campus news 3-26-10

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Campus News

Lower Division NewsletterMarch 26, 2010

Junior Kindergarten

Language Arts

Our new theme will be “Growing and Changing”. We will discuss

life cycles of people and animals and observe how we havechanged over time, as well as learn how nature changes!

We will introduce the letter “E” and “D” and the High FrequencyWords – play and she. We will introduce the “ox” word family.

Handwriting will focus on the letter “Nn” and “Ww”, as wecontinue to practice writing our first and last names and practicethe proper pencil grip.

Social Studies

We will talk about family history and relationships and practice ournew virtue, “Truthfulness”. We will also discuss caring for our

environment and how our clothing depends on the environment.Through our discussions, we hope to become aware of what itmeans to become a consumer.

Science “Investigating Water” will be our new theme for April and May. Wewill be learning through a lot of play activities and experimentswith what sinks, floats, and dissolves.

Math

We will demonstrate an awareness of symmetry and continue topractice our measuring, graphing, tally marks, capacities, andweighing. We will represent, predict, and extend patterns andlearn how to classify, collect, and record data by creating chartsand graphs.

Senior Kindergarten

Day of Achievement is fast approaching. We can’t wait to see you on May7 th at 9:30. Please go over the lines that we will send home in Friday’s folder.

Language Arts

We will be starting our sea life unit .The children will be listening to the story of Swimmy and The Rainbow Fish . We will focus our lessons on listening comprehension and identifying story elements:characters, setting, events, problem/solution and conclusions. The children will be involved with several

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art projects that will spark their creativity and help them to re-

tell the story to you. Daily reading groups help the childrenwork on blending and segmenting words, comprehension, andretelling the story. Reading each evening before bed willgreatly help to improve your child’s reading. In phonics thisweek, the children will review long vowels /a/, /e/ and /i/. The

children will also be reviewing blends and digraphs. Thechildren are learning to expand their ideas when writing. Themain focus is brain storming their ideas on one given topic.This is helping them to organize and develop all of the traitsof a good writer.

We will continue to work on ideas, organization, word choice,and conventions.

Social Studies and Virtues

The children will go over their phone numbers,

address, and tying their shoes. These are valuable

self-help skills. Please reinforce these at home. Thechildren will be on all of these things in the upcoming

weeks.

This month, the virtue is Truthfulness. Students willread books and discuss the importance of truthfulness.

Math Our focus the next couple of weeks will be reviewingtens/ones, odd and even numbers, adding andsubtracting numbers to 15, using our touch points to count money, and our May calendar with complex

patterns. We will continue with place value to100, adding with tens and ones, fractions, telling time, and3-dimentional shapes. On Friday, we will be going over to first grade and doing Munchie Math with them.

Science

Our Sea life unit is off to a great start. Mrs. Szarko will read us a great story during media time this week on the oceans. The children will look at maps to identify the oceans and talk about many different typesof fish.

Grade 1

Language Arts

In reading, the children are using different strategies for comprehension and decoding unknown words,

such as using context clues, picture clues, and reading on to see if they can figure out an unknown word.

This week in language arts, we will continue to find root words and learn how to add suffixes to shortvowel words.

Social Studies Social Studies is always fun! We are learning about the 7 continents and special land forms such as

mountains, rivers, lakes, and deserts.

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Math

In math we will continue to work on mastering math facts to 18. Please continue to practice eachevening. The children are expected to master 50 facts in 5 minutes by the end of the year. Practice

makes perfect. Our next unit in math will cover the value of coins to one dollar and counting coins to one

dollar. Please practice counting money to one dollar.

Science

In science, we will finish up our unit on measuring and weighing using non–standard units of measurement as well as standard units of measurement. The children are enjoying measuring themselvesand other classroom objects.

Grade 2

Language Arts

The second graders are really enjoying our new theme “Family Time.” We have talked about people inour families and then we talked about special foods that represent our culture. We will continue to readstories that talk about families. We also began to read Charlotte’s Web together as a group. Thechildren like the story and enjoy reading a big chapter book together. I am so happy that they are soengaged during our reading experiences.

As we continue the theme, we will review reading strategies while developing story elements andretelling skills. The selections will help us to predict, make judgments, make inferences, monitor and

clarify, sequence events, and summarize. Our phonics and spelling skills focus will include the sound of yat the end of words, the prefix un–, base words, –ed and –ing endings, and gh, k(n) and b silentconsonant sounds. Our writing experiences will center upon developing good paragraphs with details,

composing letters, writing an informative paragraph, and writing stories. Our grammar will focus onnouns and verbs.

Social Studies

We will begin an inquiry of United States symbols and United States major landforms. The students will

begin by exploring landforms using play dough and then research a type of landform for a project. Wewill use maps again to identify landforms in our country and where they are located. Our country is agreat big country, and it is very beautiful!

Science

We will be wrapping up our unit “Changes.” We will review solids, liquids, and gases. We will test,observe, and describe changes in experiments. We will explore looking at rust and identify solids and

liquids that can interact in a variety of ways. The second graders will then begin the last unit of study “Balancing and Weighing.” The children will build structures that balance and then explore the balancebeam.

Math

We continue to practice regrouping when adding and subtracting. Our main focus of study has beencounting money. We will continue to develop our money skills by making change with nickels, dimes,and quarters and use these coins to show different ways to make certain amounts. Then, we will begin

to focus on time with hour and half-hour, writing time, telling time in 15 minute intervals, and identifyingelapsed time. Our calendar focus will look at days, weeks, and months. We always continue to practice

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problem solving and our math facts.

Grade 3

Language Arts

Students are now reading and recording their individual biographies in class. All of the biographies areinteresting, but they are of varying lengths. If your child has selected a longer biography, it may be

necessary for them to complete a chapter or section at home. We need your help to be sure the book gets back into your child’s backpack so they are ready for the next day.

Third grade is doing a wonderful job writing their opinion papers. We will continue working on them andsharing them. In addition, we will be learning capitalization rules. Soon the animal reports will be madeinto a class book which promises to be the best ever written!

Social Studies

We will be learning about the Spanish explorers and their impact on Florida. After reading about the fourmain Spanish explorers, students will create a poster which highlights the main facts learned about each

explorer.

Science

The rock projects were fantastic! I do hope you had the

opportunity to see them in the media center. Theresearched facts and creativity used for the modelswere impressive. It is also very exciting to hear aboutthe connection your child now has with their particularlyrock or monument. It’s just the best!

We have moved into our sound unit and things arecertainly humming and buzzing. Students will be

exploring sound through vibrations they can see and notsee. From there we will explore pitch and what we cando to change pitch. Stay “tuned;” I hope you will be

hearing about some exciting instruments that we will becreating in class. Students will also be learning about the parts of the ear and how to protect their

hearing.

Due to circumstances beyond our control….the weather, we missed the opportunity to plant another

vegetable garden in time to harvest before the end of the year. So we have decided to plant a beautifulflower garden. I look forward to a harvest of spectacular colors!

Math

In math we have been studying time using analog clocks. This is the perfect opportunity to review thefive times table! We encourage you to ask your child the time at various points of the day. If you havedigital time, please ask your child to say the time in a different way using the words, minutes, quarter, to,past or after. If we do not get to the test before break, upon our return we will review time, using acalendar, and schedule to prepare for our chapter test.

Grade 4

Language Arts

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We are busy working on our state research project. We

will be completing our postcards, brochures, state facts,and mini biographies in class. Upon completion, theprojects will go home to be added to the backboards forpresentation day. Travel brochures have been orderedand should be arriving to your homes over the break.

They may be utilized however the students deemnecessary - for information or to cut up for the picturesand maps. You may find yourselves planning a summervacation after all is said and done! The students will alsobe working on an opinion essay sharing why someoneshould choose to visit their state. We will continue

reading the works of Roald Dahl in our reading groupsthrough the end of the year.

Social Studies

Our next region of study will be the Midwest. We will focus on thegeography, early history, and transportation. Our skills focus will bereading flowcharts and comparing historical maps.

Science

Our unit on Motion and Design is moving forward with a high level of enthusiasm. The students have constructed their “standard vehicles” from K’nex building materials and will use them to conduct theirinvestigations. They will be modifying their vehicles to meet time andweight challenges, experimenting with rubber band energy, evaluatingdesign features that reduce or increase friction, and adapting theirvehicles to hold a sail. In their free time, they’ve enjoyed buildingramps and jumping their vehicles in the back of class. Imagine that.

Math

After the break, we will be identifying geometric figures and finding the area, volume, and perimeter of

solid figures in Chapter 18. We will continue quizzes on Fridays to assess the fast recall of multiplicationand division facts.

Our Odyssey of the Mind teams will present the skits that earned a second placefinish at the recent Regional competition. They will perform during the first grade

assembly on April 21, 2010 at 2:30 p.m.

Variety show auditions will be held from 3:00-4:00 p.m. onThursday, April 22nd & Friday, April 23rd.

Save the dates:

JK and SK Day of Achievement: May 7, 2010

Grade 1 – 4 Day of Achievement: May 21, 2010

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Upcoming Events…..

March 29 – April 9, 2010No School – Spring Break

April 20, 2010

Fourth grade parents meeting with fifth grade teachers and Mr. Pitcairn – 8:45 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. in the5th /6th grade suite in McCormick Campus

April 21, 2010

Transition Day – all grades will visit with their grade for the coming school yearGrade 4 – 8:05 – 10:15 – drop off at McCormick Campus All other grades – 9:00-9:30 a.m. at Wendlek Campus

Grade 1 hosts assembly – dress uniforms – 2:15 p.m.Odyssey of the Mind teams perform at Grade 1 assembly – 2:15 p.m.

April 22, 2010Day of Manners – dress uniforms

Grade 1 goes to the puppet theater – dress uniforms – 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.Grade 2 Parent Conferences

April 23, 2010Grade 2 to Tampa Theater – dress uniforms

April 26, 2010JK Parent Conferences

April 27, 2010SK Parent Conferences

April 28, 2010

Grade 1 Parent Conferences

April 29, 2010Spring Concert – McCormick Gym

April 30, 2010Grade 3 Parent ConferencesSK and Grade 1 to Honeymoon Island

Second Grade Gets to Bake Bread at Publix

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First Grade Visits ABC Studios

Both first grade classes got to visit atelevision studio and sat in on a livebroadcast. They learned about hownews broadcasts are prepared andpresented. They had a wonderfullearning experience!

campus news 3-26-10

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