It has been a pretty hectic month. The high number of snow days have had us out of school for all but a few days. We are continuing to finalize a few projects for each class. Destination Imagination preparation has begun for those students involved. Check back next month for more updates.
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It's hard to believe that this year is already half way over. I want to wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season. May your time be spent celebrating and relaxing with family and friends.
How is it possible that it is already November? I know I said it last month, but this year is flying by! Your children have been super busy and working very hard on several different projects since August. Each class has had some focus on STEM activities, reading and writing assignments, math problems, and problem solving activities. This month we are going to begin incorporating some science activities as well as a few research projects. National Elementary Honor Society's canned food drive was very successful. We collected 180 items to donate to The Parish House to help with their needs. Be on the look out for our next service project coming next month!
Important November Dates November 1- 12:30 Dismissal November 6-10- College and Career Readiness Week November 10- No School-Veteran's Day November 16- Midterm 2nd Nine Weeks November 20-24- Thanksgiving break November 28- PTO Union Elementary 4pm It's hard to believe that October is already here. It seems like we are flying through this school year. For some classes we are finishing up our Letters About Literature competition writing, and for others, a bridge building project. We have a lot exciting activities coming up within the next month, including everything from STEM projects to science experiments. Additionally, National Elementary Honor Society is having a canned food drive for the Parish House. They are in desperate need of corn and green beans, but any canned food will be accepted. Donations can be brought to UES from October 9-31.
October Important DatesOctober 12- UES Fourth Grade Recycling Center Trip October 13- Mid-Term First Nine Weeks October 26- UES PTO Meeting 6pm October 31- Fall Festival Happy September everyone! This is the month where summer officially comes to a close and fall begins! Fall is my favorite season, so that makes September a very exciting month for me. During the week of September 11-15, expect progress reports to be coming home.
Within the classroom this month, and possibly the next, students will be working on two-three separate projects. All students will be working on a Letters About Literature project. Students will be writing a letter to the author of their favorite book, explaining to them why they liked their book and how it made them view the world differently. Prior to writing these letters, students will be reading examples of winning letters, going through a packet to help them learn more about the project and what is expected of them. and creating rough drafts. Grades 4-5 will be submitting their letters into the Letters About Literature competition. Another project that students may be working on starting this month is a bridge design project. Students will be learning about different types of bridges, how they are constructed, and what allows them to hold weight. From there, the student will design their own bridge, build it out of Popsicle sticks, and test its ability to hold weight. Both of these are on going projects that all students will complete at some point within the next month or two. Finally, some students have requested to do another novel study this year. This is something that we will begin once the other two projects have been completed by that student. It's a busy month, but I am very excited for the learning the students will be doing. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns. September Important Dates September 13- Mid-Term First Nine Weeks September 20- PLC 12:30 Dismissal I hope everyone had a long and relaxing summer vacation. The new school year is finally here and I am very excited to see where this year takes us. Your students will be bringing home their gifted folder within the week with three things inside. The first is an August Update flyer, the second is the link to get connected to my remind if you haven't already, and the final paper is a parent survey. Please fill out and return this form ASAP. As always if you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me.
August Important Dates: August 23- 12:30 Dismissal August 24- Eagles 101 (4pm) During the months of October and November we are going to focus primarily reading, writing, and math. After viewing the results of the students' STAR scores, I know primarily the areas they need to work on. At different points throughout the next two months students will be doing group book studies, independent book studies, studying myths, legends, and fairy tales, creating their own myth, legend, or fairy tale, and other fun, higher level writing prompts. For math, we will be doing a performance task, which is something that is required of them on the Smarter Balanced test at the end of the year. We will also look into some basic algebra and geometry. We will also be completing a special Veteran's Day activity. Watch for more information on this to come home in the coming weeks.
Students are beginning to explore the topic of physics, "the science of matter and energy , and their properties and interactions." More simply put, physics is the science of how things work. Typically, if you drop an egg, especially from a high distance, it is going to crack. Students have to develop a mechanism to protect their egg from cracking while being dropped from this high distance. They were given no limitation, other than cost and availability of the materials. We are currently in the planning phase, but are quickly getting ready to move on to the building phase. During the planning phase I put a big emphasis on the fact that I wanted students to be the sole designer of this product. I had conversations with them about their designs, but I did not influence their ideas. It is important to learn that in science, and in life, we may not always be right. Sometimes we can plan something out meticulously and it just doesn't work. If our eggs still crack we are going to have some time to reflect. What worked? What didn't work? How can we fix it for next time?
All of this being said, I could use some supplies to help them build their containers. I will be buying some of the basic things that they may need, but if you have any sort of supplies in your home that you would like to donate I would really appreciate it! I do not expect you or your child to have to buy anything for this project, however, any help would be appreciated. I will be taking photos and videos during the egg drop so that you can see how things turned out. :) It has been a great first three weeks of school, and I have loved working with and getting to know your children. I am so excited to see what this year holds for us; I have a lot of big ideas. If you haven't already done so, make sure to sign up for our gifted class on Remind so that you can stay up to date with all our class updates. You can find out how to sign up for remind under the contact link for this website.
Some important dates for September: September 2nd- 12:30 Dismissal September 5th- No School- Labor Day September 9th- Grandparent Breakfast (Union Elementary School) September 21st- 12:30 Dismissal As always, if you have any concerns, comments, or questions, feel free to contact me. :) |
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