Garfield Elementary School December 2014

Wildcat News

THANK YOU TO OUR SPECIAL SERVICE HONOREES!

Crown TrophyC r o w n h a s

r e w o r k e d d o -nated trophies at his shop for us to sell at our Se-cret Santa’s Secret Shop in December. Students are able to purchase these gif ts for family members as a special one-of-a-kind treasures. Visit Crown Trophy at its new location 615 Center Point Rd NE in Cedar Rapids or call Kevin and Sue at 319-294-0002 and they can help you.

Russ Fagle Art StudioStudents were provided space for an open house and

art exhibit. Families and community members were able to attend and admire the showcase of student art work. The business also designed a commemorative poster for us to sell as a fundraiser. Russ has provided art work for our posters for Santa’s Secret Shop at Christmastime too.

PTA NEWSUpcoming Pta Events!

Dec. 16-19 Santa’s Secret Shop before and after school in Cafeteria

Tuesday, Dec. 16 PTA Social Meeting (no business) 4-5 p.m. in the IMC, childcare provided

Friday, Dec. 19 Popcorn day (50 cents per bag)

Congratulations to Ryne Bauldry for selling the most Enjoy the City coupon books! He was rewarded with a $50.00 gift card to Toys R Us! Thank you all for supporting Garfield’s PTA!

FROM THE DESK OF MRS. LONG, PRINCIPALGreetings,

As I write this newsletter article we are finishing up conferences. We’ve had a great response and I will post the percentage of attendance in the January newsletter. I hope that you had the opportunity to visit with your child’s teacher and hear about the quality learning that takes place every day at Garfield. The Holiday Season is now upon us and while Thanksgiving has passed, it is still the season of giving and I want to take this op-portunity to share with you how the staff at Garfield take the idea of giving to heart and how they give their time, talent and treasure to make each child successful at school.

Time: Did you know that staff have 2 nights of conferencing that they are required to attend. For this they do receive comp time. However, the amount of time they give to grade work, complete report cards and prepare materials for conference doesn’t begin to be covered by the comp time they receive. For our classrooms with more than 24 students, it is impossible to complete the conferences in the allotted time and so they put in even more of their own time scheduling on other dates. The teacher’s work is never accomplished in an 8 hour day. Garfield staff spend many hours outside of the school day and on weekends preparing for the week, planning lessons, researching strategies and gathering materials. A teacher has strong upper body muscles just by the daily lifting of book bags they lug back and forth to school each day so they can complete work at home.

Talent: The Garfield staff member is continually learning, taking part in professional development op-portunities, pursuing additional college credit courses or degrees, book studies and collaborating with staff to learn and grow each day. This learning they bring back to the classroom and to each student in the classroom. Garfield teachers are skilled in knowing what students need to succeed, planning instruction that engages students and celebrating student success.

Treasure: Garfield staff often dip into their own salaries to provide extra resources, books or incentives for their students. They bring in extra clothing and school supplies. They do this without complaint or fanfare because they want to do whatever they can to provide the best classroom possible for each and every student. Each year the Garfield staff adopt a family or two at Christmas and work together to purchase gifts and food.

I know that you will join me in thanking the staff at Garfield for what they give each and every day.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank you for the gift of your child. Just like the gifts under your tree, some are wrapped in beautiful, shiny paper. Others could use a little more tape to hold them tight. Some are soft and gentle, others a little louder and rough around the edges. But regardless of the condition, it is truly an honor to have you put faith and trust in Garfield by sending us the gift of your child. So much so that you send him/her to us every day. Please know we take this trust very seriously and are ever grateful for your gift.

With warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday season.

Until next time. . .

TITLE ONE TIDBITSStudents create time lines as they learn about the

pilgrim’s voyage.

VOLUNTEER NEWSTHANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS!

Bank of the WestBank of the West employees read to students on Ameri-

can Reads Day and during Banking Week. The bank has provided door prizes for school events and bank managers have met with students to help them learn the value of sav-ing money. Our students create special holiday and thank you cards for our partners throughout the school year.

Hy-Vee Oakland RoadHy-Vee provides holiday gifts for students in need. Hy-

Vee also provides fruit for school community events during the Iowa Assessments. Volunteers from Hy-Vee participate in America Reads and visit as guest speakers throughout the school year. Hy-Vee also received a grant to support our school community garden. They provided soil, plants, seeds and a garden tiller. The store dietician Linda Ashley shared garden tips and presented lessons on preparing vegetables and fruits. The grant also provided a monthly fruit or vegetable snack for our students throughout the school year. Garfield students create special holiday and thank you cards for our partners.

Ralston FoodsRalston Foods collected and donated school supplies

and holiday gifts for students in need. Garfield students create special holiday and thank you cards for our partners and invite Ralston employees to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal at school.

VolunteersMake A World Of Difference

Be Part Of the fOOd and nutritiOn team

help feed Our future it’s easy!

Go to: www.cr.k12.ia.usClick Link: Employment, then

How to ApplyComplete: Food and Nutrition General Application

Non-Discrimination PolicyIt is the policy of the Cedar Rapids Community School District not to illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (employment only), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status (students/program only) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. District employees with questions or a grievance related to this policy should contact Jill Cirivello, Director of Human Resources, 319-558-2421; jcirivello@cr.k12.ia.us. Students and others should contact Ken Morris, Manager of Student Equity, 319-558-1504; kmorris@cr.k12.ia.us. The District mailing address is 2500 Edgewood Rd NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405-1015.

COUNSELOR’S CORNER

As November wraps up and we head into December, I just can’t believe how fast the school year has gone. Fall conferences are behind us, and it was great to see so many of you here supporting your students. It’s also been wonderful to see the spirit of caring and giving through the Garfield family as we all did our “PARRT” and collected for the food drive, along with our business partner, Bank of the West. We filled the giant red backpack and had donated 16 boxes of food to HACAP to help support “Operation Backpack.” Everyone’s generosity was inspiring! The school-wide challenge was met, and students got to celebrate “Freaky Friday” by handing our Paw tickets to teachers caught being “Respectful, Responsible, Safe, and Ready.” We officially donated 315 pounds of food to HACAP! Thank you!

First trimester Student Council members have been busy. In addition to the HACAP food drive, Student Council planned the Red Ribbon Week festivities, culminating with Police Pal Glen judging the bubble gum blowing contest at the assembly on Halloween. Congratulations to Logan, Stoney, Teja, and Terrell!! And honorable mention to Mrs. Barnes!! Second trimester Student Council will pick up where first trimester Student Council left off. The changing of the guard will be in early December. Encourage your 4th and 5th graders to apply!

The Garfield Greats Luncheon is something newly started here at Garfield. I have been drawing names of students to have a special luncheon on Fridays. Students bring their lunches to a designated area, complete with flowers, fancy napkins and candle light (battery operated-we don’t want any trouble with the fire marshal). Students who have been

chosen seem to have enjoyed this. My plan is to dine with every Garfield student at least twice this school year. It is a great opportunity for me to get to know your children better, and for them to gain a different social experience than the crowded lunchroom.

And as it gets colder, I want to remind families that there are many resources out there if the tough economy is catching up to you. As I have received information, I have forwarded it on to you. I will continue to do so. If you have questions about assistance, please contact me at 558-2145.

In the spirit of the Holiday Season, I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for my place in the Garfield Community. I continue to the enjoy the privilege of working with Garfield students and their families, and I extend Warm Wishes and Good Cheer to you and your families through the Holidays!

Laurie Moody

Counselor

CLASSROOM HAPPENINGS

AK NEWSAK highlights have been: beginning to write in our journals,

discussing how to fight germs, and we received a special visit from Police Pal.

We read Pete’s A Pizza by William Steig and then drew and wrote in our journals describing our favorite part of the story. At center time we operated our very own PIZZERIA, writing down orders, weighing ingredients, making and serving the pizzas, and cleaning-up! Our pizzas were really a hit due to our secret homemade deep-dish Play-Doh crust! This activ-ity gave us the opportunity to discuss the concepts of: first, next, then and last as we recalled the main events in the story.

While learning how to fight germs and stay healthy we read several germ books and poems for example: “When we have to go “kerchoo,” we know exactly what to do. My hanky covers both mouth and nose, and into my hanky the kerchoo goes”. We then made corresponding crafts of our very own “germ” and “sneeze reminder”, using a paper plate, handprints, and a tissue!

We always enjoy a visit from Police Pal! Police Pal Glenn shared much important information with us, including: reminding us to practice saying our first and last name and to know our address in case of an emergency. He showed us his “tool belt” and we even got to put our hands in the handcuffs! Police Pal taught us 4 important rules to follow if we would find a bullet, gun, or any other dangerous item when we are playing: 1. STOP, 2. DON’T TOUCH, 3. RUN AWAY, 4. TELL a GROWN-UP.

MRS. MCDONAD’S KINDERGATEN CLASS

We have been working hard on learning all of our con-sonant and diagraph jolly phonic sounds. We have also been practicing reading some of our kindergarten sight words. In math, we have learned to identify the two dimensional shapes of circle, square, triangle, rectangle, and hexagon. We have also learned to identify the three dimensional shapes of cylinder, sphere, cone, and cube. The students also had to compare and tell similarities and differences between two shapes. They can look for attributes of color, sides, size, and dimension to compare. We have also started the Head Sprout program during computer lab time. Head Sprout is an individualized reading computer program. We also got a visit from Police Pal this month. He spoke with us about tools that he uses for his job. He also taught us the steps to follow if we find a gun and bullet which is stop, don’t touch, run away, and tell an adult.

MRS. KIMBALLS KINDERGARTEN CLASS

In Kindergarten we have been building our “Math” brain. We learned about 2D and 3D shapes and the names of these shapes. We took a walk around the building looking for different 2D and 3D shapes. Our next math unit is addition.

We finished all of our Jolly Phonics sounds and digraphs. We are now working on our sight words.

Please remember to bring in gloves and hats for your child.

MISS MCCARTY’S CLASS CELEBRATING RED RIBBON WEEK

Miss McCarty’s class celebrating Red Ribbon Week and being drug free by wearing their favorite hats! We had a fun time during Red Ribbon Week dressing up for all the different days! Pajama day was our favorite!

MRS. FLAHERTY’S CLASSReading

centers is a busy time i n r o o m 1 0 2 . S t u -dents work through 5 s t a t i o n s during the m o r n i n g . During the m o r n i n g , s t u d e n t s w ill meet w i t h t h e teacher for small group reading instruction. They then rotate to seat-work, read to self, work in writing, and read to someone. It is expected that students work independently and follow procedures so that Mrs. Flaherty can do the important work of teaching reading to small groups. We have created evidence charts for each rotation-for example, what does it look like when you are at read to someone? What would we expect to see? What would it sound like? We know that students should be sitting E.E.K.K. (elbow to elbow, knee to knee) during read to someone. We should be reading the same book while practicing our reading strategies. It takes a lot of practice to be able to work independently at voice level 2 (whisper voice). We are trying to climb all the way to the top of our reading ladder to reach our 1st grade power standard (I can read grade level fiction and nonfic-tion text to develop vocabulary and apply comprehension strategies.) Doing our PARRT during reading centers and working hard will help us get there!

GREETINGS FROM THE 4/5 TEAMFourth and fifth grades students are applying many

skills we have studied this year. By winter break we will be finishing up our decimal work in math and transitioning to fractions. In reading we will be finishing up “within the text” questions and focusing on “beyond the text” questions. These reading skills involve a little more in depth thinking after reading a text.

Thanks to all the families that attended conferences. We enjoy the opportunity to meet with students and their families! Feel free to contact us anytime if you have any questions. Stay Warm!

SECOND AND THIRD GRADEThank you to everyone who participated in confer-

ences. We appreciate your teamwork as we continue to support learning of your children. Keep reading, writing and thinking during the long winter breaks that we get. Kids are capable of so much when we put them in charge.

Our new power standards for reading and math will help students continue to grow and learn. Our current focus for reading is close reading. This concept comes from research based educational practices of Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey. Students will read one text multiple times with different purposes. The first read is to get the gist of the article or story. The reader might have to solve words, ask for help, or be guided during the first read of the text. The second time, readers look at text features such as headings, or bold text words. They question the text and look at it more carefully. The third read usually involves some reflective thinking and writing about the text. At home when kids don’t get what they read (eg. Directions on their homework) please prompt them to read it again, out loud. Have them tell you what they think it means and discuss if they show confusion. We will be using close reading strategies for the next 6 weeks as we explore new ways to learn.

Math power stan-dard 2 is Number Sense. So what does that mean anyway? Number sense in second and third grade is working to develop an understanding of place value in numbers, for example, knowing 28 is equal to 20 +8 and 356 is equal to 300+50+6. Using this knowledge, we will help students understand how to add and subtract numbers up to 3 digits. We regroup tens to add and subtract. Parents you may have called this car-rying and borrowing, or trading. Our goal is for students to be able to solve one and two step word problems using addition and subtraction. Students will work to recognize reasonable answers based on their place value knowledge or number sense.

We wish you all a safe and happy holiday season, and a healthy and prosperous new year!

The District offers an online Virtual Backpack site to support the efforts of community orga-nizations wanting to share information about educationally-based programming.

Individuals or organizations wishing to post material on the Virtual Backpack submit items electronically and approved materials will ap-pear online for families to access.

Organizations will � nd a link to submit � yers for consideration on the District homepage at www.cr.k12.ia.us . Families can access th e Virtual Backpack from their school Web site.

VIRTUAL

BACKPACK

Follow the District on , @crschools, and

HEALTH NEWSPROPER WINTER DRESS/FROSTBITEAs cold weather approaches, students need to be

reminded of what they should be wearing before going outside. Hats, mittens or gloves and a winter coat are essential for all students to wear during winter weather. Much body heat is lost when hats are not worn and children lose body heat faster than adults. If your child participates in recess, please see that they also have boots and snow pants so they can enjoy the outdoor fun.

Frost nip usually affects areas that are exposed to the cold, such as cheeks, nose, ears, finger and toes, leaving them white and numb. Frost nip is an early warning sign of frostbite and if caught quickly, can be treated at home.

What to do:

Come indoors immediately.

Take off wet clothing.

Immerse chilled body parts in warm water (100 degrees) until sensation returns.

Frostbite is literally, frozen body tissue and must be handled carefully to prevent permanent damage. It can occur very quickly and any exposed skin is vulnerable. Frostbite causes an aching pain or numbness. The skin feels hard with a white, waxy or purplish appearance. Ears, fingers, toes and the nose are at a greater risk. Treatment is usually done at a hospital or doctor’s office.

For more information, check out “KidsHealth.com”. Click on “About Kids Health”, then “First Aid Safety”.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN ART, MUSIC, PE AND SPANISH

MRS. MESCHER’S ART CLASSWe continue to be creative in the Art room this tri-

mester. Mrs. Mescher’s 4/5 students in Mr. Beach’s and Ms. Speraw’s class are finishing painted O’Keefe flowers. Mrs. Cooper’s class has finished a Kandinsky radial pattern watercolor and have now begun projects for Third Grade Clay at Coe College. Mrs. McCarty’s students are putting the final touches on their van Gogh Sunflowers and will start their Monet bugs. Mrs. Kimball’s Kindergarten class has just completed a Mondrian painting and are moving on to a cave art project.

Feel free to contact me with any questions regarding your student’s art education.

Mrs. Mescher

MRS. CRAWFORD’S ART CLASSMs. Crawford’s Art students are heavy into clay projects

right now. Kindergarten pinch pots, First grade bowls with lids and handles, Second Grade and Third grades are creating a Graphic T-shirt Vase, and the Fourth and Fifth grades are working on Egyptian Sarcophaguses. We are really digging in and getting our hands dirty!

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS IN MUISC

Do you like holiday music? Do you like performing? Then this is for you! Cocoa and Carols is an opportunity for all fourth and fifth graders at Garfield to participate in. Washington High School hosts an annual holiday performance for schools that feed into Washington High School. This year the celebration will be held on December 13th, 2014 in McKinley Middle School’s auditorium. Garfield school will be performing with students from Arthur, Kenwood, and Wright Elementary School as well as with some of Franklin’s choir members. It’s a great opportunity to hear some wonderful holiday music as well as see some of our own Garfield students perform. More details will be coming soon. Look for a flyer with more information in your fourth or fifth grader’s backpack. Contact Mrs. Barnes or Mrs. Garrett if you have any further questions.

Just a reminder, Garfield’s own end of the year music program will be held on June 1st, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. In case of rain, the program will be moved to June 2nd. Hope to see you all there!

PEIn the gym the kids have been working very hard at

getting their heart rates up and working their muscles through a variety of exercises. The kids are encouraged to use good sportsmanship daily and are using team work daily in the gym dur-ing games. Mr. Hodges and Mr. Pelechek would like to remind our students to exercise 7 days a week and get at least 60 minutes of exercise.

Mr. Hodges/ Mr. Pelechek

Special DietsIf your student has a special diet form on file from a previous year

and something has changed, please contact the

Food and Nutrition Office at 558-2305.

Cedar Rapids Community School District takes your safety seriously and welcomes your input.  Please contact your building principal/administrator and report any safety concerns that you may have.  Thank you for helping us keep staff and students safe.

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY AND DINNER

HDYC Annual Christmas Party & Dinner: December 20, 2014 11:00 AM - 03:00 at Metro High School.

Happy Holidays to all! Come join the local community for the HD Youth Center’s annual Christmas dinner and toy/food giveaway. No pre-registration is necessary. We will have a free hot meal for all who attend, along with door prize giveaways and food to take home.

LIBRARY NEWS!Thanks for supporting the book fair! It was a

huge success! The proceeds to the fair go towards purchasing more books for the fair! We will have another book fair in the spring!

The 4th/5th grade students are starting to learn about digital citizenship. I will be teaching the stu-dents about what information is safe to share online, cyberbullying, and evaluating websites. Please ask your students what they’ve learned about these topics. The 2nd/3rd grade students will be learning about the online catalog and how to use that to locate a book in the library. The younger students will be doing author studies. We will learn about some of our favorite authors and how they got ideas for their work.

Please enjoy your library books with your chil-dren and help them to remember to their books on their checkout day so they can check out more! Have a safe holiday season!

Mrs. Krebsbach

Mrs. Moulder

DISTRICT WELLNESS GOALSv Implement elementary health education

curriculum, including nutrition.

v Discontinue using unhealthy foods for fundraisers.

v Ensure all snacks meet District Nutritional Guidelines for foods and beverages for schools, including vending, a la carte, snack lines, school stores, celebrations and fundraisers.

v Discontinue using food/food coupons as rewards or incentives.

v Require that students are physically active during the majority of time in physical education class.

v Ensure physical activity is not used for or withheld as a punishment.

v Celebrate birthdays and other events involving food once a month only.

Live

WELL NESS

Schools will be implementing during 2014-15 school year.

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WELLNESS POLICYPolicy 610

The Cedar Rapids Community School District supports a healthy environment in which students learn and participate in positive dietary and lifestyle practices. By facilitating learning through the support and promotion of good nutrition and physical activity, schools contribute to the basic health, academic achievement and quality of life of students. The District:

The “Wellness Policy Committee” will plan for, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of wellness initiatives as guided by the Board Policy and Procedures and inform and update the public about the content and implementation of the policy.

• Will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion. Will develop a wellness approach to physical activities that meet applicable federal and state guidelines.

• Promotes activities and policies that support staff members’ efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

• Supports parents’ efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children.

• Will base menus on Dietary Guidelines for Americans, National School Lunch and Breakfast meal pattern requirements, and the Recommended Dietary Allowances.

• Recommends that foods and beverages offered on campus and for school activities meet applicable federal and state guidelines.

A GREAT TURN OUT FOR AMERICA READS!

Jansen Heckenberg

Jenifer Vick

Amy Hautt

Angie Brunow

Kris Gulich from the City Council

AmericaReads

INSTRUCTIONAL COACH NEWS

Strategies to use at home: Accuracy

o Letters/Sounds – Encourage your child to notice letters and words on signs, in the grocery store, etc. Relate that letter to the sound.

o Read Aloud o Use the beginning sound o Look at the pictures o Look for chunks o Think about what would make sense o Skip the word, read on, then go back

Comprehension

o Read Aloud – Even 5th graders benefit from an adult reading to them.

o Before-During-After – Before - look at cover,

pictures, talk about subject. During - ask your child about

the “movie in their head”. After - let your child reflect

(have your child rate the book, retell what happened, summarize)

o Games – Have your child read the rules and attempt to play a new game

o Use the newspaper to encourage reading – You might do a scavenger hunt (Find three words that begin with “w”, a movie that is playing at the theater, etc.)

Fluency

o Sight words – Review daily o Repeated readings – Child read the

same text several times (you might have them read for 1 minute, mark where they stopped, then read the same text again).

o Choral readings – Parent and child read together. Parent models correct phrasing, expression and pace.

o Echo readings – Parent reads a paragraph, child reads that same paragraph

Reading is Thinking

SUPPORT CENTERTis the Season for illness and appoint-

ments, Fa la la la la, la la la la! As we continue to focus on our “Everybody, Everyday!” at-tendance initiative, we want to remind you of a few good attendance habits:

Absences on holidays, such as St. Patrick’s Day, and birthdays are not excused.

Please try not to schedule doctors’ ap-pointments during school hours.

If your student is going to be absent, please call the Attendance Office at 319-558-2236.

If you have any questions or a situation arises that you may need help or assistance with please let us know.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at 319-558-1997.

Miss Hanna and Mr. Shepard

NEWS FROM THE STUDENT MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

To celebrate Garfield turning 100 years old this year, we will be walking in the Downtown Fire & Ice parade on Saturday, December 6th, 2014. The parade begins at 6:00. We will meet at 5:15. (The location of where we are meeting will be announced closer to the parade) All Garfield students and staff are invited to walk in the parade! Students must be accompanied by an adult at the parade. We will have lights for students. Please RSVP by email to jhanna@cr.k12.ia.us or phone 319-558-1997 so that we have enough lights for everyone.