1-08-10

I hope your children enjoyed having Friday off from school.  I know mine did!

I would like to let you know about the following East Side event:

All parents are invited to a Technology Resource Night. It is Thursday, January 14, from 6:00 - 7:00 PM.  The event is for parents only, not for students/children. The evening will showcase some fantastic resources that you can access at home to enhance learning for your children. All sessions will be 15 minutes long, and you can decide which ones to attend. 

In Language Arts, we are reading informational text.  We read Through Artists’ Eyes and discussed reasons for reading this type of book.  We practiced reading aloud questions in text with expression and fluency and talked about how asking questions when we read is a terrific strategy.  Additionally, we discussed how we can scan text to quickly find just the information we need.  During writing time, we read Emperor Penguins and wrote an informational paper on how they survive in their habitat.  This was our beginning of the 9 weeks writing pre-test.  Eventually, the students will choose an animal to research and write about.  Their final paper will count as both a Science grade (content) and a writing grade (process).

In Math, we are studying fractions… parts of a whole, parts of a group, adding, and subtracting.

In Social Studies, we are learning about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she started a school for African American girls in Florida.  Mrs. Jones is teaching the kids about habitats.

Reading Logs for a free ticket to Six Flags were sent home last week.  If your child chooses to participate, the logs are due on or before February 24.  Just record 6 hours of reading for a free ticket!

Since we were not able to fill out our Planners with next week’s Specials, they are as follows:

Mon – PE

Tues – Music

Wed – Guidance

Thurs – PE

Fri – Free

Lastly, Conference Week is the last week of January.  Students will be dismissed at 12:10 each day so that teachers can hold conferences in the afternoons.  Pink forms will be coming home in the Monday Folders with your scheduled conference date and time.  Please sign and return the form as soon as possible.  Also, please try to keep your scheduled time. Teachers have already coordinated times for students with siblings.  

You will notice that the progress report in the Monday Folder will be new.  During the 2^nd half of the year, I have the students evaluate themselves each week.  After they rate their performance, they meet with me as I give them a score, and we compare the results.  It is interesting to see how closely we match.