Updates and announcements

What a fantastic quarter! Our students have learned so much, from the Age of Exploration to botany. We had a wonderful discussion in our class about what it means to be a self-advocate. Students are working hard to set goals, ask questions, and show perseverance and integrity.

Be on the lookout for an email regarding our Secret Garden Celebration next week.

Our field trip is coming up next Tuesday.

Our week in learning

This week, students will compose their own five-paragraph essay based on the outlines and texts used in class. They will compose the outline in class on Monday for their entire essay and add one or two paragraphs each night. On Thursday, students will be given time in class to write their final draft, which is due on Friday morning. In order to respect our homework time each night, please do not have your student write the entire essay in one sitting--instead, students will be assigned 1-2 paragraphs of writing each night, part of which should be completed in class.

In literature, students will continue reading up to chapter 26 of the Secret Garden. Next week, students will complete the book and write a short three-paragraph essay about the most dynamic character in the story, comparing and contrasting their character at the beginning and end.

Students will recite “I like to see it lap the miles” on 3/7.

Students should be preparing for their quarterly roots test next week. This will be over the last 25 roots.

In science this week, students will play a review game on Monday to prepare for the unit test on Tuesday. The unit test will be a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions, similar to the study guide. On Thursday, students will take notes on plant anatomy and take a short quiz on Friday. Science notebooks will be collected for participation points on Friday. All notes taken in class during the plant unit must be present in the notebook to receive full credit. If your child is missing any of the notes, they may ask me for a copy and glue them in.

This week in history, students will continue learning about the Civil War. Students will be learning about the life of a slave, the Missouri Compromise, growth of anti-slavery feelings, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and growing differences between the North and South. We will learn about Harriet Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Students will finish learning about pre-Civil War material before break and have a short quiz over the notes in their foldables. We will do an activity where students create quizzes and turn them in. I will then create a quiz using some of their questions. Their very short quiz will take place on Friday, 3/9. Please note that there is sensitive material regarding slavery throughout the unit, particularly during the lesson Monday, 2/26.

In math this week, we will start their unit on percentages. This week, students will practice converting between fractions, percentages, and decimals by creating a foldable for their math notebooks. There will be no math groups for the rest of the quarter. We will begin with math groups again in quarter 4.

Updates and announcements

I hope everyone had a wonderful 3-day weekend. I enjoyed having my in-laws in town for my husband’s second doctoral trombone recital. If you want to see some great trombone music, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbZJJyeGpl8

We have an exciting week ahead of us with MAP testing, spirit wear day, and a movie night, all happening on Friday. Please make sure students come to school after a good night’s sleep and balanced breakfast on Friday.

Our uniform tip of the week is to make sure girls’ nail polish is either light pink or clear coated.

Our week in learning

This week, students will compose their own five-paragraph essay based on the outlines and texts used in class.

In literature, students will continue reading up to chapter 23 of the Secret Garden.

The weekly roots quiz will be on Wednesday.

This week in science, students will receive the study guide for the plant unit test, which will take place on Tuesday, February 27. The study guide is due Monday, February 26. We will play a review game in class before the test. Students will begin wrapping up their plant unit by studying the two different types of seed plants, monocots and dicots.

This week in history, students will finish learning about Westward Expansion before the Civil War. Study guides are due Wednesday and the test will be on Wednesday. Students will participate in a socratic discussion on Thursday and begin learning about the Civil War on Friday. Please note that there is sensitive material regarding slavery throughout the unit, particularly during the lessons on Friday, 2/23 and Monday, 2/26.

In math this week, we will finish learning about measures and volumes. We will work on solving word problems that involve converting units and finding the volume of a rectangular prism. The test for this unit will be on Thursday and we will do a short lesson on composite volumes on Friday. Math groups will take place this week on Wednesday, 8:00-9:15.

Updates and announcements

Thank you so much for signing up to bring supplies for Great Hearts day! We are excited to celebrate the virtue of friendship. In keeping with the philosophy of our school, we are celebrating the virtue of friendship, so please, do not send store-bought valentines to school. Some students have spoken to me about bringing handmade valentines and treats for their classmates, and that is ok. We want to be sure we are sincere in our honor of this virtue.

Our week in learning

This week, students will practice creating outlines from short essays. They will focus on identifying the main idea and supporting details of each paragraph. Next week, they will practice writing from outlines.

In literature, students will continue reading up to chapter 21 of the Secret Garden.

Students will recite their poem, “The Arrow and the Song” this Wednesday.

Students will have their weekly roots quiz this Wednesday.

In science this week, students will continue to explore angiosperms, or flowering plants, by studying pollination, dissecting a flower, and watching a video about pollinators. There is a short quiz on parts of a flower on Tuesday.

This week in history, students will continue learning about Westward Expansion before the Civil War. Students will learn about the idea of Manifest Destiny, the additions of Texas and Oregon, the War with Mexico, and settling the far west, such as the movement of the Mormons to Utah. The study guide will go home on Monday, February 12th and is due on the day of their test, Wednesday, February 21st. While there is an R&R weekend before the test, students will still have 5 non-R&R days to complete the study guide and prepare for the test.

In math this week, we will start learning about measures and volumes. We will begin with converting units and work towards finding the volume of a rectangular prism. This is a short unit, so there will be a test next week. There will be no math groups this week, as we are just starting a new unit.

Updates and announcements

We are the champions of Athletic Field Day! Our scholars worked hard in training and persevered through our events! Thank you to the parents who volunteered.

Be on the lookout for a sign-up genius from our marvelous classroom parents for our Great Hearts Day celebration. PLEASE NOTE that students are not to bring store bought valentines on this day. 

The “Wish List” is updated. We are in desperate need of index cards as our students have taken to drawing on them. The few we have left are not out for students to take at-will.

There is no school on Friday and it is not an R&R weekend. Next weekend, February 16-19 will be an R&R weekend.

Our week in learning

This week, students will present their explorer reports in history on Monday and Tuesday mornings. Posters should be brought to class on Monday.

Students will review past grammar skills and add a new skill to their notebooks: predicate adjectives! Predicate adjectives are adjectives occuring in the sentence predicate that describe the subject of the sentence. They follow a linking verb.

Ex: Betty is nice. “Nice” is a predicate adjective. Students will have a brief quiz over this skill on Wednesday morning.

In literature, students will continue reading up to chapter 19 of the Secret Garden.

The roots quiz will be on Wednesday.

In science this week, students will learn about gymnosperms, which are seeds that are commonly found in pine cones, and their pollination and fertilization. They will have the opportunity to read about gymnosperms in two articles and answer questions about them.

This week in history, students will continue learning about Westward Expansion before the Civil War. Students will learn about Tecumseh and what he did for Native Americans in the early 1800’s, and improvements in transportation.

In math this week, we will continue learning about decimals. Students will divide decimals by another decimal and review for their unit test on Thursday. Graph paper is very helpful to line up decimals and keep their work organized. We will be using some in class, but it might be useful to have some at home to use with homework. Math groups will be this Wednesday, 8:00-9:15.