This Week At MSES!

Monday, Sept. 2 • NO SCHOOL – Labor Day Tuesday, Sept. 3 • First Day of PreSchool! Wednesday, Sept. 4 • 4th & 5th Grade Robotics – 2:55 pm - 4:30 pm Thursday, Sept. 5 • Connect14 Fall Registration Closes! Friday, Sept. 6 • Walking School Bus – 7:30 am - 8:00 am

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK… Mr. Vogel’s Weekly News, Notes, and Celebrations!

Poky Puppies, Little Lambs -- and all other creatures great and small -- are not allowed on school grounds. For those of you who are new to MSES (and a reminder for everyone), we cannot allow any animals on school grounds for the sake of student’s safety. We do allow trained, certified service animals (like our own facility dog, Roxy) for those who need their support.

Walking School Bus Starts Nov. 6. Our Mustang Might Wellness Committee programs Walking School Bus and Fitness Fridays will be starting Friday, September 6. Please look for Ms. Woykto at Memorial Park and Ms. Luz at Miramont Castle at 7:30 a.m. Fridays to join our walking school buses. Mr. Wood will be zooming around the soccer field those mornings. Mr. Pletsch will be dashing around the track. Ms. Thomson will be shaking it in the gym to the Zumba beats. Mustang Might was so inspired by the amazing changes on our playpark, we wanted to support the accessibility of our students in wheelchairs to the fabulous area, so Mustang Might is pooling our money to purchase an ADA compliant wheelchair swing for our new and improved play area. In order to fund this project, we will need to reallocate funds that were previously used to support free breakfast on Walking School Bus Fridays towards this project instead. However, we are still excited to continue the Walking School Bus program and Fitness Fridays. We plan to give away prizes and Mustang "swag" to all Fitness Friday participants! We hope you support our initiative to make our playpark more accessible to all of our children.

Our Preschoolers Start Their School Year Tuesday! Did you know that our MSES Preschool Program includes more than 30 of our youngest Mustangs? We have half the group, our three-year-olds and young four-year-olds, in the morning session and the other half, four-year-olds and young five-year-olds, in the afternoon. Our littlest ones engage in lots of learning play, stories and discussions from their own version of CKLA, recess, and snack time. Welcome, Preschoolers!

ASK YOUR EXPERT!Family Questions From Your Mustangs’ Lessons This Week Fifth Grade: We have begun our Science study of Water through a walking field trip to Fountain Creek to hone our observation skills and discover the water resource that is a part of our community. Among other topics, students are learning the ways water travels around the globe in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere. Students are also learning how to make models and collaborate to reach consensus. Students recorded what they observed with their senses--seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling--but not tasting, because "We don't eat our science." The visit is the first science "phenomena" the students have worked with to start studying water in various ways. (A phenomena is a new way we begin science units with an experience that sets our science minds going!) Further study of erosion, deposition, water cycle, and weather will all be tied to this initial observation and will continue to grow in depth throughout the year. In Social Studies we began the school year with a review of landforms and water forms and discussed how they could affect history and early civilizations. Ask your expert what are four different landforms and four different water forms; they are creating pictures with these. (Land: mountain, plains, valley, plateau, isthmus, canyon, prairie, savanna. Water: ocean, sea, lake, river, straight, channel, gulf, bay. We went over many more too.) In CKLA: Students have begun the study of personal narratives. Ask your expert: What is the difference between a biography (story about a person's life written by another person), an autobiography (story about a person's life written by the person and written in first person), a memoir (story about a person's life emphasizing a few important events, written by the person), a personal narrative (nearly the same as a memoir only shorter and focusing on one small time frame in a person's life)? In Math: Chapter 1 of Math in Focus has us reviewing place value to 10,000,000

Music: This week in Music, students in grades 3-5 discussed behaviors and habits that help a musician work successfully in a studio environment. We also had the opportunity to begin playing together in classroom ensembles! Ask your expert, "What are some of the behaviors and habits that help you work successfully in Music class?" Among the behaviors and habits we explored in class, we learned that successful musicians… • practice consistency • are inquisitive • are analytical • are lifelong learners • plan ahead • are self-motivated • think "win-win" • listen • realize that the whole is greater than the parts • are persistent Also, ask your expert, "What instrument are you playing in your classroom ensemble?"

Preschool: We had a successful screening and orientation day. Families joined us in the classroom to meet the teachers, explore the classroom and meet new and familiar friends. We are thrilled to see everyone on Tuesday to begin a new year of play, engagement, and growth.

Kindergarten: We held our Gentle Start program for the first three days of school and then we completed some get-to-know you activities this week. Ask your little one what we do during in "Circle Time". (Circle Time is our Restorative Practices classroom gathering we hold to connect, build empathy, and feel safe together!) What is the talking piece? (It’s something you hold when it’s your turn to answer the circle keeper’s question or comment on what the circle’s current topic is.) What is your job if you are not holding the talking piece? (Be a good listener and not talk.) What are the three Kindergarten teacher's names? (Mrs. Hammel, Ms. Farrell, and Mrs. Thomson.) What is your favorite thing about being in Kindergarten so far? (Answers will vary.)

Art: I am so excited to welcome all of our artists back into their studio for a year of exploring, creating, sharing, and developing artistic skills. During our first week together we reviewed guidelines for our studio and shared our thoughts and feelings about what art is and the purpose of art in our lives. We have begun our artistic practice by reading Sarah Perry's book, If... In this book, ideas about possible what-ifs are illustrated, like "What if our teeth were toes...What if leaves were fish..." Students then designed their own what-ifs" and celebrated the creative thinking that will definitely take place in our studio this year. Please read through a poster design competition information just below. It is offered to our students by our local MSFD fire department. Entries are optional and due to Mrs. Dunlap by Friday, September 6th!

MSES artists, grades K-5, are invited to participate in our local Manitou Springs Fire Department’s annual Fire Safety Poster Contest. Each year the fire department asks our art department to help the department inform students about general fire safety and create posters to creatively display their knowledge. The fire department then chooses 1 winner per grade level to ride in their fire truck during the Homecoming parade and have lunch at the fire department the same day. This year your child’s participation is optional in all grades. Every student will be given a day or two of art classes to work on their posters. Those that do not finish in class and still wish to participate in the Fire Department’s contest can borrow art supplies and finish their posters at home. Entries must be given to Mrs. Dunlap by Sept. 06, 2019 in order to qualify. Homecoming Parade is September 13, 2019.

First Grade: We have started our first domain, Fables and Stories. This week we listened to The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Maid and the Milk Pail, The Goose and the Golden Egg, and The Dog and the Manger. We have learned what makes fables special: They are short, fictional, and have a moral! We also learned that they use personification! Ask your expert what that means! (The author gives an animal human characteristics.) You can also ask your expert: What characters have they met throughout these fables? (The shepherd boy, farmers, the maid, a cow, a goose, a dog, an ox, etc.) What settings have we seen? (Farms, hillsides, outside, barns.) Can you state any of the morals we've been taught? (Always tell the truth; Don't count your chickens before they hatch; Don't be greedy; Be kind and share.)

Physical Education: We are doing the Presidents Fitness Challenge. This challenge has been around since the early 60’s. It measures five areas of fitness for all kids at all age levels: sit-ups, flexibility, endurance, strength, and speed. As the kids see the results of their efforts, we then will be working on improving their strengths and weaknesses throughout the year.

Second Grade: We have begun our first CKLA domain, Fairy Tales and Tall Tales. We listened to The Fisherman and His Wife, The Emperor's New Clothes, and Beauty and the Beast. Ask your expert what the characteristics of a fairy tale are? (Begins with "Once upon a time or long ago," has a magical event, royalty, and ends with "They lived happily ever after.")

Third Grade: We are learning about themes and literary tools while we read The Wind In the Willows. The theme of friendship comes up throughout the story, (Rat, Mole and Badger are thoughtful friends to have!), as does the theme of irresponsibility (Mr. Toad is often irresponsible and quite conceited as well.) Discuss with your child the literary tool personification (when animals act like people) and ask them

to share examples from the story. One more learning intention would be the difference between dialogue and narration. (In narration, the narrator does not act as a character in the story, but, rather, tells it. Dialogue is the part of a story where the characters talk and it has quotations around it!)

Fourth Grade: In Science, we are learning about the six life zones in Colorado in preparation for our first field trip -- to the top of Pike's Peak! Ask your expert: Which life zone is lowest in elevation? (The Prairie/Plains.) What are some characteristics of the Prairie? (Flat, grassy, no trees, cold winters and hot summers, fertile soil.) Name one animal and one plant from that life zone! (Plants: Yucca, Buffalo Grass, Blue Grama, Needle & Thread Grass; Animals: Swift Fox, Prairie Dog, Kangaroo Rat, Lizards, Coyotes, Lark Bunting, Burrowing Owl, etc.) Bonus questions: Which life zone is Manitou Springs in? (The Foothills.) Name one characteristic of Manitou Springs that shows that it is in this life zone. (Hilly instead of flat, beginning of mountains, many trees but also grasses, etc.) A reminder for our fourth-grade cabbage growers: If you are interested in entering the Bonnie Plant Contest, all you need to do is send our gardening expert, Miss Laura, a picture of you with your cabbage and how much your cabbage weighs. The deadline for entries is September 20th. Her email address is lmaestas@mssd14.org. Good luck everyone!

TEAMS: In TEAMS students were introduced to the new classroom set up. We talked about what TEAMS stands for and why we incorporate all of the following subjects: Technology, Engineering, Arts, Media, Science. Kindergarten and First grade students met Sharkey the puppet. He helps the students learn all about the parts of a computer as well as internet safety throughout the year. We talked about all the different kinds of technology there is in our classrooms and everyday life. Second through Fifth graders learned all about our new computers and how we should treat them when we use them in class. Our new class schedule will consist of: 1. Teacher or Circle time at the beginning of class 2. Directed lab time/directed assignment, followed by lab choice if assignment is completed. During lab choice students can choose to explore on their own with spheros, 3-D printing, bot games, snap circuits, and coding of various kinds. 3. We will meet as a group and discuss a WOW or a takeaway from the class. Ask your expert (grades 2-5th) who Margaret Hamilton was and what she accomplished? (She saved the first lunar landing (Apollo 11) by being prepared in the control room with her stacks of code.) What are some things about Margaret that helped her be successful? (She was always asking questions because she was curious as a little girl. She found answers to her questions. She tried very hard in school.) Note from the Library: Librarians Ms. Agnès and Ms. Bradbury are looking for shoe-box donations for the library. We can keep our shelves looking beautiful by placing the boxes behind the books. They are just a piece of the plan to make the library an accessible, exciting place for MSES students! Please drop off your boxes in the Collaboratory or at the front office.

Spanish: Hola Hola...Coca-Cola! In Unit 1 among other topics the Spanish class will study: Kindergarten -- Hi, it’s me! Greetings and introductions. My classroom. Basic Colors (rainbow). Numbers 1-10. cancion de Buenos Dias / good morning song. The five senses. First Grade -- Hola! ¡Estoy bien! Greetings and Introductions (name, age, how I’m doing). Days of the week. Seasons and Weather. Numbers 1-21. Colors. My classroom. Second Grade -- Expressions of courtesy (Thank You, You’re welcome, Feliz cumpleaños, etc. Greetings and Introductions (name, age, how I’m doing). Colors & animals Days of the week/months of the year. Seasons and Weather. Numbers 0-31. Third Grade -- My siblings are like this. Numbers 0-30. How many (cuantos(as). TENER/Cómo es.*Cuántos hermanos tienes? Tengo cuatro hermanos. Location (la izquierda y la derecha). Buenos Dias song. Vivo con/I live with. Likes/dislikes (me gusta/no me gusta). interesting, funny, boring, difficult (interesante, divertido, aburrido, difícil) Fourth Grade -- Greetings and introductions. Numbers 0-31. Items in my classroom. Colors. Age. Seasons/Weather. Left and right/directions. Days of the week/months. Expressions of courtesy (You’re welcome etc.). Feelings (How are you?). Shapes (círculo, cuadrado, triangulo, rectangulo/circle, Square, Triangle, rectangle). Fifth Grade -- Let’s play more. Numbers 1- 30. Body parts. Likes/Dislikes. Antes –before/durante –during/después-after.

M4TH 1N F0¢U$!

We want to help families share math thinking—and math fun—together, so each week we offer a little about our Math in Focus (MIF) curriculum. Then you have common ground between your kids’ “New Math” and the…old New Math you once learned. This week: One of the basic ideas in Math in Focus is number-bonds. Many adults will recognize them as similar to fact families for addition and subtraction. The difference in MIF is that we talk about Part-Part–Whole:

So, if you have two parts you can figure out the whole (addition). If you have the whole and one part, you can figure out the other part (subtraction). These ideas of part-part-whole will continue into the upper grades and be used as the back ground for bar modeling.

-- Steve Smith, MSES Math Interventionist

Counseling Corner This week in the Counseling Corner we administered pretests for Safe2Tell with our MSPD School Resource Officer for District 14, Mark Gillis, at the helm! Safe2Tell is a program in which students or others can report safety issues anonymously and be guaranteed a response from school authorities. Thank you, Officer Gillis, for training our 4th- and 5th-graders on how to take charge of their own safety, our school's safety, and the safety of our community. We are also launching our annual classroom lessons in our Second Step Curriculum. Second Step lessons help students learn empathy and conflict resolution through videos, role-playing, and other engaging strategies. Our counseling staff offers these classes to each classroom weekly in lessons that are tailored to an individual grade’s developmental levels needs and learning style.

-- Leatha Hay, MSES School Counselor, 719-685-2160

Girls on the Run Fall Season to Start Sept. 12! Girls on the Run inspires girls to a lifetime of self-respect and a healthy lifestyle through an innovative program that combines training for a 3.1 mile run/walk race with a fun, health education curriculum. We will meet after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00-4:25 p.m. Open to all girls in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. Fee has been lowered to $60.00, thanks to Connect 14 and MSSD14 sponsoring our team. Further scholarship may be available. For more information about the program go to www.girlsontherunrockies.org. For registration forms, please ask the office or email Ms. Woytko and she will bring one to your girl. Questions? Ask Coach Woytko-Morris at mwoytko@mssd14.org.

On Beyond Program: Expanding Critical Thinking

Many parents have asked how they can help their child develop stronger critical thinking skills at home. The Bright Horizon’s program, which offers families resources for developing critical thinking skills in children, has an excellent online article on this topic: https://www.brighthorizons.com/family-resources/developing-critical-thinking-skills-in-children. Educational research has shown that doing just these six simple things helps stimulate problem-solving skills:

• Encourage unstructured play-time • Give wait time for thinking and responding • Observe before jumping in to help solve the problem • Ask open-ended questions • Encourage educated guesses (hypotheses) about things • Encourage creative or unusual solutions

Pick one of these strategies to try out at home this week. Now is a great time to begin laying the foundation for your child's improved critical thinking skills. --Kristen Kanaga, On Beyond GT Program Instructor

PAC’s King Soopers Grocery Card Program Costs You Nothing -- But Greatly Benefits MSES!

Hello MSES Families! For many years now we have sponsored a fundraiser through King Soopers that helps raise donations from King Soopers every time you use your Sooper Card – at no cost to you!! Now King Soopers has made it even easier to participate in this fundraiser! In the past, parents/guardians were required to purchase a gift card through MSES, then remember to reload and then use the card to pay for each purchase. This is no longer necessary! King Soopers has made it more user-friendly by eliminating the need to use a gift card linked to our MSES PAC account. You can now simply register your loyalty card online a single time and every time you scan your loyalty card the school PAC gets 5% of the amount you spend. You are out no money. It is totally free to you and takes only a couple of minutes to register! If you EVER shop at King Soopers, please consider registering your card. Please share this with friends and family as well! Here’s how to register your King Soopers Card: 1. Go to kingsoopers.com. (If your local store is a City Market, go to citymarket.com. The selections may be a little different, but it's very similar.) 2. Click on the "Savings and rewards" tab near the top of the page. 3. Scroll down to "King Soopers Community Rewards" and click on that option. 4. Click on "enroll now". 5. Sign in with your email address to link your loyalty card to your next selection. 6. Type "VL568" (this is our ID in their system) in the "Find organization" space. You can also search for Manitou Springs Elementary School PAC. 7. Click on "enroll". That's it! Every time you scan your card, King Soopers gives us money. Every time our community spends $5,000 they cut us a check for $250. We use that entire amount to support the efforts of the needs of our school, teachers, and students. If you have any questions, please email us at msespac@gmail.com. As always, thanks for your support of our school, kiddos and faculty!