Frenchtown Academic Newsletter for the Week of 3/21

Frenchtown Academic Newsletter for the Week of 3/14

Frenchtown Academic Newsletter for the Week of 3/7

March 2016 Principal's Newsletter

Yearbook Orders Due April 3rd

Yearbook orders are now being accepted! The Frenchtown yearbook contains 64 pages of beautiful color photos of students and teachers, including class pictures, special events and more. It's a fabulous keepsake that your kids will cherish for years to come.

Forms will go home in backpacks this week but you can also download one below or order online at ybpay.lifetouch.com using Yearbook ID Code: 9385816. Please reference the form for pricing information.

March 2nd is Wacky 'Sdrawkcab' (Backwards) Wednesday

In honor of Dr. Seuss’ Birthday and inspired by his book, Wacky Wednesday, students are invited to join us for "Wacky Backwards Wednesday" on Wednesday, March 2nd when we will be dressing “WaCKy” and doing things backwards. Plan to wear your clothes backwards or inside-out and/or wear mismatched socks or shoes or strange hairdos or hats. Let your imagination go WiLd!

Boys Night Out is Coming!

A Carnival is coming to Frenchtown on Friday, March 11th from 6:00-8:00 pm for Boys Night Out! Boys and the special adult of their choice are invited to enjoy a fun evening of games, snacks, crafts and more. 

Please note that this is not a drop-off event - a parents or adult guest must stay - and it's for Frenchtown students only - no siblings, please! Each student may bring one adult guest.

Registration forms will be sent home this week and are due Friday, March 4th - please make checks payable to Frenchtown PTG. You can also download a form below or find it online here.

Any questions? Contact Caroline Gangji at caroline.gangji@gmail.com.

Academic Newsletter For the Week of March 30th

From Mrs. Vaughn:

January 19:  Liam W

Happy Birthday to our Frenchtown Friends:
March 30: Patrick B. & Scarlett R.
April 1: Owen M.
April 2: Colin A. & Raymond S.
April 3: Sam F. & Brody T.
April 5: Gabrielle S. & Vivian S.


FRENCHTOWN NOTES

• The next Parent Forum on Teaching and Learning is March 31st at 5:30 pm. The agenda is a review of Frenchtown's mid-year learner outcomes.
• Thank you to our wonderful After School Activity Coordinators, Kerry Rowe and Jen Righi, for all of your hard work! The programs were once again  huge success.
• The April 1st PTG Meeting scheduled for 9:30 am is CANCELLED. Instead, there will be a meeting that afternoon at 3:00 at school to plan Spirit Week, which runs April 13th-17th. Please join us!
• REMINDER: There is no school Friday, April 3rd.

IN THE CLASSROOMS
Kindergarten
Math:

• Identify, describe, analyze, create and compare 2-D and 3-D shapes.
• Parent Newsletter

E/LA:

• Goal: W.K.5 - With guidance and support, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

Theme:

• Elson: V, violets, volcanos
• Rakovic: Y, yellow, /y/

Other:

• Make sure you are using Reading A-Z with your student. If you have lost your log-in information, please let us know.

Grade 1
Math:

• We continue to focus on interpreting data in graphs.
• We are working on counting by 5s to 120. 
• Please reinforce this at home as this is important in counting tally marks in graphs.
• We continue to drill basic math facts to 20.

E/LA:

• We are finishing up our writing unit on re-telling a story in sequence and identifying main idea and character traits.
• We will being learning to compare and contrast two texts.
• Spelling tests continue weekly.

Other:

• Families are encouraged to join in the Reading Fair project. The children are excited about the idea and have been learning about it in class and in library.

Grade 2

Math:

• Second graders will continue to practice working on bar graphs, line plots and pictographs.
• Don't forget to keep counting change at home!

E/LA:

• Students are beginning to make comparisons between two versions o the same basic story. This is especially fun with "The Three Little Pigs" or "Cinderella."

Science:

• It's hard to believe that we will soon begin out final Science Kit for the year. We will be studying Insects. This is typically a favorite among the children.

Thanks For Your Donations

Mrs. Serby and students from her class dropped off donations from the Frenchtown community to the East Greenwich Animal Protection League yesterday and got to visit a few furry friends. Huge thanks to everyone who participated!

It's BOKS Time!

BOKS is back at Frenchtown!!

The before school fitness program called BOKS, which stands for Build Our Kids' Success, will be starting the Spring session at Frenchtown on Tuesday, March 31.  This 6 week program through the Reebok Foundation is a fun, fitness program that gets students moving with games, and team-oriented activities and it promotes the powerful link between physical activity and increased academic performance.  After 45 minutes of fun, the students head off to their classroom ready to learn.

The attached flyer was sent home in backpacks. Registration is going on now and space may be limited so please return the sign up form with a check by Wednesday, March 25.

Boys Night Out Thanks

Thank you to all our volunteers for making Boys Night Out such a success!

We hope all of the boys and their special guests enjoyed building with Home Depot, watching science demonstrations with POW Science and delicious Orangeleaf treats.

Hammering away with Home Depot

POW! Science blasts off!

Thank you to our volunteers including Maura McCarthy, Susan Morandi, Danielle Medina, Sarah Quigg, Lanie Heller, Amber Koppen and Donna Evans.

Mrs. Vaughn with Boys Night Out attendees

And a special thank you to Mrs. Vaughn for making sure we had everything we needed to make the event a great one!

Thank you!
Jill Spitzer and Renee Ludwig

Art to Remember Orders Due March 25th

Your child should have received an Art to Remember packet in his or her backpack yesterday. Orders are due back Wednesday, March 25th and will be shipped the first week in May. A gift with your child's artwork on it is perfect for Mother's or Father's Day and proceeds from this fundraiser go to help the Frenchtown PTG!

Please note: the Art to Remember forms have the wrong contact listed. If you have any questions, please contact Katie Erickson - kerickson.play@gmail.com.

Lucky Day for Frenchtown Teachers

St. Patrick's Day was especially lucky for teachers at Frenchtown today - they each received 13 raffle tickets to enter a raffle for fabulous gifts donated by Frenchtown parents and local businesses including Brewed Awakenings in Wawick, Sweet Twist, 1149 Restaurant and PC Basketball Coach Ed Cooley.

Thank you so much to Donnah Plante and the PTG Hospitality team for putting together this wonderful teacher appreciation event.

Boys Night Out is This Friday!

Get ready for a fun-filled Boys Night Out this Friday, March 20th from 6:00-8:00 pm!

Thanks to everyone who's already volunteered. We still have two slots open - one to donate bottled water and a second to help our photographer, Karen Bernard, with pictures during the event. If you can do either, please sign up here.

If you have any questions, please email Jill Spitzer (jill.spitzer@emc.com) or Renee Ludwig (reneeludwig@hotmail.com).

March Fun Friday Volunteers Needed

Our next Fun Friday is March 27th and we're looking for volunteers to help with the "friendship"-themed activities our liaisons have planned.

Morning K events will take places from 10:30-11:10 am and Afternoon K, First and Second grades will be from 1:00-2:00 pm.

You can sign up on SignUp Genius here.

Once volunteers are in place, the grade-level liaisons will be in touch to plan and prepare for the activities. All volunteers must have a current BCI check and statement of confidentiality on file with the office.

Thanks for your support!

Parent Forum on Teaching and Learning March 31st

As we focus on our vision of all that we would like our school to be, Mrs. Vaughn would like to extend the invitation for parental involvement in exploring current practices and participating in meaningful, two way communication and problem solving.

To that end, Mrs. Vaughn will be holding regular Parent Forum on Teaching and Learning events.

Please join her for a brief presentation and discussion on Tuesday, March 31st at 5:30 p.m. to review pilot programs at Frenchtown. The agenda will be a review of Frenchtown's mid-year learner outcomes.

Vision Statement
Frenchtown School will be known as a school where:

• Students develop independence and cooperation through active participation in inquiry-based, hands-on activities.  Students are confident, successful learners who engage in diverse learning experiences.      
• The faculty uses varied, research based instructional strategies.  Through collaboration and shared responsibility, faculty and staff ensure that instruction is focused on the needs of each child and that equitable opportunities exist for all academic and enrichment programs.   
• Administration facilitates a collaborative, supportive environment that prioritizes learning through trust, mutual respect and open communication.  Administration provides for professional development and resources necessary for teaching and learning.
• Families and the community are partners who support and expand learning within and beyond the classroom.

We hope to see you there!

East Greenwich Food Bank Donation

 

At last night's PTG Meeting, donations collected by Frenchtown students as part of the "Super Bowl/ Super Students" week were presented to the East Greenwich Food Bank.

In addition to the 236 canned goods the students collected, The Feinstein Foundation donated $1 per can so Mrs. Vaughn gave a check for $236 to the food bank as well.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the canned food drive!

Boys Night Out Volunteers Needed

Volunteers are needed to help with Boys Night Out on Friday, March 20th.

We need 2-3 volunteers to help sign guests in (5:45pm-6:15pm). We're also looking for 2 facilitators who can help manage the flow of activities & stations (5:45pm-8pm) as well as for donations for bottled water. You can sign up here.

If you have any questions, please email Jill Spitzer (jill.spitzer@emc.com) or Renee Ludwig (reneeludwig@hotmail.com).

Academic Newsletter for the Week of 3/9

From Mrs. Vaughn:

January 19:  Liam W

March 9: Mave K.
March 10: Aidan G.
March 11: Noelle M.
March 12: Mrs. Avedesian
March 14: Olivia S.


THIS WEEK AT FRENCHTOWN
March 9: COA Presentation - Burr Harrison
March 11: PTG Meeting @ 7pm 
March 12: Spring photos
March 13: Digital Learning Day Presentations


IN THE CLASSROOMS
Kindergarten
Math:

• Understanding Subtraction and Addition Newsletter

E/LA:

• Goal: RF.K.3 - Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter sound correspondences by producing the primary or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.

Theme:

• Elson: G, guitar, /g/
• Rakovic: Qu, queen, /q/

Other:

• Don't forget picture day on March 12th!

Grade 2
Math:

• Second graders will continue working with money and data.
• Hopefully they are continuing to identify and practice adding coins at home.
• They will also be learning how to organize data into line plots and bar graphs.

E/LA:

• Students continue to cite text evidence in order to complete written responses to both fiction and non-fiction texts.
• They should also keep practicing identifying the main idea and key details in a story as they read at home nightly.

Social Studies:

• Since March is Women's History Month, students will be introduced to several famous women who have changed the course of our lives today.

Academic Newsletter for the Week of 3/2

From Mrs. Vaughn:

January 19:  Liam W

March 2: Rees M.
March 6: Lauren L. and Taylor P.

IN THE CLASSROOMS
Kindergarten
Math:

• Understanding Subtraction and Addition Newsletter

E/LA:

• Goal: RF.K.2 - Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables and sounds (phonemes).
• Recognize and produce rhyming words

Theme:

• Elson: U, umbrella, /u/
• Rakovic: V, van, /v/

Other:

• This weeks is Dr. Seuss's birthday! Look out for Wacky Wednesday on March 4th.

Grade 1
Math:

• The children are expanding their understanding of geometry.
• They are learning to combine shapes to make new shapes or pictures.
• They are also learning about solid shapes.
• The children are learning to compare/contrast shapes based not he number of sides and vertices.
• Parent Newsletter for Math 

E/LA:

• First grade teachers are designing a spelling program based on sight words. Please help your child spell these words. It will be expected that those words will be spelled correctly in their daily writing.
• If the words are easy for your child, you can challenge them to write a short story using all of the words.

Science:

• We are wrapping up our plant studies.
• Our next kit on Pebbles, Sand and Silt will start toward the end of March.

Other:

• The first grade will be celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday on Monday, March 2nd as part of the Read Across America Day that happens nationwide.

Grade 2
Math:

• Second graders will begin working with money and data.
• Students will be expected to identify and add various coins. This is a perfect time to have your child count your change at home!
• It is also very important to keep practicing there digit addition and subtraction throughout the remainder of the school year.

E/LA:

• Some students are practicing "close reading" which involves reading for details. They will be acting like Reading Detectives when they practice citing evidence from the text to support their written responses.

Science:

• Students will continue identifying physical properties of various solids and liquids.
• They are gaining invaluable practice recording their observations on data sheets.

Other:

• The drive to collect blankets, towels, etc. to donate to the East Greenwich Animal Protection League was a great success due to all of your generosity.