Mary G. Porter Traditional School

From the Principal...

Dear Porter Families,

It is hard to believe we are already into December and half way through the second nine week grading period. We have had another productive month at school; we are so very proud of the children and how they are behaving. As I visit the class-rooms, I find active learners engaged in well-planned lessons. It brings us great pride to have the students constantly bringing in their Star Quality tickets to the office. Thank you to all the parents who have brought in prizes for the students and teach-ers. However, we need more! The more prizes we have the more names we can pull each week. Please help us and re-member, you can earn up to 3 of your 10 hours by donating to

the school.

We greatly appreciate the efforts of those parents who are dropping off and picking up their children in the carpool line; thank you for following the procedures. Your compli-ance with this request has made it safer for all of the students. We wouldn’t ask you to do anything that doesn’t benefit the students. However, we are still having several parents dropping off their child prior to our doors opening. Your child cannot be supervised until our doors our open, at 8:45 for breakfast. We will call you to come get your child if your child is here sitting out in front of the school prior to 8:45a.m. We do not want your child to be unsupervised prior to 8:45. My gratitude is extended

to those parents following this policy.

WINTER BREAK will be here before we know it. Friday, De-cember 18th will be out last school day in 2015, we will return back to school on Monday, January 4, 2016. If I don’t see you before, please have a safe, peaceful season and above all, enjoy your children. It has been a joy to be a part of your

child’s education and I thank you for sharing him or her with us.

Be sure to follow your child’s schedule for the school year by referring to the Year at a Glance on our website and be sure to look at your child’s Benchmark IA testing results in their agen-da; as well as keeping abreast of their grades through the School Fusion and Parent Portal system - it is a great tool to

tract your child’s progress and assignments.

I’d like to say again, that it is truly a pleasure to work with all of

our wonderful Porter Families!

Respectfully, Darci Whitehead

All Children CAN Learn…

All Children WILL BE Challenged at Porter

December 2015, Volume 12, Issue 3

For Porter’s UPCOMING EVENTS check out the

calendar on the front page of our website or

click on UPCOMING EVENTS

In The Issue:

1st Grade Update ..................................................... page 3

2nd Grade Update .................................................... page 3

3rd Grade Update ..................................................... page 3

4th Grade Update ..................................................... page 4

5th Grade Update ..................................................... page 4

6th Grade Update ..................................................... page 5

7th Grade Update ..................................................... page 5

8th Grade Update ..................................................... page 5

Life Learners I ........................................................... page 4

Music Notes .............................................................. page 6

PE ‘Gym Shorts’ ....................................................... page 6

PTA News ................................................................. page 2

Spanish I & II ............................................................ page 6

Mary G. Porter Traditional School Principal, Darci Whitehead Assistant Principal, Kaitlyn Engelmeier

15311 Forest Grove Drive Woodbridge, Va. 22191 Office: 703-580-6501 Fax: 703-580-6646 Website: porter.schools.pwcs.edu

SPECIAL NOTE: In our continuing efforts to reduce

printing costs and save trees, we no longer send club and intramural flyers home; since the clubs and intra-murals are mostly grade specific. However, we do publish all flyers on our website under the PORTER

POCKET FLYERS link on the left side menu bar.

In addition to posting the flyers on the website, an-nouncements about upcoming clubs and intramurals are made daily during the morning and afternoon an-nouncements. Be sure to tell your students to listen to

the announcements!

The 2015-2016 Patriot Press

Volume 12, Issue 3 Page 2

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES All current volunteer opportunities can be found on the Porter web-site by click on the VOLUNTEERS link on the left hand side of the Porter website, then click on the VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

link. Here are just a few:

OFFICE GREETERS. . .You can now SIGN UP ONLINE! We

need volunteers to sit at this desk, welcome and direct visitors to the front office. We need coverage EVERY school day f r om 9am - 3:30pm. We ask that you at least work an hour, aside from that, you can work as little or as long as you would like. To sign up, click on the VOLUN-TEERS link on the left hand side of the Porter website, then click on the FRONT DESK Sign up link...and select which month you want to

sign up for!!

CAFETERIA HOSTESS HELP...Any day of the week, the cafete-

ria hostess can use your help! The hours are 10:30am - 1:30pm; you help out in the cafeteria with things such as: opening a student’s milk carton, getting a fork or straw that a student forgot, keeping the stu-dents in their seats, making sure the classes leave at the scheduled time, etc… Best thing about it, is that you just show up, you don’t have to schedule your day. Just sign in at the office, leave your ID,

get a ‘volunteer badge’ and come on down! Try it, you might enjoy it!

INTRAMURAL COACHES NEEDED!... For Any Sport at Any

Grade Level Interested in serving as an intramural coach after school or in the evening? And earn all of your parent volunteer hours! As a volunteer coach, you choose the sport, age group, prac-tice day and time. Mrs. Misencik will help you reserve a space in the gym/on the field, create a flyer, collect the permission forms, and get

started. Please email misencks@pwcs.edu to express your interest.

PTA NEWS President ........... Tracy Stohlman Vice-President ....... Stephany Stewart Secretary .............. Joey Miranda Treasurer .................. Rebecca Arraya

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! THANK YOU to all who purchased from our Honey Baked Ham sale or attended the Middle School Dance. The dance was a great success and lots of fun! Thank you to all the

volunteers that were part of that great event also.

It is still not too late to join the PTA. Membership forms can be found in the front office as well as on the PTA Fusion Page. We encourage everyone to visit the PTA Fusion Page often to stay up to date on events and PTA happen-

ings.

The PTA has joined Remind 101 to get the word out about PTA happenings, via text. Please text @porterpta to 81010 to receive updates on upcom-

ing PTA events.

Please note, there is NO PTA meeting for the month of December. The

next PTA meeting is January 12th 7:00-8:00 p.m. in the school library.

On December 16th, the PTA will hosting the Staff Holiday Luncheon. DO-NATIONS of desserts and Wegman's gift cards are needed. A flyer will be com-

ing home in the Porter Pockets soon.

The PTA wishes everyone Happy Holidays!

PTA upcoming events:

January 19 - PTA Chipotle Spirit Night, 4:00-8:00 p.m.

Please remember to keep clipping and sending in your Labels for Education and Box Tops and continue to check the PTA Fusion Page of all PTA happen-ings and updates!

Click here for a Membership form.

LIBRARY NEWS Students will continue to see changes in our Porter Library with the addition of new centers during their upcoming visits. Some of our newest centers include looms for weaving, bookmark making stations, computer access to eBooks and coding games. December 7th through the 11th, the library will be set-up with special coding stations in celebration of The Hour Of Code sponsored by code.org. Students will participate in the global challenge to create lines of code, aka computer program. In addition, it is our goal by winter break or shortly after the first of the year to have our new Lego and Marble Run wall up. Make sure you engage in conversation with your child to check on it's pro-gress or stop by the library to see it in full swing!

Used Book Sale

Our third annual Used Book Sale will be hosted in the Porter Library December 14th through the 18th. Donations are being accepted for gently used books that would be for preschool through middle school readers. Books will be priced at very economical rates and students will be given opportunities during the regular school day to purchase books. Proceeds of this sale will help to offset expenses associated with the Battle of the Books Clubs. Please contact Mrs. Derra Banks (banksdl@pwcs.edu) with donation questions.

MAKERSPACE NEWS

The first Makerspace after school club has finished for 3rd -5th grade students in Engineering and Construction and we've now begun a middle school club for 3-D De-sign. Information for all club activities can be found on our school Fusion page or the Makerspace Club page. We hope to add an arts and crafting Makerspace club after the first of the year, as well as at least one more Family Night

Event.

We are always looking for DONATIONS for our Porter Makerspace. Check out the latest list of items located on our Sign-Up Genius link.

The 2015-2016 Patriot Press

Volume 12, Issue 3 Page 3

3rd Grade Update...

Reading: This month we will learn how to compare and contrast facts in a story. Then we will work on strategies to help us visual-ize while we are reading. We will learn to question the books that we are reading so that we can always be learning more. We will finish this month by reviewing these new skills through reading Tall Tales and Folk

Tales.

Math: This month we will continue to learn how to multiply and divide numbers. We will do this by using a number line, drawing a

picture, and using an array.

Science: This month we will continue our study of soil and land forms. We will spend time in the Science Lab learning hands on how to create a compost, how to measure

nutrients in soil and much more.

Social Studies: This month we will com-plete our study on Ancient Greece and Rome. We will focus on geographic fea-tures, trades, contributions, and type of gov-ernment they are known for. We will then compare and contrast Mali, Greece and

Rome.

The 3rd Grade Team

1st Grade Update...

It is hard to believe that December is here al-ready. First grade continues to work hard and we enjoying our many areas of study. As the weather grows colder, we will continue to go outside. Make sure that your child has a jacket for the colder weather, and make sure they are labeled with their names. Since we wear uni-forms here at Porter, all of our clothing looks

exactly the same.

Reading -Your child should be reading for at least 20 minutes nightly and recording their time in their agenda. While it is beneficial to hear fluent reading and stories for enjoyment, it is important that they are practicing reading aloud. We have also had a problem with students not returning their guided reading materials. It is difficult to teach a successful guided reading lesson when several students are missing their book. They will no longer be allowed to take home books unless they have returned their

previous books.

Math -We finished up our geometry, patterns and ordinal number unit and have had fun ob-serving shapes all around us. We all had great success on this Ia test. Thank you for helping them review at home. Everyone is off to a great start with subtraction. Continue practicing those

math facts.

Science -Our unit on animal adaptations/nocturnal animals is well under way. The chil-dren are enjoying learning about all the different ways an animal can change to fit into their envi-

ronment.

Social Studies - Thanksgiving has been a great segue into our past/present/future unit. The kids are learning the differences between the transportation, schools, and communities

from the past compared to today.

REMINDERS

Our field trip to the Polar Express is coming up on the 11th. Make sure you have re-

turned their permission slip and money.

Please make sure that your child has a healthy snack each and every day. We are unable to provide one to them, and they are

super hungry by lunch time.

We wish you and your family a wonderful holi-

day season!

Your 1st grade team

2nd Grade Update...

Students became masters of measurement in November! Students explored measure-ment using different tools, such as, rulers, scales, the calendar, various containers, and thermometers. They applied their knowledge through hands-on activities as they explored length, weight, time, capacity, and tempera-ture. Over the next few weeks we will contin-ue to practice our measurement skills and integrate with our science skills objectives. This is a great time of year to reinforce these objectives with your child through holiday

cooking and winter weather.

November marked the start of our new unit in Science, Weather and Water! The stu-dents enjoyed learning about the water cy-cle, researching severe weather, making observations about weather, and recording weather conditions. Students also learned about weather tools and even made a rain gauge. Over the next few weeks we will con-tinue with science skills and integrating these objectives with our unit on probability

and data/ graphing.

Over the past few weeks, we have been very busy in Second Grade. In Social Studies, we have been discussing and learning about communities of the past and present, how they change over time, and how diverse they can be, but also what unites us as Ameri-cans. Many students completed a map of their community which incorporated the parts of a map. We had some great looking maps and the students enjoyed orally presenting their neighborhood maps. In the coming weeks we will be exploring each students’

ethnic origin and family traditions.

Students have been integrating their persua-sive writing skills with our social studies content. We are continuing to become better readers by using different reading strategies, including visualizing, determining im-portance, and asking questions. The stu-dents are becoming more independent at applying these strategies successfully. Please encourage your student to practice

these strategies during their nightly reading.

Please encourage your student to continue using their Star Qualities to sparkle with the

season!

The 2nd Grade Team

Be sure to check

your teachers’

School Fusion

sites.

The 2015-2016 Patriot Press

Volume 12, Issue 3 Page 4

5th Grade Update...

Math: We are exploring the relationships between fractions, decimals, and percents. Students should be studying their fraction/decimal flashcards. The main focus is for students to compare and order fractions, decimals, and mixed numbers. Our unit

test will be Thursday, December 17th.

Writing: Students will continue to focus on written expression through voice. Sequence of events with an emphasis on transitional words will continue. Writing and Reading will be integrated through book letters, where students will be required to write more well developed paragraphs to summarize their cur-rent reading novel. Students’ MLK papers have been submitted to the annual competition. Notification will go out if we have a grade level winner. Mechanics and Vocabulary: Students will actively participate in punctuation practices such as apostrophes, contrac-

tions, possessive nouns, and commas.

4th Grade Update...

In Language Arts we are working with non-fiction, identifying the structure and features of non-fiction text. We have been working on writing paragraphs with a strong topic and concluding sentence and writing with vivid verbs. The students are participat-ing in reading and writing centers along with guided

reading and writing lessons to develop these skills.

In Math we have started our unit on multiplication and division. During this unit students will learn to multiply 2 digits by 2 digits and 3 digits by 2 digits as well as long division with and without remain-ders. The students will also be learning strategies to

solve multi-step word problems.

We have begun our unit on life in the Virginia colo-ny. Students will learn the importance of agriculture on slavery; describe how the culture of colonial Virginia reflected the origins of European immi-grants, Africans and Americans Indians; explain the reasons for the relocation of the capital; describe how money, barter and credit were used; and de-

scribe general everyday life in colonial Virginia.

Our study of ecosystems is finishing up and our next unit in science is plants. The students will in-vestigate and understand basic plant anatomy and life processes. Students will be focusing on the structures of plants and their functions, photosyn-thesis, and how the role adaptations play in a plants’ life. We will continue to work with Mrs. Reck

in the “Brain Lab” during this time as well.

The month of December will be a busy month. It is important that students stay focused and persevere on the concepts we are covering. Please remember to check the school fusion page for announce-ments, important dates and website links to practice

skills learned in the classroom.

Your Fourth Grade Team

Life Learners I

Welcome to December! We enjoyed our break and are now hard at work in the classroom!

Reading: we are working on making prediction and connections to the stories that we read. Third and Fourth grade students have been working on learning the difference and identifying cause and effect and fact and opinion. We continue to work on main idea, story elements, and

sequencing and summarizing.

Math: we have learned all about money, specifically coins and their values. Students are start-ing to learn to count nickels and dimes. Students are also learning about different types of graphs and learning to gather and interpret data from those graphs. Some students are also creating their own bar graphs. Third grade students began their unit on multiplication and divi-

sion and are working hard to memorize their multiplication facts.

Writing: we have moved away from narrative writing and are now learning all about persuasive writing. This year students will write about their favorite season and explain why, their favorite holiday, indoor recess vs. outdoor recess, and writing a letter to a person of their choice de-

scribing something they want.

Science: Second grade has started their unit on living systems. Over the next few weeks they will be learning all about living vs. nonliving, habitats, and things plants and animals need to survive. Third grade is beginning their unit on Soil, where they will study different types of soil, describe soil characteristics and the different soil layers. Fourth grade is learning all about the Scientific Process and will be completing a yearlong project with Mrs. Reck in the Science Lab

studying the Chesapeake Bay.

Social Studies: Second grade, has been studying communities past and present, and how they change over time. Students are also learning how to read maps and the names and loca-tions different continents and oceans. Third grade has learned all about Mali, and has moved on to learning about Greece and Rome. They will focus on geographic features, contributions, and the different types of government. Fourth grade is learning all about the Virginia colony

and its agriculture, and the process of bartering and trading.

We are looking forward to our field trip to see The Polar Express Play this month!

Miss Cross

Reading: Literature Circles will continue on a weekly basis. Inferencing and visualizing will contin-ue. The incorporation of more non-fiction articles from various National Geographic magazine articles will be explored. Students worked very hard and did a great job with their first Book Pro-

ject assignment! Keep up the great reading!

Social Studies: Students will continue to study the Midwest geography to focus on the physical features of the region, particularly the rivers and the Great Lakes. Students will also learn about the region’s Cultural Characteristics, Natural Resources, and Economic Activities. Please refer to

the curriculum on our fusion page to begin studying for the test.

Science: In Science, students have illustrated & labeled structures and functions of plant and animal cells. They will also group organisms into categories, using their characteristics: plants (vascular and nonvascular) and animals (vertebrates or invertebrates), as well as naming and describing two common examples of each group. Students will be tested on the Cells and Living

Systems on THURSDAY, 12/10/15.

Technology Integration: The International Hour of Code is celebrated the week of December 7. Students will be joining Ms. G-C in the computer lab for an introduction to coding. Please check out https://hourofcode.com for different ways you can explore coding at home. We will also be

using an online simulation to study weather.

UPCOMING TESTS: Plant Cells, and Fractions and Decimals Math Unit

The Fifth Grade Team

The 2015-2016 Patriot Press

Volume 12, Issue 3 Page 5

6th Grade Update...

Language Arts: This month brings on more exciting adventures in the area of Nonfiction, to include new literature circles. Students received new books in the genre of Histori-cal Fiction and have already begun working with their groups. To join in with our History class, the books are focused on the time period of the American Revolution. Students are given time to read and work during class and they should also be reading these books at home in order to not fall behind and to also be able to offer meaningful contribu-tions to the other members of their literature circles. We will be finishing up our Nonfiction unit right before we leave for Winter break

and picking up with review in the New Year.

Science: Right now we are learning about the metric units of Mass, length, Volume and temperature, then we will take our unit test on this unit to assess our learning. The next unit we shall begin is "The properties of water", which make it a universal solvent. We shall have a couple of labs to under-stand Cohesion, Adhesion, Capillary action etc. We shall also find the scientific reasons

for Water being a Polar molecule.

We also would like to thank all parents for supporting their kids in their science fair

projects.

History: As 6th grade enters December and moves towards the new year, we wrap up our unit on Colonial America and will begin explore the American Revolution. Students will continue to improve upon their skills of historical thinking as they analyze primary sources related to who fired the first shots at Lexington, and other American Revolution-ary events. Please continue to check Fusion, Edmodo, and Parent Portal to keep up with announcements and your child's progress!

Thank you.

UP and COMING *Field *Please visit our School Fusion page (www.pwcs.edu/porter) for more updates and information on trips, homework, and what we will be studying each month.

The 6th Grade Team

7th Grade Update...

Language Arts: Winter has begun and as the days shorten I hope you find a nice warm and

cozy place to read.

We have continued our theme of "My American Dream", with our classroom novels as our main characters make their way to America. Just as our characters find their strengths , we do the same through reading and writing. WE will focus on nonfiction and text structures - Internal and

external.

Our reading will blend Fiction and nonfiction choices while we continue our descriptive writ-ing and investigate the narrative form. I look forward to the holidays and hope that everyone

will enjoy their time with family.

Life Science - We just finished learning about Diffusion, Osmosis, Photosynthesis and cellular Respiration and now we shall be learning about the Cell division and its importance for multicel-lular organisms. Once we are done learning about Mitosis and Meiosis, we are looking for-ward to find answers to the questions related to Genetics to understand "why are we similar to our parents and siblings but different from one

another?"

I also would like to thank all the parents for their support and understanding in supervising the

Science fair experiments at home.

Math: We have started "Proportional Reason-ing," a unit that will take us to early January. We're learning about how we use proportions in real life, including to find discounts and taxes on things we buy at the store. This unit includes a big project on Room Design. Students will be designing a room for a client; producing a scale drawing; shopping for furniture (to be purchased at a discount, of course); maintaining a check-book to keep track of their spending; and bring-ing the whole thing in under budget. After this, students should be able to calculate the amount of tip at a restaurant as well; feel free to enlist

their help.

Social Studies - As we enter December and look ahead to the new year, students in 7th grade history are wrapping up learning about the Progressive Movement and moving into the unit, The Role of the United States in global affairs. Students will continue to use their skills of historical analysis to investigate events relat-ing to the unit under study. Please continue to check Edmodo, Fusion, and Parent Portal for

class announcements and updates. Thank you!

The 7th Grade Team

8th Grade Update...

Language Arts: our scholars are growing by leaps and bounds in Ms. Pollini's class! Last month, stu-dents tried their hand at poetry using online tools from Read, Write, Think. This month, we began to read The Giver by Louis Lowery. We just complet-ed our first literature circle book and are working to create a playlist to match their novel’s characters, theme, favorite scenes, and more! Don’t forget to ask your scholars about their Language Arts class discoveries related to The Giver! And, coming up: Short stories by Edgar Allen Poe and Shirley Jack-

son – the suspense is killer!

Civics: 8th graders are working hard as we near the end of the year. Student teams have been re-searching the process for creating an amendment, and are now creating their own amendment to pre-sent to their classmates for ratification. Several groups have already expressed that they didn’t realize it was such a complicated process, which is one of the learning goals for this unit! They are look-ing forward to sharing their presentations to their classmates to see if their proposal becomes the

next ‘28th Amendment’ to the Constitution.

Science: students just completed a very in-depth examination of the periodic table and atomic bond-ing. This information will serve them well into their academic futures with biology and chemistry in high school. Especially, since they finished very strong on their unit test for the Periodic Table of Elements and Atomic Structure. They broke some records with our testing of this unit. I have never seen so many 100% and high 90% before, great job to our 8th graders. We are now on to our next endeavor, “changes in matter”. This unit will begin with nucle-ar fusion and fission. As class we are going to in-vestigate what is radiation and review its pros and cons as an energy source. We are also going to get the chance to get back into some really hands on science labs with “clues to a chemical change”. We will be reviewing the properties of a chemical change and how to recognize when a chemical

change has taken place verse a physical change.

Algebra I We are nearing the midterm of our sec-ond quarter and doing very well up to this point. We have just completed our Unit 5 Exam on Equations of Lines. Students finished the unit up by creating their own “Quilt Projects” by graphing lines and coloring in their work to make their own unique de-signs. We are beginning to work on Unit 6, Solving Systems of Equations and Inequalities, and should be finished with this when we get back from break in

January.

In Pre-Algebra, we are continuing to work on Unit 5, Problem Solving. We will finish this unit up when we return from the winter break as well. Students will continue to learn about real life situations deal-ing with simple interest, proportions, mark-ups, and

discounts.

The 8th Grade Team

The 2015-2016 Patriot Press

Volume 12, Issue 3 Page 6

The Prince William County Public School Division does not dis-

criminate in employment or in its educational programs and activi-ties against qualified individuals on the basis of race, color, national

origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, age, veteran status, or disability.

GYM SHORTS During the month of November, all 1st-5th grade PE students got into the holiday spirit and played “The Thanksgiving Feast Relay” game where they practiced setting the table and preparing a healthy meal. The objective of our interac-tive relay game was catching, throw-

ing, running and a lot of teamwork!

4th and 5th Graders - We recently finished our first round of fitness tests! We will be testing throughout the year so please encourage your kids to continue working on their push-ups, sit-ups, modified sit and reach and aerobic endurance (running). The 4th graders started with soccer skills and will begin playing a variety of different soccer games through the month of December! The 5th graders continue to enjoy some competitive team games and will start a pedometer unit in December. All the classes took a break to play our fun

Thanksgiving Feast Game!

7th Grade - The 7th graders recently finished their first round of Fitness Tests. Parents may view their child’s Fitness Scores on Parent Portal and the Testing Procedures on the 7th grade PE School Fusion page. The Fitness Pre-Test scores were submitted and we will begin Fitness Post-Testing after the Winter Break. Please encourage your student to practice push-ups, curl-ups, and stretching at home so your

child can improve his/her scores to show progress.

6th & 8th Grades - At the beginning of the 2nd marking peri-od, the 8th Graders began their Carolina Ball Unit. This is a fast paced game that involves strategy, team work, incorpo-rates catching & throwing skills and can quickly change from an offensive game to a defensive game with one throw or drop of the ball! The students loved it & really did a great job with the competitive games! We have just come back inside &

will now start up our Volleyball Unit!

PE Reminder

The cold weather is here and all Middle School students are expected to bring a hoodie or jacket to the gym on their PE day. Even on chilly days, students run laps as part of their PE warm-up (as long as it is above 35 degrees and not too windy). Please make sure your sweatshirts and jackets are well marked! Using a permanent marker to write your child’s name on the label will help ensure the lost item getting re-turned to the owner.

Keep Moving and Stay Fit!

Mrs. Misencik and Mrs. Yeatts

7th

/8th

Grade Spanish

¡Hola! In Spanish 1 we are finishing up Unit 2, Describing Self and Others / Expressing Likes and Dislikes, students will have their 4 part assessment before we leave for winter break. We will also be diving into the true present tense, learning many new verbs that will help expand our vocabulary and conversational abilities. I look forward to the month

to come!

Level 2 Spanish - as we are finishing up the present tense, I am excited to announce that in the month of December students will finally begin learning the preterite tense (the Spanish past tense.) This tense is one of the most challenging of the Spanish language, however students will tremendously increase their speaking, listening, reading, and writ-ing abilities. This tense is also one of my favorite to teach, as I enjoy hearing about what my students have done in the past...whether it be yesterday or 5 years ago! What an

exciting month ahead! Thank you and Happy Holidays!

MUSIC NOTES We enjoyed seeing everyone at our Winter Chorus Concert on Tuesday, December 8th! The singers worked very hard and this was a great evening of music. We will be pre-

senting selections from that concert at an all school assembly on December 18th.

A REMINDER to middle school chorus singers to keep track of your chorus uniform for our future performances. It is your responsibility to return your three uniform items at

the end of the school year, so put them in a safe place at home.

1st graders have been learning about quarter notes, eighth notes and quarter rests in

music class. We have even been practicing writing our music notation!

2nd graders have been singing about counting money and love to sing the money song

from ABC Mouse.

3rd graders have passed their second recorder karate belts and are working on Jingle

Bells and Dreidel Song.

4th grade music classes have been singing about Jamestown. We have been dancing

and playing the recorder to Jenny Pluck Pears, an English Country Dance.

5th Graders are all “Jazzed up” as they have been learning about Jazz using Discovery

Education and Board Builder.

Middle school Orchestra will be presenting their Winter Concert Thursday December

10th at 7:00pm in the Porter Cafeteria. A variety of music will be performed by students

from grades 5-8. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Middle school Band will present

their Winter Concert Tuesday, December 15th at 7:00pm in the Porter Cafeteria. The Jazz Band and Pep Band will perform along with 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades. Looking forward to seeing every-

one there.

Select groups will be presenting two pieces of music at the school assembly December

18th. The groups included will be, 7th & 8th grade orchestra, Pep Band and Jazz Band.