WEEK OF MARCH 2

ISAT Week
The students will be taking ISAT tests the mornings of March 3-6. Please make sure your child is well-rested and eats a nutritious breakfast each day. Parent volunteers are helping to provide healthy snacks for the students, but you may send your child with his/her own snack if you wish.

GEOSPACE Program Help Needed
I will need 3 parent volunteers to help with the GEOSPACE program scheduled for Wednesday, March 25 from 12:15 - 2:15 p.m. This experience is brought right to our school by the DuPage Children's Museum, and the instructors will let you know how you may help the day of the program. No experience necessary!

Too Good For Drugs (TGFD) Program
In session 7 of the program, students viewed a slide show presentation about alcohol. Students need to review the "Facts about Alcohol" sheet with parents, then return it to school with a parent signature by Thursday, March 5th.


Subject Update:

Science and Social Studies (Homeroom)

• Science - The students have learned a lot in our Earth Science unit "Cycles on Earth and in Space." We learned about weather and the water cycle, we studied about the Earth's oceans, and we explored the Earth, moon, and beyond! Next we will be starting our Life Science unit "Interactions Among Living Things."
• Social Studies - We will be learning about the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. The students will continue to work on the last pages of their Patriot/Loyalist books.

Language Arts Block *Much of this time will be used for testing!

Since students will be testing during this time, they are encouraged to have a silent reading book each day. Students will have the opportunity to share their "Poetry Ponderings" projects with their classmates between testing sessions. There will be no spelling lesson this week.

Math Classroom *Much of this time will be used for testing!

The students will be testing during most of this time. We will do some fun review and enrichment activities as time allows.

Mark Your Calendar:

March 2 - No School (C. Pulaski Day)

March 3 - 6 - ISAT Testing

March 5 - Too Good For Drugs (Session 8)

March 6 - End of 2nd Trimester
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WEEK OF FEBRUARY 23

Too Good For Drugs (TGFD) Program
In session 6 of this program, the students watched a video that illustrated the negative affects of tobacco use. Please ask your child about this video and have them share some of the information learned from it.

Spring Pictures
On Thursday, February 26, all students will be photographed for Spring Pictures. With these pictures, you "look before you buy." When the portrait packages are ready, they will be sent home for review. Then you will decide if you want all, some, or none of the photos. You only pay for the photos you decide to keep. Bring your smile Thursday!


Subject Update:

Science and Social Studies (Homeroom)

• Science - The students are learning about our solar system in Lesson 3. The Chapter 13 Test is scheduled for Friday, February 27th!
• Social Studies - Ask your students about their "letters home to England" relating some of the events from Lessons 1-2. Next we will read about Paul Revere's famous ride and the shot heard 'round the world as the Revolutionary War begins.

Language Arts Block

• Spelling - Lesson 22 focuses on words with the prefix com.
• English - The students will be writing another expository essay. The students will use a graphic organizer to get all of their ideas in order before writing a rough draft.
• Reading - We will continue to work on writing extended responses. We will also practice answering questions to "functional" reading passages. Functional reading is the type of reading we do to "function" in life. It includes recipes, newspapers, procedures, directions, magazine articles, etc. Don't forget that this month's reading project, the "Poetry Ponderings" journal is due Friday, February 27!

Math Classroom

• Math - The students will learn about congruent and similar figures as well as forms of symmetry. The Chapter 18 Test is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25!

Mark Your Calendar:

Feb. 25 - Character Counts Assembly

Feb. 26 - Spring Pictures

Feb. 26 - Too Good For Drugs (Session 7)

March 2 - No School (C. Pulaski Day)

March 3-6 - ISAT Testing

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WEEK OF FEBRUARY 16

Thank You to Party Parents
We had a "sweet" time at our Valentine's Day Party thanks to the help of many parents who volunteered their time and/or talents. We appreciate all your efforts!

Too Good For Drugs (TGFD) Program
In session 5 of this program, the students learned about tobacco. Students were asked to share a "Facts about Tobacco" sheet with parents. It includes a definition of tobacco, some of the negative effects it has on the body, and some interesting statistics.


Subject Update:

Science and Social Studies (Homeroom)

• Science - The students will learn about lunar and solar eclipses. There will be an open book/note assessment on Wednesday to review Lesson 2.
• Social Studies - The students will continue to work on their Patriot/Loyalist books by typing rough drafts and adding paragraphs about the Intolerable Acts. We will do a fun activity to create a "chain of events" of all the issues covered so far in the chapter.

Language Arts Block

• Spelling - There will be no spelling lesson this week!
• English - Students will work on the support and concluding paragraphs of their expository essays. The students are encouraged to find ways to incorporate the different literary techniques (simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, etc.) to make their writing more interesting.
• Reading - We will be preparing for ISATs by reading a variety of texts and responding to them in the same format as the test. Students will also be assembling their poetry journals and viewing many examples of how to write the poems "as they appear in the book" and how to complete the "Ponderings" pages. The Poetry Journal is due Friday, February 27th!

Math Classroom

• Math - The students will review about points, lines, angles, and polygons before exploring circles.

Mark Your Calendar:

Feb. 16 - No School (Presidents' Day)

Feb. 19 - Too Good For Drugs (Session 6)

Feb. 20 - Family Bingo Night (7-8:30 p.m.)

Feb. 25 - All School Assembly

Feb. 26 - Spring Pictures

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WEEK OF FEBRUARY 9

Thank You to Field Trip Helpers
Thank you so much to the parents who joined the class for the Naper Settlement trip. The class enjoyed seeing and doing some of the things that were common to life in the 1800's.

Too Good For Drugs (TGFD) Program
In session 4 of this program, students learned about negative peer pressure and various strategies to deal with it. Students should complete the "Peer Pressure Situations" activity with a parent. The activity sheet with parent signature is due by Thursday, February 12th!

Valentine's Party Information
The Valentine's Party is Friday, February 13th. If a student chooses to give Valentines to classmates during the party, he/she must bring one for each student in his/her homeroom. Please note that students will not be allowed to deliver Valentines to students in other classrooms.


Subject Update

Science and Social Studies (Homeroom)

• Science - Lesson 2 will compare the Earth and the moon. We will begin with a quick investigation on "Making Craters." Did you know that craters on the moon last indefinitely because there is no erosion? It's true - there is no erosion because of the lack of atmosphere and lack of water!
  
• Social Studies - The students will read how events in Boston brought Britain and the colonies closer to war. We will continue to work on our Patriot/Loyalist projects as we learn more about the events leading to the Revolutionary War.

Language Arts Block

• Spelling - Lesson 21 focuses on words spelled with ei.
• English - Students will continue to learn about literary techniques used to make writing more interesting. We will also revisit our work with expository writing. The students will review how to write great introductions as we develop body and concluding paragraphs.
• Reading - The students have received information about the February book project - a poetry journal. The students' first task is to read a variety of poetry books. They should read poems by different authors and different kinds of poems before they decide which ones are their favorites! In class, we will be identifying literary techniques such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, simile and metaphor, and personification in the poems we read.

Math Classroom

• Math - The students will be exploring geometry in Chapter 18. We will begin by identifying points, lines, angles, and polygons.

Mark Your Calendar:

Feb. 11 - District Spelling Bee

Feb. 12 - Too Good For Drugs (Session 5)

Feb. 13 - Valentine's Party (1:30 p.m.)

Feb. 16 - No School (President's Day)

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