Newsletter 4-2-17

We read Fire Fighter! in language arts last week.  We learned about life in a fire station and the types of emergencies firefighters deal with in their jobs.  We were lucky to have a visit from the fire department.  They taught us about fire safety, showed us their truck and the tools they use, and answered our questions.

We got in groups and acted out the play, Firefighting Teamwork.

We read Carl the Complainer this week and learned about being good citizens and being involved in our communities.  We learned the steps in writing a petition and practiced writing our own petitions.

We finished our unit on three-digit subtraction in math.  We will be working on measurement when we return after spring break.

We had a fantastic college week!  The kids loved the Star Wars theme and the dress-up days.  On career day, several of our parents taught us about their jobs.

We ended the week with our annual college week assembly.  We learned about the many positive effects of going to college, we did our Ewok University cheer, and we had fun with Swoop and Cosmo.  Ross even got to be part of the Chewbacca imitation contest! 

Madison earned the citizenship award for cooperation.

McKenna, Micah, and Madison all completed the 20-Book Challenge.  Way to go, girls!

Steele and Brox earned 100% fluency in Reflex Math.  Excellent work, boys!

Congratulations to Drea, Tayah, Max, and Lucas for moving up a level in Lexia!

We have a wonderful opportunity to get involved in a service project this month.  My friend and Sunrise mom, Heather Gill, is collecting new and slightly used colored pencils to donate to children in Nepal.  Please read her message below:

Hi!  In May I will be trekking with the Apa Sherpa Foundation to several, high elevation villages in the Everest region of Nepal to visit schools and deliver supplies. Children in these remote areas hike 1-2 hours each way to school.  In a small village called Ghat, we will be teaching an art class using colored pencils and water colors. Then we will collect the children's artwork to bring back to the United States where it will be showcased in an art exhibit in New York. The funds raised by the art will be used to support teacher salaries in the Khumbu Everest Valley. 

We are gathering colored pencils, watercolors and small paintbrushes to take across the globe and would love your help! Colored pencils can be new or slightly used. Any brand will do. Donations are due by April 28th.

 I will film the Sherpa children at school, and bring the video back to Sunrise Elementary to show the kids where their donations went, and how children in other parts of the world strive for education. 

Thank you so much for your generosity and help! 

You can learn more about the Apa Sherpa Foundation, and see video's of the village schools by clicking on Gallery; Video's at:

http://apasherpafoundation.org/ 

Some activities your child can do over the break are reading for the 20-Book Challenge, working on fluency in Reflex Math, and trying to move up a level in Lexia.

Enjoy the spring break!

Newsletter 3-12-17

We read the legend The First Tortilla this week, a story about a girl who saved her village.  We wrote about it and worked on plot, adverbs, and prefixes.

We are on topic 10 in math, three-digit addition.  We have been using several different strategies to solve problems.

Congratulations to Max and Bennett for reaching 100% mastery in Reflex Math! 

Remember to keep recording the books your child reads for the 20 Book Challenge. 

This will be a review week, so there is no homework packet.  Please use the extra time to have your child read and work on Lexia and Reflex Math.

We did a fun Nearpod science lesson about rocks on our Chromebooks.  Our class loved going on virtual field trips, watching volcanoes, and drawing and writing about their favorite type of rock.  The most popular type of rock in our class was igneous.

Students should bring a rock this Friday to show the class and to compare and contrast with other rocks.  They can bring a few more rocks from their collections if they want.   

We have been practicing for our Ugly Duckling musical.  Our performance will be Monday, April 17 at 2:00.

Spring pictures are this Thursday, March 16.  Lifetouch is correcting our class pictures, and we hope to have them soon.

Thank you for sending in your Box Tops.  They are due Friday, March 17.

Thanks for all you do at home.  Have a great week!

Newsletter 3-4-17

This week we read a Mayan myth, The Night the Moon Fell, and we worked on theme and multiple meaning words.  Our awesome art teacher used the beautiful illustrations from the story to have the students practice using warm and cool colors.  We are also practicing adverbs and adjectives.

We just finished topic 9 in math, Understanding Numbers to 1,000.  We had fun playing all sorts of place value games to practice.  We will begin adding three-digit numbers on Monday.

Since reading The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin, we have been studying plants in science.  Students did a great job getting plant information from the nearpod program on their computers and writing it in their interactive notebooks.

  

It was wonderful meeting with all of you for parent-teacher conferences and celebrating your child’s successes.  We have a terrific class, and we have made so much progress this year!

Congratulations to Bennett for earning our friendship award!

Brox met the 20-Book Challenge.  Way to go!  Remember to keep working on it so that your child can have it done by the end of the year.

Congratulations to Ella, Aliya, and Sam for passing off a level and being Lexia Superstars!

Please remind your children to bring their signed planners every day.  Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Have a great week!