Wow! It's amazing what a little snow can do! I know the kids had a great time in the snow! Coming
back to school for two days was probably a little tortuous for them but they did really well and made
it through! The schedule is now completely messed up but I believe we have PE tomorrow so wear
your sneakers just in case!
Ok...so everything I put on here for last week is what we will do this week because of all that great
white fluffy stuff we got to play in for three days! So, please understand why this message is very
similar to the message last week. I did add some important dates to the bottom of this page and
updated things in the paragraphs, so take a look!
This week we have begun teaching the kids how to divide a one digit number into a three digit
number (the dreaded long division....) I have not sent home practice on these yet because the way
our textbook teaches the students to do a long division problem is a little different than what we
learned (old timers that we are...me included!) in school. So, as soon as the kids become a little
more proficient with these new models I will show them how we learned long division. :0) Please try
to stay away from teaching them the way we learned just yet....I know it's hard, but the way the
textbook teaches them is actually very logical and it helps the kids make more sense of the process.
:0) So, needless to say, we'll be working on this skill a lot.
We have finally moved on to narrative text as a focus! We will still siphon in the expository text
along with the narrative but we will mainly focus on stories and poems now. We will also be focusing
our vocabulary efforts on words with prefixes, suffixes and learning their root words. Students did
very well with the words last week and learning how to break down a word is very important! During
this time, we will talk about plot and conflict resolution, inferring, main idea and supporting details
and more! We have a lot of work to do!
This week we will be having a published writer come and work with us in the classroom. Students
will have the benefit of being taught by an actual author! Her name is Barbara Cleary. She's local to
Raleigh and part of the funds to hire her for the week that she will be with us partially come from the
United Arts Council and the rest of the funds come from our PTA. This is a wonderful opportunity
for our students. I will send home additional information about Ms. Cleary this week. This letter will
be from Ms. Cleary directly and will include the week she will be with us. Our schedule for Ms. Cleary
is.... Monday: 2:25-3:30, Tuesday: 10:15-11:10, Wednesday: 12:45-1:15, Thursday: 11:15-11:40 &
12:45-1:15 (no recess today), Friday: 9;15-10:10
In science this week, we are starting the electricity and magnetism unit for third quarter. Students
have finished their Food Chemistry unit. Ask the kids about what they did in Science Lab! They will
be doing some really cool experiments with Electricity and Magnets! Students have already
deciphered what types of things magnets stick to and have tested materials. They have also read
about how magnets have force fields around them and how to tell what the poles are!
In Social Studies we will begin a North Carolina Landmark project that will take us through the entire
quarter. This project will be done at school and will involve writing letters, technology and making a
brochure about the landmark they choose to research. Students may use technology at home but
must keep their brochure materials at school to do the work.
The kids earned 35 compliments and have voted on a reward! They decided to get a 2 day
homework pass. These passes will be given to students when we get back to school (hopefully
Monday). They are allowed to use the pass for one whole night's worth of homework. So any
assignments given for the night of their choosing is included in one pass. Students have been
advised that in the event of accidental loss, I will not replace the passes. These passes are their
responsibility. I also told them that they would be responsible for knowing the skill even if they used
their homework pass. (And they still chose the homework pass?!)
The kids have set a goal to collect 600 cans of food for school food drive! Yes, it's a lofty goal but we
are already down to 521 cans that we have left to collect! Some of the kids brought in cans the very
first day! We thank all of you for sending them in! If you have any type of canned food at home that
you will not need and can help us collect food for those less fortunate than ourselves, please send
them in with the kids! When we reach our goal of 600 cans, the kids will have a celebration
(provided by me) to applaud them for getting to their goal!
We are still collecting box tops and aluminum can tabs! Please save these and send them in! The
box tops are a great way for our school to get money for needed supplies. The tabs go to the Ronald
McDonald house in Durham to help the families that need a place to stay while their loved one is
being treated at Duke.
Here are some reminders:
February 11: Valentine Glyph Homework due-shoe box for collecting Valentines!
February 12: Wear Red Today!
February 15: Last call for permission slips and money for field trip
February 15th: Is no longer a Workday! Students will be in school!
February 16th: Field Trip to History Museum-Downtown Raleigh
March 2nd: Field Trip to NC Symphony! Field Trip slips will be coming home this week!
March 17th: St. Patrick's Day-Wear Green!
March 18th: Book Report Activities from home are due
Have a super week with all of the sunshine headed our way!
Sue Cole
