for 40!
Thank you for supporting your first-grade student!
2nd Grade
Wow! It’s hard to believe we are approaching the holiday season. During the first quarter,
second grade was busy learning all about the states of matter in science. We are currently
studying about the Earth’s surface. In Mathematics, during the first quarter, we learned about
data, how to read charts, place value, and adding and subtracting numbers up to 999. We
have started our Money measurement unit. Our second graders are eagerly counting and solving problems using real coins to enhance their understanding of the value of each coin.
Students are using coins to show specific amounts of money in two or more ways.
Second grade students had a delightful and very educational experience at Upstate Children’s Museum
last month, on Halloween to further develop a sense of money. It was a magical moment for our
inquisitive students. While at the museum, students explored many hands-on exhibits. One
exhibit was a grocery store; students were allowed to shop and actually decided how much
money was needed to pay for the items purchased. We look forward to continuing our measurement unit, telling time and beginning our study of Geometry after the holidays.
3rd Grade
In the 1st quarter, we enjoyed reading humorous fiction stories and wrote about a personal experience. We then had a reading unit on poetry which we really enjoyed, and wrote a personal letter. In Math we focused on learning multiplication strategies and memorizing facts. We started off the 2nd quarter with an awesome field trip to the Children's Museum in Greenville. We are currently building STEM cars and looking forward to the big competition on December 14. In reading we completed a nonfiction unit all about America and are currently doing a unit on plays. In Math we moved into division and are currently working on memorizing division facts. Keep practicing those multiplication and division facts!
4th Grade
WHAT WE ARE LEARNING:
September-Native American Housing Project. Our 4th graders studied about the Native Americans & tribes of the Eastern Woodlands regions-the Cherokees, Catawbas, & the Yemassee tribes of SC, in particular. 4th grade did not disappoint-they showed up and out with their projects. Our students did an OUTSTANDING job with their housing projects. Truly amazing!
October 19th, 4th grade students attended a field trip to Columbia, SC. Our students rode on a Cross Country Chartered Tour Bus. Students visited the state grounds of our Capital & viewed the African American History Memorial. We also visited the Riverbank Zoo & Botanical Gardens. Our final destination was the SC State Fairgrounds. We were sure to cover our standards, as we have been studying engineering & design, plants, & animals, as well as SC government. Thanks to all who purchased Krispy Kreme doughnuts to support this trip.
November 8th-4th Grade was truly fortunate to attend Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville, SC. Students rotated through three (3) science labs to include: 1. Light Heist-students worked as detectives to find the thief who stole a sculpture using the properties of light; 2. Powerful Decisions, students learned about the different types of energy. They wired houses and supplied electricity; 3. and, the Need for Speed. Students used specialized cars to gather information re: speed & analyzing the resulting graphs.
2nd Quarter: Math, multiplication & division strategies are being taught. Parents, please spend time with your child learning their multiplication facts fluently. Fluently means students need to learn facts & commit to memory counting their fingers & drawing circles or lines to figure out their answers. Multiplication & division is the foundation to understanding fractions and measurement, which is at the core of 4th grade math.
- Science, we're studying plants and animal life & structures.
- Social Studies, we have been comparing & contrasting the 13 colonies & its geographical regions, and we're beginning our discussion of the American Revolution.
- Writing focus has been on opinion writing, including L55 District Writing on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Reading, parents please make sure your child is completing the daily reading passage sheet that's been provided. Students will have multiple readings of the same passage with daily questions to answer throughout the week. Weekly test is given on the same passage with a different set of questions. (Note: The same also with the math worksheet review concepts already studied and introduces concepts to be taught.)
5th Grade
WHAT WE ARE LEARNING:
In Math- During the first quarter, our fifth-grade math students reviewed the multiplication facts and strategies. We did a place value unit and division unit using different strategies. For the second quarter, we have started the order of operations, while still reviewing multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.
T. Cooper.
In ELA-
We have settled into reading in our MyNooks. We have completed three (3) Modules: Inventors at Work, What A Story, and Natural Disasters. Students learned about inventions, different types of genes, and how to prepare for a natural disaster. We will be starting Module 4 this week (10/23/2023) on The Wild West.
In addition, we have been reviewing grammar and writing skills. Most classes have started to write their final drafts on the climate they would like to live in. We will be writing more in the next nine weeks; this will include writing a formal letter.
Students received ½ size composition notebooks recently. These will be used for spelling and vocabulary work. Each student will glue their new words into their notebooks at the beginning of each new story. When they are absent, their sheets will be on the board in a folder marked with their class period. Please remind them to check this location for work missed when absent.
In Science- In Science, our primary focus was building our interactive notebooks. Students learned the definition of Science and various fields of science. The primary focus of the first unit was the engineering design process. Upon completion of this unit, we jumped right into the properties of matter. Students learned that anything that takes up space and has volume is Matter!
2nd Nine Weeks- Science
This nine weeks ,our focus will be Ecosystems and STEM cars. Currently, we are learning about biotic factors and abiotic factors in an ecosystem. Our first project will take place during the coming 9 weeks in which students will have to create a diorama of an ecosystem of their choice. The diorama must be in a shoebox or a container. Feel free to be creative! STEM car challenge is quickly approaching us as well. Students will use what they have learned the 1st nine weeks to design a STEM car. There will be 2 winners per class. Good Luck!
In S.S.- 1st Nine Weeks- Social Studies
In Social Studies the first nine weeks we focus on the Westward Expansion. Students learned about the Homestead Act that gave away land for cheap. We traveled forward in history and discussed how the transcontinental railroad took over the pony express and pioneers began to move around more quickly. We also focused on important groups such as miners, cowboys, and Native Americans and the impact they had on America becoming the country that it is today.
2nd Nine Weeks- Social Studies
This nine weeks in Social Studies we are moving forward to the Industrial Revolution. We will focus on inventors and their inventions that changed the world such as Alexander Graham Bell presenting us with a telephone, Thomas Edison who provided us with the carbon filament and longer lasting light. As this unit continues we will learn about the Rise of Big Businesses, Labor Unions, and Immigration.
We will be continuing our learning about early colonization of the New World.
Related Arts:
In P.E
In Physical Education class your student has been working on cardiovascular and muscle endurance. Ask your student how many laps they ran on the pacer test and how many push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and jumping jacks they can do. The younger students are working on basic locomotor and individual sport skills, while the older kids are working on advanced sport skills and team sports starting with broomball.
In music…
This nine weeks, students sang a various repertoire of music to develop skills for in-tune singing, including songs in connection with Hispanic heritage month and patriotic music in preparation of our upcoming Veterans Day Celebration. Students can read and write rhythm and recognize musical instruments by sight and sound at various developmental levels, and Second-Fifth grade students began playing ukuleles.
LIBRARY NEWS
This year in the library, we will be focusing on choosing just right books, book selection, and reading stamina. Our 4K-3rd students will be participating in the selection of the South Carolina Children’s Picture Book Award winner. We will be reading all of the nominees for this award and the students will vote for the book they like the most. Our 4th and 5th grade students will be working on internet safety, internet etiquette, and internet credibility. 4th and 5th grade will also be exploring the South Carolina Children's Book Award Nominees.
We have just completed our first book fair for the year. We will have another one scheduled for March 2024.
This year in Art we are learning about Environments and learning how to use various art materials. We have covered prairies, forests, ocean, rainforest and have begun our polar environment unit. Students are enjoying their own watercolor palettes and exploring new materials like aqua brushes. On December 4th, we will feature 23 Ford students in the District Fall Art Show! I am so proud of all of our students and all they are creating in Art! Mrs. Madden
In the Computer Lab
It has been an exciting beginning of the year for the Ford Elementary Computer Lab. There are 12 essential digital literacy skills each student needs for academic success.
Some of the areas we are focusing on include: Computer Fundamentals, Mouse Basics, Keyboarding, Online Safety, Word Processing and the Foundations of Coding.
Our goal is to ensure that our students have the critical skills needed for success in the classroom and beyond.
Looking forward to a great second quarter!
Principal’s
Corner
Greetings Champions!
Our students and staff are working to ensure we win each day. We are Ford Champions! Our goal is to get one day better each day so that we can reach our vision of being the best on all performance measures. Currently, we are working to improve our overall performance on Measures of Academic Progress by 15% in each content area. In order to reach this goal, we must work each day to improve on our previous levels of performance. Each student has a growth goal and attaining that goal during this quarter is vital to their end of the year success. Winning each day by working and producing your best work is how each achieves their goal so that we are collectively successful.
The new quarter is the time to build academic strength in all areas. Students are fully acclimated to rituals and routines and simply need to engage in the daily processes that have been established over the first and second quarters. The process requires a growth mindset and a winning attitude. Again, daily progress is our goal.
Lastly, we will begin our “RACE to 100” instructional push this term and each student will work to improve their personal best in all academic areas. Parents, we ask that you join us by knowing your child’s current levels and goals. Work with your champion each day by ensuring that he/she “Just Takes 30” each day to read and respond. Also, make sure that Tuesday folders are checked and items signed and returned.
Win today and Succeed tomorrow!
ZW