October 20, 2023
Preschool
Preschool has been learning about community helpers this month and today we got to meet with Wayne Law of Summers plumbing! He sat down with our class and tought us all about the ins and outs of this important trade. The kids had a blast!
Preschoolers had so much fun this week playing puppet show and entertaining their friends. We sang Twinkle, Twinkle, Wheels on the Bus, and a few originals I’m not sure I fully understood the words to!
Kindergarten
Wow! We have enjoyed our week back together in kindergarten! We started reading our 1st decodable reader this week. The words in this book include all of the RED words, letters, and sounds we have covered so far in OG. We are so excited to be reading! Please check out our class photos!
1st grade
In our final Unit 1 Second Step lesson, students demonstrated that they can practice and pay attention to learn something new! They loved learning how to draw the hamster named Pepito. They also REALLY loved getting to use a Sharpie!
rst graders have been busy this week. In math, we explored how to represent 2 digit numbers in different ways. We used linker cubes to compose and decompose our numbers. In reader’s workshop, we are learning about nonfiction text features. We created a resource book to use during our nonfiction reading unit.
2nd grade
Second graders have had a very busy week back after fall break. We have been learning how to write equations for story problems involving add to and take from. We have two IU students in our class during the week that have been amazing and helping us learn. In social studies we have been studying geography and had an amazing time getting to act out for our classmates, different landforms while having them try to guess what the landform was. We also learned a song to the tune of Do Re Mi about the seven continents.
Second grade had fun learning about pumpkins in Science.
They also learned lots of bat facts. They made their very own bat to keep.
3rd grade
Third graders adopted a new cow this year!! Her name is Lucy and she’s a month old. She lives in Birdseye, Indiana at Lueken Dairy Farm. She weighs 63 pounds and she’s 23 inches tall. We are excited to learn all about life on the farm and how to take care of a cow!
4th grade
We’ve had another busy week in 4th Grade! We’ve been studying the letter “I” in our RIASEC Code. Letter “I” stands for Investigative. Investigative individuals are analytical, intellectual and observant and enjoy research, mathematical or scientific activities. They are drawn to ambiguous challenges and may be stifled in highly structured environments. We watched a video about making paper airplanes and made our own planes. We are going to fly our airplanes, collect data from 3 different flights, and analyze the data.
In Social Studies, we’ve been using distance keys to measure distances between different cities in Indiana. We also started plotting latitude and longitude coordinates on a secret puzzle that eventually reveals Indiana.
We are very busy reading in Book Clubs. We are learning so much about conflict, theme, lesson, and so much more in our books.
It’s been a great week!
5th grade
Fifth Graders are stepping up in so many ways! First, by memorizing the famous poem, “Little Orphant Annie,” by James Whitcomb Riley. They will perform this poem to the elementary students next week! As they continue their novel, Wonder, students are learning to compare and contrast characters in the novel, summarize, and build vocabulary.
Students are also stepping up to the challenge of Student-Led Parent Conferences next Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evening! Students are preparing folders full of work, and preparing goals for the next nine weeks!
In Math, students are stepping up to a new unit and loving it! They are excited about powers of 10, and exponents. Students were found playing games of concentration- matching the exponential form with factors of ten, as well as with the product!
In Social Studies, students will step up to the challenge of constructing a Native American home from natural materials. FIfth graders will be able to explain different cultures and adaptations that helped these Native Americans survive.
Way to go Helmsburg Fifth Graders! You are working hard and making huge strides in your work ethic, your maturity, and showing empathy for others.
Science
Scientist of the Week: Knox Fawbush
A BIG thank you to the Purdue Extension program for teaching all the classes about apples this week! The lesson including topics such as food waste, production, producers, consumers, healthy eating habits, and using our five senses. Of course, there was lots of apple tasting too! Students also made observations and then voted on their favorite apple based on sight and taste.
