Each month, Horton Elementary covers several skills in the area of social and emotional learning. During the month of January, students will be learning about social engagement, communication, and resolving conflicts. The goal is that students will understand the importance of knowing when and how to express their feelings and emotions. They will understand what are nonverbal clues as well. In conjunction with these skills, we will be learning how to “Think Win-Win” when working with others and in problem-solving situations.
Some of the other activities new for the month of January are that some 4th graders will be working on researching skills when they are learning about and writing a report on a famous Kansan.
Many of the grade levels utilize the Mystery Science curriculum when learning about science, and this month a couple of the questions they are investigating are: "How far can you whisper?" and "Why is snow white?". The students really get into these hands-on lessons. Make sure you ask your child/children what they are learning about in Science.
In math, this month the learning ranges from Kindergarten introducing subtraction to 4th graders working with fractions. Make sure you check your child’s/children’s bag each week for the weekly letter sent home by the individual teachers to keep you updated as to what the students are learning each week in their classrooms.
In the area of reading, there is so much learning happening at all the grade levels ranging from sounding out letter sounds and words to comprehending grade-level text. Reading is an area that parents can really help out at home by helping their students stay up on their reading logs and checking those weekly notes from the teachers to see what their monthly reading goal is. Research shows that reading 20 minutes a day with your child will significantly improve children’s reading skills.
Looking ahead to February, we will be having class Valentine’s Day Parties on Monday, February 14th. If you are willing to help with your child’s class party, please reach out to their teacher to see what the needs are or what parent to contact for information.
Just a quick reminder - if your child is not feeling well or has the symptoms of the virus or flu, please keep them at home until they are fever-free with no medicine for 48 hours or 72 hours fever-free, if they are running a fever with two or more other symptoms. This will help us all to stay healthy and in school. Thank you for your diligence and willingness to be part of our wellness team.