Newsletter 5-5-17

Our Ugly Duckling play was a big success!  I was so proud of our little performers.  

We read some fun stories in language arts, and we talked a lot about responsibility.  We reviewed contractions, worked on pronouns, and practiced our comprehension skills. 

We read books about earth day and learned about how we could help our community.  We wrote our own earth day books.

We just finished our math unit on addition, subtraction, and measurement.  We liked making these measurement gardens.  Our next unit will graphing.

We have been talking about weather in science.  We are keeping a daily log of the temperature and weather conditions.

We had a terrific time on our field trip Monday!  We explored the museum, then we ate and played at Draper Park.  Thank you to our moms and dads who chaperoned.

We’re excited for our next field trip to the aquarium.  Please return the permission slip as soon as possible.

Thanks to everyone who sent colored pencils and other donations for the children in Nepal.  Mrs. Gill showed us pictures and videos of the students we will be helping.  We are excited to hear about her trip! 

Congratulations to Ross for completing the 20-Book Challenge.  Excellent work!

Mya passed the 20-Book Challenge...again.  Wow!

Jane, Ella, and Aliya passed a level in Lexia.  Way to go, girls!  

Paisley earned our citizenship award for forgiveness.  She is a good friend!

Please remind your child to bring his or her planner to school every day.  It's a great communication tool, and it helps teach students responsibility.

Thank you for all the teacher appreciation gifts and cards.  The students have been so sweet this week.  I'm lucky to have such a wonderful class!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

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!