Nov 24 Spruce Scoop

A huge THANK YOU to our October Lumberleaders. Courtney, Adalynn, Levi and Lily, you are doing an awesome job!

October was full of learning and fun for Spruce Kindergartners. As they have been working hard to master letters, sounds, snap words, and number skills, they also have been enjoying many fall festivities at Spruce School. November is sure to be another busy month. We look forward to sharing your child’s progress with you during the upcoming Parent/Teacher conferences in a couple weeks. Later in the month, we will have a special kindergarten gathering to celebrate the things we are thankful for. Here are some photos that showcase some of the recent activities:

Kindergarten students enjoyed a skit put on by their teachers, Mrs. Nyitrai, Mrs. Gangloff, Mrs. Lesmeister, Mrs. Olewnik, and Mrs. Himes from the storybook, Mrs. Wishy Washy.

The month of October was a busy month filled with much learning and growth as readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, and more. Along with all this learning, we also took time out to celebrate the season with fun learning activities.

In reading, we have wrapped up our first unit and practiced many skills including figuring out tricky words, scooping up words and phrases to read fluently, and studying story elements. Next, we will dive into non-fiction books, where students will read to gather information on a variety of self-chosen topics that pique their interest!

In writing, we are wrapping up our unit in small moment, personal narrative writing. Students have written many books telling stories about their own lives and have grown as writers by writing more, choosing precise words, and developing our beginnings and endings. Soon, we’ll be starting our next unit, which will take us into writing non-fiction chapter books. Students will write about topics they find meaningful, teaching others about things that matter to them.

In math, we are learning about geometry. Students are exploring various solids and are discovering their attributes. What do they have in common? How are they different? They will also explore polygons. From there, students will investigate quadrilaterals, rectangles, and squares. Our third investigation in this unit will take us into fractions!

We are looking forward to honoring our veterans as well as expressing our gratitude for all the special people and things in our lives. Happy November!

Teacher Miss Trimboli has these amazing things to say about some of her awesome 2nd & 3rd grade students.

Nathan was caught being a star student in our classroom this week! Nate comes to school everyday with a positive attitude and a bright smile! Nate always follows classroom directions and is a role model for all other students. We are so proud of Nathan! Keep it up!

Charlie was caught being a star student in our classroom this week. Charlie comes to school each day ready to learn with a smile. Charlie is our extra positive friend, he always gives words of encouragement to any one in need. He brightens our classroom each day!

Dominic was caught being a star student in our classroom this week! Dom enjoys coming to school and is very positive. Dominic is very athletic and enjoys playing on the playground. He is often a friend that others ask to help them in gym class. Dominic is kind and very sweet, he brings so much positivity to our classroom.

Jemma was caught being a star student in our classroom this week! Jemma is a leader in our classroom. She often is the first person to offer a helping hand and enjoys coming to school. Jemma is a role model for her peers and always follows classroom routines and directions. Jemma’s kindness goes a long way in our classroom. We are so proud of her for all her hard work.

In Miss Trimboli's class, we explored all parts of a pumpkin while carving a spooky spider! The students got to explore the guts of the pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, the stem, etc. The students also got to paint their own pumpkins to take home to enjoy for Halloween!

Your school counselor and social worker are starting to run social skills, coping skills, self control and all other types of counseling groups here at Spruce. Out interns have began the special friends program in order to help as many student as possible succeed. We enjoyed the Costume Parade, and all other fall activates. Our Boys Running Program, named by our boys the Spruce Sprinters had their Final Race on 11/5! It was a great event, thank you SPTO for helping us in so many ways, and thank you to those who came out to cheer the boys on. Soon we will be starting classroom lessons for all classrooms! Please see below in community resources, info about a new grief and loss support group in our community!

Reminder, if you need any support for Christmas time, please reach out to Mr. Zon or Mrs. Gorman by DECEMBER 2nd!!!!

Spruce has a new caring closet in house! If you are ever in need of school supplies, backpacks, clothes, hygiene products, food items, please let Mrs. Gorman or Mr. Zon know by phone, email or via seesaw!

Congratulations to all our 3rd grade boys who participated on the Spruce Sprinters Team! THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO CAME OUT TO SUPPORT & OUR SPTO WHO HELPED MAKE THIS PROGRAM POSSIBLE! We had a great season and a wonderful final event. Girls 3rd Grade will be in the Spring!

Congratulations!

Top Row:

Jaxon K, Jonathan P, Jackson B, Liam O (Student Coach), Graham H, Maverick K, Andre C.

Bottom Row:

Bentley M, Logan R, Keith P, Gilbert H-D, William D & Christian G.

Thank You Running Buddies and HS Volunteers!

Our artists have been busy creating!!!

Enjoy the photos below of some of our displays. Third graders zentangle designs and second graders concentric hand drawings.

November is a short month in the art room but it's a good one. Here's what we are up to:

Kindergarten - starts a unit on line and finally we are starting to paint this month!

First grade - finishing a collage of pumpkin and a starry night and getting our hands on some clay next.

Second grade - Finishing a monoprint of fall trees and starting a painting all about color mixing.

Third grade - finishing some amazing sugar skull prints and looking at the dessert art of Wayne Thiebaud and studying how he created cylinders and triangular prisms in his work before learning the ways oil crayons can be blended and used to create texture.

Congratulations to the October Students of the Month:

Keeping it fun with some Halloween themed P.E stations

On October 31st, a group of students participated in a nature walk and scavenger hunt around the campus. Afterward, they enjoyed a read aloud and nature activity with Ms. Prechtl.

Thank you to NT transportation and NTPD for supporting our Trunk or Treat fun!

Feeling Fun and Spooky at Spruce!

The Inside Out Crew!!

To All K-3 Students and Parents,

This year, the Elementary Physical Education Department has decided to host a district-wide Turkey Trot on Thursday, November 14th. All students from Drake, Ohio and Spruce are invited to participate in our optional run.

What is a Turkey Trot? The YMCA Turkey Trot is an 8k run in Buffalo that has been around for over 120 consecutive years! Participants often dress in fun costumes. And, while we may not be running a full 8k, we are looking forward to seeing some fun costumes at our first annual North Tonawanda Elementary Turkey Trot!

The run will take place at North Tonawanda High School, starting at the front flag pole and ending in the football stadium where we hope to have all family and friends cheering on our runners as they cross the finish line.

Kindergarten and 1st grade students are asked to arrive at the High School front flag pole at 5:30PM for a 5:45 start time. This gives us time to get all our runners “registered.” 2nd and 3rd grade students are asked to arrive at 6:ooPM for a 6:15 start.

As the run begins, we will have adults and high school student volunteers to accompany the runners as they make their way around the side of the high school and into the stadium. As the students enter the stadium, they will finish their run with a lap around the track. We ask that you meet your participant at the fence as they finish their run.

This is a free event for all participants. If you feel so inclined, we will be accepting food donations in correspondence with the Jacks That Care program run by the districts Family Resource Center.

We look forward to bringing all three elementary schools together for a fun district wide event that promotes community and a healthy, active lifestyle!

Questions? Feel free to reach out to your child’s Physical Education Teacher!

We are running a donation drive to support the Local Lions Club! Donations will be accepted starting Nov 6th. You can send these in with your student.

A big congratulations to Camerin Flaig, who recently graduated from the Marines. Camerin is a spruce alum and older brother to Serenity in Mrs. Himes' class.