October 6-14: Goal Setting Conferences

October 25: Halloween Fun Night

October 31: Teacher In-Service (No School)

November 11: Veterans Day (No School)

November 24-28: Thanksgiving Break (No School)

Click here for the yearlong school calendar

Thank you so much for the birthday gifts. I appreciate the sweet words in the cards, the beautiful flowers, the delicious coffee, and the gift cards to Philz and Marufuku Ramen. I also look forward to playing the Telestrations game! Thank you all for your thoughtfulness!

Last week, students learned about how data about the hydrosphere helps communities plan for climate change. They also took the "I-Check" assessment that accompanies Investigations 1 and 2. The results of this assessment will be in this week's Thursday envelope. Please note, as you review this assessment, that students will have made corrections in colored pencil (so their original responses were in pencil).

This week, students will track the sun's shadow during the course of a day and learn how to tell the time of day by looking at the length and direction of a shadow. If you would like to extend student learning at home, consider trying this home school connection activity.

Last week students finished the flipbook for their state report and played Jeopardy about the Northeast states. This week they will focus on the final set of states, the Southeast states. On Wednesday, students will take a short quiz to see if they can identify the states, capitals, and state abbreviations in the Southeast.

Last week students also began working on a "travel pitch," an opinion writing piece about their state. They picked three specific reasons why people should visit their states, such as for the weather, particular food, culture, natural beauty, tourist attractions, or annual event. Students are writing five-paragraph opinion essays with an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. To help them organize their essay, I have introduced the idea that an essay is like a big, juicy, triple burger. Be sure to ask your child what this means!

Great Postcard Race Update: We are now up to 34 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Thank you to all the students (and families) who have participated: Andres, Anna, Avery, Brookie, Cody, Hans, Hugh, Jackson, Jacob, Joanna, Mira, Sydney, and Tara. 

Standings update: Ms. Wickemeyer's class has received postcards from 41 states, and Ms. Rodrigues's class has received cards from 22 states, so we are in second place! 

Last week we finished reading the heartwarming novel Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea. This week our focus is on identifying the possible themes of the novel and writing a paragraph explaining the theme (with evidence from the text). Students will learn this week that a theme is the message, lesson, or moral the author wants the reader to learn. You can help your child practice identifying themes by talking about possible themes after watching a movie or after reading a book together at home.

Mileage Club has started again!  For those of you unfamiliar with Mileage Club, it is a parent-led program that encourages children in grades 1-5 to either walk or run during their Wednesday lunch hour. On Wednesdays, students should dress in comfortable, athletic attire and sneakers if they are participating. Parents can join on the field to pass out cards and track laps every Wednesday! Sign up for that is here. Each lap brings them one step closer to reaching the next Mileage Club level. 

New this year, runners will be rewarded for achieving major club milestones at 5, 10, 15, and 20 mile intervals as well as for being the first to hit select mile markers. In addition to earning monthly running tokens for their chain, they will also be featured on the leaderboard. Last but not least, at the end of the school year, the top two runners in each grade receive gift cards to kick off their summer in style!  If you have any questions, please feel free to email parent volunteer lead Amanda Baldino at  amandapbaldino@gmail.com.

We have PE weekly on Tuesday mornings from 8:20 - 9:05 am with Miss Kelly (our new PE teacher).  On Tuesdays, please make sure your child is wearing shoes in which they can run. I also recommend a hat and an extra water bottle for hot days. 

We have Music on Friday afternoons from 1:10-1:55 pm. We have Art every other week on Tuesday mornings from 9:30 - 10:20 am beginning the week of August 18. 

Our weekly visit to the school library will be Thursdays from 12:05 to 12:30 pm. 

This year, we will be managing some assignments and hand outs (such as study guides) on Google Classroom. Students will learn how to access Google Classroom this week. Please take some time to have your child login also from a home device and then please bookmark that page so that you will be to access it quickly when needed!

If you are looking for books for your family's library, please consider ordering from Scholastic Books. You can have books shipped directly to your home or to school. Every order earns points for our class, and points help us grow our classroom library. When using the Scholastic website, our class activation code is GKMNT. Place an order of $25 or more and you can pick a FREE $5 book (use code READS at checkout). Here is an online flyer.