The Paw Print Press
Woodrow Wilson Elementary School - January 2026
G.L.O.W.ing in 2026 (Growing & Learning Our Way)
Making 2026 the Best Yet in 3rd Grade
Happy New Year. It’s time to make 2026 the Best Yet!!! The students in third grade have been busy memorizing their multiplication facts. They are learning about Antarctica and studying penguins.
The students are beginning our unit on character traits in reading. February is black history month and we will be studying the great Americans and students will be doing a research project on someone who they think contributed to society.
As always, students will be memorizing their multiplication as well as division facts. In math we will be learning the concept of fractions. Please remind your children that reading nightly is important for success in all areas of education.
4th Grade is Determined in 2026
Happy New Year! December has been such a wonderful month for the 4th graders at Woodrow Wilson Elementary. We were determined to learn everything we could throughout all of the subject areas. In reading, we continued to learn about the genre of nonfiction in our second reading unit. We began to conduct some research about the extreme weather of tornadoes. While researching, we worked on writing down the main idea (box) and the most important details (bullets) to generate a summary. We also learned about different strategies that we can use to help us understand complex texts. In writing, we learned how to turn our main ideas and supporting details into paragraphs. We double checked our work to make sure we had complete sentences throughout our writing that included correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. In math, we continued to learn about division of a two-, three-, or four-digit number divided by a one-digit number. Then, we reviewed how to multiply a two-digit number by another two-digit number using the Area Model Method and the Traditional Method. In social studies, we started to learn about Colonial America and the American Revolution.
In January, we will continue to work hard in each subject area. In reading, we will learn about the different craft techniques that author’s use in their writing to help the reader understand the information better. We will also begin to research information about the extreme weather of hurricanes. In writing, we will continue our work with paragraphs. We will use supporting details to make our thesis statements powerful. In math, we will begin to learn about converting different measurements, creating and reading information on line plots, and looking at geometry. In social studies, we will continue to learn about the American Revolution.
We thank each of you for your ongoing support at home! Everything you do at home continues to help us here in school. Please remind your child to read for at least 20 minutes every night and practice their multiplication/division facts.
The Start of a New Year in 5th Grade
After returning from break the students got right back into the swing of things. In Reading, students have been focusing on Key Ideas and Details in Literature. They recently completed work on comparing and contrasting characters, settings, and events across a variety of stories and plays. We have now shifted our focus to identifying the theme of a story or drama. Students are learning that a theme is a meaningful message or lesson and that themes often connect to their own everyday experiences, not just something you “come up with” while reading. To support this work, students are reviewing common themes so they can confidently identify and clearly explain a theme in their writing.
In Math, fifth graders have been busy strengthening their number sense and problem-solving skills. They have worked on multiplying decimals, dividing whole numbers, and will soon begin dividing decimals. As part of this learning, students are adding a variety of strategies to their math toolboxes. These include using powers of 10, estimation, understanding the relationship between multiplication and division, and applying partial products and partial quotients to help them find accurate solutions.
Students have been enjoying our Got Water! science unit. In this unit, they are busy working as “Interns” as they explore important Earth science concepts. They began by learning about Earth’s four systems: the atmosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere. While investigating the difference between drinkable and non-drinkable water, students were surprised by their findings. They have continued their internship by learning how Earth’s four systems interact with one another, as well as exploring the difference between weather and climate. Fifth graders are excited to continue learning more about Earth’s water and its importance to our planet.
If your child is still working on mastering their multiplication facts, we can’t stress enough how helpful it is to keep practicing them each day. Being able to recall facts “at the snap of a finger” makes a big difference, since so much of our math learning depends on strong multiplication skills. We also appreciate your continued support with reading at home. Please encourage your child to read for at least 20 minutes each day, and don’t forget to have them log those minutes so they can work toward reaching their Reading Goal this trimester.
General Music Room Updates:
The music room is ready to play into a new year. There will be songs on recorders, ukuleles, drums, and much more. To start of the year, students in grade 3 will break out drums and learn about beat and rhythms. Meanwhile, students in grade 4 will continue to learn about beat, rhythm, and melody while connecting to children’s literature. Finally, grade 5 will continue to learn about rhythm, beat, and melody on recorders and folk songs.
Choir & Drama Updates:
Our rehearsals are back in full swing. Please make sure to check for weekly messages on Remind in regards to rehearsals. Every rehearsal is important and we need everyone in attendance.
December Highlights from the Library
December was a cozy, story filled month in the library! We spent our time exploring the many ways winter holidays are celebrated around the world, using books, discussions, and activities to help students learn about different traditions, cultures, and values.
Students enjoyed listening to and talking about several wonderful stories, including The House Without Lights by Reem Farooqi, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, and Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel. Through these stories, we learned about holidays such as Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, and other winter celebrations, focusing on themes like family, generosity, light, hope, and kindness.
It was wonderful to see students so engaged, curious, and respectful as we learned together. December reminded us that stories are a powerful way to build understanding and a little winter magic never hurts.
Thank you for supporting your child’s love of reading. I look forward to more exciting library adventures in the new year!
Updates in Physical Education
This month in Physical Education, our students have been applying their fundamental throwing and catching skills in a game called Tower Ball. We’ve already explored various activities to improve technique, accuracy, and teamwork. During Tower Ball, students have had the opportunity to practice these skills while developing both offensive and defensive strategies, all while improving their sportsmanship. It's been wonderful to see their teamwork flourish as they encourage one another and work together to improve.
Painting in the New Year!
We are starting out 2026 in the WW Art Room with lots of paint! Each class is working with either tempera or watercolor paint. All of their painted papers will be used as a background to a variety of things. Third grade paintings will become weaving looms for yarn. Fourth grade paintings will be the background to their graphite transfer portraits and Fifth grade paintings will become pop art pieces!
Updates from the Band Room
First-Year Musicians: All first-year musicians are progressing very well and are getting closer and closer to being able to try to get into After-School Band! Lately, musicians have been learning how to read and play new exercises that contain their first five notes out of order along with a couple of new pitches to expand their range.
Advanced Musicians: Congratulations on a fantastic winter concert! In lessons, we have been working on reading, identifying, and playing new symbols in our music (dynamics, dotted notes, and ties). In band, we are beginning to sight-read our new band music! Please make sure your musician is checking their lesson schedule and After-School Band schedule and is showing up to all lessons and rehearsals. In case of any absences or emergencies, please communicate those with me via Remind or email!!
Notes from the Office
Dismissal Changes - Thank you for sending in notes if your child is dismissing differently that day. We find our students do best when they have routines at dismissal. Thank you for doing your best to stick with these routines.
Absent from School? - If your child is going to be out from school, please call to let us know. Thank you for sending in the excuse (note) when your child returns.
Office Hours - The office closes at 3 pm each day. If your child is staying after, please reach out to a club leader for any communication.
