Volume 3

Canned Food Drive 2014

BOES Student Council
The BOES Student Council will be sponsoring a canned food drive starting
Monday, November 10th until Friday, December 12th.
Canned goods will go to local churches in the Upper Marlboro community to feed the
homeless during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The class on each grade level
who collects the most cans will win a prize!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Canned Food Drive

Grade Level News

2-6

Calendar of Events

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The Pre-K Giants - Pre-K News

During the next few weeks, we will be learning about giants! Before they can comprehend the concept of
giant, they need to understand the differences between big and little. So we will begin by comparing all
kinds of big and little things from animals to toys to words. Then we will explore giants in nature, such as
mountains, trees and oceans and big animals. We will also explore manmade giants such as skyscrapers,
bridges and roller coasters. Lastly, we explore make believe giants from fairytales and fables.
In literacy our focus will be letter and letter sounds and rhyming words. In math, we will learn about
measuring and ordering sets by size.

Heres whats going on in the land of Kindergarten for November:

Falling into Kindergarten

Reading: Letter Tt, Identifying key details in text, new sight word: like

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Math: Counting & Cardinality/Geometry (sorting and classifying with shapes)

Social Studies: Fall Holidays (Veterans Day, Thanksgiving), Native American Heritage Month
Science: Using Earths natural resources
Health: All About Safety (classroom, playground, Using 9-1-1)

The First Graders are Soaring High! - 1st Grade News

The first quarter has come to a close and Parent/Teacher conferences will soon begin! Teachers are now
even planning lessons and crafts related to both Thanksgiving and Winter Celebrations. Time surely
passes by quickly!
The academic growth of students, in first grade, becomes more evident each day. The first graders are
surely soaring high! In reading, students seem to enjoy guided reading time and center instruction. They
have built and blended words with r, s, and l blends and have done the same with consonant-vowelconsonant words containing the short vowels, e, i and o. They have also enjoyed learning about strategies and skills to include: asking & answering questions, making & confirming predictions, and identifying
the elements in a story. A focus has really been for students to use evidence from the text when responding to a prompt. Students have explored teachings related to addition & subtraction within 10, comparing
numbers, true & false equations and they have now are even balancing equations, in math. They are continuing to explore environmental issues in science and health to include the important use of recycling
and how pollution is causing for some animals to become endangered. As part of our reading and social
studies unit, students are continuing to learn about communities and community helpers. Students will
now begin to explore a personal narrative unit in writing.
The students have enjoyed school celebrations honoring positive behaviors and look forward to the Joga-Thon and Fall Festival for PK-2 students.
The first grade teachers are thankful for the support that has been extended by parents and continue to
encourage parents to volunteer, as their doors are always open. They also encourage parents to review
High Frequency words and addition/subtraction facts with students daily, in an effort to better develop
fluency amongst students.
BOES Newsletter, Vol. 3

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Fall into Good Reading Strategies! - 2nd Grade News

What do good readers do? In 2nd grade, the students are encouraged to think about what good readers
do while reading? Do you consider yourself to be a good reader? Good readers ask questions and read to
find the answers to help them better understand the text they are reading. Good readers visualize by
painting pictures in their mind of the events that are taking place in the text. Good readers make predictions about what could happen next in the text they are reading. Good readers also reread if they dont
understand what they have read, and make text-to-self, text-to-text, and/or text-to-world connections
when events within the text remind them of particular experiences, other texts, or events that have happened in the world. Did you happen to just use a reading strategy while reading the beginning portion of
the 2nd grade section? Ah-ha! The strategy probably helped you to understand what you were reading,
which is why the 2nd graders are always encouraged to use these various strategies while reading in and
outside of the classroom. Your child may be able to read the text fluently, but can they recall what they
read in great detail. When completing the Weekly Reading Log with your child, take a moment and allow
them to record questions they may have about the text or ask them questions throughout the book. Ask
them to infer or make predictions about the characters or events in the text. Give them an opportunity
to retell the story to you in sequential order with details to support the events that have taken place in
the story. Contact your childs teacher for more information on ways to improve your childs reading
comprehension. Happy Reading!!

Third Grade News

Hello Families! Can you believe we have finished the first quarter? Your scholars have been busy
learning many skills in Math, Science, Reading, and Social Studies. We are continuing to work on
organizational skills, please encourage your scholars to bring their work home everyday and check
their agendas daily for important information.

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In Math we are learning about area and perimeter. Talk with your scholars about perimeter and
area at home:

measure the perimeters of the rooms and compare the largest and smallest
practice drawing rectangles on grid paper and then find the area and perimeter
find the perimeter of objects at home

Please continue to study Multiplication Facts at home as this will increase fluency, a great way is to
use First in Math daily.
In Science we are continuing our study of Earth Science with a focus on the environment. We will
learn about Earth's resources and protecting them.
The STEM Fair is fast approaching, all STEM Fair Backboards are due by December 9th.

3rd Grade News (continued)

In Reading, we are learning about Main Idea, Details, and Graphic Sources (Text Features, Captions to
help with reading comprehension.) We are focusing on Proofreading conventions. In Social Studies we
are continuing to learn about many communities all over the world, environments, climates, regions and
landforms.
We are planning our field trips and will be looking for volunteers to come along. Remember we will need
parents to have background checks to attend! We are looking forward to an awesome second quarter.
Your Awesome Third Grade Team,
Mrs. Nelson, Ms. Rezk, Ms. Rittenburg and Ms. Spitzer

Fourth Grade math teachers are reviewing multiplication, division and area in order to prepare our
students for an upcoming exam. Knowing the difference between factors vs.products, multiples
vs. factor pairs, prime numbers vs. composite numbers and perimeter vs. area are all essential topics. The ability to explain and show what we know in words, numbers and symbols will continue to
be strengthened with our daily practices. Please help your child by practicing basic multiplication
and division facts with them at home on a daily basis.

BOES Newsletter, Vol. 3

4th Grade News

In social studies news we are exploring the U.S. We have been placing a strong focus on the southeast, midwest, and southwest regions of the U.S. In this exploration we are learning about the vast
agriculture of the midwest, the industries of the southeast, and the land and resources of the
southwest. Many of our students have traveled to some of the places and are able to offer their
own insight which allows them to make connections to the lesson.

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Fantastic Fifth Grade - 5th Grade News

It is now second quarter. Congratulations to all students who made the honor roll for the first
quarter. Keep up the good work.
In Reading, students are still on the move. They traveled back in time to visit baseball greats,
Satchel Paige, Jackie Robison, and Roberto Clemente. During our ventures, we compared and contrasted characters, made inferences, determined theme, and integrated information from several
texts, and summarized. Next, students will travel to China and visit Hsiang-ling. While there, they
will monitor their comprehension by annotating text. They will also look at the authors point of
view and how their words can help us learn about a character in a story. In Oral and Written Communication, we will learn about action and linking verbs and pronouns. In Social Studies, we will
continue to focus on the American people and land. We will take a look at our diverse population,
our government, and our land and regions. In Math, we have just wrapped up adding and subtracting decimals, and finding volumes of rectangular prisms. We will now begin the new unit on
multiplying, and dividing decimals, as well as combining volumes. Please be sure that all students
are studying their multiplication facts as they will continue to take their facts drill quizzes every
Friday, and to ensure their success with the skills taught. In Science, we are now moving into
weathering, erosion and changes within the Earth's surface. Lastly, be sure to continue to work
hard on the STEM Fair projects. The due date for the project is December 9th. Please adhere to
the due dates for each component of the project, and parents please refer to the parent STEM Fair
guide to better assist your child with their project. Thank you for your hard work!
Thank you for all that you do. Dont forget to have your child reading nightly and study multiplication facts.

Sixth Grade Stars - 6th Grade News

Sixth graders have been working diligently. In science, students have been learning about electricity and
magnets. They are also preparing for STEM Fair. In math, students have been learning about integers and
coordinate planes. They have also been practicing skills on Study Island and competing in First In Math. In
reading, students have been writing literary analyses using appropriate opening statements, text support
and closing statements. In world geography, students have been learning about Earth's movements and
the cause of seasons. There are a few field trips planned to NASA and the Kennedy Center.

STUDENTS ARE WORKING TO ACHIEVE

OUR SCHOOL GOALS AT BOES!
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Thanks for taking the time to read through the many learning
opportunities being provided at Barack Obama Elementary School!

November Calendar of Events

November 3 - Schools Closed for Students
November 4 - Schools and Offices Closed
November 11 - Schools Closed for Students (Parent-Teacher Conferences)
Contact your childs teacher(s) now to schedule an appointment
November 14 - 5th & 6th Grade Dance (6 to 8:30 pm)
November 18 - PTA Meeting (6:30 to 7:30 pm)
November 21 - PTA Movie Night for Claires Gourmet Participants (6 to 8 pm)
November 26-28 - Thanksgiving Holiday break (Schools & Offices closed)

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Looking ahead
December 2 - Fall Picture Retakes
December 4 - BOES Reading Night (6:30 to 8 pm)
December 4 - PTA Zumba w/ Mom (6:30 to 7:30 pm)
December 5 - BOES Chorale Winter Concert w/ Fashion Show (6 to 9 pm)
BOES Newsletter, Vol. 3

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