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May 11, 2012
Dear Friends and Families,
We've been having a great time finishing up our Literary Nonfiction stories. We hope to tell our stories through Photo Story, where the children will read their stories (recorded) behind beautiful illustrations they've done for them.
We also went on an interesting trip to Tilly Steps to study a real-life erosion problem and how the village handled it. Along the way, we took a trip down memory lane through old postcards of Sea Cliff Beach at the turn of the century. On our way back, we ran into Andy G______, the artist who's doing the sandcastle workshop. We saw an amazing sandcastle he made that was probably 7 to 8 feet tall!
We'd like to remind you to send in a white T-shirt to be tie-dyed for FUN DAY!--preferable a size larger.
Enjoy the sunshine,
Ms. Lawatsch
Mrs. Speranza
Miss Poisella
April 20, 2012
Dear Friends and Families,
The end of NYS testing is in sight and you can almost hear a collective sigh of relief. The children did a great job of using their strategies and applying all they've learned about reading comprehension this year. It was a significantly longer test than in past years, so stamina was a big piece of it. This only underscores the importance of having your child read independent, instructional-level books every day. To offset the "testiness" of testing, we've been diving into our Land and Water: The Changing Earth Study. The children have used their stream tables to investigate erosion, form tributaries and rivers, and create landscapes with "boulders" and hills. They've made predictions about the soil and rivers, shared observations and inferences, and mapped these landscapes, while contemplating the question: Does water shape land or does land shape water? We've just begun learning about how humans impact the land and water by specifically exploring dams. The teams will be designing dams using their stream tables. In the next week or two, we'll also be exploring how people can prevent erosion by visiting our own Tilly Steps and examining first hand how our village solved that tricky erosion problem. Then the kids will design their own erosion solution using our stream tables.
We would also love to invite the parents or grandparents of our students who were born and raised, or spent time living, in another country (especially as a child) to visit our classroom as part of our World Communities: Enough for All? study to share what growing up is like in other places. In the past, we've had parents from Japan, Russia, Israel, Argentina, Iran, Australia, India, England, the Philippines, Greece, Brazil, and others. It's really exciting for the kids. We have the capability for a slide presentation (smart board), if you wish. Artifacts are really cool, too. Anything that makes it come alive for the children. But, of course, you are the most interesting part. Some visitors bring a food from that country to share. You can plan on the presentation being about an hour long (including questions from the children).
Please consider coming in. You are a wonderful resource for our children and it is always an interesting experience. We once had a lovely Greek grandmother come in. She shared some black and white photographs of herself as a small child in Greece. She had a picture of her simple house there. She had come to America when she was eight--the age of your children--speaking no English. She told of what it was like in school, not knowing the language and how much more strict it was then. The children were mesmerized and so was I! Every visit is a unique.
Please email me if you are available and what days and times would work best for you.
Enjoy the beautiful weather,
Ms. Lawatsch
Mrs. Speranza
Miss Poisella
March 26, 2012
Dear Friends and Families,
So much is going on! Spring has sprung and we are in the final stretch before our April break. We really enjoyed conferencing with you and your children. Celebrating success and setting goals for the future is a collaborative endeavor.
While we are doing some exciting earth science in our “Changing Earth Study” of land and water and beginning our research for our independent project in Literary Nonfiction, we are also honing our critical thinking skills with respect to the NYS tests. Your children are doing a beautiful job of learning to read carefully, answer “thick and thin” questions, find evidence for their ideas in the texts, and write clearly expressed ideas using relevant vocabulary. Bravo! We’re in the midst of our fraction unit in math, and I’m pleased to say that we’re playing around in Khan Academy. Some parents mentioned it to me, so I looked it up and watched the TED talk with Sal Kahn:(http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html).
The site is www.khanacademy.org. Just click on "Practice" to practice. Better yet, log on--it's free! It’s a wonderful way to practice math skills and a beautifully designed site. It’s also an intriguing model for education. So, check it out. I’ve shown the kids how to access it and put a link on this web site.
Hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful weather.
Best,
Ms. Lawatsch
Mrs. Speranza
Miss Poisella
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