LCIS Friday Afternoon Shout Out 1-26-24

by tvincent · January 26, 2024

Dear LCIS Families:

January marks the middle of our school year, so it is time to see how our students are progressing! The only way to find out where we need to go is to see how far we have come. We have scheduled one assessment per week for the next three weeks. Read on to find out more about each benchmark.

This past week our students took an individually assessed reading test called DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). Each crew teacher was able to listen to their students individually read a passage where they were rated on the number of words read per minute, and their accuracy. Third graders also tested on sight word recognition, and their ability to recognize irregular words. The data results showed that while almost all of our students have made progress since beginning school in the fall, many students still have a way to go before reading on grade level. We will continue to provide reading intervention for all of our students that target skills at their level. Please encourage your child to read every day at home. Children at this age also still love to be read to!

This coming week our students will take the NWEA (Northwest Education Association) tests for ELA and Math. These interim assessments allow students to track their growth across a range of skills and help teachers identify strengths and areas of challenge. Please talk with your child about their upcoming assessments. Students who were at LCIS in the fall should have a score for English Language Arts (ELA) and Math and every child should have a growth goal for each subject. Encourage your child to take their time, read carefully, and persevere when the test gets challenging. Go Panthers!!

The final mid-year assessment that students will take during the week of February 5th is the school-wide writing assessment. Each student will read a grade-level text and respond to an informative writing prompt related to that text. Students are expected to craft a well designed essay that includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Throughout the essay, students will need to cite evidence from the text to support their claim. All of our students have been working on this skill. Be sure to talk with your child about the work they’ve been doing in writing. At spring conferences it’s very likely that you will see their essay from the mid-year assessment and be able to compare it with the essay they wrote in August. It’s always great to see and celebrate the growth!

Please come to our next Community Meeting, Wednesday, January 31st, at 8:05 in the LCIS Gym. It will be led by our 6th graders who will highlight the learning in their last ELA unit: Chocolate! We will honor the Scholars of the Month who demonstrate the habit of collaboration. These students worked hard to meet the collaboration targets: “I communicate well by actively listening and explaining my ideas clearly.” and “ I work with others to achieve a common goal.”

Joy of Reading Literacy Night PK-6 We are starting the planning of our third annual Joy of Literacy Reading night hosted at LCES on February 29th. We are looking for parents and staff who would like to be a part of the planning committee for this event. We will have a planning meeting at LCES on Thursday, February 1st from 4-6 pm. If you are interested in joining this team, please reach out to Katie Pongrekun at kpongrekun@lakecountyschools.net. Thank you for your willingness to help us plan this exciting event!

LCIS is looking forward to its annual Spelling Bee! Our school-wide Spelling Bee will take place on Wednesday, February 7th at 8:15 in the LCIS Gym. Crew first place and runner up students have already been selected based on a class competition. Information packets for these students have been sent home. You can learn more about the Scripps Spelling Bee here.

ACADEMIC UPDATE:

Musical Happenings: Great job to all of the 5^th and 6^th grade band kids! After spending the past two months rehearsing in instrument sectionals, we have finally started playing as a full band ensemble. We are off to a great start and are looking forward to learning new songs together!

5th Grade: In ELA we took a unit test on the Renaissance and next week we will be writing biographies and fictional stories about a Renaissance artist. Ask your student about which artist they are writing about and what elements of writing belong in a biography!

In math, we are working with fractions, and setting the foundation for multiplying fractions. Help your child by identifying ways that you use fractions everyday- splitting portions of food, measuring in baking and cooking, etc.. And as always, make sure they do their homework and/or IXL math practice at home!

6^th grade: We have started a new unit in ELA; The Greeks. We will be reading several myths including Prometheus and the sharing of fire, Arachne myth, and Odysseus and Cyclops. We will eventually be writing an essay about a character’s pride and whether it hurts or helps them.

In math, 6^th graders have entered into algebra land!! We are exploring equations and expressions and the elements that are contained in those concepts. Ask your student about order of operations, variables, and exponents!

In social studies, we are studying about ancient Greece and Rome. This unit goes well with our Greek mythology unit in language arts.

PROJECT DREAM UPDATE:

Project Dream is excited to be the recipient of a $5,000 grant award from the Leadville Trail 100 Legacy Foundation and Leadville Race Series! The funds will be used to purchase updated STEM supplies and Cooking Club materials. Project Dream runs Cooking Clubs at the Lake County Elementary School, Lake County Intermediate School, and Lake County High School. STEM Clubs are run at all three schools plus on El Camioncito (Mobile Learning Center). At the elementary level, students participate in No-Cook Cooking where they learn to make fun treats for themselves without the use of an oven or stove. At this level, students are also introduced to the basics of STEM through science experiments and construction projects with STEM materials. At the intermediate level, students move into Cooking with an experienced leader using different kitchen tools. Students also become more advanced in their STEM skills, learning advanced creation techniques and coding skills. Once students reach the high school level, they take on the role of Club Leaders alongside an Adult Sponsor, leading other students in cooking and baking techniques plus individualized STEM interests. Project Dream is eager to continue these successful projects with support from Leadville Trail 100 and Legacy Foundation.

Project Dream is excited to continue programs this spring! Find all spring information, including updated bus routes, here: https://www.lakecountyschools.net/project-dream-spring-information/

ATHLETIC UPDATE:

Panther Gear! If you are looking for Lake County spirit gear, our Panther store is still open. This year there are additional sport-specific options. You can find those here. Spirit wear (in the bottom right hand corner) says Panthers instead of a specific sport. 5% of sales comes back to the athletic/activities department.

This year we will be charging for ALL GYM sporting events- high school and middle school.

Ticket prices will be $7/adults and $5/seniors for HS games and $3/adults and $1/seniors for MS games. We will NOT be taking cash at the front door, but we will take credit cards at the door.

You can also buy your tickets online in advance at: https://gofan.co/app/school/CO11697

The Lake County Annual Pass will get you into any home event- HS or MS, volleyball or basketball.

Reminder: Lake County students will need to show their school ID to get free entry into the games.

Lake County School District Athletics calendar – click this link

Amy Peters, Athletic/Activities Director – 719-293-0105 – apeters@lakecountyschools.net

First Baptist Church of Leadville hosts a free monthly family movie night! Movie nights are the 3rd Friday of the month. We hope to see you for our FREE movie (with popcorn!). Licensing constraints prevent us from always being able to advertise the movie titles, but you can always email church@fbcleadville.com to ask about this month’s movie!

So many exciting events happen in our community every month – too many for us to list on this communication! Please click this link to access the Community Calendar for upcoming events.

Upcoming Events:

January 31	Community Meeting – 6th grade leads – 8am – LCIS Gym
February 5	4th grade 10th Mountain Soldiers Assembly
February 6	4th grade trip to Camp Hale & Colorado Snowsports Museum 8:30 am – 2:45 pm
February 7	LCIS Annual Spelling Bee – LCIS Gym – 8-9 am
February 20	Fire Drill

Looking Ahead:

March 4-7	Dr. Seuss Spirit Week! Start preparing for Lorax day (orange & yellow clothes), Whoville Hair day (crazy hair), Dr. Seuss Hat day (red & white stripes or silly hat), and Pajama Day
March 7	Attendance Celebration
March 11-14	Spring Break!
March 20 -21	1/2 day School for Students
March 20-21	Parent Teacher Conferences
March 20-21	No Project Dream
March 25	Fire Drill
March 27	Community Meeting – 4th grade leads
March 28	4th Grade to Ski Cooper – 8:30am to 2:30pm