Granite Street Gazette. January 2025

Pre-K News 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We have been using the Starfall curriculum. It is an online program they use during whole group time with the viewboards. It includes  literacy, math, and theme units. We have started small groups in each classroom three days a week. There are three rotations that include a math activity, literacy activity and fine motor/art activity. Fifth grade book buddies visit each PK classroom once a week. Most of the activities revolve around special events such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President Carter, black history month, etc. We are looking forward to celebrating upcoming fun events that include the 100th day of school and Valentine’s Day. 

Ms. McNally and Mrs. Pangburn 

Kindergarten News

Dear Families,  

We have been focusing on addition and subtraction within 10 in math. Students are also working on blending and segmenting words as part of phonemic awareness. They are learning to read and write short i words.  

Thank You,

Mrs. Hatch and  Mrs. Anderson

First Grade News

Dear First Grade Families,

In math, we have been working on adding and subtracting within 20. The focus for phonics is vowel teams. Part of their literacy lessons involves knowing the difference between fiction and nonfiction stories, introducing nonfiction features: title, table of content, captions, headings, index, glossary, bold words, photos, and labels, and learning how to ask and answer questions for nonfiction texts.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Waite  and  Mrs. Petrin,

Second Grade News

Dear 2nd Grade Families,

Students are working on two digit subtraction with regrouping. They are also working on opinion writing, plural and singular nouns, and subjects and predicates. Their phonics focus has been digraphs (ch, wh, sh, th) and long vowel patterns. They read the book I Wanna Iguana which is an example of persuasive writing that connected their opinion writing work.

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Michaud and Mrs. Osborne

    Third Grade News!  

Dear Grade 3 Parents, 

They read the story “The Moon Seems to Change” with a focus on nonfiction text features as well as main ideas and details. They also used oreo cookies to represent phases of the moon. The writing is informational using the RACE strategy. RACE stands for Restate, Answer all parts of the question, Cite evidence, and Explain your evidence. They finished a unit on using properties to multiple facts 0-10. These include distributive, commutative, identity, and 0 properties. Each student had a piece of a puzzle to color and then had to put them together to form a portrait of Jimmy Carter. In their music classes, they are working with their recorders.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Mooney & Ms. Wheaton

Fourth Grade News

Dear fourth grade families, 

In Math, the fourth graders have finished a unit of multiplications. The lessons included the use of 2 x 2  and 4 x 1 area models, partial products, and standard algorithms. 

Our literacy focus for reading has been figurative language and theme in chapter books. Mrs. Brown’s class is reading The Wild Robot and Ms. DeSilva’s class is reading Fish in a Tree. The writing focus is opinion writing. They have started writing an opinion essay based upon a chosen quote from an African American athlete as part of celebrating Black History month. Their typed final copy will be displayed in the hallway by their classrooms. 

Other learning focuses have included studying Native American cultures and lessons from the DARE program. Officer Edison has led great discussions about peer pressure,  making informed decisions, and  alcohol and drug use.

Warm regards,

The 4th Grade Team

Fifth Grade News

Dear 5th Grade Families,

Our main reading focus has been character analysis and comparison, figurative language, sensory details, identifying flashbacks & foreshadowing, as well as understanding symbolism using the novel The Tiger Rising. The grammar focus has been working on comparative and superlative adjectives and punctuating dialogue. In Writing, we continue to work on opinion writing and strengthening RACE responses with a focus on providing meaningful explanation of textual evidence. 

To honor former President Jimmy Carter, we conducted research, created mini posters from the gathered information, and taught our Pre-K book buddies about him. We also taught Pre-K students about Martin Luther King, Jr. using  a mini lesson as a way to celebrate MLK Jr. Day. 

The focus in Social Studies class has been a Native American History Unit with a concentration on the Tlingit & Hopi tribes. The main focus has been explaining what life was like for different Native American tribes and how climate, geography, and natural resources shaped their lifestyles. 

During science classes, fifth grade students have been learning about the Earth's rotation and revolution. Students made shadow boxes, or sundials, to show how the position of the sun changes shadow direction and length. They also built a  Universe in a Box which shows which constellations are visible during the different seasons. 

In math, we are continuing to work through our new math program. We have completed units on multi-digit multiplication, multiplying decimals, and division with 2 digit divisors. Up next is dividing decimals. Please continue to have your children practice their multiplication facts to help with the mastery of them.
Reminders: Homework is assigned Monday-Thursday every week for Math. Literacy homework is assigned every Monday and is due on Friday. Students also have weekly spelling tests. Families, please aid in the success of your student by checking their binders daily for homework and other important information. Please encourage and remind students to complete their homework and to study their spelling words. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us via the Remind app or email.

Thank you for your support!

- Ms. Lazareva & Ms. Thibodeau

alazareva@millinocketschools.org and mthibodeau@millinocketschools.org

Upcoming Events: 

February 13, 2025 Wear Red for Heart Health Month

February 17-21, 2025 February Break

February 26, 2025 Early Release Day

March 2, 2025 End of Trimester 2

March 9, 2025 Daylight Savings Time

March 27 and 28, 2025 Early Release/ Student Led Conferences

Reminders:

  1. Please remember to stay in the pick up line at the end of the school day and not park in the lot.

  2. Students should not be dropped off at Granite before 7:30 each morning unless your child has chorus practice.


  3. Students should not have cell phones at school. We are also seeing more students wearing smart watches which is causing disruptions in learning. These should be left at home.


  4. Please make sure your child(ren) has proper outdoor clothing for recesses. If they are in need of coats or ski pants, just call the school or contact your child’s teacher as we have some available in various sizes. We also have hats, mittens, and gloves available to students to borrow.