| Teachers’
Notes
Mrs.
Strunk & Mrs. Mendez – Pre-Kindergarten
PRE-K is doing exciting things this last month of school.
In
Religion we will be talking about Mary’s life. We will also
be crowning Mary in the classroom.
During
Math we will be solving different kinds of problems. We will be
working with fractions, wholes and halves. We will revisit some
of the other concepts we learned at the beginning of school. We
will also be working with numbers 1 – 20 and beyond.
In
Language Arts we have started a new Unit called ‘Changes’.
We will also begin to practice our End-of-the-Year Program which
encompasses things we have learned since the beginning of school.
We
are learning about the plant cycle and the butterfly cycle during
Science.
Symbols
of Texas are what we will be studying in Social Studies. We will
also be making a map this month.
IMPORTANT
DATES:
May 9, 2008 Field Trip to the Arboretum
May 22, 2008 – PRE-K Teddy Bear Picnic, more information about
this coming
May 23, 2008 – End-of-The-Year Program – 9:30 am in
the school cafeteria - Last day of school for PRE-K
Mrs.
Guerrero & Mrs. Miranda - Kindergarten
We are looking forward to a fun filled month! We can’t believe
that our school year is almost over! Your kids have done such a
great job this year and we are so blessed to work with your amazing
children! This is what we will be doing this month:
Religion
– The Holy Spirit Helps Us; We Make Choices; We Show Our Love
for God; the Bible story, The Good Neighbor; we will also participate
in Mass on May 16th!
Language
Arts – We have finished all the units in Open Court!
We are working on a few jingles: NOUN and VERB jingle. We will also
learn the 3 rules of a sentence. We will continue to work on letter
sounds, stretching and blending sounds to make words, stretching
and spelling words, identifying beginning, middle, and ending sounds,
and reading decodables. Your kids are doing a great job!
Math – We will look at these units: Measurement
and Money. In measurement, we will compare length, mass, and the
capacity of objects. We will also estimate and measure length, capacity,
and mass in standard units. In money, our objectives will be to
identify the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter and learn their values.
We will also count coins.
Science – We will learn about BUGS! Our ladybug
larvae have arrived and we are observing the larvae in their ladybug
dome habitat. We will learn the parts of a bug. We will also learn
and observe the metamorphosis of a ladybug!
Social
Studies – Our unit is TEXAS! We will learn wonderful
facts about our great state, Texas! We will also have a Howdy Ho
Down on Wednesday, May 21st. If it rains on Wed, we will have the
Howdy Ho Down the next day. On Monday, May 5th you should have received
a letter about the Howdy Ho Down, please fill in on the sheet what
you’d like to do to help! We appreciate it!
Health
– We will wrap up our Second Step lessons.
Important
Dates:
May 9 Field Trip to Dallas Arboretum
May 16 Kinder Mass
May 21 Howdy Ho Down
May 23 Last day of School for Kinder and Pre-K/End of Year Ceremony/NOON
dismissal
Have a great month!
Mrs.
Fabian – 1A and Mrs. Price – 1B
Happy May Day, Happy Mother’s Day and since we won’t
have a June newsletter, Happy Father’s Day, too! Thank you
to those of you who were able to make it to our Mother’s Day
Tea. We hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we enjoyed having
you! We are also looking forward to seeing many of you this Friday
for our field trip to see “If You Give a Pig a Party”,
and then a picnic at Flag Pole Hill afterwards; please remember
that since this is part of our curriculum and students will receive
a grade for their participation, no siblings are allowed to attend.
We
have now learned all the sounds and letter combinations for reading
(with a couple of exceptions) and will now concentrate on more comprehension,
story order and what might happen next. In English we will be reviewing
all of the concepts we have learned this year and spend a lot of
time on creative writing. We are making great progress with learning
about time. Money was a bit tricky for many of us and we ask that
you continue to practice this concept with your children at home,
the grocery store or wherever they may need to use money. We will
be moving on shortly to learn about fractions, geometry (shapes)
and measurement. In Social Studies, we will finish learning about
Texas and a little of its history and then move on to a unit about
Tall Tales (many of which are set in Texas). In Science we will
move on to using measurement, talk about forces of energy and a
learn lot about space and the solar system. In Religion we will
be reviewing much of what we have learned about God and Jesus this
year, as well as learn more about Mary and take part in the May
Crowning which will take place on May 16th.
We
have accomplished SO MUCH this year and we are very proud of all
our students. We wish to thank all of you for sharing your precious
children with us. We ask that you continue to work with them over
the summer on their reading, comprehension and fluency, as well
as, simple addition and subtraction up to 20.
Mrs.
McClure – 2A and Mrs. Clack – 2B
Religion: We will continue to learn the Creed and 10 Commandments.
We will have the May crowning Friday, May 16th, 2008. Those students
who receive their First Communion this year, please wear your First
Communion Clothes for church on May 16th. Mom and Dad, please remember
to pack a set of uniforms for this day as we will change back into
regular uniforms after mass so that we do not get our special clothing
dirty. ?
Language
Arts: We will continue to review all Shurley Method jingles
and write friendly letters, thank you letters/cards. We will continue
to practice our handwriting in class and review writing paragraphs.
Social
Studies: In social studies this month, we will be discussing
Family History, Landmarks in our Country, Linking Our World, and
stepping back in time.
Math:
As you all know we are just beginning to wrap up two concepts that
are very tough in math for 2nd graders; time and money. We will
still be working on this in class and at home. Like our addition
and subtraction we will continue to be asked to work on this at
home. Please help us to aid your student by giving them the extra
practice at home as well. We will begin to move into fractions as
well as 3-digit numbers in adding and subtracting. WHOOOOO, this
has been one tough month. Let’s keep up the hard work!
Science:
We will be getting into describing the characteristics of wheels
and axels, pulleys, identifying machines in our classrooms, as well
as working on a new study guide and test coming up in the middle
of the month of May. WHAT A BLAST!!!!!
The
teachers are working on a Picnic Day for the 2nd graders on June
3rd. More information will follow about this day and its activities.
?
Ms.
Contreras – 3A
It is hard to believe that the school year is coming to an end.
Before we know it, your kids will be starting fourth grade. I hope
everybody has a great and safe summer.
Math
We will be ending the third grade year with multiplying up to 4
digit numbers by 1 digit numbers. We will also be learning how to
do long division along with comparing fractions and decimals. Please
continue to drill your child over the summer using division and
multiplication flash cards.
English
We will continue to label Shurley Method sentences and have the
tests on Fridays. Please study with your child. The grades are improving.
We will also continue to write stories and letter practicing our
capitalization and punctuation skills.
Science
The class has been learning about the different kinds of rocks and
they are enjoying it. Ask them to quiz you about the different types.
Once we finish our Geology unit, we will finish the year with Zoology.
The students will germinate seeds, classify plants, dissect a bean
seed, learn the stages of photosynthesis and observe the germination
of grass seed.
Social
Studies
We will conclude our year with learning about the rights and responsibilities
of being a citizen. We will also focus on our local government concentrating
on government officials.
Religion
3A will be leading Mass this Friday morning at 8 A.M. We would love
to see you there.
Handwriting
All year, we have been practicing our cursive handwriting. Please
practice cursive at home with your child
Mrs.
Powell – 4A
We are finally at the end of the year...WOW; time really flies when
you’re having fun! I will miss all the fourth graders, and
I hope everyone is safe over the summer months.
4A &
4B English
We are currently on chapter 11, this unit introduces the concept
of a pronoun and discusses subject, object, and possessive pronouns;
correct usage of I and me; contractions; and homophones. Each of
the seven lessons in the unit covers a single skill.
4A &
4B Reading
We are currently finishing up The Watson’s Go to Birmingham.
Once we are finished with this novel we will be finishing the year
off by reading different types of poetry and short stories.
4A &
4B Social Studies
Unit 4 deals with the Civil War and the Closing of the Frontier.
After the painful conflict of the Civil War, Texas faced many changes.
The ways that Texas rebuilt itself brought the state into modern
times.
Mrs.
Schmitz – 4B
Religion
The students have just finished presenting their information on
miracles that we have studied in class. We will begin studying the
beatitudes and how important they are to living a happy life.
Math
As we finish off the year, fourth grade will focus on fractions.
We will learn to add, subtract, and multiply fractions these next
few weeks. We will also be doing a cumulative review. The first
five minutes of class we will review all of the lessons we have
learned throughout the year including: place value, addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division, rounding, estimating, reading graphs,
the metric systems and time.
Science
We will finish off our chapter on weather which has been very informative.
We have had the opportunity to see air pressure in action. We have
also learned about the different types of clouds and what it means
when we see them in the sky. Once we finish this lesson we will
dissect our starfish! This should be very fun and the kids are anxious
to get started!
Ms.
Hickey – 5A
5th Grade Math: For our last month, we’re moving
on to geometry and measurements. We’ll learn triangles, angles,
polygons, area, perimeter, as well as units of metric measurement.
Also, tutoring is available after school or before school, or even
during recess. If any 5th graders need help, I will be available!
5th
Grade Science: We’re finishing up discussions on
weather – this month we’ll move on to the solar system:
planets, sun, moon, stars. At the end of the month, we’ll
discuss our environment and ways to help keep it clean.
5th
Grade Religion: We’re continuing with our lessons
in holiness, and we will have a lesson about Pentecost. We’ll
finish up learning to worship God every day by living in love.
Mrs.
Borth – 5B
Young Author’s Day will be May 19th. My homeroom class will
be performing a play based on the book Missing Piece. As soon as
I have an exact time of our performance, I will send out an e-mail.
ELA
We are nearly finished with our research paper and ready to begin
our visual autobiography. Please check my website for important
due dates. Both of these assignments are major test grades. Also,
please send in magazines. Students will not be able to complete
their visual autobiography without them.
Social
Studies
We will continue with our lesson over Chapter 6. Check the website
for upcoming test dates. Also, we are fast approaching our LAST
social studies article – do not forget about the BONUS article.
This can earn students up to 30 extra points averaged into their
final grade.
Mrs.
Belcher – MS Religion
6th Grade
We are moving into understanding how the Ten Commandments are the
guidelines that God gives us because He loves us, and not just to
keep us from doing what we want to do. Your students have also embraced
the concept that the names God and Jesus are so sacred that they
should incline their heads when the Sacred Name is spoken. This
gives them the understanding of respect for Him who gives us Life.
Your students will be receiving their review for their final about
7 to 10 days before the final itself. This should help them to review
what they will be tested on.
7th
Grade
What an awesome time we had on the field trip last Friday! Thanks
so much for having such great kids! It was really a lot of fun.
We have finished studying the Ten Commandments in depth and your
students will want to review the Modern Examples so that they will
be ready for their final at the end of the month. They will receive
a review packet about 7 to 10 days prior to the final.
8th
Grade
This has been a truly blessed experience for me to have your children
in my Religion class this year. I have learned so much from them,
and they have been a joy to teach! I pray that each and every one
of them will continue to be successful as they go on to High School.
We are moving quickly through the Medieval and Renaissance Church
and will end with the Enlightenment. They will receive their review
information within the next two weeks.
Mrs.
Luke - MS Social Studies
Dear Parents,
At the end of this school year I will be retiring from teaching.
I have considered it a wonderful privilege to be a part of St. Elizabeth’s
for 5 years but home is where the heart is and I have only one year
left before my youngest sons leave for college so home is not only
where my heart wants to be but it’s where I want to be. So,
thanks for trusting me with your child’s education. I know
how important that is and thanks for giving me the opportunity to
work with your children, they have taught me much and given me a
chance to feel success. I will look back on these years and give
thanks for the chance to do something I love, and that is, teach
and I will pray that they will know that every act I performed as
a teacher was an act of love for them.
Another year
has come and is almost gone. I’ve said it every year and I’ll
say it again; the school year is like a long distance race, don’t
quit until you cross the finish line. For the 6th and 7th graders
we have 3 chapter tests left before finals. For the 8th graders
we have 2 chapter tests left before finals. These last few weeks
always fly by so, keep working hard and summer will be here before
you know it.
6th
Grade World History
We have chapters 18 through 22 left. These chapters cover the Rise
of Monarchies, World Wars, Revolutions and our world today.
7th
Grade Texas History
Our field trip to Forth Worth and Waco was fun as well as educational.
Personally I
would like to revisit a couple of them, so much history in Texas.
We have chapters 18 through 22 left. These include the years 1950
– today. We will discuss the opportunities and challenges
that Texans face today in our government as well as the challenges
we will face in the future.
8th
Grade United States History
We have just 3 chapters left, chapters 16 – 18. These deal
with the events leading up to the civil war, the Civil war and Reconstruction.
The students will also have their 4th quarter project due the last
week of school. The students can choose any aspect of the Civil
War they want and depict this information any way they want. We
will discuss this more in the following week.
Mrs.
Robb – MS Science
Science articles are due Friday, May 9 and Thursday, May 22. The
bonus article is due on Thursday, May 22. If you turn in your articles
early you will receive 5 bonus points. The Science Binder is due
Wednesday, May 21 for 8th grade and on Friday, May 30 for 6th and
7th graders.
Final Exams for the 8th grade will be May 27 – May 29.
Final Exams for 6th and 7th will be May 30 – June 3.
6th
Grade
Test Friday, May 9 over chapters 20 and 21. Next, students will
study waves, light and the electromagnetic spectrum.
7th
Grade
We are finishing up the chapter on Protist and Fungi. We will end
the year with a study of plants.
8th
Grade
We have finished up the material in our book so we are working on
a forensics unit. The students have studied the basics of crime
scenes and next we will cover the power of evidence, fingerprinting
and blood splatters.
The 8th graders
were great at Sky Ranch. The counselors were very impressed with
how well the students worked together and interacted in class.
Mr.
Dettmer – MS Math
Sixth grade will be working on positive and negative numbers and
graphing. Seventh grade will do patterns and functions and graphing
on coordinate plane. Pre- Algebra will do polynomials and function
and probability. Algebra will do add and subtract of polynomials
and simplify radicals
Ms.
Johnson – MS English/Literature
6th Grade English — We finish the year with a short
unit on punctuation, including end marks, commas, semi colons, colons,
quotations, and titles. There will be no test for this unit. I am
in the process of grading the final copy packet of the research
paper; they will be returned by May 27.
Spelling includes
lessons 31, 32, and 33. Exams are scheduled for May 30, June 2,
and June 3.
6th
Grade Literature — The classes are totally absorbed
in hobbits, trolls, dwarves, elves, and dragons through reading
The Hobbit. Comprehension questions are done almost daily with only
a few vocabulary assignments.
Other
due dates are: May 9, extra credit assignment; May 20,
brochure; May 21, illustrations; May 22, test. Exams for 6th grade
are scheduled for May 30, June 2, and June 3.
8th
Grade English — We just finished the diagramming
unit and will use the rest of the year for punctuation which will
include end marks, commas, semi colons, colons, and quotations.
There will be no test for this unit.
Spelling includes
lessons 28 and 29. Exams are scheduled for May 26—May 29,
with graduation on May 30. It has been a true privilege to have
known this class for the last three years… I wish each one
of them the best of everything.
Ms.
Satarino – MS Literature/English
7th Grade English/Literature: In English, the 7th grade
class is working hard on their research papers; they’ve made
it through their note cards and are now in the writing process.
The typed rough draft will be due on May 20th and the final copy
will be due May 23rd. In Literature, both classes are doing a fantastic
job with Romeo and Juliet. They are excited about the play
and working hard to earn those Bill’s Bucks. Their next big
projects will be the portfolio, which will be due May 16th and their
tragic element packets, which will be due May 14th. They have been
working on these packets as we read, so it shouldn’t take
too long after we finish the play to complete. We will also be taking
stills of different scenes from the play, so the students will be
able to wear costumes and take on the persona of the characters
in the play. That date will be announced later.
We will begin
preparing for finals the week of May 26th.
The next two
AR dates are May 16th and May 30th.
8th
Grade: I have been so impressed with the creativity during
our poetry unit. The students have been creating their own poetry,
which they will showcase on their poster projects due May 16th,
and learning to analyze poetry through scansion and a Pre-AP technique
called TP-CASTT. If time permits we will do a short unit with mythology
before we begin preparing for finals the week of May 19th. Also,
the 8th grade will be coming dressed up one of their favorite characters
from Literature on May 19th for our first ever Young Author’s
Day. The students have already chosen their characters, and will
come dressed as their character that day. (Students should also
bring some free dress day clothing for the end of the day. We will
be having a P.E. type exercise, and they probably won’t want
to be in their costumes.)
Their last AR
test date is May 16th.
NJHS:
The NJHS held their last fundraiser yesterday. The proceeds will
go to contribute toward the NJHS induction ceremony to take place
May 23rd directly following Mass. Both this year and next year’s
8th grade inductees will be inducted, and a reception will follow
in the Café for all members and their families. I would just
like to say how much I enjoyed this year’s NJHS.
They were always
willing to help, never complained, and did a fabulous job providing
service and raising money for various organizations.
Mrs.
Barrientos – Pre-K-8th Grade Spanish
Well, it is that time again to start wrapping up for the year, unbelievable!
Pre-K
– 1st Grade: We are working on fruit and some milk
products, as well as bread. I will be asking each of them to bring
in some of the foods that we are learning to taste.
2nd,
3rd, 4th & 5th Grade: We are working on our menus and
learning all kinds of foods for our restaurants. This is very exciting
because they have to order all in ESPANOL.
6th,
7th, & 8th Grade: We are learning about all the Hispanic
countries, their main Cities and their CAPITALS. We have also been
learning about some Central and South American cities in depth and
tasting their wonderful foods. Yes, I am becoming an International
Chef!
As always, thank you for all your support!
Mrs.
Connelly – Library/PK-3 Computer
Library News
As we approach this year’s home stretch, May is once again
a busy month in the library. An end-of-year inventory will begin
May 19. All books must be returned by May 23rd and library fines
must be paid by June 2nd. 6 Flags Reading free admission tickets
will be given out to participating students in report cards at the
end of school. Weather permitting all library students will visit
the school courtyard for quiet reading.
It is unbelievable
how fast the school year “whizzed by” and as it draws
to a close, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation
to our many library supporters, St. Elizabeth organizations, students,
parents, and grandparents. I would especially like to thank library
volunteers, Debbie Gleason, Priscilla Romero, Gary Cervenka, Christopher
Cervenka, Greg Cervenka, Amy Solis, Carey Flusche and all the Book
Fair volunteers who have contributed so much energy, endless work,
and invaluable time to the library and activities. Thanks also to
everyone who has donated books and supplies. This library school
year was a success because of great teamwork and constant support.
PK –
3rd Grade Computer
HOORAY PK - 3rd grade students have returned to the downstairs lab.
The stairs are no longer a huge obstacle for me since I’m
healing nicely. During my recovery, our awesome computer students
were so patient and understanding when we were forced to hold class
in the library. They were so excited when we finally returned to
the lab to continue our fun computer classes, and, being the fantastic
students that they are, picked up where we left off. All classes
began serious keyboarding techniques using a cool Internet typing
site: the address is www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing.
This summer
students should continue to practice keyboarding and mouse techniques
at home. Practice makes for better typing.
I have really
enjoyed teaching computer skills to all PK - 3rd grade students.
I am so proud of each and every one of these hard-working students
and applaud their success. They have accomplished so much this year.
COMPUTER STUDENTS ARE AMAZING! !
Thank you for
your continued support of the technology program. I hope everyone
has a restful and fun-filled summer. See you next year!
Mrs.
Kuterbach – Music
The year has zipped by once again! Our final weeks will be focused
on tone color in music, vocal and instrumental. The instrument show
and tell week this year begins on May 20th and runs until Friday,
May 23rd. Students are welcome to bring any musical instrument they
may have at home, working or non working, for the class to see.
A “real” instrument beats a picture any day! A student
does not need to be able to play said instrument either!
Piano students
are invited to play during class also but must adhere to the printed
music rule. Any student who wishes to play piano must bring written
music along even if they have the music memorized. In all cases,
please be sure to put your name on any item or music that you bring
to school.
Eighth grade
handbell pieces are coming along nicely. Their performance at graduation
will leave your mind ringing with joyful sounds! The 7B class is
getting ready for their performance of the Bremen Town Musicians.
This will take place during our Young Author’s Day on May
19th.
I encourage
everyone to attend our weekly student masses on Fridays to hear
our wonderful cantors each week. They do a marvelous job at leading
the school in musical worship!
Thank you to
all for your continued support of the fine arts programs at St.
Elizabeth.
Ms.
Cekosky – Art
“Painting is so poetic, while sculpture is more logical and
scientific…and makes you worry about gravity”. Damien
Hirst – British artist.
The beginning
of May will be devoted to Mother’s Day projects for most classes.
The rest of the month, classes will be working with Forms, and some
classes will be using clay. Most classes will get a chance to look
at Optical Illusion Art, while other classes will focus on watercolors
both with paints and watercolor crayons.
Thank you so
much to the generous families who have sent extra art supplies to
the art room. I am forever grateful to how much you’ve done
for my classes this school year.
Mrs.
Stepniewski – Computer
This month of May is so busy that sometimes things are left unsaid,
so I’d like to take this opportunity to tell the 8th Grade
Graduates that they will be missed. I know they will do well in
life and I wish them God’s blessings always!
Several 6th grade students competed in the Diocesan Robotics Competition
at St. Monica, May 2nd. Since it was the first time for these students
to enter, they did extremely well. We are awaiting final tallies
as to their placement.
The students
are: John Paul Coronado, Christopher Pena, Sasha Cox, Alicia Echavarria,
Amber Houston, Tiffany Olivo, Khie Johnson, Kayla Feaster, Dallas
Swayzer, and Hannah Johnson.
So many students
have memorized the Qwerty Keyboard that I am certain the following
years will be much easier for them. Once the keys are memorized,
it is amazing how fast speed and accuracy improves.
Please practice
this skill until the end of school and through the summer.
Mr.
Clack – P.E.
We are coming to the end of the year and the students have been
working hard, I encourage them to continue to stay active and fit
throughout the summer. Our muscles and bones test for the 6th through
8th grades will take place the week of the 19th and will only take
one class period. I look forward to finishing this year strong and
starting off next year ready to go with our new fitness program.
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