Thursday, February 8, 2018

February 2018

COMING SOON...

February 12: 100th Day! Dress like you are 100 or wear something with 100 on it!
February 14:  Red, White & Pink Day
February 20:  EQ Family Event
February 22 & 23: NO SCHOOL 
February 26: 9:15-12:00 All Grade 2 Fieldtrip to Weidner Center
February 27: Twin Day! Dress like twins
February 27: PAC Meeting 6:00-7:00 PM



IN THE DISTANCE...

March 2: Dr. Seuss Character Day!
March 6: 9:10-11:55 4/Durrant/Forster to 1,000 Islands
               12:00-2:00 All Third Grade to the PAC
               4:00-7:30 P-T-S Conferences
March 7: 9:10-11:55 4/Baranczyk/Wiese/Herlache/Rosenbeck to 1,000 Islands
March 8: 4:00-7:30 P-T-S Conferences
March 9: 11:30 Dismissal for Students
                12:30-4:00 P-T-S Conferences
March 16: Green/Leprechaun Day!
                  9:15-11:15 All 3rd & 4th Grade to KHS for Walsh Foundation Performance
                  March 26: 6:00-7:00 PAC Meeting
March 28: Wacky Hair or Hat Day!
                  11:30 Dismissal for Students
March 29, 30 & April 2: NO SCHOOL
April 6 :  Electa Quinney Student/Family Dance


KNAPP'S NOTES

SAVE THE DATE - 
EQ FAMILY EVENT - Feb. 20th


Our school is proud to partner with the American Heart Association to help kids with special hearts!  Mark your family calendars NOW for our upcoming Electa Quinney Family Event which will include our Jump Rope for Heart event taking place on February 20, 2018.

Families wishing to raise life-saving donations can do so with the paperwork sent home from their PE teacher or you can help your child make a web page.  It's safe, effective and saves YOU time by raising life-saving donations online.  Visit www.heart.org/jump and click on 'Students Sign Up' to get started today.





Dance for EQ Students

All Electa Quinney students and their families are invited to join us for a fun-filled evening of
dancing along with popcorn, games, and fun! 

Friday, April 6, 6:30-8:00pm

This event is being organized and sponsored by the Electa Quinney Parent Advisory Committee and is a FREE event for students and families.  Students must be accompanied by an adult.



SUMMER SCHOOL 2018 INFORMATION

KASD is already busy planning for summer school!  Thank you to all the parents who responded to the survey following Summer School 2017.  The combination of parent and staff feedback as well as a large amount of maintenance work to be done within the district this summer, the following decisions have been made regarding Summer School 2018:

Location - Classes will continue to be held at Kaukauna High School.

Dates - All courses will be offered in one session, Tuesday June 12 - Friday June 29, Monday - Friday.

               Strength and Conditioning and Music Lessons/Band Camp will also be held in July.

Other Valuable Information:

We will again offer an Open House prior to the start of summer school for families to become familiar with the location and rooms that classes will be taking place in.

Busing/transportation will continue to be an option for families for a fee.





COMMUNITY EVENTS AND  ACTIVITY FLYERS

NEW THIS YEAR!  All community flyers will be found on the district web page.  Click here to access information about the following events/activities...

Father-Daughter Dance
Girl Scouts
2018 Kaukauna Softball Flyer
Champs Camp 2018
United Way Valentine's Day Festival
2018 Electric City Soccer Flyer

Anyone requesting flyer distribution at the elementary level should submit an electronic copy to the district office, attention Erin Kape at kapee@kaukaunasd.org for consideration two weeks prior to the first of each month. Click here or visit the school district website to view the up to date list of events and flyers.




MUSIC NOTES FROM MRS. NIMMER

(for the homerooms of Ebben, McKinnon, Dercks, and Rosenbeck)


The birthday composer for the month of January was Phillip Glass.  He is a living composer from the United States.  We learned about his life and his music, including some of the film scores he has written.  We listened to a piece of music from the film "Mishima" that he wrote, and used a Venn diagram to compare and contrast a string quartet version of the piece with a piano version of the piece.


The 2nd graders have been busy beginning our preparations for the 2nd grade concert.  Our concert, called "All About Animals" will be on Tuesday, March 20th at 6:30 pm for the homerooms of Ebben/McKinnon. All 2nd grade students are required to attend as a part of our music curriculum.  We look forward to sharing in a night of music with you!

The 3rd graders are preparing for our second "Artistic Adventures" field trip coming up in early March.  Our first field trip took us to the Trout Museum to hear a string quartet and to learn about origami.  The second field trip in March will take us to hear a symphony orchestra performance.  Over the next months in music, the students will become familiar with the string family of instruments, symphony orchestra vocabulary, and the pieces and composers that will be featured at the orchestra concert.  This is a great way for us to put all of our learning into an authentic learning experience at the PAC.  This is a wonderful partnership between our district and the outreach program of the Fox Valley Symphony.  We are very excited to be a part of this experience!


The 4th graders have mastered the notes B,A, and G on the recorder.  We took our first playing test in early January, and they did great!  In February we will start "Recorder Karate."  This allows students to work at their own pace through various recorder pieces with increasing skill levels.  It also provides me a chance to give individual feedback on their progress.  We have been studying the instruments in the Woodwind family as well.  We heard the clarinet and saxophone this month, and will hear the oboe and bassoon in February.  The work we do on learning about the instrument families and playing the recorder helps the students to make an informed decision about band and orchestra next year at RiverView.




MUSICAL MOMENTS WITH MRS. KRUEGER

2nd grade
The 2nd graders were in full concert mode during the month of January! It is very exciting! They began working on all of the songs they will perform for their upcoming concert. It will be on Thursday, March 22 at 6:30 in gym A. They are doing a fabulous job!! 

3rd grade
In honor of Martin Luther King Junior Day, the 3rd graders learned the songs A Man Named King and Free At Last. They also worked on a rhythmic chant about Dr. King and learned about and performed an ostinato. We had some great conversations about spreading kindness in our school and community to keep his dream alive. The 3rd graders also started looking at the string instruments.

4th grade
The 4th graders continued to work on the Recorder Karate Program. They made it to the green belt. That is the 4th belt out of nine.  Please encourage and help your child to practice their recorder at home to improve what we are learning at school. The 4th graders also learned more about some band instruments. They will have the opportunity to choose to play an instrument next year in 5th grade.





ART NEWS WITH MRS. SIEGEL

After creating a crayon rubbing on a cool colored paper, 2nd and 3rd graders created a cool colored paper weaving for the “snow.”  Neatness and pattern were 2 concepts emphasized. Students used their fine motor skills in cutting and gluing and adding marker and crayon details for the snowman.  Cool colors were used and originality was stressed.  Finally, cool colored papers were used to make trees, animals, and other objects in the picture.  Overlapping, cropping, and cutting different sized shapes created another dimension to our landscapes to show a foreground, middle ground, and a background.  Students also added glitter dots to one area--- the sky for snowflakes, on the snowman, or on the trees. (Third graders also created an origami tree to coordinate with their STEAM lesson and field trip to the Trout Museum of Art!) 

Fourth graders created a landscape by reviewing the monochromatic (lights and darks of one color) color scheme.  They looked at Pablo Picasso’s “blue period” pictures, and then painted a white paper with 3 different tints, a pure color, and 2 different shades of blue.  The tints were torn and glued to a sky paper for hills to show a foreground, middle ground, and background.  The shades were used to tear and cut trees, cabins, animals, etc.  White charcoal pencils and Ebony pencils were used for details and textures.  “Snowy” glitter added a final touch to the winter landscapes!

ARTSONIA UPDATE!  Thank you Quinney families for supporting the Artsonia program!  Students are so proud of their artwork and are excited to share with you!  If you haven’t, please log in to your student’s account. An Artsonia ticket comes home after each art project is published to their digital gallery. You can become a fan club member, write positive comments to your artist, and even purchase items with your child’s artwork to help raise funds to purchase new supplies and materials for the art room! Students love comparing how many fan club members they have! (You can send a link to family and friends who can become fans and also write comments.)

UPCOMING ART EVENT: 
February 17 - 2:00-4:00 - Youth Art Month Exhibition at the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum in Neenah – 1 Quinney student will have his artwork on display: Griffin Planert’s “Wanted” Portrait!  Congratulations! 

Several winter landscapes from grades 2-4 will be on display at the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum in Neenah from February 10th - March 3rd.  Students will be sent a note home if their work will be on display!  





P.E. PLAY BY PLAY WITH MRS. STRATTON

4th grade has  been working on basketball skills in January.  They have practiced dribbling, passing and shooting.  We have some real ball players!  Third and second grades are in-line skating!  This is an exhausting unit to get ready for, but so very worth it!  Second grade is working on the basics; getting all the gear on (elbow pads, knee pads, wrist guards, helmets and skates) and standing up!  This is a large undertaking for 7 and 8 year olds in 30 minutes!  I am so proud of my second grade crew they are all up and skating around like pros!  Third grade is taking those basic skills one step further, with breaking, skating backward and zig-zagging cones!   We are all moving into tumbling in February!  Last but not least is we have kicked off Jump Rope for Heart!  This is a great event that we have not participated in for a few years!  I hope lots of families come and enjoy some activities!  



BUSY BODIES WITH MR. HALLORAN

Mr. Halloran's Physical Education classes are in the tumbling unit.  They have the opportunity to walk and do tricks on balance beams, climb the rock wall, climb and swing on ropes, climb the cargo net, learn how to do several different rolls and cartwheels, and a lot more fun activities.  It is great that the school has such fun equipment!  The students are doing a great job challenging themselves in new ways.




LIBRARY NEWS WITH MRS. WOLF

Second Grade: Second graders read the mystery, The Case of the Missing Monkey, the first book in the series, High Rise Private Eyes, by Cynthia Rylant.  They learned some special mystery words, like detectives, suspects, and clues. Next, they became rookie library detectives and gathered clues to help solve the mystery of how to find books in the library.

Third Grade:  Third graders are learning how to take notes online using Google Keep.  Each student created a checklist and shared three things I might not know about them.  Next, they partnered with a friend to learn about a new topic using PowerKnowledge Science Suites.  They will take notes using Google Keep.

Fourth Grade:  Fourth graders are beginning a research project in the library.  They will select their own topic and create an essential question for their project.  Along the way, they will learn research strategies, note-taking skills, and resource evaluation techniques.  We are calling it our Genius Half-Hour!









NURSE NOTES WITH MRS. SUNDELIUS

Pink eye (also called conjunctivitis) is a common eye condition in children.   Pink eye is when the clear tissue that lines the inside of the eyelid and the white part or the eyeball becomes irritated and inflamed.  This inflammation makes the blood vessels more visible and gives the eye a pink or reddish color.  Pink eye can be caused from viruses, bacteria, allergies and other irritations such as an injury.

The viral and bacterial type of pink eye is very contagious and can be spread easily from person to person and especially child to child as children have a more difficult time not rubbing on the irritated eye. 

What Are the Symptoms of Pink Eye?
  • Redness or swelling of the white of the eye or around the eye
  • Increased amount of drainage which may be clear, yellow, white or green
  • Itchy, irritated, and/or burning eyes
  • Increased sensitivity to light
  • Gritty feeling in the eye
  • Matter (dried drainage) on the eyelids or lashes especially in the morning

Some cases of pink eye can be mild and may get better on their own, even without antibiotic eye drop treatment. However, since it is very difficult to determine what may be causing your child’s pink eye the health office may ask you to bring your child in for medical follow up. 

How Do I Stop Pink Eye from Spreading?
  • Wash your hands
  • Avoid touching or rubbing your eyes; this is hard for young children to do
  • Avoid sharing makeup, contact lenses and containers, and eyeglasses
  • Keep your child home and follow up with their doctor if your child have any symptoms of pink eye

As always if you have any questions please feel free to contact the health office at your child’s school.



COUNSELOR'S CORNER WITH MS. DUDA

February Classroom Guidance

During the month of February, I will be visiting all  classrooms and talking with students about Self Knowledge and Management/Self-Esteem! In each grade level we will learn about valuing our own unique talents and abilities.  We will discuss the concepts of individuality, positive thinking, and positive attitudes.  All classes will be involved in classroom discussion around these topics and participate in class projects, stories or videos that encourage the development of a positive self-concept.

For some great tips and ideas on developing positive self-concept in your children, see the ideas below! 

Look for Ways to Help Others

When children feel like they're making a difference -- whether it's passing out cups at preschool or taking cookies to a nursing home -- they feel more confident, says Dr. Brooks. It's good for kids to have their own household responsibilities, but it may be even more empowering for a young child to assist you with a project.

Don't Rescue Your Child

It's natural to want to prevent your child from getting hurt, feeling discouraged, or making mistakes, but when you intervene -- trying to get her invited to a birthday party she wasn't included in, or pressuring the soccer coach to give her more game time -- you're not doing her any favors. Kids need to know that it's okay to fail, and that it's normal to feel sad, anxious, or angry, says Robert Brooks, PhD, coauthor of Raising Resilient Children. They learn to succeed by overcoming obstacles, not by having you remove them.

Focus on the Glass Half Full

If your child tends to feel defeated by disappointments, help her be more optimistic. Instead of offering glib reassurances to "look on the bright side," encourage her to think about specific ways to improve a situation and bring her closer to her goals, says Karen Reivich, PhD, coauthor of The Optimistic Child. If she's behind her classmates in reading, explain that everyone learns at her own pace, and offer to spend extra time reading with her. If she's crushed because she didn't get the lead in the second-grade play, don't say, "Well, I think you're a star." Instead, say, "I can see how disappointed you are. Let's come up with a plan for how you can increase the chances of getting the part you want next time."





EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

Parents often wonder if their child’s functioning is within normal expectations for their age.   While no two children are alike in their skill development or social functioning, the following guidelines may be helpful:

By one year, most children will do things such as:
Pull to a stand and walk with assistance.
Say one or two simple words (ma-ma, da-da, etc.).
Pick up small objects with thumb and first two fingers.
Drink from a cup when it is held for them.
Enjoy playing “peek-a-boo” or “patty cake”.

By two years, most children will do things such as:
Run reasonably well.
Use 2-3 word sentences (more juice, no go bye-bye, etc.).
Point to animals or objects in a book.
Bring a familiar object from another room when asked.
Play near other children, and use toys meaningfully.

By three years, most children will do things such as:
Dress self with minimal help.
Speak in short sentences.
Nest objects of different sizes, and match objects by color.
Imitate lines and circles on paper.
Begin to play with other children.

By four years, most children will do things such as:
Catch a large ball tossed underhand.
Ask many types of questions.
State full name and age when asked.
Copy a plus sign.
Enjoy pretend play with other children.

If you suspect that your child may have delays or other difficulties, you can arrange for a free screening to help determine if developmental testing and special services might be needed. Special school services can begin at the time of a child’s third birthday, and are provided at no cost to the
family. County services are available for infants and toddlers with special needs. Residents of the Kaukauna Area School District may contact Lisa Sheppard at 766-6150 for further information.