uncas network school - norwich public schools€¦ · save the date! uncas network school 280...

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Uncas Network School 280 Elizabeth Street

Norwich, CT

Principal’s Corner Dear Families, Welcome back to school after what we hope was a wonderful and exciting winter break spent with family and friends. The second half of the school year is well underway with our Wolf pack scholars once again engaged in teaching and learning. We are proud of our success thus far and look forward to the educational challenges that lay ahead. We hope that you will find our website helpful and informative http://www.norwichpublicschools.org/. Please feel free to contact me at 860.823.4208 or at [email protected]. Once again, welcome back! Let’s make it a great 2015 together! Sincerely, Jason Foster

Dinner and Magic Show January 27, 6-7:30

Valentine’s Dance

February 11, 2015

Join the Uncas PTO for a fun night of dancing!

Book Fair

February 2-6, 2015

Scholastic book fair at Uncas Network School!

W I N T E R 2 0 1 5

In this edition… Wolf Pride- Page 2

Hour of Code- Page 3

In the Classroom- Page 4

In the Classroom- Page 5

Attendance Team- Page 6

Student Spotlight- Page 7

Highlights from the Year- Page 8

SRBI- Page 9

Class Dojo- 0

Spaghetti dinner with magic show to follow. Contact Uncas PTO!

UNCAS NETWORK SCHOOL WINTER 2015

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Wolf Pack Meetings

Pack Meetings

Part of showing “wolf pride” here at Uncas Network School includes participating in a wolf pack howl! Each morning at the end of announcements, students throughout the school can be heard howling as they prepare for the day. This howl symbolizes our unity as a pack and helps us to prepare for the day ahead.

P: Pride and Present

Be proud of everything you do, come to school

A: Attitude

Have a positive attitude about learning

W: Wise Choices

Always make wise choices

S: Safety and Service

Be safe and help others

At Uncas Network School we use Pack Meetings to get together with all of the students in every grade. Teachers, administrators, support staff and students all get together in the gym to review school rules, receive awards and recognition, howl and have fun. Pack meetings are a great

way to bring the students of Uncas together to celebrate.

Teacher throughout the school can be heard asking the students to “Show Me Your Paws”. When students hear this, they know to put their hands in the air and make a wolf with their fingers. Students are silent and are tracking the speaker, waiting for directions.

Every month at Uncas Network School all six grades get together for a Wolf Pack Meeting.

Read more about it here:

Show Me Your Paws

Wolf Pack Howl

P.A.W.S.


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Students at Uncas Network School Participate in the Hour of Code

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row seat on how to use technology to build things, as well as understand the importance of computer science in today’s world.

Students at Uncas Network School participated in a variety of activities including Angry Birds, where they had to capture the green pigs; Frozen where they used coding to help Anna and Elsa make beautiful snowflakes on the ice; and Flappy Bird, where they were able to design their own game and learn how to make the Flappy Bird flap and score points when he passed obstacles. Overall, the Hour of Code was a huge success and many students left the classroom happy and ready to learn more about coding and computer science!

For more information on coding and computer

science, please visit the following websites!

www.code.org www.madewithcode.com www.codecademy.com

http://www.codecombat.com www.scratch.mit.edu

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Students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade had the amazing opportunity to participate in something called “The Hour of Code” during the week of December 8-14, as part of the celebration of Computer Science Education Week. The Hour of Code consists of a variety of one-hour activities developed by code.org to provide students of all ages with the opportunity to try a coding activity.

“Why coding”, you may ask! In today’s world technology is everywhere. Students are avid users and most of the time they know more than adults do! Although they know how to use it well, they do not know how to BUILD it! The Hour of Code provides students with a front


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In the Classroom Second Grade Second grade students in Mrs. Kenyon’s class recently wrote about what it would be like to be trapped in a snow globe! To prepare for their creative writing they read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and talked about what it would feel like in the snow. They analyzed the book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen for descriptive words and similes about snow. They also wrote one big story about being trapped in a snow globe, going back to the story & adding more details. A main focus in Mrs. Kenyon’s class has been peer conferences and how to ask questions when working with partners. We took Samyrah's rough draft and put it on chart paper. First, we said what we liked about her writing & then we came up with a lot of questions that we had. We looked at the questions and tried to incorporate them together into the story by adding "wings" (new parts of the story/revisions) that we taped to the sides of the chart paper. Everyone contributed and we were able to create a very detailed story! In addition to writing amazing stories the students also had their pictures taken by Mrs. Millerd to actually make a snow globe. Students bundled up in their winter coats and hats and struck their best “I’m stuck in a snow globe” pose. The pictures were cut out and put behind clear, plastic plates with Epsom salt to make it look like they were trapped in a snow globe and couldn't wait to get out!

Third Grade Our 100th day of school is quickly approaching, and third graders in Mr. Barth’s and Mrs. Stefano’s classes are working on a very special project to celebrate the day.

We will be organizing a Food Drive at Uncas School for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. We would like to collect 100 boxes of pasta. The students will be involved in sorting, counting, and graphing information about the pasta. We think this will be a meaningful way to show the children what 100 looks like and help our community at the same time.


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Fourth Grade After learning all about magnets, Ms. Hall's fourth graders are very excited to dive into their electricity projects. Starting this week they will be learning about circuits, and building their own series and parallel circuits, as well as switches and circuit boards. Some students will go further to explore the composition of a light bulb and try to recreate it. In addition, the class has begun their first extensive, research paper on a favorite informational topic.

On October 30th, 5th grade students traveled to NFA for the Red Ribbon Rally. One of our students, Tiffany Lee, was chosen to read her pledge in front of other 5th grade students and teachers: At Uncas Elementary school we pledge to be drug and violence free. We will tell people that smoking is bad for you and your heart. You can get sick and die from drugs. We pledge to always be healthy everyday. The Red Ribbon Rally is the kickoff event for DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) that takes place at NFA every year. The National Family Partnership organized the first Nationwide Red Ribbon Campaign. NFP provides drug awareness by sponsoring the annual National Red Ribbon Celebration. Since its beginning in 1985, the Red Ribbon has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. In response to the murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena, angered parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America. In 1988, NFP sponsored the first National Red Ribbon Celebration. Today, the Red Ribbon serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities. Since that time, the campaign has reached millions of U.S. children and families. The National Family Partnership (NFP) and its network of individuals and organizations continue to deliver his message of hope to millions of people every year, through the National Red Ribbon Campaign.

In the Classroom First Grade January is an exciting time in first grade. In both Reading and Writing we will work on non-‐fiction literature. We will research animals we find interesting and write about the amazing facts we discover. We will also begin a Science unit learning about liquids, solids, and gasses. There are some explorations and experiments your students will able to share with you!

First Grade just finished up a Social Studies unit on Holidays and Celebrations. It was wonderful to learn about many of the holidays that fall between October and January that are celebrated around the world. We learned new games and made crafts to help us understand cultures and customs new to us. It was interesting to compare our local and family traditions to the traditions of others around the world!

Fifth Grade

The Winter Chorus Concert will take place on January 22, 2015 at 6:00 PM.

Music News


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A Note from the Attendance Team

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attendance. These students’ names have been posted on our ‘Paws Up for Perfect Attendance’ bulletin board. Our attendance team also recognized students in each of their classrooms, handing out Perfect Attendance bracelets.

Our second quarter ends January 21st! We look forward to celebrating students with perfect attendance for the second quarter.

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Happy New Year! We are pleased to announce we kicked off the 2015 school year on January 5th with 95% student attendance and 100% staff attendance. Uncas Network Elementary School is striving to have a 95.75% attendance rate for the school year, and we are happy to see that we are having a great start to the New Year!

Each morning our attendance team goes class-‐to-‐class greeting students and collecting attendance. Our mission is to ensure that students arrive at school in a timely and safe manner and are prepared to learn each and every day. We reach out to families of students who did not come to school in hopes of offering help and support in the student returning to school quickly. Attendance falls under the ‘P’ in our PAWS initiative for Pride & Present.

We will be recognizing students who have achieved Perfect Attendance each quarter. During our first quarter from August 27, 2014 to October 31, 2014, 64 Uncas students had perfect


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Student Spotlight Norwich 10U Football Team Wins Super Bowl!

On November 16, 2014 students on the 10U Norwich Wildcat Football competed in the Super Bowl against the New London Whalers at Fitch High School. Representing Uncas were 5th grade students Josiah Williams, Jayden Desilus, Jordan Monteiro Pereira and Treyvon Christian. The Uncas Wolf Pack is very proud of you and your great accomplishment. Let’s hear a great, big wolf pack howl for them! AAAWOOOOOOOO!!

Congratulations to all of our Gray PAW recipients!


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Highlights from 2014 Pumpkintown, Harvest Festival, Gathering of Hearts and Minds, Walk/Bike to

School, Potluck, Showboat the Basketball Player


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Scientific Research-‐Based Intervention (SRBI) Q & A By Sarah Fuchs Q. What is Academic SRBI? A. Scientific Research-‐Based Intervention, also referred to as SRBI, is an educational approach that supports quality classroom instruction for all learners. SRBI supports students in the classroom through differentiated instruction, which is instruction that is presented in a variety of ways, using a variety of strategies so that all students can master their grade level skills. When students need additional support to master the grade level objectives SRBI allows teachers to provide small group instruction with the support of an interventionist. The purpose of the small groups is to work with each student to prevent skill gaps and to help students gain the confidence they need as a learner to reach their goals. SRBI also uses data to place students in these groups and then requires that each student selected for these groups has their progress monitored bi-‐weekly. SRBI is a three-‐tiered approach: Tier 1: All children receive high-‐quality curriculum and instruction in the general education classroom that is differentiated to meet all learners’ needs. Tier 2: Students who need extra help receive additional teaching strategies or methods that are proven to be effective in helping children learn in a small group setting. Tier 3: Students are given individualized or partner instruction frequently using a structured intervention program. Q. How will I know if my child is receiving tiered support through SRBI? A. Many of the children at Uncas Network School participate in tiered support. When each child is welcomed into the SRBI intervention group a letter will go home. The letter will outline the name of the program that your child is participating in and will answer general questions. Q. What if I would like additional information? A. We encourage parents to stay involved in their child’s education and would love to hear from you if you have any questions. Your child’s classroom teacher would be more than happy to provide you with additional information. Q. Will I be notified about the progress my child is making in their small group? A. Yes, every other week each student in tier 2 small group interventions will have their progress monitored. Students in tier 3 interventions will have their progress monitored every week. After students are progress monitored over 4 weeks a letter will come home that includes a graph of their progress. Q. Will my child miss class time to attend their small group intervention? A. Every effort has been made to ensure that students do not miss their classroom reading, writing, and math lessons. In many cases the small groups will be in the classroom so that the teacher and interventionist can work together to support each student. Q. How can I learn more about SRBI? A. At any time you can contact your child’s teacher, Ms. Fuchs the Literacy Specialist at Uncas, or Mr. Foster, Uncas Principal. You can also learn more about this state wide educational approach at WWW.CSDE.CT.Gov

Class Dojo


This year all teachers at Uncas Network School will be using Class Dojo to keep our Wolf Pack happy, safe and on track for

learning!

Class Dojo is a tool that helps: • Reinforce positive behavior and wise choices • Building a community • Fun in the classroom • Technology • Communication with parents •

All classrooms will have a Class Dojo that will be shared with the special area teachers, so students can earn points

everywhere they go at Uncas! We encourage students and parents to create accounts on classdojo.com. With an account students can change their avatar and see how many points they

have earned. Parents can use it to monitor their students’ behavior as well as communicate with their teachers

throughout the day!

uncas network school - norwich public schools€¦ · save the date! uncas network school 280...

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