4/28/2023
Preschool
This week in Preschool we worked on fine and gross motor skills, communication, teamwork, and persistence. We spent plenty of time outside in the fresh air and sunshine, worked on our Alphabet letters, and looked for some of the bugs we discussed last week.
Friday madness!
Kindergarten
This week the Kindergarten classes took a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo. We learned about the many jobs that happen at the zoo and we’re surprised to see that every area of the RIASEC was represented in the jobs we observed. The students did an excellent job of representing their school and had a great time on a beautiful day.
First Grade
In 1st grade this week we learned all about Earth Day! We wrote about ways we can take care of our Earth, we read about Earth day and what it means, and then we went outside and explored ways to take care of our Earth! We learned that it is so important to do our part, and how we can do that!
Second Grade
Second Graders have been branching out of their comfort zones this week! An introduction into fractions in math led us to the construction of fraction robots. Each student colored, cut and glued their new fraction friends together then gave them a unique name. We have also been working alongside the 3rd grade classrooms to countdown the days remaining in school until summer break. Our A – Z Countdown involves fun ways to connect with our learning and enhance our relationships in a positive way!
Third Grade
This week in third grade we finished up our ILEARN testing. Students worked very hard! We also celebrated C-G in our Alphabet Countdown until the last day of school. Some of the things we did were dress up and talk about careers, dressed up from a different decade, enjoyed eating lunch together in the classroom, read by flashlights, played Frisbee tag and played games. These activities have been a lot of fun after long mornings of testing.
Fourth Grade
Fourth graders finished up their iLearn testing this week as they completed both the math and science sections. They persevered and feel confident at the end of testing. We enjoyed Kona Ice at recess today and ended with some kickball in the gym with first grade.! Next week, we will be back to our normal routine. We still have 3 1/2 weeks of school left and still lots of fun things to do.
Fifth Grade
This week 5th graders finished up all ILearn testing! Yippee! We have also been reading a class novel, Because of Winn-Dixie. All of our reading, writing, and vocabulary centers around the novel. We are learning how to read with not just a spoon, but with a shovel- to dig deeper into the text. Each student is also assigned a chapter to present as the discussion leader. Picture
We finished our I-learn test this week! I was so proud of the effort that all the students put forth! I can’t wait to see all their scores in a few weeks!
Now that we have that behind us, we will finish a few other year end projects. In social studies, we are working on a ‘Year End Book Project’. The students received details on it today. We will spend the next week working on it in class. Some students may choose to work on it at home as well.
In math, we will review some of our more challenging standards between now and the end of the year. We are also going to plan and take a virtual road trip using some of your math skills.
Have a great weekend! Thank you for making sure your students were at school this week to finish their testing!
Science
Kindergarten – We finished our lessons on seasons. Students also finished their Circle of Seasons posters. We hung these posters in the hallway here at school outside of the science room so that students could display what they learned. We also began work on why animals have babies in the spring rather than other parts of the year. We will continue learning this next week as a follow up to our lessons on seasons. We have one more day next week to finish our weather logs.
1st Grade – This week we finished our computer science unit on digital citizenship. The students really enjoyed this unit. Also this week we had a follow up lesson on sound, which we had learned about some earlier in the year. This lesson looked at sound in a different way. Students got to be sound effects artists and see how silly sounds are made for cartoons and movies. Student then had the chance to make some really cool sounds themselves. The whole class of students also came together to make the sound of a storm for a cartoon.
2nd Grade – This week we continued our unit called “The Work of Water”. Students continued learning about water and how it works and how it affects us and the world we live in. Students learned specifically about weathering & erosion. We got to do a cool experiment where we used model rocks (sugar cubes) to see some of the ways that weathering takes place and how water plays a part in it. We finished out the week learning about what flash floods are and what conditions can cause them. We went on a search, through investigation, to find a place that would be more susceptible to flash flooding than other places, based on the land features.
3rd Grade – This week we jumped deeper into our unit called “The Power of Flowers”. We took a quiz to see if we knew all the plant parts we have learned about. Then we turned our attention to plant reproduction and how plants produce fruit. More specifically we learned how bees play a part in plant reproduction. Students built model flowers and used cinnamon and coffee grounds (model pollen) to investigate and see first hand how pollination actually works.
4th Grade – This we put the finishing touches on our student/teacher co-created rubric for our moon unit. This co-creation helps students play a part in what they are learning, what success looks like, and adds more student ownership to their own learning. We also had our I-Learn Science Practice Test this week. We finished out the week beginning our moon unit by learning about what the moon itself is like (surface features, temperature, etc.).
5th Grade – This week we continued our unit called ” Spaceship earth”, which deals with our planet and the solar system and how the earth interacts with other components in the solar system. This week we specifically learned and discussed the relationships between pieces of our solar system. We focused on the relationship the earth has with other parts of the solar system. We finished the week by learning about seasonal stars and constellations and how it affects what we see on earth. We built a model of the earth and the seasonal constellations to investigate and see why we see what we do throughout the year.
School Counselor
Amidst testing sessions there have been golden moments that are so important to highlight. I have witnessed kids create new games out at recess, rules and all. This game has drawn in all kinds of players- some that I never see on a field. I have seen high energy students sit and play rounds of collaborative board games- working together to defeat the villain. I walk away and observe them encouraging each other, obeying the rules, and taking turns. I saw a quiet student rally his group around a reading program so they could listen to their favorite books as they follow along (no surprise here- Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Star Wars still reign supreme). The tests themselves have been encouraging as well. I have the privilege to hear kids think aloud and let me tell you, wheels are turning and creative juices are flowing. Even if it doesn’t always result in the right answer- I am encouraged by the depth of thought and perseverance they are displaying!
School Nurse
The Mobile Dentist is coming back to Van Buren! Please remember to complete your registration paper and send it back to the school. These are due in by Feb 20th.
This week the Health Room has started seeing the stomach bug. This is not uncommon for this time of year, however it’s never a fun experience. Remember to keep hydrated, popsicles are a good way to rehydrate gently. We do ask that the students be vomit free for 24 hours before returning to school, this will help reduce the spread.
Please remind student to wash their hands often.
