MOTT/REGENT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

JANUARY NEWS

Volume 33, Issue 5 “Committed to Excellence in Education” 1/8/16

From the desk of Mr. ElRoy Burkle

Mott/Regent Superintendent Happy New Year! I hope everyone had an enjoyable, refreshing, and relaxing Christmas vacation. Second semester is underway. Wow, only half a school year remains. Where does the time go? We will be in the thick of things, so to speak, with girls’ and boys’ basketball in full swing, FFA judging, spelling bee, plus so many other extracurricular and intracurricular events. With that said, keep the focus and understand that all of us are busy and frustration may occur. When that happens, please take a moment to breathe deeply (at least three times). Studies are

clear. Deep breathing provides the brain with oxygen which promotes a more relaxed feeling. Something to try during those stressful times. The Vision for the Future committee provided the School Board with a presentation at the December board meeting. Efforts will be made to inform the Mott/Regent Public School patrons of the next steps. Please feel free to attend board meetings or call any board member(s) with your questions or concerns. Legally, I cannot promote a “yes” or a “no”. However, this office can provide information upon request. For those that have New Year’s resolutions, best wishes for success! Respectfully, Mr. ElRoy Burkle, Supt. Mott/Regent Public School

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE Mrs. Deb Bohn

(deb.bohn@k12.nd.us)

Happy 2016! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas break and enjoyed the time with your families. Thank you for all the Christmas goodies that were sent for the staff and faculty to enjoy during the holiday season. Thank you also to the Mott/Regent Boosters for the movie and concessions. The students had a great time and enjoyed the movie. A special thank you to Troy Mosbrucker for bussing the students to the Boosters’ movie on the cold December morning. In an effort to improve system practices, Mott/Regent Public School will be conducting Parent, Student, Staff, and Community Surveys through our school improvement process, AdvancEd, during the month of February. We value your opinion and ask that you take the time to complete this survey so we can better provide services to our students, parents, staff, and community. More information to follow. Please join us for Parent-Teacher Conferences on February 3, 2016, from 3:30-6:00 and 6:30-9:00 PM. A letter with more information will be sent home soon. AIMSweb assessments will be completed January 13-16, 2016. This is an individual short assessment of each child in reading and math to monitor their progress. All results will be shared with parents at Parent-Teacher Conferences. I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

KINDERGARTEN

Teacher: Mrs. Mary Roll (Mary.Roll@k12.nd.us)

Welcome to a new year - 2016! Many exciting memories come from 2015 with all the learning of letters, beginning to read decodable readers, counting numbers to 50, and learning numbers 1-10. Thanks to all the parents who helped at our class holiday celebration and for all that brought delicious goodies to eat. Thanks also for all the beautiful gifts that you shared with Mrs. Coldwell and myself! Your thoughtfulness is appreciated. Thanks to our Kinder-Buddies for helping to write our letters to Santa. It was fun having them read a Christmas story to us and share a treat together. January brings us letters Ee, Oo, Ss, Zz, and Jj. We have learned 17 sight words and will add on the new words he, was, do, what. Please help your child practice all 21 sight words at home this month so they become more fluent in their reading skills. Word cards and game suggestions for January were sent home in their “K” folder. In math the students finished adding and are now excited to be working on subtracting. Please help your child at home with simple adding and subtracting facts up to 5. Our next unit of study is larger numbers 11-20. We have been exploring hibernation and winter in science. In social studies we are working on our personal information: last name, birthday, town and state, and phone number. The students celebrated having read their predecodable books with an ice cream party. Our next reading goal is to read our new books 1-5 and make homemade pizzas! Yummy reading! Happy birthday to Quinn Messmer (Jan.11) and Alex Sturgeon (Jan. 17).

FIRST GRADE Teacher: Mrs. Sherryl Friedt

(Sherryl.Friedt@k12.nd.us)

Happy New Year and welcome back! It was so good to see students and teachers after our relaxing break. Now we are ready to dig in and work. Thank you for your generous gifts to me and for the prizes for our Bingo Party at the Good Samaritan Center. The winners were smiling! Thank you also to those responsible for the Christmas movie. We appreciated the popcorn, candy, and pop. We look forward to this outing every year. The students are learning about numbers between 100-120. They are also learning how many tens and ones a number such as 54 is made of. In English we continue to study proper nouns, such as holidays, days of the week, and months. In science we will finish this unit with a study of different food chains in different habitats. We are finishing our third reading book this week, and we will begin the fourth of five books next week. Please encourage daily oral reading. We have two birthdays in January. Happy birthday to Rowan Prescott on the 1st and to James Belile on the 9th. Recess is more fun when we are properly dressed allowing us to make the most of winter. To take the guesswork out, please label all clothing and boots. Stay warm.

SECOND GRADE Teacher: Mrs. Stella Kienzle

(Stella.Kienzle@k12.nd.us)

Happy 2016! We are back from Christmas vacation relaxed and reenergized to begin the second half of the school year. Our class is now at nineteen students. Chelbie Admidin and her family moved over Christmas vacation so we are now a class of 13 girls and 6 boys. We will be finishing up our handwriting samples for the Zaner-Bloser handwriting contest within the next week. Our top three students with the best handwriting will be announced in next month’s newsletter. The student with the best handwriting sample from our classroom will have their entry form sent on to compete at the state level. Math finds us working on subtracting two digit numbers using regrouping. It makes it a lot easier to do this when we know our basic addition and subtraction facts. We practice these at school, but extra practice at home is always appreciated. We’d like to thank Deb Marthaller and the Booster Club for the Christmas movie and treats! We enjoyed it very much. I’d also like to express my gratitude to my students and parents for the wonderful Christmas cards and wishes. All the gifts were special and truly appreciated. We have three birthdays this month to celebrate. Happy birthday greetings go out to Natalie Wiesinger who celebrates a January 15th birthday, Victor Orozco on January 25th, and to Allison Grist who has a birthday on January 29th. Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!

THIRD GRADE Teacher: Mrs. Jen Greff

(Jennifer.Greff@k12.nd.us)

I hope that everyone had a great holiday break! I also want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I cannot believe that it is 2016 - this school year is going by fast. In math we are finishing up our division and multiplication units. We will be moving on to fractions. Please continue to work on multiplication facts at home! We have been studying the water cycle in science. Next we will be learning about different kinds of weather such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards.

Our class received a set of twenty books from the SunnyD Book Spree. We are always excited to get new books in the classroom! Birthdays! Brendan Kelly - 5th, Will Swindler - 9th, Jonathin Friedt - 11th, Jaden Timbrook - 11th, Ethan Olson - 19th, and Gabb Bullinger - 30th. Please remember to send your son/daughter to school with a hat, gloves, snow boots, and snow pants! Remember to keep reading at home and studying multiplication facts If anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at any time: jennifer.greff@k12.nd.us

FOURTH GRADE Teacher: Mrs. Amanda Ebner

(Amanda.Ebner1@k12.nd.us)

I hope everyone had a safe and fun winter break! December seemed to fly by in a flurry! Thanks to Mrs. Roth for organizing such a wonderful Christmas concert! The week before break was filled with excitement. On December 14th, we sang Christmas carols with the 3rd, 5th, and 6th graders at the nursing home. We enjoyed doing some Christmas math, which involved review of multiplication and division to create festive pictures. Next up: Fractions! We had a lot of fun going to the Playhouse Theatre to watch the movie Inside Out. Our last afternoon before break was spent playing board games and having a class gift exchange. Thank you to all of our parents who brought treats and drinks! Last month we had to say goodbye to one of our classmates. We wish Deilany good luck at her new school!

We received a set of twenty books from the SunnyD Book Spree. Thanks for saving labels for us. As always with the snow and cold weather settling in, please make sure your child has boots, a warm coat, gloves, snow pants, and hat to wear. Feel free to e-mail me at any time: Amanda.Ebner1@k12.nd.us

FIFTH GRADE Teacher: Mrs. Krista Olson

(Krista.Olson1@k12.nd.us)

Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe, but we are already half way through the school year. For reading in our classroom, we wrapped up December with the novel Hound Dog True and will be going back into our reading book for the month of January. We have been working a lot on compare and contrasting of characters and situations, sequencing events, and poetry skills. Book Clubs will start their second novels. They will be finding new vocabulary words and working on comprehension skills as they read and talk about the books they are reading. I enjoy meeting with each group each week, as they are always telling me about something new and exciting they have read in their books. In math we are beginning Chapter 5 on dividing decimals. Please remember that your child has a login to the IXL website where they can go to work on their math skills. This is an excellent website to continue to expand on the skills we are learning in class, and I strongly encourage students to be working on IXL for at least an hour outside of school each week. For social studies we will begin to talk about the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. In science we are discussing force and motion, and for health we will begin discussing friendships and peers. A few REMINDERS:

We have band on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday each week. Please make sure that band instruments are coming to school those days, as we have been having some problems with students forgetting their instruments.

Remember there is NO SCHOOL on

Monday, January 18th as teachers have an in-service and it is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will have an early release on Tuesday, January 26th so teachers can attend professional development.

Please be sure that your child is dressing

appropriately for the weather and that they have a winter coat, gloves, hat,

snow pants, and snow boots at school. The weather is turning colder and the weather conditions can change rapidly throughout the day. Please make sure your child is prepared.

Celebrating a birthday this month is TJ Gaab on January 25th. A huge thank you to Bev Reich, LaPaige Thomas, and Joleen Kautzman for bring snacks for the Christmas party last month. They were delicious and we really appreciated it. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at any time: Krista.Olson1@k12.nd.us

SIXTH GRADE Teacher: Mrs. Becky Qualls

(Rebecca.Qualls@k12.nd.us)

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great Christmas break. We jumped back into language arts and will be working hard on sentence structure, descriptive writing, editing, comprehension, analyzing text, and vocabulary. Writing skills are improving and the students are becoming more comfortable sharing their stories with the class. Spelling words will be available on spellingcity.com. The tests will continue to be split into two sections. The first ten words will be tested on Wednesdays and the second set of ten plus the five challenge words will be given on Fridays. Please encourage your child to study. We go over the words together, but extra practice is always helpful. In health we are learning about communicable and non-communicable diseases. The students enjoy class discussions and sharing their own stories and insights. They have handled potentially embarrassing topics with maturity.

We enjoyed a presentation by motivational speaker and artist Bob Upgren. He spoke to our students about bullying and celebrating each person's unique qualities. Thanks to the Wehri family for arranging Mr. Upgren's visit. We also enjoyed A Christmas Carol, a two-actor play. Thanks to everyone who helped sponsor the event. We had fun at our Christmas party. We had a gift exchange and lots of food. Thanks to all my students who gave me gifts and cards. Lydia Billock, Abby Hill, and Megan Hill celebrated December birthdays. Joseph Bohn, Abigayle Bullinger, and Brandie Clawson celebrate January birthdays.

TITLE 1 Teacher: Mrs. Brenda Meier

(Brenda.Meier@k12.nd.us)

Happy New Year! Hopefully you were able to enjoy the holiday break with your family. All students will be assessed during the month of January using the AIMSweb program. These assessments will indicate how well the students are progressing in the areas of reading and math and the results will be shared at the next parent-teacher conferences. Below are some websites that you may want to take a look at. Recommended Reading List at each grade level http://www.haisin.org/ReadingLists.htm Doing Mathematics with Your Child http://www.math.com/parents/articles/domath.html Family Recipes Kids can Help Make http://www.familyeducation.com/whatworks/item/nogroup-index/0,3002,1-10149,00.html Have a great month and stay warm.

Student Performance Strategist/

GRADE 6 MATH

Teacher: Mrs. Michelle Koepplin (Michelle.Koepplin@k12.nd.us)

As we enter into the New Year, it is a golden opportunity to reflect on what’s important in our lives. While many things and responsibilities consume our lives, we must never lose sight of what’s most important and irreplaceable…the people in our lives. You see things, jobs, opportunities, will come and go, but the people that impact our lives need to be cherished because no two people are alike; therefore, the influence you make on your loved ones is priceless. My wish for you this New Year is to spend less time on the things in life and more time with the people in your life. Joanna Fuchs has written a beautiful poem with this same gentle reminder…

People Like You

A brand new year!

A clean slate on which to write

our hopes and dreams. This year:

Less time and energy on things;

More time and energy on people.

All of life’s best rewards,

deepest and finest feelings,

greatest satisfactions,

come from people-- people like you.

Happy New Year!

ART Teacher: Mrs. Ruth Southerland

(Ruth.Southerland@k12.nd.us)

Happy New Year from the Art Room! Please make sure that you check out our new art displays going up this month in the school lunchroom as well as in the elementary hallways and staircases. Our Kindergarten students have just completed their warm and cool colored watercolor paintings. We will be turning them into something exciting - stay tuned. First grade has just finished talking about landscapes. They have created their own version of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” Meanwhile the second graders have added finishing touches to their Navajo blanket/rug designs. They did an awesome job using Native American symbols to create an individualized paper blanket/rug complete with yarn fringe. The third graders will be working to finish their snowflake designs demonstrating negative and positive space. In the fourth grade, students have begun the exciting adventure of making life-size Egyptian sarcophaguses. They are in the process of labeling their sarcophagi with hieroglyphics that tell about themselves. Fifth graders have just finished self-portraits using oil pastels. Students explored two different drawing techniques in order to create their own self-portrait. Finally, the sixth graders are being exposed to the Cubist Art Movement. They will also be using oil pastels to create their own Cubist drawing. I look forward to displaying all of these new projects at Mott/Regent Elementary in the near future. Wishing you a great start to the 2016 year!

Come celebrate “Peace, Love, and Books” at Mott/Regent Elementary Library! This “Groovy” Buy-One-Get-One Free book fair is where you can purchase two books for the price of one. We will have books for students in preschool through 9th grade and titles for parents as well. Thank you for your previous support for the library. Please join us and help make this book fair another success!

Book Fair Schedule: January 28-29 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM February 1-2 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM February 3 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM (during P-T conferences)

ALERT SYSTEM

The automated calling system to alert parents when there is a change in school routine is again being used. It automatically calls your home phone number and then the Alert Now phone number you listed on your child’s information form last fall. Please be sure to inform the school office of any changes in phone numbers so you receive your call.

Mott/Regent Public School will

promote learning for all people in

a positive, caring atmosphere.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU On behalf of all the students and staff, we would like to thank the Booster Club for providing the popcorn, candy, and pop for movie day. We appreciate your generosity.

Thank you to the students and

parents for the Christmas

goodies given to the staff to

share in the teachers’ lounge.

Everything was very much

appreciated.

Please be sure your

child is properly

dressed for the

weather. Caps,

mittens, boots, and

snow pants make recess more

enjoyable when it is cold.

Save your pop tabs and donate them to the Ronald McDonald house

collection box in the elementary hallway.

January 11 -- School Board Meeting 7:00 PM January 18 -- NO SCHOOL Teacher Inservice January 26 -- 1:30 PM Dismissal Professional Development February 3 -- Parent-Teacher Conferences 3:30-6:00 & 6:30-9:00 February 4 -- Midterm February 5 -- Next newsletter issued February 8 -- Supplemental Educational Services (SES) begins For more information please see the school website

SCHOOL WEBSITE: http://mott.nd.schoolwebpages.com

Mott/Regent Elementary will be saving Campbell’s UPCs and Box Tops for Education this year. Send them to school with your child or drop off at any school office.

Cash Wise Foods Labels for Learning

Please send just the points section of your receipt to school:

Happy birthday wishes to:

January 1 – Rowan Prescott January 5 – Brendan Kelly January 9 – James Belile January 9 – Will Swindler January 11 – Quinn Messmer January 11 – Jonathin Friedt January 11 – Jaden Timbrook January 12 – Joseph Bohn January 14 – Abigayle Bullinger January 15 – Natalie Wiesinger January 17 – Alex Sturgeon January 19 – Ethan Olson January 25 – Victor Orozco January 25 – Timothy Gaab January 26 – Brandie Clawson January 27 – Mrs. Becky Johnson January 29 – Allison Grist January 30 – Gabriel Bullinger

2016

Governor’s Choir

“Snow” Much Music

Christmas Concert

Grade 1 visited the

Good Samaritan

Center and enjoyed

BINGO with the

residents.

North Dakota’s First Lady Betsy Dalrymple

read to the Kindergarten and First Grade

students at Mott/Regent.