Week of January 14, 2013

Dear Parents:

A special day is coming soon! Friday, January 25, will be “Grandparents and Special Friends Day” at Shorecrest! In preparation, please send in a photograph of your child’s grandparents or special friend(s). If your child is in the photo with them, all the better! We will be doing a special writing activity to show our grandparents and friends just how special they are! Please send the photographs in no later than this Thursday. If you do not have a photograph, please have your child draw a detailed picture of them with their grandparent or special friend.  Please send one in even if your child will not be having grandparents or a special friend attend on Grandparents Day. Those children that do not have grandparents/special friends attending will not be left out. They will be paired up with another child and their guests to tour the school.

Reading Scores!

The Paws of Reading contest through Scholastic is over and... the DOGS logged in the most minutes read! Throughout the nation, the Dogs logged in 95, 836,823 minutes read! Wow! The Cats throughout the nation logged in 65,528,596 minutes! That is amazing! EVERYONE is a winner because that means 1 million books were donated to kids in need! How great is that? In our class, the Dog team logged in 3, 848 minutes which donated 192 books to children in need! The Cat team logged in 2, 772 minutes read which donated 138 books to children in need! I am SO PROUD of our children! Aren't you? 

Our reading continues!

In Reading Workshop, we are enjoying being non-fiction readers. We choose books on topics that are of interest to us or help us learn information about a topic.  We’re learning that readers of non-fiction do not always have to read the book from cover to cover. We’re practicing using features such as the Table of Contents and Index to begin at places in the book that help us find the information we are looking for. We’re also learning to use features that help us understand what we read, such as a glossary, headings, diagrams, and captioned pictures.

Ben enjoys reading about snakes!

Kaja finds and marks the glossary in her book.

Word Study: I must compliment the entire class! Last week’s spelling test was a true testament of their success with application of the phonics rules. I am so proud! Our phonics focus this week will be on words with long vowel /e/ spelled e, ee, and ea. We continue to work on contractions, homophones, and compound words. I love the way the children are constantly coming to me with more homophones they are discovering! Don’t forget that the high frequency words on the word ring are not only for practicing reading but spelling them correctly as well. Please remember to return the ring on Thursday!

 Matthew uses the iPad in word work practice.

Matthew, Carson, and Ryan work on the iPads with Mrs. Rauman.

Sydney and Matthew have fun constructing compound words and using them to complete sentences. 

Phoebe and Leni practice giving each other a spelling quiz.

Writing Workshop:  The children are having a ball writing their “how-to” books! They get so excited! Last week, we made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and then wrote step-by-step how to make them. They loved it! Today, I modeled writing a book on How To Do a Somersault. Then the children tried to follow the steps I wrote. Uh oh! We discovered what happens when steps are missing or are confusing! We realized how important it is to be very specific in our step-by-step directions. We decided that the most helpful step in writing a How-To book is re-reading your book with a partner to see if someone else can follow your directions. Ask your child to tell you how to do a somersault and follow their directions explicitly! Prepare to laugh! Therefore, revising will be a focus this week as we prepare for publishing a “how-to” book. 

Kate follows the directions to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Math: The children were introduced to the “What’s My Rule?” routine today. We'll have lots of practice this week finding input and output numbers for given rules as well as using input and output numbers to figure out the missing rule. We’ll finish up unit 5 this week. Look for the unit check-in-progress assessment to come home either Friday or next Tuesday.

Cyrus, Daven, and Sydney practice addition facts by playing Dice Sums.

Kate and Natalie practiced comparing weights with a balance scale.

Kaja, Leni, Avery, and Ben play "Beat the Calculator" with Avery's dad. 

Science: Our Solar System unit continues as we learn about gravity, astronauts, and the planets of the solar system. The children are becoming research scientists! Today each child chose a planet to research. Tomorrow they will be working in partnerships and will begin researching the planet in the computer lab. Our research will then continue in the classroom and then each partnership will create a visual project for their planet/research. Then each partnership will present their project to the class and teach us about the planet. Once the partnerships come up with the list of materials they need for the project they decide upon, your child may be asking to bring some needed materials in. Their work will be done in class. When the projects are complete, you will be invited to come hear their presentations! This will be a lot of fun! 

Natalie, Keith, Cyrus, and Phoebe enjoy painting the cover of their solar system pocket books where they will keep their work in progress during our unit.

Last week, we were invited to go view and listen to presentations by sixth graders of their science projects. What a great opportunity to get a peek at what project work looks like and sounds like!

Other important reminders: 

After school clubs begin this week.

School is closed on Monday, January 21, for Martin Luther King Day.

Grandparents/Special Friends Day is Friday, January 25. Noon dismissal that day!

Field trip to the Science Center/Planetarium will be Tuesday, February 5. We will eat lunch at school at 11:00 before we go. Parents are welcome to join us by following the bus or meeting us at the Science Center. We will leave school at 11:30. Our tour begins at 12:00 and we will leave to return to school at 2:00.

Spring Conference Day will be Thursday, February 7. There will be no school for the children that day. A sign-up sheet came home Friday. Please indicate your 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd choices and return it tomorrow if you have not already done so. If you need a date/time other than those offered, please email me and we will work it out. I will get a finalized schedule to you as soon as possible. I look forward to sharing your child's progress with you!

Friday, February 15, will be a Professional Development Day for teachers. There will be no school for students that day.

School is closed on Monday, February 18, for Presidents' Day.

Volunteers this week: 

• Wednesday - Library Checkout - 2:10 – Sharon Cannella and Heidi Joswig or David Richardson
• Thursday - Math Game - 10:30 – Kim Gross
• Friday - Art - 9:15 – Mary Hind
• Friday - Parent Reader - 2:15 – Charlene Hosseini

That's all for now! Have a great week!

Susan