ELMORE School News
October 17, 2026
Week 8
Dear Elmore School Families,
The week brought a lot of rain and wind, but that didn't keep us from having a great week. It was a short week as we had Monday off in honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day. Thursday we had the priviledge of hosting the PAML 6th grade students and teachers to kick off a year of community outreach collaboration. The rain kept us inside for our second week of ECO, but we made the most of the morning with an engaging Owl Banding lesson and related activities. It was a fun week!
Literacy:
Students have been engaging in a multitude of reading and writing lessons. Phonics lessons this week included inflected ending and learning the rules to adding suffixes to the end of words. There are several rules to learn when adding suffixes, so it can get a little tricky! In writing students completed their first drafts of their narratives; writing their middle and end, and learning about adding descriptive details.
Math:
In math this week, 1st and 2nd graders have completed their first Unit. They will be taking a unit test next week before we embark on our next unit. 3rd grade began the last section in their first unit which has moved from representing multiplication with drawings and diagrams showing equal groups, to creating rectangular arrays to represent a number and then relating it to multiplication. A array is a representation consisting of rows that have equal numbers and columns that have equal numbers.
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Science:
This week we learned about three different animal species that have something in common. They are all nocturnal, meaning they are active at night. We learned that each of the animals have adaptations that help them to find food at night. We read about an animal called a bush baby and how the bush baby uses its senses to survive. They see well at night because their pupils get larger to allow more light to enter their eyes! Then we learned about different types of bats and how they use echolocation to fly at night without bumping into things and to find food at night, and we learned about the incredible ability owls have to turn their heads to see behind themselves and their large eyes that allow them to see well in the dark.
We decided to move ECO indoors this week as the forecast projected heavy rain and wind on Friday. It proved to be a wise decision as the wind and rain were pretty strong. This week our focus lesson was about the Northern Saw-Whet Owl. Each year during the month of October, scientist all over the country are studying the migratory pattern of the Saw-whet Owl. Students participated in a mock owl banding activity to learn about how scientist capture Saw-Whet Owls to collect and record data on them. Each Owl is then banded with small metal band with an ID number that scientist can use to identify them. Then the owls are released back into the wild to continue their migration. During "Forest choice" students made little owls using wool fiber and spruce cones, they colored owl pictures, and compared and contrasted owls and bats using a Venn Diagram graphic organizer.
On a side note, the NBNC is an official Owl Banding sight. They have Public Owl Banding demonstrations open to the public! check it out! https://northbranchnaturecenter.org/event/public-owl-banding-demonstration-2
On Thursday the PAML 6th graders visited the Elmore School. This was the first of what we anticipate being a monthly partnership. This week we began with a couple of "getting to know you" activities in the school yard. Then everyone split into smaller groups and went on a Elmore Scavenger Hunt. Each group consisted of current Elmore students, 6th graders (one of which attended the Elmore School), and at least one adult. Groups followed a series of clues leading them to different Elmore locations. Along the way students learned a little about each location and its relevance to the town of Elmore, The scavenger Hunt ended at the pavilion at the Elmore State Park where students enjoyed pizza for lunch! Then we all made our way back to the Elmore School for one last culminating group activity! What an amazing morning! We look forward to continuing this partnership!
Lunch:
We have Family Hot Lunch on Monday! Heather Hill is bringing Tacos and a special birthday treat!
School Hot Lunch will be available on Tuesday and Thursday . See the Menu below for options. Meat sandwiches or PB&J are available Tuesday-Friday. Please send me an email at mailto:diane.nicholls@lamoillesouth.org with your orders for the week by 6:00 pm on Sunday.
Announcements:
- School Banking - Monday
- PE - Wednesday - students need sneakers and a water bottle.
- Library is Thursday - please return books!
- Friday, October 23rd - ECO - We need kindling! (Thank you to the Yeatman's for the firewood!)
- No School - Wednesday - Nov. 11th (Veterans Day) - Teacher PD
- No School - Nov. 23-24 - Family Conferences
- No School Nov. 25-27 - Thanksgiving Break
Have a wonderful weekend!
In Gratitude,
Diane Nicholls
