April From Our Teachers
Leawood Elementary School
GARDEN UPDATE - April 20th, SAVE THE DATE!!
We made a lot of progress with the garden over break. We have the blocks delivered, the students will be painting the block caps next week. The asphalt has been removed and the crusher fines will be delivered this week. Next is the irrigation system so we're ready to roll on April 20th. Special thanks to Dr Shirl Smith from the non-profit Feeding Many for all her connections, donations, and support! We still need lots of help planning, getting donations, and scheduling the events for the April 20th DAY OF SERVICE roll out! On this day, all Columbine School Communities are planning projects for their communities to come together and pitch in to help. Our festivities will be 9am to 2pm. There will be lots of work to be done, but all amidst fun, friends, food, kids crafts, music, and maybe even some dancing. Check our garden website for more information: Columbine Roots. Email Kristi with questions or to offer support at kmueller0523@gmail.com.
LEAWOOD'S COLUMBINE ROOTS GARDEN
Hey Leawood Lions... it's garden time! Planning is coming along very well. As always we are under funded and have bigger plans. We are looking for you, yes you. Can you watch you tube videos and build a brick raised bed? You are hired. Are you an artist? Great, you can help make the shed amazing! Have extra garden tools you want to donate? Perfect, we will take them! Do you need a tax write off? We are a non profit! Think of the savings. Yes, this is a community funded project to make kids eat tomatoes. Come have fun with us and help future generations eat healthy. Check out the Wish List in the school lobby for stuff we need!
From the Library
Thank you to the many families who visited our spring book fair. It was nice to see so many children excited about reading! We had a great turnout, and will be able to purchase many new books for our library with the proceeds.
It is time to purchase your 2018/2019 Leawood Elementary Yearbook! This year, you have the option to customize a two page spread for free! This is OPTIONAL, and you will not have blank pages if you choose not to customize. If you decide to customize your student’s yearbook, the website gives easy to follow directions. If you need additional help customizing your pages, please call TreeRing at 1-877-755-8733 and select the customer service option. The deadline to purchase the 2018/2019 Leawood Elementary Yearbook is April 8th. Leawood’s password is 1015155186651069. Please use this link to purchase: Leawood Yearbook
Lisa Pepper, Digital Teacher Librarian
Third Grade and Kindergarten Writing Time:
There has been fun happenings between Mrs. Rombach and Mr. Boogert’s class these early spring days. In late February, Mr. Boogert’s 3rd Graders wrote storybooks to share with Mrs. Rombach Kindergartners to show off their skills while writing narrative stories. You can see these books hanging outside of Mr Boogert’s room right now. On March 21st, Mrs. Rombach’s Kindergartners returned the favor by coming over and reading four different stories about the seasons!
-Mr. Boogert. 3rd Grade Teacher
April Newsletter/ P.E.
We have just finished our ropes and gymnastics in our P.E. classes and our after school program. We have many students who have made great strides in both after school and class time. Our kids have shown such great improvement in their skills. We had nightly presentations for all grade levels in our after school program. We also had 2 presentations during the day for all students and staff to enjoy our little gymnast as they were able to show many skills on floor, vault and beam.
We have just now began to work on field day activities to get ready for our field days that will have Kdgn, 1st, 3rd and 5th grades on Monday May 13 and 2nd, 4th, and 6th grades on Tuesday May 14, 2019 with Wednesday May 15 as a makeup day if necessary. This has been a great year as we are nearing the end of the year. I will really be missing our 5th and 6th graders as they will be leaving for middle school. We will look forward to seeing all of you at our field days.
Thank you,
F.T. Gonzales/Leawood P.E.
Music Happenings
1st Grade Music Game Night on Thursday, March 21st was a big success! Thanks to all the families that joined us in singing, moving, and playing together. See more pictures and videos here.
The 4th, 5th, 6th grade and Leawood Rock Band concert April 23rd at 7pm in the gym. Read our flyer for more information. We have been working hard on our group performance skills in a band using drumset, bass, keyboard, singing, ukulele, and guitar. Each class has picked one song to learn together and each student chooses their primary instrument. Along with building our musical skills, this has required critical thinking, creative, listening, performing, and collaborative skills. We can’t wait to share and celebrate our hard work with families! As part of this concert, we are seeking to borrow electric basses, guitars, amplifiers, and other sound equipment. If you have gear we could borrow on the week of April 23rd, or experience in sound engineering and would be interested in volunteering to help set up and run sound, please contact Mr. Zigman.
The Leawood Rock Band will be playing and singing in the Columbine Area Choral Festival on April 17th at 7pm at Columbine High School. We will also be playing/singing an acoustic set at the Leawood Garden Ceremony on April 20th at 11am.
~ Mr Zigman, Music Teacher
A message from Instrumental Music:
I want to take this moment to give a quick reminder of the importance of students bringing their instruments to school. Students are graded on their level of preparation and readiness for their instrumental music classes. Every student begins the trimester with this standard being “Effectively Demonstrates,” and students are allowed two instances of forgotten instruments before any grade is affected. After this their grade begins to be affected, and any time they have to come with no instrument they are missing out on the practice and improvement that should happen in each instrumental music class. Please do your best to continue reminding your students to bring their instruments to school on their two instrumental music days per week.
Students have been assessed on their playing skills for second trimester, and music has been passed out that will require a lot of practice and the implementation of these skills. Keep your eyes on our website www.columbineareamusic.us for upcoming links to recordings of this music. Consider listening with your student to get a better understanding of the music, and to assist in their individual practice.
Make sure our remaining concert dates are on your calendar:
Spring Band and Orchestra Concert
Thursday May 9:
Columbine High School Gym
Students arrive at 5:30pm
Performance at 6:00pm
Performance will conclude by 7:00pm
Please plan to stay for the duration of the performance.
Spring Advanced Band and Orchestra Tour (6th grade only)
Tuesday April 30: During the school day, not an evening event.
The advanced band and orchestra will travel to all area elementary schools during the school day to share the joy of music with younger students, and help us recruit the next year of instrumental music students.
I am still seeking chaperones to assist with the successful execution of this event! Please contact me if interested.
Sincerely,
Eric Whaylen
Instrumental Music Teacher
4th Grade Solar Car Races
Congratulations to our fourth graders for completing our first Solar Car Races at Leawood! Students learned about energy and how energy is transferred to vehicle production. Solar cars depend on PV cells to convert sunlight into electricity to drive electric motors.
Students used the Next Generation Science Standards throughout the Scientific Method to answer various questions about fossil fuels, renewable & nonrenewable energy, how solar energy is collected, benefits of solar energy, and negative impacts from solar energy vehicles.
See below for the first place winners from each class and pictures from our race day. Thank you to all of the parents who helped to make our races happen!
Mrs. Henke’s Class - Foxy Fire: Shayn, Wyatt, Huan, and Sydney - 7.66 sec.
Mrs. Burnham’s Class - Teal Unicorns: Dani, Lucy, and Tiahana - 9.55 sec.
Miss. Chasney Class - Ferrari: JoJo, Alan, Lorelai, and Morgan - 10.23 sec.
From the Instructional Coach
Coach Corner
Test Anxiety: How You Can Help Your Child
During the month of April, 3rd through 6th grade students at Leawood will take the CMAS Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics. 5th grade students will be also be taking the CMAS science test.
You may notice that your children are anxious at home the nights before and the mornings of the tests. Here are some tips at how you can help at home to assist in alleviating some of the stress your child may be feeling.
Parents should:
* make sure their children attend school regularly.
* create and maintain a home environment that will help their children be well rested during regular school days and during the week of testing.
* evaluate their children's academic progress over a period of time rather than on one single test score.
* talk with their children and encourage them to do their best.
* be proactive, contact school officials if they have questions concerning tests results.
* encourage their children to maintain a healthy diet and exercise on a regular basis.
Students are encouraged to:
* consistently develop good sleeping habits, especially during the week of the test, and maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly.
* avoid cramming, develop good study habits and good test taking skills.
* wear comfortable clothes during the exam and maintain a comfortable and relaxed body posture during the test.
* be aware of time allotted for the test, read directions carefully, and for time management purposes leave questions blank that they are not sure of and attempt to answer them later.
* not compare themselves to other students while taking the test.
* take deep breaths and attempt to regain composure when anxiety levels are high or when negative thoughts are present.
SOURCE: http://www.ericdigests.org/2005-2/anxiety.html
We are so proud of the work your children have done this school year! Give them a pat on the back for their hard work!
Aimee Crispin, Instructional Coach