Week 7

Good morning everyone!

It’s nice to be back in school.  I was out Friday with a fever and stuffy head, but am back 99% today….still a bit of a stuffy nose.  I heard the day went well and the kids earned some extra class points. They are halfway to the Class Party Goal!!!  

Your kids began Unit 2: Multiplication and Geometry with Mrs. Bijaya on Friday and continue this week.  Today, they developed a formula for the area of a rectangle as they reviewed the formula for perimeter too.  Your kids will also work with factor pairs and arrays, as well as learn about multiples, composite, and prime numbers.  I am still conferencing with the class regarding the unit 1 test, and as soon as that is completed, I will send home the test for you to peruse.  

In Reading & Writing Workshop your children continue to work on their fictional stories and deepening their reading lives.  They are busy typing the first draft of their fictional stories this week as they learn more about getting lost in their stories or “writing the heart of the Story” and pausing to revise important parts.  In reading, your kids continue developing ideas about their realistic fictional stories. They have drafted theories about their characters and will share their ideas with the class, as well as conference with me to deepen their understanding of how to respond to reading.  They will also begin to pay attention to a character’s desires and how they are achieved.

Your kids continue to study their chosen democratic countries.  Last week they concentrated on developing the Google Site….adding pages, links, and other aspects that they needed. This week they will concentrate on research. They have developed a Google document to record the data, as well as one to record the resources used. Some have even created a table to organize the information gained.  They are well on the way to becoming experts!

That about covers this week.  The following is an updated calendar of events:

Sept.  22:    Swim Meet/Volleyball Tournament

Sept. 29:         Welcome Back BBQ  

Oct. 5:             ParentTeacher Conferences

Oct. 15-19:      Dashain Holiday

Oct. 22-26:     Spirit Week

Oct. 23-26:     MAP Testing

Oct. 25-27:     SAISA

In ending this week, I wanted to share a quote from Nelson Mandela.  He once stated, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” and it made me realize how important it is for educators and schools to equip students with the necessary tools and knowledge so that they can make a change to better the world.

Have a fantastic week,

 

Mr. J