WEEK OF OCTOBER 31

Junior Achievement

During session 3, Mr. Blocker taught the students about unit and mass production. The students had fun assembling ballpoint pens to better understand how to make a product as efficiently as possible. We look forward to his next visit on Thursday.

Halloween Party Helpers - Thanks You!
Thank you to Mrs. Wygonski, Mrs. Scehovic, Mrs. Szutowicz, and Mrs. Royle for planning and attending the party. We loved the mummy wrap, ghost waiter, and Halloween charades activities, as well as the interesting trivia! Thank you also to Mrs. Schoeberle for providing napkins and plates, and Mrs. Luna for providing drinks and cups. Finally, thank you again to Mrs. Wygonski for providing the delicious treats. We all had a "spook"tacular time!

Subject Update:

• Spelling - The Lesson 9 pretest will be on Monday. Based on the pretest, students will be given either the regular or challenge word lists. Homework will be assigned during the week to practice their words. Both regular and challenge word tests are on Friday.
  
• English - We will do a final review of quotation marks on Monday before completing some unit review activities to help us prepare for the upcoming test. The Unit 5 Test on capitalization and punctuation is scheduled for Friday, November 4!
  
• Reading - The students will continue working in their assigned novels: The Kid in the Red Jacket or Night of the Twisters. We will work on summarizing and learn how to identify and answer the three types of questions - Right There, Think and Search, and On Your Own. READING TIC-TAC-TOE: Parents should be encouraging students to read at home to help students get "tic-tac-toe" by November 18! Some students still do not have any books completed yet!
• Science - We will learn more about adaptations, distinguish between three types of symbiosis, and understand predator-prey relationships.
  
• Social Studies - We will review all about the early colonies in order to prepare for the Chapter 5 Test scheduled for Wednesday, November 2!
  
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - Students will review all about decimals to prepare for the Chapter 3 Test on Wednesday, November 2! Students will have several choices on Tuesday for how they want to prepare during class time - independently, with a "study buddy," or with a teacher. Then we will jump ahead to Chapter 7 for "Plane Geometry."
  

Important Dates:

Nov. 3 - Junior Achievement (Session 4)

Nov. 8 - Junior Achievement (Final Session)

Nov. 11 - No School (Veteran's Day)

WEEK OF OCTOBER 24

Junior Achievement

During session 2, Mr. Blocker reviewed the profit model: revenue - expenses = profit. He also discussed the three types of resources (natural, capital, and human) and the concept of supply and demand. We look forward to next week when Mr. Blocker will share about production.

Costume Parade/Halloween Party
Students need to bring their costumes to school on Friday. Please understand that costumes might need to be simplified for school purposes since students need to be able to change in a short amount of time. Also, students will be changing in classrooms designated for either girls or boys. Washrooms will not be available for costume changing. Finally, please remember that no weapons, even fake, are allowed at school.

Subject Update:

• Spelling - The Lesson 8 pretest will be on Monday. Based on the pretest, students will be given either the regular or challenge word lists. Homework will be assigned during the week to practice their words. Both regular and challenge word tests are on Friday.
  
• English - The students will learn how to use quotes correctly. This is usually a difficult concept to grasp since there are many rules to remember. Each day we will concentrate on a different way a quotation can be written: naming the speaker before the quote, naming the speaker after the quote, and naming the speaker in the middle of the quote.
  
• Reading - Next week, students will be assigned one of the following novels: The Kid in the Red Jacket or Night of the Twisters. We will be reinforcing the skills already targeted this year while also introducing a few new ones as we read these realistic fiction stories. READING TIC-TAC-TOE: Parents should be encouraging students to read at home to help students get "tic-tac-toe" by November 18! Some students still do not have any books completed yet!
• Science - I hope the students told you all about our owl pellet dissection lab. The students were a little squirmy at first, but once they started discovering all the interesting bones inside, they were able to push past the thought of what the pellet really is! Next week, we will begin Chapter 6 with a look at how organisms compete and survive in an ecosystem.
  
• Social Studies - We will learn about the 13 English colonies and how they were divided into 3 regions: the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies.
  
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - Students will learn how to divide decimals by whole numbers and decimals, how to solve problems by interpreting the quotient, and how to solve decimal equations.
  

Important Dates:

Oct. 24 - Assembly about Bullying

Oct. 26 - Junior Achievement (Session 3)

Oct. 27 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

Oct. 28 - Art to Remember Orders Due!

Oct. 28 - Tennis Assembly

Oct. 28 - Halloween Costume Parade and Party

WEEK OF OCTOBER 17

School Pictures

Our picture packets should arrive on Tuesday, October 18th. Please look for them coming home with your student. Picture retakes are scheduled for Thursday, November 3rd.

Did You Know?

The Prairieview weekly reminders emailed to parents on Fridays include attachments of important flyers, movie night and roller skating party forms, etc. Be sure to check out the many exciting things happening at our school!

Subject Update:

• Spelling - The Lesson 7 pretest will be on Monday. Based on the pretest, students will be given either the regular or challenge word lists. Homework will be assigned during the week to practice their words. Both regular and challenge word tests are on Friday.
• English - The students will learn the many uses of commas next week. We will read a funny book entitled, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, to understand just how important it is to place commas correctly!
  
• Reading - Students will be reading leveled historical fiction texts as we finish off our work with story mapping and analogies. READING TIC-TAC-TOE: Parents should be encouraging students to read at home to help students get "tic-tac-toe" by November 18! Some students do not have any books completed yet!
• Science - The students will learn about the ecology of a barn owl and dissect owl pellets in a "virtual lab" on the computer. After we dissect owl pellets at this interactive website, we will try our hand at the real thing!
  
• Social Studies - We will learn how English settlers established colonies in New England in search of religious freedom.
  
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - Students will learn how to work with decimals in metric measurement, how to write large numbers in scientific notation, and how to multiply decimals by whole numbers and decimals.
  

Important Dates:

Oct. 20 - Junior Achievement (Session 2)

Oct. 20 - Fall Book Fair (6:30 - 8:00 p.m.)

Oct. 24 - Assembly about Bullying

Oct. 26 - Junior Achievement (Session 3)

Oct. 27 - Early Dismissal (11:00 a.m.)

Oct. 28 - Halloween Costume Parade and Party

WEEK OF OCTOBER 10

Farming for Fuels Program - Thanks Volunteers!
The students learned a lot about different forms of energy and types of bio-fuels. The hands-on activities would not have been possible without our three parent volunteers. Thank you to Mrs. Young, Mrs. Huang, and Mrs. Wygonski for helping us out!

Junior Achievement
During our first session with Mr. Blocker, he introduced the class to many core concepts used in business today. The class learned about entrepreneurs, cost of business (expenses), profit, and supply and demand. We look forward to our next visit from Mr. Blocker on Thursday, October 20!


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Due to the short week, we will not have a spelling lesson!
  
• English - The students have learned how to write sentences correctly, how to identify and capitalize proper nouns and adjectives, and how to write common abbreviations. Next week we will quickly review these ideas and learn how to write titles correctly.
  
• Reading - We will continue to focus on story structure and mapping using a variety of texts. We will also continue our "word work" with analogies.
• Science - The students will be learning all about the barn owl. Taking a close look at this interesting creature will preview some of the key concepts in Chapter 6: predator-prey relationships, structural and behavioral adaptations, and habitat.
  
• Social Studies - We will learn about the search for a Northwest Passage and how it led to the founding of French and Dutch colonies in North America.
  
• Mrs. Strong's Math Class - As we continue in Chapter 3, students will learn how to estimate sums, differences, products, and quotients when working with decimals. This skill will help us check if our answers are reasonable when we add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals.
  

Important Dates:

Oct. 7 - Check Student Progress via ParentConnect

Oct. 10 - Columbus Day (No School)

Oct. 11 - Teacher Institute Day (No School)

Oct. 13 - Magazine Drive "Mario Cart" Assembly

Oct. 20 - Junior Achievement (Session 2)