Transcript
This is an incredible accomplishment
as we are among a small number of
schools across the state earning this
designation. In fact, there are only
four other elementary schools in the
state to have earned this level of state
recognition!
In addition to this honor, I am thrilled
to announce that we have 14 (and
counting) teachers who have earned
their NC Global
Educator Digital
Badge. This means
they have met a
series of profes-
sional development
criteria and have
successfully completed a global cap-
stone project! This includes Mrs.
Pennington and I as the first adminis-
trators in the state to earn this en-
dorsement as a global educator!
I am very proud of the work of our
school to positively impact student
learning and to provide an enriched
experience for our students to be
prepared for a global society! Thank
you for your continued support of
our initiatives!
The first semester of 2017-18 has
been packed with fun activity and
pathways to learning for our stu-
dents. Our teachers have worked
together on several approaches to
learning, including our emphasis on
digital competencies, use of
student data to inform stand-
ards based feedback and
opportunities to enrich our
program with a global lens.
We have increased the num-
ber of computer devices for
students to use in the classroom.
One HUGE boost to this was a do-
nation from our PTO of $10,000
from the fall fundraiser! We blended
this with school funds to add
Chromebook computers to class-
room settings. We also obtained
replacement projectors and speak-
ers. The collaboration with PTO
has also allowed us to have fun
with activities such as the Scholas-
tic Book Fair, Reading Incentive
Program, Teacher Support, and
the first annual Family
Dance! We are looking
forward to upcoming par-
ent nights, PTO elections
and especially the planning
for Spring Fling in May!
As our community is aware
we have been implementing a
strong global learning program at
Elon. This aligns with our district
strategic plan and State of NC
initiatives. Our school was recog-
nized as a NC Global Ready
School in December. (see pic below)
Many great things are hap-pening at Elon Elementary every day! Teacher are plan-ning creative lessons to inter-est the students and keep them engaged. Students are trying new things through field trips and classroom lessons. Some students are attending after-school activities and clubs. All students have had the op-portunity to experience learn-ing "beyond the classroom."
Many lessons are planning hands-on experiences, and les-sons that incorporate a variety of technology, including virtual reality. Students have taken virtual field trips all over the world. Other classes have been able to interact with visitors that shared experiences from France, Korea, Germany, Africa and Australia. To learn more about the great things that are happening in
your child's class-room, ask your child’s teacher about the best way to stay in touch. Some teachers have Twitter accounts that you can follow, blogs or send home newsletters.
As always, it's a great day at Elon!
Message from our Leader - Mr. Davern, Principal
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
Pre-K &
Kindergarten
2–4
1st Grade 4-5
2nd Grade 6-7
3rd Grade 8-9
4th Grade 10-11
5th Grade 12-13
Specialty Area
Teachers and
Instructional
Support
14-19
Assistant Principal, Tracy Pennington
E L O N E L E M E N T A R Y
S C H O O L
Li l ’ Phoenix Community News
M A R C H 1 , 2 0 1 8
Spring Break 3/30—4/6
MARCH
22-PTO Meeting/PTO Family
Fitness Night
26—Spring Picture Day
(Group & Individual)
27– End of Report Period
28—PK-1 Field Day (am)
28—2/3 Field Day (pm)
29—4-5 Field Day (am)
30-6 Break
Field Days = Drop off Treat Days!
APRIL
20—Kindergarten Orientation
Mark your
Calendars!
M A R C H 1 , 2 0 1 8
P A G E 2
“We had the opportunity to
learn about Christmas in
Australia from a native
Australian. Our students
have also learned songs in
Spanish and they love singing
every morning.”
Greet ings from Pre-K and Kindergarten
Pre-K has embarked on
establishing a miniature
Outdoor Learning Envi-
ronment. Our initial focus
is two-fold: investigating
the weather and caring for
our feathered friends. We
have raised two shepherd
staffs with homemade bird
feeders attached, precipita-
tion gauges (which we hope
will become a water supply
for the birds), pinwheels to
detect the direction of the
wind and have made wind
chimes to be hung outdoors
in the very near fu-
ture. We are having a
blast observing the weather
and learning how to take
care of the environment.
You know, we are Little
Phoenixes doing things
the Pre-K Way.
word recognition. We enjoy playing word wall games such as Around the World, Cherry Pie, and Grow-A-Flower. In writing, we are learning to write complete sen-tences and use end punc-tuation correctly. As the new year began we set school and home goals, such as learning to read and learning to ride a bike. In math, we are learning to read, write, and make sets for numbers 11 - 20.
We are off to a great start in 2018! We continue to learn and grow in all aca-demic areas. In reading, we are working on sight
We are also learning the concept of greater than, equal to, and less than. We continue to explore our global region of study, Oceania, and integrate information about that region into our lessons when possible. Most re-cently, we learned that New Zealand is home to many sheep and that sheep farming is an im-portant industry there. As the year continues, we look forward to learning more information about New Zealand and other countries in Oceania.
had the op-
portunity to
learn about
Chr i s tmas
in Australia
from a na-
tive Austral-
ian. We
compared how holidays are
celebrated in different
countries. Students re-
searched at home some
facts about their favorite
Australian animal and they
made a project using differ-
ent materials to share with
their fellow classmates.
Also, we have been working
on writing sentences using
punctuation and the vocabu-
lary learned every week.
Students have learned songs
in Spanish and they love
singing every morning. We
have had so much fun learn-
ing a second language and
exploring ways of life from
different cultures.
During the first semester
of kindergarten we
learned about many inter-
esting things related to
the weather and holidays
around the world. We
L I L ’ P H O E N I X
Mrs. Sheppard, Mrs. Fargis & Mrs. Kirby
Señoritas Cruz & Bennett - Kindergarten Splash
Mrs. Dix & Mrs. Huffines
Learning
whether a
group is less
than (<),
greater than
(>) or equal
to (=)
another
group.
Pre-K students are engaged in
a miniature Outdoor Learning
Environment activity.
M o r e N e w s f r o m K i n d e r g a r t e n
P A G E 3 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1
Number Sense creativity. Stu-
dents had a chance to solve
the math equation by using
their hands and paint. An ac-
tivity like this is always fun
for students because they
can actually learn through
play! Students had a chance
to look at the equation and
think how many fingers they need-
ed to use to represent the num-
bers to make the equation correct.
Having the students think while
learning is always a wonderful sight
to see as an educator!
from home. This was a fun
home-school connection pro-
ject. The students researched
about an Australian animal and
made a model of the ani-
mal. January was a great
month of learning about Austral-
ia! We are looking forward to
learning more about countries in
Oceania!
Our class celebrated Australia
Day on January 26th! Australia is
a country in our region of study
of Oceania. We celebrated with
making skyworks (fireworks),
learning interesting facts about
Australia day, making Australian
flags and by tasting Tim-Tams(a
favorite Australian treat). Later in
the week each student brought in
their Australian animal project
Wow- what a whirlwind the first 100 days have been! We
started our classroom several weeks into the school year and hit the ground running and now it feels like we’ve been
a classroom family forever!
We have been working hard on learning sight words, be-ginning to read and learning how to write. We’re becoming
little math stars as we practice counting to 100 and learn-
ing the basics with numbers 1-20.
Some of our highlights have definitely been celebrating
Australia Day, our animal projects and the 100th day of
school!
Number Sense Activity
Students solve math equations
using their hands and paint
Ms. Harrison & Mrs. Canaday
“The students’ animal
project has been one
of our highlights this
school year.”
Ms. Dawson & Mrs. Vaughn
Mrs. Montgomery & Mrs. Kiser
P A G E 4
“During the
second nine weeks,
frist grade focused
on explanatory or
informative writing
styles. We wrote
how to make a
snowman.”
Students presented
their homework pro-
jects to the class.
1st Grade News
Mrs. Horne & Mrs. Canaday
We cannot believe we recently cele-
brated the 100th day of school! Time flies when you are having fun. Our
awesome group of kids have been working hard in the classroom and
at home. Their 100 day homework
projects and their Oceania animal projects were absolutely amaz-
ing! We were so impressed with all they learned about animals native to
Australia and the different ways
they worked with their families on counting to 100. The stu-
dents worked on speaking in front of an audience and talking
in complete sentences when
they presented both homework
projects to their classmates.
learned about traditional Kimonos
in the Chinese culture. The stu-
dents created their own kimono
design using torn scrapbook pa-
per and imagination. Our class
We have been learning about
cultures and traditions. The
students have looked at tradi-
tions through holidays we cel-
ebrate as well as Asian holi-
days. We recently celebrated
Chinese New Year on February
16th. It is the year of the
Dog! We have looked closely at
what traditional things we wear
for different occasions or jobs
in the United States. We also
informative styles of writ-
ing. For us, that meant snow-
men. Mrs. McGuire helped
them make snowmen out of
paper in art, and then we made
our own drawings. We added
steps in a rational order and
divided our paper into three
sequen t ia l m in i d raw-
ings. Little did they know they
were making a thinking map
like a flow map to order their
ideas to enhance their writing
ability. Finally, we looked at
our maps, talked some more
about opening sentences,
transitional words, and closing
sentences, and then wrote,
“How to make a snowman.”
In first
grade, as
much as
any other,
m a k i n g
school fun
is a great
way to get
kids to work. When our first
taste of snow started making
the class excited, we funnelled
it into our writing. For the sec-
ond nine weeks, first grade
focuses on explanatory or
Students learned about
traditional Kimonos in the
Chinese culture.
L I L ’ P H O E N I X
Ms. Gould and Mrs. Mullen - Kindergarten
Mr. Agner & Mrs. Vaughn
learned that formal kimonos
are usually made of silk or
other expensive fabric with
embroidery. Every day kimo-
nos are mostly cotton and
not as fancy.
More 1st Grade News
P A G E 5 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1
In first grade Spanish Immersion, we engaged students with activities from around the world to increase student cross cultural understanding through listening to typical music
and watching dancing from Spain. We chose several tra-ditional Christmas carols from my country that tell about Christmas traditions. The songs were: “Campana sobre campana, los peces en el rio, Feliz Navidad and Burrito Sabanero.” To improve our speaking and listening skills, we participated in a Google Hangout with a class in Spain. Students con-versed with each other in
English and Spanish. We shared riddles, games and dis-cussed our favorite things.
many interesting
facts. As a part of
our writing the stu-
dents incorporated
the “informational”
wr i t in g ob j ec -
tive. After gather-
ing facts, the stu-
dents were able to
write very informative pieces
about The Great Wall of Chi-
na and created beautiful art
work to go along with it.
In our class we have been
discussing languages, tradi-
tions and holidays of
Asia. We studied The Great
Wall of China and discovered
Every day we learn a
new fact about the
country that I am from,
Britain. We place these
facts on our wall in the
culture corner. The
children are fast be-
coming experts on the
world around them.
In our class we have been com-paring the holidays we celebrate in the USA with holidays cele-brated around the world. We fo-cused on the United Kingdom, learning about the differences between how Valentine's Day is celebrated here and there. We also studied the Chinese New Year. We talked about the cele-brations starting on Friday, Feb-ruary 16th and how it differs from the way we celebrate the New Year.
1st Grade Splash Class
Mr. Lewis & Mrs. Huffines “Each day we
learn a new
fact about
Britian, my
native
country.”
Señor Munoz & Señorita Bennett - 1st Grade
New facts about other counties are
placed on our wall in the culture corner.
Ms. Geise & Mrs. Mullen We have been doing amazing things in Ms. Geise’s
first grade class! One of our favorite things to do is
research! We have a lot of great informational texts
in our classroom, and the students love learning
about new topics. Recently, students learned about
pandas, and created booklets that are on display.
Mrs. Carr & Mrs. Kiser
P A G E 6
Ms. McGrath & Mrs. Page
2nd Grade News
In quarter 2, Mr. Edge’s Jaguar class has been
working very hard on:
-Money in math, especially identifying all the
different coins.
-Writing great information texts about jaguars
which will be on display outside our classroom.
-In science, we’ve learned a lot about
sound including vibration, pitch, volume
and parts of the ear.
In social studies, we worked a lot on
compass directions between places.
Maybe your child could help you navigate
somewhere?
In Science, Second Grade was learning about Sound. We en-joyed participating in lots of hands on experi-ments when Science Is Fun came to visit. Blowing bubbles with slime was the favorite.
Christmas Around The World was a lot of fun. We learned about Christmas traditions in England, Mexico, Honduras, Italy, Australia and Kwanzaa in the USA.
Our class loved helping Ms McGrath celebrate Australia Day. We had a photo booth with lots of Australian props, we made lamingtons and drank Milo.
w r i t e
personal narratives and
informational pieces. We
are currently expressing
our opinions through writ-
ing. We continue to work
with addition and subtrac-
tion in word problems and
with 2 digit numbers. Stu-
dents have had practice
identify counting coins and
measuring length. In Sci-
ence, students have gained an
understanding of weather and
sound. We are now learning
about the states of matter. In
Social Studies, we have learned
about government and maps.
Now, we are learning about
historical figures and how they
impacted society. With all of
our core subjects, we are also
incorporating information
about South America.
We have been working hard
to increase our stamina in
reading, writing and problem
solving. In reading, we have
been working with fiction and
non-fiction text to understand
the main idea and story struc-
ture. In addition, students are
beginning to analyze charac-
ters according to their actions.
Students have learned how to
Blowing bub-
bles out of
slime was
Ms. McGrath’s
class
favorite.
L I L ’ P H O E N I X
Mr. Edge & Mrs. Page
Ms. Herman & Mrs. Page
The class breaks for
a nutritious snack.
Ms. Herman’s
students learn
in a variety of
settings.
2nd Grade News Continued
P A G E 7 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1
In Mrs. Howe’s class they had
a great experience with the
Elon University students. It
was World Read Aloud Day on
February 1st. Mrs. Bays ar-
ranged for students from the
university to come and read to
the students. Miss Caylin
Melkrante from the Wom-
en’s Soccer team read a sto-
ry about soccer and inspired
them to follow their
dreams. We also had Grant
Jones from the Elon Cheer
Team read and tell us about
his upbringing in England. He
also read a story of his
choice to the students. The
students asked questions and
were able to hear how the
university students set goals
and were self-disciplined to
reach those goals. Thank you
Elon University for the experi-
ence and exposure to the
world.
domains of learning: reading recipes, follow-
ing directions and sequencing. Further,
learning how to add to double recipes, see-
ing scientific changes taking place in materi-
als and learning the origins of the food we
made was part of the experience. During
the first nine weeks, we made Mrs. Wilson’s
Homemade Buttermilk Cornbread with all of
the 2nd grade classes. Recently, Mrs. Wil-
son and Mrs. Howe’s classes made Mrs.
Wilson’s Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes.
The students enjoyed these activities and
eating the finished products!
This year, we’ve been learning and
having a lot of fun! Some of our favorite
learning experiences have come
through hands on activities and demon-
strations. In the first quarter, we learned
about sound in science. We had so
much fun with our in school Science Is
Fun field trip. Students had the oppor-
tunity to experience what we had been
learning about first hand through hands-
on activities. This year, students also
had the opportunity of having Mrs. Wil-
son cook for them! Cooking in the
classroom stretches across all of the
We have been studying a lot about biographies and creating timelines about important people that have changed history and have been role models that inspire us! We are also understanding how characters respond to different events in their lives and identify their character traits! We took a moment to see what it was like to be in Helen Keller's world!
In math, we are learning our addi-
tion and subtraction facts
throughout some fun games, solv-
ing math
problems
using
different
strategies
and learn-
ing about
arrays!
We are having a lot of fun in Señora Mejia’s class! A lot of things are happening here!
Elon
University
students
volunteer
to read to
the class.
Señora Mejia & Mrs. Coble
Mrs. Gilliam-Wilson & Mrs. Page
Students learned about
sound in science & how to
follow directions and
sequencing for a home-
made buttermilk corn-
bread recipe.
“Grant Jones, Elon
University Cheer Team
member reads to Ms.
Howe’s class and
shares stories about his
upbringing in England.”
Mrs. Howe & Mrs. Page
P A G E 8
“My
students
have been
working very
diligently on
their division
skills.”
Students actively
engaged in learning.
Ms. Doyle & Mrs. Fogleman
Mrs. Ector & Mrs. Fogleman
3rd Grade News
Third grade is an im-
portant year for reading
and for math. We are
working hard daily to
improve our stamina in
reading. We are accom-
plishing this by reading
to self and others daily.
In math we are working
hard to memorize our
addition, subtraction, multipli-
cation and division facts.
We are getting the job done
here by working on Xtra-
Math, Think Through Math
and Prodigy, just to name a
few strategies. We had a
great field trip to Old Salem,
where we learned about changes
in communities over time. We
are enjoying getting to know
our classmates and spending
time socializing with them daily.
Third grade is a great year and
we are enjoying every minute!
math competition of multiplication
facts, and are working hard to try
to win the multiplication trophy!
In science we had fun learn-
ing about shadows, the solar
system, and landforms.
Students were even able to
take a virtual reality trip to
the desert in Namibia to
explore first- hand a land-
form we have discussed.
We enjoyed a fun trip to Old Salem
to learn about how communities
The first quarter
was full of excite-
ment and learning in
our c lassroom!
Students worked
hard to find charac-
ter traits in stories
and the main idea.
In math we have
worked on a variety
of topics, including
addition, subtrac-
tion, and rounding. Students
have been enjoying our weekly
change over time. We are looking
forward to all the learning and fun
we'll have second semester!
Hear ye! Hear ye! In Miss Doyle’s
3rd grade class we are working,
working, working on our division
skills. As a result we have been
sharing a lot among ourselves to
improve these skills.
We are also doing our
weekly XTRAMATH to
keep our skills sharp.
In Science,
students
have been
learning
about
shodows,
the solar
system and
landforms.
L I L ’ P H O E N I X
Ms. Derrick & Mrs. Fogleman Socializing
and getting
to know our
classmates.
Mrs. Honeycutt & Mrs. Fogleman
P A G E 9 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1
It's been like the Postal Service lately in Mrs. Honeycutt's class - neither snow nor sick-ness is keeping us from our task of work-
ing hard in third grade! We've been practicing our cursive writing and are excited that we're almost through the up-per-case letters. The students are proud to conquer this "grown-up"
skill but have to be reminded that prac-tice will make it easier. Give them oppor-tunities to practice at home - let them make the grocery list!
In Math, we're learning how to cal-culate area and perimeter. Stu-dents are understanding the im-portance of memorizing their multi-p l icat ion facts during th is unit. Please make sure they're practicing those facts every night. Even if they don't have ac-cess to XtraMath or flashcards at home, they can still practice - drill them while you're in the car, or as t hey ' re he lp ing you w i th chores. Practice will pay off! During Read-Aloud/Snack Time, w e j u s t f i n i s h e d r e a d -ing Wonder and we've been talking
a lot about kindness. Now we're read-ing the children's version of Pay It Forward, and I'm going to be chal-lenging the class to find ways to make a difference in their world. The world can be a scary place, but I truly be-lieve that we can affect change in our small corners that will have a ripple effect in far-reaching ways! Encour-age your children to think of ways to help others!
Lastly, thank you for the continued
donations of classroom supplies,
snacks, and prizes. It does indeed
take a village and I am grateful for
your support!
In reading, we learned about
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson
Mandela, two of the most important
leaders in the United States and
South Africa. We compared their
lives, achievements, and character
traits. Then, Mrs. Verma, our amazing
school counselor, did a lesson on
Mahatma Gandhi and shared how his
peaceful protests against inequality
inspired leaders like Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
Third Grade Splash has been busy
learning about Earth Science. The
students researched some of the
most interesting facts about land-
forms and bodies of water all
around the different continents us-
ing our Chromebooks. Then, in
small groups, they created 3D
models of the continents and their
bodies of water to present to the
rest of the class. We had a lot of
fun completing this project!
and currently students are
working on memorizing
facts and learning different
strategies that can be used to
draw or show representation
of a particular fact. This
memorization plays a huge
role in concepts that will be
taught throughout the rest
of this year and continue
into fourth grade. Our class
has various opportunities to
practice their facts on web-
sites such as www.xtramath.org
and www.multiplication.com as
well as work in small groups
playing games and using flash
cards. On Friday afternoons we
meet as a grade level and com-
pete against one another’s clas-
ses in our Multiplication Chal-
lenge to try to win the trophy!
Keep watch for students earning
their multiplication button!
Third grade is a very impera-
tive year for
math. Mul-
t ip l i ca t ion
and division
are two of
the most
e s s e n t i a l
operat ions
that students
need to learn
and understand in math this
year. During the first quarter
We read
the book,
Wonder
and have
been talking
a lot about
kindness.
Mrs. Kellis & Mrs. Fogleman
Señora Ospina & Mrs. Coble
The students share their presentations with classmates.
“We meet as
a grade level
and compete
against one
another’s
classes in our
Multiplication
Challenge.”
More 3rd Grade News
P A G E 1 0
“Could a volcano
appear in your
yard?” Mrs.
Bulot students
were interested
to find out it is
possible.
Mrs. Bays’ students create a
global garden with plants
from various countries.
Mrs. Bulot and Mrs. House
Mrs. Hiatt
Hel lo f rom the 4th Grade
Mrs. Bays and Mrs. House's 4th
graders have been busy this year
traveling around Europe
through virtual field trips,
google hangouts, researching
and reading global books. We
have cooked crepes, celebrated
the Winter Olympics, skyped
with famous authors and had
visitors share their travel experi-
ences all across Europe and
Asia.
One of our favorite activities has
been creating a global gar-
den. This fall we planted vegeta-
bles from Europe. We are excited
to plant our summer vegetables
from North and South American
and Asia soon. It has been so fun
integrating global learning in
math, science, social studies, and
language arts. We are always on
an adventure!
participating. From those
countries, we researched
the athletes and their
events. Throughout the
olympics, we tracked the
number of medals each
country won. Even though
we support Team USA 100%,
we found ourselves support-
ing our country teams as
well!
Our class has been exploring
how magnetism and elec-
tricity works. Stu-
dents worked together
in groups to make a
circuit and see if they
could light up a light-
bulb. With the Winter
Olympics, we divided
into groups and re-
searched the countries
yard?” They were very interested to
find out it is possible. Students en-
joyed collaborating with their class-
mates to learn about volcanoes.
We have been learning about
weathering and erosion,
which included an activity
about volcanoes. The stu-
dents plotted the coordinates
of volcanoes around the
world, and discovered that
there is a “Ring of Fire”. They
answered the question, “could
a volcano appear in your
Ms. Hiatt’s
students
explore how
magnetism
and
electricity
work.
L I L ’ P H O E N I X
Mrs. Bays & Mrs. House
4th Grade News Continued
P A G E 1 1 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1
We have been busy
in room 119! We have
been working through all
of the different ways to
multiply and how to solve
multiplication word prob-
lems.
We have also been look-
ing at how some of the
European countries have been do-
ing in the Olympics and comparing
how those countries did in the
2014 Sochi Olympics. We have
also investigated some of the
sports and learned about how they
are played. In science we are
studying electricity and magnetism
and have been able to explore with
magnets. We spent the first half of
the year reading informa-
tional text and are now in-
vestigating literature. We
have enjoyed several guest
speakers including Elon
Women’s Soccer Player,
Meredith, and our friends
from The Press restaurant in
Graham. We have accom-
plished a lot, but still have
so much more to do!
harder concepts in math that
we will focus on the rest of
the year. In reading we have
worked on summarizing, in-
ferring, characterization, se-
quencing, theme and main
idea. A fun and educational
field trip to Raleigh intro-
duced our students to what
North Carolina social studies
is all about, and science has
focused on the moon, fossils,
and weathering. With our
global focus of Europe, we
learned about holiday tradi-
tions in five European coun-
tries, sang a variety of multi-
cultural songs at Twin Lakes,
and discovered how France
celebrates “Crepe Day” on
February 2nd.
From the halls of the Capi-
tol Building in Raleigh, to
the sporting arenas of the
Winter Olympics, our class
has enjoyed engaging and
diverse lessons thus far in
fourth grade. Reviewing
place value as well as
basic computation and
problem solving skills has
laid the foundation for the
Students
studying
electricity
and
magnetism
Mrs. Weger and Mrs. House “With our global
focus of Europe,
we learned about
holiday traditions
in five European
countries, sang a
variety of
multicultural
songs at Twin
Lakes and
discovered how
France celebrates
“Crepe Day” on
February 2nd.”
Mrs. Moore and Mrs. House
P A G E 1 2
We learned about force and motion
by making and racing K’nex cars.
We have started
studying the Ameri-
can Revolution.
Mrs. Myers
Señora Contreras
Tour of our 5th Grade
In Social Studies we have started
studying the American Revolution.
We started the unit by learning
about The Boston Tea Party and
created digital cartoons to retell the
story. Then we researched the Intoler-
able Acts. We went on to think about all
the causes of The American Revolution
and created google slide presentations
to explain them. We learned about Loy-
alist and Patriots and tried writing from
each point of view. We also read a nar-
rative poem about Paul Revere and
translated it into modern day English.
Currently, the class is gathering infor-
mation about the battles of the Ameri-
can Revolution and plotting them on
self-drawn maps. I look forward to
continuing this topic with my super-
star class!
Our class has been coding not only as a
fun way to work on problem solving but
also as an opportunity to use their Span-
ish language skills. Collaboration, crea-
tivity and meaningful learning takes
place during these sessions. We cannot
wait to share our projects and develop
global learning around it!
Science is Fun. Around
Christmas, students
accepted the gum drop
challenge by creating
the tallest gum drop
structure they could
make. Recently, we
learned about force
and motion by making
and racing K’nex cars.
We’ve learned through
all of our experiments that
math and science are very
much related, and that it’s
important to be able to
read directions!!
From the very first day of
school, I knew I had a
class of super scientists.
We have used our prob-
lem solving skills to save
Fred the gummy worm.
We have sharpened our
observation skills by
making weather predic-
tions by looking at the
clouds and making and
trying out different
weather instruments with
Students
have been
coding as a
fun way to
work on
problem
solving and
an oppor-
tunity to
use their
Spanish
language
skills.
L I L ’ P H O E N I X
Ms. Diovisalvi
O u r 5 t h G ra d e To u r C o n t i n u e s
P A G E 1 3 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1
Mr. Owens’ class has been work-
ing on Problem Based Learning in
collaboration with Wake Forest
University School of Medicine.
Students are put in groups of three
to five. Students are presented
with problem and ask a classmate
to read it aloud. A student (not the
teacher) reads the problem aloud
to create student own-
ership of the learning.
Students identify what they know
(FACTS). Each small group may
make their own list or the large
group may make a single list.
Students identify what they do
NOT know (NEED TO KNOW).
Each small group then makes
their own list. Students decide
where to find the information that
they need and begin researching.
Each group identifies what could
be going on and creates a list of
possible hypotheses. Groups
consider what information is nec-
essary to support or refute each
hypothesis. Groups organize the
new information that they have
identified in their NEED TO
KNOW LIST and integrate it with
what they already knew. Groups
revisit their list of possible hypoth-
eses. They select the most viable
hypothesis and assemble all sup-
porting information. Each group
presents and defends the solution
identified for the problem.
Acceleration. Students
had a hands-on
demonstration of how
mass and momentum
are connected.
We are currently
studying Forces
and Motion in sci-
ence. To start off
the unit, students worked
together to engineer cars
that had to make it down a
hill, holding two blocks.
Students were able to
make three trial runs with-
out the blocks. Students
had to predict whether their
cars would be faster with
the blocks. This led us into
Newton’s Second Law--
Students
are engaged
in a group
activity.
Mrs. Stiegel “Students
worked
together to
engineer
cars that
had to make
it down a
hill, holding
two blocks.”
Mr. Owens
P A G E 1 4
“To catch the
reader's attention,
place an
interesting
sentence or quote
from the story
here.”
5th Grade students
read Among the
Hidden.
Mrs. C. Johnson - Physical Education
Mrs. Rust - Music
Speciality Area Teachers and Instructional Support
We have had a wonderful learning
time in the library so far this year!
Kindergarten has grown a lot
already and I can see progress in
the way they use the library each
week. We have had so much fun
with their snowman books. Please
ask them to tell you their favorite
snowman story.
1st grade has had fun with Henry
and Mudge. We have been
scared with Henry when he lost
his dog and have laughed with
Henry and his silly dad.
2nd graders are venturing
into Folklore. Tell them a
story orally so they can get an
ideas of how folklore started.
3rd grade has just finished
The Chalk Box Kid from our
realistic fiction genre. Ask
them why Mrs. Day thinks this
is one of the saddest stories
she’s ever read.
4th graders are working on
our Incredible and Unusual
Schools Around the World.
I’m excited to see their product
as they begin finishing up their
research and reports from this
project. Not to worry it was all
done in the library at school:}
5th grade has been reading
the novel Among the Hidden.
(see cover picture) This is a
fascinating book that makes
the students think about other
cultures and how different they
can be, but also how alike we
are as people.
student is expected to bring
his/her recorder to each
music class. Four 5th grad-
ers qualified to play “The
Longleaf Pine” on recorders
at the North Carolina Sym-
phony concert on January 4.
Congratulations to Laney
Danzeisen, Kaylee Fogle-
man, Kaelyn Gallagher and
Danielle Johnson. Sadly,
this concert was cancelled
due to snow. Our 4th grad-
ers gave a concert at Twin
Lakes in December to a
standing room only crowd.
We are always grateful for
the opportunity to spread
the musical joy to our com-
Students have been
singing, playing instru-
ments, dancing and
creating music in The
Magic Music Mobile!
We have 30 brand
new ukuleles thanks to
many who supported a
Donors Choose Pro-
ject in August and
September 2017! Stu-
dents in grades 3, 4
and 5 have learned
uke basics as well as
some songs to play
and sing. Students in
grades 4 and 5 are
always working on
recorder skills; each
munity.
All students enjoy playing
Orff instruments (xylophones
and metallophones) as well
as drums. They love to play
instruments! Students in K-2
often celebrate songs of dif-
ferent cultures, singing and
dancing. Currently 3rd grad-
ers have learned
“Kokoleoko”, an African song
with a hand clapping game.
Have them show you! We
are looking forward to skyp-
ing with 3rd graders from 5
other ABSS global schools,
sharing songs and dances
from other cultures with each
other.
work skills! Next up for
students will be basket-
ball skills!
I would like to introduce
my student teacher
Jordan Valentzas!
Jordan attends Elon
University and will be
student teaching this
spring semester.
In PE our students are
busy with activities that
increase their heart rate!
We are currently working
on our jump rope skills
with both short and long
jump ropes. The long
jump ropes have provid-
ed an awesome oppor-
tunity for students to
showcase their team-
Symphony
Recorder
Players:
Kaylee,
Laney,
Kaelyn and
Danielle
L I L ’ P H O E N I X
Mrs. Day - Media Center
Speciality Area Teachers & Instructional Support Continued
P A G E 1 5 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1
The Firebirds have been busy this
school year! We marched in the Bur-
lington Christmas Parade and also sang
for the Tree Lighting at Beth Schmidt
Park in Elon. We have performed the
national anthem at two Elon University
basketball games, and at the ACC Wom-
en’s Basketball Tournament March 2.
We were very proud of the 6 Firebirds
who auditioned for the prestigious NC
Honors Chorus which was in Winston
Salem in November. Two of our Fire-
birds were selected by a panel of col-
lege voice teachers! Nevy Fisher and
Kaelyn Gallagher proudly represented
Elon Elementary School at the 2 day
event which culminated with a concert
at the Stevens Center.
In Classroom Guidance, I am excit-
ed to incorporate Growth Mindset
concepts in my lessons at all grade
levels. Infusing the Growth Mindset
theory into the counseling program
can help the students increase
achievement through greater self-
esteem. We have learned about,
determination, self talk, everyone
is unique and teach others what
you know.
This year, I have created and found
some engaging resources to help
instill a Growth Mindset in our stu-
dents. I believe that elementary
grades are the most important years
in a child’s life. They are developing
in so many ways that will affect the
rest of their life. I hope to play a
small part in helping your child be-
come the best that they can be as
they learn important social, academ-
ic and life lessons.
Parents, you can reinforce your
children that it’s okay to be wrong.
This will free your child up to try a
new challenge. In the process of
making that effort, they will learn
what works and what doesn’t.
Teach them to keep trying to solve
a hard problem, even if they can’t
see the end solution. Teach them to
try out new ideas and approaches
to problem solving. Teach them the
Coders are working
hard on their projects as
we have been selected
to present at 3 different
venues this school year:
(1) NCTIES (North Car-
olina Technology in Ed-
ucation Society) Confer-
ence on March 1 in Ra-
leigh; (2) Graham Maker
Faire at Graham Middle
School in May; and (3)
ISTE (International Soci-
ety for Technology in
Education) Confer-
ence in Chicago on
June 26. We are
very proud of our
coders! Mrs. Rust
and Mrs. Stiegel
are also presenting
coding workshops
for ABSS teachers.
Coding is a global
language!
We are excited to have
22 fifth graders in the
Boys and Girls Coding
Clubs this year! Each
club meets on alternate
Thursdays to learn
about coding and work
on their projects. We are
very thankful for the
Elon University comput-
er science students who
come and assist each
week.
Firebirds at Holly Hill Mall
on December 12, 2017.
Mrs. Rust & Mrs. Stiegel - The Coding Club
Ms. Verma - Guidance Counselor
“Coding is a
global language.”
Mrs. Rust - The Firebirds
‘Mantra’ “Mistakes help my
Brain Growth.” When someone
easily finds an answer, they
have shown the knowledge
they already have. When they
make mistakes, they are
forced to find out why and
then they learn something new
in the process. It takes away
some of the fear of failure. It
Validates the effort required
in making a mistake.
P A G E 1 6
“AIG
reading
students
have
been busy
reading novels,
Scope Magazine
and Junior Great
Book selection.”
We are seeking vol-
unteers to organize
and catalog our sci-
ence equipment and
supplies cabinet.
Mrs. Davis - AIG
Mrs. Robertson - Resource
Mrs. Cauley - Academic Coach
Many thanks to all our won-
derful parent and community
volunteers who assist us here
at Elon Elementary to organ-
ize materials, provide clerical
help and tutor students. Our
leveled library of instructional-
ly leveled texts that teachers
use during reading instruction
is kept organized and up to
date by Mrs. Vera Barker, a
grandparent of 2 of our former
Elon students. She is currently
working on organizing our
reading basals and supple-
mental texts in another area of
school. I have also noticed
several parents assisting with
bulletin boards and other cleri-
cal duties.
Some volunteers have com-mitted to being a part of our
1st grade tutoring program called “Partners in Reading.” These volunteers meet once a week with 2-3 students in first grade one at a time for about 20 minutes to help them in-crease their reading abilities. Several of these volunteers including Gil Boylston, Michelle Wood, Amy Neal and Cath-arine Cook have volunteered for this program for several years and all of these volun-teers have made a huge differ-ence in students’ reading pro-gress. We are still in need of at least 10 volunteers for this pro-gram. If you are interested or know anyone who may be, please contact me by phone, 336-538-6000, or email, gisele_cauley@abss.k12.nc.us
You will need to commit to 1
hour per week of tutoring time and I will train you to do the tutoring. We have several other vol-unteer opportunities for any-one who is interested. We are in the process of organ-izing our math manipula-tives closet and would like to begin organizing and cat-aloging our science equip-ment and supplies. This could be done any time dur-ing the week and you could come as little or as much as you were able. Let me know if you are interested in help-ing with these projects by using the contact info above. Many thanks to all our vol-
unteers! You do make a
difference!
questions. They use dif-
ferent colors to answer
varying questions to
help them see under-
stand the overall se-
quence of a passage. In
math, all grade levels
have been identifying
key words in word prob-
lems and using that
In the resource room, Kinder-
garten through 2nd grade stu-
dents have been using learned
decoding strategies to read
books out loud to each other to
gain more confidence in their
reading. 3rd - 5th grade stu-
dents have been learning strat-
egies to help them answer
higher level comprehension
knowledge to choose
which operation is need-
ed to solve the prob-
lems. Great progress is
being made in the re-
source room and we are
all proud of our achieve-
ments so far this year!
AIG reading students have been busy
reading novels, Scope Magazine, and Jun-
ior Great Book selections. Students have
been working on projects to support their
learning such as fourth grades museum
project and fifth grades Phantom Toll-
booth projects.
AIG math students are improving their
problem solving skills, multiplication
and fraction knowledge.
L I L ’ P H O E N I X
Mrs. Baker - Speech and Language Therapist
P A G E 1 7 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1
In Speech and Language, our PreK students
have been learning about snow! We made
edible snowmen while following directions
to create these, requesting items, and using
our best vocabulary and language skills to
describe the items used. We also made a
“blizzard in a bag” by following directions,
requesting necessary items, and then blowing
our snow to make a blizzard! Finally, we made “snow” by measuring
and mixing baking soda and hair conditioner. The students enjoyed
describing the texture of the “snow” while also making tracks in their
snow like the character, Peter, in The Snowy Day.
Señorita Cruz and Señor Muñoz use a Spanish pe-riodical to teach students about famous Hispanic inventors. Then students discuss the effects in our world as a result of these inventions.
In ESL this 4th grade stu-dent shares her home culture while working on her “How To” expository writing piece. She teach-es others how to make homemade tortillas. In Spanish club, native Spanish speakers learn how to read and write in their home language.
are also working on responding, in
written form, to texts they read.
They are sharpening their writing
skills by writing about the beginning,
middle and end of a text they have
read, as well as answering compre-
hension questions in complete sen-
tences.
In math, we are working hard to im-
prove number sense skills. To do
so, students have been working non-
stop with number lines! They
have been placing numbers in
the appropriate places on a giv-
en number line as well as figur-
ing out the difference between
two given numbers on the num-
ber line.
It has been a wonderful year of
learning so far, and we are excit-
ed for more great learning to
come!
Students have been working so
hard this year to strengthen their
reading, writing and math skills!
In literacy, students have been
increasing their reading fluency
by reading a variety of texts: po-
ems, decodable readers, books
that rhyme and more! Students
are trying their best to read
smoothly, with the appropriate
speed and expression. Students
Ms. Black - Interventionist
Mrs. S. Johnson - ESL Students
learn how
to make
home-
made
tortillas.
P A G E 1 8
“Is it a cold or flu?”
Ms. Troxler, our school
nurse has listed a few
helpful hints.
School psychologists
provide support and
serve students.
Mrs. Troxler - School Nurse
Mr. Peterson - School Psychologist Hello! Some of you
probably don’t
know who I am or
what I do, and that’s
ok! This is my sec-
ond year as a
school psychologist
with the district. I
moved from Iowa
after working for an
agency in the special
education depart-
ment for a couple
of years. My wife
and I love North
Carolina! I am as-
signed to support Elon
Elementary and other
schools within ABSS. As
a school psychologist, we
are uniquely qualified
members of school
teams that support stu-
dents’ ability to learn and
teachers’ ability to teach
in several different ways.
I have several different
hats that I wear within
schools and the district.
My major role is to sup-
port the Exceptional
Children’s department. I
also have a big role with
the Multitiered Systems of
Support (MTSS) where I
analyze data, consult with
team members, problem-
solve, etc. Those are just
to name a couple. I have
included an infographic
from the National Associa-
tion of School Psychologists
to help briefly show some
of the things that school
psychologists are qualified
to do. Please contact me at
Elon Elementary if you have
any questions or concerns!
●Wash hands often with warm
water and soap for at least 15
seconds, especially before eating
and after using the bathroom.
●Use tissue to cover coughs and
sneezes. Wash hands after wip-
ing noses.
●Do not share food, drinks, cups
or eating utensils.
●Do not touch the spout of the
water fountain when drinking.
●Get plenty of sleep, exercise
regularly and eat healthy foods.
The BEST thing you can do is to
keep your children home when they
are sick. This will help stop the
spread of illness to other children
and teachers. Children need to be
kept home when they have any of
these symptoms:
●Fever of 100 degrees or higher
●Nausea or vomiting within the last 24
hours
●Severe headache
●Diarrhea within the last 24 hours
●Red, watery eyes with yellow drainage
●Confirmed flu from a medical provider
( Please contact your school nurse)
Children should stay home
until they have been without
fever for at least 24 hours.
Children should not be given
Tylenol or Advil (ibuprofen) to
reduce the fever and then sent
to school. The child may be
highly contagious to others.
At this time of year, we are
trying to help stop the spread
of illnesses due to viruses.
Viruses spread from person
to person when breathing in
droplets from a cough,
sneeze or runny nose.
Here are some easy steps to
help protect yourselves from
colds and flu (as well as many
other contagious diseases).
L I L ’ P H O E N I X
Mrs. Cabrera - Social Worker P A G E 1 9 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1
Elon Elementary School has such wonderful
support from our school family and Com-
munity Partners. As the old saying goes, “It takes a Village to raise children”, and
this is exemplified in the support that Elon receives from parents, PTO, and multiple
Community Partners. Once again, our Christmas Angel Tree was a huge success,
we were able to sponsor four families this
year. The overwhelming joy and thankful-
ness expressed by these families is a tes-
tament to the support we receive each and
every day here at Elon. A contribution made
by one of our community partner is food
bags provided for those in need of food over the weekends and holiday breaks. If
you find yourself in need of assistance for food, please reach out to me and we will
discuss this program. From your School Social Worker, thank you families for your
eagerness to help when there are needs
within our school. I am Looking forward to
a successful 2nd semester!
Anything, accompanying the storyline with
tambourine, woodblock, triangle and drums.
Second graders hopped to collaborative
conversations as they acted out “Cookies”
from Frog and Toad Together.
Third graders danced the “Charleston,”
sang the song lyrics, and thought about the
1920’s as they watched a flapper dancer.
Kindergarteners explored character de-
velopment in the Beatrix Potter’s Tales; they
were on the lookout for Mr. McGregor, mak-
ing sure to keep cover!
First Graders dramatized the picture book
The Little Old Lady Who was Not Afraid of
Fourth graders read and acted a scene from
The Indian and the Cupboard, trying out voic-
ing and movement principles of drama.
Fifth graders acted out excerpts from Ras-
cal, identifying with the eleven year old Ster-
ling North and his pet raccoon.
1st Grade created snowmen from all viewpoints. They
cut shapes and drew details to show snowmen looking
left, right, up, and down. They were inspired by reading
the book, Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner.
2nd Grade used their painting skills to illustrate red
birds on a snowy branch after examining the style of
renowned American artist, Charley Harper.
3rd Grade drew tall snowmen from a foreshortened
perspective after reading the book, The Biggest, Best
Snowman by Margery Cuyler. They also learned all
about how to stay healthy after reading the book,
Germs Make Me Sick by Melvin Berger. Then
they became lab artists, pretended to look
through imaginary microscopes, and creat-
ed colorful bacteria and virus paintings.
4th grade used radial symmetry to make
colorful “snowflake” designs using markers,
crayons, and colored pencils to draw their
beautiful creations.
5th Grade used chalk to create value and
form for their Snowmen at Night drawings
inspired by the book written by Caralyn
Buehner.
Students have been getting creative
with winter themed art!
Kindergarten cut and glued triangles,
circles, and rectangles to build snowmen
in an evergreen forest. Then they counted
their shapes and printed snowflakes. We
also counted with the book, 100 Snowmen
by Jen Arena.
Mrs. McGuire - Art
Mrs. Palethorpe - Drama
to participate in Smith High School ’s Annual Step Show. We stepped at Grove Park Elementary School’s Multicultural Night. We will also be participating in Elon University’s Annual Yard Show on May 5, 2018.
Step Club has been off to a wonderful start! This year, we participated in the Burlington and Gibsonville Christmas Pa-rades. Under the direction of Ms. Dawson we have collabo-rated with Western Middle and Western High School’s Step Club. We were invited
Ms. Bivens, Mrs. Carr, Ms. Dawson & Ms. Gilliam-Wilson
Elon Step Club performed in the 2017 Burlington Christmas Parade.
510 E. Haggard Ave.
Elon, NC 27244
Phone: (336)538-6000 Fax: (336)538-6002
Principal: Jack Davern
Assistant Principal: Tracy Pennington
Secretary: Jennifer Langley
Data Manager: Carol Apple
Receptionist: Marti Rudisill
Elon Elementary School
“A Global School Network Member” We’re on the Web
www.abss.k12.nc.us/ece
Elon Elementary School
510 E. Haggard Street
Elon, NC 27244
Mail to:
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