Newsletter April 16-20

Hi parents!  I hope that everyone has had a great weekend!  We have a fantastic week planned.

News to Know

• Will Rester is this week's snack helper.  Emmy will be next week's helper.
• Students may wear their jerseys to school on Tuesdays.
• Please return lunch forms and field trip permission forms as soon as possible.

Language Arts

We will finish reading Number the Stars this week and take a comprehension test on Friday.  The students have really enjoyed this book and I'm so proud of their amazing insights.  We will wrap up our topic on pronouns this week and will take a test sometime next week.  We will do vocabulary this week and will take a test on Friday.

Math

We are going to skip a couple of topics and do 2- and 3-digit multiplication this week.  We are going to go ahead and do multiplication and division before we get too close to the end of the year and spring fever sets it!  The students have already had some practice with 2- and 3-digit multiplication, so we will move through this topic quickly and take a test on Friday.

Conceptual

We will begin the week by discussing the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression.  We will then move into the beginnings of WWII and the Holocaust.  We have some fun activities planned for Thursday involving some of the fighting styles of WWII.

Science

We will be teaming up with Mr. Trent's class to discuss living things.  I'm so proud of the kids for their hard work on their cell models.  They look amazing!  

Newsletter: April 10 - 13

Hi parents!  I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Last week got off to a great start!  The hallway looks fantastic and the information is so great!  Thank you to everyone...you did a fantastic job!

We had a great week of conceptual as well.  The students are really getting interested in WWI.  The trenches activity worked out really well on Friday.  Thanks to everyone who sent balls!

News to Know

• Quinn is this week's snack helper.  Will Rester will be next week's helper.
• Friday will be a free dress day.  Students will be painting for art with Belle, so they should wear clothes that can be messed up.
• We will be going to the WWII Museum in New Orleans on Wednesday, April 25.  Forms will be going home on Tuesday.
• Students may now wear jerseys each Tuesday with appropriate bottoms of their choice!  Remember to wear sneakers on this day as well, as the PE class is getting ready for the Presidential Fitness Test.

Language Arts

We will continue reading Number the Stars.  I am enjoying hearing all the students' wonderful insights to this book.  We will have a spelling test this week.  We will continue learning about pronouns and homophones/homographs.  We will also post to our blogs this week.

Math

We will wrap up Topic 15: Metric Measurement on Wednesday and will take the test on Thursday.  Study guides will go home on Wednesday.

Conceptual

We will learn about the weapons of WWI, America's entry into the war, and the lasting effects of the war this week.  We will also be discussing women's suffrage and prohibition.

Science

We will be teaming up with Mr. Trent's class to learn all about life and cells.

Newsletter April 2 - 5

Hello!  I hope that you are all having a wonderful weekend and are't being pranked too much by your children!

Friday was such a great wrap up to the Civil War unit.  The kids had a great time at both the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum and Beauvoir.  It was so interesting to see some of the things we've been talking about.  Also, guides at both locations commented on how well-behaved our students are.  I couldn't be prouder of them.  Thanks to Mr. Trent and everyone who helped out for making the Civil War unit so fantastic.

We start a new unit tomorrow and I cannot wait to get started.  It is one of my favorite topics in history and I am excited to share it with the students.

News to Know

• Courtney is this week's snack helper.  Quinn will be next week's helper.
• We are out Friday and next Monday for the Easter holiday.  Happy Easter!
• On Thursday, we will be doing a conceptual activity that will require dodge balls.  If you can send Nerf balls or any other squishy balls, it would be much appreciated.  The air-filled play balls found at Walmart and most dollar stores are perfect.  These balls can be returned, but if you are willing to donate them, they would be perfect for some of the games the kids play at recess.

Language Arts

We will begin reading our book this week.  As our book is so short this unit, we will not be reading for homework on Tuesday nights.  We will read in class and still have centers on Wednesdays.  The students will also still have short, weekly quizzes on the reading.  We will have spelling this week - the pretest will be on Wednesday and the retest will be on Thursday.  We will review the material covered so far on pronouns and then continue with possessive pronouns and contractions.  We will play some online word games and post to our blogs.

Math

On Monday, we will take the Customary Measurement test as a class.  Students do not need to study as we will work the problems together.  We will then begin Topic 15: Metric Measurement.  We will be learning about centimeters, decimeters, meters, kilometers, milliliters, and liters.  Please encourage your child to look for metric measurements in their daily lives.

Conceptual

We will begin learning all about our unit this week!

Science

We will discuss and experiment with Newton's Laws of Motion.

Newsletter: March 19-23

Hi parents!  I hope that everyone had a wonderful, relaxing break!  We have some exciting things planned for these last ten weeks of school...I can't wait!

News to Know

• Summer is this week's snack helper.  McCall will be next week's helper.
• We will begin taking the SAT on Thursday.  Prior to that, we will review.  Please make sure that your child is on time to school, well rested, and has breakfast.  For testing days, the students are welcome to bring a drink with them.
• There will be no homework or spelling this week.
• I have emailed you all about the next book.  Please let me know if you'd like me order a copy for your child.

Language Arts

We will continue reading The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg.  The students are loving this one!  We will also review for the SAT.

Math

We will review for the SAT.

Science / Social Studies

We will review for the SAT.

Newsletter: March 5 - 9

Hi parents!  I hope that everyone is having a great weekend!  The Civil War unit got off to a great start last week.  The hallway looks wonderful and the students really enjoyed the speakers on Monday.  This week, we learned about the War of 1812, James Monroe, and Andrew Jackson.  The kids had a lot of fun performing their own renditions of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and learning about Andrew Jackson's "cool hair."  There are even more fun things in store this week!

News to Know

• Lola is this week's snack helper.  Summer will be snack helper when we return from spring break.
• We will be taking the SAT beginning Thursday, March 22 and will continue into the week of the 26th.  We will be reviewing for the test over the next weeks of school, so your child's attendance is very important.  Thank you for all your hard work and dedication.
• If your child has any toy cars, please send them early this week.  I only need about 8, and they will be returned.  We will be doing an experiment on Wednesday or Thursday with them.  Thank you!
• We also need a couple of materials for math.  If you have an empty gallon jug, please send it by Thursday.  Also, if anyone is willing to let us borrow a small plastic pool for Thursday, it would be much appreciated.  Thanks!

Language Arts

We will continue reading The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg.  The kids are really enjoying the novel so far.  We will continue our study of pronouns and take a short quiz on Tuesday.  We will also be doing some practice for the language arts section of the SAT.

Math

We will begin our topic on customary measurement this week.  We will be discussing fractions of an inch, inches, feet, yards, and miles, capacity, and weight.  I think the students are going to have a lot of fun with this one.

Science

We had a great time with chemistry last week!  We will wrap it up tomorrow with the building blocks of matter and will take a short quiz on Tuesday.  We will then move into forces, including Newton's Laws of Motion and friction.

Newsletter February 27 - March 2

Hi parents!  It's hard to believe that we are moving into March this week.  Our year is really flying by!  The Revolutionary War unit was a great one, and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance on Friday.  The kids did a great job presenting their maps - I was so proud of their hard work!

The unit ahead of us is a great one with a lot of fun activities.  I know the students are going to enjoy the book this unit as well (they all cheered when I told them it was much shorter than Johnny Tremain!)

News to Know

• Luke Weathersby is this week's snack helper.  Next week's helper is Lola.
• Students will each need a deck of cards for this week's center activity on Wednesday.  It does not have to be a new deck, but the cards should be in reasonably good condition and the set should be complete.
• We will begin taking the SAT test on Thursday, March 22 and continue into the week of the 26th.  We will be occasionally reviewing for the test starting this week, and your child's attendance is very important during this time.  Thanks for all you do!

Language Arts

We will begin reading our new novel.  Students need to read chapters 5 and 6 for homework on Tuesday night.  We will also begin to look at pronouns, including subject and object pronouns.  To prepare for the SAT test, we will practice editing sentences and passages for spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

Math

We will begin Topic 13: Decimals this week.  We will discuss the relationship between fractions and decimals, use money to understand decimals, and add / subtract money.  Please encourage your child to look for decimals in the world around them.  As this is a short topic, we will take the test on Friday.

Science

We will wrap up our weather topic on Monday by making a barometer and then doing some experiments with clouds and atmosphere.  We will then move into chemistry, one of my personal changes.  We will discuss states of matter, the difference between weight, mass, and volume, and physical and chemical changes.  I've got some exciting experiments planned for this week!

Math Update

Hi parents!  I wanted to inform you of a few changes to our math.  We begin each day with a multiplication test and then a Mad Minute.  For the multiplication test, students have one and a half minutes to complete each of the times tables.  Students are working their way 0 - 12.  Most students are near completion.  Once students finish, they use this time to take a mixed multiplication test.

For the Mad Minute, students have 1 minute to work as many math facts as they can.  They then work problems for a second minute.  Students progress through addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  As they move along, they are expected to complete more facts.  It is so important that students get these basic facts down as they move through math and work more complex problems.

I will now be sending both of these tests home each day with some students.  If students are still working on their multiplication tests, I will send it home with the facts they need to study.  If students do not complete their Mad Minute in 2 minutes, I am sending those home as well.  Students do not have to complete these for homework or bring them back, but I want you to see where they are on math facts and decide if they need additional practice.  If you would like me to send home extra blank sheets, I am more than happy to.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.  Thank you so much for all you do!