gravely connection - elementary · gravely connection february 2017 ... can gather to create,...
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GRAVELY CONNECTION
Upcoming Dates
February is National African American History month February 6– Advisory Council 5pm Jump Rope For Heart February 6-10 National School Counselor Week February 7– WATCHDOGS Donuts with Dads 7:45am February 8– Report Cards go home February 10– Crossing Guard Appreciation Day February 10– 100th Day of School February 10– PTO Bingo 7pm February 12– PTO Family Night Skate and Fun Zone February 13– PTO Meeting 7pm February 16– 5th Grade, Team and Club Photos February 20- Presidents Day No School February 21– PTO Spirit Night Chuck-E-Cheese
Samuel L. Gravely Jr. Families:
We are now into the third quarter of the school year
which provides us with about 50 instructional days
until the start of SOL testing. During this time our
staff will continue to deliver instruction to meet indi-
vidual student needs and “Inspire Passions and Inno-
vation.” Thank you to all that attended our Princi-
pals coffee in January, we had a chance to celebrate
our school and work towards continuous improve-
ment. Congratulations to our Assistant Principal Mrs.
Zeffiro who is expecting a baby girl in June 2017! We
look forward to seeing you at Advisory Council this
month where Ms. Dooley will present on Gravely’ s
Physical Education program. Thank you for your
continued support and involvement in the success of
Gravely Elementary.
Mr. Kelchlin Principal Mrs. Zeffiro Asst. Principal
Gravely Connection February 2017
Spelling Bee Winners 1st and 3rd Grade Reading Buddies Teachers as Leaners
1st and 3rd Grade Reading Buddies
First Grade During the month of January first grade has been busy studying ani-
mals and their needs and characteristics. We have explored the ani-
mal’s four basic needs and how
they fulfill these needs. We have
discussed where and how they get
their water, food and shelter. We
have also learned about animal
coverings, appendages, how they
move and what it means to be wild
and tame.
At the conclusion of our unit, stu-
dents were invited to have an ani-
mal Show and Tell and become an
expert on an animal of their choos-
ing. The students then presented
their animal to their class and taught their classmates all about the
animals needs and characteristics.
Second Grade
Second graders are debating opinions
with enthusiasm. They are sharing de-
tailed reasons for their opinions and
reflecting on opposing opinions. They
are applying these skills to writing
letters explaining their opinions.
Kindergarten Kindergarteners enjoyed learning about characters and setting with Tacky the penguin this month. We celebrated our hard work by mak-ing a penguin hat and learning a fun penguin dance. We learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and thought about our dreams for a kind and peaceful world. We have been working on making our writing more readable and we are so proud of all our progress!
Third Grade Third Grade just completed maps for their Create a Civilization Projects. We have
received several compliments on how great they look. We also have been working on
a research project during Tech Time. Students have been researching many aspects of
a country. The end project is a PowerPoint with added sounds and voices. A big thanks
to Mrs. Bowman for all her help with this.
On February 10th we will be having our 2nd Annual Energy Project. Students will be
creating a three dimensional model of one of the energy sources we have studied in
Science. Projects will be displayed in the Library.
Fourth Grade
The 4th grade classes have
recently worked on a presen-
tation of their choose showing
they understand the science
unit force and motion. These
presentations ranged from
posters, comics, raps and
more! This in class assign-
ment gave the students own-
ership of their work while
showing the teachers and
classmates their creativity and
understanding of force, mo-
tion and friction!
Book Swap We are excited to announce that our Gravely Book Swap will begin
in February! Each month all students K - 5 will have the opportunity
to get a new book from our book cart. In February, every student will
get to choose a book from the cart. Each month after that, any stu-
dent that wants to participate will need to bring a book that they can
exchange. If they bring one book to put on the cart, they can choose
one book. If they bring two books, they can take two books,
etc. They can exchange the book they picked the previous month or
another book they have finished reading.
Every class will have a chance to participate each month. Half of the classes will go on Thursday, Feb 9 and the other half will go on Thursday, Feb 16. Your teacher will let you know which day your class will visit the cart. We are still accepting donations of books! We will take any new or gently used books appropriate for Kindergarten - 5th grade. You can drop books off in the office or send them in your child’s teach-er. Thank you to those who have already donated!
Fifth Grade In 5th grade, students are currently learning about the properties of
sound. Students are investigating the relationships between frequency and
pitch by conducting experiments. At home, students are creating musical
instruments from everyday materials and will orally present their projects to
their peers. Currently in reading, students
are exploring cause and effect relation-
ships. Our emphasis with students is how
texts are organized using signal words such
as: because, as a result, since, due to,
etc. This important reading skill will be
taught through historical texts about Apollo
13, the Titanic, and the Dust Bowl.
Family Literacy Night
Family Literacy Night was a great suc-
cess. The night’s events began with
teachers and volunteers reading to
students, including several families
who shared stories in their native
languages. Parents had the opportuni-
ty to visit their child's grade level
teachers and receive information and
resources to support literacy at home.
Families then gathered in the gym to
read together. It was a great night of
celebrating Literacy
Physical Education
Physical Education with Ms. Dooley and Mrs. Tackett Students in grades K-5 got their hearts pumping and legs moving in January. Check out the variety of ways they can jump! We held a schoolwide PEP rally and stu-dents will be participating in Jump for Heart on February 6th.
ART Art club sessions have both come to an end. The ceiling tiles will be up in the art room soon. Please contact Ms. Bonner if you would like to arrange a time to come in and see their tile. All other art they have created during art club will go home soon, if it hasn't already. Thank you for an awesome art club! Congratulations to the following students for having art on display in the Gravely E.S. conference room: Maddie M., Derrick M., Olivia B., and Makaela U. It will be on display for the next few months. Thank you for letting us borrow your art for display. Congratulations to the following students for having art chosen to be put in a pool with the possibility of having their art chosen to be included in this year's PWC Art Festival catalog and posters and/or next year's PWC handbook/calendar: Ozie J., Rachel T., Maddie M., Molly L., Neveah D., Sidney Y., and Sophia W. Thank you for allowing me to send your artwork in for consideration. Youth art month and the art festivals are coming soon. The PWC Art Festival will be held at Colgan High School this year on Saturday, April 1st from 10-4. I am starting to choose artwork for the Gravely display. Parents will be notified if your child has artwork on display. The school art show will be held on Thursday, April 27th. All 3rd-5th grade stu-dents will be choosing what art they want to put on display for this show. More information on both shows will be
available soon. Please check the art website for updates.
The PWC Summer Art Enrichment Program will be held this summer. Applications will be available at the begin-ning of March. More details are to come and will also be available on the art website.
Sidney Yang Navaeh DeJesus
Ozie Johnson
Be sure to follow us on Facebook to see the amazing things happening daily:
@GravelyElementary
Library Our makerspace area is now open. A makerspace is a place where students can gather to create, invent, explore and discover using a variety of materi-als. We have origami and drawing in our makerspace at this time. We are looking for Lego donations to add to our area. If you have Legos to donate please send them in labeled for library or email me at [email protected].
In fifth grade we are reading Mr. Ferris and His Wheel, a Virginia Reader Choice book. This books tells the story of the invention of the very first Fer-ris wheel. As a follow up activity the students are developing a plan of how to build a Ferris wheel using popsicle sticks, 1 wooden dowel and glue.
Fourth grade has been reviewing the importance of the index and the glos-sary.
Third grade we have been learning about plagiarism and how to take notes to avoid copying someone else’s work.
Our second graders have been learning about different genres of literature and how to search accurately on the library catalog.
First grade is also learning about the different genres of literature. Last week we learned about the components of a mystery. This week we are learning about fables/fairytales, reading The Three Little Pigs and then completing a follow up STEM activity of building a house out of 20 straws and pipe-cleaners.
I have been reading various mitten books to our Kindergarteners and they have been rotating to different mitten mo-tor and learning centers (sewing, mitten match, mitten maze and puzzles.
COUNSELORS’ CONNECTION THIS MONTH IN CLASSROOM GUIDANCE February This month, classroom guidance for all grade levels will focus on expressing feelings in positive ways. Stu-dents will be able to identify physical signs caused by strong feelings. We will practice the following “Calm-Down Steps” for managing strong feelings:
Stop (use a personal stop signal when you notice physical signs of a strong feeling) Name Your Feeling Calm Down
Belly breathe Count Use positive self-talk
Students will also recognize the importance of talking about strong feelings with a trusted adult, and each student will be asked to identify one adult at home and one adult at school to talk to about strong feelings.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Safe at Home/Safe Alone – Friday, February 3, 2017 This is a program for fourth grade students that is sponsored by 4-H and developed by Virginia Coopera-tive Extension to offer education to families on the subject of children in self-care.
SCHOOL COUNSELING FAQ’S What is the difference between a school counselor and a guidance counselor? The correct and preferred terminology is school counselor or professional school counselor, not “guidance counselor.” In 2004, Prince William County Schools adopted the ASCA National Model as the school coun-seling framework for all schools in Prince William County in alignment with the American School Counselor Association. The adoption of this model significantly changed the role of the school counselor in PWCS and the development of comprehensive school counseling programs. The term, guidance counselor, is out-dated and has not accurately described the role of the comprehensive school counselor in PWCS for many years. The school counselor’s role is much more than guidance. The term, guidance, is preserved as a part of the comprehensive school counseling program.
Advisory Council
Staff Representatives Email Address
Mr. Michael Kelchlin Staff [email protected]
Mrs. Alyse Zeffiro Staff [email protected]
Mrs. Rosales Staff [email protected]
Ms. Baird Staff [email protected]
Mrs. Seidl Staff [email protected]
Mrs. Moose Staff [email protected]
Parent Representatives Area Email Address
Mrs. Alyson Munn Area 1 [email protected]
Mrs. Claudia Patten Area 2 [email protected]
Mrs. Mae Earman Area 3 [email protected]
Mrs. Sunny Hakimpour Area 4 [email protected]
Mr. Marvin Harley Area 5 [email protected]
Mrs. Ashley Cavossa Area 6 [email protected]
Mrs. Jennifer Penninger Member at Large [email protected]
Mrs. Caroline Dickens Member at Large [email protected]
Mr. Haran Levenberg Member at Large [email protected]
SIGNET During this second quarter, the students have been using their thinking like an agent skills to do investiga-
tions and solve problems in many different areas. The steps that a good agent follows are: make observa-
tions, gather evidence, develop research questions to guide investigation, use evidence and research to
form hypothesis, gather further evidence and revise the hypothesis if needed. We call these steps the In-
quiry Process. We have recently been implementing the Inquiry Process to complete a project based learn-
ing investigation in rocket science. The students were presented with the driving questions, “Can you design
and construct a paper rocket that will either travel the furthest distance or with the most accuracy.” The stu-
dents have been researching, building, testing, measuring and revising their plans for what it takes to con-
struct their rockets. Along the way we have had discussions about propulsion, launch angles, stability and
many other related concepts. In our next unit, the students will be investigating ideas about change found in
literature. We are still continuing to add “Agents 4 Change” to our wall of fame. These are people who are
outstanding because their work has somehow caused a change in the way that we know or understand a
topic, or in the way that we do things. Some of the people that we have highlighted so far have been
Jacques Cousteau, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jane Goodall, Matthew Brady, Robert Goddard and most recently
the “Rocket Girls” the women about whom the upcoming movie, Hidden Figures is based. Ask your child
about why we are considering these people our “Agents 4 Change”.