Dear Chelsea Parents and Guardians,
Third quarter has officially begun! We would not have successfully reached this point without your support. Your partnership is the key to ensuring that all our Tigers reach their full potential!
In February, we will celebrate Black History Month throughout all our Chelsea classrooms. On the announcements each week, we will highlight quotes from prominent African Americans in history as well as interesting facts connected to Black History Month. Each teacher will read a different book to their students every week, written by an author who is a person of color and/or featuring diverse individuals. The teachers will facilitate class discussions about each book. In addition, each class will interpret a quote from a notable African American individual and create a visual display to accompany the quote. Some examples of this may include a decorated banner, a drawing of what the students visualize when they read the quote, a written interpretation/explanation, or students might research facts about the author of the quote and use those in their display. Our Encore and PE classes will also make Black History Month connections throughout the month. While we continue to strive to teach the importance of celebrating diversity and acceptance in our school, we are proud to include these focused teachings during the month of February to celebrate Black History Month.
On February 5, we will be celebrating World Read Aloud Day, and what better way to celebrate that than to read? Each class will have a Tic Tac Toe board with a variety of reading activities to choose from that day. If the class earns a Tic Tac Toe by completing activities from the board, they will be rewarded with an extra recess!
During the week of February 10, we will begin our second season of after school clubs. We are very pleased to provide opportunities for our Chelsea Tigers to connect over common interests.
Our second Parents in PE event will be held on February 12 and 13. We are looking forward to welcoming you into the building to participate in the Kids’ Heart Challenge with your Chelsea Tiger!
We will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with a party on Friday, February 14. All students are welcome to bring valentines for their classmates on the fourteenth if they would like. Please remember, although treat bags are welcome, they must not include any food items.
During the week of February 24, Chelsea will be hosting our spring Scholastic Book Fair. We will be inviting all families to a special STEAM and Family Book Fair Night on Thursday, February 27. Stay tuned for more information coming soon!
There are so many wonderful things on the horizon for our Tigers. We are excited for a fantastic February!
Sincerely,
Rachel Newcomb
Principal
Paula Paymaster
Assistant Principal
Ricky Innocenti
Dean of Students
Thank you to all drivers who continue to comply with our "Right Turn Only" sign at Chelsea's main exit on to 80th Avenue. Your cooperation in turning right during arrival and dismissal has significantly improved the speed and efficiency of our drop-off and pick-up lines.
We respectfully request that all drivers comply and turn right out of the Chelsea parking lot during arrival and dismissal. We know this may be a minor inconvenience, but when drivers turn right, it has a major impact on our car rider lines in the best possible way.
February - A Month of Healthy Opportunities
February is a great month to promote healthy eating and physical activity at our school!
National Children's Dental Health Month
Tooth decay remains the most common chronic disease among children in the U.S. and it can be prevented.
American Heart Month
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. During this month, help students understand the importance of a healthy heart and actions they can take to live a heart healthy life.
We finished January with over 16,000 check-outs from the library this school year!
The library has a theme section that changes monthly to highlight special subjects. February’s theme shelf will include books celebrating Black History Month.
The Bluestem Reading Challenge is still going! In January, we read two Bluestem books together – Boardwalk Babies by Marissa Moss and Washed Ashore by Kelly Crull.
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.
Just before the end of 2nd quarter, an email was sent to parents of students who have overdue books. Please ask your student to return overdue books to the library. If the book is lost, you have 2 options to replace the book:
1. Replace the book with a new copy that you have purchased. Your student can bring that to the library.
2. Pay for the book by using MySchoolBucks. Once you navigate to the “Pay for lost/damaged books” option, you can enter the price of the book, which should be in the email. Mrs. Schubert will be notified when payment is made.
Parents are welcome to volunteer in the library with advance notice. Please contact Mrs. Schubert at kschubert@fsd157c.org to learn more.
In January, Chelsea students started the new year with our dance unit. All the favorites were a hit: Cotton-Eyed Joe, Aaron’s Party, Cha-Cha Slide, Cupid Shuffle and Macarena. Looks like the students will be a hit on the dance floor in the future! Students were also introduced to a game that is popular in other parts of the world, Cricket. With some background knowledge students were soon able to practice and play a modified version of Cricket.
January also brought us a kickoff to our big heart healthy event- Kids Heart Challenge. Students learned all about this year’s event from a representative of the American Heart Association. We look forward to educating students on how to keep their hearts healthy and getting them moving in heart healthy activities in PE. If you would like to help our school collect lifesaving donations, head to the kid’s heart challenge website, or download the app. Also, keep an eye out for a Parents in PE letter coming home for our Kids Heart Challenge jump rope event.
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 need to download the Box Tops for Education app. Make sure you select Chelsea Intermediate School before you begin scanning your box tops!**
In February, 3rd graders will learn about the different types of rhythmic notation. Students have learned to read quarter notes, quarter rests, and beamed 8th notes. In February, we will learn about half notes, half rests, whole notes, and whole rests. They will play these rhythms on percussion instruments like hand drums, rhythm sticks, triangles, and more! Students will continue singing various songs throughout the month. We practice singing with good posture and breath control. Third grade students are already doing a great job following along with actual music as opposed to word sheets!
In February, 4th grade students will study pitch and the notes of the treble clef staff. We will use a variety of games and songs to learn. In addition, students will learn how music is organized into different time signatures. We will play rhythm activities and sing songs using meter in 4, 3, and 2. All 4th grade students will play the recorder in the last 3-4 weeks of Quarter 1. If you have a recorder at home, feel free to send it into music at any point! Information on how to order the recorder will be coming home soon. This is such an exciting unit for the 4th grade students.
In February, 5th grade students will continue learning about song form and how all music is organized. We will learn more complex rhythm patterns using syncopation during playing and singing activities. Students will sing various songs throughout the month with good posture and breath control and focus on expressive elements in their singing. Students will also play a variety of songs on mallet instruments throughout the quarter. They will sing and play simultaneously.
Well, the second quarter STEM students finished up strong! I am so proud of the students following the engineering design process, thinking critically, problem solving, and persevering!
Fifth graders planned, designed, and engineered their Makerspace inventions. Third and fourth graders were invited to view their inventions and hear the 5th graders pitch their ideas.
Fourth graders worked in collaborative groups to complete a Makerspace invention that solved a problem. They presented their design to their classmates. They were quite impressive!
Third graders engineered and tested their parachutes. Testing their designs on the rip cords allowed them to see if a parachute with long strings or short strings fell to the ground slower. A couple fun projects were building towers that could withstand an earthquake and a challenging marble maze!
We are excited to start the third quarter. Boy the year is moving quickly. All students completed a scavenger hunt finding all the important supplies they will need to use for their projects. Students worked on team building skills by creating a pyramid tower using directional words, kind intonation, and encouragement. All classes traveled to Egypt to view the Great Pyramids and complete the challenge of making a replica by using a hammer and chisel to chip away a styrofoam cube in the shape of a pyramid. With this activity students learned the parts of the Engineering Design Process.
STEAM Night is Thursday, February 27 5:30-7:00pm - Look out for more details!
We also welcome any craft items, gears, axel rods, wheels, etc. you are no longer using at home for our STEM room Makerspace.
We have somehow made it halfway through the year already! I guess time does fly when you’re having fun, and we have been doing just that, having fun and creating! Second quarter friends learned so much and created some truly fantastic projects. Students learned about various artists through our Meet the Artist days, such as Stefan Bucher, Max Alexander, Romero Britto, Indi Maverick, and so many more. They learned new skills and techniques in drawing, painting, and collaging boot camp. All grades closed out the quarter working on printmaking projects and they loved them. 5th grade learned about monoprinting, 4th grade created collagraph prints, and 3rd grade worked on relief prints. I am so proud of all the work they created.
I am so excited for my 3rd quarter friends to have the same fun and see the beautiful works of art they create. Tell your students to keep up their hard work. If you’re looking for a way to keep your Tiger creating, look at the Art Challenge and idea prompts for some at home creating. Feel free to tag me on Instagram or email me finished projects! As always, please do not hesitate to reach out at any time with any questions or concerns.
Students have spent their first two weeks in Spanish class practicing basic conversations (greetings and farewells, asking and answering how they are doing, saying the date, stating their favorite color and how old they are.) Throughout February, students will be building their language skills to talk about the weather, clothing and activities they do throughout the year.
February Dates to Remember
February 4 - Hot Lunch (Education Foundation)
February 5 - World Read Aloud Day
February 6 - Theme Thursday - Football Fandom
February 7 - Smoothie Day (FSP)
February 7 - Fastbridge Reports Sent Home
February 11 - Hot Lunch (Athletic Boosters)
February 12 - Kids' Heart Challenge during PE (Parents in PE)
February 13 - Kids' Heart Challenge during PE (Parents in PE)
February 13 - Theme Thursday - Feel the Love
February 14 - Valentine's Day Parties 11:00am - 11:45am
February 14 - SIP Day - Dismissal at 12:05pm
February 17 - Holiday - No School
February 18 - Hot Lunch (FSP)
February 18 - Board of Education Meeting at 7:00pm
February 20 - Theme Thursday - Lumberjack Day
February 21 - 5A Field Trip to Joliet Junior College
February 24 - February 28 - Spring Book Fair
February 25 - Hot Lunch (Band Boosters)
February 27 - Theme Thursday - Disney Day
February 27 - STEAM and Book Fair Family Night 5:30 - 7:00pm
February 28 - 5B Field Trip to Joliet Junior College
