November opened with lots of rainy weather to lead us into the Second Quarter.
Parent report card conferences were held and we were exceptionally pleased with the high turnout. This past month was also picture day - filled with plenty of glistening teeth and smiling faces. Thank you to the parents who helped out! October's field day met expectations, with soccer, kickball, football and the playground being the activities of choice.
Trunk or Treat Day is always a highlight of the school calendar, and this year was no exception. The parking lot was lined with a fleet of cars adorned with festive Halloween decorations. Students dressed in creative and imaginative costumes then excitedly passed through the cars while filling up their baskets and pillow cases with candy and a host of other treats. It was then off to the Senior Citizens Home for our annual visit. Students chatted with the residents who laughed and applauded their outfits while handing out - yes - more candy. The day ended with a costume competition and students dancing to the latest music in our rec center!
Even more students than last month were involved in the latest Bonanza Reward. Kona Kone paid a visit and all participants were treated to a slushy ice of their choice, with Pina Colada flavor appearing to the firm favorite! Make sure to look for this month's "Bonanza Activity"!
November brings with it our Thanksgiving Break, along with our Thanksgiving Feast and all the learning related to this special holiday. Please look out for more info.
November Action
- Wed Nov 14, 2018 - Bonanza Day
- Thu Nov 15, 2018 - Field Day
- Fri Nov 16, 2018 - Thanksgiving Feast
- Mon Nov 19 through Fri Nov 23 2018 - School closed for Thanksgiving Break
- Thu Nov 29 2018 - Pajama Day
Bonanza Question
Each monthly newsletter will feature a Bonanza Question or activity for your child to answer, do, or engage in. Those children participating will be eligible for a prize or special activity. We encourage you to spend time with your child partaking in these activities as it is an excellent opportunity to bond and connect with them. In order to be eligible for a prize, the student has to write the answer in his/her agenda, and has to make sure the parents signs next to the answer.
September Bonanza Activity: Read each word in the grid below. Cross out any word that is a number word. Take the first letter of each word that is left (going across) and write out the letters in order. The seven letters will spell out the name of a famous teacher!
Deadline Day: Wednesday November 14th, 2018
twenty |
Five |
nineteen |
mop |
fourteen |
hundred |
run |
sixteen |
twelve |
one |
. |
Six |
ten |
seventy |
two |
lion |
Fifty |
zero |
four |
thirty |
earth |
Fifteen |
broom |
three |
thousand |
seven |
Sixty |
eleven |
orange |
twelve |
Info Bursts
- If you did not make your scheduled conference for your first quarter teacher meeting, please contact the front office as soon as possible to do so.
- Look out for more information on our "Thanksgiving Feast".
Lower School
Mrs. Pustaver
Happy November everyone! In reading we have started a winter theme book for winter - Mr. Popper's Penguins! The children are really excited about it so far! In language arts, we are working on spelling and color coding the syllables. Each student is working on their own grade and ability level. In math, we are making sure each student has all the pieces to successfully build strong foundations. Right now most students are working on addition, subtraction, and place value. We are also working on word problems. In science, we are learning about different aspects of nature, such as camouflage and species differences. In social studies, we are learning about Florida's weather, including the always popular to learn about - hurricanes! In skills, we are working on class rules and following directions and are also doing lots of arts and crafts! The children are so excited for all the art opportunities we have! They love it! We all have to remember to keep up the hard work and this month will be as great as the last! Thanks everyone!
Mrs. Richards
October has been a busy month in Mrs. Richards' classroom. Our theme has been "Myths and Mysteries". In our novel study, "Dear Mr. Henshaw", we were anxiously awaiting the results of the mystery of the lunchbox thief. For Language Arts we're continuing to build our vocabulary skills and discovered what a legend is. Our class enjoyed seeing "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" on our field trip and even tried to follow directions in our Skills class to draw the horse of the Headless Horseman. In Social Studies class we continue to explore life in Colonial America, and we found that most people traveled by horse or by foot. Walking 30 miles a day was not uncommon in that time. With Halloween approaching, our class performed a science project using candy and watched the reactions as we turned Skittles into rainbows. Our hallway is full of interesting artwork displays. There's always a touch of flair and excitement in the air!
Mrs. Steinberg
So much going on! We are about 1/3 through our second novel for the year, "My Side of the Mountain", which is a wonderful realistic fiction story about Sam Gribley, a middle school age boy who learns to survive on the land in the Catskill Mountains. It's a real "boy book", different from what they may be used to, but usually a favorite! In Language Arts we've been working heavily with comprehension skills such and sequencing, main idea, and deciding how to "attack a question" before even looking for the answer. In math, we have mastered just about every prerequisite skill necessary to complete a multi-step fraction problem, so we should really take off now! In Social Studies, we are beginning our unit in Civics and Government.......good timing right?! Science topics are usually the most discussion inducing....great class discussion on ethologists, and how animal intelligence is measured and studied.
Mr. Lebo
The class is doing a tremendous job as we begin the second marking period. "The Giver" is the new novel for the class. This unique piece of fiction features an array of interesting characters, and the students have enjoyed reading the early stages of the book. The plot of the story, characters, both the internal and external conflict they face, and theme are some of the major areas of emphasis. We also spend time understanding figurative language as it relates to the story. The next writing assignment in language arts will be a compare and contrast essay. The Kentwood writing system is used to help the students organize their thoughts into a coherent essay. The series of nonfiction reading comprehension activities we are currently working on emphasizes identifying main idea, making inferences, recalling details, recognizing writing style, and utilizing vocabulary words from the reading. The latter is also stressed in our spelling lessons. In addition to learning how to spell the words correctly, we work on understanding the meanings and how to use the words correctly when writing.
The class recently reviewed solving fraction problems with like and unlike denominators in math. Currently, we are working on a decimals unit. Comparing and rounding, completing operation problems, and solving problems involving money are just a few of the topics the students are learning. All these math topics are being covered with understanding of how they relate to and integrate into Algebra, with reading problems correctly also being a point of emphasis.
The students have been learning about indicator species and invasive species in science class. This often leads to a lot of class participation, for many of the students enjoy talking about animals. We are discussing early colonization in social studies, and the Revolutionary War will be the focal point of upcoming lessons. The class particularly enjoys the use of maps when going over these lessons. Being able to understand specifically where these historic events took place has led to better understanding. The class will be working on a few different art activities; portraits, shading drawings, and landscapes (emphasizing fall colors).
Social skills are emphasized throughout the day, but skills class is a time to really focus on specific topics. Developing healthy friendships, helping others, making good decisions, and working to accomplish goals are just a few of the topics we are discussing. As always, we stress the importance of applying what we learn in skills lessons to situations inside and outside of school. Overall, the students are doing well, and I am quite proud of them!
Greetings from the Learning Lab!
Greetings from the Learning Lab! October has been a very successful and productive month. Our journey through "The Yellow House Mystery" is uncovering exciting challenges and new clues in every chapter. We're all anxious to discover why and how Bill disappeared! For our individualized tasks, each student is moving along nicely at his own pace, and we are so pleased with all their successes. We've also had fun working on our Halloween packets, and enjoyed the step by step process of carving our own class pumpkin. That afforded us a treat of pumpkin pie and roasted pumpkin seeds. To wrap up October, we went on a fun class trip to The Duncan Theater to see a production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. And let's not forget our fun-filled Trunk or Treat! Thank you all for your creativity and participation. Although I'm not sure who had more fun...the adults or the children! Our study of Marine Mammals continues, and the children are becoming quite the animal experts, with all the new found knowledge and vocabulary. Our trip to the Miami Seaquarium really brought all those marine mammals to life for us. Everyone had a blast! The rest of November promises to be just as exciting, as we continue our work. As always, thank you so much for your continued support, and for giving us the opportunity to work with your children.
High School
Hello Kentwood Families. After the excitement of Halloween last week, we have settled back into our routine. October has been a productive month. In Social studies and in light of the current midterm elections with Senate, House and Gubernatorial posts up for grabs, the students were enthusiastic to discuss advances and issues in technology that the president and the government have to face today. This made for an interesting debate on the pros and cons. We have taught the students how start from one point and open up the angle as you add more ideas. Students also worked on group projects, were introduced to new vocabulary terms, and used learned materials for a lesson review.
In Logic Class, one of our next big chapters that we have already started working on is personal budgeting. While we're working with Excel and other tools, we want to teach the students the appropriate vocabulary and concepts of finance.
In English class, the students enjoyed listening to each other's creative writing work. We continued reading and dissecting the novel "Don Quixote" by Miguel Cervantes to prepare for a book report. Students continued to work on Research Papers. There has been great improvement since the start of the year and it is wonderful to see how proud the students are becoming of their work.
In Math classes the pace has really picked up. Between General Math, Algebra I and II, Geometry and Pre-Calculus, we are working on equations with variables, fractions, integers, exponents, roots and multiple operations.
In Spanish class we are learning to use the verb to be in past tense and acquiring new vocabulary each day. This week the most popular lesson was on funny phrases in Spanish.
HOMEWORK CLUB: Students who owe homework must deliver it by the designated make up date or remain after school on designated afternoons for a "Homework Club". The students were notified what assignments they're missing and were given due dates to turn in missed work. We will call you if your child has fallen behind with homework or classroom work. Thank you for your continuous support. Please be safe and have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.
