Ithaca North Elementary

Thank you to the Gratiot Community Foundation for supporting and funding our flexible seating grant for 3rd graders. GCF continues to be a community partner for our school,students, and staff and we appreciate the positive relationship we have fostered with the foundation. Together we can provide resources to support student achievement.

After reading a story about a baby dropping food bits just to watch pets gobble them up, third graders were challenged to design high chairs that would prevent food from getting on floor!

North Elementary students created a GRATITUDE window today! Each student had the opportunity to write one thing they are grateful for. 🐝💙🐝💙🐝

Mrs. Workman's and Ms. Raymond's classes enjoyed a beautiful day at Forest Hill on Monday! Partaking in hands-on activities, the kids learned about birds, mammals and aquatic life in Michigan (like leeches!). We appreciate all of the chaperones and volunteers that make our trips out there so wonderful!

Just a friendly reminder that there is NO SCHOOL tomorrow, Wednesday, November 15th--Good Luck to all the Hunters! See everyone back on Thursday!

The sixth graders are studying the human body system in Science class. Through each lesson the students are learning what each body system function is and also working together on their collaboration skills working in a small group too.

Last week Mr. Smith walked into a surprise from his class as well as from a TV reporter from WZZM 13 On Your Side to honor him as Teacher of the Week. Check out the full story on WZZM13 website to watch the full article and interview. Congrats to Mr. Smith.

4th graders were fortunate to have community member Scott Johnson come in and sing The Edmund Fitzgerald song and read The Song of the Bell!

Thanks to Donors Choose, families, and community partners my third graders received additional math games to support their math goals! Learning math can be engaging and fun.

Little late but check out some of the third grade goblins!!

This week our school community will be focusing on the character strength of GRATITUDE. Gratitude means you are aware of and thankful for good things that happen. Gratitude is the quality of feelings and expressing thankfulness and appreciation. It is an affirmation that there is goodness in other people and the world and that we have received that goodness.

Fourth graders learned about Giant Sequoias and Coastal Redwoods in STEAM and then collaborated to build models of them using cards and connectors.

The Ithaca 5th graders invite you to an engaging community event on Veterans Day at the All Wars Memorial in downtown Ithaca, this Saturday at 11 AM. You can read all about it in the Gratiot County Herald and Morning Sun! Scan the QR code in the picture for a video from 5th graders!

Students have learned that keeping track of our digital footprint is important, and the choices we make about our own digital footprint can impact others as well as themselves. It is important to pause and think before posting, sharing, or visiting websites and apps to ensure smart choices are being made for everyone's digital footprint. Our students have also been engaging in conversations about cyberbullying. These conversations have been impactful in the technology classroom because students are learning strategies to help them handle these kinds of situations by being upstanders in their friend groups and communities. Here are some links to resources about both of these topics: Digital Footprint 3-5: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jqE5CLfzAjXdLY-6c26Ri15XNeidRAFU1jt47TmJ6GQ/edit?usp=sharing Thinking Traps 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9aV4mgVya4 Cyberbullying 3-5: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1QXn58bg3G4ptPeEpG2nuzF7CmOgXYq8HBbfUWGxRv98/edit?usp=sharing Cyberbullying 6: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14-6deXF8qN8e_ev2SORPDK4FXcMdno5t3cEH0l6cmzU/edit?usp=sharing

On behalf of the Board of Education, I thank the Ithaca Public Schools’ voters for their support of the renewal of the sinking fund. Approval of the sinking fund will allow the school district to continue to update facilities, improve school security, upgrade technology, and purchase new buses and vans. Again, I am grateful to the parents, staff, students, and other members of the community who helped us inform people about the sinking fund renewal. Thank you for your continued support! Steven Netzley Superintendent

This week in Tech, we are focusing on Digital Citizenship. Students have been engaging in activities at school to practice their DC skills. Monday's focus was media balance, and Tuesday's focus was staying safe online. Shared below are activities families can do together at home, or family resources to reinforce the learning students have done at school. Media Balance 3-5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WhzaO0DVJM Media Balance 6: https://www.commonsense.org/education/family-tips/6-12-media-balance-and-well-being Staying Safe Online 3-5: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/family-tech-planners Staying Safe Online 6: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1moJRD4r9umukn7MwZ847tTMRRYYt7Uu2ym1lAw1zHoI/edit#slide=id.g3d07a721d2_1_0

After learning about irrigation systems in STEAM lab, fifth graders collaborated to move water (a marble) from one end of the table to another by creating paper canals.

Don't forget to vote! If you'd like more information on the 2023 Sinking Fund renewal, please visit www.ithacaschools.net/page/sinking-fund-renewal.

This week our school community will be focusing on the character strength of Bravery. Bravery means you act with mental, moral, or physical strength even when you know things are difficult or scary. “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”--ROSA PARKS

Hello North Families, I cannot believe we had our first snow before November! Our students were very well behaved for Halloween! Please make sure that you are sending your child to school with warm clothing! Have a great weekend! -- Go Jackets! Jessie Rayburn North Elementary Principal Ithaca Public Schools jmiller@ithacaschools.net 989-875-3047