Week of February 27, 2012

Parents,

We are starting to wind down all of our 3^rd quarter units as we get ready for a much anticipated Spring Break.  Please take note of important announcements and dates.

Language Arts:

Reading:  We will finish Chapter 10 and 11 this week in our Little House books.  The students are building their pieces for their lap books and we will be working on putting the finishing touches on them during the next two weeks.  I am excited to see the finished product.

Grammar:  We have been focusing on verbs, nouns, and adjectives the past few weeks.  The kids are doing a nice job diagramming sentences with these parts of speech.  It will help them in the writing process if they are comfortable with the idea that every sentence must have a noun and a verb. 

Riggs:  We continue to have daily Riggs tests and new words 4 days a week.  Please make sure your student is completing their Riggs homework each and every night.  Remind them to say the word, break it down, say the phonograms, and syllabicate as they write.  The markings are already on their homework sheets, so there should be no reason for missing a word.

Science:

We have covered so much in this quarter.  I can hardly keep everything straight myself.  We are finishing up complete and incomplete metamorphosis and studying our mealworms this week.  We will also be learning about fossilized insects.  **PLEASE- send in an insect (preferably one that has already died) in a plastic bag with your child’s name on it.  We will be making insect fossils on Friday.  Next week, we will be learning about camouflage and the benefits of specific insects, such as the silkworm and the honeybee.  We will be reviewing on Thursday, March 8^th for our test on Friday, March 9^th.  I plan on sending home a study guide late this week for your child to study for his/her test.  Please help them to study for this test.  I will send the information to you, by email, as well.

History:

The students will learn about legends of the Cherokee this week – they did not have a written language and everything was handed down in a story.  They eventually did obtain a written language, thanks to a man named Sequoyah.  The students will also be learning about the Trail of Tears and the circumstances surrounding that event.  On Friday, March 2^nd, they will be taking their test over this unit.  Study guides went home with the students on Friday, and they were emailed home to parents with the answer key.

TAKE NOTE:

·         Don’t forget our field trip on Thursday, March 1^st.  We will be leaving the school around 8:30 a.m. and leaving the museum around 2:00 p.m.  PLEASE make sure your student has a sack lunch and water (a healthy snack can also be included).  I have had a request for carpooling.  If you are a chaperone and are interested in carpooling, please email me ASAP and I will get information out to everyone.  I currently have 10 parents signed up to help chaperone the students.  Therefore, our groups will be small and very manageable.

·         March 8^th – 2^nd annual Archway Olympics.  Please check the Archway newsletter for more details on time.  Mrs. Knight is still looking for a few more volunteers to help out.  If you are able to volunteer, please go to the link and sign up.  Thank you to Mrs. Brown for volunteering to be our Water Mom for the event.  Thank you to everyone for your help and assistance to make this event a wonderful success.  I will continue to post details as I get them.

·         The Medieval Faire was a huge success.  Thank you to everyone for your participation and hours.  We came in 4^th place in the number of volunteers.  We couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you.  Thank you again.  I have the best parents and I truly appreciate all of you.

·         Reading Groups will move to Wednesdays and Fridays for Fourth Quarter.  We will continue to meet from approximately 8:15 to 8:45 on those days.

Have a great week everyone!

Mrs. Winkler

Week of February 20, 2012

Hello everyone!

I hope this finds everyone getting some much needed rest over the long weekend.  We had a great time on Saturday at the Faire.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for a very successful event.  I was amazed at the number of people that I saw.  Thank you to those who were able to attend with your child.  It was so much fun to see the children outside of the classroom.  Thank you to those of you who were able to volunteer at the event.  I truly appreciate the time you gave. 

The end of the quarter is quickly approaching.  We have covered so much and still have much to learn before we take on the challenges of the 4^th quarter. 

Check out what we will be covering this week:
 
Reading:
We will continue to read our Little House in the Big Woods book.  The children have shown wonderful interest in this book.  I’m so proud of each of them for their efforts with the book.  It is sometimes difficult to read something that is based in a time so long ago.  However, I hope that the students have a new appreciation for all of the conveniences we have in our lives.

Science:

We have been learning so much about insects.  We will be studying about social and solitary insects this week, along with complete and incomplete metamorphosis.  Next week, we hope to study more about life cycles when we observe our mealworms and learn more about them.  We will also be studying about fossils.
**PLEASE SEND A SMALL DEAD INSECT WITH YOUR CHILD EARLY NEXT WEEK.  PLACE IT INSIDE A ZIPLOCKED BAG WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME ON IT.

History:

We are nearing Oregon via the Oregon Trail.  This week, we will be panning for gold and learning to square dance. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Please make sure you sign and return the field trip permission slip as quickly as possible. The field trip is Thursday, March 1^st.  If you are planning on going along on the trip, please make sure I know.  Some of you have mentioned an interest, but please confirm that you are going so that I can make appropriate plans.  Please find a link to SignUp Genius for snacks for the bus and for coolers. 

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0949AFA82DAB9-class

The 2^nd Annual Archway Olympics is scheduled for March 8^th.  Mrs. Knight would appreciate any help you can provide to make this a successful event for the kids.  She needs parents at every station.  Please refer to the Sign-up Genius link previously provided.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you everyone.  Have a great week.

Mrs. Winkler

Week of February 6, 2012

Hello Families,

 I can’t believe that this quarter is flying by so quickly.  The students are working very hard, and I am incredibly proud of them.  Please take a look at what we have going on this week.

 Language Arts:

-          Reading:  We are reading Chapters 6 and 7 this week.  I’m excited to see what adventures await Laura and Mary in their Little House in the Big Woods.  The children have immersed themselves in the book and are asking wonderfully rich questions about what they are reading.  We are also building our lap books as we go.  It is great fun to see them coming together so nicely.

-          Riggs:  The students continue to have daily spelling tests, as well as homework Tuesday – Friday.  Please continue to monitor their homework so that they are completing their worksheets every night and turning them in the next day.  We have been noticing several “missing” assignments lately.

 

-          Science:  Insects continue to intrigue us.  We are “moving” into locomotion this week.  We will concentrate on walking, crawling, flying, swimming and water walking.  The students will continue to see many wonderful close-up images of different insects in their environment during our daily lessons.  With a little help, your child will be able to walk like an insect within a day or two.  Be sure to ask what that is all about.

-          History:  The War of 1812 is over.  The students did a great job and have gained wonderful insight into our country’s past.  However, they aren’t finished yet.  We are “moving west” starting this week.  We will be studying about reasons for going west as well as different ways of travel.  During today’s lesson, they worked on a map showing the area of the Louisiana Purchase. 

Medieval Faire:

I encourage each of you to show your support for our school and our classroom by volunteering at the Faire.  You are welcome to come and help out for a time slot while your child is having fun at the different events.  I believe our activity will be the best by far.  We are running the Bouncy Joust – it isn’t just for children.  I’ve been told that many adults also participated in this event last year.  You won’t want to miss it.  Please go to our Sign-Up Genius link http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040F45ADAB283-medieval to sign up.  If we can get everyone to participate, we can win money for the classroom.  That would be wonderful.

Great Hearts Day:

Please do not purchase Valentine cards for Great Hearts Day.  We will be doing our own thing in the classroom.  Please watch for information about our classroom celebration on February 14^th.

SAVE THE DATE:

Pioneer Living Museum

Our field trip to Pioneer Living Museum is scheduled for March 1^st.  If you would like to join us, please let me know.  We will need volunteers to help, and the more, the merrier. For the safety of

our students, field trip chaperones must have a current fingerprint clearance card.  I will be sending out more details and field trip permission forms very soon.