Week of May 6th

Wow!  I can't believe it's May!!! 

On Wednesday we had our last Hands on Nature of the year.  We learned about honeybees.  We learned about the different kinds of honeybees and the roles that each one has.  We learned about the different parts of honeybees and got to see actual bees and identify what kind they were based on their parts and the size of the bee.  We also learned about honey combs and the dance that honeybees do to let other bees know where the honeycomb is.  It was a great unit as it ties in to our Science unit on insects and pollination.  I'd like to thank Lynn, Colleen, Cecelia, and Caitlin for coming in each month and teaching out students about Structure and Function in our world. 

In Math we are wrapping up Unit 5 next week and will be moving on to Unit 7.  We are not skipping Unit 6, this was the unit on Marble rolls that we did before Unit 5.  This week we also focused on balancing equations and what the equal sign really means.  An example of a balancing an equation would be 6+8=5+?.  I also send some of these home for homework next week.  In Unit 7 we will be doing some more problem solving and working with money. 

In Literacy we are learning some text taking strategies to help students prepare for the necaps next year.  We are working on constructive responses based on reading passages and also multiple choice questions that focus on what's in the text as well as being able to infer answers and think about what the author's message is.  This is a new way of thinking for a lot of the kids and I want to make sure they understand it before next year.  It's really stretching their thinking. 

After next week I will no longer be sending home homework.  I know this is a busy time of year for families and as the weather gets nice it's important that children get outside and play.  I would still like your children to continue their reading but they will not have a reading log that they have to return to school.  They are also having to work hard in school with all of the assessments we need to administer so they need a break at night. 

Just a reminder that our team will need volunteers for Field Day on June 11th from 9-11am.  This is a fun event that the children look forward to each year.  If you would like to help out, please e-mail me or give me a call.  You can also send in a note with your child. 

Have a wonderful weekend,
Nancy