By: Kim Scott
East Chester did so many great things last week!
Kindergarten students learned all about the life cycle of butterflies, bees, frogs, ladybugs and grasshoppers. They learned about plants and how plants grow from a seed. They planted seeds. They also learned the difference between living and nonliving things. The kindergarteners used standard and nonstandard units of measurement to measure worms and their plant growth. In math the students learned about adding and subtracting word problems as well as recognizing coins and their value. They observed caterpillars and noticed that they formed chrysalises. Students eagerly waited for the butterflies to emerge!
First graders at East Chester worked daily to become more independent readers and writers. They learned to create opening and closing sentences on various kinds of paragraphs. First graders at East Chester learned about money and identified pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. They learned to add coin values. First graders looked forward to end-of-year activities including East Chester’s annual Fun Run. Please sponsor your first grader in the Fun Run. Feel free to contact your child’s teacher if you want more Fun Run information. It is a great time to be a first grader at East Chester!
Second graders learned many interesting things. Ms. Leah’s class continued to study about mammals. She had a special surprise to visit her class on Friday – Ms. Leah’s daughter’s guinea pig named Scooter. Scooter was a lot of fun to watch and listen to. They watched a video about guinea pigs and listened to the sounds of these cute creatures and listened to Scooter mimic the same sounds. This helped the students understand the word mimicry and how it works in animals’ habitats along with the study of the life cycle. Ms. Leah hopes that her parents will understand if the students come home and ask for a guinea pig. Mrs. Amy’s class began their study on early immigration. They learned why the United States was and is called the “land of opportunity.” They wrapped up the unit with Sir Gus and began studying the War of 1812. Mrs. Becky’s class learned how bats use echolocation to survive and wrote an informative paragraph explaining this process. In math they learned about telling time with digital and analog clocks. They also learned how to use the phrases “o’clock,” “half past,” “quarter past,” and “quarter till.” They are working with money and graphs this week!
East Chester students are ready to support the third graders by wearing red, April 21, to show that, “We’re Red’Y for the test. On April 22, we will be wearing yellow to encourage the third graders to “Glow and Show What You Know.” Third grade ELA studied the nervous system and the brain. They learned how the different hemispheres control different sides of the body. They discussed the cerebellum, cerebrum and the brain stem (medulla). They learned about what controls their balance, emotions and learning. Other third grade ELA classes learned about the founding of the Thirteen Colonies. They were fascinated by these early settlements.
Third grade math studied perimeter and area. They took Cheez-its and practiced building shapes with different perimeters and areas. Third grade got ready for T-CAP starting on Wednesday. They completed the writing, math 1 and science sections this week.
Mrs. Carroll’s students learned about Africa in all of her library classes this month. They learned about Earth Day last week.
For the next two weeks in school counseling, our third graders are learning about child safety. The program, Child Safety Matters, is being presented by Mrs. Tracy Tatera. Our children will be learning about child safety rules. 1) Know What’s Up. 2) Spot Red Flags. 3) Make a Move. 4) Talk It Up. 5) No Blame/No Shame. Ask your child to describe these rules and demonstrate the hand motions. Mrs. Tracy is also asking that each family have a safety word. This is a password that only the direct family members know. In case of an emergency where another adult needs to interact with your child, that adult would be able to give your child the family password to let the child know that person is safe. A safety word can serve to keep our children safe. Please choose a safety word for your family.
East Chester is busy learning and it is a great place to be!
