Dear Chelsea Parents and Guardians,
Thank you for your participation in Parent-Teacher Conferences during November. These conferences highlighted something we have always known – your partnership is essential to our students’ success! Thank you for all you do to support your child and to collaborate with us here at school. Please know that our partnership extends far beyond the conclusion of the conference. If there is ever anything we can do to be of assistance, we are happy to help. We always welcome your open and honest communication.
It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is upon us! The beginning of this year has truly flown. As we enter the holiday season, we would like to take a moment to thank all of you for a successful first quarter of the school year, and for all that you have done to support both your child(ren) and our school. We are grateful for your partnership.
We wish everyone a fun and festive holiday season! We hope that all of you enjoy your Winter Break, and we will see everyone back at Chelsea when school resumes on January 7.
Sincerely,
Rachel Newcomb
Principal
Paula Paymaster
Assistant Principal
Ricky Innocenti
Dean of Students
We finished 2024 with over 12,000 check-outs from the library!
During the month of December, students learned about using the Beanstack app.
The library has a Theme Section that changes monthly to highlight special subjects. December’s theme shelf included books about winter holidays.
The Bluestem Reading Challenge has begun! Every year, educators in Illinois nominate 20 books for the Bluestem Award.
What to know about the Bluestem Reading Challenge at Chelsea:
· Participation is optional.
· After reading 4 titles, students are eligible to take part in voting for the book they believe should be the Bluestem award winner. We will read 4 books during library.
· If your child chooses to participate, they will be rewarded for every 4 books they read on this year’s Bluestem nominee list.
· Upon completion of 18 books, your student will be invited to the Bluestem Bash in the spring (details TBD).
· Chelsea’s library has copies of each book available. Public libraries in our area also have copies available.
· I encourage you and your child to look at the list together to choose which Bluestem nominated books your child will read this year.
· Tracking progress will be done using the Beanstack app on your child’s laptop or paper progress sheets are available upon request.
Parents are welcome to volunteer in the library with advance notice. Please contact Mrs. Schubert at kschubert@fsd157c.org to learn more.
In December, we had fun with bowling and a variety of fitness activities. We played various board games with a fitness twist including Mastermind, Monopoly, Jenga and Connect 4.
Students learned all about the 3-step approach and aiming for the pocket during the bowling unit. They also learned about strikes, spares, and turkeys as we taught them scoring the “old fashioned way” with paper and pencil! We finished the unit with a fun day of winter cosmic bowling.
Looking ahead to 2025:
- Some fun activities to look forward to in January include dance and jump rope.
- Our annual Kids Heart Challenge (Jump Rope for Heart) event kicks off in January with a presentation from the American Heart Association. Look for the new “Save the Date” card and parent letter explaining online websites and donations.
KEEP SAVING BOX TOPS for EDUCATION!
**Many food labels have started using box tops that need to be scanned. If you would like to continue to support our school, you would need to download the Box Tops for Education app. Make sure you select Chelsea Intermediate School before you begin scanning your box tops!**
In December, 3rd grade students were introduced to the half note, half rest, whole note, whole rest and sixteenth notes. They practiced rhythms during playing activities using rhythm sticks, hand drums, triangles, and tambourines. Students also learned about timbre. They listened to and played percussion instruments and categorized them into groups.
In January, students will continue to read rhythmic notation and their respective rhythm syllables. They will be introduced to the dotted half note. Third graders will read rhythms of various difficulty as they play unpitched percussion instruments and even compose their own rhythms. Students will study the instruments of the string, brass, and woodwind families.
In December, 4th students learned to play simple melodies on the recorder to reinforce their knowledge of rhythm and melody reading. Students worked very hard to play songs of increasing difficulty while using proper recorder playing technique. Using a recorder rubric, students graded one another on songs of varying levels. 4th graders earned “belts” for each level that they passed.
In January, 4th grade students will continue reviewing rhythmic notation patterns. Students will be introduced to sixteenth notes. 4th graders will finish up the quarter learning folk songs and accompanying them with folk dances or various classroom instruments.
In December, fifth grade students reviewed rhythmic notation and participated in singing and movement activities. Students were introduced to the patterns of how music can be organized and have discussed forms of music such as AB, ABA, Rondo, Theme and Variations, and Verse and Refrain. Students met the dotted quarter note and the single eighth note and sang, moved, and played various instruments using syncopated rhythm patterns. Students learned about music in the movies and finished up the quarter being foley artists.
In January, students will be introduced to eighth and sixteenth note combination patterns. They will play various rhythm instruments to show their knowledge of the note’s durations. They will also play songs of various difficulty on mallet instruments to practice their knowledge of melodic reading!
Happy New Year! The fifth graders finished off 2024 with catapults that helped destroy asteroids, Hot Rod Racers on a budget, and packaging a Pringles Chip to be sent in the mail. They will start the new year planning their invention for our Makerspace Showcase. Students will brainstorm ideas, come up with a plan, choose their materials, engineer it and redesign it as they need to. Last the fifth graders will present their inventions to the third and fourth graders.
Fourth graders finished up 2024 testing the pH levels of food in our refrigerators to determine how much acid they contain. Students also researched the strength of acids found in candy. Acid eats away at our teeth enamel. Fourth graders created a campaign to inform third graders how they can protect their teeth. The students then moved on to investigate the powder that spilled on the bridge. The fourth graders created a database of white powders to find their pH level and how each reacts to vinegar, then tested the mystery powder and compared it to the database. The last project of the year was the Mega Claw Machine. Students used pvc pipes and picture directions to create a cool machine that picks things up with air pressure power. The students will start the new year with a group invention that can help solve a problem in the world.
Third graders finished up 2024 with testing their Air Powered Dragster Racecars and engineering parachutes. Following the engineering design process can be difficult and frustrating but boy did these third graders rise up to the challenge! The third graders will start off the new year working with more technology and mini challenges to increase their communications skills with their peers.
How can it be that it is December already? I never believe how fast time goes by and how amazing our Tigers are doing in the studio! Students have worked hard in drawing, painting, sculpture, and collage boot camps while learning how to care for the studio and the materials properly. Students began their first choice-based project of the quarter, and I can’t wait to share it with you. Be on the lookout through my Instagram page for more updates and projects.
If you’re looking for a way to get your students off their devices and creating at home, challenge them to the Winter Art Challenge to see how far they can get. Get them to keep a sketchbook of all their work so they can see how they grow as they draw daily. Collecting work together in one space allows students to see their growth and allows them to share in their pride with you. Have students bring in their sketchbooks to share with me if they take on the challenge once they complete it.
If you’re looking for gift ideas, whether for the holiday or otherwise, see my list below of my Top 10 Favorite Materials. These are all great materials to help boost creativity and work on fine motor skills as well.
Looking forward to a great rest of the quarter and can’t wait to see all the amazing artwork that is to come.
January Dates to Remember
January 6 - Holiday - No School
January 7 - Hot Lunch (FSP)
January 9 - Theme Thursday - New Year's Resolution
January 10 - All School DEAR (Drop Everything and Read)
January 10 - Kids Heart Challenge Kickoff in PE
January 13 - 17 - Fastbridge Assessment
January 14 - Hot Lunch (Education Foundation)
January 16 - Theme Thursday - Neon Day
January 17 - Smoothie Day (FSP)
January 17 - End of Quarter 2
January 20 - Holiday - No School
January 21 - Hot Lunch (Band Boosters)
January 21 - Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00pm
January 23 - Theme Thursday - PJ Day
January 24 - Report Cards Sent Home
January 28 - Hot Lunch (Chorus Boosters)
