Wildcat ROAR 10-26-26

Dear RRO Families,

Halloween is upon us, and as you can imagine, the children are already excited. Please check out the special edition newsletter by visiting the link that tells all about our Halloween plans and expectations. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

https://app.smore.com/n/c4jmk

If you didn't get the opportunity to meet with your child's teacher for our recent Parent-Teacher Conferences, please take a moment to reach out this week and set up an in-person or telephone conference. It is important for us to partner together for your child's success!

I look forward to seeing you around school.

Best,

Sandie

A friendly reminder that parents/guardians are not permitted to enter the building without permission throughout the day, including before school begins and after school is dismissed. If a parent/guardian needs to speak to a teacher, please call or e-mail and set up a time to talk/meet. Before and after school are extremely busy times for teachers and they should not be interrupted during those times. Additionally, for the safety of all of our students and staff, we need to monitor who is in the building at all times, so it is not permitted for parents to enter the building and walk around the building.

In third grade, we spend instructional time each day on word study. Word study is spelling and vocabulary instruction. There is a set list of words for each week. In the beginning of the year, these words are chosen to help students learn how to spell words when they add -ing and -ed to words. This practice will help them to write more confidently.

Once we finish with this, we link our spelling instruction with vocabulary development. For those words, students learn both spellings and meanings. The words themselves come from the books that students are reading. We give a word study test approximately every fifth day to monitor progress.

You may notice that the words are challenging. We teach students a procedure for dividing them into chunks that are easier to spell. That procedure uses a set of sound and spelling relationships called syllable types. These types are part of our instruction to help make the spellings easier, but they are not part of our testing.

For our vocabulary work, we want students to be able to use the words, not just memorize definitions. For the word study test, your child will spell the words for the week and also be asked to use some of them in sentences that demonstrate their meaning. Our procedure for this is called Super Sentences, and we help students practice planning and writing sentences during the week, reviewing spellings and meanings the day before the test.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

It has been great getting to know the first graders these past few months. We started the year reviewing rhythm and steady beat. These students have got the beat! We are exploring ways to play the beat as body percussion, on different instruments and working together to make one giant beat. More recently, in October, we are working on songs with creepy crawling spiders and doing pitch exploration with our voices going up and down. We introduced using puppets as a way to speak for them and make their voices very low and very high. First graders are doing a wonderful job!

Second grade students are preparing for a music field trip coming up on October 27th! We will be attending the musical production of Junie B. Jones at Fruitport High School. Permission slips have been turned in and we have been discussing all things theater these last few weeks. Students are learning proper etiquette and behavior when attending a live musical performance. We are working on being a respectful audience member and applauding after a song is completed. We just introduced working with two contrasting parts in music, and how important it is to keep your eyes on the director to make sure we all stay together, even when our parts are different!

Third grade students were introduced to the ukulele this month! I am so impressed at how quickly they are learning and being careful with this fragile instrument. Learning a new instrument can be very challenging. Many students are overcoming their frustration and persevering through something new. I’m very proud of them! We worked on strumming patterns with our right hand and we played three new chords on the ukulele. This instrument is even more challenging because your hands are doing different things at the same time. In addition to ukuleles we have been working on whole class songs, partner songs, and continuing to further our understanding on rhythm and identifying rhythmic patterns in short songs.

Fourth grade students started the year reviewing the ukulele. Many students picked it right up again where we left off from last year. We went over proper posture and hand position when playing. Students got to play some new rhythms with their right hand strumming patterns and we introduced two new chords with our left hand. We also have been reviewing and practicing reading music notes on the treble clef staff line. Students identified notes and notated them on the staff line as review from reading recorder notes from last year. We worked on identifying notes, and transferring these to xylophones and playing along with the Spooky Scary Skeletons song for October.

Fifth grade students have been singing! We are discussing the importance of vocal warmups, relating it to getting ready/warming up before a basketball or football game. The voice is a muscle, so we have been singing vocal warm ups with the piano. They were hesitant at first, but have picked it up and are singing through the warms up quickly now! We also reviewed recorders this month. I am impressed with their tone and sound. Not as many squeaky sounds as third and fourth grade. They have great control and were reading rhythms and playing notes through several songs this month. It helped that we were playing Ghostbusters, Monster Mash, and Michael Jackson songs. We have also been focusing on rhythm. Students are reading the rhythm, writing it, and even had a chance to create their own short rhythmic patterns. Students were able to create and exchange rhythms with each other to read and then hear what they had written down.

PLEASE NOTE: On the next Music Newsletter, please look for detailed information regarding the musical for students in Grades 3rd - 5th grade.

Mrs. Long

The next PTO meeting is Monday, November 2nd at 6:00 PM in the RRO CAT Lab. We hope to see you there!

Please visit the Sign-Up Genius link below to help with Pickles and Popcorn.

Montague Branch Library events – October 2026

Toddler Storytime

Thursday, October 29 – 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Storytime for 2 and 3 year old toddlers and their caregivers. Includes books, fingerplays,

music, movement, and other activities. It's FREE!

Paint a Pumpkin Picture

Monday, October 26 – 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Using simple and fun techniques, paint a festive pumpkin picture on canvas. You'll leave

with unique, you-created art and confidence in artistic expression!

Sign up - It's FREE!

Montague Branch Library events – November 2026

Citizen Bears Unite

Wednesday, November 4 – 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

We need a community of friends to play games that encourage teamwork and problem-

solving. Work together and earn your Citizen Bear Bestie Badge. Sign up- it's FREE!

Registration link: Citizen Bears Unite | Muskegon Area District Library | BiblioCommons

This program is part of our Big Read Lakeshore Initiative, which is an annual fall

community read and has been inspired by this year's selected books: The Circle by

Dave Eggers, The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers, What Can A Citizen Do? by

Dave Eggers, and You Hold Me Up, by Monique Gray Smith.

Toddler Storytime

Thursday, November 5 - 11:00am–12:00pm

Thursday, November 12 - 11:00am–12:00pm

Storytime for 2 and 3 year old toddlers and their caregivers. Includes books, fingerplays,

music, movement, and other activities. It's free!

Navigating the A.I. Generation

Thursday, November 5 – 5:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

Kids are growing up in an A.I.-driven world, and the way they learn and prepare for the

future is changing rapidly. Learn how AI is reshaping education, what "cheating" looks

like today, and how these tools are becoming essential preparation for future careers.

Discover practical ways you can help the younger generation navigate this technology

ethically, safely, and wisely. Presented by Andy Mann, Instructional Technology

Consultant at MAISD. Sign up – it’s FREE!

Registration link: https://muskegonadl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events/6a58f032cca66c2f00a3cbdb

This program is part of our Big Read Lakeshore Initiative and has been inspired by this

year's selected books: The Circle by Dave Eggers, The Eyes & the Impossible by Dave

Eggers, What Can A Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers, and You Hold Me Up, by Monique

Gray Smith.

You Hold Me Up Storytime

Thursday, November 19 – 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Little River Band of Ottawa Indians member, Rachel Kops, will be reading our Mini Read

book, You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith. Join us for stories and a birchbark art

activity. It's free!

This program is part of our Big Read Lakeshore Initiative, which is an annual fall

community read and has been inspired by this year's selected books: The Circle by

Dave Eggers, The Eyes & the Impossible by Dave Eggers, What Can A Citizen Do? by

Dave Eggers, and You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith.

Eye Canvas Art

Thursday, November 19 – 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Create a 4" x 6" postcard inspired by "A View From Your Eyes" one of the themes in the

Middle Read book, The Eyes and the Impossible. Lacking art supplies? We have you

covered with a buffet of art supplies for you to use. Sign up - It's free!

This program is part of our Big Read Lakeshore Initiative, which is an annual fall

community read and has been inspired by this year's selected books: The Circle by

Dave Eggers, The Eyes & the Impossible by Dave Eggers, What Can A Citizen Do? by

Dave Eggers, and You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith.

Simmering Potpourri

Monday, November 23 – 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Relax before the holiday hustle and bustle starts. There will be some visiting, adult

coloring sheets and ingredients to make a simmering potpourri mix.

Sign up - It's FREE!

Registration link: https://muskegonadl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events/6a58f032cca66c2f00a3cbdb

The Wildcat ROAR will be sent out to RRO families every two weeks. Watch for it in your e-mail on Sunday night/Monday morning. It will also be posted on the RRO Elementary website page.

Watch for the next newsletter to be sent out November 9, 2026.

Week of October 26

27 - 2nd Graders Field Trip to Junie B. Jones Musical Theater at Fruitport High School

28 - Early Dismissal, 2:55 PM

29 - 3rd Graders to Pool School, 11:30 AM-2:30 PM

30 - Student of the Month Assembly, Gym, 9:00 AM

30 - Halloween Parties

31 - Trunk or Treat, RRO, 6:00-8:00 PM

1 - Daylight Savings Time Ends - Set clocks back one hour

Week of November 2

2 - PTO Mtg, RRO CAT Lab, 6:00 PM

3 - Election Day - Please vote!

4 - Early Dismissal, 2:55 PM

5 - Picture Retake Day

5 - 3rd Graders to Pool School, 11:30 AM-2:30 PM

6 - Pickles & Popcorn - FREE for ALL Students!

6 - End of the 1st Marking Period

E-mail: lundquists@mapsk12.org

Websites: https://www.mapsk12.org/rroelementary/

Locations: R.R. Oehrli Elementary School, 4859 Knudsen Street, Montague, MI 49437

Phones: (231) 894-9018