Ross Rockets Newsletter - November 2025 - School District of Lancaster

October was a fun filled month with lots of opportunities to engage in learning and celebrate as a community. We had STEAM night, Spirit Days, a celebration of reading steps, and PBIS assemblies!

November is sure to bring more opportunities for families and students to engage and grow. We will have an FTO meeting at 6pm on TUESDAY, November 11th to discuss the upcoming events and highlight students’ academic achievements and growth. We’ll also discuss how to prepare for your upcoming Conference with your students’ teacher. Due to Conferences, there is no school for students on November 24 and 25.

Families, it is so important for you to check your Ross Rocket’s Thursday Folder regularly. The District implemented a process last year for every student to have a signed permission slip for every field trip they attend. The office is required to submit the forms to the district 2 weeks before the field trip. If your student does not turn in the completed form promptly, they will not be attending the field trip with their class.

Ross Rockets will be holding a canned goods drive that runs through Monday, November 19th. If you are able to contribute to those in our community who are in need, it would be appreciated.

I hope you enjoy the holiday break with extended family and friends from November 26 to 29.

Please reach out to us if your family has any needs, our school can help support you with over the holidays.
Mrs. Vazquez-Markley

Fall city Images - Free Download on Freepik

Tuesday, 11/11

FTO Meeting at 6pm

Wednesday, 11/12

Ross Rocket T-shirt Day!

Wednesday, 11/12

Early Dismissal at 12:30pm

Friday, 11/14

Tye Dye or Kindness T-shirt Day!

Monday, 11/24

Family Teacher Conferences 8:30am-8pm

Tuesday, 11/25

Family Teacher Conferences 8:30am-noon

Monday, 11/24-11/30

No School-Fall Break

Where: Ross Elementary Gymnasium

When: During Family Teacher Conferences, Monday, 11/24, 8:30am-7:30pm and Tuesday, 11/15, 8am-11:30am

Please plan to spend some time looking through the amazing assortment of books available for purchase.

Our FTO will graciously provide each Ross student $5 to purchase at least one new book!

Our K4 friends will start November our family unit of study. We will be talking about who can be in a family, different types of families and what families do together. We continue to explore letters and numbers throughout our family unit, focusing on one letter per week. We will be exploring feeling words kind and disappointed from our mood meter. It will be a month full of love and thankfulness.

We kicked off the month with our fun and festive Letter Vest Parade in Kindergarten, celebrating all the letters we’ve been learning. Students continue building their understanding of letters and sounds by segmenting and blending words. Rather than memorizing High Frequency Words, students are learning to rely on letter-sound knowledge to read and write these words confidently. In reading and writing, we’re also building background knowledge by exploring animals—what they are, where they live, and how they grow. In math, we’ve started a new unit by exploring bicycles and wheels, which sparked curiosity about counting by 2s, doubling, and even numbers. Using five- and ten-frames, students are adding 1 to numbers, comparing and ordering numbers, and writing equations to make 5 in different ways. In Social Studies, we’re wrapping up our unit on navigating our school community, and in Science, we’re finishing our study of plants and animals.

First graders are taking on the role of zoologists through the month of November as they research and write about wild and endangered animals. Our research will be centered around animal behaviors, groups, and life cycles. We will also work through unit 3 of Bridges, focusing on using different strategies, such as the number rack, to solve addition and subtraction story problems within 20 with up to three addends. We will develop an understanding of regrouping ones into a group of ten in order to compose and decompose teen numbers. In SEL, we will begin adding more emotion words to our repertoire. Thank you for your continued support at home!

As 2nd grade moves into the colder months our learning is just heating up! In ELA we have started Unit 2 where we focus on research for their bug project and learn all about insects. We are also focusing on the main idea and supporting details to strengthen our writing and literacy knowledge. In math we are going into unit 3 which is based heavily on jumping on an open number line, counting tens & ones using popsicle sticks, and we are going to be diving into story problems toward the end! In social studies, we have wrapped up wants and needs, so we will be starting our writing cycle which will be new and exciting for the students. In science, we have completed the matter unit. It was so much fun, and we are going to start a new unit on the Earth’s surface. In SEL we have been focusing on the mood meter, and we’ll be starting to look at individual feeling words. It is going to be a great month!

The students in Miss Krol’s class have been working super hard on learning new skills all around. They have learned new coping strategies and skills as well as what the ideal student looks like in different situations. They are gearing up to escape in a self-awareness escape room. We are also working on self-advocating for when we need something. Our students have also been doing a great job with reviewing place-value and learning multiplication! We have been learning and applying our lessons to other parts of our day. We have been singing our favorite song, MYOB all month!

3rd-grade Ross Rocket authors did a great job writing their fantasy stories for our ELA Unit 1 and are now getting ready to begin Unit 2, Severe Weather. All students will choose a severe weather topic that they will become an expert on. We will research, write, and talk about our topic among our peers. In math, we will continue to work on multiplication, building on addition and subtraction strategies, problem-solving, and explaining our math thinking. We will be finishing up our unit on migration and movement in Social Studies and in science, we will be studying force and motion. Our third graders are continuing to talk about emotions and using tools like our mood meter to manage their feelings. We will continue to work on building our classroom community and following our class charters.
We will be visiting the Hershey Museum for our first field trip of the year on November 13th. If you would like to chaperone, please reach out to your student’s teacher to ensure you complete the necessary paperwork to join us. The link to submit clearances may be found within this newsletter. Thank you for your continued support!

During November, our 4th graders have an exciting lineup of learning ahead! In ELA, we’re diving into Unit 2: Animal Adaptations, where students will explore fascinating facts about how animals survive and thrive in their environments. They’ll use informational texts to support their very own research projects on an animal of their choice. In math, we’re wrapping up our work with multi-digit multiplication and division and gearing up to tackle fractions next. In science, we’re kicking off our Energy and Communication unit, where students will discover how energy moves and how living things send and receive information. It’s going to be a busy and exciting month of learning in 4th grade!

Our fifth graders did a fantastic job at JA BizTown! They showed great teamwork, responsibility, and enthusiasm throughout the experience. In English Language Arts, we are beginning Unit 2, where students will research and create an informational presentation on an ecosystem of their choice. In Math, we are working on adding and subtracting fractions with uncommon denominators, while in Science, we are wrapping up our unit on matter. Thank you for your continued support with homework and nightly reading steps—it truly makes a difference!

Art Class at Ross: Our students are exploring the current season with projects inspired by autumn! K4 has been painting and exploring various painting techniques with tempera and watercolor paints. Kindergarten is exploring the leaves by printmaking with them. 1st grade is learning about symmetry by making paper fall cats. 2nd grade is learning about perspective while creating fall landscape collages. 3rd grade is learning about pointillism and creating paintings inspired by Georges Seurat. 4th grade is learning how to draw realistic three dimensional pumpkins for their watercolor painting. Finally, 5th graders are creating geometric shape castles inspired by artist Paul Klee.

Music– All grade levels are preparing for the Winter Concert! We are learning songs that celebrate our uniqueness and encourage unity. Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, December 10th. Showtimes are as follows:

5:00 – Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st Grade

5:30 – 2nd and 3rd Grades

6:00 – 4th and 5th Grades, Band and Orchestra

The first two performances will be followed by a 10 minute intermission so that students can be picked up from their classrooms. This time will also allow the new audience to take their seats. If your child is in the 3rd grade and participates in band or orchestra, please plan to attend both performances.

In PE all students are working on the skill of dribbling a ball using your hands. Students in K & 1 will be practicing moving with a basketball while dribbling safely around the gym. Students in grades 2-5 will be practicing dribbling, passing, shooting and defending while participating in our basketball unit.

A message from the Ross Family Teacher Organization (FTO)

Thank you, Ross families and staff, for your incredible support this Fall! Our Pie Sale was a success, with more families participating than last year and over $700 raised. Your generosity helps make so much possible, from our Scholastic Book Fair (where each student will receive a book!) to fun school events like Movie Night that was held last evening and Teacher Appreciation each month. The Penny Wars Fundraiser raised over $950, which will be split between purchasing books for our school library and the winning grade’s chosen nonprofit, the SPCA.

The Book Fair will be open to families during Family/Teacher Conferences on 11/24 (8:30am-8pm) and 11/25 (8:30am-noon). We still need volunteers for the fair and pie distribution, as well as contributions for our Teacher Appreciation Breakfast on 11/12.

Our next FTO meeting is on Tuesday, 11/11 at 6pm. This meeting is a special celebration to recognize students for their outstanding first-quarter achievements.

The Ross FTO is for everyone! Whether you volunteer once, give feedback, support an event, or simply join the conversation, that’s participation! However you engage, your involvement strengthens our Ross Community.

For updates and volunteer opportunities, check out ClassDojo or follow us on Facebook at George Ross Elementary School FTO.

Ross Picture Day was MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd.

You may still order online at mylifetouch.com, Ross Picture Day ID EVTBRHZG7

Picture Re-take day is scheduled for December 9th.

If your student is absent, please enter their absence through ParentVUE on the day of their absence. If you don’t remember your log-in, or if you’ve not yet set up your account, you may call the office for your log-in information. ParentVUE is an important part of your students’ school records. Easy access for you to enter absences, email their teacher and update your phone number or the phone numbers of emergency contacts.

You may also send a message by email to attendanceross@sdlancaster.org

Parent excuses must be received in the office within 3 days of the absence.

The School District of Lancaster is using a new platform for guardian volunteers to upload clearances. Any guardian who would like to chaperone field trips, please plan ahead. Start the process now so when asked, you can say, “Yes! I’d love to chaperone the field trip!”

Learn More

Kindergarten Registration is OPEN!

Important Dates in November

Kindergarten Registration is OPEN!

A Message from Mrs. Vazquez-Markley, Principal

Important Dates in November

What's Happening in my students' class…

Read more to find out what your student is learning in Art, Music and PE

Entering Absences in ParentVUE

Volunteer Clearance Platform