MCS Website

MARCH 2008 
Newsletter   

Calendar:
April 24th        Mound PTO Chuck E. Cheese Night
April 28th        Ohio Achievement Test, Grades 3-5
May 8th            Mound Market Day Pick-up 6:45 – 7:45
May 9th            Interims Distributed
May 13th        Early Release, 1:30p.m.
May 14th        Mound Volunteer Dinner
May 15th        Board of Education Meeting, 7:00p.m. Neff Board Room
May 19th        Mound Skating Party, 6:00p.m. Romar Rink, Germantown
May 20th        Mound PTO Meeting, 7:00p.m. in the school library
May 23rd         District 5th Grade Field Day
May 26th        No School, Memorial Day

Parents,

I would like to thank those who completed and returned their packet survey. The teachers and I will go over the results at our May 16th staff meeting and develop plans to address your concerns.  I’ve attached the results of the survey to this newsletter. A copy of the comments will also be posted in the main entrance of our school.

Attention parents of 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. Ohio Achievement test will be administered on the following days:

    Monday, April 28th        3rd grade reading
                    4th grade reading
                    5th grade reading

    Tuesday, April 29th        3rd grade math
                    4th grade math
                    5th grade math

    Wednesday, April 30th        4th grade writing
                    5th grade science

    Thursday, May 1        5th grade social studies
 

Our LOST and FOUND has now grown to two boxes.  The next time you’re in the building, please take a look to see if your child’s missing coat, gloves, sweatshirt or hat, are in there.  The boxes are located as you walk in the building just to the left of the seating area.  

You are cordially invited to attend the
 Miamisburg City Schools
Annual Fine Arts Festival

May 10, 2008
10:00 – 4:00 p.m. at Miamisburg High School

Artwork from students K-12 will be on display. In addition student groups from the instrumental and vocal programs across the district will be performing throughout the day. The Neff/Want Muse Machine will present a theatrical performance in the lecture hall at 11:00 and 1:00.

REMINDERS:
•    In an effort to keep our records updated – please contact the office with any changes in phone numbers or addresses or any additional numbers where you may be contacted in case of an emergency.
•    Be sure to call the office by 9a.m. if your child is ill.  If your child was seen by doctor please send in the doctor/medical note when your child returns to school.  Notes to school must include parent and student’s first and last names, teacher’s name and MUST BE DATED.
•    Please pay your school fees if you have not already done so.  Fees for kindergarten are $15.  Fees for grades 1st and 2nd are $45 and 3rd thru 5th are $30.   Checks should be made out to Mound Elementary and sent to the office.
•    Be sure that your child is dressed for outdoor play, i.e., tennis shoes.
•    Don’t forget to clip your Box Tops 4 Education along with Labels for Education.  We collect both all year long.  Box Tops for Education is sponsoring the EXTREME DREAM SWEEPSTAKES.  Please visit www.boxtops4education.com/extremedream and enter our school for a chance to win 100,000 Bonus
       Box Tops!  Enter everyday until April 9th to give our school a chance to dream!
•    We’re still collecting can tabs to be given to the Ronald McDonald House.
•    Please continue to send in your empty ink cartridges for recycling.

Mound is proud to recognize fourth grader, Brendan Smith for his participation in the Autism Walk   Brendan is also volunteering before and after the walk as part of the Target Volunteers.  Setting a goal of $100 for the walk, Brendan has already exceeded his goal with the support of staff and faculty at Mound.  We all wish Brendan well on this venture.
 

Preschool has been working very hard and has some exciting events coming up.  We continue to work on measurement, patterns, and sorting tasks.  We are proud to announce that the preschool is doing very well
with letter recognition and identifying letter sounds!  In the upcoming weeks we are excited to be learning about farm animals, piñatas, and summer-time themes.  
    
Our Mother’s Day celebration will be on May 8th, we are excited to spend this time celebrating the joy that our mothers bring to our lives!

First Grade News!!!

We have been working on money the last couple of weeks. Make sure you continue to practice with your child. We also used touch math money as a strategy to help count groups of change. If you haven’t asked them about touch math for money ask them how we do it!
We will be doing our end of year testing in the middle of May. Please keep reading with your child on a daily basis. We are all working hard to increase our reading fluency and comprehension.
We have a field trip planned for Tuesday June 3rd. You will be receiving more information on that trip soon. Our classes will be going to a program at Aullwood Farm. We went there last year…it was awesome!

First Grade!!!
Mrs. Ludolph and Ms. Fantauzzo

The tulips have bloomed, and our first graders are very excited about it!  This fall, we planted 77 Red Emperor tulips in front of the Mound Elementary sign.  The project was part of an online scientific study sponsored by Annenburg Media.  Throughout the year, we collected tulip garden data and submitted the information to the project website.  Our school was one of 12 in Ohio to participate in the Journey North study.  Over hundreds of schools planted gardens throughout the U.S., Great Britain, France, and Germany.  First graders learned that you don't have to be big to think like a scientist!

Miss Fantauzzo and Mrs. Ludolph's first graders have been busy learning about Energy.  We learned that the amount of sun energy we receive makes a difference to all living things.  The classes explored animal
migrations, plant changes, and the ways humans use natural resources in the winter to keep us warm.  Students are now examining the Water Cycle.  We even made it rain in the classroom!  Next month, we will be
looking at the way we get energy from the food we eat.

News from Room 9!!!

Fourth graders in Ms. Collins and Mrs. Goralski's classes have been learning about the pioneer lifestyle.  Their studies have included the animals, transportation modes, clothing, crafts, and what the homes looked
like on the inside and outside.  This important information has allowed us to create authentic journal writings about being pioneers traveling on a flatboat to Ohio.  Students are doing some amazing writing and
illustrations!

On May 9th at 2:30, Mrs. Goralski's class will be hosting a special Mothers and Grandmothers event.  This has become an annual tradition complete with poetry reading, songs, and snack.  We look forward to dazzling
 our special guests with a special project this year!

Congratulations to our students of the month.  They demonstrated the word of the month "diligence."  Our winners are Emma Kilpatrick and Donald Montgomery.

Please get plenty of rest.  Our OAT tests are coming soon.  A good night's sleep and a good breakfast will help ensure students do their best!

5th Grade Update

    In Aunspaw/Toadvine math the students are busy studying measurement.  This study includes customary units of measurement, the metric system, finding area and perimeter, measuring temperature as well as finding elapsed time.  Students are given a Friday Flip (2 sided worksheet) to review previous as well as current skills. These are passed out on Monday and due each Friday.  Students also will continue to complete Mountain Math on a weekly basis.   We would also like to remind our learners to continue to use Math Magician to practice their facts and to work on Study Island Math in test mode.  The students are working hard and weencourage them to keep up the great work! :O)
    In Language Arts, 5th Graders have been busy preparing for the upcoming OAT test.  We have worked on test-taking strategies and have taken several practice tests, and have gone over them in class, in order to prepare for the actual test. I have encouraged the students to take their time, read the questions prior to reading the text selection, look back in the text and underline the answers, cross off any nonsense answers, and read all possible answers before making their choice. Please encourage your child to continue to use these strategies! In addition to test-prep, students have done very well with inferencing as we have tied
this into our current touchstone novel, Tale of Despereaux.  After testing, we will continue to read the novel and look at the literary elements contained within the novel.  
    In Social Studies 5th graders just finished up a unit on economics.  It is a great unit to study before the OAT test. Traditionally there are quite a few economic based questions on that test and we are up for the challenge this year!  After the test, we are going to gear up for a study of the Revolutionary War.  There are a lot fun things to do with this unit and I am looking forward to it!  
    In science we are continuing to study energy.  We are studying light and color.  We are looking at how light travels and why when we wear black in summer it makes us hot.  It is fun to do science experiments with light and color!  We are also getting ready for the Science Ohio Achievement Test!  We are going to do very well on it and can't wait to show how much we know on April 30!!!  Congratulations to the following students who made all of their Blue Ribbons on Study Island Science since our last newsletter:  Matt Barnett, Ellie Berger, Amanda Sanderson, Justin Wickline, Khalil Abushanah, Danielle Case, and Brooklyn Mikesell!!! Way to Go!!
    And Congratulations to Sydney Fraley and AJ Krzyminski for earning their Blue Ribbons in ALL SUBJECT areas on Study Island!  NICE JOB!!!!!!!!

MOUND PTO NEWS!!!

We would like to thank those who attended the Skating Party.  It was a great turn out and lots of fun!  The next Skating Party is Monday, May 19, 2008 at 6:00 PM.  Once again, the skating party will be at Romar Rink in Germantown.  Since it is the last Skating Party of the school year, PTO has made arrangements with the concession stand to provide a hot dog and drink for every Mound Student in attendance.  In addition to regular door prizes, we will also raffle off 3 pairs of speed skates!  We hope to see you there!  

Our Evening of Adventure at the Boonshoft Museum was a HUGE success!  A great time was had by all!  This event was open to the students and faculty of Mound Elementary, along with their immediate families.  We had over 400 kids of all ages join us on Saturday evening, April 19th.  

We are still in need of a volunteer for the Market Day Program.  This is a wonderful program that we would hate to lose.  Anyone interested in more information concerning this position can contact either Jennifer Vance, or any PTO Board Member.  Thank you, in advance, for your help!