Sugar Creek Arts Academy

SCAA Families,

November is full of exciting things at SCAA! We look forward to celebrating our Read-A-Thon readers, enjoying Tailgate Together, and connecting at our November PTO meeting. Thank you for helping us reach our $25,000 fundraising goal and for supporting our students each day. I’m grateful for our wonderful SCAA community!

Have a wonderful November, and keep shining, SCAA Stars!

Dr. Summerford and Mr. Antuna

In November, your child will attend an in-class presentation called “Empower Me!’ on personal safety awareness. Topics include: checking first with an adult in charge before going anywhere with anyone; identifying five trusted/safe adults; listening to their “uh-oh” feeling; saying “no” to anyone asking them to break a safety rule; and talking about touches. Parents will receive a letter about this program before the lesson and a follow-up letter after. Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

I also want to remind everyone that if you're interested in volunteering at SCAA, you must complete volunteer training each year. This applies whether you're helping in the building, at classroom parties, on field trips, stuffing Tuesday folders, or supporting PTO functions. Our next training is November 2nd @ 9 am. Please visit our website to view additional available training dates and times.

Finally, I'm pleased to share an update on our school-based counseling services. Two school-based agencies come to our school. We have Arisa and Eason available. If you'd like to learn more about school-based counseling services, please contact Lori McGinnis.

We Reached Our $25,000 Fundraising Goal! 🎉

We have something BIG to celebrate! Thanks to the incredible support of our SCAA families, we reached our $25,000 fundraising goal and made this year’s Read-A-Thon a huge success! As our only fundraiser of the year, your generosity makes a big difference in supporting our school. We are so grateful for your support!

Here’s a look at the prizes earned by our readers:

• Glow Party: 117

• Slime Bar: 41

• Gaming Truck: 8

• Principal of the Day: 2

A huge thank-you to Maria Pope for another successful year of coordinating the Read-A-Thon, including prizes, communication, and logistics. So much work happens behind the scenes to make this fundraiser a success! Be on the lookout for sign-ups to help with the Glow Party and Slime Party.

Other updates from our October meeting included teacher grant applications underway, a successful start to Star Academy, the upcoming Annie Kids production, testing information, a fun third-grade field trip to the new Ozark Discovery Canopy at Crystal Bridges, Walton Arts Residency, and exciting program opportunities through the Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM.

Phew! We packed a lot into our October meeting. Join us for the November meeting to stay in the know!

Save the Date

• November 6: Read-A-Thon Prize - Glow Party

• November 6: Tailgate Together

• November 13: Read-A-Thon Prize - Slime Party

• November 18: PTO Meeting

• November 20: Read-A-Thon Prize - Gaming Truck

Stay Connected

• Facebook: Sugar Creek Arts Academy PTO

• Instagram: @SugarCreekArtsAcademyPTO

• Website: www.sugarcreekptobentonville.com

Does your child take piano lessons?

Join the Sugar Creek Arts Academy Piano Association today!

Student pianists are invited to eat lunch every Monday with Mr. Timbrel. Monthly recitals will be held beginning in October.

Please use this link to sign-up:

SCAA Piano Association Sign-Up

This month, Kindergarten and 1st grade students will continue to hear engaging stories and use storytelling vocabulary such as characters, setting, problem, and solution.

Our 2nd–4th grade authors are wrapping up prewriting and beginning to draft their narratives! As they turn their ideas into stories, students will explore examples from published authors to learn how dialogue and descriptive details help readers picture the action and get to know the characters. We can’t wait to see their creativity shine as their stories take shape!

Reading adventures are also underway for all grades! Our Read the Rainbow Challenge invites students to complete a reading challenge for each rainbow color, earning prizes along the way.

3rd- and 4th-grade students can also take a Genre Journey, exploring different genres through chapter books and creating trading cards to showcase their reading. We’re excited to help students discover new books and share their favorites!

Art Infusion: In November, we'll finish our tour of South America and travel to Europe, where we will stay for a while. We will enjoy STEM activities, as well as visual arts and performing arts activities.

Mrs. Horton

Our throwing and catching unit is coming to a close. Students had a great October in PE! We will be starting our kicking unit with several indoor kicking activities, lessons, and whole-group games. This next unit will continue on to Thanksgiving break.

K-1 will focus on kicking skills in small-group stations before transitioning to whole-group kicking games and activities.

2-4 will work on our kicking skills in whole-group team games and lessons.

With the nice weather, we hope to take advantage of some outdoor PE time over the next couple of weeks!

Happy Fall!

Coach Mac.

I can’t believe it is already November!!! In Music this month, all students will learn songs to honor our Veterans, along with Autumn and Thanksgiving songs and dances.

Kindergarten and 1st Grade: These classes will be learning about tempo (largo, presto, and moderato). First grade will be learning folk songs and folk dances.

2nd Grade: These classes will be learning about the term ‘duration’. We will be learning the different note durations. These classes will also learn folk songs and dances.

3rd Grade: These classes will learn about the term ‘duration’ and the different note durations. We will also be learning folk songs and dances.

4th Grade: These classes will focus on the meter sign, 16th notes, notes and rests, and the duration of notes and rests. We will also learn a couple of folk dances.

4th grade classes will focus on the upcoming music showcase honoring our Veterans, which will be performed in the cafeteria at SCAA on November 11th at 8:30 am. We would also like to invite any Veterans to our performance. All 4th grade students will participate, but if your child would like to honor a military family member, the flier explains the available options. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Doss at 254-5790, or email her at sdoss@bentonviillek12.org.

Mrs. Doss

Welcome to November

October projects were interrupted by The State Christmas Ornament Design Contest. So we will be finishing up some of those projects, then we will begin our new ones!

K - We are continuing to create art inspired by books. This month, the books we will be using are: Franken Crayon, Owl Moon, and Chick a Chick a Boom Boom

1 - We are finishing our pumpkin

Zen tangle art. Then we will begin our James Rizzi-inspired bird art.

2 - We are finishing our Texture Cats and will begin to create Pablo Picasso-inspired cubism roosters

3 - We will finish our Fall Op Art projects. Then we will create a Gustave Klimt-inspired Gratitude tree

4 - We have finished our stained glass and have begun our Georgia O'Keeffe-inspired projects. We will continue drawing and painting to create those. We will also be painting our Kusama-inspired clay flowers.

Mr. Snider

Happy Month of November!

Each grade level will learn to use technology to communicate with others in a kind, safe, and responsible way. We will talk about using kind, respectful words, pictures, and messages when communicating online. We will learn how to take responsibility for our choices and actions while we are using technology. We will learn how our online choices can have both positive and negative effects on others, and how important it is to make sure our digital footprint reflects safe, responsible, and respectful choices.

Mrs. Weigang

Arts Integration

Learning You Can See

One of my favorite things about tableau is seeing what students really know. Instead of just telling us an answer or writing it on paper, they get to show us with their bodies, faces, and voices.

As students work together to create their frozen pictures, they talk, share ideas, make decisions, and sometimes change their thinking along the way. And that's where so much of the learning happens!

It's not just about getting kids up and moving. It's about giving them a chance to think, create, and show their understanding in a different way. And as teachers, we get a front-row seat to their thinking!

The best part? Every student has something to contribute, and together they bring the learning to life!

Upcoming events:

4th Grade Veterans’ Program - Wednesday, November 11th @ 8:30 AM.

Annie, Kids! Thursday, November 12th @ 6:00 PM, Friday, November 13th @ 6:00 PM, and Saturday, November 14th @ 10:00 AM. Tickets on sale soon!

Math:

🔷 Kindergarten Math

Shapes are everywhere, and our kindergarteners are learning to spot them! Students are exploring 2D and 3D shapes, focusing on features like sides, corners, faces, and edges. Through hands-on activities, they're sorting, drawing, building, and putting shapes together as they discover what makes each shape unique.

Try it at home: Turn everyday moments into a shape search! Challenge your child to find a variety of shapes around your home and describe what they notice about each one.

➕ 1st Grade Math

Our first graders are becoming more confident and creative problem solvers! They're exploring how addition and subtraction work together to help find missing numbers and compare amounts. By using strategies like counting on, counting back, and number bonds, students are discovering different ways to solve problems. They'll also practice adding three numbers by finding friendly combinations, like pairs that make 10.

Try it at home: Make math part of snack time! Give your child two small groups of snacks and ask, “How many more are in this group?” or hide a few pieces and challenge them to figure out how many are missing.

➕➖ 2nd Grade Math

Second graders are learning to think flexibly and strategically with numbers! As they work with addition and subtraction within 200, students are discovering how place value can help them solve problems in different ways. They're practicing breaking numbers into smaller parts, working with tens and hundreds, and choosing strategies that make calculations easier. Students are also using these skills to tackle word problems that require one or two steps.

Try it at home: Present your child with a problem like 58 + 27 and ask, “Can you think of two different ways to solve this?” Have them share which strategy felt easier and why!

✖️📏 3rd Grade Math

Multiplication is opening the door to new math discoveries in third grade! Students are learning to multiply by multiples of 10 using familiar multiplication facts and place value strategies. Next, they’ll explore area by covering shapes with square units, measuring rectangles, and determining how much space a shape covers. These skills will help students connect multiplication and measurement.

Try it at home: Ask your child, “If one box holds 20 pencils, how many pencils would 4 boxes hold?” You can also use square sticky notes to cover a book or tabletop and count how many squares it takes!

✖️➗ 4th Grade Math

Fourth graders are taking multiplication and division to the next level! They're using familiar math facts and place value strategies to multiply and divide larger numbers, including multiples of 10. Students are also learning to break numbers apart to make problems easier to solve and applying their skills to area, perimeter, measurement, and problem-solving activities. Later, they’ll explore factors, multiples, prime numbers, and composite numbers.

Try it at home: Keep those multiplication facts sharp! Ask your child, “If 6 × 3 = 18, how could that help you solve 6 × 30?” Encourage them to explain their thinking!