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Grafton Elementary School Winter 2011-12

Winter 2011-12

Grafton Elementary

School

Inside this issue:

From the Principal 1

Early Childhood 2

Kindergarten 2

First Grade 3

Second Grade 4

Third Grade 4

Fourth Grade 5

Fifth Grade 5

LMC 6

Reading 6

Music 7

Student Council 7

PTA 8

GES NEWSLETTER

FROM THE PRINCIPAL - Mr. Jeff Martyka Report Cards were available on-line for parents on Friday, December 2nd. If you

have not looked at your child’s report card, please do so as soon as possible. If

you have forgotten how to access the report cards please contact the school office

and we will be happy to assist you.

Winter Weather - With Wisconsin winters being what they are, sometimes it is

necessary to cancel classes early before children leave for school in the morning.

A decision to close school will be made between 5:30 and 5:45 a.m. School

cancellation information about the Grafton Public Schools is carried on most

local radio and television stations and will be noted on the Grafton School

District website (http://www.grafton.k12.wi.us).

Outdoor Recess in Winter – Students at Grafton

Elementary School will go outside in winter unless the

temperature falls below 0 degrees and/or the wind chill

is below 0 degrees. So please bundle the students up for

the winter weather when you send them off to school. If

students are sent to school they will be expected to go

outside for recess unless we have a note from a doctor

excusing them from recess.

Coming up:

December 23 through January 1 – Holiday Recess

January 2 – Classes resume

January 9 – Grafton School Board Meeting at GES (7:00 p.m.)

January 19 – Parent/teacher conferences (4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.)

January 20 – Parent/teacher conferences (8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.) No School

January 23 – No School – Teacher Staff Development Day

January 27 – Winter Concert in Grafton High School Auditorium (1:00 p.m.)

March 2 - No School - Teacher Work Day

March 9 - Report Cards Online


Our Wishes for Everyone:

Abby- I wish everyone could have a dollhouse.

Avery – I wish that people that are homeless can have a happy Christmas.

Ashir- I wish that everyone could have toys.

Brison – I wish that everyone can be safe.

Brogan- I hope that they have a happy life.

Elijah – I wish that everyone could have books.

Jacob – I wish that everyone could have toys.

Johnathan – I wish that people could have help with cooking and with the laundry.

Joseph – I wish that everyone could have food.

Layla - I wish that everyone could have more toys in other countries.

Maya – I wish that they are happy.

Olivia C.- I wish that everyone could have toys.

Olivia R. – I wish that everyone can have flowers.

Reese - I wish that everyone could have helpful friends.

Shawn- I wish that everyone could have a Scooby Doo toy.

Sneha – I wish that everyone could have friends.

Taylor- I wish that everyone could have money to buy stuff.

Trent - I wish that everyone could have a dog.

Tommy – I wish that everyone could have a Hot Wheels toy.

Tyler – I wish that everyone could have someone to play with them.

Zaimah – I wish that everyone could have a toy.

Zachary – I wish that everyone could have a million brothers.

Kindergarten - Mrs. Shanks

During the month of December the Children in Early Childhood along with Woodview Elementary

School Early Childhood students put on a special holiday program for their parents.

EARLY CHILDHOOD - Mrs. Viesselmann, Mrs. Dufner, and Mrs. Ebel

Aiden-Daddy, Grandma and Mommy watched me in the program.

Nigel-I got to be a snowman and wore a funny hat I made in school. I looked really funny!!

Matt Sauer-I was a snowman and I melted down to the ground.

Payton-I got to make all kinds of Christmas ornaments with my mom. It was fun.

Tatum-I made everything with my mom. I had so much fun.

Samantha- Mommy and I made a candy cane reindeer.

Madison- I was the sun and melted all the snowmen, but not for real just pretend. I think?

Will- I was snowman #2 and wore a funny hat. I also wore a scarf and mittens.

Elizabeth- I got to dance in the program with my teachers. We did a Flash Jingle Bell Dance!


1st graders in Room 212 are anxiously awaiting and preparing for the upcoming holidays.

We recently realized one important ingredient is missing from this holiday season – SNOW.

We discussed and then wrote about our favorite activities we like to do in the snow.

Other than correcting spelling, stories are typed as written. Sit back, relax and enjoy our snow stories.

(Hopefully we will have hills of snow by the time this newsletter is published.)

Snow! This is the Snow What I want to do is I

I like to make snow angels and In the snow people build snow want to sled in the snow

snowmen! You can shovel snow. forts and play King of the Hill. and go really fast and

I like snow because it is fun to They have snowball fights. make a lot of hills and

play in. By: Amanda By: Ben have fun. By: Vincie

Snowy Days 1. I play snowball fight with my When Will It Snow?

When snow falls I have a snow- brother. When will it snow? Please

ball fight and make forts and 2. I make snow angels. make it snow. Make it

sled on hills and then I have 3. I play pony in my brother’s snow now. By: Eliana

hot chocolate. By: Lucas fort. By: Claire

I like to play in the snow. I like This is what I like to do in the There are lots of things

to make snowmen. I use a carrot snow. I like making snowmen. I to do in the snow. I like

nose and sticks for the arms. I also like skiing. I also like making to sled and throw snow-

also like to make snow angels too. snow angels. By: Ava balls. By: Kylie

It’s fun to play in the snow. What

do you like to do in the snow? I can’t wait until the snow comes. I like to have a snowball

By: Arsheya fight and play with my dog. By: Chase

These are my favorite things to I like playing in the snow. I like When the snow falls and it

do in winter. Have snowball building snow forts. I like build- grows into giant piles of snow

fights. Make snowmen. Make ing snowballs and throwing them. I will dig and dig. I will make

forts. Have fun! By: Colton By: Nico a fort when I dig. By: Chris

Will It Snow? What do I do in the snow?

I make snowmen and I make snow

angels too. Do you too?

I jump into a big pile of snow.

By: Lauren This is the Snow In the snow people

build snow forts. This is how you

build a snow fort. You get lots of

snow. You attach the snow together in

a circle shape and you make a hemi-

sphere roof with a hole in the middle.

By: Vikram

When Snow Comes I have a snowball fight. I make a fort.

I make snow angels. I make snowmen.

I go sledding. After all of that we have

hot chocolate.

By: Matthew When will the winter come? I like to

make snowmen and snow angels. I

like to make polka dots and have snow-

ball fights. By: Hannah I love snow. These are some of my

favorite things

1. It is beautiful.

2. It is fun.

3. We can build anything. Last winter

we built three snowmen. By: Kayla

When Will it Snow?

I want to make a snow fort and I want

to start a snowball fight and I want to

make snow angels. They are all fun.

By: Dylan On a snowy day I go out and play

snowball fight and make big forts and I make hot chocolate. We bring it

in our big fort and I bring my stuffed

animals outside and my friends and I

play with them. By: Emma

Here are the things that I like about snow. I like to build a big ball made out of snow with my friends. I like to skate

on my ice rink built in the snow. I like to have a snowball fight with my sister and I like to build a snowman. I like to

build a fort with all of my friends. By: Gwen

First Grade - Mrs. Lennon

Snow Will Fall

I love making snow angels. 1st you fall in the snow. 2nd move your arms and feet. 3rd you show your mom and dad. 4th

add eyes with your fingers and mouth too. I like to make snowmen too. You roll 3 snowballs add the eyes too some ear

muffs get a carrot use it as a nose last get 5 buttons add the mouth. By: Austin


Nathan B: ―In Social Studies we are learning about moving west with Lewis and Clark.‖

Miranda H: ―In Science we are studying about the moon, sun and

Earth.‖

Jackson O: ―We are making astronauts in science and it is really

fun!‖

Cristina B: ―In school we are learning more and more in math.‖

Bryson C: ―In writing workshop we are working on our holiday project, which is writing about a

gingerbread person. It is very fun.‖

Ava M: ―We are writing about gingerbread people. We get to design them and decide what they will look like.‖

Nathan G: ―Look out for a gingerbread boy with three blue gumdrop buttons.‖

Jemiah B: ―In gym we are starting basketball, it is really hard though.‖

Jackson B: ―I enjoy science because we are learning about the planets.‖

Allyson Z: ―We have been practicing our songs in music class.‖

Braedyn K: ―In math class, we have been working hard on multiplication and division.‖

Second Grade - Mr. Lazovik and Mrs. D’Amico

Winter Poem By: Yash Jha

White everywhere

In cold

No leaves

Too much white

Everyday white

Rats it’s cold!

Snow By: Hunter Schmitt

Snow

Not warm

Oh what fun

Winter

Winter in Wisconsin By: Anna Stangel

Wisconsin

Igloos

Now snowing

Trees

Eat cookies

Really Cold!

Skating By: Sydney Tonn

Snow

Keep trying

A winter wonderland

Time to skate

I caught a snowflake

Nice Figure 8

Go to the rink and skate

Winter Acrostic Poems

Third Grade - Miss Suhr


Here are some updates from our classroom. We

have games in our classroom so if we have fin-

ished our work then we get to play the games if

we have extra time. We also have a micro-

phone to make it fun to go up and read to the

class. Also we have an appropriate magazine

called Scholastic News to learn what’s happen-

ing in the world in a kids version. We use the

microphone for that. We absolutely have a time

called readers work shop. We have reading

groups for our level of reading. Our teacher

does this process where we read, and then we

write a letter in our reader’s notebook. Then

Mrs. Sladky writes back to us and the process

goes again. By: Madeline Hillner

Gym class is my favorite subject. Gym has some cool athletic games and activities like: matt ball, pin knockdown,

hockey, and more. We recently did our pacer test. A pacer test is a test to see how long you can run. One person ran

74 laps.

In Social Studies we are studying the geography of the Southeast. We are doing a project about one place in the

Southeast. First you have to choose your place. After that you get to do the project, and tell why would you want

to live there. This project is actually pretty fun because there are so many places to choose from in the Southeast.

States of the Southeast are: Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Vir-

ginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, and West Virginia. By: Blake Olson

Dear Fifth Grade Parents,

MATH -We are learning about equivalent fractions in math. Also we have been working on division facts. Last

trimester we had to complete a sheet containing a list of things we need to learn by the end of the trimester. Also we’ve

learned how to turn fractions into decimals and then into percents.

SCIENCE - We have been learning about the circulatory system. The circulatory system has three parts, the heart,

the blood vessels, and the blood. Also we learned how to take our pulse. We did nutrition 2 weeks ago. The nutrition

unit helped get us to look at the labels and eat healthy.

SOCIAL STUDIES - We are learning about the triangular trade and that the colonist traded slaves for rum, in-

digo, gunpowder, and tobacco. The triangular trade was between the 13 colonies, Europe and the West.

We asked Aaron Rodgers this question: Hey Aaron Rodgers after the Packers win the Superbowl, what would

it take to get you to come to Grafton, the home of Wayne Larrivee, and visit our school? Also we have a raffle in April

to help pay for the trip to Lambaeu Field.

More 5th Grade news: Mrs. Heinz is on maternity leave with her baby girl, Elizabeth Marie Hienz. Mrs Risic is now

our long term sub .

From Christina deGroot, Savannah O’Neal, & Hailey Kiehnau

Fifth Grade - Mr. Girmscheid, Mrs. Heinz, and Mrs. Risic

Fourth Grade - Mrs. Sladky

In Art we are working our African masks. First we

painted them. Then we put glitter, string, and all sorts of

things on them. They are almost done and they really

look great. We also just finished making our clay fish.

For our fish all we did was take some newspaper and

crumple it up. Then we put some clay over it, and put

details on them. Our art teacher put them in a kiln and a

week later we saw they were all shiny. We put glaze all

over it. I have a lot more to say but I have to go, bye! By: William Valerius


We asked a student from 1st, 2nd and 5th grade to share with us what they are learning during their library time. Our

next newsletter will include an update from our Kindergarten class, 2nd and 4th grades.

1st Grade by Ava Crowley

Every week we read a story about some place in the world. We get a sticker for that place and glue it in our passport

then we cross off where we visited. My favorite is Antarctica because I like penguins and there were penguins in the

story. So far we went to China, Australia and Antarctica. We will be going to India soon. Last year we had a world

thinking day and talked about India and it sounds interesting. I’m looking forward to visiting India in the library.

2nd Grade by Maddie Van Ryzin

Mrs. Steffens read the second graders a couple of books by Steven Kellogg. One story was called, Can I Keep Him?

Maddie describes the story and a project the second graders completed.

―A boy wants to keep all these sorts of animals and mom always says no. He brings home a snake and she said snakes

shed their skin and she doesn’t want it all over the ground. He finds a dog and mom doesn’t want the dog because she

has to pay for the bills if he gets sick. We got our papers, and first put our names on the paper, then found an animal

in the library, then we glued it on the paper and then wrote why we wouldn’t be able to keep him.‖

Maddie found a big-eared wild cat and said she wouldn’t be able to keep him because he needs the wild.

We will display the second grade student’s, Can I Keep Him? projects on a bulletin board in the near future.

5th Grade by Jaden Autey

This year we learned a lot in library. The unit we are on is copyright. We learned a lot about plagiarism and copyright

resources. Plagiarism is not being able to take word for word from a book paragraph. Some copyright resources are

on the computer or some are in books. We also learned about the uses of copyright. The fifth grade can’t wait to learn

more!

Check out the LMC! - Linda Steffens and Betty Cibulka

Visiting the library is a great way to encourage your children’s imagination and learning. Making the library a regular

part of your family’s life from the time your children are very young means they will be comfortable in the library as a

teenager and can develop a lifelong love of reading and learning.

It is never too early—or late—to start visiting the library.

Infants: In addition to information about caring for your baby, you will find sturdy board books that your baby can han-

dle, picture books to look at together, and books of songs and rhymes that you can sing to your child.

Toddlers: The library has a lot of picture books and your child can make their own selections. Toddlers who enjoy

hearing stories can attend story hours just for them.

Preschool Child: Your 3- or 4- year old probably has developed a specific interest in airplanes, animals, trucks, dino-

saurs, or princesses. Look with your child to find a book on one of their interests to read together.

Kindergarten through second grade: Your child may want to join a library book club if one is offered or sign up for any

special classes that may be available to encourage reading. In addition to encouraging your child to check out a variety

of print materials, you can show them how to use the encyclopedia or other reference sources to find answers to ques-

tions they may have.

Third though fifth grade: When your child gets homework assignments at school, the library should be a natural place

to search for information. Encourage your child to ask the librarian questions, to use books in the reference section, and

to seek information on the Internet. Continue to check out books you can share together during family reading time.

This is also a time when they will start to move out of the children’s section to the young adult books. A librarian is

always available to help find age and ability-appropriate books.

Reading - Mrs. Wargolet


I asked some of the K’s and 1’s why people should come to our

Winter Concert?

Vincey said: ―To see us perform on stage.‖

Kayla, ―To meet new kids.‖

Emma: ―To listen.‖

Gwen: ―To listen to our great singing‖

Lucas: ―Because it’s the best in the world!‖

Ryden: ―Maybe parents want to see their kids singing‖

Jaime: ―I’ve been in a concert before so I know why, to see their

kids singing.‖

Kate: ―To watch you sing and dance.‖

Justin: ―They don’t know the songs you sing they want to know

them‖

Harrison: ―Mom and Dad want to watch you. They don’t want to

just sit at home.‖

Mark your calendars - GES WINTER Concert January 27, 2012

You won’t want to miss it!

MUSIC- Ms. Andrews, NBCT

The Student Council recently supported a local community service project.

Kapco Metal Stamping, in conjunction with Newsradio 620 WTMJ had their an-

nual Kids 2 Kids Toy Campaign. Kids 2 Kids provides toys to the Salvation

Army and other local children’s charities during the holiday season. The Student

Council is pleased to report that over 320 toys have been collected by the children

and staff of Grafton Elementary School for this project.

On December 9th, representatives of Kapco, WTMJ, and the Milwaukee Brewers

very own Bernie Brewer came to Grafton Elementary to receive the collected

toys.

Congratulations to all for a job well done!

GES STUDENT COUNCIL


Thank you to everyone who helped make our Casino

Night a success!!

A great time was had by all. Anyone interested in

planning for next year’s event,

please contact Colleen Hahm.

The PTA wishes you a happy, healthy and prosperous

2012!

GES PTA

Happy Holidays

From the

GES Staff!

The Grafton School District does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin,

homeless status, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental,

emotional, or learning disability or handicap or any other reason prohibited by state or federal law.

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