It is hard to believe that Spring Break has arrived! We are ¾ through the 2021-2022 school year, and approaching the home stretch. Thanks to everyone for making the most of this year. We came out from under the cloud of the pandemic and returned to some normalcy. Let’s continue this trend and keep communicating while working together to make the remaining time positive and successful for our kids! I hope you have a safe and wonderful break.

Each year we celebrate March is Reading month with a unique and interesting theme to encourage our students to READ. This year, with the masterful help of Mrs. O’Connell, “Read Across America” was gassed up and driven into full gear. All classrooms within the building were assigned a different region of the USA. Each state within the region were researched and labeled with important and interesting information for kids to see each day. All the teachers had a special mode of transportation that took them through each destination as reading minutes were the fuel that revved up each tank. Vehicles that were witnessed vrooming down the highway included a min-van, campers, buses, stage coach, an RV, and even a low-rider! Three classes won a pizza party for having the most reading minutes in the month. The top readers from each class received $15.00 Scholastic Book certificates. Over all, Central students read for a total of 2,233 hours! A special thanks to the Linden Masonic Lodge and Masons for donating two bikes and many more prizes.

Central Elementary has celebrated March is Reading Month in a variety of ways this month. Mrs. O'Dell's students participated by working together to build blanket forts. They brought in flashlights and a favorite stuffed animal to read to and had a read-a-thon in their forts.

Mrs. Sulick's class had plenty to do for March is Reading Month. Students took turns reading Dr. Seuss books to the class. They designed a book cover of their favorite book, wrote about a place they would like to visit in America, and then read their stories for all to enjoy. In addition students read over 400 minutes while at home. They finished the month with the students participating in a read-a thon.

Central Elementary Student council will be raising money for Dimes for Diapers starting April 4 thru April 29. This is a great cause. We did this 2 years ago and it was very successful. The top class that raises the most money will win a pizza party. Students will be able to bring their money in and put it in their classroom donation jar. Thanks for your support!

What a great evening the students had! There were over 300 Central Elementary students at this year's Shamrock Shuffle. That is over 80% of our students. . The DJ played music all evening and the kids danced and had fun. There were minute-to-win it games, pizza, cookies and lemonade. Students also received green necklaces. A special thanks for our PALS group and all the volunteers that made this event such a success!

Properties of matter, a 5th grade science standard for Michigan students, is always a crowd favorite each year. Students love all the hands-on activities that accompany all the hard work they put into their learning. From measuring mass and volume, to discovering the relative densities of items in liquids, the kids never shy away from “learning by doing” in Mrs. Koledo’s class.

What does one do with a bunch of Alka-Seltzer, water, and some carrot-shaped poppers? Students in Mrs. Fitzgerald’s science classes used these materials as they made a device to observe energy being converted from one form to another. After filling a popper half full of warm water, they dropped in an Alka-Seltzer tablet and capped off the lid. Chemical energy was produced during a chemical reaction, and carbon dioxide gas was formed. The resulting pressure popped off the lids, and energy that had been stored in the tablet was converted to energy in the form of sound. It was also a great opportunity to touch on the concepts of solutions, solutes, solvents, and products.

Mrs. Wernet and Mrs. Howard's classes enjoyed a Math Manipulative Day. Our students had their choice of several different math stations to explore. Math stations included: multiplication bingo, tangrams, Geoboards, pattern blocks, snap cubes, math war, pattern blocks, and color tiles. The students were engaged and had fun. Snap Cubes were a big hit with the students and became a group effort. The students measured how long their train was in yards. They then had to convert it to inches. The snap cube train extended out of our classroom, across the hallway and into the next classroom

March Madness and the ever popular brackets, have found a way into the classroom. In Mrs. Koledo’s class, students follow the “Book Bracket” and spend approximately ten minutes a day, every other day, reading fun and sometimes serious picture books. Each book reveals a theme that the students discover and discuss at the end. Just like the NCAA, the books go through each level and finally arrive at the “Final Four.” Stay tuned as votes are still being cast for the Championship.

Representatives from Consumers Energy visited Central Elementary to talk our 5th grade students. The presentation included a take home energy efficiency kit for each participating student and teacher. The program teaches the importance of energy, natural and environmental resources, and gives each participating student’s family energy-efficient technologies to install at home.

Each year on the 21st of March we celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. People with Down Syndrome have an extra chromosome (they have 3 copies of chromosome 21 - hence the 21st of March). To support World Down Syndrome day the "Lots of Socks" fundraising campaign is a worldwide campaign run by Down Syndrome International. During lunch we sold suckers and wristbands to help spread Down Syndrome Awareness.

March 25 End of Marking Period

March 28 Spring Break Begins

April 04 Spring Break Ends

April 08 Report Cards Released

April 15 No School

Email: mgagne@lindenschool.org
Website: lindenscommunitschools.org
Location: 7199 West Silver Lake Road, Linden, MI, USA
Phone: 810-591-8412