Hawk Newsletter

Calendars Subject to Change

December 1: PTC Meeting 3:00 p.m.

December 2: Family Night 3-5 p.m.: Join us for an exciting year for showcase of student artwork and an afternoon of learning through games and entertainment!

December 4: Winter Concert K-5th grade students will perform Holiday music for families. 4 - 5 p.m.

December 15 - 19: Spirit Week: See calendar

December 19 Last Day of 2nd Quarter Early Release @ 12:15 pm.

January 5: First Day of 3rd Quarter! Welcome Back

January 5: PTC Meeting 3:00 p.m.

January 19: No School, Martin Luther King Day

January 20: Happy 100th Day of School

January 26: AZELLA testing begins, will continue through March

Dear AJ Mitchell Families,

As we enter this festive season, we want to take a moment to reflect on the wonderful learning and community spirit we’ve experienced this month. December is always a special time in our classroom, filled with excitement, reflection, and opportunities for growth.

Growth Mindset Corner
This month, we have been focusing on the power of yet—reminding students that challenges help our brains grow and that learning takes time, persistence, and courage. We encourage you to continue these conversations at home by celebrating effort, progress, and curiosity. Together, we can help our students build confidence and resilience that will support them well beyond the classroom.

A Heartfelt Thank You
Thank you so much for all your help and support with our parade float! Whether you donated materials, helped assemble, cheered us on, or encouraged your child’s participation, we truly appreciate each and every contribution. Our school community shines brightest when we work together, and this project was a perfect example of that teamwork.

Holiday Well Wishes
As we wrap up the year, we want to wish all our families a warm, joyful holiday season. May your break be filled with rest, laughter, and time with loved ones. We are grateful for your partnership and look forward to an exciting new year of learning and growth.

Thank you for being such an important part of our school community.

Warmly,

Christina Dang

AJ Mitchell Principal

Chronic Absenteeism

QUICK FACTS:

Chronic Absenteeism (missing more than 10% of days enrolled for any reason) is the single strongest predictor of dropping out before graduation.

Students who drop out are more likely to be poor, unemployed, have substance abuse problems, be teen parents and be involved with the law.

Students who miss a month or more of kindergarten are more likely to perform poorly in 1st grade, particularly in reading.

By 6th grade, a pattern of chronic absence is a predictor of high school dropout rates.

Research shows that a student's success in 9th grade is directly linked to the likelihood the student will successfully graduate high school with a diploma by 12th grade.

HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD?

Let your child know that you think school is important.
Make sure your child goes to school regularly and on time.
Take an interest in your child's school work.
Set a regular bedtime schedule. Age should not be a factor.
Provide your child with plenty of time to get ready for school.
Provide regular times and a quiet, clean area for doing homework.
If your child starts to miss school, speak to the school and let your child know that he/she must attend.
Have regular communication with the school.
If your child is ill, contact the school and explain the reason for the absence.
Don't expect your older children to stay home and act as babysitters for younger children.
Set good examples and enforce rules.
Include regular exercise and a balanced diet in your child's daily activities.
Post the school calendar and notes on the refrigerator, or another prominent location.
Limit and balance extracurricular activities.
Keep open communication lines with your child.

Students have been working to present their christmas songs at the beginning of the month December for the AJM Winter Performance. Once the performance passes we will continue notation reading and adding instruments to play with the notation.

Events

Choir Field Trip Dec. 2nd at First Baptist Church by NHS

AJM K-5th Winter Performance Dec. 4th @ 4:00PM (4:15 start time): Students will wear Christmas/Ugly sweaters

Choir Field Trip Dec. 8th at Phoenix Capitol Building

Over the next month, our class will learn what we can do to be healthy. We will read about eating the right foods, staying fit, and getting enough sleep. We’ll also find out that we can eat a rainbow (and it’s delicious)! As we read about good health habits, we will research to find out about different ways to exercise and the reasons why we need sleep.

EXPRESSING NEEDS AND WANTS

Show your child how to politely tell others what he or she needs or wants. Encourage your child to make eye contact and use this language:

• Excuse me. May I go to ?

• Could you please pass me the ?

• Thank you. You’re welcome.

BIG IDEA WORDS

Reinforce these important topic words when you are reading or talking with your child:

energy, exercise and healthy.

WORDS TO KNOW

Practice reading and spelling these words that children will see a lot in books they read: are, be, big, do, good, got, had, here, his, lot, not, of, on, ten, very, was.

Math:

Solve Take From Problems Within 10

Write Addition and Subtraction Equations Within 10

Solve Word Problems Within 10

Put Together and Take Apart Within 10

Represent Addition and Subtraction Problems Within 10

This month our first graders enjoyed a rich variety of learning experiences. In social studies, students honored the heroes of our community—our veterans—and engaged in thoughtful conversations about our shared values, patriotism, and what it means to love and serve our country. In science, learners investigated the properties of light and darkness, conducting observations that helped them understand how light behaves and how shadows form. In ELA, students have been steadily building reading comprehension skills through guided reading, questioning, and practice with age‑appropriate texts. In math, children continue to practice strategies for finding the unknown number in an equation and have added a new visual tool—the bar model—to their problem‑solving toolbox. Each day our students bring curiosity, effort, and kindness to the classroom, turning every lesson into a little bit of magic and adventure.

2nd Grade families:

ELA - 2nd grade will start the month of December by wrapping up the HMH Leadership module. In this module, we are learning about the qualities of being a good leader. Then, we'll move on to module 6 which is all about weather. In this module, students will learn how weather changes from day to day and from season to season. Through texts and collaborative work, children will explore different types of weather they may experience quite often, or may never experience—such as blizzards or hurricanes. Students will also learn to notice how the weather affects them and their communities.

Math - In math, we're going to keep learning about money. This module is divided into three lessons. First is about relating the value of coins to a dollar. Students will show the value of one dollar in different ways using coins. Students need to learn the following keywords by heart: cent, penny, nickel, dime, quarter, dollar, dollar sign, and decimal point. The second part is about computing the value of dollar combinations where students use the value of different bill denominations to find the total value for a combination of bills and solve problems involving bills. Lastly, students will solve problems involving money. Students will use strategies to solve word problems involving money.

Science and Social Studies - In science, students learned how objects can be made from a variety of small pieces, in which each of the pieces can be suited for a different purpose. They explored and observed buildings and their parts, as well as their materials. Then, they thought of how to design their own buildings with various parts and materials. Next, students will look into how a variety of objects can be made from the same set of small pieces. Students will observe two photographs of a structure and ask how objects can be taken apart and put together in new ways. In social studies, students will answer the essential question, How does geography help us understand our world? Students will explain what they've learned about different types of maps and how to use them. Physical maps show the natural features of a place, such as mountains and rivers. Political maps show the borders around and within countries. Maps can also show cities, towns, and roads.

In third grade, this coming month, we will focus on reading stories that involve teamwork. In math, we continue to focus on multiplication and division strategies. Please continue to work with your children on their homework. What is sent home is a perfect way for you and your child to practice their reading skills and math strategies. Remember that you are your child's first and most important teacher!

Dear 4th Grade Parents,

We are excited to share some wonderful progress from our 4th grade level this month! We completed the DIBELS Middle-of-Year Assessment (Reading Fluency, Accuracy, and Comprehension), and many students reached their goal of being above level and on benchmark. We also finished the Imagine Math and Reading assessments, and most students are showing great growth.

Thank you to all the families who continue supporting learning at home by monitoring the reading log homework. Building strong reading habits truly makes a difference, and students are showing positive results from their hard work.

In Math, we are focusing on mastering the standards for multiplication and division. Please continue encouraging your child to practice multiplication facts at home and work on solving word problems to strengthen these skills.

Sincerely, Ms. Soto and Ms. Macabanti

In writing/social studies, 5th graders will be doing a research project on how different holidays are celebrated around the world. They will be assigned a country and then have the choice of what holiday they want to research. They will have to include information about the actual country, the climate, what the country if known for, games played, and food eaten during this celebration. Students will be giving their presentation of their country to their peers, and have the option of bringing in a sample of a food from that country.

In math, we continue to learn about multiplying and dividing fractions. Students learn and share new strategies with their classmates by using diverse techniques. Students will learn new ways to integrate area models, use manipulatives, and how to solve using standard algorithms.

In ELA, students will continue to learn comprehension strategies, how to summarize stories, and the different text structures needed/used to create a story that the reader wants to know more about.