Week 16 - January 9 - 13

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a safe, fun, and restful vacation. We are hitting the ground running with a lot going on now that we are back.

Winter Survival - By now your child should know what his or her group is bringing for winter survival and what they will need to help our the group. We are encouraging them to go beyond simple hot dogs for lunch. Creativity is encouraged but not required. We don't want anyone hungry by the end! Each group will need to gather wood, build a fire, cook their lunch, and put the fire out. There will be several environmentalists there to support the children in this work. Because of this, it is not necessary for us to have parent volunteers. If your child has not shared their group list with you, please ask them to do this right away. If you have any questions about the trip, what your child should bring, etc. you may email me and I will get back with you. The trip is from about 9:30 - 2:30 on Thursday, January 12.

Math - We will be starting Unit 4. Students should continue to work on their multiplication  facts as well as Khan Academy.


Science Fair - All students should have chosen an experiment for their science fair project. The Science Fair will be at Pattengill on Wednesday, February 22 from 6:00 - 7:30pm. Students should bring in their completed experiments (including labeled boards) that morning. They will be set up in the gym for the fair. If your child needs time to work with a partner to complete the experiment, compile results, print out information, or anything else, they are welcome to stay in the classroom during lunch recess time to do this.

NWEA - We have a schedule for the winter round of NWEA testing. We will be taking the reading portion on Friday, January 20 at 1pm. We will be taking the math portion on Tuesday, January 24 at 9am. Please be sure your child has had plenty of rest, arrives to school on time, and does not have any appointments during this time if possible. They are both longer tests that can be stressful when not taken with the class or allowed to have enough time to complete with the class.

Week 15 - December 12 - 16

Snow days are great! I hope starting the week off this way has not thrown you off for the rest of the week. We may continue to have some indoor recess days due to the very cold weather. If it warms up enough I have sleds that I like to take out on our fabulous sledding hill. Please be sure that your child has snow pants if you approve of your child sledding. It is no fun sitting in class with soaking wet pants! An extra pair of dry socks in the backpack can also go a long way towards comfort!


Math - We are finishing up Unit 3 and should be taking our final test on Tuesday of next week. Your child can work on Khan Academy practicing adding and subtracting mixed numbers with like denominators. This will help with the work that we have been doing.


Winter Survival is coming! Our Winter Survival trip is Thursday, January 12. That seems like a ways off but it is actually the Thursday that we get back from vacation. If your child will not be able to attend this trip for any reason, please let me know as soon as possible. I will be making groups and they will be deciding on what food and items to bring on the trip. If a group member plans on bringing food and then does not show up, the rest of the group will be missing out. Here is a brief description of the trip. I will be sending home a full letter next week.

The trip is designed to give students experience in working together in small groups while using nature's resources to build a fire adequate for cooking lunch. Planning, cooperation, patience, and perseverance are rewarded with good food and pride in a task (often difficult) successfully done. After lunch, if time allows, games are played which give insight into survival behaviors used by animals.


Reading - We have been working on text structure in reading classes. All students are learning about description, sequence, cause and effect, problem and solution, and compare and contrast. Your child should still be reading nightly for 30 minutes. Please be sure that your child has books to read before leaving school for the break. We have plenty to choose from!







Science Fair - Science fair forms are due Friday, December 16th. I have been going over the ideas with the students to be sure that they have an experiment that is testable, measurable, and open ended. I will continue to support the students who need this in the classroom. Students should be sure to choose an experiment that they will be able to complete in time.

Week 14 - December 5 - 9

Winter weather clothing - Now that we've had our first snow, please remember that we do continue to go outside for recess, even when the temperature is colder. There are not places for your child to stay inside during these times. Please be sure that your child is dressed appropriately for the weather. Once there is enough snow (we can't see the grass at all!) we will have opportunities to sled on our great hill. Your child should have snow pants in order to sled.

Book Fair - The book fair begins this week. Our class had an opportunity to check it out on Friday of last week. Family night is this Thursday, and our class will have a chance to shop on Friday.

Technology Night - This Thursday is also Technology Night. Come in to school and see what types of technology are being used in the building. Pizza will be available for purchase from 5:30 - 6:30. Technology visits begin at 6pm.

Class goal - Our class has been working on having a more efficient end of the day. We are currently working on earning a class party. The students have about 10 minutes at the end of the day to write in their planners, clean up their table and floor area, and pack up. This is a sufficient amount of time to do this but the class continues to struggle with this. Every day that the students are able to reach their goal, we are adding a ring to a paper chain in the room. When it reaches the floor, we will have a celebration! In addition, students made estimations on how many links we would need to reach the floor. We will see who has the closest guess!

Math - This unit we are working on fractions. Please have your child work on this using Khan Academy. It can be a difficult unit for many students to understand. Students should be able to order fractions, compare them, and convert from mixed numbers to improper fractions and back.

Week 10 - November 7 - 11

CAMP IS HERE!
- Be sure to label all of the items belonging to your child. Label your child's suitcase as well as the garbage bag holding the sleeping bag and/or sheets and blanket.

- Students must bring a sack lunch for Wednesday. They should be able to throw away their lunch bag so that they don't have to keep track of it during the trip. It is a good idea for them to have a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated.

- Students will be getting camp T-shirts on Monday. They should be sure to wear the t-shirt on Wednesday.

- When checking the weather, use the zip code 48843 to check Howell weather.

No School on Tuesday, November 8 - Election Day!!

Week 10 - November 7 - 11

CAMP IS HERE!
- Be sure to label all of the items belonging to your child. Label your child's suitcase as well as the garbage bag holding the sleeping bag and/or sheets and blanket.

- Students must bring a sack lunch for Wednesday. They should be able to throw away their lunch bag so that they don't have to keep track of it during the trip. It is a good idea for them to have a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated.

- When checking the weather, use the zip code 48843 to check Howell weather.

No School on Tuesday, November 8 - Election Day!!