February 23, 2024
Preschool
We have been learning about insects here in preschool! We’ve looked at different characteristics of different kinds of insects. We’ve also been learning about how to make safe choices when we see an insect. We want to make sure that we stay safe, and that the insect stays safe. This week we’ve been learning the letter Ff. In the following weeks we plan on starting a garden! The preschoolers are so so excited to get started planting!!
Kindergarten
Last week, we donated so many food items for Mother’s Cupboard. We celebrated getting 3rd place from all of our donations with donuts on Friday. They were so YUMMY! We enjoyed trying some new smoothie flavors made by our food service workers. Those were very delicious, too! Please check out the photos from this week! See you next week!
1st grade
First graders were secret agents for their 120th Day of School. We completed 4 missions to save Zero the Hero. Student wrote the numbers 1-120 with spy pens. They had invisible ink and a built in black light. We had a lot of fun in the dark with these. Also, we used magnifying glasses to see small place value block pictures. We had to name the number based on the blocks used. We watched a video about fingerprints. Then each of us got a cup with fingerprints on them. We dusted them with powder and used our black lights to see all of the details. For our fourth mission, kids had a choice of playing a dice game, coloring a mystery picture on a 120 chart, or build a structure with 120 marshmallows and toothpicks. It was quite a fun morning!!!
2nd grade
What an AMAZING week second graders had! We enjoyed a donut party for coming in first place in the Food Drive. I’m so proud of everyone in the class! Way to help out this great cause! We have been learning about money and time in math. I love hearing all the math talk among partners as we are solving problems involving money. We are working so hard on our Opinion writing as we look to finish our books before we leave for spring break! Second graders have decided writing is hard but can be fun! We also enjoyed some delicious smoothies from the Discovery Kitchen visit this week!
3rd grade
Mrs. Ely: This week we have been designing and building fences to keep Jasper, the rabbit, out of the carrot field. The kids have had to estimate the cost of their design, build and test their design, calculate the area and perimeter of their design, improve their design, and finally share their designs with the class. We have had a good time with this challenge and have learned a lot!
Mrs. Stiles: We are working very hard in third grade! This week in writing, we are researching our animals life cycle. In reading we are preparing for the iRead test. In math we are learning about fractions. We are also working on our Area and Perimeter Zoo STEM project. It’s been a great week to be a third grader!
4th grade
We started a new unit in Why Try. The unit is called, Climbing Out. The unit is all about Peer Relationships and Support. We are working on understanding what it means to be kind and how we can be a positive friend with others. We looked at our visual metaphor of geese flying in a “V”. We watched a video about geese, and we talked all about how geese help each other. We’re excited about this unit!
We are still working hard on fractions and decimals in math. We are focusing this week on comparing decimals. We are really analyzing the value of a digit depending on the place value. Understanding tenths and hundredths are new place value spots for us this year, but we are getting stronger and stronger each day!
We are having our Duck Party tomorrow because we got snowed out last week. We got “all our ducks in a row” by getting compliments from substitute teachers and other teachers in the building, so we earned a party!
We’ve had another great week!
5th grade
It has been a busy week in Fifth Grade! In LA, students are reading Bridge to Terabithia and Number the Stars. Students have been working on identifying text structure, and finishing up a poetry unit by writing free verse poetry. In Morphology, students are working on the Latin roots: geo, meter, graph, and thermos. They are getting better at breaking apart words to understand their meaning! Students are also classifying sentences and practicing comma rules.
In Math, students have conquered multiplying with fractions and mixed numbers, and next week will begin dividing with fractions. Students continue to work on IReady Math and Daily Math Review for extra practice.
In Social Studies, our students made timelines of historical events up through the Colonial time period, took a virtual tour of Williamsburg, Virginia, in which they got to try their hand at stitching, making shoes, and writing with a quill pen, and are memorizing their 13 Colonies and their regions.
We will end the week with our Ambassadors delivering canned goods that our school collected for Mother’s Cupboard and with CRAZY SOCK DAY!!!
Science
Scientist of the Week: Ruby Love
This week in science…
Fifth grade students explored how incredibly salty the ocean is, even though we can’t see the salt! In the activity, Tiny Ocean, students created a model ocean to observe how salt seems to completely vanish when dissolved in water. Students then measured and graphed quantities of the water and salt to provide evidence that, even though we can’t see it, the salt still weighs the same amount. Students also created a model salt flat, allowing the water to evaporate, leaving the salt behind.
Fourth grade students learned about the connection between sounds and vibration. In the activity, Paper Cup Telephone, students made telephones using cups and string. Students then modified the design of their telephones using different types of supplies to see if they could improve the sound quality.
Third grade students learned how people create new breeds of animals by selecting individuals with desirable traits. In the visual activity, Designer Dogs, students are shown pairs of adult dogs and three potential puppies. They study the physical traits of the dogs and look for the puppy that shares these traits.
Second grade students examined how large structures like houses are built from smaller pieces. In the activity, Paper Towers, they designed their own structures using an unconventional building material: paper! Students built towers using 3″ x 5″ index cards and paper clips. First, they build tall towers, then they are challenged to build towers strong enough to support a hardcover book.
First grade students developed a model of the sun’s daily path across the sky, then used this model to help someone who’s lost. In the activity, Sun Finder, students created a mobile paper model of the sun and earth to illustrate the position of the sun throughout the day.
Kindergarten students used observations of the four classic seasons to spot patterns and thereby determine the seasons’ order. In the activity, Circle of Seasons, students made observations of the four classic seasons of the temperate zone: snowy winter, warm spring, hot summer, and cool autumn with colorful leaves. Students spotted patterns and determined the order of the seasons.
Speech
Often in speech therapy we use games as incentives! A student will produce their targeted sound in words, phrases, or sentences. Then, they can then take a turn in the game. It helps make the hard work of therapy fun!
