Students in E3 are participating in a postcard exchange for a global read aloud along with two other fifth grade classes at Bancroft. Mrs. Alicia Naimoli is reading aloud the novel Refugee by Alan Gratz which depicts the stories of three refugees from three different countries and time periods in history. Students are reflecting on the novel by writing postcards to students around the globe who are also reading Refugee. They received their first postcard last week and are excited to track all of the places they receive postcards from in the coming weeks!

STAR (Strategic Targeted and Responsive) instruction is well underway at Bancroft Elementary School. STAR Time is part of the school’s MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) which is a multi-tiered model that provides instruction and interventions to meet the instructional needs of all students in grades first through fifth. Each STAR group meets daily for 30 minutes and changes according to individual student needs.

There is so much happening in Mrs. Leigh Castle, Mr. John Howanski and Mrs. Kelly Hainsey’s health classes!

Everyone is setting goals and running laps during Mileage Club. And, students in Mrs. Hainsey’s class are using a new scanning system funded by an Innovated Grant from The Kennett Education Foundation, called EZ Scan. Inside the classroom, Mrs. Castle incorporates an exercise of the cycle, like “Wacky Jacks,” with her students, while Mr. Howanski is practicing mindfulness activities! We’re keeping our bodies and minds healthy this year in D1!

Miss Rachel Garvin’s fifth grade class has been learning about the civil rights movement. Students are reading about different events that helped secure rights for African Americans such as the bus boycotts and Brown v. the Board of Education. After reading about specific events, each student created a pie piece to represent their learning!