May 30-June 2nd A Peek at the Week

Dates To Note:

Monday: No School

Tuesday: Art Print

Friday: Field Day

Please let me know if your child will need a lunch the last day of school. The cafeteria is trying to get a count so we don't waste food. 

I am beginning to send home supplies that are no longer needed. Please check your child's backpack and clean out the supplies that are in there. Also, don't throw out the items. They are great resources for next year, especially the Science and Social Studies items. 

     Math News

     We will be having Math in our homeroom for the remainder of the year. We will be learning the multiplication and division algorithms and area and perimeter. 

Reading

     I have two groups finishing up their books and two groups that have completed their books. Once finished, the group is creating the setting of their novel within Minecraft. So Cool!!! 

Writing News

     We will be using our illustrated journals to write about all other areas of the curriculum. 

Science

     Last week we found similarities and differences between the earth, sun, and moon. This week we are learning the different theories held so long ago about our solar system and beginning to discover the planets!

May 22-26 A Peek at the Week

Dates To Note:

Monday: Final DSA for the year

Wednesday: MATH SOL Part 1-No Calculators allowed

Thursday: MATH SOL Part 2-Calculators Permitted

     We will have our Math SOL this week. This test is broken into two parts to help students not become so fatigued. Testing will begin at approximately 8:30. Students have as much time as they need to complete the test. You can help at home by keeping this week as normal as possible. Lots of rest and good foods including protein help children focus and work hard. 

Good Luck to our DI Team heading to Globals. We are so proud of all your hard work!

Math News

     REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! WE CAN DO IT!!

Reading

     The Reading SOL went very smoothly. Your children worked so hard and I am so proud of them. We will continue working on our fantasy book clubs this week.  

Writing News

     Fiction stories are wrapping up! I have returned a few for a second look so students get the best score they can.  

Science

     We are beginning the Solar System Unit this week. This is a great way to end the year. It allows for SO many fun activities and extra things to do. 

May 15th --May 19th

Dates To Note:

Monday: Reading Focus: Test Taking Strategies

Thursday: Word Study Test

Friday: READING SOL

     We will have our first SOL test this Friday. Testing will begin at approximately 8:30. Students have as much time as they need to complete the test. You can help at home by keeping this week as normal as possible. Lots of rest and good foods including protein help children focus and work hard. 

Math News

     The Math SOL will be taken next week and is broken into two days, computation on Wednesday and calculator permitted section on Thursday.  

Reading

     Fantasy books are moving quickly. The students are doing a great deal of reading every day, building some excellent reading stamina. We have been focusing on cause and effect and fact opinion as we read. Ask your child if they have been a good reading detective and found both of those as they have been reading.  

Writing News

     Fiction stories are under way! I am so excited to reading this fun and creative stories. 

Science

     This week your children will be preparing their own weather forecast based upon a map. We will be using the Green Screen App on the iPads to make a video of each weather forecast. 

May 8th -- May 12th A Peek at the Week

Dates To Note:

Monday: Reading Focus: Inference

Monday: Last Word Study List

Thursday: Reading Practice Test

Thursday: Weather Test

Friday: GLOW test

Friday: Visit from Meteorologist

     I don't know how to thank each one of you for all the generous gifts last week. Plants, sweets, and all the gift cards, it was beyond what any one person deserves. I feel so lucky to have each one of your children every day. They make me smile, keep me on my toes, and make me want to come to work each day. I am so grateful for each one of you!! 

Math News

     Math will be focused on several mini units and review for the remainder of the year. Please check in often with your child to make sure they are focused on the skills being taught. 

Reading

     Fantasy books are moving quickly. The students are doing a great deal of reading every day, building some excellent reading stamina. They are also learning how to run a discussion. This is a difficult skill to acquire, but so important!! Ask your child when they are the discussion director and what questions they plan to ask the group. 

Writing News

     This week we are learning how to formulate a solid fiction story. Students will be encouraged to use graphic organizers and create a 3-5 paragraph essay. 

Science

     This week your children will be reading weather maps and preparing their own weather forecast based upon a map. Don't forget to study for the test!!!

May 1st - May 5th

Dates To Note:

Monday: New TFK

Monday: New GLOW List

Tuesday: Fire Drill

Thursday: Trip to Camp Albemarle

Friday: Word Study Tests

     We are heading to Camp Albemarle Thursday. Please make sure you child has old clothing that can get dirty and a change of shoes and socks for the trip. No glass containers are allowed. 

Math News

     Math will be focused on several mini units and review for the remainder of the year. Please check in often with your child to make sure they are focused on the skills being taught. 

Reading

     Book Clubs began last week. It was interesting to watch the child begin to learn how to have a good conversation about the book they are reading. This is such an important skill and will benefit your child for their futures. Please ask them about the book they are reading!

Writing News

     Fiction paragraph this week-- It All Went Wrong...??

Science

     This week we are focusing on weather fronts and air pressure. It would be great if you discussed these concepts at home! 

Peek at the Week April 24th -- April 28th

Dates To Note:

Monday: New TFK

Monday: New Word Study Lists

Wednesday: Assembly

Thursday: Viewing 2nd grade performance

Friday: GLOW Test

     We are heading to Camp Albemarle next week. There is a permission slip coming home in Monday's folder. Make sure you sign and return it as soon as possible. 

Math News

     Math will be focused on several mini units and review for the remainder of the year. Please check in often with your child to make sure they are focused on the skills being taught. 

Reading

     We are beginning our Fantasy Unit. Each student picked the book they would like to read and will be doing so in Book Club style. This really focuses on discussion of the novel and inferring skills. 

Writing News

     Fiction paragraph this week-- A trip to...??

Science

     We learned about the types of precipitation and how to tell them about.  You can help at home by randomly asking them how we measure air pressure, humidity, temperature, or the wind. You can also ask how hail is formed. 

A Peek at the Week! April 17- April 21

Dates To Note:

Monday: Introduce Poetry Unit-Passage home tonight

Monday: New GLOW Unit

Wednesday: Poetry Passage Home Tonight

Friday: Word Study Test

Friday: Poetry Passage Assessment

     Mrs. Elsie will have a substitute on Tuesday and Wednesday taking care of family matters. 

Math News

     Math will be focused on several mini units and review for the remainder of the year. Please check in often with your child to make sure they are focused on the skills being taught. 

Reading

     It's POETRY WEEK!! We will be studying and writing different types of Poetry. Another focus will be to interpret Poetry. This is a VERY hard skill and requires students to re-read the poem several times. Reading homework this week will also be poetry. Please help your child read the poems and discuss them together. 

Writing News

     We will be writing several types of poems this week. As your son or daughter what their favorite type of poem is!

Science

     We learned about the weather tools meteorologists use to forecast the weather. You can help at home by randomly asking them how we measure air pressure, humidity, temperature, or the wind. 

Peek at the Week April 10-April 14th.

Dates To Note:

Monday: Practice Reading Testing

Monday: New Word Study Lists

Tuesday: Substitute in the afternoon; Mrs. Elsie at an appointment. 

Wednesday: Trip to Jamestown; Arrival as normal, please make sure you have arrangements to pick up your child at Brownsville at 5:30. 

Thursday: Practice Math Testing

     We are heading to Jamestown on Wednesday. Please make sure your child has a packed lunch and several snacks to get through the day. We will be leaving Brownsville around 8:30 and will not be returning until after 5:00. There is no bussing home; instead families need to make separate arrangements. 

Math News

     Math will be focused around several mini units and review for the remainder of the year. Please check in often with your child to make sure they are focused on the skills being taught. 

Reading

     We are still working on our Historical Fiction novel, Al Capone Does My Shirts. The goal is to finish that novel next week and then begin fantasy. 

Writing News

     We are working beginning our fiction unit. Students are encouraged to create fasinating stories with a great deal of imaginiation! 

Science

     WEATHER!!! We are beginning our new unit on weather. Please spend some time looking at weather maps and watching weather focecasts at home. 

A Peek at the Week: 4 days until Spring Break!!!!

Dates To Note:

Monday: TFK Passage

Tuesday: Visit from Shenandoah Rangers

Thursday: TFK & GLOW Quizzes

Friday: No School; Green Work Day for Teachers

Tuesday and Thursday this week, I will be taking a small group to WAHS for Minecraft.edu mentoring. 4 of our students will being teaching the high schoolers the best tips and tricks for using Minecraft in the classroom. WOW!!!

Math News

     Each class will be taking the 3rd quarter cumulative test this week. It will be given in two parts; a calculator and non-calculator portion. This is to simulate SOL testing. Please make sure your child has a good breakfast and gets a good night sleep each evening. 

**PVCC is offering a few math event on April 22nd from 1-3:30 pm. It is titled Astronomath, and will include various activities that help build critical thinking and developmental math skills. If you are interested, please register at ASTRONOMATH REGISTRATION

Reading

     Lemon Cake is the new curiosity! One of the main characters really enjoys lemon cake. I am going to try and bring some in for the class to sample. 

Writing News

     We are working on our presentations of our animals. The papers are complete, and boy are they amazing! 

Science

     Presentations will be this Wednesday. If their papers are any indication of what is to come, it's going to knock my socks off. I am so impressed by their posters and papers!!!  

Peek at the Week: March 20-March 24

Dates To Note:

Monday: Fiction Passage Week & New GLOW List

Tuesday: Tornado Drill

Thursday: Fiction Passage Quiz

Friday: Word Study Tests

Math News

     Graphing is our focus this week. We will be looking at several types of graphs, including bar graphs and line plots. Any graph you see at home, talk over with your child. Ask them a new title, or what is on the X axis and Y axis. Your support is so important!

**PVCC is offering a few math event on April 22nd from 1-3:30 pm. It is titled Astronomath, and will include various activities that help build critical thinking and developmental math skills. If you are interested, please register at ASTRONOMATH REGISTRATION

Reading

     Al Capone is moving along nicely. The class is really enjoying the characters and learning about life during the depression through a child's eyes. 

Writing News

     We finished typing our rough drafts last week and we are focused on the editing part of writing. Ask your child what is one structural and one behavioral adaptation of their animal. 

Science

     How is the Animal Project coming along? It is due next Monday so hopefully everyone is working hard on their animal. Please remember, this is your child's project. Support is great, but let them do it!

March 13 - March 17th Peek at the Week

Dates To Note:

Monday: TFK Magazine & New Word Study Lists

Thursday: TFK Quiz

Thursday Night: #BeeHIve Night: Classroom open house from 5:30-6:30. 

Friday: GLOW Tests

WEATHER UPDATE!!

     It is hard to believe, but a possible storm could potentially modify our school attendance this week. I will be posting the Reading and Writing assignments in Google Classroom. For those students that typically ask for paper copies, I will provide those tomorrow. I ask that students work each day that we are out on their assignments. Due dates will remain. 

Math News

     As the quarter begins to wind down, it's important to revisit the skills that have been taught this year. Students will be taking a cumulative assessment the last week of the quarter. We will be working on graphing skills and review up until that day. 

**PVCC is offering a few math event on April 22nd from 1-3:30 pm. It is titled Astronomath, and will include various activities that help build critical thinking and developmental math skills. If you are interested, please register at ASTRONOMATH REGISTRATION

Reading

     We have started Al Capone. The students are doing a fantastic job discussing character traits and point of view. 

Writing News

     We wrapped up our research last week and will begin writing our first drafts of our paper this week.  

Science

     Did you see the at home project for our ecosystems unit? If not, please let me know. I can't wait to see the amazing structures the students bring in to share. 

A Peek at the Week March 6th-March 10th

Dates To Note:

Monday: Fiction Passage Week & New GLOW List

Thursday: Fiction Passage Quiz

Friday: Word Study Tests

Math News

     Continue work on Fraction Computation. Students are slowly beginning to grasp skill, but it is a rough road. Any practice you can do at home would be appreciated!
**PVCC is offering a few math event on April 22nd from 1-3:30 pm. It is titled Astronomath, and will include various activities that help build critical thinking and developmental math skills. If you are interested, please register at ASTRONOMATH REGISTRATION

Reading

     So last week, we got very wrapped up in our Jamestown projects, so I postponed beginning our novel. We will begin this week, I promise. Mrs. Herring's group will also resume. 

Writing News

     We are beginning a HUGE Project on a Virginia animal. Your child will choose and animal to research and then dig into learning about it. This is an "at school" project, and shouldn't need to be done at home. 

Science

     We are beginning our Ecosystem Unit this Monday. This unit will encompass our content time during the month of March. There is a note in the Monday folder that explains the at home project that all students will be expected to do. Let me know if you have any questions. 

Peek at the Week February 27th-March 3rd

Dates To Note:

Monday: TFK Introduction & New Word Study Lists

Wednesday: Yearbook Sales Begin

Thursday: Fire Drill, TFK quiz, Jamestown Assessment

Friday: Variety Show

Math News

     This week we will be focusing on the computation of fractions. This is a very difficult skill because you have to put many things in place before you are able to add or subtract the actual fractions. Please practice this skill with you children at home. 

Reading

     We are beginning a class novel, Al Capone Does My Shirts. It is a story about a young boy during the depression that goes to live on Alcatraz Island because it is the only job his father could get during this awful time. The class has really enjoyed novels about the past and I hope that this book does not disappoint. 

Writing News

     We are finishing up our personal narrative stories this week. It has been extremely interesting to see the class take a piece of writing and expand on its details. I look forward to reading them!

Social Studies

     As requested, the students will be completing their Jamestown unit with projects inside Minecraft to accompany the assessment. I have also provided and alternate assignment for those who do not want to use technology to show what they have learned. 

February 20th- February 24th Peek at the Week!

Dates to Note this Week:

Monday: New GLOW Unit

Thursday: Two Fiction Passage Test

Friday: Word Study Test

Math News

The Geometry Assessment was a challenging one. I will continue to revisit the more difficult areas throughout the remainder of the quarter. We are heading into fraction and decimal computation.

Reading News

We are coming to the end of our book groups within the historical fiction genre. Each group will be making a book trailer for their novel this week. The movies will be posted on their websites by Friday.

Writing News

This week the students will pick a topic they have previously done, and turn it into an essay. The set-up will be the same as our Paragraph of the Week, but instead, they will produce a full 5 paragraph essay.

Social Studies News

We are beginning the second part of your Jamestown unit. This unit goes very quickly and we will be culminating our study with an assessment and a magazine cover project.

February 13th- February 17th A Peek at the Week!

Dates to Note this Week:

Monday: New TFK and Word Study

Tuesday: Valentine’s Day; Optional Card passing out

Wednesday: Jamestown VS.3 Assessment

Thursday: TFK Quiz & Art Print

Friday: GLOW Quiz Units 1-3

Math News

We are wrapping up our Geometry Unit and getting ready to begin Decimal and Fraction Computation. Fraction computation is a very challenging SOL so we will be spending a great deal of time on it!

Reading News

We are coming to the end of our book groups within the historical fiction genre. We will begin a whole class novel, Al Capone Does My Shirts, in a few short weeks.

Writing News

I have made writing a real priority this nine weeks. I see a great deal of growth with our weekly paragraphs. Last week, we began journal writing every day. I set the timer for 10 minutes and the only rule is their pencils must be moving. They can write about anything they choose, as long as words are going on the paper. I am really impressed by how well they did with this! I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Social Studies News

We are set to take our first of two Jamestown Unit tests this Wednesday. A study guide went home last week, and there are lots of foldables and notes your child has to study with. Let me know if you have any questions.