Week of January 11-15

Good afternoon, parents! We had a great 1^st week back! There have been a few changes, but the kids have adapted well! They are smoothly transitioning into their new math groups/classrooms! We also began implementing the use of the desk cycles and resistance bands I was able to order through my Pyramid Award. It’s been a gradual introduction and the kids are adjusting well. These tools are only used at times when I feel they are best suited to instruction, but so far the kids have done great with the new equipment! Many have expressed to me that they enjoy the opportunity for movement while working. J

Our newest Leader of the Week is....

Kaylin!!!

        Kaylin was selected as our newest Leader of the Week! She just came to our school a couple of months ago and she has adjusted so well! She has done an excellent job seeking first to understand, then to be understood. She carefully listens to instructions given in class before jumping into a task. She also puts first things first and always has a proactive attitude toward school! She blew me away today when she stood up in front of the entire class and sang a song she and a friend had written to share their understanding of events leading the Revolutionary War! That took a lot of courage!

Implementation of Exercise Equipment~Week 1

Important Dates to Remember

Wednesday, Jan. 13: Early Release @ 12:20pm

Friday, Jan. 15: 5^th Grade Snow Day 2:20-4:00pm

Tuesday, Jan. 26: Schoolwide Book Exchange

Volunteer Opportunity

I am looking for volunteers to help with our second Schoolwide Book Exchange between 8 and 10am on Tuesday, January 26^th. If you are available to help and you have completed both confidentiality training and a background check, please contact me for details. J

5^th Grade Snow Day

*If you have not signed up for the 5^th Grade Snow Day, but your child would like to attend, please do so no later than Tuesday, January 12^th.

Here’s what we will be learning about this week!

Science: We will continue our study of energy and matter in organisms and ecosystems. The main idea this week is still to understand how humans get their energy and that the most basic source of energy is our sun. We will examine food chains and webs and play a game called Predator and Prey!

S.S.: We are going to begin learning about the Declaration of Independence this week! Topics include Thomas Paine and his pamphlet Common Sense as well as Thomas Jefferson and interpreting the actual language from the Declaration of Independence.

Math: Regardless of which teacher your child has, the learning goals for the week will be to learn how to compare and order fractions, decimals, and mixed numbers. There will be a test over these fraction concepts as well as this past week’s concepts on January 20^th.

Reading: During reading, we will begin learning about Greek and Latin roots. First we will study the parts of a word (prefix, suffix, root word) and then we will begin focusing on the specific root of super, cap, hyper, corp, and ped. We will learn how knowing the meaning of the root can help you to decode unfamiliar words.

Writing: Our focus for writing will be on understanding bias and how it impacts the message an author is conveying. We will examine several writings related to the American Revolution and look for bias within the writing.