Panther Press

Hello Panther Parents!

Last Panther Press, I talked about you can help us at home with positive behavior reinforcement. Today, I'm going to talk about academics. As you might be aware, we don’t believe in assigning excessive homework at the elementary level. Instead, we encourage daily reading and using life experiences to reinforce math skills at home.

Here’s what you can do at home to help:

• Read Every Day: Finding books is easy and fun! You can purchase books, visit the public library, or even access electronic books online. Research consistently shows that reading at home significantly impacts a child's academic success, particularly in literacy skills, by boosting vocabulary development, comprehension, and overall fluency, with studies indicating that children who regularly read at home tend to perform better in school than those who do not; the presence of a home library is also a key factor in fostering a love of reading. Notice that this research isn't about doing worksheets as homework, it's about listening or reading books.

• Reinforce that Math is Everywhere: Math at home might feel a bit different these days. While students still learn traditional algorithms (like we did when we were young), we also teach them the “why” behind the numbers using concrete representations. This approach helps students build a deeper understanding of math. To support you in this, the state has created many fantastic resources to help parents with math. The one I am sharing today is the Mathematics Glossary that explains many concepts in clear terms. It’s a great resource for understanding what your child is learning and how you can help at home. Check it out here!

Each newsletter, I’ll share more resources to help you support your child’s learning in both reading and math.

Thank you for your partnership in making learning meaningful and fun!

Amy Lemons

Principal

Open Library

https://openlibrary.org/

Libby

Apple download: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/libby-the-library-app/id1076402606

Google/Android download: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.overdrive.mobile.android.libby&hl=en_US&pli=1

Storyline Online

These are videos of celebrities doing read alouds- so fun! :)

https://storylineonline.net/

January 31st-STEAM Day for Students! Wear House shirts:)

February 6th-Dave & Buster's Spirit Night (see below)

February 13-14-5th Grade Trip to Rock Eagle

February 17th-18th-No School for Students

February 21st-House Day! Wear House Colors!
February 27th-Spring Picture Day & 2nd Grade Musical

February 28th-Read Across America Day- PJ Day!

We all share a common and critical goal for our children to be safe and protected from all things harmful. In support of this goal, we would like to increase students’ knowledge regarding personal safety and protection with a lesson from the Think First & Stay Safe curriculum. The Think First & Stay Safe™ program is a research-based program that teaches specific personal safety education. Think First & Stay Safe™ enables students to take an active and necessary role in protecting themselves from harassment, abduction, bullying, exploitation, and various forms of abuse (physical, sexual, emotional).

Please contact your child’s counselor, Christina McLeod at mcleodcr@fultonschools.org to schedule a preview or if you have any questions. The materials will be available for preview from 2/10-2/14 in the counseling suite. During the month of February and March, Think First & Stay Safe™ prevention lessons will be implemented for all K-5 students on Brain Building Days.

If you prefer that your child not participate in the Think First & Stay Safe™ program, please email mcleodcr@fultonschools.org by February 14th

Our Panthers love to read, and Beanstack is a great way to celebrate that! Beanstack is an app used by FCS to promote reading across the district. Students can access the app through Classlink. It helps student monitor their own reading and celebrate progress by earning fun badges as they move through challenges! It also gets them using our Media Center, which means we get to see them more often.

From now until the end of April, NPE students in grades K-5 are invited to participate in one of two optional school-based Beanstack Reading Challenges:

K-2: Lunch & Lemonade (now through April 4th)

Kindergarten-2nd graders are invited to read 16 hand-selected picture books, shelved in a special section of our Media Center. To keep track of their progress, they're asked to record the minutes they spend reading each book and then mark the book as "complete." Ms. Spitzner will monitor student accounts to see who has finished which books!

In addition to their Beanstack badges, students will get a bookmark and shoutout on PNN when they reach the halfway point. When they finish all 16, they win the grand prize: Lunch and lemonade with Mrs. Lemons!

3-5: Fiction Genre Challenge (now through April 25th)

3rd-5th graders are invited to read one chapter book from each of the following 10 genres: Fantasy, Realistic Fiction, Animals, Sports, Scary Stories, Adventure, Mystery, Humor, Science Fiction, and Historical Fiction. The books must be checked out of our Media Center, and in order to receive credit, students must post reviews on Beanstack. Ms. Spitzner is monitoring reviews and checkouts to encourage integrity and celebrate progress!

Along the way, students will earn prizes like bookmarks, shout outs on PNN, coupons for crafts or tech in the Media Center, the privilege of checking out THREE books instead of two, and then the grand prize if they read all the genres: lunch and a show here in the Media Center!

For a link to Classlink, videos on how to record time and leave reviews on Beanstack, and a list of the 16 picture books for the K-2 challenge, click here!

Happy reading!

Fulton County Schools 64th Annual Spelling Bee Competition

The Fulton County Schools’ English Language Arts Department is proud to announce that Jai Siddam from New Prospect Elementary School is the 3rd place winner of our Fulton County Schools 64th annual spelling bee. The 1st and 2nd place students are 8th graders! Jai will move on to the region bee in February!

Have you ordered your yearbook for New Prospect yet? The yearbook costs $40, and to order one, please go to https://shop.yearbookmarket.com/newprospectelementary *Remember if you are a Panther Elite Level each child at NPE will receive a yearbook and if you are a Panther Level one yearbook is included in your donation.

We're also looking for parents to submit candid photos of their kids when they are at New Prospect, either for a school day or event. Using the password ... Yearbook24! ... please submit the photos here: https://books.yearbooks.me/ca/4r4hkr85k4mvujysdhnq39nwm6uehpwxn

Email: lemonsa@fultonschools.org
Website: https://newprospect.fultonschools.org/
Location: 3055 Kimball Bridge Road, Alpharetta, GA, United States
Phone: (470)254-2800
Twitter: @npepanthers