EFES Newsletter – Spring 2014 - Elephant`s Fork Elementary School

SUFFOLK PUBLIC
The Elephant’s Fork
SCHOOLS
SPECIAL
POINTS OF
INTEREST:

2 ,
I S S U E
3
S P R I N G
2 0 1 4
Counselor’s Corner
May 4-10—
Teacher
Appreciation
Week

V O L U M E
May 2—AR
Carnival

Trumpet
May 7—Teacher
Assistant Day and
National School
By Mrs. LaToya McGlone
Whole group/ classroom guidance lessons will be given on the following topics:
Bullying, Respecting Yourself and Others, Careers, Making Positive Choices.
Nurse Day

May 9—EFES
Field Day

May 14—
Kindergarten
Registration Day

June 13—Last
Day of School for
Students
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE:
Early Start
News
2
A Student of the Month Recognition/Reception for the months of January,
February, and March was held in the gymnasium on April 2nd from 12:45 pm -1:50
pm for Early Start and grades K-2 and a similar reception was held April 3rd from
12:45 pm -1:50 pm for grades 3-5. Students will be recognized for their academic
achievement for the 3rd and 4th marking period in our traditional achievement
assembly in June. Students were able to receive wonderful gift cards to Golden
Corral and Applebee’s for their second nine week’s achievement during this
March’s PTA meeting.
I would like to thank everyone who participated in our annual Career Day.
Students were able to participate in a mock trial with Assistant Commonwealth
Attorney, Vaughn Breedlove. They also had the opportunity to meet a dentist,
police officer, principal and an art therapist. Our second grade students were
also able to meet Olympic Track Gold Medalist, LaTasha Colander-Clark.
Kindergarten 2
News
1st Grade
News
3
2nd Grade
News
3
3rd Grade
News
4
4th Grade
News
4
5th Grade
News
4
Career Day included visits from Olympic Track Gold Medalist LaTasha Colander-Clark
and Ms. Rebecca Hill from Nauticus.
PAGE
2
THE
ELEPHANT’S FORK
TRUMPET
Early Start News
Early Start has had a busy
time. We’ve celebrated St. Patrick’s day
by finding gold. Some of us even found a
leprechaun! We learned that gold begins
with the letter Gg, and leprechaun begins
with Ll. We also made kites because kite
begins with the letter K. When completed,
we flew them outside on the playground.
We've learned so many letters this year and are preparing to take the PALS test soon. We've been
working on other things too: like, rhyming words, beginning sounds, writing our names and more. We
are ready for spring and warm weather!
Kindergarten News
It is so hard to believe that the end of the year is so
near! Our students have been working very hard to be
ready for first grade. Continued work on sight words and
talking only when appropriate will further boost their skills
and get them even more ready to move up to first grade!
Our students have enjoyed learning many different
concepts through a variety of activities and media,
including songs and hands-on experiments. Come to the
May PTA event to see our work in action!
As always, thank you for your support of EFES, our
students, and our staff! Keep up the hard work!
VOLUME
2,
ISSUE
3
PAGE
3
First Grade News
This is a great time of year to watch our students’ blossom. Our kids
have gone from reading a few small words to a huge sight word vocabulary
and decoding long words with vowels. I’m sure our parents would agree
the growth is amazing.
We continue to learn about famous Americans such as George
Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Benjamin Franklin.
Ask your first grader to give you some facts about these important leaders.
First graders are also learning about economics. Next time you are at the
store with your student, ask them who is a consumer or a producer. Ask them to identify goods and
services.
As we usher in spring, our attention turns to plants and animals. A great at-home activity is to
start a seed and watch all of the changes that take place. Ask your first grader about the animals
that you see running around in the warm sunshine. See if they can tell you about the animal’s
habitat, body coverings, and how the animal moves.
Finally, our students’ math skills are soaring. Ask your student to tell time to the hour and half
hour. Pull the change out of your pocket and have your first grader count the collection of coins.
We are so proud of our first graders!
Second Grade News
It is hard to believe that the school year is almost over!! We have
been watching our 2nd graders turn into 3rd graders right in front of our
eyes!! It has been very exciting to watch them learn and discover all
the interesting things we have been learning in second grade this year.
In the 3rd nine weeks, our kids have taken virtual tours through Ancient
China and Egypt in social studies and explored living things and life
cycles in science. As well as learning
one of the hardest second grade
skills, double digit addition and
subtraction with regrouping. They
are doing this all while working hard to become stronger
readers. We still have a lot more learning to do in the 4th nine
weeks. We will be learning about economics in social studies,
plant products in science, and measurement and probability
in math. It is a good thing that spring break is coming up April
14th – 18th so our kiddies can give their brains a much needed
break!!!!
PAGE
4
THE
ELEPHANT’S FORK
TRUMPET
Third Grade News
I can't believe we are quickly approaching the end of another school year! Time
flies when you're having fun!
As we begin another new quarter, your 3rd grader will be busy learning the last
few SOLS before our big test. Here are some helpful tips to see that your child is successful
on all the SOL tests. Please ensure that your student is studying each night. All it takes is
about 5-10 minutes to review vocabulary and essential knowledge in each subject. This
will be a great grade booster! Please continue to study multiplication facts with your kids
each night. Look for study packets and review packets to be sent home when we return from spring
break. The homework and review packets are designed to refresh your student's memory of SOLs or skills
learned in the beginning of the school year. If you have any questions, please contact your teacher. We are
here for you!
Fourth Grade News
Spring Fever is here! Please remind our fourth grade students that we still
have much to learn. Attendance and attentiveness is crucial at this point in the
year. Students need to do their best on every assignment. Continuous review
will be incorporated in order to prepare for upcoming local and state
testing. Use all resources provided throughout the year to help with assignments
and review. Your fourth grade teachers are working hard to ready
students for our state testing. We need students to work hard, too. Any and all
parental support is exponentially beneficial and appreciated.
Fifth Grade News
The fifth graders have just survived their first SOL test of the
year! We are proud of the hard work from both students and
parents in helping us to prepare for this test. Unfortunately, we
aren't able to rest! We have four more SOL tests to prepare for
and will need your help even more in the upcoming
months. Please make sure your child is studying EACH night in all
subject areas. Students need to be in school every day because
we are gearing up for review mode to begin.
We are also beginning to plan our End-of-the-Year events and celebrations. Please be on
the look out for information regarding these activities for the 5th grade students. As always, we
thank you for your support. If you have any questions please contact your child's teacher.
VOLUME
2,
ISSUE
3
PAGE
5
Media Center News
By Carey Hall-Warner
The AR carnival is May 2! Thanks to the PTA for donating to help defray the costs of the
catapiller. We will need volunteers and donations to make this year a success. Volunteers will be
needed for May 1st after school to set up for the carnival. We will start about 3 p.m. We will also
need volunteers to help with the tickets and the stations. We have 29 stations planned; including
food and drinks.
Items needed include:
Huggs drinks
Capri Sun or lemonade
Bottled water
Bags of Smarties
Tubs of bubble gum
Cakes, large and individual
Dum Dum suckers
Tootsie Pops and Blow Pops
Sets of markers
Puzzles
Brown paper bags
I also want to thank everyone for a wonderful welcome to the Elephant’s Fork Family. You have
some awesome children and I am honored to be a part of their education.
Notes From The Nurse
By Debbie Poston, R. N.
The state of Virginia requires that all rising sixth grade students get a Tdap
booster shot (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) prior to entry into the sixth
grade. We ask that you obtain the needed immunization for your child
as soon as possible from your family doctor or local health department.
(There is no fee for immunizations obtained at the health dept). Once
immunization is obtained you must provide the medical documentation
to the school nurse.
I highly recommend that the Tdap shot be obtained and documentation turned in before the end
of this school year to avoid any delay in your child receiving class schedules for middle school.
Please give me a call if you have any questions.
PAGE
6
THE
ELEPHANT’S FORK
TRUMPET
P. E. News
By Mr. Pisani
This year in the gym things have been fast and furious. This year’s “Jump Rope for Heart” campaign
was the perfect example with the participation increasing from 33 to 168 over the previous year. We
also increased the total money raised from $1,200 to $4,700. The Jump Rope party was a lot of fun
for everyone that attended especially our top three fundraisers who got to smash a pie in Mr.
Skinner’s face.
The year does not slow down especially for the 4th and 5th graders, we have completed fitness
testing and family life. To cap off the year we will hold Field Day on May 9th and I am in need of as
many volunteers as I can get. I need people to help with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade Mini Olympics
and the ES, K, 1st, and 2nd grade Dr. Seuss Field Day. Feel free to contact me if you would like to
help out on the day of or if you would like to donate something to help make that day the best it
can be.
Thanks for all you do.
Mr. Skinner Gets Pied!
Mr. Skinner is always
willing to lend a helpful
“face” when it comes
to raising money for a
good cause.
VOLUME
2,
ISSUE
3
Career Day
Special thanks to our Career Day Presenters.
Pictured top left: Trish Sutton, a nurse at Obici
Hospital. Top right: Olympic Track Gold
Medalist, LaTasha Colander-Clark. Ms. Joan
Turner & Mr. Vaughn Breedlove from the
Commonwealth Attorney’s Office lead our 5th
graders in a mock trial for Goldielocks
(students pictured at right). Pictured bottom
left& right: Lovey Lyons & her show dogs.
PAGE
7
Students Of The Month
Calendar
“Students Of The Month” are recognized for
exhibiting the following characteristics:
exceptional behavior, good attendance,
completion of work, and a willing attitude.
MAY
February
March
Mark Pippins
Tristan Baker
Brooklyn Sharp
Nyla Futrell
Christopher Lee
Jeremiah Higgs
Resi Ray
Claire Owens
Jason Ralph
Zyona Spratley
Nemrah Newby
Michael Sutton
Haley Edwards
Jedidiah Ray
Zyer Williams
Riley Williams
Skylar Smith
Kara Davis
Gracie Jones
Keyon Mobley
Aaliyah Wilson
Markeisha Simpson
James Wiggins
Jakayla Lawrence-Wiggins
Jordyn Sanders
G’Yani Cross
Ava Arzola
Jakori Plain
Brody Tomesch
Nevaeh White
Aaliyah Myrick
Tavia Joe
Brendan Campbell
Ashanti Boone
Kristin Cross
Edzer Najacque
Cornasia Lamberson
Kylie Myrick
Tristan Vanderburg
Yahmani Elliott
Cross Delpiero
Adelsie Najacque
Ciara Branch
Shelly Frashefski
Anthony Stewart
Deja’ Ward
Robert Lyons
Gwenyth Gregory
Taylor Smith
Samantha White
Delbreona King
Ved Patel
Morgan Hunter
Kemari Smallwood
Elizabeth Hobbs
Raymond Fernando
May 2
May 4-10
May 6
May 1
May 26
5th Grade Science Power Review
(gym)
Teacher of the Year Banquet at
The First Lady of Suffolk—6pm
AR Carnival
Teacher Appreciation Week
Rookie Teacher of the Year
Reception, KFMS at 3pm
EFES PTA meeting—gym—6pm
Teacher Assistant Appreciation
Day
National School Nurse Day
School Nutrition Employee Week
School Board Meeting—
City Council Chambers—7pm
EFES Field Day
Mother’s Day
Interim Reports Issued
Kindergarten Registration 8am-5pm
Memorial Day-SCHOOLS OPENED
June 7
June 11-13
June 13
June 13
June 15
June 16
High School Graduations
Full Days of School
End of 4th grading period
Last Day of School for students :)
Father’s Day
Teacher Clerical Day
May 1
May 6
May 7
May 7
May 5-9
May 8
May 9
May 11
May 12
May 14
JUNE
Contact Us
Mr. Andre Skinner, Principal
andreskinner@spsk12.net
2316 William Reid Drive
Suffolk, VA 23434
http://efes.spsk12.net
Phone: (757) 923-5250
Fax: (757) 925-5596