The Gashland Stars - North Kansas City School District

North Kansas City School District
March 2016
Volume 7, Issue 7
Extraordinary Educational Experiences
The Gashland Stars
Gashland Elementary School
Excellence in
Primary Education
“The Gashland School Community will provide a learning environment that is safe and productive to
promote development of the whole child.” (Mission Statement adopted 2005-2006)
2016
Read Across America Week
March
Calendar of Events
Read Across America
Week
Feb
29Mar 4
Kdg. Music Programs
@ Clardy
6:30 pm Bryant/
Kingery/Watkins
7:30 pm Agbaji/ Knox
3
Daylight Savings Time
Begins Set Your Clocks
Forward One Hour
6
Kindergarten Roundup
6-7:30 p.m.
10
3rd Quarter Ends
11
PTA Board Meeting
6:00 p.m. @ Clardy
15
Cultural Arts Assembly
“Peter & The Wolf”
16
PTA Mercury Gym
Night 6:30-8 p.m.
18
Spring Break
No School
21-25
Grade Cards Sent
Home With Students
30
“The more you read, the more you know;
the more you know, the further you’ll go!”
It is Read Across America Week beginning Monday, Feb 29. This week coincides with the birthday of one of the
greatest authors loved by children and adults alike – Dr. Seuss. We all have our favorite Dr. Seuss book, but one that I
think teaches some of the best lessons for life is Oh, the Places You’ll Go! This is a great book that inspires us that we
can “move mountains” and that life is what you make of it. Here are some of the other life lessons we can teach our
young learners about from this book:
1. Be a thinker of great things. Dr. Seuss teaches us, “Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!” Take a
moment and just listen to your child talk about the world. They are fearless dreamers, invincible and amazingly creative
at this age.
2. Be your best “you.” In the words of Dr. Seuss, “There is no one alive who is You-er than You.” Make the most
of what you’ve got.
3. Dream it and do it. “You have brains in your head; you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any
direction you choose.” Isn’t it wonderful to know how many opportunities there are and will be in the future for our
young learners? What a time to be alive!
4. Life is about choices, so make them good ones. “You’ll look up and down streets, look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, ‘I don’t choose to go there.’ With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too
smart to go down any not-so-good street.” Such an important lesson and one we as parents constantly worry about no
matter how old our children are!
5. Be decisive. My grandfather use to say to me when I was trying to make decisions, “You can’t move a parked car.”
So, once you’ve weighed your options, make a decision, get out there and “just do it!”
6. Face your fears and usually your fears will flee. “And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance, you’ll
meet things that scare you right out of your pants…On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to
your problems whatever they are.”
7. Keep balance in your life. “You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many
strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great
Balancing Act.”
8. You will succeed (most of the time.) “And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent
guaranteed.)” Life sometimes gives us lemons, but it is when we turn whatever comes our way into lemonade, then we
truly succeed.
Success is a journey and we all have our own paths. Make your journey count. Don’t let fear stop you. Don’t let
conventional wisdom stop you. Lead the life you want to live, and when there’s no path, make one. Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way. There is nobody you-er than you, and remember the more that you
learn the more places you’ll go. Happy Reading!
Mrs. Lakin
Gashland Gets A Facelift
XLT (Summer
Learning) & K2K
Forms Due
Friday, April 15, 2016
During spring break our classrooms, office, computer lab, gym, library
and kitchen are being painted and any old carpet replaced with new carpeting. While we
are excited about having fresh rooms for our students upon their return from break, we
also realize we need to have a quick turnaround with packing and unpacking so this work
can be done with minimal disruption of the teaching and learning process. So, if your child
mentions he/she is seeing boxes in the back of the room the week before break, you’ll know
why. We’ll be sharing this information with our students as the time nears, but until then
we don’t want any distractions to interfere with our daily goal of providing excellent
primary education for our Gashland Stars.
Nurse’s News
ELL NEWS
By Mrs. Akman, ELL Teacher
In March, kindergarten ELL students will work in a unit titled
“People at Work.” In this unit, students will identify and
discuss various jobs. Students will talk about what people
do at work using verbs in the present tense and also
practice asking and answering questions about what people
do at work. Kindergarten students will continue to work on
reading sight words and writing sentences as well. First
grade ELL students will begin a new unit titled “Animals and
Plants.” Within this unit, students will speak, read, and
write about how living things can help each other. Students
will read and write using the long e, long a, ch, sh, and th
sounds. They will work on making predictions, sequencing,
retelling, and finding the main ideas and details in a story.
Finally, first graders will learn when to use the articles a, an,
and the.
Greetings from Physical Education and Health
Our Jump Rope for Heart was a big success. I enjoy having conversations
with the students about how this benefits our community. Over the month
of March, we will begin working our way back outside as much as
possible. We will begin some baseball type games, and working on our
fitness testing. Please have your child prepared to be outside by having
appropriate clothing. I also wanted to let you know our lost and found box
is getting pretty full! If your child is missing any jackets, hats, or gloves
please send them to me to check the lost and found. Thanks for your help.
Stay healthy and keep moving!
Coach Heller
Library Fundraiser
We appreciate your participation in our Reading Rewards
Magazine Fundraiser! The proceeds from this fundraiser
will fund author visits for our school and also help provide
magazines for our classrooms. Thank you for supporting
Gashland Elementary!
Thank you!
Mrs. Bradfield, School Librarian
By: Jan McSpadden, R.N.
As we look forward to warmer weather, your students will be able to
go outside for recess most days. The winter thaw brings muddy
conditions on the playground. Please include a change of clothing in
your student’s backpack when possible, “just in case”.
Allergy season is here. When your student needs medication at
school, please have an adult bring the medication to the school.
Students are not to carry medications of any kind on the school bus. I
am glad to help your student with allergy relief so that he or she has a
more pleasant, productive day.
We are in the process of welcoming and enrolling Kindergartners
for next school year. Please remember that each student must be upto-date on their immunizations before starting the K2K program in June
and/or school in August. A current record of immunizations is required
and can be turned in to the school office. Please call me at 321-5103 if
you have questions or need more information.
Art
March is Youth Art Month. Each elementary school in the
NKC school district submits works to be displayed at the
First Bank of Missouri in Gladstone throughout March.
Gashland has two participating artists!
Congratulations to the following artists:
Dylan Eckles-Kindergarten
Ainsley Scheib-1st grade
Follow us on Instagram for more updates: @gashlandart
Mrs. Harman
Mrs. Koester
Pre-School News
We had a great February in preschool! We began the month learning
about groundhogs and celebrating Groundhog’s Day with the
groundhog not seeing his shadow. Will it be an early spring? We also
had a fun 100th day celebration on February 3rd! We had some
creative 100 day projects, and the students loved sharing their
creations with their friends. We focused on the numbers 5-8 as we
worked on writing the numerals correctly, using one-to-one
correspondence to count these numbers, and used ten frames and
number lines to explore these numbers. We were introduced to the
letters Ff, Bb, and Gg this month. We had a fun Teddy Bear Picnic to
celebrate the letter Bb! Thank you to all the parents who helped
organize and run our Valentine’s Day parties! The students had a
wonderful time!
Mrs. Tapp, Preschool Teacher
Mrs. Settles, Preschool I.A.
Kindergarten Kids~
First Grade News~
February has been a fun month in kindergarten. We had our 100th
day of school on celebration. Kindergartners did lots of counting for
their 100th day. Classes did various activities, such as bringing
collections of 100 items, wearing clothing items with 100 of
something on them, dressing up like an “100 year old”, making
special necklaces or hats, making and eating special snacks and
reading counting books and books about the 100th day of school. It
was a day to celebrate the growth we've seen in our students since
the beginning of the year. Thanks for your support on our 100th day
and all that you've done throughout the year, parents! (This is a
good reminder that our kindergartners should be able to confidently
count to 100 before the end of this school year. If your child needs
practice with this, please count with him/her daily.)
Springtime is always an exciting time in first grade! This is
when we really start to see our kiddos grow in their
learning. As teachers we enjoy seeing our students
progress; making leaps and bounds from where they
started in the beginning of our school year together.
Another highlight of February was our Valentine's Day parties.
Children enjoyed games, crafts and treats thanks to our room
parents. They also enjoyed giving and receiving Valentines. Thanks
to all the parents who have planned and helped with parties this year
and to those who sent party items! The children appreciated all you
did.
In Readers Workshop students will spend time focusing
on non-fiction materials. Students use text features and
illustrations to help make sense of informational texts.
Students will deepen their comprehension skills by
comparing and contrasting two texts. Students will also
have to identify the reasons an author gives to support
points in informational texts.
February brought another holiday to learn about, too, with
President's Day. Students have been interested to learn about
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln this month. We learned
many interesting facts about both President Washington and Lincoln.
Are you reading daily at home to and with your kindergarten
student? Please do your best to accomplish this as much as
possible. Our goal is to have each child in the 100 book club.
Encourage your child to practice reading our sight words often and
have your child try to write sentences using some of these words,
too. Remind your student to add an end mark (period, question
mark or exclamation mark).
Kindergartners are bringing home a new book daily for reading
practice. Please encourage your child to read this book to
him/herself and to a parent. Record the book title on the log and fill
out the other information. This will help your child’s teacher in
providing “just-right” books for home—not too easy and not too hard.
Please return the book to school each day even if your child didn’t
yet read it. We appreciate your taking good care of these books, so
that they are available for all students. Books recorded on the log
will also be counted for our “Buzz. . .Bee a Reader” program
Mrs. Agbaji
Mrs. Bryant
Mrs. Kingery
Mrs. Knox
Mrs. Watkins
Thank you to our families for continuing to support your
students at home. Filling out Buzz Bee A Reader lists,
reading those Just Right books, finishing homework, and
exploring math concepts at home are all a huge help in
their learning progression! March brings even more
learning for our students.
In Writers Workshop the students will begin writing
Question and Answer books, Writers will select a topic
and gather information to identify facts to share in their
Question and Answer book. The students will inform
their reader about the topic, supply facts on the topic and
provide a sense of closure.
In Math Workshop students will learn subtraction fact
strategies and attributes of shapes. Students will
continue to add and subtract within 20 and work with
equations. They will also tell and write time. This is a
busy math unit.
For Science, students will identify materials that make up
an object and the physical properties of the material.
They will also measure and compare the mass of objects.
Students will identify everyday objects as a solid, liquid or
gas.
As always, thank you for being part of your child’s
education! We thank you for your continued support at
home!
Mrs. Boyer
Mrs. Kimball
Mrs. Markovich
Mrs. Minter
Mrs. Robke
Literacy Launch
By: Darcy Gilbert, Reading Teacher
A trip to the mall can be exciting for your child. It can be even better if you have time to window shop. Specialty shops are good places to learn a lot about categories
of items like clothing, shoes, jewelry, and books. Shoe stores are really good because the shoes are displayed on shelves. That makes them easy to see and
compare. When you read a shoe store tip, think about how you can use it in any store.
People Rhymes. Sit on a bench where you can see shoppers passing by. Start a rhyming game about the people you see. “Man in red, man in red, you have yellow
hair on your head.” Then start a rhyme and invite your child to finish. “Girl in blue, girl in blue, you have buckles on your ……” Encourage your child to make more
rhymes, even very silly ones!
Guess What Shoe. Play a guessing game with your child in the shoe store. You start first. “Look at those boots. I think a person wears those in the rain.” Then invite
your child to play. Point to a different type of shoe and ask “where do you think a person wears those shoes?” Confirm your child’s answer by saying “Yes, those are
slippers, a person wears those at bedtime.” Or, you may say “No, I think those are sandals. A person wears those in the summer.” When your child gets used to the
game, have some fun with it. Point to a pair of high heels and say “I think a person wears those to work in the garden. What do you think?”
Buying Shoes. Explain what you are looking for so your child can help you. “You need new sneakers. You said you wanted green ones.” As you look at the
sneakers, use words that describe how they are the same or different- colors, styles, and sizes. Some are small, some are medium, and some are large. “What size
do you need?” As she tries a pair on, use words that describe the parts of shoes and feet. “Push your foot in all the way up to the toe. Push your heel down. Pull up
the tongue. Let’s fasten the Velcro.”
Fun with Books. Spend a relaxed time in the children’s section at the mall bookstore. Pull out a picture book that looks interesting. Show your child the cover of the
book and read the title, and the names of the author, and illustrator. Flip through the book slowly from beginning to end. Invite your child to make up the story by
“reading” the pictures. Then read the story to your child.
Using the Map. Before you start to shop, look at a diagram of the mall. This is often located right inside the front door. Explain that this is a map or diagram of the
mall. Remind your child of other maps that he has seen. First show your child the dot that indicates where you are. Then look for the store you want to go to first. Use
your finger to trace a line from where you are to the store. “We will have to walk straight down this hall until we get to the corner. Then we will take a right turn and we
will be there.”
Measuring Feet. In the shoe store look for the foot scale. Explain to your child that this is a kind of ruler that measures your foot. “It measures the length and width of
your foot so you will know what size shoe to buy.” Encourage your child to put her foot on it. Show her the number at her toe that indicates the correct shoe size. “You
wear a size 5 now. Your feet are growing!” If you don’t know how to use the foot scale, ask someone who works at the shoe store to help you.
Fun with Books. For a special treat, go shopping for a book at the mall bookstore. Before you go, share some ideas with your child. Do you both like poetry, or
stories about sports, or animals? Does he want to find information, for example, about the trees at the park? When you get to the store, find a salesclerk. “Can you
help us? We are looking for a book about ….” Invite your child to look at some books and choose his favorite one. When you get home encourage your child to write
his name inside the front cover. “This book belongs to Jack.”
Source: http://www.pbs.org
February
Milk Contest
POP TAB UPDATE
The February totals are in:
3 Gallons
Kindergarten students won this month’s Milk Contest with the most
milk consumed. They will each be receiving a Milk Sticker.
Congratulations.
Total –gallons thus far
54 Gallons
Our goal is 100 Gallons
Thank you families for helping support Ronald McDonald houses.
GASHLAND XLT 2016
Enrichment Summer Learning
“EXPLORERS Program”
May 31-June 23
Are you looking for something fun for your child to do this summer? Does your student enjoy learning about new things, creating fun projects, and conducting
experiments? Then Gashland’s enrichment summer learning program – Explorers – is for you. The “Explorers” program will explore fun scientific concepts.
Students will create interesting projects, conduct experiments, learn about the scientific process, and enjoy testing predictions and hypotheses.
Students will also enjoy sessions for music, computer lab, and library. They will continue practicing important skills in reading, writing, and math. Students will have a
great time exploring all of these fun and interesting classes! Classes fill quickly, so reserve your child’s place by returning the XLT enrollment form by April 15 to
ensure a spot for your Gashland Star.
If you have any questions, please call the school office at 321-5100.
From The Counselor’s Office
By Angela Nakoulima
Greeting families!
You may think that kindergarten or 1st grade is too early to discuss careers with children, but the truth is you
have already begun having these conversations with your children. We have so many opportunities to
discuss the world of work with our young learners. We may ask them what they want to be when they grow
up or talk about their interests and talents. My own children have had big plans for their future careers, from
scientists to authors, paleontologists, hair stylists, and teachers. Although these career plans change weekly,
I continue to encourage both of my girls to dream about their future and imagine all possibilities. I do the
same with your little ones here at Gashland. In the upcoming months, I hope to reinforce all of those career
related conversations and dreams that your little ones have shared with you.
Angela Nakoulima
School Counselor
Music
Tons Of Tabs!
Our Tab collection is
growing but we need
lots more to reach or
surpass last year’s
donation. We’re
currently trying to fill
our 55th gallon. Last
year we filled a total
of 142 gallons! Ronald McDonald and friends will
be here in early May to collect our boxes, so we
have just over 2 months to keep popping tabs
and asking for help from friends and relatives.
Your support is so appreciated! Please take a
look at the Ronald McDonald House graphic and
you will see the importance of this project.
Way to go Gashland Kindergarteners!! We have been
working so hard on our program, and can’t wait to share it
with our families on Thursday, March 3! After our program,
we will be learning about the musical story, Peter and the
Wolf, a wonderful introduction to the instruments of the
orchestra.
First graders have been learning to read and write music, as
well as work with each other in duets and trios to make
music together! This month we will become composers,
and look to another child composer, Mozart, to find out
about his life and the music he created.
Kindergarten Music Program
Now I Know My ABC’s
Thursday, March 3
Clardy Elementary Gym
2 performances:
6:30-7:00 PM BRYANT/KINGERY/WATKINS
7:30-8:00 PM AGBAJI/KNOX
February Perfect Attendance as of February 26, 2016
Congratulations
Kindergarten
Abubakar Abukar
Jamisen Allen
Ivy Baptiste
Michael Barba-Capps
Abigail Barlow
Ava Bennett
Joss Buchanan
Cameron Carter
Elizabeth Christensen
Jimmy Coleman III
Nolan Cook
Gabriella Cox
Xden David
Godhavi Dumbai
Jaylen Echevarria
Dylan Eckles
Ensley Fisher
Jaylen harris
Ansam Hassan
Hayden Heathman
Brooklyn Hendren
Kayleah Hill
Dylan Holland
Allison Holsted
Ayesha Khan
Kayden Kohler
Caleb LaFever
Gordon Lewis
Carter Mast
Aaden Moore
Lucy Nading
Miles Olmedo
Zane Phelps
Kaden Pressley
Chase Redwing
Skyla Scholtes
Nikko Sims
Gage Smith
Mason Stefek
Samantha Swierski
Yazmin Tate
Maddilyn Vandenberg
Brennan Williams
Kennedy Williams
Lola Wooten
First Grade
Khadija Abukar
Nali Ahmed
Hunter Ake
Akuei Akuei
Akon Akuei
Amelia Billings
Logan Bouphanouvong
Collin Bransfield
Knox Burns
Jayden Burton
Tony Byas II
Kaden Diven
Tiffany Eckerley
Abigail Garris
Ethan Gillespie
Luis Gonzalez
Angellina Goodyear
Alex Grider
Antwan Harris Jr
Kennedie Holland
Makayla Ilon
Kieron Jones
Benjamin Kuykendall
Lilly Lockhard
Ramiro Lunares Jr
Daniel McCall
Hayden McGaughey
Ty McKinnis
Jackson Mick
Gracie Navarre
Elsa Norman-Mennig
Lillian Parsch
Nathan Peycke
Mario Piatkowski
Jaxom Piatkowki
Jude Salame
Salma Sarhan
Steven Schrader
Briella Simpson
Emya Sims
Desteny Spears
Savannah Stephens
Tristan Tatum
Randal Thompson Jr
Cole Tucker
Emily Vu
Seneca Walker
Steven Walker II
Olivia Weddle
Pre-School
Zayleigh Davenport
Joseph Lopez
Addison Oakden
Chloe Simmons
Jaxson Sorenson
Lilly Stricken
Evanne Williams
Attendance
Thank you parents for reinforcing with your child the importance of school attendance.
It really makes a difference!
Please remember our overall goal is for every child to be at school more than 90% of the school day.
Overall school attendance for February 94.2%
Reading Aloud to Children: Presenting the miraculous gift of reading
- Nova Bradfield, Gashland Librarian
I’ve been teaching kids to read in some form or another for 13 years, but having my own emergent reader at home and sitting on the
“other side of the table” during parent teacher conferences has given me new insight into this process of growing a reader. I’m walking
in the shoes of the teacher and the parent, and it has given me an opportunity to really think about what active parents should be doing
at home to support their learner and what is the best way to bond children to reading.
“Reading should not be presented to them as a chore, a duty. It should, instead, be offered as a gift: Look, I will help you unwrap this
miraculous present. I will show you how to use it for your own satisfaction and education and deep, intense pleasure.”
The quote above was said by Newbery award winning author and U.S. Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Kate DiCamillo.
This piece of wisdom is never far from my mind when thinking about reading and children.
I believe the simplest way to offer this miraculous gift is to read a story aloud to a child. And not just the very young. Reading educators
have done a wonderful job educating the public to read to babies and preschoolers, but I think we abandon this practice once children
are able to actually read a few words on their own. What a missed opportunity to bond children to reading! I read a charming New York
Times piece once about a father who continued to read aloud to his daughter even into high school. This young lady was a thriving
scholar with a secure attachment to her family. Some of my best memories from childhood are listening to my mother read The Secret
Garden and The Little House on the Prairie. I had a college professor who took the time to read The Bridge to Terebithia aloud to us
during class. It’s no surprise that I loved that class and adored the teacher.
The author of the book, Read & Write It Out Loud! Guided Oral Literacy Strategies writes: “One of the most effective ways to guide
children into becoming stronger readers and to give them the necessary mental practice for doing so is to read aloud to them every
day.” One of the primary reasons given in this book is that children can understand a more sophisticated text than what they can read
on their own. A well chosen read aloud story will strengthen the listener’s vocabulary and can help the listener build more sophisticated
language structures. (Polette, 2014) The gains for the listener are impressive. Listening to a story increases attention span, strengthens
cognitive ability, and enhances the affective domain (Polette, 2014).
I witness a reoccurring scene each year during parent teacher conferences and book fair. Parents of struggling readers enter the book
fair and tell their children they can only have books that they “can actually read.” I see a distance grow between children and their
parents in these interactions; and I see a distance grow between children and reading. This distance is not what we want. It is crucial to
bond children to reading and books at this young age, and the way to do that is through the stories that lay between the covers. If you
are feeling that reading time is a battle in your home, rather than a pleasure, try something different. Go to the library and check out a
tall stack of picture books and read those to your child. Let your child pick out a chapter book and read it to them. Offer the gift of
reading…with no strings attached. See if it helps.
I offer this advice as a parent of a first grader. I became so focused on my daughter filling her daily reading log with on-level books,
because I felt that was what her teacher wanted me to do, that I completely abandoned reading aloud to my six-year-old. The result
was that reading was becoming a chore and a fight each evening. The librarian’s kid didn’t want to read! I was heartbroken. Since then
I have switched my focus to reading to my daughter in the evening, with a sprinkling of on-level reading practice. I’ve seen her grow as
a reader because of this decision. In the spirit of this I would like to share a list of my favorite books to read aloud to five and six-yearolds.

Appleblossom the Possum by Holly Goldberg Sloan – A thick chapter book with talking animals, in the tradition of
Charlotte’s Web. When I read this to my daughter she would beg and cry for “one more chapter.”

Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo – This is a two-character story, like a modern day “Frog and Toad”, with
wonderful vocabulary like Kilimanjaro, pungent, empire, and kudos. This hilarious book is brain food for kids.

Nursery Rhymes – Any nursery rhyme anthology will do, but I like Mary Engelbreit’s most of all. These are a child’s
first poems and have been teaching children to read for centuries.

Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo – Early chapter books about a pet pig who loves hot buttered toast. The text is
dense and the character names are strange, but the stories are a delight.

Marshmallow by Clare Newberry – This story about the friendship between a cat and bunny was published in
1942. Sometimes when I read old stories like Marshmallow or The Pokey Little Puppy I wonder at the impressive
attention span of children from “the good-ol’ days.” Listening to old-fashioned stories is a powerful antidote for our
little screen-zombies.

Elephant and Piggie books – Very simple books by Mo Willems that all of our children adore. To read these books
to children is to suddenly become a theater person; using your whole body to “perform” the story.

Penny and Her Song – I love the sweet simplicity of Kevin Henkes (author of Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse) books. I
like Penny and Her Song the best because it requires the reader to SING. Singing and literacy go hand and hand.

Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot by Dav Pilkey – This is a book about a little mouse with a very cool robot. These
books are for the little guys….but I’ve seen fifth grade boys fight over Ricky Ricotta.
I hope you enjoy this list and spend some time pondering the act of reading aloud. I hope you do not give up the practice of reading
aloud to your children each night, no matter what their age. For our reluctant readers, this may be the way to turn reading from a chore
to a miraculous joy. ~ Nova Bradfield, Gashland Librarian