Dear Parents:

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I had a fabulous time visiting my daughter and little Owen. He is getting so big and walking everywhere! We packed a lot of fun into the weekend - the park, the pool, and his first trip to the beach! I hated to leave him yesterday when it was time to come home. I just have to share a picture of him with you!

This morning we practiced with all three classes for our program. They are doing a great job with their singing and dancing. I have to say, however, that I was disappointed that only three of my students knew their speaking parts. These parts came home last week. PLEASE practice these with your child every day. With all that we have to do at school, we don't have much time at all to work on these speaking parts. They need to memorize them and say them LOUDLY with their "Discovery Channel voice".

This week in...

Reading/Language Arts: The spelling and wall words are breathe, calf, mammal, humpback, blowhole, baleen, migrate, gentle, giant, and whale. Please be sure to practice these words daily with your child. The children need to be able to read them, spell them, and know their meaning. We continue to read mostly non-fiction books and learn how to use all the features to help us research, find information, and learn from these texts.

We are still missing a few books from the reading folders this week. PLEASE be sure that your child returns the book along with the folder and completed assignment. Also, several did not complete the "making words" activity in the folder. This is a part of their assignment. The children will be bringing home books about the whale in their reading folders this week. It is again IMPERATIVE that everyone return their folder WITH THE BOOK on Monday as Mrs. Densa's class will be using the books on Monday. Please make sure that this assignment is complete and turned in by Monday.

Writing Workshop: We are really enjoying our non-fiction writing unit! This week, we are reading and working on "How-To" books.

Math: We will continue to identify patterns in the number grid, practice place value, add 2 digit numbers, and work with fractions. In addition, we will compare the lengths of the different types of whales we learn about this week.

Science: Did your child tell you about the sea urchin dissection on Friday? Emma's dad took some pictures for us. As soon as I get them, I will post them for you to enjoy! This Friday,we will be dissecting the dogfish shark! As you may have guessed, our main focus in our ocean unit this week will be whales. The children are LOVING this unit! We will be reading and researching about the gentle giant of the sea, writing about them, observing them in video, comparing their sizes, and exploring many attributes about them. We will experiment to see how their blubber helps them in the cold oceans of the world. The children also continue to enjoy using our research lab to learn about many other creatures of the sea by using the skills they are learning in reading non-fiction texts.

Volunteers this week:

* Tuesday - Art - Chris Chen (12:05)
* Thursday - Library Check-out - Aisla Hudson and Cynthia Biondi - 2:05
* Friday - Jennifer Lewis (9:00)
* Friday - Parent Reader - Meghan Schneider (2:15)

Other Important Reminders/Dates/Information:

Our last library check-out day will be this Thursday! All library books must be turned in by Wednesday, May 11th!

First Grade Program: Commotion in the Ocean is Friday, May 13th at 8:30 a.m. Children will wear jean shorts/skirts/or skorts with their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts.

Splash Day May 18th with a rain make-up date of May 25th.

Field Trip to Florida Aquarium May 26th - Students will wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean shorts/skirts/skorts. If you would like to join us, please send in your reply with a check for $7.00 by May 13th. Parking will be $3.00 per car. Unfortunately, parents may not use Aquarium memberships for admission.

End-of- the- Year Party - Tuesday, May 31st - Students again may wear their "Commotion in the Ocean" t-shirts with jean shorts, etc.

Last Day of School - Wednesday, June 1st, noon dismissal

Have a great week!
Susan and Beth