Weekly Newsletter

Hello families! I hope that this newsletter finds you all well. I realize it is only Wednesday, and you might be wondering why the letter is being posted so early, but like I said last week.....I will be gone this Friday. As a result of that I am doing everything I can to get ready for it. Please understand that things may change since it is being posted early, but more than likely, this will be our plan for next week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Extras: Mass on Wednesday will be at the Church for May Crowning. Please make sure that your child has returned their permission slip. On Monday in computers, the students will start their Learnia reading and math testing.

Our agenda for next week:

Math: Our week next week will begin with polygons. We will learn about what a polygon is, and use geoboards as a way to create our own. On Wednesday we will talk about tessellations, and use pattern blocks to create examples. Later in the week we will learn about the different types of triangles (equilateral, isosceles, and scalene), and then we will spend some time reviewing angles, polygons, and other shapes.

Reading: Our story next week is “Elena's Serenade”, and this will be our last story in our books. As always, we will be doing activities all week that relate to and involve the story. We will have a spelling test next week, so please make sure that your child is studying their words. There will also be pages from the spelling book that need to be completed by Friday.
**Book groups will continue through the end of the month. The students are doing a wonderful job, and really seem to be enjoying it. We have book group time on Tuesdays and Thursdays.**

Social Studies: Next week the students will be working on an activity called "Plan a Community". They will be given a grid, and directions on where to place each building on the grid. It involves a lot of planning, and knowing how to use space. It may take them a few tries to get everything to fit. It should be exciting!

Science: Things continue to go well the the chicken eggs. One week from today is officially 21 days, which is about how long it takes, so the anticipation is growing. We have also been growing bean plants, and some of them are really taking off!
In science next week we will be finishing up our life cycles unit. We will read about how the way we grow, and the needs we have, are similar to plants in some ways. On Wednesday we will do a little reviewing, and on Friday we will have a quiz on the life cycle of plants. We will also spend some time in our nutrition books on Friday too.

Handwriting:Please continue to encourage your child to slow down, and do their best handwriting on their homework. I remind them daily to do their best in class, and I am also pushing them to write as much in cursive as they are comfortable with. I have seen a great deal of improvement in their cursive. Ask them to write you a little sample some time.

Religion: In religion next week we will start a series called "Fully Alive". This book is divided into themes. The first theme we will focus on is how we are "Created and Loved by God". As a class we will explore how God knows our names, and our gifts and talents. Later in the week we will start the theme that discusses "Living in Relationship". With this theme we will start to explore what makes up our families.

Art: I have declared Thursday as a messy art day. I have not decided for sure what our project will be, but it will be a little more messy than normal.

May Birthdays:
Sam~ May 10th
Jack~ May 11th
Triston~ May 25th