The Steward Signal
January 2024
“Steward School District Continues to Offer High Quality Education with a Small Town Approach”
February is “Random Acts of Kindness Month”
by Steven Simpson
It seems as each year goes by we are presented with another “special” day or themed month that we may have never heard of before. Until about 15 years ago, I was unfamiliar with February being deemed “Random Acts of Kindness Month,” or in some cases, simply “Kindness Month.” Regardless of its exact name, the concept behind it and its potentially powerful influences certainly seem worth celebrating. Although often promoted amongst young people in schools, the overall objective of Random Acts of Kindness Month is to encourage caring, compassion, and empathy in all of us, regardless of age.
A random act of kindness is defined as “deliberately attempting to brighten someone’s day by doing something kind for no specific reason.” According to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, the first Random Act of Kindness Day was celebrated nationally in the United States in February of 1995. This celebration grew out of a periodical article written more than 10 years earlier and a book, based on the same idea, which was published in 1993. Out of those humble beginnings, a much larger awareness has now arisen. What was once just a day (February 17th this year) has now become a week (February 11-17 in 2024) and, eventually, a whole month! However, historians and archaeologists have calculated the original ancient Hebrew scroll of Leviticus as having been first recorded at least 3,000 years ago in which the words are written, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Clearly, practicing acts of kindness is not a new concept, but one that we may not have always prioritized over the years. Interestingly enough, three major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all recognize the writings in Leviticus to be part of their holy scriptures, but we know that these groups have not always chosen to “love each other as themselves.” We all have room for improvement.
The message may be old, and sometimes forgotten, but February is upon us. The idea of deliberately practicing kindness for no specific reason other than to spread happiness and joy need no longer be pushed to the background. The theme of acts of kindness will be brought to the forefront in our daily school announcements for the month of February. Hopefully, what we practice this month will continue to spread and grow throughout the entire year!
Kindergarten
by Mrs. Esposito
Social Emotional Learning
The kindergarten classroom has focused a lot on: respect, empathy, friendliness, kindness, cooperation, and positiveness in our social emotional learning. The students even made flowers to give to a person and show kindness. In the process, they discovered that tissue paper can fly high in the air with a fan. They were all squealing with joy!
Social Studies
In social studies, we have been learning about different landforms and about the U.S. map. The students wanted to see where different places were on the map and even talked about future vacations they were going to take with their families. I love to hear them share and learn in the classroom.
Science
In science we have been working on the life cycles of different animals. The students were even able to research an animal, create a poster, and present their animal to the class. I was so thrilled that none of the students were shy to share what they had learned. This also opened up discussion questions for the children to ask more about the animal they researched. Way to go kindergarten!!!!!
In math, we just finished a unit on simple addition up to 17. The students are learning about how two parts can make a whole. They even came up with their own addition problems for their classmates to solve.
In reading, I am so happy to announce that all our students know all the letters! We almost have all our letter sounds. This year the students have worked on writing, reading, and building words. They use phonics to sound out new words and try to write them down. I am so excited to see that everyone is reading.
Reading
Math
1st Grade
by Mrs. Hayes
Math
Reading
In math we covered a fun unit on two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. We learned how to identify shapes by their distinguishing attributes. We also just finished up a unit about solving addition word problems with missing totals or missing parts. Now we are heading into our next unit which involves solving subtraction word problems with missing totals or missing parts.
The first graders have really been learning a lot over the past several months. Over the past couple months in reading, we learned all about comparing and contrasting, theme, and author’s point of view. Our three new reading skills we are currently exploring are making inferences, visualizing, and taking notes while reading non-fiction.
Writing
In writing, we have been making our writing more interesting by including specific nouns, interesting adjectives, and great verbs. We have also been learning how to write titles and names correctly. In phonics, we are continuing to learn the difference between long and short vowels. We are also spending time learning how to write using the sounds we hear in our words. In handwriting, we are continuing to practice making our lower-case letters correctly while starting to learn our upper-case letters. We have been challenged to write neatly all day long!
Science
While the first semester was all about social studies, this second semester is all about science! The students love the fact that there is a hands-on lab almost every day! Our first chapter was all about sound. We made our own instruments and came up with secret codes using unique sounds. We are soon be starting our second chapter about light and all of its properties.
Social Emotional Learning
100th Day!
Each day we also do a short lesson on social emotional learning. We are continuing through a unit on how we can manage ourselves using positive social and emotional positive actions. The students really enjoy the silly stories and fun puppets that go along with the
lessons to help them understand these concepts.
On Thursday, February 1st we celebrated our 100th day of school. Some of the students dressed up like they were 100 years old. They brought in 100 snacks to share, and created projects using 100 of an object. It was very exciting for everyone.
2nd/3rd Grade
by Mrs. Rod
Language Arts
Language Arts: Students wrote descriptive essays about what makes Christmas special to them. Students also wrote about what they would do with a pet reindeer after reading “The Wild Christmas Reindeer”. After enjoying two of Jan Brett’s books, students completed a venn diagram showing similarities and differences. The also wrote a their own story for the border pictures in Brett’s “Trouble with Trolls”.
Reading: Students enjoyed Reader’s Theater titled “The Chocolate Touch” and hope to perform it in the future.
Read Aloud: We finished Charlotte’s Web and wrote about which character we would like to have as a friend. We continue to see perseverance and loyalty as themes in our books. Students enjoyed two Jan Brett books “The Wild Christmas Reindeer” and “Trouble with Trolls”.
Reading/Read Alouds
Fundations
Fundations: Students are spelling multisyllabic words on white boards and using letter tiles.
They are learning about suffixes and base words. They enjoy taking turns playing the teacher by announcing the word and checking their spelling.
Math: 3rd grade students completed a unit on multiplication and will begin a unit about perimeter and area.
2nd grade students continue to decompose numbers to make addition of 2 digit numbers easier. Students began to use these strategies to subtract numbers fluently.
Both grades are solving money problems as quick drills on Treasury Tuesdays and math puzzles on Think It Through Thursdays. They continue to move through the levels in Rocket Math addition and subtraction on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Both grades started playing math games on their computers using the McGraw Hill curriculum to strengthen skills taught in the unit.
Math
2nd/3rd Grade
by Mrs. Rod
Bucket List
Science
Science: We are excited to begin our science units. Students are learning about matter and its properties. They met the challenge of designing a nutcracker and building a beaver dam.
Bucket List: The class met another goal for the bean bucket. We played board games during the afternoon as a reward for filling our bucket. The next goal on the bucket list is wearing slippers and bringing a stuffed animal to school.
Class Community Service
Class Community Service: Students participated in Senator Stollor’s annual Valentines for Seniors Card Drive. This heart-warming project allows students to make and send cards to residents of assisted living and long-term care facilities in the 37th Senate District.
4th/5th Grade
by Ms. Dietze
Math
Reading
Happy New Year! It is so nice to have everyone back after all of the time off we have had already this year. Our class has done a great job getting back into the swing of things in the new year. In reading we have been focusing on visualizing, note-taking, and making inferences. After our test we will be learning about summarizing, generalizations, and skimming and scanning
In math both classes have been doing an excellent job! The 5th graders finished up their decimal units with learning how to solve decimal division problems. The 4th graders did a fantastic job with adding and subtracting fractions. Both classes are now into their fraction units. The 4th grade will be learning to add mixed numbers while the 5th grade will be adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.
Positive Action
In Positive Action we are focusing on how to manage our emotions, both positive and negative. The class is doing a great job thinking honestly about where they excel and where they could improve.
Language Arts
In language arts we are starting a new writing project. The students have been learning about parts of speech like adverbs and how to write dialogue. We are using this knowledge to help make our sentences begin in more interesting ways. We are also focusing on correctly writing commonly missed words.
Social Studies
In social studies we have finished our look into early Native cultures in the Americas and have started to look at how cultures around the world explored and traded with one another. We have discussed the Silk Road in Asia, the kingdoms of Africa, and the inventions of the Renaissance in Europe.
Science
In science we have been discussing the features
of the Earth. We have gotten familiar with the parts of maps and how to read them, which has also been a great help in social studies! We learned about different landforms and how they came to be on Earth, as well as studying the rock cycle. The class was able to make a lot of connections back to our field trip to the Burpee Museum way back at the beginning of the year! Our most recent experiment had the class in groups trying to mimic how erosion from water affects different kinds of rock. It was a bit messy, but a ton of fun!
6th-8th Math/Science
by Mrs. Odle
Student Council
Student Council wrapped up the 2nd semester with an all school hide and seek game in December. Students paired up with partners and hid all over inside the school while 2 seekers went looking for them. We also cheered on the boys' basketball team and cheerleaders for their end of season tournament with a spirit week. Our anything but a backpack day is becoming very popular. Then, we kicked off the beginning of the 3rd semester with an all school sardines game. This is essentially the opposite of hide and seek. Several rounds were played where 2 students hid somewhere inside the school while the rest of the student body searched for them. The students had a blast with both of these activities. Upcoming events for student council: February 24 - Roller skating at White Pines & girls' basketball spirit week
Ag in the Classroom
Fortunately,, Mrs. Pratt was able to reschedule our Ag In The Classroom day after our snow day. The students made different types of ice cream using various combinations of milk and cream to see which combination tasted the best. Their favorite part was definitely tasting the ice cream afterwards.
Door
Decorating
6th-8th S.S./L.A.
by Mr. Kappes
7th Social Studies
Our 7th grade Social Studies class has been studying the Jefferson Era of American History. We recently learned how we acquired the Louisiana Territory and how much it cost. We also discovered that the White House and Capitol Building were burned to the ground by the British in the War of 1812. However, the Americans would have the last laugh in this war!
6th Social Studies
Our 6th grade Social Studies class has been reading and exploring the ancient world in the past month! The first stop along this journey was to Ancient Greece. The Greeks transformed the ancient world with the introduction of democracy! The latest stop in our journey was to Ancient Rome. We have recently been discovering the Roman Colosseum and our football stadiums have a lot in common! Both could hold over 50,000 spectators!
8th Social Studies
Our 8th grade Social Studies class has been exploring the Industrial Revolution in the United States. Students explored some of the most wealthy industries of the late 1800's, such as the steel and oil industry. Students also discovered the birth of monopolies in the United States.
Art Class
by Mrs. Loefellholz
Kindergarten and 1st Grade
Hello, art lovers! This month, Kindergarten and 1st grade kiddos are discovering artist Wayne Thiebaud and his love for gumballs! They are using their cutting skills & identifying shapes in their gumball machine projects. Our silver paper “25 cents” for a gumball is quite a treat!
2nd & 3rd Grade
In 2nd & 3rd grade, the students can tell you about Boho wall hangings & how they got to choose their own creative mixes of patterns & colors. Students each decided on a specific fallen tree limb for their base. Next, they are learning an easy way to knot & display their various textured yarns & beads!
4th & 5th Grade
Our 4th & 5th graders are recognizing artist Bridget Riley’s Op Art by identifying optical illusions within patterns. The eye-boggling patterns can really trip you up! They are creating mind tricks with the illusions of lines & colors receding in space.
Art Class
by Mrs. Loefellholz
6th & 7th Grade
6th & 7th grade explore artist Wayne Thiebaud’s depictions of baked goods (cupcakes, anyone?) This artist made mouth-watering images & also used clear distinctions within the background, middle ground, & foreground. Referencing their detailed sketches of their chosen sweets, our students then use form to create 3D duplicates in clay!
8th Grade
8th graders are choosing some of their favorite song lyrics & figuring out how to represent these through various art media! Using three or more sentences, our oldest pupils had to figure out how to best demonstrate the song imagery. We then delighted in playing the songs in class to associate the drawn portrayals!
Music Class
by Mr. Groth
Peter and the Wolf
We had a great Christmas concert back in December, and we are so excited to play more new music! This month, band students in 7th and 8th grade have been hard at work learning new notes on their instruments. That way, we can play even more challenging music! One thing we have been learning is called the chromatic scale. Imagine playing every note in order on piano, black and white keys- this is the chromatic scale!
Grades K-3 are learning about the instruments and the instrument families of the orchestra. We’re learning all about what’s unique to the strings, woodwind, brass, and percussion families! To do this, we are using a story called Peter and the Wolf, where each instrument/section represents a different character in the story.
Steward 7-8 Band
Beginning Band (4th-5th Grade)
Students in beginning band have been reviewing all of the skills that they first learned on their instruments in the fall. We are excited to start learning to read actual band music, rather than playing exercises from our Essential Elements book. We look forward to showing you what we learn at the spring concert!
Christmas Concert
PE Class
by Mr. Hanes
Kids Heart Challenge
Hello, and welcome to the 2024 new year. It has started a little crazy with all the snow and blustery cold days off. Now hoping mother nature has settled down a little. We are getting ready to kick our Kids Heart Challenge. This year is the 100th Anniversary of The American Heart Association. There are a lot of exciting incentives this year. They also have a new ambassador, Damar Hamlin (defensive back for the NFL Buffalo Bills), who last season collapsed in a football game of cardiac arrest. Luckily due to quick response time, they were able to revive him and save his life. His goal is to get every child to complete the online CPR portion of the Heart Challenge.
Can you imagine, if you were at home or at a public event and someone collapses in front of
you, would you know how to respond? Well, this same scenario happened to a mother and her
son. They had just completed the Kids Heart Challenge a week prior, and were sitting in church
when an elderly man collapsed. The son reacted, ran to the man and mom followed her son.
The mother performed chest compressions while her son counted. They saved that gentleman’s life. Here is the link to watch the interview of the mother and son. Kids Heart Challenge & American Heart Challenge are Saving Lives
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsWFmABo5L8) For every success story there are others
that are less fortunate. Time is critical in these situations. Are you and/or your child prepared?
Did you know that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of all Americans, but 80% of it may be preventable through lifestyle changes? For 40 years, the American Heart Association has been teaching children the importance of heart-healthy habits to provide the necessary foundation for a healthy and successful future. Through this service- learning program, students will participate in cardio- pumping challenges, pledge to improve their own health and build their character, all while raising life saving donations to help save and improve lives. Our school can earn new PE equipment!
Here’s how it works:
- Start by registering at www.heart.org/kidsheartchallenge and search for our school, STEWARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. If you signed up last year, you can still use your login info but you still need to register under your school this year.
- Ask family and friends if they’d like to donate. Not sure what to say? There are prewritten email templates in your personal page.
- Download the free app, Kids Heart Challenge, and send texts/emails with prewritten messages! There are new games and face filters too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_JqJvjkC5o
Playing in the snow
4th-5th graders at work
All School Activity
2024 Lucky Hub Dash 5k
The Rochelle Chamber is gearing up for their 2024 Lucky Hub Dash 5k presented by Fat Cat Slots! This year's event will be held on March 9, 2024 (Saturday). The race will be held in Hillcrest this year, and the race will begin and end at Flannigan Park, taking place on the bike path to ensure safety. Registration begins at 9am with the race beginning at 10:00. This event is RAIN OR SHINE OR SNOW OR WIND! The afterparty will take place at Fat Cats Alley (with a taco truck!)
3rd-8th grade students can participate for FREE of charge. You just need to take a non-perishable food item to donate to Rochelle Christian Food pantry as your entry. Winners will be awarded both in Adult and Youth categories, as well as Most Festive! Each youth runner registered by February 9 will receive a Lucky Hub Dash t-shirt. You just need you to submit the names, grade levels, and shirt sizes for any students participating by the deadline. Any adults that want to join in on the fun can register at the link below:
https://forms.gle/jhjnaW3AZDujDJcY9
Upcoming Events!
Girls Basketball games:
Tues, Feb. 6 - Creston Here
Thurs, Feb. 8 - Kings Away
Thurs, Feb. 15 - St. Paul Here
Tues, Feb. 20 - Eswood Away
Thurs, Feb. 22 - Creston Away
Feb. 27th-29th Tournament at
Kings
School Wide Roller Skating:
Feb. 24th 4:30-6:30 $7
Speech Meet at RMS
March 5th
Speech Meet at RTHS
March 12th
Spring Picture Day
March 5th
Chess Tournament at Eswood
April 10th & 11th
Graduation
May 23rd
Read more
www.stewardschool220.org
FAMILY
FUN DAY
COME AND ENJOY SOME FAMILY FUN AT BUILD-A-PET CLUBHOUSE!
SATURDAY
FEB 10
2-4 PM
Admission
FREE
Activities
Active Play
Play Stations
Sensory Play
Toddler Area
Game Room for 8 yrs +
Build-A-Pet Clubhouse
502 1st Ave, Sterling, IL
RSVP by Scanning the QR Code or text (815) 764-1194
More Information
gheimerdingerbaake@roe47.org
EMPOWERED
PARENT
SERIES
About:
The Empowered Parenting Series is a three- part series designed for parents of all ages and in all stages. We will be addressing behaviors, assisting your child with emotional regulation, and gaining a new toolbox full of strategies for your home.
Dates:
Monday, January 22 from 7-8 PM Monday, February 12 from 7-8 PM Monday, March 18 from 7-8 PM
Where:
Online Zoom Event
Zoom link will be sent after you register.
REGISTER TODAY!
Participants who register and participate in all sessions will have the opportunity to win a gift card.
Scan to Register
or text (815) 764-1194
For more information,
Email: gheimerdingerbaake@roe47.org
