Kenmore Elementary 2475 Singerly Road Elkton, Maryland 21921 Phone (410)996-5060 Fax (410)996-5467

Rose Clark, Principal
George Whisner, Local Support Teacher

Kenmore Cubhouse News

January 2008

A Message from Ms. Clark…

“A child is like a butterfly in the wind.  Some will fly higher than others, but each one flies the best it can.  Each one is different. Each one is special. Each one is beautiful.”

We hope you enjoyed a relaxing winter holiday with family and friends. On behalf of everyone at Kenmore Elementary I would like to thank you for your many kindnesses and offerings of generosity shared throughout our months of “caring.” When we talk about caring with our students we emphasize that caring is showing concern for the well being of others and you act on those feelings with kindness and compassion. The support you offered to the Kenmore children and their families and to the Kenmore staff members helped us and the children begin the New Year with positive spirits.

As we continue to work together our children will continue to learn and grow. Take a moment to reread the quote above and reflect on your child’s growth. Set a goal for you and your child. Remember you are your child’s first teacher. Ask yourself what you can do to help your child become a better student. You might want to sit down with your child to set a goal. Think of the healthy relationship you will continue to build as a parent.  If you need any help with goal setting, I have a packet available that you may find helpful. Just call or send in a short note requesting one and I will send it home with your child.

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life
that we cannot sincerely help another without helping ourselves."
-Anonymous           

Two Items of Importance

1.  The oil tank near the parking lot/playground side of the school will be replaced starting Monday. Monday morning excavation will start. The tank is due to arrive Wednesday on a flatbed. Tim Eldreth from Eldreth Environmental will coordinate the process for removing old and installing new.  They hope it will not impact our parking too much. The job will take a couple of weeks.

2.  Our annual Joe Corbi Pizza Sale will run from January2nd through January 16th. The kits will be available for pick-up after school on Tuesday, January 29th. Information and orders will be sent home with students on January 2nd. The money collected will be used for resources to support classroom instruction. 

A Word from Mr. Whisner
At Kenmore ES, we recently began a school-wide initiative that is called The Umbrella of Character.  This program highlights the positive choices that students make on a daily basis.  Our teachers have been busy CHAMPing student behavior and expectations.  Additionally, teachers have been “Catching Students Being Good”.  Finally, students and teachers have been giving each other Kenmore Cub Grams in order to recognize acts of Cooperation, Caring, Respect, and Responsibility.  We have even had many parents sending in Kenmore Cub Grams from home when students make good choices away from school (I have included another copy of the Cub Gram for your use, simply fill it out and send it in with your student(s).  To date, over 1,000 “Caught You Being Good” slips and Kenmore Cub Grams have been given.  That’s over 1,000 acts of character and good choices that have been made and recognized.  WOW!  I have never been in a school with such great things happening.  Research shows that when programs like the Umbrella of Character are implemented, behavioral problems are reduced and academic achievement increases.  I think that we are well underway to success.   Thank you for your continued support, together we can make great things happen!

Congratulations, Julianna Eckman!

As a result of Julianna’s hard work she qualified to apply for the prestigious Ben Carson Scholarship Award and has been nominated to represent Kenmore Elementary School. This award is granted to students who maintain a high level of
Academic achievement and who also display strong humanitarian qualities. Scholarship winners are awarded $1,000 to be invested for their college education. Julianna’s teachers and Mrs. Kluge looked at her grades and performance for the past two years. She demonstrated outstanding academic achievement by maintaining at least a 3.75 grade point average throughout fourth grade and thus far in fifth grade. Being nominated is quite an accomplishment.

The Faculty, Staff and Students at Kenmore congratulate Julianna for achieving such high academic success. We wish her the best of luck in completing the application process with hopes of becoming a future recipient of the award!

Thank You from Kenmore Elementary:
Thank you to W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. for their mini-grant donation to support our mentor program and the holiday luncheon enjoyed by our mentors and their students. The opportunity provided the children and adults with a special time of fellowship.

Thank you to two very generous friends at Cherry Hill United Methodist Church. Your kindnesses helped support our families in need during the holidays.

Thank you to the Cecil County Public Library for several book donations to our media center:

Space Exploration by Ron Miller
Eyewitness Space Exploration by Carole Stott
Team Moon by Catherine Thimmesh

Thank you to the Rotary Clubs of Cecil County for the donation of dictionaries for our third grade students.

News from the Second Grade:
We are just wrapping up theme 3 “Around Town” in Language Arts. We have read many genres of writing and have actively used different reading strategies. We will begin our last story titled “Jamaica Louise James” this week, and continue with a theme test in the following week.  We will begin Theme 4 in Language Arts in the beginning of February and this theme is all about “Amazing Animals”.

In Math class we are working on Unit 5 which includes 2-D and 3-D shapes, polygons, line segments, and symmetry. Ask your children about the “fat” shapes and the “flat” shapes and they should be able to list many different examples. It was really fun!

In Social Studies we have begun learning about maps and globes. We began the unit by learning the seven continents and four oceans. The students made three dimensional globes that are hanging in our classroom.  We will also learn how to use map keys and grids.

In Science class we are in the midst of our Foss Kit “Balance and Motion”. The students have learned new words like, counterweights, balance point, arch, stable, and unstable.

-Mrs. Quinn and Mrs. Jones

News from the Third Grade:
The third grade enjoyed the unit on plays, and each student experienced two plays, one with the whole group, and another in their guided reading group.  There seem to be quite a few thespians among us!  They also enjoyed playing seasonal bingo and eating the treats served at the holiday parties.

January is here and we are back to finishing up the last two stories in Theme 3.  The reading project for the second marking period is due on January 11th.  We continue to work on the units on sound and Australia, and will soon be finishing Unit 4 in Math. 

Our second duck auction will be coming up at the end of the marking period, and we are gladly accepting donations now.  Thanks to those who have already sent items in.  We all look forward to the fun and the excitement the auction brings!

Please continue to practice the multiplication facts at home, as we will revisit multiplication in Unit 7, and sign your child's homework assignment book each night.  Reading logs and Friday folders are due on Mondays.  Thank you for your support in these areas.

News from the Fifth Grade:
Happy New Year!

This month in science, we will be working on a unit called Mixtures and Solutions. Towards the end of the month, look for information about our annual Science Fair. A packet will be sent home after we introduce the fair to the students. This packet will contain all directions, as well as all due dates. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

In math, we started our unit on division. We will be focusing on long division, and the students will be working with remainders and what they mean for the given problem. Please work with your child on his/her multiplication and division basic facts. At school we teach them how to solve the basic facts, but home is where they need to practice and memorize them. It makes it difficult to teach long division when the students don't know their basic facts! Thanks! The unit 6 math assessment will be on Friday, January 18.

We are finishing up Theme 4 in language arts and getting ready to start Theme 3. These two units were switched because Theme 3 contains stories relevant to the Revolutionary War, which connects with where we are in social studies. We will be starting our unit on the causes of the Revolutionary War soon, which will lead into the unit on the war itself.

Have a warm January!

Art News:
Congratulations to the following Kenmore students, their work is in this year’s All-County Winter Art Exhibit at the Elkton Arts Center on East Main in Elkton. There is a variety of art work from each school in the county, grades K-12. The work will be on view January 8 - 25 with a reception on Saturday, January 12 from 2-4pm at the Arts Center. Come down and see some interesting work!

From Ms. Manning's Class:
Second Graders:  Lauren Pahutski, Maggie Sprouse, and Gavin Hart
Fourth Grade: Cortni Potts
Fifth Grade: Logan Shertz

From Ms Heckman's Class:
First Grade: Renae Blomquist                                       
Fifth Grade: Nelson Phillips

Again, Congratulations!!

Music News
On behalf of Ms. Butera and Mr. Moon, we would like to congratulate EVERYONE involved in the Winter Concert in the Cubs Band and Chorus.  The performances by the band members and the chorus were just GREAT!  Everyone in attendance was treated to a concert of the highest quality in musicianship and the students were very proud of their accomplishments.  Thanks to everyone in the HUGE crowd for the kind words and holiday wishes - and again, thanks for supporting music at Kenmore Elementary School.

We now turn our attention to the SPRING CONCERT!  Keep your eyes RIGHT HERE next month for the date of the SPRING CONCERT!

New chorus permission slips have been sent home for 4th and 5th grade students.  If your child participated in chorus in the winter, s/he MUST submit another permission slip for the spring concert.  If your student would like to to join now, s/he may do so by bringing in a signed permission slip.  If you have any questions, you may contact Mr. Moon at school Monday or Friday or via e-mail at wmoon@ccps.org!

We welcome back Mrs. Vogeley, our general music teacher, back from maternity leave this month.  In doing so, we say good bye to Mr. Cullum, the substitute who has been filling-in for Mrs. Vogeley in her absence.  While we are happy to see Mrs. Vogeley return, we will miss Mr. Cullum and wish him the best of luck!

So, on behalf of the music department of Kenmore Elementary School, and to quote one of our favorite songs - "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!"

News from Mrs. Roy
GET YOUR COPY OF THE 2007-2008 KENMORE ELEMENTARY YEARBOOK
Yearbooks will be going on sale soon!  Look for information to be coming home in the next couple of weeks.  Anyone who orders a yearbook before March 1st will be guaranteed a copy.  They will be sold for $15.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES – Please mark your calendar.

“Our Mission: to provide an excellent Pre-Kindergarten through graduation learning experience that enables ALL students to demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required for lifelong learning and productive citizenship in an ever-changing, global society.”