It’s Kindness Week at LaPerche. Students and staff are encouraged to do random acts of kindness for each other. When you do something kind or notice others being kind, students record it and add it to our mural in the cafeteria. The goal is for the mural to be completely covered by Friday afternoon. We are well on our way!
Indoor morning recess is in full swing at LaPerche. Students have opportunities to build, draw, create, solve, play, chat and so much more. We love to be outside at recess but when we have to be indoors we have fun together!
Just like we explicitly teach students how to read, problem solve and investigate, we also teach students how to stand up for others, celebrate themselves and recognize what makes each person unique. Third grade started the day answering the following questions:
What makes you feel loved?
Every person here is totally awesome! Let’s tell them why!
An Upstander is a person who stands up for what is right. What can you do to be an upstander?
Finish the sentence: Our classroom is...
Being different isn’t a bad thing. It means you are Brave Enough to be yourself! What is one thing that makes you different?
Do something everyday that makes the world a like more AWESOME! What can you do to make the world a little more awesome?
What an amazing way to start the day! Third grade rocks!!
Wednesday, February 5 was the 100th day of school at LaPerche! Our first grade students aged overnight on Tuesday and came to school as an interesting looking group of 100 year olds! Students across the building engaged in all sorts of activities and centers based on 100. Thank you to all of the amazing volunteers who helped make the centers such a success!
The district spelling bee took place at LaPerche on Tuesday, February 4. School bee winners from Gallagher, LaPerche, McCabe, OCRS and Winsor battled it out to represent Smithfield in the state spelling bee. And the winner is...Elena, an amazing seventh grader from Gallagher! Runner up? Will, a fabulous student from fifth grade at LaPerche! Awesome job by all!
During health class today, fifth graders were broken into teams to research a variety of heart diseases including peripheral heart disease, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease and stroke. The kids were given appropriate websites to visit and then expected to prepare a presentation. The class discussed the importance of eye contact, using a loud clear voice, and no reading off their paper when they present. LaPerche students will be proficient public speakers!
The January student council chose “Dress Like You Are Going to a Dance Party” for their spirit day! At different times throughout the day, DJ Dorsey played music on the intercom and the whole school started to dance. Mrs. Schnell’s class started a congo line in the hall and the rest is history! School is a blast at LaPerche!
Fourth and fifth grade classroom spelling bee champions competed today in the LaPerche school spelling bee. All eight students did a great job carefully thinking about and then spelling the words asked of them. The students in the audience were given an index card so they could try and write the words as our finalists spelled them. Our two finalists will represent LaPerche in the district bee on Tuesday, February 4 at 9:45 at LaPerche.
Congratulations to these five amazing singers from LaPerche! They all auditioned for and were chosen for the Elementary All State Chorus by the Rhode Island Music Educators Association! They will get to rehearse and perform with 150 of the best vocalists in grades 4,5 and 6 from around the state at Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in March!
Fourth graders at Laperche play the math game Close to 1,000. The game involves place value strategy as the student work to build two 3 digit numbers to add together to get as close to 1,000 as possible.
Fifth grades at LaPerche meet with Smithfield Police Officer Perry each week for D.A.R.E. Classes. Today they discussed peer pressure and stress. They talked about the stressors in their life and how to respond to it. Kids shared many strategies to relieve their stress including reading, watching tv, hugging their dog, playing outside, going for a walk, playing a sport, laying down, playing with toys, riding a bike and more. LaPerche students have many great ideas to relieve stress!
Kindergarten students are writing informational books during writers’ workshop today. Friends were thinking about what they were able to do on their own and finishing the sentence, I know how to.... Kindergarten students know how to set the table for dinner, make their beds, play hockey, write a story, get ready for recess, take care of puppies, wash their hands, draw a robot and so much more! Wow, our kindergarten friends know a lot!
Fourth graders are discovering equivalent fractions using hands on manipulatives including fraction tiles and circles.
Third graders scrubbed in on Friday to perform text feature surgery! Third grade has been learning the importance of text features-specifically how authors use text features to help the reader better understand a topic.
Surgeons had to identify which text feature a patient needed to be prescribed based on his or her symptoms, describe what the purpose of that text feature is, and what specifically was taught about the topic using that text feature.
Just like any OR, emergencies happened periodically. Math was embedded into this hands on experience when students had to “race the clock” to solve a word problem to save their patient.
Fourth graders had two choices in music today. Some students chose to compose music for the fourth grade writing music competition which will be submitted to the RI Philharmonic. The other option was to practice the chords they learned last year on the ukuleles to prepare for new songs for this years music concert. Mrs. Barrette brings music to life at LaPerche! LaPerche is excited to welcome Max Votolato from the Hartt School in Connecticut. Max graduated from SHS and is striving to become a music teacher. He is learning from the best!
During Responsive Classroom morning meeting today, the fourth graders moved to theater seating for the message so they were all facing the tv. While reading the morning message, students practiced recognizing punctuation and added movements for each one. In kinesthetic learning, movement and action replace more passive ways of learning. Many students learn best by combining mind and body. These pictures show the movement for quotation marks, apostrophe, period and question mark. Can you tell which movement represents each?
It’s hockey time at LaPerche! Before traditional hockey begins, it training time via centers!
At one center, second graders pass to a teammate and have opportunities to play goalie. At a second center, they work on accuracy while they shoot a beanbag and try to knock down a cardboard pillar. The pillar represents their teammates stick. If they hit the pillar it would be a good pass. At the third center, they are playing as a team against another team (cones stationed around the space). The kids work as a team to pass to each other without hitting the other team. At the fourth station, the team works to make three passes before shooting on goal. Traditional hockey for Kindergarten through fifth grade begins after training ends. We are so thankful to have an amazing PE teacher, Mr. Connell, who understands how to scaffold instruction!
Calling all LaPerche Families--Please come and join us for a delicious pasta dinner on Friday, January 24. The event will take place at Smithfield High School. That evening, the 5th-grade students from LaPerche will be your hosts, wait and bus staff and will be ready to take care of your every need!
Tickets for the event are $7 for an adult, $5 for a child or $25 for a family. Thank you in advance for your support. You may send cash or a check (Made out to LaPerche PTA) to school or use this link to pay online. https://forms.gle/6rs2RocF71BhezpP9
You are invited to choose a dinner time that works for you; 6:00, 6:15 or 6:30.
The menu will consist of pasta (plain, with butter or with red sauce), meatballs, salad, rolls, and dessert. We hope to see you there! All proceeds will benefit the 5th-grade class.
You will receive an email confirming your dinner reservation time. Please sign up to attend using this link. https://forms.gle/6rs2RocF71BhezpP9
3rd, 4th and 5th graders will be taking the Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) tests again this spring in ELA (English Language Arts) and Math. This is the third year that RI students have taken RICAS. LaPerche students have done an amazing job on the tests, especially for ELA. At the November 5 PTA Meeting, Mrs. Dorsey shared information about our RICAS results.
It is very helpful and important that families not schedule any vacations or appointments during the testing period. When that happens, your child has to take the tests at a different time and then they miss out on what is taking place in class. 5th grade only will participate in Science testing. Thank you for your help!
RICAS ELA (Grades 3, 4, and 5)
Wednesday, April 1
Thursday, April 2
RICAS Math (Grades 3, 4, and 5)
Tuesday, May 12
Wednesday, May 13
Science Testing (Grades 5)
Wednesday, May 20
Thursday, May 21
LaPerche students enjoyed a visit from Bwana Iguana today, an early present from Mr. Feinstein! Mr. Ray brought a variety of animals for the students to learn about. The highlight was touching the giant snake. Mr. Ray explained how none of the animals were taken from the wild. They were all born in captivity. Mr. Ray reminded the kids about always washing their hands after touching any animals! Mr. Ray shared that Mr. Feinstein has sent a message to all of the students to keep up their daily good deeds as they work together to make the world a better place. The students learned that snakes smell with their tongue. Snakes look wet and slimy but they are actually dry. They use their muscles, ribs and scales to slither so they don’t need legs! Ask your child what else he or she learned at the presentation.
