Henry Barnard School Soar to New Heights with the Power of Learning

27 Shaker Road, Enfield, CT 860-253-6541 Nancy Hayes - Principal

27 Shaker Road, Enfield, CT 860-253-6541 Nancy Hayes Principal February 2011

Brighten Up Your Cold

Nights! Nancy Hayes Principal

Treasure the gift of literacy! Brighten up your night time

ritual and read with your child. This leisure activity should

be fun so let your children choose books that are

interesting to them. Talk together as you read about

feelings, fears, goals, problems, and experiences. This on-

going discussion enhances comprehension of the story.

Keep it fun and vary the approach. Enjoy the following

helpful suggestions from your children!

Start with an easier book so we can feel relaxed and enjoy the experience.

Find something that sparks my interest that we can share together.

Let me take time to reread a sentence if it doesn’t make sense. (That’s the way I learn to check my own reading!)

Encourage me to turn off the TV and share my library books with you

Please take turns with me if the book is too hard.

Help me savor the time and encourage me to turn off the TV/video games

Share with me your favorite book when you were in school

Sometimes I like to read with a flashlight under my covers before bedtime!

“A child has no stronger desire than to make sense of the

world, to move freely in it, to do the things that he sees

bigger people doing.” John Holt

_____________________ ___________________

The teachers appreciate all your time and effort to ensure your child has breakfast and is well rested during our testing window. It is so important to provide support and encouragement to your child to do their best! We are so proud of how they use their strategies and work so diligently.

CMT Fun Fair Night 66:00 – 7:30 PM

February 16, 2011!

Join us in the All Purpose Room

for Pizza and Salad.

We will then proceed to the gym for our CMT

Fun Fair where parents can participate in

learning about math and reading with their

child.

Students receive a free homework pass for

participating in this event and goodies to take

home!

If you have any questions, please call the school

at 860-253-6541

See you at the Fair!!!!

February

monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday

1 2 3

4

MOVIE

NIGHT

7 8 9 PTO

Meeting

7-8:00

10

11

14 15

Early Release

16

CMT Fun

Fair Free

HW pass

17 18

21

No School

22 No

School

23 24

CMT

Practice

25 BINGO

Night

28

1 2

CMT

Reading

3

CMT

Reading

4 CMT

Reading

KINDERGARTEN NEWS Ms. Bannon, Mrs. Donovan,

Mrs. Murphy

This winter, the Kindergartners learned

about holidays celebrated all around the world. We

also have been working hard to learn all the letters

and sounds in the alphabet. We have been learning

sight words and have been practicing how to sound

out words, so that we can become better readers.

They will soon begin to retell stories that they have

read and should practice this skill at home, telling

what happens at the beginning, middle, and end of

the story.

In math, we have been writing and counting

numbers from zero to 30. We also have been

counting backwards from 10 to zero. Please practice

at home, especially counting 11 to 20 because those

numbers are the trickiest! We will continue to

practice counting because the 100th day of school is

right around the corner and we can’t wait!

FIRST GRADE Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Anderstrom

Mrs. Charette, Miss James

We have recently finished our unit on making

connections; both text to self and text to text. This is

one of our many comprehension strategies in

reading. Students are encouraged to think as they

read and to pay attention if they come across

something that is familiar to themselves, their

experiences, or other books they have read. When a

reader can connect to the text, it improves their

understanding of the story by having a deeper

understanding of a character’s emotions or conflict in

the story.

Home Link: When you read at home ask your child

“does this story remind you of something that has

happened to you?” or “does this character remind

you of something you’d do or feel?” In math, we have

started our Facts in a Flash program. Students are

bringing home new facts each week to study and

learn. They take a quiz on Friday to see how well they

have learned their facts. These facts are comparable

to sight words in that students should memorize

them. They should know the answer right away

(without number line or picture clues). We will

continue with addition and subtraction picture

stories and then word problems. Home Link: Use

household objects to show addition or subtraction

problems. (I have four apples and I gave one away.

How many do I have left?) Use familiar

names/friends to make up story problems relating to

addition and subtraction. We are just beginning our

social studies unit on communities! We will learn the

people and places that make up a community.

SECOND GRADE Mrs. Warnock, Mrs. Smith,

Mr. Higgins

We have been very busy in second grade. Our

students have learned ‘snow’ much! In reading,

second graders have been using strategies to improve

their comprehension of text. Students are using their

schema to make connections to what they are

reading. We continue to practice our reading fluency

and what to do when we come to a word we don’t

know. Please remember to set aside time each day for

reading. These are all things that good readers do!

Second grade math skills continue to develop

as students have completed solving story problems.

We are currently adding and subtracting two digit

numbers with and without regrouping. Do you know

what a fact family is? If not, ask a second grader.

Don’t forget to continue practicing math facts every

night.

Science has been very fun as we finish with

our unit on matter. Students have been learning of

the properties of solids, liquids, and gases. Does air

take up space? Does air have weight? These are some

of the questions that we have answered with our

experiments in science. We will begin our unit on

dinosaurs at the end of the month. It will be Tyranno-

riffic!

Thanks for all of your support from home and

please contact us at any time if you have any

questions about your child’s learning in grade two.

Third grade Mrs. Amburn, Mrs. Gleeson,

Mr. Snyder

Happy New Year! We can’t believe we

are almost half way through third grade!

In Reading, we have been working on

comprehension strategies to enhance our reading

abilities. We’ve been practicing essential skills

weekly that will prepare us for the CMT’s. Please

make sure to attend the CMT night that will be held

on February 17. This night will help to reassure you

and your child that they are very well prepared.

In Math, we have reviewed place value, expanded

notation, rounding, estimation, and money. Please

continue to practice addition and subtraction facts at

home. We have now moved into multiplication and

division strategies. Knowing our basic addition and

subtraction facts will help build upon the newer

skills.

Your children have been introduced to our

Science curriculum on animals. We will further

expand on our animal habitats in the upcoming

months. The children will have the opportunity to

explore different habitats in the computer lab.

As the curriculum becomes more difficult, it is

important that your child demonstrates good work

habits throughout the day. Please discuss with your

child how they can have a meaningful and productive

day at school.

Just a reminder, with the cold weather here,

students will be required to wear their jackets

outside. Please make sure your child is dressed

appropriately every day.

FOURTH GRADE Mrs. Flanaghan, Mrs. Shuman

The

Fourth grade has been working very hard

sharpening our skills to help prepare for the

Connecticut Mastery Tests in March. In reading, we

are working on forming a general understanding to

determine the main idea or theme of a text. We are

also working on summarizing, predicting, and

drawing conclusions. We are using the Essential

Skills for Reading Success to help students practice

these important reading skills so they can apply them

while reading independently. In writing, we are

working on personal and fictional narratives. In

math, we are exploring fractions. Many of these

concepts are new for fourth graders so we will be

spending several weeks on this topic.

If your child is having difficulty with fraction

homework, please remember you can always turn to

the math website mhschool.com for additional

examples as well as a personal tutor feature that will

re-teach the lesson in a different way. We look

forward to seeing you at CMT night.

FIFTH GRADE Ms.Ratcliffe, Mrs. Reith

We enjoyed meeting with so

many parents during report card conferences. Thank

you for all you do sending your children to school

ready to learn.

The fifth grade students have studied the

Solar System as part of our science curriculum. As a

culminating activity, we took a wonder filled trip to

the Springfield Science Museum. We went to the

planetarium to find out about our system’s beginning

and the constellations. Our thanks go to the parents

who joined us. We are now studying explorers of the

New World in social studies and electricity and

magnetism in science.

In math, students should continue to study

their multiplication and division facts in order to

build speed and accuracy. This will help as we apply

the facts to more difficult problems. We have

completed our study of fractions and are learning

about metric and customary measurements.

In language arts, our students are working

with the expository format for composing essays.

Part of this includes learning to describe and

elaborate as well as revise and edit to improve our

writing. Grammar is the basis for writing, and we are

studying correct sentence structure including

compound and complex sentences, as well as parts of

speech. We are just finishing our third theme, A

Changing Planet, in reading. Students are required to

ready at home daily. We even read in the halls before

classes begin and as we wait for our buses to be

called in the afternoon. All children should have a

book with them at all times.

SIXTH GRADE Mrs. Sikorowicz, Mrs. Maloney

This has been a year of

whirlwind activity! The students are becoming

acclimated to the routines and are working hard on

their organization skills.

The parents’ meeting that was held in Nov. to

discuss this year’s activities was a great success. The

activities discussed were the end-of-the-year field

trip, the purchase of the 2011 T-shirts, the yearbook,

and the Awards Assembly/Graduation. The estimated

cost for all the activities is approximately $2,000-

$2200. The fund-raisers decided upon were a Math-a-

Thon which was held in December and The Can Drive

to be held Jan. - March. Parents volunteered to chair

the committees to help with all the activities but

more help is still needed. We want to thank the

parents who attended the meeting or expressed their

willingness to help with the activities this year! We

couldn’t do it without your help and support!

The students have completed the second

theme in Reading and we are digging into a new

theme of “Unlocking the Past” The students continue

to hone their writing skills using the five senses to

make their writing sparkle!

In Math, we have completed the units on

place value, double-digit multiplication, long

division, adding, subtracting, and multiplying

decimals. Now we are moving on to learning about

multiples, factors, and fractions!

In Science, we have wrapped up our studies

of the earth’s destructive forces of earthquakes and

volcanoes and are learning how the earth is affected

by erosion.

In Social Studies, the students have learned

about voting and the Constitution, Five Themes of

Geography, prehistoric life and will soon begin to dig

into the past civilizations of Ancient Mesopotamia

and Ancient China.

One more thing, please remind your student

that the weather has turned cold and blustery! We

have a recess period in which the students may go

outside (weather permitting) and they need to be

dressed appropriately. Please remind them to wear a

coat, hats, and gloves.

Thank you for all you are doing to make this

a great year for your student and for us! If you have

any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact

your child’s teacher.

READING Mrs. Clair, Mrs. Marsh,

Mrs. Hathaway

Happy New Year! We hope that everyone

enjoyed the Holidays with friends and loved ones.

The Reading Department has had a successful

beginning to the school year. We want to keep you up

to date about exciting activities that have already

taken place, and those that will take place in the near

future.

In the month of October, TLC held an Open

House during which parents were given the

opportunity to sit with their child during the lesson.

This gave the parents a better understanding of the

program. We would like to thank the many parents

who attended the TLC Open House.

Save the Date! The Heritage Fair will be

celebrated on Saturday, February 26th from

11:30-4:00 at JFK. This event is open to all students

and community members. The day consists of on-

going displays, entertainment and hands on activities.

More information will be available from both the

town and the school.

CMT’s are in March; we are busy preparing

our students. We will be in touch soon about a CMT

Parent Information Night to be held on February

17, 2011. Please consider coming to this because

very important information regarding the test is

discussed. You will also be given a chance to ask any

questions that you might have.

Lastly, don’t forget to access our District

Language Arts website. You and your child can use

many helpful reading links. The website is http:

www.enfieldschools.org/district

departments/language arts k-6/. Thank you for all

your support!

ART Mrs. Martin, Ms. Rhoades

Teaching art to students in

elementary school has many amazing

facets, yet the process students go through to create

their artwork is the most interesting part. Hearing

students talk while working builds skills to solve

problems. The social ease and personal confidence

come together in the art room to further success

within the regular classroom, improving CMT skills,

and enriching experiences with literacy and

numeracy. It is important that you support your

child’s artistic activities, as well as encourage their

artistic interests. Allow your child to talk about their

work, rather than asking or guessing what they

created. Supporting our student’s voice and a vision

within their artwork creates ownership and pride in

areas beyond just the visual arts.

This year, we will honor Joshua Maysonet

who will be the sixth grader honoree at the Aqua

Turf, in Southington, for the Connecticut Association

of Schools. We are proud of Joshua’s skills, talents,

and desire to continue to learn and improve.

Please remember to dress your child

appropriately for art day, or provide a T-shirt to

cover school clothes. Try to avoid planned absences

on art day so that everyone can be a contributing

member of the class. In addition, we gratefully accept

items for art projects: boxes, Good Housekeeping

Magazine, wood pieces, and cloth scraps are just

some of the items we use often.

Music Mrs. Carnes, Ms. Weed

The band, orchestra, and chorus

have been busy increasing their musicianship skills

and preparing for their winter concert since

September. On February 10, 2011, students will

perform for family and friends in the All-Purpose

Room at 6:30 PM. Chorus students should wear black

pants and their chorus t-shirt for their performance

and be in the music room ready to warm-up at 6PM.

Orchestra and band students should wear dark

colored bottoms (no blue jeans) and shoes and a

plain white shirt for their performance. All students

and families are expected to stay for the entire

concert to show respect to all musicians performing.

Mrs. Carne and Miss Weed have selected Gene

Bouthiette as the Connecticut Association of Schools

Music Award winner for 2011. Gene was chosen for

his dedication, hard working attitude, achievement in

musical performance, and participation in the Inter-

Elementary Band as well as private percussion

lessons. He will be honored at a banquet with many

other students at the Aqua Turf in Southington on

Monday, February 7, 2011.

On March 12, 2011, the String Festival will

take place for all string players. More information

will go home with the string players as we get closer

to the festival. There are several students from Henry

Barnard involved in the Inter-Elementary Chorus,

Orchestra, and Band. They will perform at JFK on

March 30th at 7PM. Everyone is invited to attend this

free concert.

Fifth and sixth graders involved in the

Instrumental or the Choral program will be getting a

progress report over the next few weeks. Please read

it over, sign, and return to Miss Weed (Chorus) or

Mrs. Carne (Band & Orchestra).

Fourth graders in Mrs. Shuman’s class have

started learning how to play the recorder and are

taking part in Recorder Karate. Students are expected

to practice at least five minutes a day on their own.

They have each been given songs and a fingering

chart. Students can earn up to four belts to put on

their recorder and students who earn the black belt

will earn a certificate at the end of the year.

Encourage your child to practice daily, play for you,

and bring their recorder to school on Monday.

Students who have forgotten their recorder twice

must leave their recorder at school because they

must have it here for class. Those students should

also be reviewing their music daily and practicing

their recorder fingerings with a pencil.

Students in fourth, fifth and sixth grade are

studying musical symbols, note names in the treble

staff, note and rest names, note and rest values, and

Italian music terms. All students are expected to

study this information and will be tested two more

times throughout the year to see if they understand

these concepts. Students are studying note and rest

values as math problems in the hope to have a better

understanding of music and math.

Students in kindergarten through third grade

participate in pitch exploration activities, music

singing games, dances, and music literacy activities.

They are also exposed to several books that use

music to tell the story. Students in grades

kindergarten, first and second grade occasionally

sing a song from our curriculum for the class and

earn a certificate. When you see an “I sang a song for

the class today” certificate come home encourage

your child to sing the song for you and let them show

off their award to the family.

As part of our new music curriculum, the

general music teachers in Enfield are assessing all

students on pitch accuracy, maintaining tempo,

rhythm accuracy, and correct use of singing

voice while they sing a song. Each grade level has a

different song that correlates with pitches students

are learning how to sing in each grade. It is important

students try their best on these assessments so the

music teachers can see if the current instruction is

working. Thank you for supporting your child’s music

education!

PE Mrs. Gowen, Mr. Bourgoin

The Physical Education

Department is completing a basketball

unit for grades K-2. Students were really

excited about the basketball unit in which they were

allowed to shoot at the big hoops! Grades 3-6 are

finishing a floor hockey unit where students were

engaged in many different forms of hockey. For the

first time, students were able to play scooter hockey,

which generated excitement and was received

positively.

Starting January 31st, all grades will begin a

bowling unit. This is a two-week unit after which we

will finish off the month of February with a new unit

called Recreation Sports. This unit will include

activities such as horseshoes, ring toss, indoor golf,

badminton, and table tennis.

Just a reminder, with all the snow we are

getting this year it is common for students to wear

snow boots to school. However, I do ask that they

have a change of sneakers for PE class or they will

not be allowed to participate due to safety issues.

Thank you for your understanding!

Library News Mrs. Nadeau

Our fourth, fifth and sixth graders

voted for their favorite Nutmeg Books last week and

the totals are in: Barnard’s favorite was:” The Thing

About Georgie”! It received fourteen of the sixty-one

votes! Now we wait to hear if OUR favorite turns out

to be the Ultimate Nutmeg Book Winner!

Thanks to our 20 fourth graders, 27 fifth

graders and 14 sixth graders who were eligible to

vote! If you were unable to vote, make sure you get

reading the new nutmeg nominees right away, so you

too can award your favorite author the Connecticut

Nutmeg Book Award in 2012!

Happy Reading!

Important Dates

February 15: Early Release (1:30 pm)

February 16: CMT Fun Fair Night ( 6:00-7:30 pm)

February 21: No School-President’s Day

February 22: No School- Winter Break

February 24: CMT Practice Testing

March 2: CMT Testing begins