Herbert Mills STEAM Weekly News
May 20, 2020
Herbert Mills STEAM Elementary is a globally focused K-4 elementary school that is committed to developing culturally competent, critical and creative thinkers through rigorous STEAM best practices rooted in transdisciplinary problem-based learning. Our program prepares students to be competitive in the 21st century global marketplace, and to be critical and disciplined thinkers who are able to investigate problems thoroughly and effectively to understand their potential to drive meaningful and sustainable innovations.
Dear Families,
It has certainly been an unconventional school year! We thank you so much for all your hard work with your students during distance learning over the past two months.
Before the coronavirus hit, we had a busy school year! We were pleased to be able to add dance/creative movement classes through a partnership with BalletMet this year. Staff even started an after-school tap dance class with Ms. Pierman, our dance teacher! We were honored to have our school’s restorative practices featured in the October/November issue of Ohio Schools magazine, read by teachers across the state. Ms. Bozada-Jones and I also presented a session on restorative practices at the International Institute for Restorative Practices World Conference in October. We enjoyed a fantastic Innovation Night in November when our students presented all the design challenges they worked on this fall!
At the beginning of 2020, we said good-bye to some staff members and welcomed new ones who have enriched our school community. We had our first PTO Family Trivia Night in February, as well as a school-day performance by BalletMet dancers. Our annual Heartfest in February, put together by our fabulous physical education teacher Mrs. Gochenour, featured sessions run by representatives from six community organizations as well as Reynoldsburg high school students and was another resounding success!
Since Covid-19 has entered our lives, a lot has changed. But a lot has stayed the same. Our teachers and staff care deeply about your children and their academic success. You love your children and want only the best education for them. We have all worked together over the past ten weeks and we have done a pretty good job through an experience we never could have imagined! I am so proud of our school community.
I hope you all have a safe and relaxing summer break. If there is anything we can help you with over the summer, please reach out.
Stay safe and healthy!
Mrs. Mary Ellen Weeks
Principal
Return Chromebooks & Packets Tomorrow and Friday
Tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday, May 21 and 22, from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., we will be collecting learning packets, Chromebooks, and library books. You may also pick up your children’s belongings that were left in classrooms (items will be bagged and labeled) as well as school pictures and yearbooks.
On both days we will be following the same schedule:
Students’ last names beginning with A-L
8:00 to 11:30 a.m.
Students’ last names beginning with M-Z
11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Any families who are unable to come earlier in the day should come from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
If we have good weather, we would like families to pull up to the curb, stay in cars, and we will come to you. Watch for signs if there is rain!
Spring Portraits, Class Pictures, and Yearbooks
Limited Number of Yearbooks Available
If you didn't order a yearbook in February, we will have a few available for sale tomorrow and Friday for $10.00 each on a first-come, first-served basis (half will be reserved for students A-L and half for M-Z). Unfortunately, we are unable to hold yearbooks. Please bring payment (exact change – we have no change here at school – or check made out to “Herbert Mills”) when you come to school.
Grab & Go Meals Passed Out on Tuesday Next Week (May 26)
In observance of Memorial Day on Monday, May 25, all Reynoldsburg City Schools buildings will be closed. Next week's grab & go meals will be passed out at the high school on Livingston Avenue from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26. Grab & go breakfast & lunch will continue to be served on Mondays in June. Watch your e-mail for more information on how we will be serving meals in July and August!
Drive-Through Clap-Out
We will be holding a modified clap-out for our fourth-grade students next Tuesday, May 26 at 1 p.m. This year’s clap-out will be a drive-through. We invite all our fourth-grade families to drive through the loops in front of the school building and be cheered on to middle school by our teachers and staff!
4th Grade Certificates
Summer Reading Recommendations
Looking for book recommendations for your student for summer reading? Check out these resources!
Picture Books (c. preschool - 2nd grade)
Easy Readers and Primary Grades (c. 1st - 3rd grades)
Intermediate (c. 4th - 6th grades)
The Association for Library Service to Children also publishes summer reading lists. Click below for their 2020 lists!
The "We Are Kidlit Collective" puts together a summer reading list of books focusing on indigenous people and people of color. This year's list is not out yet, but click here to see 2019's list for all reading levels!
Reading Rockets is a national public literacy initiative honored by the Library of Congress for its work. Click here for their Summer 2019 reading list broken down by age.
Message from Mrs. Russell
Well, Tigers, this has been a school year that none of us will ever forget. It’s hard to believe that I haven’t seen you in over two months now! I miss you all very much. I hope you have been working hard at home and are ready for summer break, even though it will be very different this year.
I hope you enjoy lots of reading this summer! I am looking forward to reading nonfiction books about Australia, the American Civil War, and an unsolved (real-life) lighthouse mystery. There are also some new summer camp stories that I want to check out! (I never went to sleep-away camp when I was a kid, but I always wanted to.)
A few Columbus Metropolitan Library locations are beginning to offer curbside pick-up of materials. The Reynoldsburg branch isn’t open yet, but keep checking the library’s website for updates! If your family needs any help using the public library’s services (like requesting books to pick up or using online resources), please send me an e-mail and I will help you.
Stay safe and healthy, and I hope to see you all back here at Herbert Mills STEAM in August.
Love,
Mrs. Russell
Dear Herbert Mills STEAM Students and Families,
Please know that we miss you all very much and hope that you are all staying healthy!
As we head into summer do not forget to use sunscreen, wear bike helmets, and play safely to avoid accidents & injuries.
Here are some short videos that teach the safe health practices that help keep ourselves & our neighbors safe during COVID-19:
Face Mask Etiquette: https://youtu.be/1K9Zs16dhRE
Hand Washing: https://youtu.be/Cw4h-4WEpHg
Hand Sanitizing: https://youtu.be/YylsSJxHJdQ
How to Make a No-Sew Mask: https://youtu.be/odD2SCgCKy4
Social Distancing: What is Six Feet?: https://youtu.be/OesXL3I6M4s
Cross Contamination and Gloves: https://youtu.be/SGvVNFw1Egs
Hoping to see you all, safe and healthy, in August!
Mrs. Kageorge, RN, BSN, LSN
We're so proud we were your teachers,
We watched you learn and grow.
We worked so hard and had such fun,
How fast the time did go!
Our year was interrupted
and it seemed too soon to part.
Just know that you will always have
a special place within our hearts.
Have a wonderful summer!
See you in first grade!
Love,
Mrs. Deiderich & Mrs. Cotner
We can’t wait to see all of our firsties next year. We will miss you over the summer. Keep in touch!
Love,
Mrs. Cripe, Mrs. Hutson, Mrs. Murnen, and Mrs. Rittenour
Dear 2nd Grade Families,
Although this year did not end how we planned, we are all so proud of each one of you. You all took on new routines and did an incredible job during distance learning. Thank you for every message, photo, and laugh you provided us over Google Meet. This is truly a year we will never forget, full of love and support.
To our families, we cannot thank you enough for everything you did to help your students. To the students, we thank you for rising up to this new challenge and showing the world what being a Herbert Mills STEAM Tiger means. We had a problem, and we found innovative ways to solve it.
We don’t know what the future holds, but we can assure you that each one of us will always be here for you. Summer vacation might look different different this year, but that’s okay because we’re Tigers and imagining new possibilities is what we do!
Thank you for a wonderful (and memorable!) 2019-2020 school year,
Mrs. Anderson, Miss Buton, Ms. Martz, and Mrs. Watkins
Drive-Through Clap-Out: Next Tuesday, May 26, at 1 p.m.
Recognition Video: Link will be sent to 4th grade parents on the morning of May 26. Please enjoy!
Send-Off: Next Thursday, May 28 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Teachers have certificates/awards and a small gift for our AWESOME 4th graders. Please stop by and say good-bye!
We have enjoyed having you in our classes this year and wish you all the best in middle school!
Mrs. Hawley
Mrs. Cram
Ms. Mooney
Mrs. Taylor
Mrs. Murdock's Digital Classroom
Thank you so much to all our Herbert Mills STEAM parents that worked so hard with their children during the school closure. I very much enjoyed working with all the kids! I saw a lot of progress despite Covid-19 keeping us out of school.
I hope everyone can enjoy their summer but most of all stay healthy! Please email me at amurdock@reyn.org if you need any assistance with reading.
Mrs. Angela Murdock
K-2 Literacy Educational Paraprofessional
ICE Lab
Dear Tigers,
I will miss your stories, your jokes, your hugs and smiles, your laughter, your kindness, your out-of-the-box thinking, your willingness to try, your desire to be the best you can be, your curious mind, and of course your Friday Dance moves!
I hope you have a wonderful summer break and please keep in touch on our school Flipgrid page and on Twitter!
I can’t wait to see you again, soon!
Miss Sherman
News from the Gym...
Goodbye, farewell, I hate to see you go!
I hope you all have a great summer, boys and girls, and I hope you continue to stay active. I have been so happy to see so many kids sending me pictures of getting outside and exercising... even when we are stuck inside!
Please click here for a Fitness Challenge calendar for May, and here for one for June! If you email me at agochenour@reyn.org I will also send you one for July when it gets closer! You can also reach out to me on Twitter @AmyGoch.
I am sending you all a BIG hug - I wish I could deliver it in person. I can’t wait to be back in the gym playing games with you!
Stay well and keep moving,
Mrs. Gochenour
Did You Know?
About Us
Email: maryellen.weeks@reyn.org
Website: http://www.reyn.org/herbertmillselementary_home.aspx
Location: 6826 Retton Road, Reynoldsburg, OH, USA
Phone: (614) 367-2160
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Herbert-Mills-STEAM-Elementary-School-182252721956795/
Twitter: @HMSTEAMTigers