A Message from Mrs. Vazquez-Markley, Principal
It was wonderful to see so many caregivers attend family/teacher conferences. Teachers were happy to hear from you about how to support and educate your student(s). We look forward to continuing our partnership. Remember to have your student read for 30 minutes each night. The more students read, the more successful they will be.
Our Winter Festival is scheduled for Wednesday, December 10th. I hope to see you there! It’s always a fun event! Please be sure to review the information provided by Mrs. Spolum for the schedule of the evening!
I am looking forward to a great month of learning and celebrating! Please reach out to us if your family has any needs our school may be able to help with over the holidays.
Mrs. Vazquez-Markley
Important Dates in December

Wednesday, 12/3
FTO Meeting at 6pm
Tuesday, 12/9
Picture Re-take Day
Wednesday, 12/10
Early Dismissal at 12:30pm
Wednesday, 12/10
Night of the Arts beginning at 5pm
Tuesday, 12/23
Early Dismissal at 12:30pm
Wednesday, 12/24-1/4
No School-Winter Break

Thank you to all who volunteered their time to help make our Scholastic Book Fair a success! Thank you, Dwyer, for your leadership! It’s always a fun time shopping for new books!
What's Happening in my students' class…
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Our K4 friends have completed our family theme and are moving on to our food unit of study. We start our unit of study by looking at different kinds of foods everyone enjoys, foods that are healthy and unhealthy. We will then move into a week all about everyone’s favorite Pizza! We will finish up our food unit with a week full of everything gingerbread. Throughout the food unit, we will continue to work on learning our letter names and letter sounds and start identifying beginning sounds in words. We will also continue to practice counting, identifying numbers, shapes, and creating patterns.
In ELA, our kindergarten readers and writers will dive into exciting animal groups while exploring different types of text and practicing how to segment and blend power words. We’ll also focus on helping students rely on the Alphabetic Principle—understanding how letters and sounds work together—rather than simply memorizing high-frequency words. In Math, students will build their own number line from 0 to 10, count forward and backward between 0 and 50, solve addition and subtraction problems, and begin measuring objects using non-standard units. And to add some extra excitement, students will participate in our festive Family Gingerbread House Building Event at the end of the month—a sweet celebration everyone looks forward to!
First graders will continue our Biologist unit in December. Students will continue to research and become experts in frogs, and complete their drafts for this unit. In math, students will wrap up the third unit in Bridges, focusing on addition and subtraction strategies within 20. We will begin the next unit, which focuses on using number lines to locate, identify, and order numbers from 0-120, count forward and backwards by 1s, 5s, and 10s, and solve addition and subtraction story problems. We will begin investigating plants in science and begin our family unit in social studies. As part of our SEL, we will continue to learn different emotion words as well as thinking and action strategies around those emotions. Thank you for your continued support in growing our readers and mathematicians!
Our 2nd graders are going to be starting a brand new unit in math. Unit 4 will focus mainly on measuring – we will be using inchworms, teacher feet, giant feet, and beanstalks to understand units of measurement. In ELA, we will be continuing our bug research project and starting to put final touches on our hard copy bug books. In science, we are going to move on to a new part of the Earth’s surface – landforms! And in social studies students are going to be focusing on changes in our world as well, which ties together nicely. SEL has been really engaging and we are going to continue to work with the mood meter, explore different feeling words, and use our class charter. Even though the weather is getting chilly, 2nd grade is just heating up with their learning goals!
Miss Krol’s class has been doing amazing work! We have been working on our self-awareness skills and keeping a positive mindset. In December, we will be participating in a self-awareness escape room to demonstrate our knowledge and use our new skills! Our third graders have been working on their new multiplication skills and are using their new strategies to solve word problems using multiplication. In ELA, our third graders are working on a research project based on weather phenomena. Our second-grade friends are working toward writing complete sentences and using the ideas we read in books to answer questions. In math, they’re working on different strategies for addition and subtraction. We are having a wonderful time with our new learning and using our new skills!
3rd-grade Ross Rockets continue to do awesome work with their severe weather research projects as they also strengthen their writing habits. They are developing their comprehension, utilizing text features, and strengthening vocabulary. We are working on place value, rounding to estimate, and problem-solving as we dive into our third math unit. Students are excited about exploring living things in science and learning about the Civil Rights movement in social studies. Everyone continues to do such a great job with their reading steps at home and at school. Students continue to build strong classroom communities so that learning and growing can take place every day. Thank you, families, for all of your support.
During November, our 4th graders are continuing to research our animals and the many adaptations they have to help them survive. We will start creating our final product of a book/presentation, all about our animals, to show off our expertise! With our writing, we are focusing on the main idea of a text. Also, we are practicing finding evidence from the text to support the main idea. In math, we are beginning to work with fractions and decimals. We are looking at equivalent fractions, mixed numbers, improper fractions, and converting fractions into decimals. We continue to encourage our students to practice their multiplication facts to help them with the new math skills being taught. As we enter a busy part of the year, we encourage the students to continue to complete their reading steps, and we appreciate all of your support!
Our fifth graders are off to a strong start as we begin Unit 3 in math. Students are working with decimals and equivalent fractions, building confidence as they apply these skills to real-world problems. In reading, we are focusing on informational text while students continue researching the ecosystems they selected earlier last month. By the end of the unit, each student will create a full research project to showcase their understanding of how their ecosystem functions.
In social studies, we are beginning our exploration of the Colonial Era, and in science, students are diving into energy and matter. We are so proud of the responsibility students have shown—especially with staying on top of their homework. Thank you, families, for your continued support and for attending conferences! Your partnership makes a big difference.
Read more to find out what your student is learning in Art, Music and PE

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Art Class at Ross: This month we will be doing projects based on kindness and the holiday season! Kindergarteners are making paper reindeer while practicing cutting, drawing, and combining different shapes. 1st grade is learning how to draw 3D hot chocolate mugs sitting on a table. 2nd grade is working on drawing thankful trees inspired by Gustav Klimt. 3rd grade is working on drawing realistic self portraits. 4th grade is learning how to draw a realistic 3D slice of pie/cake sitting on a plate. Finally, 5th graders are creating their own tessellation design!
Music– Our Winter Concert will take place on Wednesday, December 10th, 2025. There is no dress code for this event.
Pre K, Kindergarten, and 1st Graders will perform at 5:00 and finish up at 5:20. Please drop them off at their classrooms at 4:45 before taking your seats in the gymnasium. You will retrieve your children from their classrooms as soon as the performance is over, around 5:20.
2nd and 3rd Graders will take the stage at 5:30. They should be dropped off at their classrooms at 5:15. Their performance will be 20 minutes long. Please pick them up from their classrooms at the end of the performance.
4th and 5th Grades, Band and Orchestra will perform at 6:00. If your child is in 3rd grade and also in band or orchestra, you should plan on staying for this concert. 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will sit on the floor in the front with me during the performance. You do not need to drop them off at their classrooms. This performance will last about 40 minutes.
In PE this month, students in grades K-2 have been working on the skill, volleying balloons. During this unit, students used their feet, arms, head, and other body parts to strike a balloon in an attempt to keep it off the floor. In grades 3-5, students have been learning about the game of volleyball. Here, they have practiced the serve, the set, and the forearm pass during our game-play time!
A message from the Ross Family Teacher Organization (FTO)
Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time during the Book Fair! The FTO was happy to provide a free book to each student at Ross!
Our next FTO meeting is on Wednesday, 12/3 at 6pm. We will have a potluck celebration. Bring your favorite dish to share!
Our next fundraiser, The Egg Roll Lady, will start in time for the winter break. Look for order sheets in Thursday folders before the break. Orders and payment will be due on January 30th, and egg rolls will be delivered on February 29th. This product freezes great, so stock up!
The Ross FTO is for everyone! Whether you volunteer once, give feedback, support an event, or 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 Re-take Day is on Tuesday, December 9th.
You may order online at mylifetouch.com, Ross Picture Day ID EVTQ2T8DM
Entering Absences in ParentVUE
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.
Volunteer Clearance Platform
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!”
