Parent Expectations     

If you are unable to attend your volunteer time, please find a replacement or contact me immediately.  The sooner I know, the sooner I can readjust my day!  Wednesday folders are a great time to sit down with your child and discuss their education.  Ask your child about something they may be learning about or about their personal relationships at school.  Also, you can be my ears away from school.  If you hear of any inappropriate behavior that is occurring on campus, please let me know.  Also, please help your child establish a homework routine.  Be sure that your child has a quiet space to complete their work and encourage them to turn it in the following day! 

Habitats

We are continuing to study our CRAYFISH  and learn about their habitats, the adaptations that they make, and all about their different body parts.  There is a NEW crayfish in Ms. Jennifer’s class which is WHITE, a color we haven’t seen before (the other ones have been black and red). 

Keeping in line with learning about habitats, we will read the story Two Days in May, by Harriet Peck Taylor, which is based on the true story of a girl in Chicago who discovers 5 deer grazing in the small garden behind her apartment.  That is not the deer’s “natural habitat” and the story tells how they are brought back safely into the wild.

In writing, we have been adding detail sentences to our paragraphs and expanding upon how to write using facts.  We have learned to write a “power topic sentence,” which means including a “number” in the sentence.  For example, instead of writing “There are a lot of things to know about crayfish,” we can write more specifically, “There are five things you need to know about crayfish.”  Then we can continue explaining in the paragraph those five things.

The teachers look forward to talking with you about your child at Parent Teacher Conferences, held all this week (early release 12:30pm, every day).

Student Expectations  

I am noticing that students are not taking responsibility for their learning.  Homework is a great way for students to gain a sense of responsibility.  They will be held accountable for their assigned work.  Now is a perfect time to establish homework routines at home while the homework load is light.  Once we dive into our Core Literature (to begin on October 17^th), students will have more homework to ensure their connection to the text.  Please discuss with your child the importance of turning in work that shows their pride in learning.  This pride will only help them as they continue on their educational journey!

The weekly Wednesday report should be expected every Wednesday.  If you do not receive a report, please let me know immediately.  This report should be reviewed and signed.  Please return this report with the Wednesday envelope the following day.  The completed work should be reviewed and kept at home.  However, if it is a test, please sign and return with the Wednesday envelope the following day.

I strongly suggest that your child be a part of the conference process.  In the twenty minute time frame, I will be discussing your child’s strengths and weaknesses.  I will also offer your child the opportunity to give input and feedback.  We will also discuss a plan of action for the remaining year.  If you haven’t done so, please return the parent conference schedule letter, which was sent home on October 3^rd. 

Annie and the Old One

We have read the story, Annie and the Old One, by Patricia Miles Martin, about a Navajo girl who doesn’t want her grandmother to die.  The grandmother says she will “soon be a part of the earth” and helps the little girl understand the inevitability of death and the ultimate connectedness with the whole universe.  Sadly and coincidentally, our bearded dragon CJ died this week and will be buried to “become one with the earth” in Hailey McCool’s grandmother’s garden.

On a happier note, we have been watching our new creatures, the crayfish, and making scientific observations.  For example, one crayfish in Ms. Wendy’s room is red and turning black in color because it is “molting,” which means its outer shell will be coming off soon.  We have been writing facts about these animals and other things as well.

We are also learning to write “personal narratives,” which involves writing about our own experiences, as opposed to copying down or writing about facts we have learned.  It’s interesting for us to learn the difference between these two types of writing. 

Very soon, there will be information about our planning for Fall Festival—look for this info to come!

Fall Theme!
This week the classes are culminating their science unit of the 5 Senses and what it is to be a scientist. They have been adding all of their information into their science journals.

Kindergarten math is learning Geometry; shapes and exploring the shapes in our world. First grade math is investigating money and learning how to add and subtract money. 

Response To Intervention (LEAD/ELD) is starting this week as well. This is the beginning of working with your child at his or her level.

Mr. Newmyer!!

Our classroom has a new addition.  She is a student teacher and her name is Wendy DiLullo-Newmyer or Mrs Newmyer to the kids!  She is in her final semester of credentials.  Please welcome her with open arms!

We are continuing our work with summary writing.  Students are also working on their first Learning Menu.  In the Learning Menu, students are given choices of activities to complete.  This Learning Menu is an extension of our unit on Nature’s Fury.  Students are expected to complete at least two activities during our Language Arts block. 

In math, our 4^th graders are working on Number Sense, in particular, name collection boxes and place value.  Our 5^th graders are also working on Number Sense, in particular, adding and subtracting whole numbers and decimals as well as solving number stories (or better known to the parents as word problems). 

In Science, we are continuing the scientific process with hands-on centers in the science lab.  In essence, the students are learning how to think like scientists. 

Crayfish, Seeds & Ants!
In the past week, CRAYFISH have arrived!!!  We will be studying these creatures and comparing them to the plant life we have witnessed in the past few weeks.  We will also compare animal life of one kind (crayfish) with life of another kind—ants!  We will not only be starting to study ants, we will also be going on an “ant hunt!”

 

To tie in with our ant hunt, we will be reading both fictional and non-fictional books about ants.  Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg is our fictional story which we will be comparing to a non-fiction book about ants.  We will also be learning about “perspective,” as the ants in Two Bad Ants think grass is very big and are amazed when they get inside a house!  Everything looks HUGE to them!!  We will explore how perspective makes a difference in how you see the world (in more ways than one!).

We have each written a paragraph on “facts” and have learned that “facts” are words you find on the page—as opposed to writing and making up a story from our heads.  It’s important to know the difference between facts and fiction.  This week we will once again be writing a paragraph using facts as we continue learning about this type of writing skill.

Ants, crayfish, seeds—much is happening in 2-3!!!

Nature’s Fury!!!

 

Our story of the week is Volcanoes.  Once we finish this story, we will begin to focus on writing a proper summary.  We also have planned some fun activities now that we’re nearly done with our unit on nature’s fury.  Please remind your child to remember to rephrase the question when providing their answer to the question being asked.

 

There will be a unit test for math for both grades on Thursday, September 22^nd.  A study guide went home on Monday, September 19^th. 

 

Our classroom website should be up and running by October.  We’ll keep you posted on the progress.

Hydroponics!!!

WHAT is hydroponics?  Ask your child this week!  We are growing seeds in water and comparing and contrasting the differences between that method and growing seeds in soil.  We are looking at sunflower seeds, beans and peas in our comparisons.  And within this next week, we will be getting LIVE CRAYFISH so our studies will expand to comparing plant life with animal life!

Tying in to our science unit is our language arts story, Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney, about a woman who wanted to make the world a more beautiful place—and found a way by planting lupins.  We are reading this book and learning how planting seeds, which grow into plants and flowers, also make the world a more beautiful place.

In writing, we are still working on “friendly letters” and have also been using our science unit to learn about writing facts.  We are writing paragraphs containing these facts which we first look up in our science books.  We can see the difference between facts and opinions when we write in the science journal, vs. when we write in the communicator or friendly letter.

So much learning is taking place in our rooms—and we look forward to welcoming those crayfish!!

Fall Theme!

Miss Megan and Ms. Shoshana are starting their Fall Theme curriculum this week. You will notice in class different activities reflecting fall. Flowers were planted last week in the garden and vegetable seeds will be planted this week. Students will watch them grow through the fall.

Decodable books will be sent home this week. These books are to stay at home and do not need to be returned. They have been practiced in class and reading them should be easy for your child. They will go home Mondays with the homework bags.

Also being taught this week is Habit 2, “Begin with the end in mind.”

 

 

Getting to Work!!!

Ms. Heather would like to invite everyone to the Back to School Night THIS THURSDAY, starting at 6:30pm (6:30- 7:00pm will be the Welcome a Address, 7:00-8:00pm we will be in our classroom with Ms. Heather).  You will find out what your child will be working on this year and what the expectations are, so please make time to attend the Back to School Night!  

What have our children been working on?  In math, the 4^th graders are learning about parallelograms, polygons and circles, while the 5^th graders are working with prime and composite numbers, squaring numbers and unsquaring numbers.  Our language arts story we are reading is called Eye of the Storm  and we are thinking of questions as we read—then we’re talking with a partner about possible answers.  Our focus is on learning the sequence of events within a story, and the difference between fact and opinion.

Please note that when homework goes home, it is due back the very next day!

Thanks to everyone who signed up to volunteer.  If you have not selected a time frame, please see Ms. Heather to find out what time slot is best.

Ms. Heather looks forward to seeing you and answering any questions you may have at Back to School Night—see you there!

Lots to Learn!!!

Ms. Wendy and Ms. Jennifer enjoyed talking with everyone at Back to School Night last week!!!  We hope all your questions were answered; if not, please either email or call your teacher to have specific questions answered. 

We are continuing our science unit, “Structures of Life,” in which we are comparing and contrasting plant life and animal life.  We have been investigating seeds, both in class and in the garden.  We observed celery roots, plum and peach seeds, and noted the differences between them.  Pretty soon, we will be getting live crayfish in our classrooms which will be very exciting to watch!!!

It’s important to learn how to get along with each other, and so we are expanding upon our “Cool Tools” strategies every day.  These “tools” help our children make good choices socially, both inside and outside of the classroom, thus creating a cohesive learning environment on our campus.  While everyone gets to know one another, the teachers will also continue their assessments, so that our classrooms can be geared towards meeting the needs of our particular group of students this year.

The teachers look forward to seeing you every week inside our classrooms!

Getting to Work !!!

Ms. Heather would like to invite everyone to the Back to School Night THIS THURSDAY, starting at 6:30pm (6:30- 7:00pm will be the Welcome Address, 7:00-8:00pm we will be in our classroom with Ms. Heather).  You will find out what your child will be working on this year and what the expectations are, so please make time to attend the Back to School Night!  

What have our children been working on?  In math, the 4^th graders are learning about parallelograms, polygons and circles, while the 5^th graders are working with prime and composite numbers, squaring numbers and unsquaring numbers.  The language arts story we are reading is called Eye of the Storm  and we are thinking of questions as we read—then we’re talking with a partner about possible answers.  Our focus is on learning the sequence of events within a story, and the differences between fact and opinion.

Please note that when homework goes home, it is due back the very next day!

Thanks to everyone who signed up to volunteer.  If you have not selected a time frame, please see Ms. Heather to find out which time slot is best.

Ms. Heather looks forward to seeing you and answering any questions you may have at Back to School Night—see you there! 

Getting to Work!

Your child will be assessed over the next few weeks by the teachers, to see where he/she fits for math, reading, and other skill sets.  If your child tells you something was too easy or too hard today at school, please remember that assessments are happening so that lesson plans, homework and individualized assignments and small groups may be created to best meet the needs of each student.  Meanwhile, we are all working together on units in math, science and language arts, to learn basic skills and learn how to work together as a team.

In science, we are continuing the investigation of seeds, by watching lima beans sprout and by dissecting the embryos of these seeds.  We are realizing that seeds are “baby plants” and that’s why they have an “embryo.”  We are also comparing and contrasting different seeds, such as the corn, plum and peach seeds.  Ask your child what he/she discovered about the differences between these seeds!

In math, the 2^nd graders are learning about the number line using the 10’s, 100’s and 1000’s, and using “greater than” and less than.”  The 3^rd graders started learning about how to look up information and find math games within our reference book. 

We will all learn more about our classrooms at Back to School Night on Sept. 8^th at 5:30—see you there!!!

Welcome Back!!!

Ms. Heather would like to welcome everyone to the upper grades!!!  We have an exciting year planned and you will find out more at our Back to School Night (6:30pm for whole school Welcome Address, 7-8pm for our 4-5 class). 

Ms. Heather would like to thank everyone who signed up to volunteer within the classroom.  We still need some time slots filled, they are: Tues. 1:30-2:40;  Wed. 8:45-10:10;  Thurs. 8:15-10:10 and Friday 1:30- 2:40.  Please remember that our program depends upon us parents being present in the classroom, to help with centers and projects, and this allows the teacher to have time to work individually with each child to best meet their learning needs. (Also,  please know that schedules will change once we get the specialist times.)

Things to know about homework include the “Wednesday Folder,” which will start going home on September 7^th and will contain completed work to discuss (& keep at home) with your child, and a weekly report for you to sign and send back in an envelope the following day.  Multiplication tables should be practiced nightly, as well as the Word of the Day.  There will be a Word of the Day worksheet, and on Fridays there will be a quiz.

This year promises to be a great one, so welcome, everyone, to the 4-5 class!!

Welcome Back!

Ms. Jennifer and Ms. Wendy welcome everyone back, and into the 2-3 grades!!!  This year, the teachers will be team teaching quite often, with Ms. Jennifer teaching the 2^nd grade math and Ms. Wendy teaching the 3^rd grade math.  The two classes of 2-3 will also be getting together to learn their science units—the first of which will be “Structures of Life,” where we will be comparing and contrasting plant life and animal life.  We will be investigating seeds, both in class and in the garden, and also viewing live crayfish and our two class pets, Lucky (bird) and CJ (a bearded dragon!).  A terrarium will combine both plant and animal life for us to view!

The first few weeks we will focus on “Cool Tools,” which are strategies to help children make good choices socially, both inside and outside of the classroom, thus creating a cohesive learning environment on our campus.  The teachers will also be getting to know your child, socially, emotionally and academically, as assessments take place so that lesson plans can be geared towards the best needs of this particular group of students this year.

The teachers also want to welcome back all the wonderful, helpful parents of our students, and can’t wait to work together to make this year the best!