BUBBLES’ BLOG

MAY 2016 NEWS

S. B. BUTLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

IMPORTANT DATES / EVENTS

Tues, May 10th Teaching & Learning Initiative 1:12pmEarly Dismissal for Students

Tues, May 17th Final PTO Meeting of the Year – Media Center 6:30 – 7:30pm

Fri, May 20th 5th Grade Class Trip

Fri, May 20th After-School Bingo 3:30 – 4:45pm

Tues, May 24th ART NIGHT! 5:30-7:30pm2nd Grade Play 6pmChorus Concert 6:45pm

Mon, May 30th Memorial Day – No School for Students & Staff

Wed, June 1st Spring Band & Orchestra Concert 6:30pm

Thurs, June 2nd FIELD DAY – All Day

Mon, June 6th Cinderella … If the Shoe Fits 6pm

Fri, June 10th LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS!! 1:12pmEarly Dismissal

PRINCIPAL’S CORNER

Dear S.B. Butler Families,

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and what better way to say thanks than with a beautiful geranium. The S.B. Butler PTO will be selling red, salmon, pink, and white geraniums for only $6.00. All orders are due Tuesday, May 3rd. The pick-up date is Friday, May 6th. I would like to wish all of the moms in our S.B. Butler community a very happy Mother’s Day.

As part of our Character Education program, Nathan Johnson and Kayley Dioquino were selected to be “Principal” for a day. Both students spent a good portion of their day with either me or Mrs. Porter. Although they didn’t make major changes to our daily routine, many students diligently tried to persuade them to extend recess for an hour! Their good character and work ethic is a great model and inspiration to everyone at S.B. Butler. I look forward to choosing another pair of “Principals” before the end of the school year.

Lastly, I would like to thank our PTO, the many volunteers and presenters, and Amber Haugeto for organizing the Science and Math Evening held on April 27 at Butler. The night was very well attended and the students had a blast! We had everything from owl pellets to steam engines! It was great to see students excited about science and math, while spending time with their families.

In Partnership,

Steve Wheeler

Health RoomMrs. Grater & Mrs. Donnel

Poison Ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac are plants to be aware of during spring and summer months. Exposure can happen with direct contact, indirect contact (touching pets, gardening tools, sports equipment), or airborne contact by burning plant. A rash from poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac is caused by oil found in plant. When this oil touches your skin it often causes an itchy, blistering rash. Most people can treat the rash at home. However, if you experience any of the following symptoms you may need to see a doctor immediately.

You have trouble breathing or swallowing The rash covers most of your body You experience swelling, especially if eye lids swells shut The rash develops on your face

To treat a rash from poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac and help stop itching, dermatologists recommend the following:

Immediately rinse your skin with warm soapy water Wash your clothing Wash everything that may have oil on its surface Do not scratch, scratching can cause infection Leave blisters alone Take short warm baths Consider calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream Apply cool compress to itchy skin

Have fun and use good judgment. Be aware of plants that have 3 leaves. If you are not sure what the plant is – do not touch it. Be safe and enjoy the outdoors.

Kindergarten HappeningsMrs. Horler & Mrs. Whitten

Kindergarten classes are as busy as ever!

This month, we will focus on a new writing style for Kindergarteners: opinion and persuasive writing. We will be focusing on this new genre until the end of the year. We will learn about pond life in science and wrap up that unit with a field trip to the Nature Center. We will also begin our integrated unit about living in a coastal community. In math, we continue to practice our addition and subtraction to become fluent and we will learn about measurement (linear and volume) and 3 dimensional shapes.

We hope everyone gets a chance to grab a book and read outside!

First Grade Mrs. Celtruda & Mrs. Grigg

As we approach the end of first grade, we are so excited to see how our first graders have grown! They have all become such accomplished readers, writers, and mathematicians!

In writing, the children are having fun writing their own adventurous fictional stories. They are learning to describe their fictional characters and setting, as well as create a problem and solution for their characters.

In science, we will be spending the rest of the year exploring life cycles of plants and animals.

Second Grade Mrs. Bailey & Mrs. Westkott

Solids and Liquids is our focus in science. The experiences will help students to develop an understanding about how materials are similar and different from one another and how the properties of materials relate to their use. They will conduct investigations to find out what happens when solids and water are mixed and when liquids and water are mixed. They will gain firsthand experience with changes caused by heating or cooling.

We completed our Unit on telling time to the nearest five minutes, graphs and data. The focus in Unit 6 is 3-digit addition and subtraction with regrouping.

Poetry is our new focus in writing. We will teach students that poets see the world through special lenses. They will see with both their hearts and minds, writing about the world in fresh, unusual ways. We will discuss how poets choose topics that mean a lot to them. The

children can apply the concepts they learned through small moment stories, teaching books and opinion writing to their poems.

Grade Two team

Third GradeMrs. Gwaltney & Mrs. Zuliani

We’ve had a productive month in third grade. It’s hard to believe there are only two months left in the school year!

This month, we partnered up with Fitch High School students for a special writing/art project. Third graders wrote poems inspired by the photographs created by high school students. The photographs were inspired by the works of Eric Carle. Third graders chose a form of poetry to represent each piece of art. The collaboration was a fantastic opportunity for the kids and the final products are amazing!

In Math, we continue to focus on different forms of measurement. Elapsed time problems can be tricky for third graders. Ask your child about the mountain, hill and rock strategy to solve for

elapsed time.

Warmer weather brings more after school activities for many kids. It’s time to remember good homework routines and strategies. Help children plan out their week so they do not have too much to do in one night. We look forward to many events in the final months of school. Check out our newsletter for important upcoming dates!

Fourth GradeMrs. Burdick, Mrs. Genovese & Mrs. O’Connell

We will begin literature circles in our classrooms. The students will meet in book clubs to have rich discussions on group selected literature.

In math our focus will be on measurement and geometry in Math Expressions. Please continue to have your child practice multiplication and division facts for ten minutes each night.

We will be focusing on force and motion for our next science unit. The fourth graders will have the opportunity for hands on discovery when they design and build vehicles.

Fifth GradeMrs. Hubbard & Mrs. Wilson

Spring, Finally!Spring is finally here! Our fifth graders continue to be very busy students. In our Math unit, we are presently learning to convert different units of measurement. In Reading, we are working to compare and contrast different texts and characters. In Writing, we are finishing up our argument unit and moving into poetry.

Our recent Invention Convention was an exciting time for all of our fifth graders. Each first and second place winner attended the Connecticut State Invention Convention which was held in Storrs, CT on Saturday, April 30th! Upcoming events:

May 9th - Fifth grade will be visiting the Treworgy Planetarium at the Mystic Seaport.

Our Annual Fifth Grade Field Trip – we will be heading to Old Sturbridge Village on Friday, May 20th. Details will be sent home soon!

Cutler representatives will be visiting at the beginning of the month to answer questions from your incoming sixth graders. We will be visiting Cutler shortly after.

Math NewsMrs. Fleming

Math homework is meant to reinforce concepts that have already been taught in class, but sometimes students might understand how to do something in school, but when then go to work on their homework it’s a struggle. Here are some tips to help with math homework:

Ask your child to explain what they are supposed to do. This will show if he/she just needs a little bit of assistance to get going or if he/she doesn’t understand the concept at all and needs additional instruction.

Your child can ask a friend from his/her class to be a homework buddy and they can work together, chat, or even FaceTime about what they need to do to complete the assignment. Older siblings are also a great resource!

There are some terrific websites available to help out too! Math Expressions has a site with lots of helpful information: www.eduplace.com. Another terrific site that offers tutorials in just about every math concept out there is Khan Academy which can be found at: www.khanacademy.org

If your child becomes frustrated or really just doesn’t understand the homework you can always write a note or send an email to your child’s teacher or the math specialist so she knows that your child may need some re-teaching or clarification.

PEMr. DeMario

Jump Rope for Heart was a great success. Almost all students in the building were able to participate and as a school, we raised $3622.00 for The American Heart Association. Awesome job Butler students!! A big THANK YOU goes out to Mary Hatfield and Nancy Clang for dealing with all the paperwork, money and the puppies!

Now that the weather is warm, PE classes will be going outside more frequently, so please be sure your child dresses for the weather and for being active outside (sneakers, shorts, pants rather than sandals and skirts, etc.)

Also, Thursday, June 2nd is Field Day at S.B. Butler. We will be needing volunteers to help out before, during and after the event. If your available and want to help out, please keep June 2nd open. If you have any ideas, thoughts or comments to share with me, please do get in touch.

ReadingMrs. Fridinger & Mrs. Pombrio

Books, Books, Books!Students in reading classes have had lots of reading going on!

Fifth graders are reading a great book called Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis which takes place in the 1930s during the Depression. They’ve learned much about Hoovervilles, orphanages, bread lines, riding the rails and what is means to belong.

Fourth graders just finished reading a most appropriate book for them by author Judy Blume called Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. It’s a fun book full of sibling rivalry, feeling left out, jealousy and learning to live with a younger brother who is quite a handful and seeks attention at every turn!

The third graders enjoyed reading a book called Shoeshine Girl by Clyde Robert Bulla, about a nine year old girl who was sent to her Aunt’s house for the summer because of a sick parent. Learning to work for what you want and achieving a goal was a great lesson learned in this book.

In addition to reading these books, students take part in lively discussions and written activities related to what they’ve read, citing evidence in their books to support their ideas, thoughts and opinions.

My goal always… is for each student to meet reading benchmarks for their grade level and to become lifelong lovers of reading as I am!

Mrs. Fridinger, Reading Specialist

Smiles for Nicaragua!Thank you to all who donated to our SBB Toothbrush and Toothpaste Drive. Your generous donations amounted to 1,566 items: 885 tubes of toothpaste, 665 toothbrushes and 16 containers of floss! My son and I delivered these dental items to Nicaragua during spring break where we served on a HOPE Worldwide Medical Brigade. Many lives were touched by your donations, thank you!

Many Nicaraguan children at the Medical Brigade were in extreme poverty, however some were there as volunteers with HOPE Worldwide and they have access to computers and the internet. Butler students now have the opportunity to be Pen Pals with students in Managua, Nicaragua via my enrichment website. Butler students can handwrite letters or send typed letters to my email address: dpombrio@groton.k12.ct.us . I will scan handwritten letters and I will be the one to upload all correspondence to the “Letters TO Nicaragua” folder. You can read letters FROM Nicaragua by clicking on the “Letters FROM Nicaragua” folder. Eventually, some one-on-one friendships might develop. However, we will start by writing to the group with the greeting “Dear Friends in Nicaragua,....”. Students should use their first letter to tell about themselves (age, family, things they like and things they like to do).

Additionally, if your child would like to learn more about Nicaragua during the school year, or over the summer, he or she can:

1. Choose a topic from the enrichment site to research.2. Write a report or create a slideshow documenting his or her

findings.3. Use the posted “Checklist for Publication” to be sure the report

is ready to be published.4. Then I will upload the report to our enrichment website for all

to read.

You can visit the enrichment website by going to my S.B. Butler site at:http://www.groton.k12.ct.us/Domain/802 and click the link that is on my Welcome Page.

Or you can go directly to my enrichment link: https://sites.google.com/a/groton.k12.ct.us/mrs-pombrio-s-website/home .

Currently, my enrichment site is all about Nicaragua. However, next year, I hope we will use it to post information about other countries as well. I’m looking forward to our partnership as we learn more about foreign lands, start new friendships and continue making a difference in the world together!

Thank you! From Mrs. Pombrio

MediaMs. Harper

Thanks to the PTO book fair, the library was able to obtain many new titles – both fiction and nonfiction. Thank you PTO! The third and fourth grades have been exploring the website “World Book Encyclopedia” on the Destiny library site. To access this important educational tool for your students:

Go to the SBB website: http://www.groton.k12.ct.us/Domain/1084From Site Shortcuts column select: Destiny Library WebsiteClick on “World Book Encyclopedia”User name: gpsworldbookPassword: Groton

Ask your child show you some of the informational sites within this website. This month the students will also have lessons in Digital Citizenship using the Common Sense Media website and Faux Paws for the younger students.

Art with Ms. WhitcheloS.B.B. Art Show!

It is the time of year for the annual SBB Art Show! This year the art show will be on the same day as the Music concert, May 24th.  Parents, friends and family are welcome to view the art from 5:30-7:30. Students have been saving artwork all year for this event. Please join us as we celebrate these talented young artists.

A little boy in Malpaisillo, Nicaragua holds his new

toothbrush.

Special Education Teachers and Speech-Language PathologistsMrs. Salovitz, Mrs. Harris,

Mrs. Buttermore & Miss Kasparek

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month

Here are 6 tips for clearer and more accurate speech:

1. Say each word LOUDLY2. Say each word SLOWLY3. Before talking, please SWALLOW4. SAY EVERY SOUND in every word5. SIT OR STAND UP straight6. LOOK toward the person to whom you are speaking to.

Music Classes Are Making Lovely Music at SBB!Mrs. Martelle, Mrs. Stevenson & Mr. Schneider

Preschool classes are discovering music through echo songs, call and response, simple songs, rhythm instruments, fingerplays, action songs, and circle games.

In Kindergarten, we are learning music concepts such as rhythm vs. beat, loud/soft, high/low, and fast/slow. Themes include making friends, following directions, letters, colors, numbers/counting, health/safety and shapes. We are also looking specifically at songs for Spring.       First graders are learning about beat, high/low, fast/slow, and loud/soft. Students are also working on creating their own movements and words to songs.  We are also looking at songs for Spring.  In second grade, students are preparing for the 2nd grade play which will be Tuesday, May   24 at 6:00   p.m.      Grade three students are earning belts playing their recorders. In fourth and fifth grade, students are learning about different composers and following listening maps. They are creating movements for pieces of music and have centers they can work on.

The SB Butler Chorus performs two concerts every year. The spring concert will be on Tuesday,   May   24   at approximately 6:45 p.m. , following the 2nd grade play in the SB Butler gym.  These concerts include a wide variety of music plus movement. 

The band and orchestra have been very busy preparing for the final concert of the year! Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, June 1 st at 6:30pm. Mrs. Stevenson and Mr. Schneider will send more details home with their students in May! This concert will feature all of our 4th and 5th grade band and orchestra students, including the jazz band! We hope you can join us for an evening of wonderful music!

“Cinderella .. If the Shoe Fits”S.B. Butler is doing an afterschool enrichment program for the musical

“Cinderella .. If the Shoe Fits”! The 8 week program will culminate with a performance on Monday, June 6 at 6:00 p.m.

Helping Your Child Make FriendsNancy E. Anderson, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Most child development milestones are monitored closely by parents from a very young age. Can my child walk? Check! Use a cup to drink? Check! Jump on one foot? Recite the ABC’s? Check and check! Then there are child development “soft skills” – social and emotional skills that can be harder to judge and even more challenging to teach. Skills like sharing, empathy and respect aren’t instantly obtained, but developed. Perhaps the most basic social-emotional skills children must develop is making friends, especially when they begin attending school.

Friendships are important when it comes to emotional health. To a child, having just one good friend can make a huge difference. While some children make friends with ease, others may need encouragement. Some people tend to think it just comes naturally, and for some children, it does. But for many, it doesn’t.

If your child is shy or has struggled with making friends, there are many things you can do to help. Here are some ways you can help your child make lasting friendships without putting too much pressure on them.

Talk about it. Talk about or brainstorm a list of “friend’s qualities” with your child. Use such concepts as: being friendly, being honest, laughing and having fun, willingness to share, being kind, and learning to place others’ needs ahead of their own. Once your child understands what sort of qualities make a good friend, you can then discuss or even role play these qualities.

Organize play dates or activities. Be proactive in organizing play dates for kids. After-school play dates can support socialization in many ways. Social practices in an after-school environment may feel more forgiving than school. Socializing can be much easier in one-on-one situations. Also, the greatest potential benefit is the creation of a shared experience, a bond that the two children can then build on at school. A shared bond between your child and another child can be formed through choosing enjoyable after-school and extracurricular activities. Connecting through conversation. Since being able to share thoughts and ideas is so important to any friendship, you can help your child understand how to build and maintain a conversation. Remind kids to look for connections between what was just said and what they will say next. Encourage kids to think of conversation as being like a Lego tower; in order for a conversation to keep going and going, the various pieces must connect and fit together tightly. If they don’t, the tower will fall and the conversation will collapse.

Be realistic. Be sure not to have unrealistic expectations of your shy or socially reserved child. Some children are just more outgoing than others. It’s just their personality. Comparing siblings or other children to yours can be dangerous and skew your perspective. But with just a little gentle parental support and guidance, most children develop the social skills necessary to make friends. Be available to listen to your child’s tales of woe from school. Then, rather than just giving your child solutions or new strategies, guide him or her to be the problem solver.

This information is excerpted from PBS Parents article, “Helping Your Child Make Friends.”

Dr. Nancy Anderson, school psychologist at S.B. Butler Elementary School, provides consultation to any parent requiring help for issues related to their child’s educational achievement. Contact Dr. Anderson at nanderson1@groton.k12.ct.us.