Tallmadge Talk

Spring break is upon us. Students will be on Spring break from April 11th through April 15th and will return on April 18th. Wishing everyone a relaxing break!

When we return, our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will have State Testing the week of April 25th. Please make sure your child is at school on time and rested. We want them to do their very best to show what they know. We are so proud of all of the hard work that our students and staff have done this year. We want the students to put forth their best effort so they can see their success and be proud of themselves.

During the month of April our kindergarteners are continuing their learning about living and nonliving things and are becoming tree experts. They can tell you reasons trees are important and will be bringing their unit on trees to a close with a celebration of learning.

Our students in 1st grade will be enjoying a visit from Alley Park. First graders have been learning all about birds and developing skills in creating scientific drawings. The visit from Alley Park will include a discussion on both wild and domestic birds in addition to describing their specific body features and behaviors that help them survive.

Second graders will continue their journey of learning about pollinators. We hope to have a special visit from some local bee owners. Stay tuned for pictures on our Facebook page.

Third graders are learning the importance of clean freshwater sources around the world. They will be learning about access to water, demands on water, and water pollution.

Our Fourth graders will be continuing to learn about our constitution and building habits of character related to empathy, compassion, integrity, and respect. Our fourth graders will also get to experience a 4th grade Outdoor Ed trip to Alley Park.

Fifth graders are diving into natural disasters and learning about how disasters affect the people and places that experience them.

It is always a good thing to review the potential dangers of Internet use and social media with kids. Every year in technology across all five elementaries, we do an entire unit on what it means to be safe and smart when using the Internet. As the technology specials teacher here at Tallmadge, I hear a lot from the kids about different games such as Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and Among Us, as well as others. Similarly, there always seems to be a buzz about TikTok, YouTube, and other video sharing websites. While these things are fun to access and in many instances they can be informative, it’s important to remember that anyone can access them – even in chat rooms on the previously mentioned video games – and therefore anyone could be interacting with these kids. They could of course be who they seem to be, but it is just as possible that they aren’t. According to a national poll on children’s health conducted in 2021 by the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, “about half of parents of children ages 10 to 12 and 32% of parents of kids ages 7 to 9 reported their child used social media apps in the first six months of [2021].” And that is just the kids whose parents know about their social media usage. We strive to make the kids aware of potential dangers here at Tallmadge, but it might mean even more coming from their parents, at home. Thanks for entrusting your kids’ safety to us as we help them learn!

April 7 - Alley Park visit for 1st grade

April 8 - Spirit Day - Beachy Day!

April 11th- 15th - SPRING BREAK

April 22 - Spirit Day - Pajama Day

April 25th - 4th grade Field Trip

April 26 - testing - 5th grade

April 27/28 - 3rd, 4th, 5th grade testing

April 28 - Spirit Day - superhero day