Although the weather has felt very summer like lately, we are officially in the season of Fall. Summer has long been my favorite season. But as I’ve gotten older, I have really started to appreciate Fall. With the gorgeous colors, delicious smells, and autumn activities, what’s not to love? I think my daughter’s love for Fall has been rubbing off on me. She’s been drawing Fall pictures for weeks and she’s even decorated the house with Fall decorations all by herself. Think about events and activities that make Fall special for you. Maybe its baking an apple pie or getting a pumpkin spice latte every morning. Or you might go apple picking in a nearby orchard, carve unique pumpkins for Halloween decorations or jump in a pile of leaves.
Get outside! Fall is a time of the year when people can enjoy indoors and outdoors. When the weather finally cools down, you will be able to spend more time outside without sweating through your clothes. Every day, try to do something that isn’t confined to inside. If possible, take your camera/phone to capture the images of those around you and the images of the season. So, let’s explore the many ways we can embrace the change from Summer to Fall, making the most of what each season offers.
September 2023
The Steward Signal
“STEWARD SCHOOL CONTINUES TO OFFER HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION WITH A SMALL TOWN APPROACH.”
Hello FalL
by Mr. Hayes
Reading, we have been working on letters and their sounds. We also have ten sight words memorized. They have started to learn about the difference between fiction and non-fiction. They are able to point out illustrations or pictures to help identify the differences. All of the kindergarten students know the parts of a book, including the author and illustrator. I was very impressed!
Social Studies, we have been working on maps, things in our community, and different signs we see in the community.
Kindergarten has been hard at work learning about school rules and expectations throughout the building. We are also working on how to take turns and play fair when playing with toys or games. They have been so kind and often say, "great job" to someone in the classroom who has won a game or has accomplished something new. The amount of compassion these students show is amazing!!!!
Reading
Kindergarten
by Mrs. Esposito
Science, the students have been working on matter, sorting objects by different attributes, coming up with their own sorts, and our five senses.
Social Emotional Learning has been a great addition to our curriculum. The students have learned that if we have positive thoughts and positive actions, we will have a "happy heart". We are also learning how we need to take care of our physical bodies to have a positive thought process.
Social Emotional Learning
Science
Math, we have been working on identity numbers, finding patterns, two dimensional shapes, and developing solutions to small math problems.
Math
The first grade students have been learning so much this first quarter. In reading, we have been working on learning our phonics patterns as well as hundreds of sight words! We practice our sight words and phonics by reading small books and using flashcards that focus on a specific pattern. Our fourth and fifth reading buddies have been a huge help to us by helping us practice our sight words and read our phonics books every afternoon. We have also been learning about some important reading skills during class. So far we have covered fact vs. opinion, fix-up strategies, and predicting. We are currently learning about main ideas and details, plot, characters, and setting.
Reading
1st Grade
by Mrs. Hayes
Language Arts
Language arts is a large part of our day. In handwriting we are learning how to make our lowercase letters the correct way. In spelling, we are all learning spelling patterns by looking at the first, middle, and last sound in a word.
In math we started the year by learning about counting patterns and place value. We are just beginning our unit on addition strategies. We use these strategies every day when we do our Rocket Math. Rocket Math is a series of timed addition tests that will help us memorize our facts.
Math
In On October 27th Kindergarten through 3rd grade will be visiting the Dupage Children’s Museum in Naperville. The Museum is filled with hands on learning opportunities that revolve around science concepts. They will be learning through play the entire time!
K-3rd Field Trip
October 27th
In social studies we are learning to read maps, use charts, put things in order, and identify types of jobs in a community. We will be learning about social studies during first semester and transition to science for the second half of the school year.
Social Studies
1st Grade
by Mrs. Hayes
Every day we write in our journals.
We use our journals to do a written
response for each chapter we hear
from the book The Mouse and the
Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. In
six traits writing, we have learned
how to stick to just one topic in
our writing. We have also learned how to give a story structure by focusing on a beginning, middle, and end.
Journal Time
Social Studies: Students learned about rural, urban, and suburban communities. They completed a booklet showing our state, capital, state bird and state flower. They also learned to label the 7 continents and 2 of the oceans. You could hear students singing the continent song each day as they practiced for the test.
Social Studies
Read Alouds: We started the year by reading The Cool Bean by
Jory John. Students learned that being cool isn’t about how you
‘swagger’ or how you look but how kind you are. The next read aloud
was Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. The class learned the meaning of perseverance and how they personally can persevere through something that is hard for them to do. Some of our students recited this quote from the book ‘Honey is sweet and so is knowledge, but knowledge is like the bee that made that sweet honey, you have to chase it through the pages of a book.’ Students also enjoyed honey and crackers.. Since Patrica Polacco was a favorite author, we read Mr. Lincoln’s Way and My Rotten RedHeaded Brother also. It was exciting to watch the students compare and contrast these books. With each read aloud, students enter into class discussions as well as write responses to questions.
Math: Students were excited to begin Rocket Math, a timed math fluency test. As students advance in addition and subtraction facts, they color letters on a rocket as they master that level. Second graders can regroup hundreds, tens and ones using base ten blocks, compare 3 digit numbers and identify patterns when counting by 1’s, 5’s and 10’s. The third graders can decompose a number in different ways to help subtract and can adjust numbers to make it easier to add and subtract.,
2nd & 3rd Grade
by Mrs. Rod
Math
Read Alouds
Bucket List: Students created a list of things they’d like to work for such as a day to wear no shoes in class, a day to bring stuffed animals and a pizza party. The students add a spoonful of beans to a bucket for acts of kindness, good listening and following directions. They have filled the bucket twice since school started.
Fundations (Wilson Language Training) Students use magnetic letters to form words as they review letter sounds, diagraphs blends and glued sounds. They also use dry erase boards to practice spelling these closed syllable words and trick words. The biggest challenge is writing a dictated sentence. This requires good listening skills, spelling strategies and good handwriting.
Ag in the Classroom
Fundations Students
Ag In the Classroom:The students look forward to seeing Miss Dana Merriman as she brings an activity to educate the students about agriculture and its importance. They have planted seeds in a glove, created their own farmer’s market sign and played a card game finding matching agricultural pictures.
2nd & 3rd Grade
by Mrs. Rod
Bucket List
First Day
of School
4th& 5th Grade
by Ms. dietze
Reading
Math
In math we have been hard at work! The 4th graders are learning about factors and multiples currently and are making great use of their multiplication songs. The 5th graders have been flying through adding and subtracting decimals! I am consistently wowed at their math abilities. Both classes had the chance to play math hopscotch in the classroom as they were learning during previous units.
Welcome back Steward families! It is wonderful to see all the familiar faces. We have had a great start to the year in 4th and 5th grade. We just took our first reading assessment on fact and opinion, monitoring and fix-up strategies, and predicting. We are excited to start discussing plot, characters and setting, and main idea in the upcoming weeks.
Science
Social Studies
In social studies we have been focusing on what the different aspects of social studies are, such as citizenship, economics, and geography to name a few. We have just started our first dive into our world history and I am excited for the activities we have to come later in the year.
As for science, we have just completed our first chapter on energy. We used exercise band slingshots to demonstrate potential and kinetic energy, as well as making circuits with batteries and potatoes. We are
continuing our
exploration into
energy with our
new chapter.
Student Council
Student Council is off to a great start already! We have decided on our monthly "all-school" activities and many of last year's favorites are coming back. We also held elections in September. Morgan DeLille is our president. Mayson Smardo is our vice president, and Barbara Palmer is our Secretary.
Student Council
President: Morgan DeLille
Vice President: Mayson Smardo
Secretary: Barbara Palmer
6th - 8th Grade Math
All the junior high math classes have been working on various applications of ratios and how they work. We've learned or reviewed how ratios are just a fancy word for fractions and that they are just a comparison of 2 different quantities.
Ag In The Classroom
Mrs. Katie Pratt is back in the classroom with us once a month to learn about the agriculture around us. Our first lesson involved learning which items in the store come from agriculture and which ones come from natural resources. The students were surprised to find out just how many of the things we buy come from things that are grown around us.
Ag in the Classroom
Math
6th-8th Grade
by Mrs. odle
6th - 8th Grade Science
We've started studying Physical Science this year. We're currently learning about the behaviors and properties of particles at a molecular level and what this means as we build substances. This is also the year that we will be studying the Periodic Table. Our most recent lab helped us understand the connections among temperature, pressure, and volume of gasses.
Student council
Science
Our social studies curriculum has been centered around exploring different cultures and understanding the world around us. Students have been learning about historical events, geography, and the importance of being global citizens. We have also been encouraging students to develop their research skills and critical thinking abilities through projects and presentations.
Social Studies
In language arts, we have been focusing on improving writing skills, grammar, and vocabulary. Students have been working on various writing assignments, including creative writing, persuasive essays, and research papers. We have also been incorporating technology into our lessons to enhance learning and provide opportunities for collaborative work.
In our reading class, we have been focusing on developing strong reading comprehension skills. Students have been engaged in various activities such as reading and analyzing different genres of literature, participating in group discussions, and practicing critical thinking skills. I highly encourage you to support your child's reading journey by providing them with a variety of books and engaging in conversations about what they are reading.
6th-8th Grade
by Mrs. Stroh
Reading
Language arts
4th-5th Art class
Our 4th and 5th graders stumbled upon computer pixel artist Stefanie Grunwald! Her art demonstrated the illusion of depth through multi-colored pixels, so our kids dared to try her style in a retro way: good, old-fashioned pencil to grid paper! The results were remarkable as students mapped out how many squares it would take to line up their entire artworks just perfectly. In fact, two kiddos earned artists-of-the-month for October through this fantastical project!
Hello, Steward friends! Over the past few weeks, Kindergarten and 1st grade scholars discovered the amazing power of the color wheel! Using paint, play-do, and bits of colored paper, our kiddos saw again and again how red, yellow, and blue can combine differently to transform into orange, green, and purple!
K-1 Art class
In 2nd grade and 3rd grade, the students studied artist Keith Haring, noticing how he used simple lines and bold color to spread happy stories in public. Students were able to define which lines meant “noise” and which meant “movement.” They outlined friends for life-sized fun and created “graffiti” names, as well!
ART
by Mrs. Loeffelholz
2nd-3rd Art
8th graders came across current artist Jen Stark with her multimedia drip style art techniques. Using bright colors of their choice, kids mimicked a collage grid style Stark uses with layered “drips” of paper. After that, we put all the separate pieces together to make a large collaborative mural in the library! Next, students realized the concentration it takes to draw in this drip fashion. Utilizing simple markers and pencils, kids overlapped their black and white drips into their colored ones for a hypnotizing effect!
8th Art Class
ART Class
by Mrs. Loeffelholz
6th and 7th grade grabbed hunks of clay and set to work with our Hamsa hand art. They unearthed origins of this symbol sometimes used as an amulet and even saw how the upward or downward image of the hand can mean different things! Care was displayed as the students cautiously designed and then carved intricate imagery directly into their clay.
6th-7th art Class
Musicplay Online
This year in grades K-3, Mr. Groth is using a website called MusicplayOnline for music class. This website features many different ways of learning about music, from singing solfege to moving to the beat. Some of our favorite songs this year are “Comin’ Around the Mountain”, “Mountaintop Monster”, and “Poor Little Bug”.
The 3rd and 4th grade music class from last year has demonstrated outstanding growth in the music classroom since last school year. Now, they have begun playing band instruments! In August, the 4th and 5th graders attended an instrument fitting session, where they got to try all sorts of instruments that play in the band. After seeing which ones they liked, we were ready to play. We can’t wait to show you what we learn by the winter concert in December!
4th-5th grade band
MUSIC Class
by Mr. Groth
The following two units will be Soccer and Speed-Away, which are two outdoor activities and will be outside, as long as the weather permits. I have noticed, even though we are having beautiful days, the morning dew is quite heavy and students' shoes and socks may become quite wet. The morning classes should consider bringing an extra pair of socks and make sure they have separate shoes for PE than what they wear to school. If getting P.E. shoes is a problem, please contact our office so that we can provide assistance.
Outdoor Activities
Timed Activities
I would also like to note that some of our activities are timed, but I will never ask or require students to bring their cell phones to P.E. I will always use my own cell phone for timing, as I do not want any student devices being damaged in the gym or outdoors. We are looking forward to an excellent and healthy year of growth in physical education class!
Recently, we have just finished our frisbee unit, in which I have observed leaps and bounds of improvement by many of the students. Not only improvements in skill level, but working together and encouraging one another, through successes and struggles. Our next unit will be volleyball, which a lot of students are excited for. This will be an indoor unit for the next two weeks.
I would like to welcome everyone to the 2023–2024 school year. For those parents that I have not had the opportunity to meet, my name is David Hanes, and I am the physical education teacher. This is my second year teaching at Steward Elementary. I have had a wonderful experience my first year and look forward to building upon that for many years to come. I have two beautiful daughters, Grace (21), and Ella (17), and a three year-old Australian Shepherd named Beau who is very much a part of our family and is included in about everything we do.
About Mr. Hanes
Physical Education
Frisbee unit
Steward’s mission, for all students, is to provide a safe environment for all students to grow and learn about physical education, and I am committed to making that my mission as well. Personal growth and preparedness are important for the next stage of their academic career. Teaching lifelong activities to promote a healthy lifestyle, togetherness, and how to function as a team, regardless of various backgrounds are all key aspects of our program. Promoting encouragement and success for every student is my goal.
by Mr. Hanes
Our Mission
upcoming events
NO School
No School: Monday, October 9th - Columbus Day
No School: Friday, October 6th - TI day
October 11th-12th At Eswood
Game times will be determined
VOlleyball Tournament
Come support our Eagles as they try to win their first volleyball tournament since 2018!
Book Fair
October 16th-20th
Our book fair will be open all this week for the kids to look at the new books. Books can be purchased during Parent - Teacher conferences.
Family Dodge Ball night
October 18th 6:30-7:30
Team sign up starts at 6:15pm. Come join the fun at this family event. You can even check out our Book Fair!
Thursday, October 19th 4:00pm-7:00pm
Friday, October 20th 9:00am-12:00pm
Parent-Teacher Conferences
School Board meeting
In the school library.
October 25th 6:00pm
Costume Parade
October 31st 2:15pm
You are invited to come and watch the students as they march around the gym in their Halloween costumes.
picture Retake Day
Wednesday, November 1st
You can retake your school picture or have it taken for the first time. We will also have basketball and cheer pictures.
Boys Basketball
First game: Thursday, November 2nd Home vs Kings.
For the full schedule check out our website at www.stewardschool220.org.
Christmas Program
Monday, December 18th 6:00pm