Week of April 27th

Hello parents,
This will be the first normal week that we have had in a while.  I will be sending each of your kiddos home with a picture frame and picture of them with their grandparents by the end of the week.  You may give these to grandparents however you choose.  I had such a wonderful time visiting with all of your families.  It's always fun to see the kids interact with their grandparents and show them what we do here at school.  Thank you all for coming and supporting the kids and Katie Killian at the Operetta.  Katie did an amazing job getting everything organized and teaching the kids.  Please be sure to tell her if you get a chance.

This week:

Language Arts:
Last week we began reading a story in our reading books about a girl who bought a goat and used it to make money so she could go to school.  We did a lot of work with vocabulary and reading strategies as we read the story.
Now this week we will be doing our own writing workshop in a sort of Project Based Learning Style.  I posed this question to the kids:  "What is a major problem around the world, and how can it be solved?"  They will be producing news reports after they have researched their problems to share these current events with you.  I will be putting their videos up on the blog!!!

Math
Tomorrow I will be teaching the kids about making change with money.  We will spend a couple of days on this since it can be a tough thing to wrap their little brains around.  

Science
We have started our last Science unit on animals and ecosystems.   This is a topic that was covered on the achievement tests, but we aren't able to teach it until the spring.  I will be sending home a calendar of due dates and events this week to help you plan for what we are doing.  A major part of the requirements for this project is taking pictures of animals at the zoo.  Please do all that you can to make sure your child is there that day.  It is a fun day of learning!!!

Important Dates to Remember:

• Monday May 4th- Zoo Field Trip 9am - 1:30 pm (We have plenty of parents but you are still welcome to join us!)
• Friday May 15th - Field Day
• Friday May 15th - LAST Day to turn in Missing/Late Work 
• Monday May 18th- Amazing Race at Forest Park 9am - 2:00pm (We have plenty of parents but you are still welcome to join us!)
• Thursday May 21st - 8th Grade Graduation at Concordia campus 7pm
• Friday May 22nd - Last day of school!  11am dismissal