6th Grade to William Allan White House

Recently our 6th graders took a field trip to Emporia, Kansas, to learn more about William Allen White and his tie to Kansas history. We toured the William Allen White house full of antiques, vases, and even some of his grandparents’ original furniture. The tour guide did an excellent job of talking to the class about Mr. White’s family members, and how he is one the few people who hosted five United States Presidents in his home.

After our tour of the house, we ate lunch at the local Recreation Center (because it was so cold outside!). They allowed our class to use their big gymnasium to run off some of our energy afterwards. And after a long bus ride, followed by a tour of a house where they had to keep their hands to themselves, they were ready to run!

In the afternoon, the class toured the Emporia Gazette, which William Allen White ran for years. They no longer print the newspaper there, but have the original machines in a museum in the back room. We had two tour guides that took us through the building, showing us how they put the paper together and where they get all of their information.

All in all, it was a very educational field trip. They kids really enjoyed it, and learned all about William Allen White at the same time!

Read for the Record

On Thursday, October 8, 2009, Elmont students joined in to help “Read for the Record.” This date was set to break the world record for the number of people reading the same book on the same day. This year’s book was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The students in Mrs. Keehn’s and Mrs. Mathes’ first grade classrooms had a special guest read to them. Dr. Alexa Posney, who at that time was the Kansas Commissioner of Education, read to our first graders. It was an honor to have her at Elmont, reading to our students.

The entire student body watched an animated reading of the book during morning assembly and Mrs. Diederich submitted our numbers to the help break the record. In the last email from the sponsor, over one million people had read that book on October 8th.

6th Grade News

The sixth grade class participates in a broadcast of current events to the school. Each week, assigned students write up a paragraph about a current event that is relevant to Elmont Elementary. They also interview classes, report Bobcat news, and have trivia questions, which are answered at morning assembly each Monday. Our broadcasters practice all week, and then record the Channel 6th Grade News. The whole school views the broadcast during their lunch on Friday. The students look forward to their turn to be a broadcaster and do a great job reporting the news.

Safety Drills

Safety first is something that we take serious at Elmont. Because of that, it is important for our students and staff to practice various drills throughout the school year. Already this year, Elmont students have had a fire drill, tornado drill and bus evacuation drill. By practicing these drills, the students become familiar with the routines of safety. Throughout the year we will also have lockdown drills, evacuation drills and medical emergency drills. If you have any questions about the drills conducted at Elmont, please contact Mrs. Diederich, principal.

WELCOME BACK

The Elmont Staff would like to welcome all of our Elmont families back to another wonderful school year full of learning. This is an exciting year because Elmont has grown by 40 students and we would like to welcome all the new students and their families.

There will be a few new staff faces at Elmont this year. Please welcome the following new staff members:
Melanie DiDio - Secretary
Connie Brackey - School nurse
Tori Wools - At-risk para
Linda Rahmeier - Special education para
Stacey Wienck - Computer lab assistant
Cassie Ginapp - School Psychologist

Parents are invited to attend Parent Night in order to learn more about their student’s classroom and teacher. Kindergarten Parent Night is scheduled for Monday, August 31, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. Parent Night for grades 1-6 will be held on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. There will be two informational sessions held on Tuesday night for families with multiple students. We hope to see all of our families on this night.

Elmont's Got Talent!

Elmont is full of talented students! The K-3 talent show on March 12, 2009 proved that to be true. There were singers and dancers, piano players, drummers and tumblers. Some students even provided comedic relief with a skit and song. The athletic talents were shown as students jumped rope and hula-hooped across the stage or performed karate moves for all to see. These talented Elmont Bobcats were so impressive!

Family Math Night

Elmont hosted its first Family Math Night on Thursday, April 2, 2009. The evening consisted of 8 different sessions on various math topics. Students and parents could learn new math games that can be played at home throughout the summer to help keep those math skills sharp or perhaps enjoy children’s literature with math themes and activities to tie in. The clicker system that was purchased by the PTO was used to demonstrate how math work can be fun, while fifth and sixth grade students and teachers showed how “Algebra is Child’s Play.” The computer lab was open so that parents could access numerous math websites that can be used at home to aid in the area of math. And don’t forget the cookies at the end of the night! Overall, we had a wonderful turnout and a great night of learning at Elmont.