Mrs. Hickson's Class

March is reading month..rtf

Re: sign-up:  I hope I have gotten everyone who signed up for something.  If not just bring in the items you were planning on bringing.  When I tried to reply to my messages I got a message at the top of the page saying my message was undeliverable.  However, it didn’t tell me who it couldn’t deliver it to so I don’t know who received their reply from me and who didn’t or if I missed an incoming message.

Thank you to everyone who brought items for the celebration!!

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all and I wish all of you a happy and safe mid-winter break!!

Also, thank you for all the classroom supplies.  It is wonderful to know I teach in a school with such great parent support!

Please sign-up below to help make our celebration a success.

Items should be in school by 2:00 on Feb. 13th.

Juice boxes-  Nayla

Water bottles-

Cookies-  Amneh              Ethan

Cupcakes-  Zakariya

Veggies-  Tess

Fruit-  Sophie    Jake

Jello-  Charlie

Cheese and crackers-  Avery

Plates-  Brenna

Napkins-  Brenna

Other-  cake- Amneh

Welcome back to school!!!  We have a lot going on this month!!

Social Studies-  We begin the study of our federal government.  This week our discussions and lesson focus on the reasons we have government, the purposes of government, and the Preamble to the Constitution.  This unit will culminate in a district common assessment on March 11th.  Students have already received the study guide so they can study as we go through the unit.

Science- A test on forms of energy, simple machines, and temperature will be given on Jan. 14th.  Students have received the study guide and should be bringing materials home to study each day.

Math- Unit 5 covers extended multiple facts, double digit times double digit numbers and measurement using customary units.  If your child does not yet know their multiplication facts this unit will probably be difficult.  Daily practice of facts is vital.

ELA-  We will be doing a genre study of fantasy.  We will continue working on correct and complete responses to literature.

We continue working on writing complete and correct opinion pieces with an emphasis on social studies topics.

Our language study topics include figurative language, commas, quotation marks,  transitional words, and correct paragraphing.

Spelling 1/5 – 1/9

total, final, medal, vocal, royal, government, community, laws, rules, constitution

PBiS –  The Habit of the month is Habit #3- Put first things first.  Work first, then play.  Please try to reinforce this habit at home!!

**This month some students will take the DRA.  To prepare for this test students should continue to read 20 minutes every night!!

** We will also have the district writing assessment in January.  We will be writing an opinion piece.

The end of the first semester is January 23rd.  Grades are due on that date.  Report cards will come out the following week.

Students have no school on January 19th and 23rd.

Students have a half day of school on January 22nd.  Students attend school from 8:35 – 11:45 on that day.

Our holiday celebration will take place on Thursday Dec. 18th.

Holiday Celebration Sign-up: 

Cheese pizza will be served.

Plates: Brenna

Cupcakes: Ethan

Cookies:  Nayla          Charlie

Candy:  Alex    _____________   ______________

Chips:  ______________   ______________

Veggies and dip:  _________________   ______________

Jello: __________________

Fruit: Owen      _______________

Juice boxes:  Rema    ______________

Water bottles:  Avery    _____________

Crackers:  Amneh

Other:  _________________   _________________   ___________________

Spelling Words

Nouns made plural with more than an s:

geese, sheep, people, wolves, mice, volcanoes, potatoes, halves, lives, teeth

The test is on Friday 12/19.

IMPORTANT DATES:

**Dec. 17– The District Common Assessment for the Human Geography in the U.S. unit will be given at 2:25.

**Dec. 18–

*The Math Unit Four test will be given at 9:00.

*Final library book check-out of 2014!  Our library checkout time is at 1:15.

     *Class holiday celebration.  The celebration will begin about 2:00.

******If you do not wish for your child to participate please contact me as soon as possible.

**Dec. 19–

*PBiS reward.  Students should bring a junkie snack and an electronic game (or non-electronic game) of their choosing.

The reward time will begin at 1:15

*We will clean lockers and desks.  Please have students bring a bag.

*Students will be bringing home books to read over the break.  There will be a reading log to be filled out.

This will be a required ongoing weekly homework item beginning in January.

*Students will be bringing home a multiplication facts practice log.  This will be a required ongoing weekly homework item      beginning in January.

*****If you do not wish for your child to participate in reading and multiplication practice during break, please send me a signed note for my records.

Spelling

/on/ /en/ words

bison, vision, citizen, chicken. broken

Science content words

heat, light, sound, waves, spectrum

Math–  We are studying decimals.  It would be great if decimal/money problems came up at home that needed to be solved.  Please look for almost daily Study Links.  These are ALWAYS due the next school day.

****Also….multiplication facts need to be worked on each night!!!!  This is vital!!!!  Unit 5 is multi-digit multiplication!!  We will be spending very little class time on memorizing facts at this point.

Science–  The various types of energy are being explored.

Social Studies- We complete our discussions on cultural diversity and immigration this week.  We then move on to discussing how people adapt to different environments in the US and how people have used and impacted their environments.  Don’t forget to study each night.  The test day is approaching!!  Our District Common Assessment is on Dec. 17th!!!!!!!!

ELA-We will be looking at Point of View in our reading.  The correct placement of quotation marks will be reviewed.

We will be writing various opinion pieces in preparation for our district writing prompt.  The students will also add to their growing collection of haikus.

This week’s spelling words:

fountain

again

captain

dolphin

pumpkin

region

culture

diversity

immigrate

tradition

Social Studies:

We continue our study of the movement of people.  We will be focusing this week on immigration into the U.S. and as a result our country’s diversity.  We will also look at cultural influences of different immigrant groups.

Math:

Students will be converting fractions to decimals and vice versa.  The test will be before we leave for break.

I would like to wish all of you a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.  I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend with your children and have time to do something fun!

**Students should continue to read 20 – 30 minutes each day…even during the long weekend.  Remember to pick a mix of fiction and non-fiction reading material.

**Multiplication facts can be practiced in the car as you travel over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house…or even if you are driving down 96 to the mall.

**Don’t forget about the family note that is due on Dec. 1st.  This is a great weekend to have students talk with family members and find out your family’s history.  They may not be able to talk to family members who immigrated to the U.S. but hopefully will get to hear the stories from your family’s past.

**It was wonderful to have all the parents and family members come in for conferences.  The children were very proud to discuss their goals and achievements with you.

*A big THANK YOU all the parents who contributed to the lovely teacher dinner on the night of the 20th.  It was a great break in a long day!!

*Students should be up to date on their social studies packets.  We finished the lesson 2 packet today.  Don’t forget to study nightly.  Don’t wait until the last minute.  Ask your child to tell you about our read aloud books, articles and plays they have read, songs we have sung, and discussions we have had in class.  This will help them recall what we have done in class.  These social studies units involve so much more than the just the sheets in the packets and it is important for them to try to remember what we have done at school.  The test is Dec. 17th.  The study guide should have come home on Nov. 14th.

*Students are bringing home a home letter that goes with  lesson 3 in social studies.  Students will need to talk to family members and fill out the chart on the letter.  It is due on December 1st.

*****Homework is NOT always a worksheet!!!!!

Don’t forget that students are expected to read 20 – 30 minutes at home seven days a week.  Have them read aloud to you and talk about the book.  Choose books that are both fiction and nonfiction.  Students are also expected to spend 10 – 15 minutes practicing multiplication facts at home each day.  Knowing these facts is extremely important for all math units the rest of the year!!

The guideline for having outdoor recess, lining up outside in the morning, and having safeties on outside posts has been changed.  If the windchill is 20 degrees F or above students will wait outside in the morning, will be having outside recess, and corner safeties will be on post.  If the windchill or air temperature is 19 degrees F or below students will line up inside in the morning, will have indoor recess and no corner safeties will be on post.  There are many students who are being dropped off as early as 7:45 am.  Please be aware that while students are welcome to play outside, there is no school staff supervision of these students.  Also, when it is too cold to line up outside the student lines in the hallway will be supervised  by teachers starting at 8:25 am.  Please do not drop off students early on these “inside” days unless they are going to breakfast.  Breakfast is served in the cafeteria starting at 8:15 am.  The cost is $1.25.  Parents who need to drop students off early can contact Kids’ Club to enroll their children.