Newsletter

Hi,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Writing STAAR Test- Tuesday, March 28 is the big day!  Be sure to help your child realize that this is a great opportunity for them to show their best.  There will be free breakfast on testing day.  The kids will need a book to read, and some neat, nutritious snacks (no juicy or messy fingers, please).  Our lunch will be later than usual so that we can get in our testing time without interruptions.  Please send a few extra snacks with your child to help them have energy to do their best.  Encourage your child to take breaks as needed.  They can put their head down for a few minutes, go to the bathroom, and/or get a drink to help refocus.  Let me know if you have any questions.  The kids have been working so hard and their best effort on testing day will bring them success!

Writing Camp!- We had a wonderful time at Writing Camp.  Each child published TWO expository essays!  

One essay was about something that they are looking forward to doing and reasons why they want to do that.  We had some kids that wanted to be basketball or baseball players, inventors, authors, bakers, and architects.  We also had some that wrote about traveling to Paris, Israel or Europe and Asia. One student couldn't wait to go hunting with Dad again.    

The other essay was a description of a favorite place and explanations why that place is special to them.  Some of our special places were Grandma's house, the living room, the kitchen,the bedroom, their bed, a fort behind the couch, outside with friends, outside in a tree, and the whole house.  Others like going to Idaho, the gym, and Dad's shop. One student wrote about her writer's notebook as her favorite place.  

We worked together to revise and edit and be sure that each expository had specific details to explain what they wanted to do and why.  We worked on exciting leads, engaging transitions that help make the essay flow and are interesting, and strong conclusions that leave the reader thinking.

Writing Camp was about practicing all of our strategies to make our essays the best they can be.  We also practice some spelling and revising and editing with lots of fun games and some passages. However, Writing Camp also had some catchy songs.  Ask your child to sing Camp Write Along, Write, Write Baby, and That Writing Feeling!  I had a great time with your children during writing camp and was impressed with their hard work.  

Look for their orange camp writing folder in their backpacks on Monday.  Review this with them and ask them to explain some of their strategies.  I will also send home copies of their writing from Writing Camp.  Enjoy and thank you for one last review.  

Monthly Reading Challenge for March-Read a book with at least 300 pages!  We are working on our stamina, so our March challenge is to read a book with at least 300 pages. This will count as 2 books on our 40 book challenge.  Notecards for the March Challenge are due on Friday.  We will have a special treat at lunchtime on Monday, April 3. Happy Reading!!!!  

Read about our week:

Reading-Tolerance and respect for all people is a big focus in our class.  We discussed this in social studies when studying the Native Americans and in reading while learning about civil rights. During the next few weeks, we will begin using historical fiction and informational books to learn about WWII.  We will read aloud Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and will discuss the mistreatment of the Jewish people.  We will read many picture books about the Holocaust.  We will learn about Pearl Harbor and the Japanese Internment Camps.  We will also learn about the Navajo Code Talkers.  We use literature to talk about history because it helps us to see the events from the character's point of view.  The goal is for the students to work to stop discrimination of people based on the way they look or their religion and to be respectful and kind to others.

Writing-We will review and take our Writing STAAR test. Then we will work on some poetry, personal narratives, and fantasy stories.  We will decide on pieces that we want to submit for the Rising Star book.  

Spelling-We will review words that are commonly misspelled as well as individual words that are tricky for us.  We will have a test on Friday.

Social Studies-We will work in groups to create an original battle flag for the Texas Revolution and will make a flip book with events from the revolution.  We will start our Texas heroes research by the end of the week, but they won't be due for a few weeks.

Dates to remember:

Monday, March 27-Wear college shirts. Writing Club 2:50-3:50. Bring in food for our food drive.

Tuesday, March 28-STAAR Writing Test

Friday, March 31-Reading Response Letters due.  Spelling test. Be sure to turn in completed reading logs. Wear FCE shirts or purple and green.

Monday, April 3-Wear College Shirts, Service Club from 2:50-3:50

Tuesday, April 4-9:00 PTA General Meeting

Wednesday, April 5-Early Release Day, Kona Ice Sales

Thursday, April 6-Food Drive Ends

Friday, April 7-Reading Response Letters Due, Spelling Test, Be sure to turn in completed reading logs. Wear FCE shirts or purple or green.

Saturday, April 8-Empty Bowl Event-We hope many of you will join us at The Festival on April 8 from 11-2pm at Cedar Ridge High School - for more information, visit emptybowlsroundrock.com or on social media @rremptybowls

Thank you for sharing your child with me.  Let me know if you have any concerns.

Sincerely,

Pam