RUSD Lake Mathews Elementary Monthly...

November 2018

Dear Lake Mathews Community,

Welcome to November! We are now only a week away from the end

of the first trimester. Teachers are working on the schedules for confer-

ences on November 8 and 9, days on which there are no classes for stu-

dents.

Mrs. Sanchez and Mrs. Ippolito were both awarded REEF grants for

this year. Mrs. Sanchez received funding for her “Stitch in Time,” student

leadership group, and the chorus., Mrs. Ippolito was funded for “STEAM

kinder” and “Kinder-Garden”. Congratulations to them! Students will

certainly benefit from these grants.

You may have heard that we had the play fields closed for a few days.

One reason was that they were treated for red ants. But, the reason to cel-

ebrate is that there were 12 shade trees planted—6 along the edge of each

of the fields. We are thankful to the efforts of PTA and grateful for the

assistance with the selection and planting provided by the district mainte-

nance and operations department. This is such a welcomed addition given

our open space and very hot weather.

I have addressed this before, but again, please be careful and respectful

in the driveway as you drop off students and/ or pick them up. If you need

extra time to load or unload, please park in an open parking spot rather

than holding up the line. Also, please do not be texting while driving in

the parking area. The driveway is congested and we want everyone to be

safe.

Check the calendar at the end of the newsletter as there are several “no

school” days this month.

Happy thanksgiving! Take joy in all of the good in life.

Sincerely,

Pamela R. Williams Principal

Principal’s Message

Inside this issue:

TK News 2

Kindergarten News 2

First Grade News 3

Second Grade News 3

Third Grade News 4

Fourth Grade News 4

Fifth Grade News 5

Sixth Grade News 5

December

Calendar 6

RUSD

Lake Mathews Elementary

Monthly News

Special points of interest: Nov 2—Minimum Day—11:50 am

dismissal

Nov 6—Voting in the MPR

Nov 8 & 9— Parent/Teacher conferences

NO Classes

Nov 12—Veteran’s Day—NO Classes

Nov 19-23—Thanksgiving Recess—NO Classes

Nov 26—Classes resume

NOVEMBER 2018

Safety Note

Dismissal traffic is a chal-

lenge, and we ask drivers to

observe traffic codes and to

use caution. Cars are not to

be in the red curb zones even

if drivers are in the car.

Drivers are asked to be cau-

tious and courteous. Our

students ‘ safety is at stake.

Transitional Kindergarten Talk

shapes. We will then begin the unit on

comparing: length, weight, capacity, and

numbers to 10. We will continue to

delve into a number a week (13-15) as

well as continuing our current unit. By

the end of this unit, students will be

able to recognize and sort shapes by

their attributes. In science, Kinder-

garten students will begin the 2nd tri-

mester studying the topics of matter

and water. Social studies will focus on

the upcoming holidays, which includes

comparing events of long ago with to-

day, as well as focusing on days of the

week and months of the year.

All parents of Kindergarteners are

encouraged to be sure to attend your

child’s parent-teachers conference

scheduled for November 8th and No-

vember 9th. As a reminder, there will

be no school for your student on those

days. We ask that you be prompt, as we

have a pretty tight schedule. The

teacher will share with you the results

of the first trimester and discuss your

child’s progress in kindergarten. There

will be time for you to ask questions of

your child’s teacher. We look forward to

seeing you at your conference.

The Kindergarten Team

Mrs. Mattson Ext. 43545

[email protected]

Mrs. Ippolito Ext. 43524

[email protected]

Mrs. Verango Ext. 43512

[email protected]

Mrs. Rees Ext. 43519

[email protected]

Kindergarten Chatter Kindergarten News

Kindergarten students and teachers

will be busy with special seasonal ac-

tivities and the regular Kindergarten

curriculum. November is a short

month for us and we have a lot to ac-

complish.

The language arts themes for the

next few weeks are, “Transportation”

and “Food”. We will be reading stories

such as: Duck on a Bike, Apple Farm

Annie, and Yoko. Students are contin-

uing to learn letters and sounds (Nn

and Cc), high-frequency words (to,

have), and rules for writing. Parents

are encouraged to practice high-

frequency words with children at

home. Parents are also reminded to

be sure to read aloud with your child

each day.

In the curricular area of math, we will

be finishing our unit on 2-D and 3-D

The Transitional Kindergarteners

are really making progress! They

are now familiar with their rou-

tines and enjoying the various

centers. We have finished our

unit on “Families” and are moving

on the unit “Our Community”.

Our focus on the social-emotional

development of the children con-

tinues with an emphasis this

month on cognitive skills. This

includes sequencing and language

associated with sequencing, as

well as planning and thinking

through a process.

In math we will continue to learn

about solid shapes and the numbers

6 and 7. Additionally, we will be

learning about Thanksgiving and

preparing for our Thanksgiving

Feast.

Parent conferences are No-

vember 8th and 9th. I will share

with you the growth your child has

made during this first trimester

and there will be time for you to

ask questions. I am looking forward

to seeing you at your conference.

As a reminder, school is not

in session on those days.

Mrs.Burch Ext 43505

([email protected])

LAKE MATHEWS ELEMENTARY

Second Grade Scoop

First grade focus

The second graders will be learning many new and exciting things in November! In language arts our students will be wrapping

up Theme 2 “Community Heroes” towards the end of the month. We will continue to work on main idea and details and then switch our

focus to making inferences and compare/contrast.

In writing, we will begin to focus on opinion writing. Students will be able to introduce a topic, state their opinion, provide reasons

supporting their opinion, and write a conclusion. Also, we will be stressing writing in complete sentences with the use of proper conven-

tions.

In math, our young mathematicians will be adding and subtracting within 200 with word problems to 100. Students will be using

strategies for composing and decomposing tens and hundreds. They will continue to use the RACE strategy to solve word problems. We

will continue to review and master previously learned math concepts as well. Practicing basic math facts for fluency is beneficial to our

students’ success, so please work with your students at home by adding and subtracting numbers.

In addition, in November, our 2nd graders will begin to develop a foundation for the study of heroes by studying our social studies

unit People who Make a Difference.

Parent-teacher conferences are on Thursday, November 8th and Friday, November 9th. Details will be forthcoming soon. If you

cannot arrange to be present during the conference time assigned, please contact your child’s teacher to make other arrangements. Par-

ent-teacher contact is vital for our students’ success. Thank you for your continuing support! Please contact your child’s teacher if you

have any concerns or questions.

Mrs. Baca: Ext. 43515 ([email protected]) Mrs. Grova : Ext. 43514 ([email protected])

Mrs. McBride: Ext. 43507 ([email protected]) Mrs. D. Flores Ext. 43510

([email protected])

First Grade News

The holiday season is . . .HERE! P{HEW! First graders are busy learning throughout the season. We will be learn-

ing about special celebrations and holidays around the world. Of course families are looking forward to the

schoolwide holiday performance. We will be busy in social studies learning about where we live. The unit will cul-

minate with a map project created by each student. In science, students will be learning about light and how it

works. Upcoming in language arts, phonics will focus on long vowels, digraphs, and triple clusters (i.e., str-) Read-

ing comprehension will cover story structure, main idea, and compare/contrast. It would greatly benefit your

child to ask them to retell stories they read, or those that are read to them. We will apply what we have learned

about adding and subtracting within 10 to larger numbers up to 20. The first grade team hopes you have a won-

derful holiday season!

Miss Duarte Ext. 43511 [email protected]

Mrs. Nuttall Ext.43519 [email protected]

Mrs. Torres Ext. 43540 [email protected]

Mrs. Wilson Ext. 43508 [email protected]

Mrs. Starr Ext 43509 [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]






Hello Bobcat Parents!

We are moving full-steam ahead in third grade and enjoying our learning journey. Students are ad-

justing to the new rigor of this grade level and pushing themselves forward. Make sure to check their folders and plan-

ners nightly for information that comes home. Here is a snapshot of what we are learning in the upcoming month.

Math: We are cover ing Eureka modules 1-3 which includes units of study in multiplication, division, word problem

solving, and measurement. Reviewing math concepts covered in class and working with mastery of their facts would be

essential as we continue through the next month. Dream Box or other online programs would be a helpful resource to

use.

Language Arts: We will continue our focus on the writing process as we use our RACE strategies. Encourage

your student to write neatly and use good sentence structure. We are building the multiple paragraph essay as we pro-

gress through our modules. Reading nightly and taking AR quizzes weekly will help to reinforce comprehension and

reading fluency.

Social Studies: Our Unit 1 study focuses on descr ibing physical and human geography. Students learn how to

use and read maps, tables, graphs, and charts. They also focus on organizing information about people, places, and envi-

ronments in spatial contexts.

Science: Life Science is the fir st focus in our unit of study. Students will learn about the many different types of

land environments on Earth. They will explore plants and animals that live in each environment and learn about their

special adaptations that help them survive in their ecosystems.

Thank you as always for your continued support and help with our students and classrooms!

The Third Grade Team Mrs. Bambrick ~ Mrs. Flotron ~ Mrs. Steel~ Ms. Sheskey

( x43520) (x43513) (x43523) (x43516)

Ms. Sheskey ([email protected]) Mrs. Bambrick ([email protected])

Mrs. Flotron ([email protected]) Mrs. Steel ([email protected])

Fourth Grade Fun

Happy Thanksgiving to all from the Fourth Grade Team! November is finally here and that means that the first trimester is quickly com-

ing to an end. We will be observing Veteran’s Day on Friday, November 10th, therefore school is closed to honor our veterans. Also,

there will be not be any students in school on Parent-Teacher Conference Days, which are on November 30th and December 1st. During

this time teachers meet with parents, discuss student progress, and pass out report cards.

LANGUAGE ARTS: Our writing focus will continue with informative/explanatory writing. Through expository text, students will learn how

to identify main idea and key details. They will also identify text structure, text features, and author’s point of view in order to compre-

hend informational text. Please continue with nightly fluency practice to build strong skills.

MATH: The fourth grade has recently completed the district MAC test. The AIMS and MAC tests are practice tests throughout the year

to prepare for the end of the year SBAC test. So far, we have completed our focus in number sense: place value, rounding, adding &

subtracting, and decimals. During the month of November, we will concentrate on factorization, prime & composite numbers, and divi-

sion, with a primary focus on multiplication. Mastering the multiplication and division facts is very highly stressed as these skills are

heavily used this year.

SOCIAL STUDIES: For Unit 2 the study focus is: Culture Impacts Who We Are. We will explore how Spanish settlers came to California

and influenced the culture of Native Americans with their own culture.

SCIENCE: Our goal during the next trimester we will be to finish the Life science unit, then onto Earth science. We will be studying

rocks and minerals as well as environmental conditions that change the Earth. Students will explore how the Earth has changed and

continues to change because of various forces.

The fourth grade team would like to remind everyone that we have 4th Grade P.E. outdoors Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Please make

sure your child is wearing appropriate shoes or bringing shoes with them to change. Also, please remind your child to use their breaks

(before school, morning, and lunch recess) to use the restroom so they do not miss valuable instructional time.

Please continue to check with your students nightly for reminders about homework and exciting upcoming events. We also encourage you

to check your 4th grade teacher’s PowerSchool Learning website.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving with your family and enjoy the time off!

Mrs. Beymer: [email protected]; Ms. Howard: [email protected];

Ms. Richardson: [email protected]; Mrs. Smith: [email protected]

Third Grade Thunder





Sixth Grade Summary

In language arts and social studies students are learning how to support claims by citing textual evidence. We are encouraging students to use the R.A.C.E. (Restate, Answer, Cite evidence, Explain) strategy as they answer essential questions related to the standards. We are preparing for the district writing assessment by learning how to write an in-formative essay. We are reading both expository and narrative selections from our Wonders textbooks. Students are learning in social studies about the early civilization of Mesopotamia and the contributions they made. Please continue using the Google classroom website to access important announcements and assignments related to these subjects.

In math, the students are continuing to learn about ratios. They are using equations and tables to solve prob-lems that involve multiple steps. The students are learning how to solve problems involving percentages. Most students have completed several lessons on DreamBox and that is showing in the progress they are making in class. Please con-tinue to have them go on DreamBox often to further develop concepts taught in class. Continue to have them show you Exit Tickets in their yellow math folders to see how they are progressing through the standards.

In science, the students are learning about the layers of the Earth. They are learning how to identify the differ-ent characteristics of the structural layers and how the layers are related to density. They will be able to illustrate and label the layers by the time they complete the lab stations. At the end of the unit, the students will take a virtual tour of the Earth. By the end of the month, we will explore earthquakes and volcanoes.

Thank you for all the donations for Pumpkin Grams. We thank you for all the candy donations and volunteers that helped. We could not have accomplished this huge task without all the support from parents. We appreciate all of your help this year!

If you have any questions for us feel free to contact us!

Mrs. Irvin [email protected] Mrs. Thompson [email protected]

Mrs. Nicholson [email protected] . Mrs. Schulte [email protected]

LAKE MATHEWS ELEMENTARY

Fabulous Fifth Grade

Our school year is in full swing and our fifth graders have been hard at work for over two months now! Our November curriculum will in-

clude the following:

LANGUAGE ARTS

In language arts, we will be focusing on the big idea: What does it take to put a plan in action? Students will be reading stories that ex-

plore this theme of problem solving. At home, students should continue reading a book that is appropriate to their reading level as part of

their nightly homework.

MATH

Our math focus for this month will multiplying and dividing. Students will different strategies to solve such as using an area model and the

algorithm. It is important that students continue practicing their multiplication facts through the twelves, if they do not have them memo-

rized.

SCIENCE

After learning about cells in science, our students have a better understanding of the structure of living things. Our focus will continue to

be life science. Students are currently working on a unit on plant structures, photosynthesis, and respiration. The next focus will be learn-

ing about some of the human body systems including the respiratory and circulatory systems.

SOCIAL STUDIES

In social studies, students will be learning about some of the Native American regional groups in North America along with how their envi-

ronments influenced their ways of life and cultural achievements. After that, students will learn about some of the well-known explorers

along with their discoveries and the reasons behind their expeditions

Have a great month!

The Fifth Grade Team

Mrs. Cervantes Ext. 43542 ([email protected]) Mrs. Sanchez Ext. 43517 ([email protected]) Mrs. Sperry Ext. 43526 ([email protected]) Mrs. Wilder Ext. 43506 ([email protected])





Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

Minimum Day

Dismissal-11:50 am

3

4 5 6

Voting in the

MPR-all day

7 8

Parent/Teacher

conferences

NO Classes

9

Parent/Teacher

conferences

NO Classes

End of 1st tri

10

11 12

Veteran’s Day

NO Classes

13 14 15 16 17

18 19

Thanksgiving

Recess, Nov 19-23

NO Classes All

Week

20 21 22

Thanksgiving

Day

23 24

25 26

Classes Resume

27 28 29 30

NOVEMBER

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