Bancroft Community Newsletter

Congratulations to 1st grade for having the most participation for our Family Literacy Night! We will be having our Pajama Day on Monday, November 2.

October has been filled with fun and exciting activities in 1st Grade! The kids have been learning about the changes of Fall and enjoyed going on a scavenger hunt around the school looking for signs of the changing seasons. We have also met with our new Bancroft Buddies that we will connect with throughout the year. The kids also enjoyed celebrating and learning about Hispanic Heritage month with our spirit week and special activities in the classroom.

In Math, first grade is starting to learn how to compose and decompose Teen Numbers. They are also working hard to practice strategies to add and subtract numbers to 10. We are starting to track their progress on i Ready with their weekly lessons and are excited to color our Bancroft Bears in the pod.

In Reading, our young learners are working hard on reading CVC words with short vowels and starting to work on beginning blends with l, r and s. Look for their decodables to come home so the kids can read them to you for homework practice.

For Social Studies, first grade has been learning about communities and community helpers. We have also started our Cornerstone Project, a district-wide first grade project, where we will learn about helpers in our school community. The first graders had fun going on a tour around Bancroft, looking to see where our helpers work in our building. Some even got to go in Mr. Weinhardt’s office!

In Science, we are learning about properties and states of matter. Help your child describe things in their world with size, shape, color or texture using their 5 senses.

Looking ahead into November, 1st grade will be learning about Needs and Wants in Social Studies.

What a joy it has been to see our second graders settle into our routines as they continue to grow more comfortable and confident in the classroom! They are doing a great job working collaboratively with one another, sharing their ideas, and learning from their classmates. We are especially proud of the way they are becoming more willing to take risks, try new things, and understand that making mistakes is an important part of learning. It is exciting to see their confidence grow as they discover that challenges help us learn and become even stronger students!

The students have been doing a wonderful job building a positive classroom community! During structured play, students are learning how to work together, share ideas, take turns, and use kind words with one another. It has been exciting to see them developing friendships, cooperating with their classmates, and learning how to solve problems in positive ways. We met with our fourth-grade buddies this month to learn about one another and make connections across grade levels. We are proud of the kindness and respect they are showing as they continue to grow socially and emotionally in so many ways!

In phonics, we are learning new spelling and phonics rules to help us become stronger readers and writers. Students are practicing how to recognize spelling patterns, read unfamiliar words, and apply what they have learned when writing. We are continuing to build our foundational reading skills so that students can become more confident, accurate, and fluent readers.

In reading, we are focusing on making inferences by using clues from the text and what we already know. We are discussing how characters face challenges, identify problems, and work toward solutions. Students are learning to look beyond what is directly stated in a story and use evidence to explain their thinking. These skills help us better understand characters, events, and the overall meaning of what we read.

In science, we are studying rocks and exploring their different properties. Students are observing rocks and describing their characteristics, including color, size, shape, and texture. We are learning how to make observations, compare different rocks, and use scientific vocabulary to explain what we notice.

In our next math unit, we will focus on place value as we begin learning how to add and subtract two-digit numbers. Students will build their understanding of tens and ones and learn how place value helps us solve addition and subtraction problems. We will explore different strategies and practice explaining our mathematical thinking as we develop confidence with these new concepts.

As we look ahead to November, we will return to Social Studies and learn about the very first Thanksgiving. Students will also share and write about things they value and feel gratitude for having. We as teachers are so grateful for all of your support! Your partnership makes such a difference in your child's growth and success. We look forward to meeting with families during conferences towards the end of November and sharing all of the wonderful things your children have accomplished already this year!

October has been a busy and exciting month for our third graders, filled with learning, exploration, and plenty of fall fun!

We kicked off the month with not one, but two exciting field trips! Our first stop was the Kennett Library, where students explored all the wonderful resources it has to offer, including fun activities, special theme nights, and, of course, lots of books! Next, we headed to Longwood Gardens, where students learned about different plant habitats while enjoying the beautiful gardens and grounds.

We also had a special visit from the Avondale Fire Company! Our local firefighters shared important fire safety tips and taught students what to do in case of a fire. The excitement continued as students had the opportunity to get an up-close look at a fire truck and ambulance! It was a fun and informative experience that helped us learn more about staying safe and the important role our community helpers play.

Back in the classroom, one of the most anticipated math skills of the year has arrived—multiplication! Our third graders are rocking it as they explore different strategies for solving multiplication problems and building their fact fluency. Be sure to ask your child to share one of our many catchy multiplication songs that help us remember our facts!

In science, we wrapped up our learning about the changing seasons and how animals prepare for winter. To bring our learning to life, students went on a nature walk to collect signs of the changing seasons. They then used their discoveries to create their very own "Nature Monsters!" It was a fun and creative way to celebrate all that we learned!

In reading, we have been diving deeper into understanding characters by exploring their traits, motivations, and actions. Students have enjoyed reading a variety of texts and making meaningful connections between our stories and real-life experiences.

We ended October with one of our favorite third-grade traditions—Pumpkin Math! Students worked collaboratively to estimate the weight, circumference, and number of seeds inside their pumpkins. Then came the best part—cutting off the tops, digging in, and discovering just how close their estimates were! It was a wonderful opportunity to combine math, teamwork, and hands-on learning.

Looking ahead to November, we are excited to begin our social studies unit on maps and globes, exploring how we can use them to better understand the world around us. We will also continue strengthening our multiplication skills through lots of practice and engaging activities. We look forward to celebrating each student's hard work and growth during our upcoming fall conferences!

October was certainly a month to remember, and we can't wait to see what November brings!

What a Fantastic time we have had in fourth grade! Our classrooms were filled with excitement, creativity, teamwork, and lots of learning as we celebrated the season with some special fall-themed activities!

Readers' Theater: Bringing Stories to Life!

Our fourth graders became actors and actresses as they participated in a festive Readers' Theater! Students practiced reading with expression, fluency, and confidence as they brought their characters to life. It was wonderful to see their creativity shine as they worked together, supported one another, and enjoyed the magic of storytelling. Who knew practicing reading skills could be so much fun?

Math Mystery: Solving Clues Like Detectives!

Our mathematicians put on their detective hats to tackle a special Falloween Math Mystery! Students used their math skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving strategies to work through clues and crack the case. Our young detectives collaborated, checked their work, and pieced together the mystery with plenty of excitement. Math has never been so SPOOK-tacular!

Learning Is a Treat!

The best part of our Falloween celebration was watching students learn while having so much fun! These activities gave our fourth graders opportunities to build confidence, strengthen important academic skills, practice teamwork, and celebrate their accomplishments.

We are so proud of the enthusiasm, creativity, and hard work our students bring to our classroom each day!

October has been a busy month in 5th grade! In math, we wrapped up Unit 1, which focused on volume, multiplication, and division. We have now started Unit 2, which focuses on decimals and fractions.

Throughout November, students will be working on decimal place value, powers of 10, reading and writing decimals, and comparing and rounding decimals. We will continue building our math skills through problem-solving, classroom discussions, and opportunities to explain our thinking.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together to help our 5th graders grow as confident mathematicians!

In reading, we recently dove into our first nonfiction unit. In this unit, we are practicing identifying main idea as a complete sentence and supporting our main idea with key details. Then we will use these components to write a nonfiction summary. We will also continue working with words as we practice our vocabulary and word study skills.

Writing is moving right along. We started the year clearly stating our opinions and supporting with details. Now we are exploring careers as we begin researching what we want to be when we get older. In November, we will be writing an informational essay all about our chosen career.

Science has been so much fun in 5th grade! In October, students explored worm behaviors, dissected owl pellets, created food chains to show what owls eat, and built their own ecospheres. These hands-on activities gave students exciting opportunities to explore ecosystems and learn about how living things interact with their environments.

We are now transitioning to Social Studies, where we will begin learning about Colonial America. Students will explore the 13 Colonies and learn about the three colonial regions: New England, Middle, and Southern. We look forward to discovering what life was like during colonial times!

Our beach-themed Family Night was filled with hands-on learning, laughter, and fun! From practicing handwriting in the sand to crabwalking through the library and winning prizes, families enjoyed a variety of activities that brought learning to life in a fun and engaging way.

Events like these give students and families the chance to learn together, try something new, and build connections beyond the classroom. We value the partnership between home and school and the important role it plays in supporting student success.

A special thank-you to all the staff members who helped bring this event to life, and to our families for your continued support and involvement. We appreciate everyone who helped make this evening possible and contribute to our welcoming school community!

Take a look at some of our favorite moments from the evening! We look forward to sharing more memorable experiences with our families throughout the school year!

I am so thankful for all the talent and creativity of our wonderful Bancroft students! In first grade we talked about still life paintings and how to shade apples so they look real. First grade students painted apples and Jack O’ lanterns for some Fall fun! Second grade students learned about Yayoi Kusama, The Polkadot Princess. They focused on patterns and created a triangle background and a polka dot pumpkin.

Third grade students have been learning about value and how to shade fruits and vegetables so they look real. Fourth grade students just finished their unit on Abstract vs. Reality; where they draw a bike from real life and then cut up a copy of the bike to create an abstract picture. I am always so impressed to see how creative students are when creating their abstract pictures. Fifth grade students worked with natural materials and made artwork like Andy Goldsworthy. They also created clay skulls to celebrate Day of the Dead! It has been a busy time in the art room!!

We have been busy in health and PE! Each grade level has been working hard on their health units.

1st grade has wrapped up their Families unit and has jumped into Personal Health. We kicked things off by learning about the different organs of the body. 2nd grade finished nutrition and is also moving into the Personal Health unit, we just started discussing 6 of our main body systems. 3rd grade recently wrapped up learning about families and created family acrostic poems, while fourth grade is continuing to explore nutrition by creating their own Nutrient Superheroes! Fifth grade recently completed their Families unit by creating family chains and discussing family traditions and stresses that families may face and how we can cope with our feelings.

All students are also participating in Mileage Club, and we have been so fortunate to enjoy some beautiful weather for getting outside and moving! We are up to 22 students who have made it on the “Runner’s Wall” by completing either 12 or 14 laps in a 12 minute time period. We are working hard on setting goals and tracking our progress for Mileage Club!

In PE, we have wrapped up our soccer unit and have been working on overhand throwing skills. We have been playing a variety of fall-themed games and activities while taking advantage of the beautiful fall weather!

A friendly reminder: Please make sure your child wears sneakers on their Health and PE days so they can safely participate in all of our activities. Keep moving, stay active, and enjoy the Fall!

Dear Bancroft School Families,

It has been an incredibly busy, creative, and hands-on month in our STEM and design classes! Our students have been thinking like engineers, scientists, and global citizens as they tackle real-world problems and push the boundaries of their creativity.

Here is a look at what our amazing students have been up to this month, and a sneak peek at what is coming up next!

1st Grade: Building Together: Our first graders have been unleashing their creativity while learning the power of collaboration! This month, they practiced using teamwork to design and build unique structures with Legos. It has been wonderful to watch them share ideas, problem-solve together, and see their imaginative designs come to life.

2nd Grade: Nature-Inspired Engineering: Second graders stepped into the shoes of botanists and engineers this month. They identified the multiple ways seeds travel in nature and designed their very own, one-of-a-kind seed pods! They are already excited to take these design concepts to the skies next month as they shift their focus to making parachutes.

3rd Grade: Cruising into Car Design: Our third-grade engineers have been cruising right along with their custom car design projects! To make their vehicles a reality, the students have been learning about the physics of friction, the principles of aerodynamics, and how to safely use various tools. Stay tuned to see their final creations!

4th Grade: Cracking the Code: Fourth graders have officially cracked the code to programming robots! The kids have thoroughly enjoyed mastering block coding and are currently working toward the ultimate challenge: building a robot and coding it all within a single class period. They are highly motivated and eagerly looking forward to even more advanced robotics projects ahead.

5th Grade: Dropping Eggs & Water Wonders

• The Great Egg Drop: Fifth graders put their engineering minds to the test with the classic egg drop challenge. While not all of our egg "astronauts" survived the fall, the students worked incredibly hard on their designs. Most importantly, they embraced the engineering mindset by analyzing their results and brainstorming exactly what changes they would try if they could drop their eggs again!

• Looking Ahead: We have moved into an inspiring new unit on water scarcity. Students are learning that only 1% of the earth’s water is usable for daily life! They appreciate walking to a faucet to get water instead of taking a long walk to have water each day. Students are exploring how they can be world-changers by bringing clean water to communities that need it most. In November, they will put their ideas into action by building their very own models of water filtration units.

Thank you for your continued support of our young innovators. Be sure to ask your children about their projects and what they are looking forward to building next month!

Thank you for your support with book exchange! The students are doing a great job returning their books and choosing new ones each week. I will continue to send reminders on Talking Points. If you have any questions about book exchange, please send me an email or a message on Talking Points and I am happy to help!

In Information Literacy, first grade began looking at the parts of a story. We studied the settings of two fun Halloween stories and then created our own settings. Second grade is comparing and contrasting fiction and nonfiction books. In November, we will learn more about the nonfiction text features that help us do research. Third grade is learning about making safe and healthy choices online. Fourth and fifth graders are completing mini research projects using our PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next databases. We have been busy, but we also took a little time to enjoy some seasonal books and activities together!

If you have a fifth grader, our first Reading Olympics meeting will be after school on Tuesday, November 10th. Please look for the permission slip this week if your child is interested in participating. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Spahr or me by email or Talking Points. Thank you!

Over the next several weeks, I will be doing “minute meetings” with all of our fifth grade students. These meetings will be brief, individual check-ins with students. Fifth grade is a big transition year, and this will be time for me to get to know our fifth graders on a more individual basis, and ensure that they know who I am, and how to connect with me if they need additional support at school.

Tip of the Month:

Does this sound familiar? Your child’s teacher reports that they are doing wonderful in school, however the second they get home you notice an increase in behaviors. It seems like they have a meltdown over something small the second they walk in the door, although you are getting reports from teachers that they do not see this in school.

This is called after school restraint collapse and can be very common. This does not mean all students will experience after school restraint collapse, however if you are struggling with your learners during the home to school transition, the tips below may help. Students have spent all day at school working very hard to follow the routines, navigate friendship dynamics, and manage all that comes with the long school day and this can bring on strong feelings once they return home and try to settle from the day.

Here are some ways to manage after school restraint collapse to help with the transition from home to school. A reminder that each child is different and you know your child best!

• Reduce the number of demands. Your student spent all day working hard to follow the rules! Before putting on any additional demands, allow your student some time to decompress and have a soft landing when they return home.

• Some kids do great with movement when they get home, others do better with quiet and some need music.

• It can be helpful to talk to your child to see what they would like to do when they get home from school. Their answers might surprise you!

• Simple routine/visual checklist for when they return home (Shoes away, jacket and backpack hung up, lunchbox on counter) so your student knows exactly what is expected of them without you having to ask.

• Avoid asking “How was your day?” immediately after they get home. Some kids want to tell us everything right away and that’s great! Follow their lead. However, if you notice your child struggles with the school to home transition, pause on the questions.

• If you find “How was your day?” always results in the same response, regardless of when you ask, try making it fun.

• Tell me about your day but you can only use words that start with B

• Glimmer/Dimmer - One good thing and one thing that didn’t go well

• Provide a visual of some strategies for managing big feelings

• Build in time for connection. This time for connection does not need to be long, but aim for 5-10 minutes of 1:1 connection with your child, doing something that they have chosen.

As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns, or if you need any additional support.

Emma Termini, NCC

School Counselor

Bancroft Elementary School

610-925-5714 etermini@kcsd.org