Bancroft Community Newsletter

In November, our first graders were busy learning about our Needs and Wants in Social Studies. We tied our basic need for food into learning about the 5 healthy food groups, healthy choices and collecting donations for our canned food drive. Our annual turkey disguise project was a big success! There were a lot of creative disguises on display throughout our 1st grade pod.

In addition, our first graders have been learning about how some foods and things we need come from farms or factories. The first graders are very excited about seeing first hand how chips and other yummy snacks are made at the Herr’s Snack Food factory next week.

We also celebrated American Education week with fun spirit activities with having guest mystery readers, meeting with our Bancroft buddies and having lunch bunch groups with Mr. Weinhardt.

As we move into the month of December, we will be learning about the differences of Needs and Wants as well as learning about how people celebrate the holidays around the world. We will also be focussing on our need for clothing as we move into the cold Winter months and collecting pjs for our Bancroft Pajama drive. We look forward to our whole school pajama day on December 23rd!

Hello Second Grade Families!

November has been a busy and exciting month in our classrooms! Here’s a look at what we’ve been learning and doing together:

In math, students have been working hard on adding and subtracting two-digit numbers. We practiced using strategies like place value, number lines, and regrouping. We will continue building fluency through games, partner work, and problem-solving activities.

This month, we began exploring several Native American tribes and learning how they lived, and traveled. Students are comparing different tribe regions, studying traditional homes, and discussing how Native Americans used natural resources.

We welcomed special guest readers into our classroom this month! Students loved listening to new stories and meeting special visitors. We also had a visit from Paws for People. Children got to meet and pet several dogs who came to visit second grade classrooms. We also celebrated American Education Week and we loved seeing the enthusiastic participation from the students.

Some classrooms have also started practicing Reader’s Theatre, where students read scripts, take on characters, and perform for one another. This helps build reading fluency, expression, teamwork, and confidence. We look forward to all second grade classrooms sharing a performance this year!

November was super busy for third grade! Our favorite was a creative writing piece from the point of view of a Thanksgiving Turkey. Students brainstormed a list of reasons why turkey shouldn’t be eaten for Thanksgiving. After coming up with their ideas, students created a writing piece in a speech bubble and decorated their turkey. Their responses were very creative!

We also strengthened our multiplication skills by moving into finding the area of rectangles and squares. We also really enjoyed celebrating American Education week and participating in the fun activities that were planned. The best part about this week was the guest readers. Third grade loved having visitors (old and new) in their room!

Fifth grade has been busy analyzing weather around the world!
Students worked in small groups and selected three cities on three different continents to study. They researched the average number of sunny, cloudy, and rainy days and created a pictograph to display the data. They also researched each city's annual precipitation and represented it in a bar graph. Finally, they found the average daily temperatures for each month and created a line graph to showcase their results.

Each group presented their project to the class. Well done, 5th grade!

This month the fifth grade focused on the house of gratitude. Each homeroom had a pumpkin where students wrote the things that they were grateful for each day. We celebrated on Friday with a 5th grade meeting and honored the exemplary students who demonstrate gratitude on a daily basis.

It’s that time of year for our annual Pajama Drive! Over the years, the Bancroft community has donated well over 2,000 pairs of pajamas to local social service agencies. This year we hope to reach our goal of 200 pajamas! Please send new pairs of pajamas of any size to school with your child. The students and staff will celebrate the closing of the Pajama Drive on December 23rd by wearing their pajamas to school to recognize our school community effort.

Thanksgiving Feast

Ms Mancini’s class hosted a Thanksgiving feast for teachers on Friday, November 21st. Students created invitations, planned the menu, and prepared all of the food. They also participated in a community-based instruction trip to Giant and Walmart—who generously donated gift cards to purchase the ingredients. On the day of the feast, students took orders and served their guests with pride. Wonderful job to all involved!

Health - In health this month, each grade has been exploring important topics to help build lifelong wellness habits. All grade levels are in the personal health unit. 1st grade students are learning about the major organs in the body, while 2nd graders are studying how the body systems work together. 3rd grade is focusing on what it means to be fit - getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, and staying active while 4th grade is wrapping up nutrients and preparing to begin their own body systems unit. 5th grade has started learning about 3 of the components of health: mental, physical and social well being. We will continue Mileage Club as long as the weather allows, so please make sure students come to school with a jacket and are wearing sneakers! Mrs. Katherman’s class is the first class to hit 100 miles as a class this Fall! Congratulations!

PE - In PE this month, students have been busy rotating through a variety of exciting activity stations, including Gaga ball, scooters, volleyball and pickleball (thanks PTO!), and even the rock wall! These stations have given students the chance to build their hand-eye coordination and teamwork skills while staying active and engaged. It has been awesome seeing the students test their abilities on the rock wall! We’re wrapping up the month energized and ready to dive into our upcoming volleyball unit!

November has been a fun and busy month! Students enjoyed all of the fun events that were planned for American Education Week and loved having a guest reader in their classroom. An important reminder as we head into the holiday season - students should not have social media (Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc.) in elementary school - their brains are simply not ready. Students also do not need a cell phone in elementary school. However, if you feel like your child needs a way to communicate, a flip phone is a great alternative and provides them the ability to communicate in a safe way.

Tip of the Month: The start of the holiday season can bring excitement and joy, but with that can also come an increase in challenging behaviors. The change in schedules and routines can be difficult for some children to navigate. Here are some tips and tricks to help keep things running smoothly.

-Keep routines as consistent as possible.

-Let your child know when there will be a change in their routine to help them feel informed and prepared.

-Expect an increase in behaviors amongst the joy that the holidays can bring - this is normal and expected.

-All feelings are okay, all behaviors are not. Set clear boundaries and expectations on what behaviors are not okay.

-Limit screens - Set clear limits and boundaries on screen time. Create screen free zones (at the dinner table, an hour before bed, no screens in their bedroom). Students should not have free reign and access over screens and there should be clear limits and expectations set.

-Introduce the concept of being flexible. You can say, “There are times when things are not going to go the way we want or expect. This is called being flexible.” Model using flexibility in everyday life. For example, maybe there is a road closure and you need to take a different route. You can say, “I am feeling a little frustrated because this road is closed. It’s okay to feel frustrated. I need to be flexible and take a different route.” The earlier we start planting seeds about flexibility and model this concept, the better!

As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns!

Emma Termini

School Counselor

etermini@kcsd.org

610-925-5714

As the weather gets colder, we want your children to stay warm and enjoy recess! Wearing the appropriate clothes will make recess much safer and more fun!!!

❄ Dress for Winter Recess! BE SMART— DRESS RIGHT FROM THE START!

❆ Wear long sleeves, OR Bring a sweater or sweatshirt

❅ Keep your legs covered; socks, long pants or tights

❄ BE READY TO PLAY EVERYDAY!

❆ Warm coat ❄ Hat ❅ Mittens or gloves ❆ Snow pants ❄ Boots for outside ❅ Shoes or sneakers for inside