“Growing

Healthy Kids in a

Healthy World”

In This Issue

School Culture

Counselor’s Corner

3rd and 4th Grade

News

Recycling

Nurse’s Niche

Ready, Set, Responsive

Students of the Month

Global Competence

Spotlight on Partner in

Education

Library Link

Hart to Heart It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! As we wrap up 2015, there is an ever-present excitement stirring around Eastwood Elementary. It’s not just because Christmas is coming or the first snow might finally arrive. It’s due to the wonderful gift of discovery and learning that is taking place every single day in our school.

I walk down the halls and peek into classrooms where students are working as business entrepreneurs designing their own pro-posals. Others are growing and studying herbs under grow lights in their classrooms. Some are having a face to face interview with a real astronaut through amazing technology.

But it doesn’t stop there, most have even taken learning out-side. They are monitoring and recording surface temperatures to submit to a global collection. Others are studying local animal eco-systems in our school yard and designing ways to help make them more healthy. Some are even designing an Eastwood flag that will be flown in Antarctica while they follow the research adventures of one of our Learning Partners who is studying there.

At Eastwood, every day is the most wonderful time of year because students are opening their minds to discover and learn. What greater gift could we ask for?

...Every Day is a Wonderful Day to be an Eastwood Black Bear!

Mrs. Hartshorn

Eastwood Elementary Newsletter November/December 2015

PTO December News

Students have had a busy 2 months here at Eastwood!

In the month of November, we celebrated American

Education Week by participating in a different activity

every day. Please check out the beautiful tree in our

hallway that our art teacher, Ms. Johnson made. Stu-

dents wrote or drew their favorite thing about school on

an apple and it is hanging on the tree. We also partici-

pated in the WCLG Food Drive from November 30th

through December 11th. In January we will collect blan-

kets, hats, gloves and socks to give away to families in

need. Please look for more information on this to come

home soon.

Black Bear

of the Month

Student of the Month

Terrific Kids

There will be a McDonald's night at The Suncrest

Mc.Donalds on Dec. 16.There will be staff and a Special

Guest there.

Snowflake village will be held within the first two weeks of

Dec. This gives students a chance to purchase holiday items

for their families. All items will be $1 or less. More info will

be coming home soon.

Dec. Meeting will be held in the ladder part of Math night.

Counselor’s Corner

“The development of good character is not an isolated skill to be

taught in one area of child’s life. It is an effort of home, school, and

community to instill in our young people the value of character. The

value of good character touches our personal development for living,

it impacts our success for academic development in learning, and good character

is essential in the work force to be successful in our work.”

Diane Senn, Ed.D

As I meet with Eastwood students individually, in classrooms, and small groups,

one of my goals as their school counselor is to model and discuss respect for self

and others. In our discussions about our character word, RESPECT, we have been

addressing questions such as the following:

What does respect mean? Give some examples of how we show respect for

ourselves.

What does it mean to show respect for others? How does being respectful of

others guide us in the right way to treat others?

What does it mean to show respect for authority? Name some people in authori-

ty and give some examples of how we are respectful.

How do we show respect for our school, our community, and our country?

Let’s continue to work together to develop and reinforce good character in our

children.

Alisa Pelaez, M.A., NCC, LPC

News from 4th Grade

The 4th grade classes have had a very busy start to the school year.

In science, the students engaged in various activities designed to

teach them about the scientific process skills they will need to utilize

when performing science tasks. After that, parent volunteer, Karen

Davis, guided the students in learning about the water cycle and

clouds. Students made a cloud in a jar and analyzed the types of

clouds that could be viewed in the sky. To coordinate the study of

place value in math with spelling, the students practiced spelling the names for number

words as the basis of a spelling unit. In addition, the children have been working on map

skills and have now moved on to discuss ancient Native American civilizations. Pump-

kins are now being seen everywhere as the classes begin an integrated pumpkin math

unit. The students will be measuring, weighing and eventually carving the pumpkins in

order to compare before and after weights. They will also be utilizing their pumpkins to

assist in the understanding of diameter and cir-

cumference, as well as how the creases of a

pumpkin can assist in the understanding of lati-

tude and longitude. The most exciting accom-

plishment of all is how the classes have demon-

strated leadership skills and self-motivated be-

havior as a result of our participation in the

school-wide Expected Behavior Plan.

What’s Happening in 3rd

Grade?

The third grade classes have been very busy with our studies in Math

and Literacy. The students have been working very hard on solving

one and two step word problems. In addition, they learned to use let-

ters to represent the unknown in a problem. We are also looking for-

ward to starting multiplication when we return in January.

As for literacy, we have been working on several reading skills such as

fluency, main ideal, and details through small group instruction. We are

also rehearsing our reader’s theater scripts for our performance on De-

cember 19, 2014. We are looking forward to the Holiday Presentation.

In writing, we are currently working on persuasive essays. The third

grade would also like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday.

8 ways to be green during the holidays

1. Recycle wrapping paper.

2. Recycle cans, cardboard, and plastic from holiday meals.

3. Recycle holiday cards.

4. Use reusable bags on shopping trips.

5. Use LED holiday lights.

6. Recycle packaging from gifts.

7. Put your holiday lights on timers or make sure to unplug them to help save energy.

8. Buy local foods for your holiday meals.

Did You Know?

Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday season than any other time

of year. This extra garbage amounts to 25 million tons of trash.

If every family in the U.S. reused just 2 feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow

around the entire planet.

5th grade students help to collect the re-cycling from the classrooms and around

the school.

The Library Link with Miss Berdine

This month, I would like to like to focus on a website that is called My Storybook.

It is designed for students in grades K-6 to create stories by simply visiting the website

www.mystorybook.com. Students do not have to create an account, they can just go to the website

and begin creating their own stories. This website allows for students to add different characters and

items, draw their own illustrations, add textboxes, and create backgrounds for each page. This is a

way for students to not only hone their technology skills, but it will also enable them to become better

writers. Please take the time to allow your child to visit this website and create their own storybook

with your supervision. The website also allows you to save a story by creating a free account, so that

your child can enjoy reading the stories that they have written on different occasions.

Teacher Student of the Month

Black Bear Student of the Month Terrific Kids

Amber Nichols K Jillian Albani “Cooper” Jose Andrea Pane-pinto

K Kellen Rhea Wyatt

Jill Pearce K Colton Allyson Arianna Cindy Redmond K Arlo Brooklynn Adalyn Ruth Siegel K Connor Ava Kenleigh Hollie Jarrell 1 Brooke Jeremy Levi Ashley Moran 1 Caitlin Kaleb Channing Lauren Webster 1 Adlei Giana Brody Lois Williams 1 Pavlos Jackson Brooklyn Patty Antonini 2 Charlotte Kenyon Kurdtis Mary Conley 2 Lorelei Hunter Mason Tamara Dawson 2 Spencer Jordan Samanatha Ashley Sayre 2 Morgan Addyson Madeline

Mary Ellen Simis

2 Lucas Jaleesa Connell

Caitlin Barber 3 Lucy Whitney Daya Marissa Heckel 3 Gibson Lilliana Owen Carrie McMillen 3 Maddie Coen Noah Joyce Warner 3 Saffron Bobby Brance Lana Boyce 4 James Kyndel Stephanie Elaina Duley 4 Preston Haylee Kaylee Jessica Greene 4 Brock Addison Brodee Dee Lee 4 Isabella Landon Travis Marcus Law 5 Ajay Nancy Serenity Karen Lemery 5 Spencer Emily Makayla Jennifer Potts 5 Jenna Reagan Chance

Black Bear Student of the Month

Student of the Month

Terrific Kids October’s Students of the Month

Teacher Student of the Month Black Bear Student of the Month

Terrific Kids

Amber Nichols K Silas Jacob Jimmie

Andrea Panepinto K Brody A’niya Abby

Cindy Redmond K Brooklyn Zainab Ryder

Ruth Siegel K Abbey Kaleb Ryan

Hollie Jarrell 1 William Audrey Brayden

Cari Murral 1 Zander Ada Joshua

Bethany Painter 1 Mairin Madison Devon

Lauren Webster 1 Stella Madeline Brooklyn

Lois Williams 1 Elijah Addyson Samantha

Patty Antonini 2 Maddie Cole T.J.

Tamara Dawson 2 Logan Carmen Whitney

Denise Dennison 2 Kennadi Lydia Jackson

Mary Ellen Simis 2 Lainey Ryan Wesley Caitlin Barber 3 Diego Mattie Tonya

Marcus Law 3 Camille Andrew Leah

Dee Lee 3 Mackenzie Brandon Madilynn

Joyce Warner 3 Blake Jennavieve Hunter

Lana Boyce 4 Rowan Branden Chance Elaina Duley 4 Trevor Makayla Tyler

Marissa Glick 4 Wesley Darrell Evan

Karen Lemery 5 Faith Emma Jeffery

Jennifer Potts 5 Ian Olivia Nicholas

Abbey Wilson 5 Payton Kennedy Troy

Black Bear Student of the Month

Student of the Month

Terrific Kids

November’s Students of the Month

Nurse’s Niche Kate Fragale, RN

“The Facts of Lice”

Back to school in the fall means getting lots of things. Getting to see friends, getting good grades, getting to play dodgeball in

gym and unfortunately, for a few kids, getting head lice.

Parents of school children should get into the habit of checking their child every so often (once a week is suggested), for head lice. A di-agnosis of head lice poses no threat of illness or disease and should have no shame or embarrassment on the part of the child or family that

contracts head lice. It is NOT a sign of poor hygiene.

Please remind your children not to share hats, coats, hair accessories, hoodies, ect. with other students.

Live lice look like small, brown insects and nits (eggs) look like tiny white eggs attached to the hair shaft and are often mistaken for dan-druff. Dandruff flakes off easily, while nits do not come off unless scraped and pulled off by fingernails. The most common areas where they

like to hide are the back of the head at the base of the hair, above the ears and around the part on top of the head.

If you find head lice on your child, they may not return to school until they have been treated and checked by the school nurse after treat-

ment. This means the student cannot ride the bus to school to be checked by the nurse.

If lice or nits are found, all household members should be treated. Check with your doctor before treating infants under 12 months of age, pregnant women, those with known ragweed allergy and anyone with a seizure disorder or asthma. Please contact me with any questions or

further treatment instructions. RN

The holiday season and all of the excitement it brings is upon us. Unfortunately, the cold and flu season goes hand and hand

with the holidays.

Recognizing the difference between the two can some-times feel confusing. Here is a listing of symptoms for

each to help keep you informed.

Hints to help prevent the cold and flu from catching you:

Wash, wash, wash your hands!

Sneeze and cough into your elbow.

Drink plenty of fluids.

Exercise regularly.

Eat healthy foods.

Get plenty of sleep..

Keep your distance from people who are ill with a cold or flu.

*** Remember that if your child has a fever, they MAY NOT return to school until they are fe-ver free for 24 hours WITHOUT the aid of a fever reducing medication!***

Sympotoms Cold Flu

Fever Rare Present and high

Lasting 3-4 days

Symptom on-set

Gradual Sudden

Muscle aches and pains

Slight Sudden and often severe

Chills Rare Common

Tiredness/Weak

Mild Moderate to se-vere for 2-3 weeks

Headache Common Common

Cough Mucus producing Severe dry cough, with no mucus

Sneezing Common Not typically

Stuffy Nose Common Not typically

Sore Throat Common Not typically

Chest Dis-comfort

Mild to Moderate Common

Thank You to All of the Veterans. We appreciate you helping us in

Honoring America.

We hope you were able to make the concert, in person or streamed on

our website.

Dear Eastwood Parents,

In November some people celebrate Halloween in the USA. The celebration has its origin in Europe and it is also

known as All Hallows’ Eve. The celebration includes carving pumpkins, trick or treating, bonfires, pranks, watching scary

movies, etc. In Mexico people celebrates “Dia de los muertos” (Day of the dead) on November 1st

and 2nd. People gather to pray for friends and family who had died. The celebration includes creating

private altars called ofrendas (offerings) decorated with calaveras de azúcar (sugar skulls), marigold flow-

ers, candles, papel picado (tissue paper perforated in an artistic way), pan de muerto (bread of the

dead), and the favorite foods and beverages of the deceased.We will have a brief

presentation about this holiday in the Spanish class.

December we are recognizing the coming celebrations around the world:

Hanukkah.- Also known as Festival of Lights (Dec. 6th-14th), it is an eight-day Jew-

ish celebration. It’s a holiday honoring the Maccabees victory over King Antio-

chus. It is celebrated with prayer, the lighting of the menorah and food.

Las Posadas.- This is a nine day celebration (Dec.l 16th-24th)with origins in Spain.

It is celebrated in several Hispanic countries before Christmas celebration.

Kwanzaa.- This is a holiday to commemorate African heritage and it is celebrated from December 26th to January1st.

Three Kings.- In Spanish “Dia de Reyes” or Ephipany day (Jan. 6th)it’s a celebration after Christmas. This holiday is cele-

brated as the day the three wise men visited baby Jesus and brought presents for him. Many children in Hispanic coun-

tries expect their presents that day and not in Christmas. A rosca de reyes (Kings cake- a sweet bread with the shape of a

ring-) is shared with friends and family.

Chinese New Year.- Celebrated this year on February 8th. It falls in different dates each year. The predominant colors dur-

ing this celebration are gold and red. The gold color is believed to attract wealth and the red color good luck.

!Adiós! Arrivederci, hoşçakalın, 再见 , αντίο, さよう なら Sayōnara, وداعا

M.A.E. Judith Gallegos de Lasker

Spanish Teacher

jdelasker@k12.wv.us

!

Eastwood’s Responsive Classroom team has been invading the school with information about ap-propriate responses to misbehavior. Each month our team will highlight an aspect of Responsive Classroom. November’s emphasis is responding to misbehavior. Our goals as educators is to stop the rule breaking, maintain safety, help students recognize and fix their mistakes, develop internal sense of control, and preserve the dignity of the child and group. We can use strategies such as; visu-al and verbal cues, reminding and redirecting, increasing proximity, and logical consequences.

We all have lapses in judgement from time to time, it is part of being a human. The effect of the be-havior depends on the response. Children need to know how this behavior will affect their lives. It is essential for students to know that we care about their thoughts and actions. We can do this through showing empathy, through discussing why they chose to misbehave. The compassion must be ac-companied by accountability. Logical consequences and punishment are not the same. Punishment is intended to ensure compliance by using external controls which results in making the child feel ashamed as if they are the problem, instead of the behavior being the focus. Logical consequences help children recognize the effects of their actions and develop internal controls. An example of a logical consequence for talking during work time might be to find a different seat in the classroom, rather than a punishment such as loss of recess. The logical consequence relates directly to the mis-behavior, whereas the example of the punishment was not linked to the misbehavior.

Decembers responsive classroom focus is language. The language we use with children is our most powerful tool as parents and teachers. Our language can build children up or tear them down. It can model respectful and caring social interactions, or just the opposite. Effective language encour-ages and supports students in their learning, rather than criticizing them for their mistakes. “Each child needs continuous encouragement, just like a plant needs water.” Rudolph Dreikurs

Effective language is clear, genuine and direct. It is also respectful and gives positive feedback ra-ther than general praise. We should always remember to focus on a child’s actions or behavior ther than their whole person. You can do this by avoiding qualitative personal judgement and instead show faith in your child’s abilities and potential. With proper and effective support, our “budding plants” will blossom into a beautiful garden.

Effective praise sounds like:

-“When you clean up the classroom nicely, it shows that you are a considerate person!”

-“Great job getting your homework done quickly. Now you will have more time to play!”

-“I noticed you’re remembering to raise your hand today. That really helped our class discussion in-clude lots of different kids’ ideas.”

Instruction begins at 8:20AM, please drop your student by

8:15AM to allow enough time for your child to get to eat breakfast

and/or class. The front door will be closed at 8:20AM. For your

child’s safety, if you arrive after the teachers are no longer on duty,

please sign your student in at the office. Thanks in advance for

your cooperation.

Morgantown Printing and Binding has been a very

positive support for Eastwood because their compa-

ny “mission is to provide (their) clients with the

highest quality service and value using the latest

technologies in the printing industry today.” They have two locations, one in Morgantown and one in

Charleston, which allows them to service they whole state. Morgantown Printing and Binding has provid-

ed signage, copies, and even scrap paper for Eastwood art projects. We are grateful for their continued

support here at Eastwood, and if you need any printing or copying needs, Morgantown Printing and Bind-

ing is professional and quick! Don’t hesitate to call them at their local store for your printing and copy-

ing needs at 304-292-3368. MPB Thanks so much for your collaboration!

Remember to Recycle!

Our monthly newsletter is

available to view in color

on our website!

Eastwood Elementary

677 201st Memorial Highway

Morgantown, WV 26505

Phone: 304-284-8226

Fax: 304-284-8235

web address: http://ees.mono.k12.wv.us

This month’s Partner in Education spotlight is on Bowles Rice LLP. This law firm pro-vides a full range of legal services and de-fense litigation to local, regional, national and international business clients through-out the Appalachian Basin and beyond. Bowles Rice has been a loyal and involved partner with Eastwood. Our partnership with them has provided many exclusive op-portunities to our students, including read aloud participation, treats and volunteers for field day, meals donated for teacher appreciation week, and supporting our teachers and students in other various ways. The Morgantown Bowles Rice office is located at 7000 Hampton Center, Mor-gantown, WV 26505. Check out their website for more information at http://www.bowlesrice.com.