Veteran’s Day

The nation celebrates Veterans Day on November 11th to honor all who have served in the military for the United States. Across America, various parades and ceremonies are held to celebrate the loyal services of our country’s armed forces. Watch the video below to learn more about Veteran's Day.

The Character Education Word of the Month for November is "Gratitude". It is important that Americans give thanks for their freedom. Veteran's Day is an opportunity to honor, give thanks and to be grateful to those who have served or are currently serving in the military.

This year, William O. Schaefer (WOS) is participating in the Vetiquette Program's; Veteran's Day Project spearheaded by Maureen Kelly. Each student will decorate a brown lunch bag which will be filled with candy and gifted to a veteran. Students will also write a note of thanks on a dog tag style card identifying at least one character trait that our veterans display by their service. (e.g., brave, generous, selfless, kind, etc.) As liaison to the project, first grade teacher Suzanne Luke coordinates the efforts of all WOS teachers and students assists in collecting, packing and shipping out the project. Thank you Mrs. Luke!

Additional Resources:
Learn a Veterans Day Song or Poem, Songs for Teaching has a long list of Veteran's Day songs to choose.
Read a picture book about veterans.

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Kids Thank a Vet includes many resources to help kids learn more about veterans. There are pictures of famous veterans, book lists, activities, and much more.

Are there additional ways you and your family celebrate Veterans Day? What are they? Please share in the comment section below.​

Publishing Celebration!

We had such an exciting afternoon! We published our Personal Narrative/Small Moment stories! We worked so hard on learning craft moves such as adding strong, powerful words, using dialogue, incorporating metaphors and similes and making our writing come alive for our readers. We also worked hard to revise and edit our writing so that it was our personal best writing and readable to our readers! What a fantastic job! It was very challenging, but the class rose to the occasion! Great job, writers! img_7288-2

Socktober

Every night in the United States an estimated 600,000 people live on the streets. This October, SoulPancake and Kid President want 2 million people to prove that even the smallest acts of love, like donating a pair of socks, can make a big difference in the lives of our neighbors who are homeless.

Socktober was launched by Kid President creator Brad Montague four years ago. It’s a movement to get kids and grown-ups to help the homeless in an easy, fun way.

Last year, more than 10,000 schools, families, businesses, and churches rallied together to bring Socktober to life. People from every state and continent have taken part in Socktober! This year, William O. Schaefer is participating and we are having a "Sock Drive" the last week in October!

All of the socks we collect as a community will be donated to a local shelter.

H/T to Ms. Kolesar!

Take the Sock Challenge. Leave your answer in the comments below!


October Challenge

It's October and that means pumpkins are everywhere! Pumpkins here. Pumpkins there. Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere! Big ones, fat ones. Round ones, flat ones. Small ones, tall ones. Orange ones, white ones. Green ones, blue ones. Bumpy ones, smooth ones. So many to choose from!

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Let's harvest them and bring them to school for some book character fun! Follow the detailed directions below to participate in the October Pumpkin Character Challenge.

  1. Select a book you have read or want to read.
  2. Choose one character from the story to focus on.
  3. Create this character using a pumpkin. Please be sure the pumpkin is small enough to carry to school. You may decorate it, glue things on it, carve it, or paint it! Be Creative!
  4. You MUST complete the book report below or your October Pumpkin Character will NOT be accepted.
  5. Deadline for the October Pumpkin Character Challenge is October 14th!