January Classroom Newsletter

ACADEMICS:
Spelling: The unit this week focused on spelling rules and words with endings.
Students received information on our school wide spelling bee. We will have a classroom spelling bee on Friday, Jan. 21st.
The top 3 spellers from our class will participate in the school-wide spelling bee on Jan. 25th. The winner from there will be entered into the county spelling bee.
Please encourage your student to practice the words on the list provided to them.

Writing: Please remember to conference with your child about their writing portfolio. Please read the letter your child brought home, and fill out the response form. Please return only the portfolio folder with the parent response sheet by Tues., Jan 18.

Reading: Students are to be reading independently a mystery book of their choice. The book report will be due on Feb. 4th.
In class, students began reading the novel, Shiloh. They will be learning many good reader strategies during the course of this book.

Vocabulary: Words for this week and next are: experiment, hypothesis, procedure, data, variable, conclusion, scientific method

Math: Multiplication and division math facts need to be memorized in order to perform more difficult computation. Please encourage your child to review his/her facts.
This week students continued with multi-digit multiplication and division, adding and subtracting fractional parts, and estimation.

Science: Students are hard at work on their Science Fair projects. I hope that you have read the packet which was sent home last week…it has lots of important information regarding student projects and science fair procedures. Students should be following the due date calendar and completing the requirements for each deadline. The completed project and display board is due Thurs., Feb. 17th so they can be judged on Friday, Feb. 18th.

S.S.- With the Martin Luther King holiday upon us, we read and discussed information about this historical figure.

NOTES FOR PARENTS:

Science Fair: Please encourage your child to stay on track with his/her deadlines. Grading will be as follows:
Required work at deadline…
20 pts/each
Completed science fair journal..
100 pts
Completed project & board…
100 pts

Don’t Forget….
Ms. Stewart will be collecting money and purchasing science display boards if you are interested. The order form came home with your child this week.

Music/Art: The first semester students were fortunate to have art each week. For 3rd and 4th quarter, students will be engaged in music class with Ms. Kunsie.

Supplies: With the start of a new year, students have consumed most of our colored pencils, correcting pens, and colored markers. We could also use more dry erase markers. If you could donate a package, we would be very grateful. Thank you 

Fieldtrip: It was a wonderful day for our fishing trip! Thank you to those parents who spent the day with us.

Reminder: Please remember that in order to volunteer on one of our field trips, you must have your fingerprints on file with the school. I am sorry about the confusion for Thursday’s fieldtrip. Our next fieldtrip will be to the rodeo on Tues., Feb. 22nd.

**Please remember to sign your child’s student report each Friday so it can be returned on Monday.

IMPORTANT DATES:
January
13- Field trip to Lakeside Park
17- MLK Day: No School
18- Skate Night
21- Classroom Spelling Bee
22- Daddy-Daughter Dance: “Winter Wonderland”
24- 100th Day of School. Special Activities will take place.
25- 3rd-8th grade school wide Spelling Bee

*Talent Show Sign-up in January

February:
2- Duds for $1.00 dress down day
4- Mid Quarter ends
4-Character Lunch
7- Love of Reading Week Begins
11- Valentine Dance 5-8th Grade
14- Dentist
17- Science Fair Project Due!
25- Rodeo Field trip
24-27- Rodeo Break
*Talent Show auditions in Feb.

Science Fair Due Dates:
1/8- Permission slip, Project selected, Question formed

1/14- Hypothesis Due

1/18- Procedure & Materials List

2/1- Experiment Completed

2/4- Conclusion Due

2/8- Analysis Due

2/11- Abstract Due

2/17- Final Display Board Due

2/18- LPA Science Fair Judging