Katonah Elementary School

June 2023

Dear KES Families,

We hope that you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. It’s hard to believe we are heading into the last month of school!!! We still have so much to learn, reflect upon, and celebrate before the last day of school on Friday, June 23.

June’s Community Read:

The True Story of the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ Opal Lee and What it Means to Be Free

Opal Lee is a Texan, retired teacher, counselor, and activist in the movement that achieved in making Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday. On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed Senate Bill making Juneteenth the eleventh federal holiday celebrating when the last enslaved people, way down in Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free. “Opal Lee and What it Means to Be Free is a true story of one woman’s belief that remembering the past is the key to a better future. As Opal Lee brought the story of Juneteenth to the nation, she called Americans of every background to embrace the hope and spirit of Juneteenth- full freedom for all.”

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Pride Month

For the first time this year, all KLSD schools will honor PRIDE Month in June, as you may have read in Superintendent Selesnick’s recent letter. Our District’s Equity and Racial Justice Committee, along with those who serve on our building-level Compact, DEI, and BAM committees have given considerable thought to how to best recognize Pride Month to publicly remind ourselves and our community that everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect, no matter who they love and how they express their identity. All students will notice the PRIDE flag displayed near our main entrance and a bulletin board inside the building that highlights images of noteworthy individuals of the pride community. The book Rainbow: A First Book of Pride will be shared with KES students.

Response to Intervention (RtI):

As part of our RTI Plan, we are administering our last round of benchmarks in reading and mathematics. This is part of the RTI process as per NYS. This data is useful as it informs us about student growth and identifies students’ needs. If your child is receiving services, exits services, or qualifies for services, you will receive a communication from one of our interventionists in the coming weeks.

 Curriculum Updates:

Students in kindergarten will think more actively as they read so that they balance the work of decoding texts and comprehending. They will explore how readers react to books, question what they read, and develop opinions to share with other readers. Children will use what they have learned about letters and sounds to make their reading sound like they are talking rather than reading one word at a time; using phrasing and emotion to make their books come to life. Kindergarten writers continue to use their words to make change by writing about problems in our school, town, and world communities. During this unit, the sentence structure will be reinforced encouraging children to check for capitalization, punctuation, and spacing. In math, students will end the year learning about shapes, analyzing and comparing 2D and 3D shapes, as well as studying measurable attributes. 

Students in first grade will be learning about and alongside the characters in their books. They will be continuing the reading work started last month with a focus on inferential thinking about characters. They will be asked to pay attention to a character's feelings and how those feelings may change throughout the book. Students will be asked to provide text support for the predictions they make and the ideas that the book characters give them. Tied closely to our reading work, the first-grade fiction writing unit will involve creating a character and support characters that are carried through a series of pieces. It will be important that the characters created have parts of their story be consistent (ie. same house, same friends, same likes and dislikes) with new troubles that need solutions for happy endings. Math work will involve subtracting larger numbers. Just like when adding, first graders will use models, number lines and 120 charts as math tools. Finally, first graders will learn about measurement. Started in May and continuing through June, students are counting the days to summer with extra activities that correspond to a letter of the alphabet. Although they are looking forward to "Z-Zipping" off to second grade, their first-grade teachers will miss seeing their smiling faces daily! It has been a great year of learning! 

Students in second grade will be busy in June!  Second grade readers and writers will be coming back from their trip across the solar system. Our eager space travelers will be bringing their research to a close as they finish the final pages of this special informational book. They used non-fiction text features and their great reading skills to find out what is true about space. We cannot wait to share our findings with parents at our ALIEN INVASION on June 13. In math, students are learning about graphing data on bar graphs, line plots, and pictographs. We are continuing with triple digit addition and subtraction. We see math all around us and are excited to continue using our strong math skills to solve real life problems every day! In social studies, the students are learning about USA symbols. It is fun to learn about the history and meaning behind symbols like the American flag, the Statue of Liberty, and the Liberty Bell. And, of course, it would not be the end of the year in second grade without observing the life cycle of butterflies. Our caterpillars will be going through metamorphosis and then we will be releasing them into the KES Butterfly Garden. Just like our butterflies, the 2^nd graders are ready to spread their wings and FLY! 

Students in third grade will finish out the year working in research clubs. These reading and writing units are historically third graders favorite of the year. They will learn to synthesize information across texts, organize what they are learning, and record the information into subtopics. They will engage in comparative analysis and will not only collect facts but will also grow ideas. The culminating activity will be children applying what they have learned about animals to a real-world project, such as creating a better habitat for animals in zoos or investigating why certain animals are no longer thriving in their environments. These skills and strategies will also be used in our science unit where we will be learning about Inheritance and Variation of Traits. In math, third graders will have officially finished third grade math concepts and will explore topics that will help them to “Step Up to 4^th Grade.”

Students in fourth grade will apply all they have learned in our Power and Perspective reading unit to historical fiction book clubs. They will jot ideas about their book in their reading notebooks to be prepared to participate in their book club discussions. In writing, students are excited to publish their graphic novels. They are creating their graphic novels into a book form including multiple scenes with lots of action and dialogue. On June 6th, fourth graders are thrilled to celebrate their written poems and collage work at the Katonah Museum of Art with their families. They have worked so hard on this project and cannot wait to share it! In math we will be wrapping up our last topic on US customary and metric measurement conversions. 

Students in fifth grade will have a very busy month. In addition to all the social activities like Camp Kiwi and our 5^th grade Pool Party, the fifth graders will be continuing to engage in meaningful academic learning experiences. In ELA/Social Studies, students will be continuing their interdisciplinary study of Civil Rights with a focus on Bayard Rustin and other student selected topics of interest. Science will entail students engaging in hands-on investigations. In math, fifth graders will be finishing up projects and activities that require the application of skills learned throughout the year. The fifth graders are looking forward to their visit to John Jay Middle School on Friday, June 2, a 5^th grade kick ball game on June 9, music concerts, and of course Moving-Up Day! 

Teacher’s College Parent and Caregivers Workshop:

Teachers College is offering two workshops for parents/caregivers with TCRWP Project schools on Wednesday, June 14 and Thursday, June 15- free of charge.

 Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 7:00 - 7:45pm EST

What Happens Over the Summer Can Dramatically Deepen and Extend Your Children’s Academic Prowess! 5 Practical Tips for Parents and Caregivers, Grades K-8

 Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 7:00 - 7:45pm EST

If Your Child Finds Reading or Writing Hard, What Can You Do in the Summer to Support Their Literacy Growth? Some Tips for Parents and Caregivers, Grades K-8.

Zoom Registration Link:

https://tcrwp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErfuyurDMrGNY5DllbcV-fcwSvdrckQHWz#/registration

Progress Reports/Parent Portal:

On June 23 at 4:00pm, the Infinite Campus Parent Portal may be accessed to review your child’s progress report for the final period.

Half-Days: See the calendar (below) for the half-day schedule.

• Early pick-up is before 11:15am.
• Regular pick-up time is 12:05-12:15pm.
• Buses will leave at 12:15pm.

Final Day of School: On the last day of school, Friday, June 23, we will have our School-Wide Moving-Up with the passing of the flags and parade for our fifth-grade students.

• Early pick up is before 10:15am.
• Regular pick-up time is 11:05-11:15am.
• Buses will leave at 11:15am.

Mark your calendar for these important dates:

Thursday, June 1           Kindergarten Wildlife Program

                                               1^st Grade Wayland to Muscoot

                                               5^th Grade Instrumental Day

                                               BOE Tenure/Retirement Night, 6:30pm  Reception/7:30pm Meeting

Friday, June 2                  COMPACT, 8:15am

                                              Chorus Concert, 9:30am

                                              1^st Grade Couto/McCormick to Muscoot

                                              4^th Grade Instrumental Day

                                              5^th Grade to MS, 11:00am

                                             5^th Grade Variety Show, 6:30pm

Monday, June 5            5^th Grade to Camp Kiwi

Tuesday, June 6            Kindergarten Planting

                                             3^rd Grade Recorder Concert, 9:30am

                                             4^th Grade Culminating Event at Katonah Museum of Art

                                              PTO Old/New Board Meeting/Chairperson Appreciation, 6:30pm/7:30p

Wednesday, June 7     Kindergarten Erosion Activity

                                             4^th Grade Science Investigation: Light it Up

Thursday, June 8         3^rd Grade Author’s Visit: Ellen Potter

                                             4^th Grade Strings and Band Concerts, 6:00pm

                                             5^th Grade Strings and Band Concerts, 7:30pm

Friday, June 9                Beach Day!!!

                                            5^th Graders vs. Teachers Kickball Game, Upper Field, 9:40-10:40am

                                           (5^th grade parents invited to Kickball Game)

Monday, June 12          5^th Grade Pool Party (Rain Date 6/14)

Tuesday, June 13         1^st Grade Pizza Portfolio Presentations, 10:45-11:30am (Rain Date 6/14)

                                             2^nd Grade Alien Invasion, 9:30-10:15am

                                             ERJC Meeting, 6:00-8:00pm

Wednesday, June 14   Kindergarten Flag Presentation, 10:00am

                                              2^nd Grade Laser Show

Thursday, June 15       Field Day, 9:45am-3:15pm

                                             BOE Meeting, 7:30pm

Friday, June 16             Field Day Rain Date, 9:45am-12:00pm

                                             Early Dismissal, 12:15pm (no lunch served)

Monday, June 19         Schools Closed- Juneteenth

Tuesday, June 20         5^th Grade Moving-Up Rehearsal

                                              Early Dismissal, 12:15pm (no lunch served)

Wednesday, June 21   5^th Grade Moving-Up Rehearsal

                                             Early Dismissal, 12:15pm (no lunch served)

Thursday, June 22       5th Grade Moving Up/Reception, 9:40am/11:00am

                                            Early Dismissal, 12:15pm (no lunch served)

                                            5^th Grade Beach Bash, 6:00-9:00pm

Friday, June 23            School-Wide Moving Up and 5^th Grade Parade

                                           Early Dismissal, 11:15am (no lunch served)

                                          Infinite Campus Parent Portal Opens- access to Progress Reports

Here’s to a celebratory June!

-Cristy and Kweon