The

DeVaney Dragon

February 2007

 

 


Important Dates

  Grade 1 vision screening 5:30 Family Night Math and Science Fair. Kindergarten to Post Office 1:00 Spelling Bee Interim Reports NO SCHOOL Presidents Day Wendy’s Night Green Eggs and Ham 8:30 Noon Dismissal for Inservice 6:30 PTO meeting 5:00-7:00 Swimming Party at South. Grade 4 to Indianapolis 3-23 Report Cards    

Early Dismissals and Teacher Inservice

 

Don’t forget that February 23 rd is an early dismissal day. Although students will be dismissed at 12:00, the teacher’s day is just gearing up for learning. In order for our teachers to continue to improve, four days have been set aside throughout the year for teacher inservice. This time is used for a variety of activities. Teachers are able to meet with others at the same grade level to learn new ideas and discuss concerns. This has become a valuable time for teachers. The focus of the February inservice is improved student learning in Math and Language Arts.

We know the half days are sometimes an inconvenience to parents, but feel that the time is well spent on preparing teachers to help your children more effectively.

 

It is cold and flu season!

 

Just a couple of reminders to get us through the cold and flu season:

 

 

Full Day Kindergarten

 

We have been fortunate to offer Full Day Kindergarten to our students for the last several years. The legislature is currently discussing funding for our program and additional ones throughout the state. If you have had a child in one of our classes, you know the great impact it has had in preparing your child for school. Our continued improvement in I-STEP is only one result that we have seen.

 

First Grade   The first graders recently celebrated the 100th day of school. We did several fun counting activities. We will be going to Sugar Grove to have our eyes tested on Friday, February 2nd. The Science Fair is coming soon. We have several first graders who will be participating! We have welcomed Miss Begle, Mr. Compton, and Miss Legg to the first grade. They are student teaching with us for 8 weeks. Keep reading at home! Our Pizza Hut Book-It goes through the end of March. Don't forget to send your child to school with gloves, a hat, and a warm coat. We will go outside as long as the temperature allows us to.   Second Grade   The 2nd graders here at DeVaney are trying to keep warm this winter by writing like crazy!  They have written many winter stories that are displayed out in the hallway.  Whether we are inside looking out at the snow or wearing our mittens while playing out in the snow, we have some great stories!  We are also in the process of publishing books to be displayed at our Literacy Fair in March.  The students go through the whole writing process to produce a great book.  We will be celebrating Dental Health month in February.  We will be having guest speakers come to our classroom to talk to us about how to keep our teeth healthy.  Don't forget to keep practicing those math facts and continue to work on fractions at home.   Third Grade  

The third graders were introduced to the scientific method by performing a hands-on experiment and filling out an investigation sheet. The students really enjoyed thinking like scientists. Many third grade students are participating in this year’s Science Fair. We hope to see many of you during this event on February 8 th. We took our annual field trip to the South Vigo Planetarium to learn more about patterns in the sky and our solar system. Our Everyday Math Liaisons, Mrs. Kluesner and Mrs. McFarland are visiting each third grade class once a week for four weeks to help us with our problem solving skills. The students look forward to each new problem every week.

  Fourth Grade  

February looks to be a very busy month. Students have been working on their transportation projects and reports, which are due on February 23 rd. Many students are also involved with Science Fair projects. These will be on display for Science Night on February 8 th. Third, fourth, and fifth graders will also have a Spelling Bee on February 14 th. The winner will represent our school at the regional meet. Madison Coronell, Debra Barushak, Jared Wolfe, Layke Fowler, Sarah King, Trenton Corby, Kelsey Livvix, Sean Dinh, and Nick Anderson are representing our fourth grade classes in our school Spelling Bee. Congratulations and good luck to all our fantastic spelling champs!

During the month of February the fourth grades will focus on units covering Indiana in the Civil War, simple machines, geometry, and using the Internet to research topics. Remember to keep practicing those multiplication and division facts!

Fifth Grade

 

The fifth grade students are busy working on several projects at this time. Students are completing their Science Fair Projects, which are due on Wednesday, Feb. 7 th. We look forward to seeing the hard work and creativity the children have put into these projects.

We look forward to seeing parents and family members at our family night on Feb. 8 th, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Science Fair projects will be on display along with math demonstrations from 6:00-7:00 p.m., a dinner will precede the fair from 5:30-6:00.

Our annual Spelling Bee will be held in the gym at 1:00 on Wednesday Feb. 14 th. All parents are invited to attend. Representing Mrs. Gray’s class will be Nick Bell, Andrew Mathies, and Saagarika Coleman. Representing Mrs. Pruner’s class will be Isaac White, Mary Ann Etling, and Jordan Moothery. Representing Mr. Utterback’s class will be Zachary Syester, Junior Berry, and Kaleigh Sutliff. We wish all of them the best of luck.

Just a few reminders for the upcoming weeks:

February 19 th-No school Presidents day.

February 23 rd-Noon Dismissal

March 2- State projects due. We appreciate all you do at home to encourage your child to be at school everyday and work to their full potential daily.   Title I   February is a great month to read with your child at home. By encouraging your child to read, you are helping to ensure school success. We are taking this opportunity to share with parents ten ways to encourage your child to read.  

 

Ways

To raise a reader

 

  1. Read to your child every day. It’s never too early to start-even newborns respond to hearing you read.
  2. Continue reading together even after your child learns to read. Older children still enjoy listening to others read.
  3. Make stories come alive for your child when you read. Be animated and use different voices.
  4. Be patient-let your child read aloud at his or her own pace. Offer help only when needed.
  5. Discuss what you read together. Ask questions, and listen attentively to your child’s answers.
  6. Make reading time special. Cuddle up in a quiet, comfortable spot. Your child will associate reading with feeling secure, relaxed and loved.
  7. Encourage your child to read at least 15 minutes a day, either to you or independently.
  8. Take along your child’s favorite books wherever you go. Read on the bus, in line at the store, or in waiting rooms
  9. Take your child to the library often and check out a variety of age-appropriate reading material.
  10. Be a role model-read on your own. By seeing how much you enjoy reading, your child will learn that it’s a great source of information and fun.

 

Media Center News

 

The Scholastic Book Fair will begin on Monday, February 5 th! The fair will run through Thursday, February 8 th. We will be open every morning from 7:45-8:30. We will also be open after school Monday through Wednesday from 2:30-3:15. We will not be open on Friday! Make sure you stop by during Family Night on February 8 th. The fair will be open from 5:30- 6:45!!! Stop by and check out our great selection of books!! Books make great gifts!!!

 

 

 

 

We need your Help

 

We are now looking for volunteers to serve as PTO officers and committee chairmen for the 2007-08 school year. If you have any interest, please contact Pam Wilson at school. 462-4497.

 

Character Education winners

 

Each month one student from our school is recognized for having good character. January was Truthfulness month.

Congratulations to the following students who have represented great character: Allison Damman,Caaliyah Jones,Colin Balitewicz, Rebekah Hamersley,Amani Vincent, Jack Thomas, Holly Osburn, Rebecca Campbell, Jason Koerher, Miguel Rodriguez, Allison Prouty, Lauren Schuld, Lauranna Boone, DeNia Bailey, Luke Metger, Paige Livvix, Christian Pitts, Kelsey Livvix, and Blayze Kimble.

Allison Damman was selected to represent our school at the City Council meeting in February. Congratulations to all.