Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!

Happy Friday!  We will have a new student on Monday.  I told the kids about him today, and we talked about ways to welcome a new student.  Please ask your child about this new friend, and please talk with your child about how he/she can help our new student!

Please read to the end of this post as I have lots of important information to share with you. 

Next Week is Spirit Week:
In honor of Career Day next Friday, we will celebrate with a Spirit Week next week. Themes for each day are as follows:

• Monday:  Career "Champe" Day - Wear navy or silver (Champe High School colors) to represent the importance of high school.
• Tuesday:  College Pride Day - Wear college gear or colors to support our career goals and readiness for college.
• Wednesday:  Future Career Day - Dress up like your future profession.
• Thursday:  Interview Day - Dress for success like you would dress for an interview.
• Friday:  Our Future Starts Here Day - Wear Pinebrook gear or Pinebrook colors. 

First Grade Music Program:
Please check yesterday's Thursday folder for important information about our First Grade International Music Program on Wednesday, May 30th.  Please sign and return the slip at the bottom of the information letter to confirm your child's attendance and participation in the program.

Coins for Our Money Unit:
Please check yesterday's Thursday folder for a letter requesting coins for our upcoming Money unit.  I would like the kids to have real coins available for this unit, and am requesting that you send the coins to school no later than Monday, April 30th.  

Project Based Learning Update:
Our class has started a learning project we're calling "The Great Crayon Rescue". We are exploring ways to reduce the number of crayons that end up in landfills each year by reusing or recycling our old crayons.  The kids are loving this project.  Please ask your child about it!

End of Year Literacy Testing:
I can't believe I'm about to type this, but I am...Our end-of-year literacy testing will begin in May.  This means we are at the most critical part of our entire instructional year, as we make our final push toward our testing dates.  Please be sure your child is reading every day...weekends included.  Your child should read out loud to practice decoding and fluency, and then practice retelling the story in sequence using characters' names and providing as many details as possible.  Ask your child to make a connection to the story.  Ask about the author's message...What is the author trying to teach us in the story?  Ask your child to identify his/her favorite part and state why.  I truly cannot overstate the importance of your child not only reading everyday, but discussing what he/she read!  

I Will Be Out:
I will be out of school next Thursday and Friday.  We have a family commitment in New York, so we are going home for a long weekend.  I'm sorry I will miss the Triple Play!  Mrs. Ryan will be in for me.

Camp STEAM-tacular:

This summer, Pinebrook will host Camp STEAM-tacular.  This is a fun-filled week of STEAM related learning and exploration, which takes place June 18th - 22nd from 9 am to 3 pm here at school.   Each grade level is aligned to a particular theme. Enrollment is limited and the camp will fill quickly!  You can learn more and register your child by visiting the Camp STEAM-tacular website HERE.

Last Call for Pinebrook Yearbooks:

Pinebrook yearbooks are on sale now!  Yearbooks may only be purchased online.  To purchase a yearbook, go to ybpay.lifetouch.com and enter school code 7561118.  You will be prompted through the order and payment process.  The deadline to order a yearbook is April 29th.  You must pre-order a yearbook if you would like your child to receive one.  

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will talk about the climax in fiction stories.  This is the point when the most exciting events occur, and usually happens before the story problem is solved.
• Writing:  We will continue our project based learning unit, and this will give us the opportunity to practice many different kinds of writing.  We will continue to focus on editing our writing for mechanics, punctuation, and proper sight word spelling.  We will also begin exploring poetry and poetry writing.
• Math:  We will finish our Time unit.  We will practice telling time to the hour and half hour.
• Social Studies:  We will continue our project based learning unit in which we think of ways to impact the environment by reducing the number of crayons that we throw away each year.  

Please let me know if you have questions, comments, or feedback.  

Leo is headed out of town for a men's retreat this weekend, so the boys and I are going to see what kind of trouble we can stir up!  I hope you have a fun weekend planned too!