Happy New Year to students and families!
We began 2017 by establishing new goals,
or “New Year’s Resolutions”, for ourselves.
This lets us each focus on one big thing we want to work on.
Curriculum: What We’re Doing in Class
This month, we are beginning a new I.B. Unit called “How We Express Ourselves”,
focusing on how we express both our individual wants, beliefs, values and needs
and those of our culture.
In Literacy, we have examined how writers use figurative language
to express meaning in poems. Now we are examining short
stories, looking closely at important details to reveal what
the text is really about – the “big idea”. We are about to begin
transferring that kind of deeper thinking to longer texts, talking about
them with partners who are reading the same text. You will notice a
new reading log come home, with more room each day for the student’s
written response.
In Science, we have been learning about Earth’s 4 systems: the
Atmosphere (air/gases), Hydrosphere (water), Geosphere (layers of
rocks and soil) and Biosphere interact. We have researched and made
presentations about how this happens in events – volcanoes, forest fires,
etc. We are now examining how they interact to create world climates
(deserts, rainforests, etc.) Next, we will be studying the Engineering
process – how scientists identify a need, create a design to meet that
need, and how they “tweak” it to work better after testing it.
In Social studies, we will be learning about the first U.S. colonies.
We will examine how the culture of each was shaped by the
values and needs of the groups that settled there, as well as
the natural resources available in each.
Upcoming Dates
Monday, January 16 – no school (Martin Luther King day)
Monday, January 27 – report cards
Wednesday, February 1- PTO meeting 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Friday, February 10 – Valentine’s Day Dance 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Monday, February 20 – Friday, February 24 no school (February vacation)
Reminders:
The snow is here! Make sure your child wears boots, gloves,
and hats, in addition to thick coats. We will go outside when
temperatures allow.
Snacks should be healthy. Cheese, fruit, yogurt, and cereal bars
provide much more nutrition for growing kids than chips and
cookies.
Homework should show effort. It’s okay if it’s not perfect. If your
child spends 20 minutes and is struggling, please let me know.
Many of the students do not remember their
multiplication/division facts. Using flashcards, computer websites,
or just quizzing each other in the car are all good ways to help
them develop automaticity. They need to know the one-digit facts
in order to use multi-digit operations.
As always, you are always welcome to contact me by email at
[email protected] or leave me a voice
mail.