Hi all! Welcome to another look into what we;ve been up to in the classroom. But first, let’s review some important dates and reminders.
Next week we have Mass at 8am on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Please ensure your child arrives on time and has had breakfast.
The Holiday Shop opens next week (Tuesday the 9th – Thursday the 11th). We will browse on Tuesday and shop on Thursday. More information was sent home, but let me know if you would like some help.
12/18 – Christmas Program in the church at 7pm.
12/19 – Early dismissal at 2pm, no aftercare!
1/6 – School Resumes!
Here’s the overview of what we have learned these past two weeks:
ELA: We are working on a fictional story to use those creative brains! The first draft is due today, and next week the students will hand in their revisions. So far, I am seeing lots of wonderful, scary, exciting, and funny stories. Next week, we will have a phonics test and continue with our spelling and vocabulary tests. I am having the students make flashcards every week now, so it is easier to review. They should keep the flashcards so that when we have our next 100 words Vocabulary test, they will be even more prepared.
Science: Ask your child “Where does our food’s energy come from?” and I bet they’ll tell you it’s the sun! Or they’ll grunt and shrug, but I hope they say the sun. We’re making food chains starting with our breakfast foods, then we will connect them back to the sun. THEN, we will create food webs! I love this lesson, it’s so fun to see the students connect consumers, producers, and decomposers in a nonlinear way. We will also start gearing up for the Consumer Fair. More details on that to follow.
Math: We have practiced many division strategies (area models, long division, and partial quotients). I know these are new for you, they are new for me as well! Every week or so, I offer extra math help during lunch where we practice more relevant problems. Please encourage your child to come to that extra help, it has really improved their skills. Next week, we will spend a couple of days reviewing before the test. For the test, unless it asks the student to divide using a specific strategy, the students can use their preferred method. I am in the process of compiling some extra notes to help you understand the math. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Religion: We are about to wrap up our deep dive into Baptism. Next, we will continue learning about another Sacrament of Christian Initiation: Confirmation. In the next couple of weeks, your child might start to think about what saint they would choose for Confirmation. It’s never too early to start thinking about that!
Reading: Our latest novel study, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, has come to an end. I am so proud of the students’ hard work on this book as it has a lot challenging vocabulary, but they worked hard to understand and decode these words. I provided vocabulary lists to help them out. To start the Christmas season, I am reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to them, pausing to ask them comprehension and vocabulary questions. We will end the year focusing on informational text comprehension with i-Ready whole group lessons, partner reading with short articles, and a short, Christmas-related research classwork.
Social Studies: Head on over to Miss Pretzie’s classroom page to see what they’re learning about currently.