Hello Everyone,
This week's newsletter will be very brief as Ms. Nozsa and I are working to prepare the kids' narrative reports. I absolutely love the narrative reports because they provide such specific information about each child's learning. That said, there is a slight sigh of relief when they're done!
Here are some items of note from the past week, as well as the future...
* Our class will be signing at the Sparkleberry Fair on Saturday, April 26th. I believe our time is around 1pm. I'll let you know more details as the date draws closer.
* THANK YOU SO MUCH for your contributions to Teacher Appreciation week. We had a luncheon yesterday which meant not having to pack a lunch (my least favorite of all morning chores). Our classroom door was decorated quite festively as well. I could never truly articulate how appreciative I am of all your support!
* Ms. Nozsa will be taking over teaching responsibilities on Monday and be leading this ship for the next two weeks. I'll be in and out from time-to-time during the day and then again after school to help offer any needed support. She poised and prepared to do a great job.
* MAP testing will be the next two weeks. We are scheduled to do it on Monday but I'm going to switch it to Thursday to work around a few other conflicts. There is nothing you need to do for this. It's not a big deal at all.
* This week we have been reading news articles during reading workshop as we are learning to identify the important details, respond to as well as summarize the text, and build conversations around our thinking. The kids really enjoyed reading about and debating: (1) Should technology be allowed in National Parks?, (2) Should SF ban the sale of disposable water bottles?, and (3) How much homework should students get?. If you didn't hear about these at home you might want to ask. Their discussions are so rich.
* In math we've been studying fractions - fraction of a whole as well as fraction of a group. We'll continue with this next week.
* Ms. Nozsa is leading an inquiry into poetry in our writing workshop. The kids are learning about and creating couplets, concrete poems, acrostics, and much more. We'll share these in a few weeks during Grandparents' Day.
* In social studies we have been writing letters to our congressmen and congresswomen to let them know what we are learning about and how we feel about homelessness in Columbia. Each group of kids wrote to a different person and decided what they thought was a logical and realistic request. Many wrote about better understanding homelessness, not stereotyping those without a place to stay, and supporting shelters. They did a really nice job. During this experience we were able to talk a bit about the role of local and national government (something we'll return to in greater detail next year).
Chris
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