Weekly Updates

Current and Upcoming Events

Winter Break is HERE!  Students' last day of the semester is Thursday, December 21st.  We will see them back at school on Tuesday, January 9th.

I want to wish all of you a Happy Winter Break and Happy Holidays :) May you find rest during the busy holiday season and enjoy spending time with your family!

Please Note

My maternity leave has officially started!  I will be out until the beginning of April.  I cannot wait to see the kids on April 1st (I swear this is not an April Fool's Joke!!). 

Please direct all questions from January until April 1st to my long-term substitute, Mrs. Karen Kitto.  She will CC me on all emails to keep me in the loop, but please do not expect a response from me until April, as I will not be working :)

Below you will find a week at a glance for the week of December 18th. 

Reading

This week for Reading, we watched Dolphin Tale, the story about Winter that we read in our Wonders text.  The kids compared and contrasted the movie to the text.

Writing 

This week for Writing, we continued to focus on writing an argumentative text.  An argumentative text makes a strong claim that clearly supports a perspective with logical reasons.  Students will be explaining why it is important to treat archeological sites with respect.  This week, students finished up the writing process for their essays and started to publish their final papers!

Math

For Ms. Sheppard's Math Class ONLY:

This week for Math, students had some fun math activities!  They worked so hard to get through 3 units in one semester, and I wanted to reward them with a small brain break :). 

We determined how much it might cost someone to partake in the 12 Days of Christmas (I don't think I would want that many birds...).

PLEASE NOTE: I will be sending Unit 3 Assessments home with students in January for corrections.  Overall, this was a very hard assessment for students (which is always the trend over the years).  Students have the opportunity to earn back up to half of the points they lost if they complete corrections COMPLETELY AND CORRECTLY!  Please keep an eye out for these in the New Year :)

Science

This week for Science, we discussed the force of gravity and what it really means for us here on Earth!  This is our final scope for Science before we move into Social Studies in January!  We will come back to Science before CMAS to review the topics and ensure the students are ready to be tested on these topics. 

Leader In Me

For the month of December, we are continuing to focus on Habit 3: Putting First Things First.  We use the analogy of "Big Rocks and Small Rocks" to help prioritize our big to-do's and our small to-do's.  Our Leader of the Month was chosen last week - way to go Brenner! :)

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If ever you have questions or concerns about your child's learning, please do not hesitate to reach out.  I am always happy to help :)