Lion’s - Framingham...2 Lion’s Pride September 2016 Kindergarten Corner Stacey Adelman, Ashley Deschenes, Sabrina Gravanti, and Jennifer Levitan ... work with exploding volcanoes,”

Greetings from the Principal’s Office!!

Now that we have officially had multiple 5-day school weeks, I can confidently and enthusiastically report that King is alive and kicking with teaching and

learning! It is such a pleasure to visit classrooms at this time of the school year when classroom communities are being developed, students have fully engaged

themselves back into the excitement of the school routines, and are already willing to share the newly found knowledge from their new classroom or new

grade level.

It is my pleasure to welcome 17 new staff members to our team this year. Our second grade teachers, Ms. Samantha Buckley, Ms. Megan Nee, Mrs. Alba

Ortega, and Mrs. Barbara Reilly have hit the ground running along with Ms. Katie Sprusansky (Music), Ms. Erika Rohde (Art), Mrs. Celeste Falcone

(Library/Media), Mrs. Jennifer Davis (ESL), Mrs. Cristina Michaud (Team Evaluation Coordinator), Mrs. Helen Higgins (Math Interventionist), Mrs. Peggy Delaney (1:1 child specific aide), Ms. Kaitlin Dowdy (Kindergarten

Aide—Room 202), Mrs. Stacey Nordstrom (Kindergarten Aide, Room 213), Ms. Jill Stubbs (K aide substitute—room 212), Dr. Emily Burke (Literacy Coach), Mrs. Cindy Brown and Mrs. Christine Chesmore (Office Manager Substitutes). It is so exciting to continue to add our awesome King Team!!!

Thank you to all who attended the first PTO meeting of this school year.

There was lots of information to share and hear about. It is going to be a very exciting year for our school! I feel so grateful to work with such an amazing parent community who does all that they can for our students and staff on a

regular basis. Stay in the King loop by checking out our two Facebook pages, which are mentioned on our King website.

It is our pleasure to work with you and your children each and every day, and

we look forward to a year of learning, growing, collaborating, and working as a team to best meet the needs of all of our students! It’s an exciting time for our

school community! Welcome Aboard!!!

Regards,

Kim Taylor, Principal

From the Principal’s Desk

OCTOBER

3 NO SCHOOL

4 NO SCHOOL

5 PTO Meeting; 6:30pm

6 Kindergarten Field Trip

10 NO SCHOOL

11 NO SCHOOL

12 NO SCHOOL

27 Early Release Day; 1:20pm

September 2016

This newsletter is provided solely for the benefit of those parents of children attending the George P. King Elementary School in Framingham, MA. The contents are for

informational purposes only, and the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) does not endorse nor warrant that the information presented is correct.

Lion’s

Pride

A newsletter dedicated to communicating the highlights

of our growing school community.

September 2016 2 Lion’s Pride

Kindergarten Corner Stacey Adelman, Ashley Deschenes, Sabrina Gravanti, and Jennifer Levitan

SAVE

THE DATE

October PTO

Meeting

Wednesday, October 5th

6:30pm

A BIG

“Thank You”

From

The King Staff

The King School Staff

would like to take a

moment to extend our

thanks to the King PTO

for our delicious

Opening Day Luncheon!

The chicken, pasta,

salad, drinks, and

desserts were much

appreciated as we

kicked off our new

school year as a staff.

We look forward to

working with you during

the upcoming school

year.

Happy New School

Year!

The first six weeks of Kindergarten are an incredibly important period in a child’s school life and there are many introductions during this time. We

introduce the children to the entire community, from our wonderful nurse to our invaluable aides and everyone in between. Most importantly, we

introduce the children to each other and we begin the important process of creating unique classroom communities. We get to know the uniqueness of each individual child and begin to understand how each one learns. During

this period, we set the foundation for a successful year. We teach the children what is expected of them in a clear and articulate way, we spell out

the rules clearly, and establish predictable routines and structures. Each class has learned what the King Core Values are: Be Caring, Be

Cooperative, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe. These lessons were taught not only in the classroom, but in the hallways, bathroom,

cafeteria, and busses. All of this helps the children feel successful and helps all of us in our community move forward with other important learning.

We are currently in the middle of our first STEAM unit, What is a

Scientist? The goal of this unit is for the children to identify themselves as a scientist. At the start of the unit, we asked all of our students what they

think a scientist is. We’ve heard answers such as, “they study bugs,” “they work with exploding volcanoes,” and “they invent stuff.” Essentially, a scientist is someone who explores, questions, wonders, draws, and

observes using the 5 senses. Using various activities like exploring mystery boxes, going on listening walks, and learning how to make an observational

drawing, our hope is that by the end of the unit, the children will not only understand what a scientist is, but also understand that everyone can be a

scientist.

We are so excited to see how much our Kindergartners grow and change over the course of this school year!

September 2016

Lion’s Pride 3

First Grade Features Elise Malkin, Mia Mulvey, Michelle Renna, and Christine Tache

Second grade is off to a great start. We are establishing classroom routines and building our community of learners. We have been working hard on following our King Core Values both in the

classroom and throughout the school. This topic also ties in nicely with our Social Studies curriculum. We have been discussing what a community is and the rights and responsibilities

within a community. In reading, we are working on “read to self” and building stamina. We know how to choose just

right books by using the 5 finger rule and we have begun our fall reading assessments. In writing, we have been working on our Heart Maps and introducing Writing Workshop. We have also been

working on a project based on the book, The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald. We have introduced graphic organizers and how to use them as a prewriting activity. We will continue to

use various graphic organizers throughout the year. In Math, we are working on composing and decomposing numbers, number bonds, making 10,

and sums and differences to 100. We are in the process of wrapping up Module 1. In Science, we have discussed what a scientist is, as part of our Community of Scientists. We

have also talked about the Scientific Method and have performed experiments using the Scientific Method.

We are looking forward to a wonderful year.

Spectacular Second Grade Snip-Its! Samantha Buckley, Megan Need, Alba Ortega, and Barbara Reilly

1st Grade is now in full swing and we have had a fantastic start to the year! The first few weeks of 1st grade are certainly an adjustment, and the kids are transitioning very nicely. The students have been working hard to show expected behavior in and out of the classroom. Students have also been enjoying their time in Art, Music, P.E,

Chinese and Library. In the classroom we started our first S.T.E.A.M unit by discussing what science is and what a scientist is. Their enthusiasm for the use of the Maker Space has been truly inspiring! They are eager to get started on their first interactive project which will involve engineering their own kite. We started this project last week and over the

next couple of weeks we will be going into the Maker Space to begin creating! In Reader's Workshop we have been working to build good reading habits. The students have been working to

build their stamina up by reading independently from their book bags. The students are gaining many new skills to help them stay focused while reading. Another skill we have been working on involves getting our minds ready

to read before we start. Students have learned to look at the cover and read the title before they begin reading. In Writer's Workshop we have started our first unit. The students are practicing planning out their writing before they begin. The students have learned that good writers always think of an idea first and then start to write. We have created 'heart maps' that list people, places and things that are close to our hearts. This map helps the kids

come up with ideas to write about. Math has become a great time for cooperative learning and the students have worked in pairs or small groups to

analyze numbers. We are continuing to build their number sense while starting our first math unit. The first unit addresses addition up to 10. The kids are using number bonds and number sentences to find all the partners to

make 5,6,7,8,9 and 10. We are so excited to have this wonderful group of students! As a team, we are working hard to get to know all the

students in all of the classrooms. The kids are enthusiastic about learning and we are extremely excited for the year ahead.

First Grade Team


Musical Notes Ms. Katie Sprusansky, King Music Teacher

News from the Gym Mr. Erik Delehanty, Physical Education teacher It has been an exciting start to the 2016-2017 school year in Physical Education class. All three

grade levels have begun with an introductory lesson which went over rules and expectations that are expected when they enter the gymnasium. Students learned the rituals and routines that

should be followed. For example, each time they enter the gymnasium they should be wearing appropriate sneakers and complete the warm up. The warm up is following the outside boundary lines by running 3 laps and walking 2. Once the warm up is complete they sit at the meeting spot which is in front of my white easel. All three grade levels have learned both personal and general

space as it is crucial inside the gymnasium to ensure safety for all students.

Students have begun to learn pathways, levels and directions. We have incorporated these units by playing games such as “Spaghetti and Meatballs”, “Tunnel Tag” and “Toilet Tag”. This week students have learned other chasing, dodging and fleeing games such as “Spongebob tag”, “Blob Tag” and “Dead Bug Tag”. Second grade has learned a team game utilizing dodging and fleeing called “Redeemer”. Next week all grade levels will begin with our Soccer unit which will consist of learning and practicing skills such as dribbling, passing, trapping and defending. Small game-

like situations will be incorporated such as “Sharks and Sailors”, “Ring of Fire”, “Knockout” and “Cone Defender”.

September 2016

Lion’s Pride 5

Conversations about School When you think of parent involvement do you picture moms and dads volunteering in

classrooms? That’s one way to help — but research shows that supporting your child’s education at home is even more important. Here are four conversations that will help you stay involved.

“Let’s see what you brought home.”

Look at completed work to find out what your students are learning and how well they are doing. You could comment on their STEAM project or art work. Also, respond to notes from their teachers, and

check their folders for important papers.

“Show me what you have for homework.”

It’s your children’s job to do their homework, but you play a role, too. Make sure they know what they are supposed to do by having them explain the homework to you. After they finish their homework,

glance over the work to see that it’s complete.

“Describe a book you enjoyed today.”

This gives you an idea of what your student prefers to read. Then, build a daily reading habit by asking what they would like to read tonight. Encourage reading and listening skills by reading aloud and letting

them read to you.

“Tell me what you learned that you’d like to know more about.”

Use their interests as jumping-off points for activities to share. If they like math, you might do tangrams together. If they like animals, you might go to the library and research the subject or go to the zoo to

see live animals.

You can visit my website at http://www.framingham.k12.ma.us/domain/1080

s

Counselor’s Corner Lydia Jones, King Guidance Counselor

http://www.framingham.k12.ma.us/domain/1080


Library/Media Update Mrs. Celeste Falcone, Library/Media Specialist

I am so pleased by how nicely we are settling into our routines in the library. Most students are remembering their special seat on the carpet, and how to use a book paddle to mark the place of a book that they remove from the shelf! Please help your student remember to bring his or her book back each week so that a new book can be

brought home. Students learned about the difference between fiction (a work of the imagination) and non-fiction (an information

book), and each grade listened to stories from both categories. Kindergarten listened to Koala Lou, and also read Koalas, and watched a short video about scientists who study animals-zoologists. First graders listened to the

Ant and the Grasshopper, which is a musical story, and also read about insects. They watched two short videos about entomologists, scientists who study insects! Second graders listened to the book Audubon, about the

ornithologist (bird scientist) and artist John James Audubon. This week we have started having center time in library. The centers will rotate through a five week cycle so that all students will have a turn at the writing center, engineering center, story-telling center, science center, and arts & crafts center. Students seemed very engaged in their work with Legos, the Storybox, building puzzles, drawing a fish, and writing and drawing pictures that begin with the letter a, b, c, d, e, and f. The library is a busy place where lots of learning happens, and I am still looking for a few more parent volunteers to help with check out,

shelving books, etc. If you can help out an hour or two a week; it makes an amazing difference to our students.

The classes below in bold especially need a volunteer. If you are interested in helping, feel free to email me at [email protected], or you may come in a

few minutes before your child’s class and I can explain the tasks. Thanks in advance to all our volunteers!!

Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Friday

11:00-12:00 Grade 2

Reilly/Ortega OPEN Grade 2

Buckley/Ortega

Grade 2

Nee/Ortega Have 1 volunteer

1:05-2:05 Grade 1

Tache/Ortega Grade 1

Mulvey/Ortega Have 1 volunteer

Grade 1

Malkin/Ortega Have 1 volunteer

Grade 1

Renna/Ortega Have 1 volunteer

2:10-3:10 Kindergarten

Adelman Have 1 volunteer.

Kindergarten

Deschenes

Kindergarten

Gravanti

Kindergarten

Levitan

mailto:[email protected]

September 2016

Lion’s Pride 7

ESL Update Ms. Tracy Colby, ESL Teacher

Mrs. Jennifer Davis, ESL Teacher

As we start off the 2016-2017 school year, our ESL population has continued to grow. King

Elementary now has over 70 students, from 10 countries, and includes13 languages. We would like to welcome back Ms. Tracy Colby and introduce Mrs. Jennifer Davis to the King Family. Jen has her Masters’ Degree in Education from Lesley University and comes to us from the

Westborough Public Schools where she has been teaching ESL for the past 3 years. She also taught ESL in South America many years ago.

In class, students are learning to identify what's around us. This includes school vocabulary-school places, school tools, school actions, etc. We are also learning about families. Soon we will be talking about what an author and illustrator do. We will also be reviewing some of the basic skills students are currently learning in their homeroom classrooms. We use games,

songs, and movement to keep things fun and engaging. We look forward to an exciting year!

Mandarin Message Ms. Serena Chen, Mandarin Teacher

nǐ hǎo你好！

My name is Serena Chen. I am from Hunan Province, China. I am the Mandarin teacher at King Elementary School from 2015 to 2017.

All of the Mandarin classes have been going very well over the past few weeks. This year, each class has Mandarin class once per week. We started our classes 3 weeks ago. We talked about the routines and

class rules in the first week and learned Mandarin greetings. Last week, we learned about a very famous traditional Chinese festival-The Mid-Autumn Festival. We talked about this festival and learned some

customs and legends of the festival. As the year goes on, Kindergarteners are going to learn some basic simple Chinese words for numbers, families, animals, parts of the body, colors etc. First graders and second graders are going to review and

learn some new words, like the countries, the shapes, and sports. Since we only have one class per week, the Chinese words are easy to forget. We are going to review a lot when we have Chinese class

and I will try my best to make the words easy for them to remember and fun. In the meantime, we are also going to learn some famous traditional festivals at the suitable time and

learn some Chinese culture like paper folding, paper-cutting, Calligraphy, Face-painting of Peking Opera,

and Chinese games to let them know more about China.

I can’t wait to work with your children this year!


The Artist’s Corner Ms. Erika Rohde, Art Teacher

Welcome back to the Art Room, King Families!

My name is Erika Rohde and I am the new Art Teacher here at King. I am so excited to share my passion for art with your children and have some great projects in store for the future.

This week, second graders are learning about Japan and the foods that you would find there. We

learned that Bento Boxes, meaning “convenience,” usually have many different styles of Japanese cuisine that are served in their own compartment. Second graders are making their own Bento Box Food

Art Sculptures out of paper! First graders are also learning about food! We are studying the artist Wayne Thiebaud and his very

famous cake paintings. We are learning how to use shapes like cylinders, triangles and other geometric shapes to make our cake drawings look 3-Dimensional. They are blending bright oil pastels together to

create the look of icing and frosting. Kindergarten is reading the book, “Fish is Fish” by Leo Leonni. This is a silly book about a fish imagining

creatures on land looking like himself but with aspects of birds, cows, and people. Kindergarten drew their own silly fish, outlined with oil pastel and are now painting with tempera paints. This is a great

activity to show these students how to take care of a brush, rinse the brush in between colors and how to paint carefully.

I look forward to working with your children and am always impressed and amazed to see how they grow, change and create (even in the past several weeks!). I hope you will always feel welcome in the

art room and that you enjoy all the masterpieces that the 2016-2017 school year will bring!

Nurse’s Notes Mrs. Linda Renault, King School Nurse

The first few weeks of school have been busy with screenings and getting to know your children. We

were very lucky to have the doctors from the Fuller Vision Center here to perform the vision screenings for our kindergarten students. Kindergarten vision referral letters have already gone home with the

children who were recommended for follow up. Grade 1 and 2 have a number of students who I will be rescreening and I will be sending referral letters home for any students who still have an area of concern

on my rescreening. I would like to say a huge thank you to the many parent volunteers who helped to make these screenings so successful.

Please remember that I want to provide the best care for your children. Please be sure to send me a copy of your child’s newest physical and any medical specialist reports that you may have so I have their

most up to date health information on file. If you have any health updates or concerns that you would like to share please feel free to call or email me at any time.

Mark your calendars for the annual Framingham Family Flu Clinic at McCarthy Elementary School on Saturday, October 22nd from 10-2. I will be posting the informational flyer once it is available. If your child receives a flu vaccine from his/her pediatrician, I would love to know and add it to his/her health record. I will be offering flu vaccines to our staff this month to keep your children’s favorite teachers

healthy too!

September 2016

Lion’s Pride 9

PTO Page

Lion’s Pride

is published by the

King School Main Office

454 Water Street

Framingham, MA 01701

We, the executive board of the PTO, would like to say welcome to all the new families and welcome back to the returning families! We are excited for a new school year and we hope to work with all of you to make this the best year possible for all of our children at King. We started the year off in August/September with the Welcome Back Teachers Luncheon, the Boohoo/Yahoo Breakfast to welcome our new kindergarten families, the Back to School Ice Cream Social and the first PTO meeting on September 7th. Thank you to all those families who participated by donating food, donating time, attending, and socializing with us! Thank you also to the parent volunteers for helping with the Health Screenings! Special shout out to Yari Moran and her team for getting the Maker Space up and running!! Next King Elementary PTO Meeting: October 5th, 6:30 pm The last PTO meeting was amazing as a huge number of families came out to learn more about the PTO and the school plans. Please join us on October 5th at 6:30pm at King to elect the Kindergarten representative to the executive board, discuss current plans, curriculum and a wide range of other topics. Next Community Building Event - Trunk-or-Treat, Sunday October 30th, time TBD Please plan to come out to celebrate Halloween with us at the annual King Trunk-or-Treat. For those that do not know, a trunk-or-treat is when children (and adults if they choose to) dress up and trick-or-treat from car to car in a parking lot. Last year, the trunk-or-treat event was amazing and one of our best attended events. We hope to see you and your families there! If you are interested in helping to plan the event or you would like to participate by decorating your car, please contact Damien Roskill at [email protected]. Other Upcoming Events November PTO Meeting – November 2nd, 6:30pm Multicultural Festival – November 20th, time TBD – if you are interested in assisting with the planning of this event, please email Tisha Lovelace at [email protected] and Jeiza Arruda at [email protected].

Send us your fundraising ideas! The King PTO is always on the lookout for new fundraising ideas and activities. If you have one that you’re passionate about, let us know by email us at [email protected] or via our Facebook page. Remember you can always reach the King PTO via email - [email protected], through the Families of King Facebook Group or on our Facebook page! Jen Hawthorne – Co-President Kate Meyer – Co-President Kate Crossman – Vice President Stephanie Nugent – Vice President Haley Dutchka – Corresponding Secretary Andrea Shaevitz – Recording Secretary Diane Tehranian – Treasurer Sabrina Gravanti – Faculty Representative




Lion’s - Framingham...2 Lion’s Pride September 2016 Kindergarten Corner Stacey Adelman, Ashley Deschenes, Sabrina Gravanti, and Jennifer Levitan ... work with exploding volcanoes,”

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