JOHNSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

THUNDERBIRD NEWS

P R I N C I P A L - C H E R Y L G O M E Z , A S S I T A N T P R I N C I P A L – S H E R R I E G A L L E G O S

OCTOBER 2016

Newspaper Article 2

Storybook Day 3

Physical Education 4

Music 5

Library 6

Health News 7

Counselors Corner 8

Inside this issue:

October

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

3

*PICTURE DAY

4 5

*FALL FUN DAY!

6 7

10 11 12

*Parent/Teacher

Conference

13

*Parent/Teacher

Conference

14

*NO SCHOOL

17

*NO SCHOOL

18

*NO SCHOOL

19 20 21

24 25

*Chili’s Give Back

Night

26

*Chili’s Give Back

Night

27 28

31

*Storybook Day

*IMPORTANT INFORMATION*

Parent/Teacher Conference Please make sure to be on time for your Parent/Teacher Conference as you only get 15 minutes. Teachers are usually scheduled back to back and being late will

reduce their time to meet with you. Thank you for your cooperation in this.

FALL FUN DAY October 5, 2016

Don’t let your students miss a FUN and EXCITING day. We will have different activities throughout the day which include: Pig

Races, Donuts & Juice and Silly String Ms. Gallegos and for a do-nation students/staff may wear a hat for the day. Proceeds for the day will benefit the family of Stephanie Boyd, who worked at JES

last year and was in a tragic accident this past summer.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The staff of Johnson Elementary School will celebrate Storybook Day

on Monday, October 31st in a continuing effort to promote literacy. We

encourage students to wear their costume to school so they can dress

like a character in a favorite book (don’t forget to bring the book too).

There will be presentations during the afternoon by professional story-

tellers and other community members. Classes will finish the day with

their own classroom party/activities at 2:30 p.m. (or another time dur-

ing the afternoon.)

Please DO NOT send your child wearing the following to school

No makeup

No blood, gore or weapons allowed for costumes

No excessive props – large wings, big hats,

No Inappropriate clothing

If you have any questions, please contact your child’s

teacher.

Thank you.

Johnson Elementary Staff

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P.O. Box 10,000 13820 6700 Rd.

Montrose CO 81402 Phone (970) 249-2584

Fax (970) 240-6408 Website:

http://jes.mcsd.org/

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October

As the weather begins to change please have your child bring the proper footwear and

clothing for active participation in class. We will stay outside for activities as long as possi-

ble so they will be encouraged to bring sweatshirts to class. Proper footwear means ath-

letic/tennis shoes NOT boots/sandals/dress shoes or cleats.

FitnessGram, all students in grades K-2 have just done Height/Weight while students in

grades 3-5 have done the following tests; Mile run, Pacer, Height, Weight, Curl Ups and

Modified Pull ups. The scores are reported on one sheet and compared with their scores

from their most recent test (Spring 2016) We will be giving these to teachers to send home

before conferences. We do explain what the test measures and the results to the students,

but if you have any questions please come in during Parent/Teacher conferences and ask.

In class the past few weeks we have continued to build up our physical fitness and aerobic

capacity by increasing our warm up time and running gradually each week. The students

are playing flag games that incorporate spacial awareness with dodging skills. In grade 3-5

we are also playing a game using the flags that incorporates throwing into the game and is

a mixture of flag football and team handball.

Coming up we will have a throwing assessment and then begin our kicking unit that will in-

volve kicking different types of balls for accuracy and distance.

As always, we encourage your child to do their BEST, and not compare themselves to oth-

ers. Our goal is to make physical activity as fun as possible for each child while seeing

growth in their own skills. Everyone learns at a different rate. We encourage you to cele-

brate your child’s achievements with them. If you have seen them coming home with dots,

smiley faces and times on their hands please ask them what this is all about? We have

been working on setting personal goals for our running times.

Thank you,

Mr. Harris and Mr. Imus

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The students at Johnson have been working hard on their grade level rhythms in music.

The end of the quarter is upon us and post testing is here. You may have noticed that your

child has brought home a study sheet to practice reading rhythms and studying values of

rhythms. They are gearing up for their upcoming test which will happen the week of Octo-

ber 3rd. Please encourage your child to practice a little bit every day to increase their skill

in reading rhythms in music and remembering the values of rhythms.

Did you know how much math is used in music when rhythms are applied? Researchers

find music is a great way to teach elementary students the concept of fractions. When

tested, the students who were exposed to the music-based lessons scored a full 100%

higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner. It’s fun

when a student says,

“Math in music class?”

Here are some of the fun activities we did while learning about rhythms:

Kinders: Made quarter notes, eighth notes and quarter rests using Play Doh.

First graders: Made quarter notes, eighth notes, quarter rests, half notes, half rests, and

tied quarter notes using chenille stems.

Second graders: Used paper plates to color their favorite flavor of pie. Then cut the pie in

different sized slices representing a whole note (whole pie), half note (half pie), quarter

note (quarter pie), eighth note (eighth pie).

Third graders: Made Rhythm Fortune Tellers to help reinforce rhythms.

Fourth and Fifth graders played a rousing game of “Steal the Banana.”

All the grades used rhythm instruments to read rhythms and create rhythm patterns by

stringing cut up pool noodles with rhythms on jump ropes to write four measure of

rhythms.

Please stop by during parent/teacher conferences for a visit and have your child show you

what they can do with rhythm patterns. It will amaze you!

Check It Out!

What’s Up at the Library

October 2016

BOOK FAIR!! – Wednesday, October 12th and Thursday, October 13th, the book fair will be open during Parent/Teacher Conferences! Wednesday we will open right at 2 p.m. when the bell rings, and be open until 7:30 that night. Thursday we will open at NOON, and stay open until 7:30! Come support our library and add to your home collection! There are many fun books available, including the newest book from the author of the popular Captain Underpants series….Dog Man! Be on the lookout for a new Magic Tree House book, a new Jedi Academy book, and assorted Lego titles! Our Johnson community has always been terrific in supporting our library, and I look forward to seeing you again! Character Traits – Once again, we will spend one week a month discussing a character trait that we wish all students to develop. We will talk about qualities like respect, kindness, cooperation and others, and read stories that illustrate these characteristics. Last month we read the book Each Kindness, by Jacqueline Woodson, as we discussed ways to show and receive kindness! Pumpkin Decorating Contest: Our annual Pumpkin Decorating contest will be here before we know it! This year we will hold it along with a Storytelling Day, organized by Mrs. Reinhard, our music teacher. All pumpkins should be DECORATED, not carved, with a character from a favorite book! If your child chooses to participate, have them bring their entry to the library on the morning of Oct. 31. A winner will be chosen from each grade level, Pre-K through 5th. Bring the book that goes with your pumpkin to display as well!

“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.” --Mason Cooley

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Mahan,

Johnson Elementary Librarian

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Dear Parents,

Skin cancer is by far the most common type of cancer in the

United States, but it can be prevented. Most skin cancers are

caused by too much sun exposure. The greatest need for sun

safety occurs during the time of year when the sun’s ultraviolet

radiation is strongest, namely March through October, but sun

safety is important year round. To reduce the risk of skin cancer,

we strongly recommend that you encourage and assist your child

in taking steps to protect the skin from being damaged by the

sun. The following are items that your child may bring to school

for sun protection:

Hats are allowed outside during recess. Please bring a hat

that can be kept in a backpack when not in use.

Season appropriate clothing is encouraged. Wear shirts with

short sleeves in hotter months and long sleeves in colder months

to protect shoulders and arms.

Sunglasses are important to protect eyes from sun damage,

even in winter!

Remember that sunscreen is not allowed at school unless pre-

scribed by a doctor.

Children who prevent their skin from becoming sun damaged will

have much less risk of developing skin cancer later in life. Please

take time to discuss the importance of sun safety with your child,

and review the various methods for protecting

the skin against sun damage. Remember, sun

safety is just as important at home, on week-

ends, and on vacations as it is at school. Be

sure to set a good example by being sun-safe

yourself!

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We are starting a parent section in our library. We will be adding

some parenting books that will be available for you to check out. One

of our first additions is Transforming the Difficult Child: The Nurtured

Heart Approach by Howard Glasser. Several of our staff members

studied this book together this summer and we’d like to offer this in-

formation to you also. If you are interested, come into our school li-

brary and talk with Mrs. Mahan about borrowing one of these books.

This is a great parenting video. When you get a chance to set aside a

few minutes, please watch it!

http://www.ted.com/talks/julie_lythcott_haims_how_to_raise_successful_kids_without_over_parenting?

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Peace and Happiness To You,

Jean Granberg, Elementary School Counselor

Johnson Elementary School