January 2013 Newsletter

I hope all of our students and families have enjoyed a restful holiday season.  Thanks to all parents who came to the Christmas Concert.  The students worked very hard to prepare the show for you and were very proud of their accomplishments.


Here are some of the Grade 1s and 2s’ New Years Resolutions:

  • I would like to be nicer to my friends and family.
  • I want to learn to play the guitar.
  • I will make friends with [name].
  • I want to learn how to play guitar, drums, piano, bass.
  • I am hoping to play with my friends.
  • I want to make new friends.
  • I want to learn to skateboard!!!!
  • This year I am going to make a snowfort. I will learn to play piano.
  • I will try my best for reading and love it!
  • I want to learn to play the piano.
  • I am going to play Skylanders on the computer.
  • I want to stop watching T.V. and get outside more often.
  • Every Saturday I am going to clean the kitchen.
  • I will walk my dog outside. I help my Mom and Dad.
  • I am going to try to make the biggest snow fort ever.
  • I am going to play in the sand and build a castle and play Lego.
  • I will play with my family. I am going to play games inside like I Spy With My Little Eye.
Math:
 
We are building a list of strategies we can use to add and subtract numbers.  Please take a look at this .pdf file that explains how we are using place value in adding and subtracting two-digit numbers.  There will be a unit test next Friday, January 18, 2013.  To help prepare at home, students should memorize their doubles facts (7+7, 8+8, 9+9) and sums of 10 (0+10, 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, etc.)  
 
Language Arts:
 
We are studying the long vowel sounds, beginning with A.  Today, students searched for words with a silent “e” (e.g. made, tame, came, tape) and sorted them onto charts.  We will also be learning to use a “4-square” to begin to write paragraphs with a topic sentence, three details, and a concluding sentence.  In Media Literacy, we have learned what “Media” means and where we find it.  Now we will interpret media messages and decide for whom the media was created.  If you watch T.V. as a family, ask your child to figure out whether ads have been made for children, adults, teenagers, men, women, or other groups of people.  “What’s the message?” is a question that will be asked in many discussions of media.
 
Science:
 
We are continuing our unit on Living Things.  Students have discussed characteristics and needs of plants and animals.  We have chosen to compare a tiger and a fish, and will learn about researching using books and the Internet.  We will also investigate how humans can protect animals and their homes.  There will be a project at the end of this unit.  Further information will be sent home at a later date.
 
Important Note from the School Community:
 
It has been brought to our attention that WOW butter and similar products that look like peanut butter are not to be sent to school.  In order to ensure the safety of all our students and to avoid confusion among our students, we are encouraging parents not to send this to school with your child.  Students may see a sandwich that is made with WOW butter or similar product, think that this is peanut butter and then believe that it is okay to bring peanut butter to school.
Thank you for your assistance in making our school a safe environment for all students.

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