Almost the end of February!

March is almost here!  Can you believe it?!

Jump Rope For Heart

Jump Rope for Heart is underway at Creekside! Your student is learning how to jump rope for exercise, for improved gross motor skills, and FUN! Your child should have brought home materials earlier this month on how to get involved.

Also, we are raising money for the American Heart Association and the link to donate online is at

https://www2.heart.org/site/TR?pg=company&fr_id=4818&company_id=245841

Parents, you may also download and use the app on your phone for fun and donations! Thank you to Mrs. Sherry and Mr. Hartman for this February tradition at Creekside!  WE ARE NOT TAKING ANY MONETARY DONATIONS.  Students can only fundraise online. 

Early Release
Don't forget tomorrow is Wednesday!  That means Early Release day!  Dismissal will start at 1:40

Math
Here is what we are working on in math this week:

• multiplication facts
• multiplication strategies
• writing two-step number stories
• number sentences with parenthesis 
• The unit 6 math test will be tomorrow!!  The cumulative test will be Thursday. Please help your child complete the review packet to study if you haven't already done so!

Superkids
Here is what we are working on in Superkids this week:

• memory words: later, lazy, title, silent, tidy, giant, music, secret, student, paper, poem, total
• plural nouns
• editing marks
• comprehension
• Super Magazine--The Inside Story

High Ability
Here is what we are working on in our high ability unit this week:

• reading analyzers
• book club discussion
• finishing our discussion of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Writer's Workshop

Here is what we are working on in Writer's Workshop this week:

• research projects--we are working on our research projects.  We have decided on a topic.  Now we will make a written a list of questions, complete internet and book research, and write rough drafts.  Then next week, we will be editing, revising, and typing our final draft!  Stay tuned for pictures of our finished work--including a cool tech piece to animate our work!
• Cursive writing--review of letters already learned, plus how to write cursive r, s, k, and o.

Upcoming Dates

Here are some upcoming dates to add to your calendar!

• 3/3--PTO meeting @6pm
• 3/4--Donuts with Dad grades K-2
• 3/5--Children's Museum Night & Dinner @5:30-8:00 PM
• 3/6--end of 3rd 9 weeks
• 3/6--Donuts with Dad grades 3-4
• 3/13--movie night
• 3/20--Creekside PTO Spring Carnival @5:30-8:30pm
• 3/27-4/5--SPRING BREAK--NO SCHOOL

Have a great week!

Happy 4 day week!

I hope you all had a great 3 day weekend!  Here's to a short week!

Early Release
Don't forget tomorrow is Wednesday!  That means Early Release day!  Dismissal will start at 1:40

Math
Here is what we are working on in math this week:

• multiplication facts
• multiplication strategies
• writing two-step number stories
• number sentences with parenthesis (the introductory lessons to order of operations)
• The unit 6 math test will be Wednesday, February 26th.  I'll send home the math review packet this week!
• There are 2 math packets coming home, one for the chapter 6 review, and 1 for cumulative review.  The chapter 6 test will be next Wednesday, and the cumulative review test will be next Thursday, February 27th.

Superkids
Here is what we are working on in Superkids this week:

• The spelling tests will be back on Fridays for a while!
• memory words: walk, talk, author, autumn, August, daughter, caught, brought, thought, cough, laugh, enough
• alliteration
• main idea
• comprehension
• past-tense verbs
• Super Magazine--The Inside Story

High Ability
Here is what we are working on in our high ability unit this week:

• reading analyzers
• metaphors
• compare and contrast 2 stories
• reading The Girl with 500 Middle Names

Writer's Workshop

Here is what we are working on in Writer's Workshop this week:

• research projects--the past 2 weeks, we completed the steps to a research project together, and researched dogs.  Now for the next 2 weeks, students will repeat this process on their own, researching a topic of their choice.
• Cursive writing--review of letters already learned, plus how to write cursive q, f.

Reading Counts

Don't forget to keep reading at home!  We are so close to our goal that we set at the beginning of the year to read 10 million words as a class.  As of today, our current total is: 9,841,885 words.  We have earned 4,341 reading counts points as a class this year!

Reminder--PTO Reading Counts Award

Again this year the PTO will be rewarding students that have earned the most Reading Counts Points. The top two students from each classroom (Grades 1-4) will receive a "Creekside Top Reader" t-shirt, get their picture taken, and be recognized at Awards Day. The top two students from each grade level will receive a certificate during awards day and will get $10.00 to spend at the BOGO book fair in May. The cut-off date to earn points for this reward is May 1st.  

Upcoming Dates

Here are some upcoming dates to add to your calendar!

• 2/21--movie night
• 3/3--PTO meeting @6pm
• 3/4--Donuts with Dad grades K-2
• 3/5--Children's Museum Night & Dinner @5:30-8:00 PM
• 3/6--end of 3rd 9 weeks
• 3/6--Donuts with Dad grades 3-4
• 3/13--movie night
• 3/20--Creekside PTO Spring Carnival @5:30-8:30pm
• 3/27-4/5--SPRING BREAK--NO SCHOOL

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day
Don't forget to keep those Valentine's coming in tomorrow or Thursday if you haven't already done so!

E-Learning Day
Don't forget we DO NOT have school Monday due to President's Day.  However, due to the make up day from November, Monday will be an E-Learning day.  Don't forget to have your child complete the assignments and click "mark as done" to have them counted present for the school day.  I am sending home another copy of the e-learning assignments in folders TOMORROW for your reference.  If for any reason you have trouble with google classroom, you can sign each box on the page as your child completes the work and return to school.  Please let me know if you have questions!

Early Release
Don't forget tomorrow is Wednesday!  That means Early Release day!  Dismissal will start at 1:40

Math
Here is what we are working on in math this week:

• multiplication facts
• fractions
• multiplication strategies
• multiplication with larger factors
• number sentences with parenthesis (the introductory lessons to order of operations)

Superkids
Here is what we are working on in Superkids this week:

• i before e except after c
• memory words: piece, peace, cheese, please, machine, sneeze, money, field, chief, believe, thief, police
• Phonics: conjunctions
• comprehension
• compound words
• Book Club book--Tornado
• The spelling test is today!  We will take our end of unit test tomorrow, and start unit 6 on Thursday.  We will not do Superkids Friday due to Valentine's Day activities.  WIth the 4 day week next week, this will put us back on a Friday spelling test schedule for a while!

High Ability
Here is what we are working on in our high ability unit this week:

• reading analyzer
• sentence parts
• compare and contrast 2 stories
• reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Writing

Here is what we are working on in writer's workshop this week:

• writing cursive letters: d, g, f
• research projects

Upcoming Dates

Here are some upcoming dates to add to your calendar!

• 2/14--Valentine's Day (don't forget to send those cards in!)
• 2/17--No school--President's Day--ELEARNING DAY! 
• 2/21--movie night
• 3/3--PTO meeting @6pm
• 3/4--Donuts with Dad grades K-2
• 3/6--end of 3rd 9 weeks
• 3/6--Donuts with Dad grades 3-4
• 3/13--movie night
• 3/20--Creekside PTO Spring Carnival @5:30-8:30pm
• 3/27-4/5--SPRING BREAK--NO SCHOOL

Have a great week!

Happy February!

Yearbook Reminder

It is time to order your 2019-2020 Creekside Yearbook! We sent home paper order forms and envelopes a couple weeks ago. If you need another order form so you can pay by check or cash, just let your child's teacher know or call our school office.

You may also order and pay online at www.inter-state.com/yearbook and use code 43400M. Yearbooks are $15 each and have covers designed by our 4th grade yearbook cover contest winners! Place your order soon so your child can keep a memento of his/her school year here at Creekside.  Orders are due by Friday, February 7th.

Cold and Flu Season Reminders
It is certainly cold and flu season. Though Creekside's attendance is just about usual for this time of year, we still see and hear of cases of influenza and other bugs and illnesses with our students and families. We want for all of our students to stay healthy this difficult season--and we want for every student to be able to attend school each day. Creekside is a better place when we are all here together! Here are some reminders that can increase your chances (and your child's chances) of staying healthy this winter:

• Hand washing is still the most important practice! Wash well with soap and water....30 seconds is a long time, but take the time! Remind your children! Do it yourself regularly throughout each day!
• Don't touch your face, eyes, nose, mouth with your hands. We want everyone to keep the germs out of your body, and those are entrance points into your body!
• Get lots of sleep and make sure your child is getting lots of sleep! Our kiddos needs 10-12 hours of quality sleep per night. Adults normally need 8 (gasp!) hours!
• Exercise as much as is possible. It is hard in the winter! But, stay active if you can and help your children to stay active too! Fresh air is still good even when it is cold! Take a family walk!
• Eat well! Lots of fruits and veggies and balanced meals can keep your body armed and ready to defend you against illness.
• The flu shot does help and it isn't too late if you didn't get one already. The CDC still highly recommends the flu shot for nearly all people. I get mine each year. It isn't ever a perfect defense, but it is certainly effective and much better to get the shot than not to get the shot. (Obviously consult with your doctor...) Anything to help prevent influenza is a good step because influenza is a dangerous illness.

If your child is sick (running a fever or throwing up or having diarrhea) then please keep him/her home so that our other students aren't infected. This step does help our overall school attendance and can help keep illnesses from spreading as far. Do call our school office when your child will miss school so that we can keep track of what illnesses are among us. 

Please stay healthy during this cold and flu season!

From Franklin Education Connection
I am writing to share the exciting news that Main & Madison has selected Franklin Education Connection to be the featured organization at the Cafe for the month of February!  We can't think of a better month for the community to show their love of FCS teachers and students! All tips received in February will be donated to FEC. I find their pastries are already hard to resist so this could be an extra challenging month  :)  If you would like to help spread the word, we would appreciate it!  We are grateful to Main & Madison for this wonderful opportunity and continue to be inspired by the amazing work they do for so many in our community. 

DIBELS Test Results
DIBELS came home yesterday!  Please look over the results and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  I'd be happy to chat with you!

Creekside Spring Carnival
Spring Carnival t-shirt order forms came home yesterday!  Please return if you would like to order shirts for your family or child to wear during the spring carnival.  The carnival is Friday, March 20th.

Early Release

Don't forget tomorrow is Wednesday!  That means Early Release day!  Dismissal will start at 1:40!  

Math
Here is what we are working on in math this week:

• multiplication facts
• trade-first subtraction
• doubling facts
• helper facts
• finding missing factors
• Two new games: Baseball Multiplication and Beat the Calculator

Superkids
Here is what we are working on in Superkids this week:

• words with the long a sound spelled -ey, -ay, -ange, and -eigh
• memory words: obey, they, change, strange, neighbor, way, weight, wait, eight, eighty, eighteen, weigh.
• using context clues
• comprehension
• adjectives and adverbs
• verb tenses
• Book Club Book--Breakout at the Bug Lab!  Tornado (starting Wednesday).
• The spelling test is today!  The new list will come home tomorrow!  (piece, peace, cheese, please, machine, sneeze, money, field, chief, believe, thief, police)

High Ability
Here is what we are working on in our high ability unit this week:

• making connections
• reading analyzers
• vocabulary webs
• Reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
• reading predictions and reflections
• 4 level analysis of a sentence
• parts of a sentence
• parts of speech

Writing

Here is what we are working on in writer's workshop this week:

• writing cursive letters: j, y, p, c.
• personal narratives

Upcoming Dates

Here are some upcoming dates to add to your calendar!

• 2/7--yearbook orders due
• 2/5--Bingo For Books @5:30-7pm
• 2/14--Valentine's Day (don't forget to send those cards in!)
• 2/17--No school--President's Day--ELEARNING DAY! (more info to come home TBA for work to be completed)
• 2/21--movie night
• 3/3--PTO meeting @6pm
• 3/4--Donuts with Dad grades K-2
• 3/6--end of 3rd 9 weeks
• 3/6--Donuts with Dad grades 3-4
• 3/13--movie night
• 3/20--Creekside PTO Spring Carnival @5:30-8:30pm
• 3/27-4/5--SPRING BREAK--NO SCHOOL

Have a great week!