Headlines 8/14

We had a wonderful first week of school.  We spent a lot of time discussing our policies and procedures as well as taking the time to get to know each other.  Hopefully you all had a chance to read through the policies and procedures packet that went home last week.  We also took time to get to know each other as each students is presenting their "hand" which they traced and illustrated with interesting information about their lives.

Please be sure to put Curriculum Night on your calendar on Wednesday, August 24th.  We will be discussing our curriculum for the year and sharing important information that will help your child have a successful year.  I look forward to seeing each of you there!

Math: We will continue our study of Unit 1 in Singapore Math by learning about estimation, factors, and place value.  This is a great time for students to review some of the foundational math skills they have learned.  We will also begin Rocket Math this week, which is the school wide curriculum we use for basic math skills.  Students have the opportunity to track their progress as the year progresses as well as practice in class and at home.

ELA: This week in ELA we will be reviewing nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives in grammar, and will practice diagramming basic sentences.  In Spalding we will continue to set up our notebook and will have our first test on Thursday.  This year students will have 15 words to practice on Monday and Tuesday and we will test over the list on Thursdays.  We are already enjoying reading Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and will continue to read and annotate in class this week.  Wednesdays we will take a short quiz to review the last four roots we have studied in class.  Students will be responsible for knowing the meaning of the root as well as an example of a derivative.

Science:  We will continue to explore the scientific method through experimental observations. You may have heard about our penny lab last week. This week we have another interactive project planned that will give the students insight into the importance of variables. 

History: This week students will be continuing their study of World Geography. We will learn to plot coordinates using longitude and latitude lines and  discuss the time zones in relation to the International Date Line
We will complete a fun activity where we create globes out of balloons and label the important imaginary lines of the world.  We will also prepare for a vocabulary quiz.

This year in History we will have many short, low-stakes quizzes (usually two per week, lasting no more than 5 minutes) to solidify learning. Students will take their first unit test on Monday, August 22^nd.


Have a wonderful week and thank your for all your support and dedication to your children's learning.  I look forward to seeing you all the 24th!