9/28/2023
Preschool
Pre-k is having a blast on our new playground!
Kindergarten
This week in Kindergarten we are learning about the Artistic area of the RIASEC. We stretched our artistic muscles by creating never before seen animals out of Playdough.
First Grade
1st grade learned about what it takes to be an author and an illustrator this week. We had two published authors and illustrators visit us this week! The class got to ask questions about how long it takes to make a book, what the steps are to publish a book and they were reminded they are capable of doing BIG things!
In reading, our first graders got to choose a habitat to explain characteristics and types of life that exists in each of the four we studied as their exit ticket. They did so well on this, we are so proud of them! 🙂
In math, we’ve been studying our 120-chart to find number patterns of +1 or +10 and also learning about decade changes when counting past 9. We’ve also discussed some jobs that people who enjoy math can have such as a video game developer and made connections to which code that belonged to. The children who had the I and C for investigative and creative interests were the ones who raised their hands that they wanted to possibly be a developer, so they’re making those connections on their own! 🙂
In writing, we’ve been making sure to include CUPS in all we write, whether it’s morning work, independent work or writing our sentences to include our new red word.
In social studies, we have been learning about how to get along with others at school and what this looks like with real examples. 🙂
5) We’ve also watched the TedEd videos and have a number of students who are curious about what it takes to make a video covering their big ideas so it’s exciting!
2nd Grade
In the second grade the students are working hard on finding the main ideas of a story, identifying three digit numbers in math, and labeling the continents in social studies. They have been doing an amazing job for Ms. Hartz!
Third Graders
The students are currently working extremely hard at trying to improve their ability to read! The students are also working hard at trying to add 2 and 3 digit numbers!
Fourth Grade
Before too long, the festive, seasonal holidays will be upon us! Transformations across our day and lessons begin to be seen in a new light. As we chase down the last of summer’s bright sunshiney rays, we say hello to crisp, cool air and changing mindsets. Fourth grade ELA & Writing students at Van Buren will soon be submitting their “Playing IN Indiana” themed essays to the state. Students have been working extremely hard to express the ways in which our state offers unique opportunities for PLAY!
Fourth grade mathematicians started their new unit about multiplicative comparisons this week and began modeling these comparisons using connecting cubes.
Fifth Grade
We are digging into elements of fiction and really analyzing fiction stories as readers so we can then be good fiction writers. Students are really starting to make great connections between being ACTIVE readers and analyzing elements of fiction.
Students that have turned in 5 reading logs in a row earned a 5 point pass towards an assignment, test, or a free reading log! There were some big smiles!!
Students have also been working hard at learning their states and capitals!
Science
Kindergarten – This week in science we learned about hibernation. We learned that it is not just sleeping, but instead it is more like the body of the animal pausing. We also learned why they hibernate and what they do to get ready to hibernate.
1st Grade – This week students went on a hunt to find camouflage moths. After finding lots of moths, students also made their own camouflage moths and hid them around the room. The student loved learning what camouflage is and what the purpose of camouflage is. We also did a review of our animal superpowers unit. Next week we begin a new unit.
2nd Grade – This week we continued to learn about the diversity in the different animal habitats, realizing that animals need a habitat that fits their needs and survival. We found out why a group of bighorn sheep travel between two habitats, one in the night, and one in the day. We also investigated to find out why they did this. At the end of the week we just got started on our lesson about frogs.
3rd Grade – Students finished learning about why some animals act the way they do. We continued to learn what all fossils can tell us about past animals. We learned how fossil footprints can tell us if an animal walks on 2 legs or 4 legs. We also learned how to use footprints to see if an animal is walking or running. Students used this information and prepared to race a dinosaur. They learned they can use the length of a dinosaur’s stride to find out how fast they ran. Then they will race those measurements. After all their hard work the students are ready to race a dinosaur on Monday.
4th Grade – This week 4th graders jumped into our PLTW Energy Unit. We spent the week learning more about navigating PLTW. We prepared science notebooks to write down information about what we learn, to write down questions, to answer questions, to track data, and to use for anything we want to write down during the unit. Students also went through energy stations this week. These are stations where they could be openly curious about different types of energy. They observed and investigated things such as flashlights, energy sticks, marbles on a track, a vex super car, and bowling. .
5th Grade – This week we finished observing our mold terrariums as we checked them everyday this week. This week students learned about a pond ecosystem. They also conducted investigations into what is needed for a fish to survive in a pond. We learned that the pond ecosystem involves consumers, producers, and decomposers. We also learned how they each hurt and helped each other. We figured out that there needs to be some carbon dioxide in a bond, but that it doesn’t need to be too little or too much. We finished the week playing a game where each student had to create a model pond to see who could sustain fish life in their pond.
Physical Education
PE we have been working on cooperative team work games and our daily workout starts each PE class.
School Nurse
Hello Everyone! It has been a great start to the year! Here is some information from the health office this week. The “back to school germs” are back! Lets please make sure our students are staying hydrated, eating healthy, and getting a good amount of sleep at night. This will help our immune systems stay strong and fight away any germs we contact. Students, washing our hands is a big part of staying healthy while our systems adjust to being back in school, please do your part by using soap, and saying your ABC’s while you scrub! I am glad to see you all again, and look forward to a healthy year for all!.
