Hello Families and Supporters,
Happy Friday! After having Monday off to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s contributions to our country, we had a busy week here at Truxton Academy. We had some of our teaching staff out and some students learning remotely for parts of the week. Our staff and students are so resilient and working so hard. We are so proud of them!
In many of our classes this week and last, we discussed some of the messages of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. If you want to listen to a book with your child to learn more about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., you can watch this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc39Ka8ut6k
Cafeteria Update from Ms. Taylor: This week we started our kitchen field trip with the kiddos! With squash in the spotlight for the month of January, the recipe was oatmeal butternut squash cookies with a light icing over top. The kids learned how squash can be enjoyed in so many other ways than just as a side dish at dinner. Each month all classes will be experiencing a kitchen field trip highlighting a different agricultural item. I'm looking forward to cooking up a storm of fun in the kitchen with your kids!
PTO Update:
It’s that time of year again – time for the Truxton Academy Double Good Popcorn Fundraiser! Mark your calendars, the pop-up shop will only be open from 1/27-1/31 and you won’t want to miss it. Popcorn can be purchased here: https://popup.doublegood.com/s/hqg0904e. Please pass this website on to friends and family who might want to support TA and get some special snacks too! Be sure to let them know that TA gets 50% of all sales. Double Good has indicated that current estimated shipping is 7-10 business days – just in time for Valentine’s Day! Help the Truxton Academy Charter School PTO support our community with supplies, learning materials, field trips, and events such as field days. These funds allow the school community to create fun and memorable experiences for students, staff and families. We thank you in advance for your help and wish you happy snacking!
Messages for Families
3rd and 4th grade Ski Club: Our Ski club started this week for 3rd and 4th graders and the kids had a blast. We have some kids who have never skied before and others who are excited for another season of fun on the mountain! Thanks to Tom Brown for being the ski club sponsor and to the parents who bring their kids to the mountain for ski club.
COVID Vaccination Information:
Now that there is a vaccine available for children ages 5- 11, some families are choosing to get their children immunized against the COVID-19 virus. This is not a required vaccine, however, it is important that we know if you are choosing to have your child vaccinated for contact tracing and quarantine decisions. Please send an email to Mrs. Leaf (leaf.carmer@truxtonacademy.org) and Mrs. DeHart (tdehart@homercentral.org) if you choose to have your child vaccinated after they receive each of the shots. You do not need to send in copies of the cards at this time, as Mrs. DeHart is able to look it up once she is notified.
At-Home COVID Testing Kits:
We received more at home testing kits today. If your family would like a testing kit, please reach out to Mrs. Leaf if you'd like to receive one. Families who have already received one, may reach out for an additional one per child at this point in time.
Yesterday, a program to have testing kits mailed to your home opened. If you wish to have kits delivered to your home by the USPS you can sign up at the following link: https://www.covidtests.gov/
*Please note, this program is sponsored through the federal government and is not affiliated with our school. We are simply notifying families of it so they can utilize it if they want to.
Ways to Help Our School
Sign up for and use Amazon Smile with Truxton Academy as your chosen charity
Amazon Smile is a division of amazon that donates a portion of sales from many items to a variety of charities and nonprofits. Truxton Academy is one of those nonprofits. If you are purchasing items from amazon, please go to https://smile.amazon.com/ and choose Truxton Academy as your charity of choice. Purchases you are making anyway will benefit our school.
Upcoming Dates:
1/27- Popcorn Fundraiser Opens
1/27-1/29- Cortland County Health Department Vaccine Clinic at the Truxton Community Center
Updates from the classrooms:
Ms. Elliott (K):
This week in kindergarten we:
*Began subtracting with numbers 1-5
*Brainstormed and acted out ideas on how to solve problems and cooperate with others
*Began using what we know about letter sounds to sound out words we don't know
*Baked some delicious squash cookies with Ms. Taylor :)
Mrs. Francis (K/1):
This week in K/1 we:*started learning about digraphs. We looked at "H brothers" ch and th. We saw how these letters work together to make a new sound.
*learned the reading strategy of Chunky Monkey (looking for smaller words we know to figure out longer words).
*measured weight using a pan balance and classroom objects.
*became the first person to check and make sure a writing piece is done before we hand it in.
*went outside and predicted the path of different balls and wrote about the results in our science journals.
*started a plant growing experiment. We visited and learned about our school's grow towers. Then we planted seeds in rock wool and in soil.
We will observe how different growing conditions affect how well our plants grow.
*took a field trip to the cafeteria to bake a treat.
Ms. Smith (1st):
Ms. Smith and her first graders were learning remotely for much of this week. The students had virtual lessons from Ms. Bella and Mr. Daniel online. We hope they can return in person on Monday and will reach out to families on Sunday if the class has to remain virtual.
Ms. Jess (2nd):
Ask your Second Grader about...-opening their mystery box and what was inside
-what they learned about how lumber is produced at Gutchess Lumber Mill on their virtual field lesson
-what they know about halves, thirds and fourths
-what new vocabulary they learned or "unlocked" in their non-fiction reading this week
-how our class calf Penny is doing!
Ms. Madysen (3rd):
In third grade this week we...
-finished reading the nonfiction book, Balto and the Great Adventure
-wrote introductions for our opinion writing pieces identifying whether Balto or Togo was the better sled dog.
-learned the four different ways to spell words that have the long I sound.
-continued to practice identifying the place value of 3- and 4-digit numbers.
-began our unit on subtraction.
-looked at different types of machines that farmers use and discussed whether they were simple or complex.
-took a field trip to the school kitchen to learn how to make Squash Cookies!
Ms. Sara/ Mrs. Hull (4th):
This week, fourth graders read, thought, talked, and wrote about how children can have positive impacts on their communities. We read two articles about children who have or are currently changing the world. One article was about Yolanda Renee King, the granddaughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, and we all had the opportunity to create our own vision for what we want for the world. In science, we continue to find ways to represent our carbon footprint data. Next steps will include putting into practice a strategy for reducing our individual carbon footprints.
In math, we finished up our unit on multiplication and division of 2 and 3 digit numbers and began reviewing fractions. Although we finished this unit, we will continue to review multiplication and division of larger numbers through our daily word problem work. The students put so much effort into taking and correcting their unit test. These 4th graders are fabulously hardworking when it comes to math!
Señora H (Spanish):
In Spanish we have been learning about the four seasons, los cuatro estaciones. Here is a link to a song the students have been learning: https://rockalingua.com/videos/four-seasons
Mr. C (Music):
In 2nd grade we reviewed the musical instruments and did a word search while listening to Mozart's Clarinet Quintet. In 3rd and 4th grade we explored music that expresses different emotions and then we tried to express an emotion or feeling in music we create ourselves.
Mrs. Boyden (PE):
This week in PE we played some fun favorites games indoors on cold days & some sledding on the nice days! We had so much fun this week!
Mrs. Boyden (Makerspace):
In Makerspace this week K-2 learned how to make beautiful paper snowflakes, by folding the paper a certain way, drawing shapes on it and cutting those shapes out, revealing different beautiful snowflakes every time!
- Sara and the Truxton Academy Team