Upper Elementary News

FUEL sent off 5th Graders to FMS in style this week, with a clap-out drive through event. Congratulations on all of your hard work, Sixth Graders!

Upland Hills Farm came to Ferndale Lower, animals and all! The truckload included goats, sheep and a cow. Students (and teachers) enjoyed learning about the animals and petting them. They even listened to them “talking”. Thanks, Elementary PTA, for sponsoring this experience both for Roomies and Zoomies.

The FUEL 5th graders worked extremely hard to write their own nonfiction, how-to books. What they once thought an impossible feat became a truly remarkable accomplishment! They each wrote 5 chapters which consisted of 14 paragraphs with headings and subheadings. In addition, they included a text structure, a table of contents, and a glossary.  At the end of the unit Mrs. Lepp's and Mr. Williamson's classes were able to share their hard work with teachers, staff and the 4th graders in book viewings  We are so proud of our talented authors!

The latest FPS Curriculum Quarterly is now available. Our Curriculum & Instruction Department will be releasing a new issue 4 times a year that will briefly highlight areas of teaching and learning in Ferndale Public Schools. We look forward to sharing our programming overviews with you.  If you have questions, please contact Johanna Mracna at johanna.mracna@ferndaleschools.org.

This issue focuses on our science learning goals and methods, presented by grade ranges. Please take a look, and stay tuned for future issues introducing our other pillars of education.

Read the Curriculum Quarterly for May 2021 - Science & Our Students »

Thanks to a generous donation from Home Depot - #2731 in Madison Heights, FUEL was able to purchase two trees, a flowering Crabapple and a Cleveland Pear, which were planted on the grounds for future generations of students and families to enjoy. Planting the trees also helped FUEL to earn the Evergreen award (the highest award possible) through Michigan Green School.

Thank you to 4th Grade teacher Mr. Ian Grzesik for leading the Green Schools program and planting the new trees at FUEL.

Every year, we present the annual state of the district. To celebrate some of the innovations and adaptations we have developed during building closures, we are presenting the State of the District as a series of short videos, available for asynchronous viewing.

Each weeknight at 6:00 pm, we will reveal a new mixtape, which can be viewed altogether or clicked through in any order.

• Monday, May 10th: Preschool at FECC
• Tuesday, May 11th: Elementary (Lower & Upper)
• Wednesday, May 12th: Middle School at FMS
• Thursday, May 13th: High School at FHS, TCEC, & UHS
• Friday, May 14th: Your District, Today & Tomorrow

The links will go live at FerndaleSchools.org/2021 all week long.

This week, Major Zachary Shea presented Ms. Mikolajewski with a flag from the US Army. This flag honored Ms. M’s work teaching Major Shea’s daughter, Cora, and supporting their family while he was deployed for the last 11 months. 

Thank you Ms. Mikolajewski for supporting all of our Ferndale Families, and thank you, Major Shea, for your service to our country and for helping us to honor the other ways people are serving in our community!

You may see a smiling face you recognize on a digital billboard this month. To celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, Lamar Advertising recognizes outstanding teachers annually through the Lamar Loves Teachers program. This year, Ferndale Upper Elementary Behavior Interventionist Fred George was recognized for his outstanding work with students. Congratulations, Mr. George, on a well deserved acknowledgement.

In collaboration with the Michigan Department of Education, REL Midwest has created a series of guides designed to help families support their children and students with the building blocks of reading and math. The resources include two sets of instructional guides, with one set focused on early reading instruction and the other on early mathematics instruction.

The documents are linked below, and can always be found in our Elementary Academics webpage: ferndaleschools.org/academics/elementary/

Reading Resources

• Blending Letters, Recognizing, and Reading Words 
• Developing Language 
• Linking Sounds and Letters 
• Reading for Understanding 

Math Resources

• Integrate Math Throughout the Day 
• Numbers & Operations 
• Support Geometry 
• View and Describe the World Mathematically 

The following District Calendars are pending approval from the Ferndale Schools Board of Education and the Ferndale Education Association.

Ferndale Schools 2021-2022 District Calendar  

Ferndale Schools 2022-2023 District Calendar  

Ferndale Schools 2023-2024 District Calendar

Mrs. Majeske's First Fives had an Earth Day pop up event! They planted seeds and got observation journals to watch their grass grow at home. Students were instructed on how to care for it at home. They also got to say goodbye to their student teacher from Wayne State, Ms. Siebenrock.

Ferndale Area District Library staff were on hand this week to host 2021's 5th grade Battle of the Books!  The Fuzzy Pandas (Ekitu Burde, Samantha De La Mora, Lauren McMiller, and Kazu Tran) came out on top after a tie breaker in a very competitive trivia-style competition.  Each year, FUEL 5th graders are challenged to read and study 5-6 novels and become "Battle Book Experts!".  This year's selections included a diverse cast of characters, cultures, and formats, including the super popular graphic novel Roller Girl.  Participants were able to keep their copies of the books at the end of Battle.  Many thanks to our Ferndale librarians for their incredible creativity in putting this together this year, as well as to our 5th grade students and teachers for all of their reading and hard work leading up to the Battle!