Week of November 28

I can't believe December is already here. The year is flying by.

Highlights

This past week we worked hard as we got back into the routine of school and welcomed December.

In Language Arts we finished the wonderful book The Journey of Edward Tulane. It is always bittersweet when we finish a great book. We are so excited to get to the end and then wish there were more to read. This book brought such wonderful discussion and debate. These kids really did an amazing job finding the deeper meaning of the book, making connections with their own lives and other text, and developing thoughtful and meaningful questions about the book. We have begun a project to wrap up the book and the kids are having a blast. On Wednesday, each student was given a handout with project choices and asked to choose a project and discuss the choices with you. We will continue to work on these this week. The kids will have time to work in class and will be asked to work on them at home. I hope to finish these up by mid-week but will monitor their progress.

We have also been reading The Magician's Elephant, written by Kate DiCamillo as well. We will finish that up tomorrow. Once again, a book we are both excited and sad to finish.

We will begin a new read aloud, The Seven Wonders of Sassafrass Springs, this week. It is a charming story that highlights the beauty and wonder of what is in your own backyard. A great reminder of how much we have to be thankful for. We will be doing a project with this book as well, more details to come. All reading response will be connected to this book. We will begin a new individual read when we return from break. I will give you the title in the next blog.

This week we will be editing (both with a peer and individally) our personal narratives, bringing this unit of writing to a close. When we return from Winter Break, we will begin a unit on poetry which will be a fun change.

In Math, we have break-out groups (the M&M's and the Jelly Bellies). Within these groups, we have been moving forward in Number Operations. In one group, we are connecting multiplication and division and working on creating a gallery of these families. In addition, we are practicing using both traditional and non-traditional ways to solve multi-digit multiplication and division problems. In the other group, we are really exploring adding three and four-digit numbers with carrying and subtracting with borrowing. We are subtracting across zeroes and applying what we know to solve and create story problems. Both groups have been using manipulatives quite a bit through their math time. This week, we will continue applying our skills to word problems and creating our own mathematical stories in both groups. The M$M's will continue to identify patterns in multiplication and division. It is always a good sign when I child asks, "Can't we keep going with our math?", after an hour and fifteen minutes!

In Social Studies, we are eagerly anticipating our upcoming trip to Jamestown and Williamsburg. However, in the meantime, the kids are finishing up their brochures of Viriginia. They are gorgeous! Much more informative and beautiful than any brochure I have come across. Our Friday field trip is a great segue into their next unit of study -- Exploration and Early Colonization.

In Science, the kiddos are learning about plants, a unit that is teaching me a ton as well. They are looking at types of plants, the parts of plants, and even talked about plant reproduction. In connection with Social Studies, the class is beginning a research project on Virginia plants and animals. Each student will choose, research, and report on one plant and one animal native to Virginia. They are very excited. Ms. Lockwood and/or I will provide you with additional information about the project when it begins this week.

In Music, the class is working hard on their WSC songs. Spanish, P.E., and Art have been busy as well.

Overall, it was a great, productive week.

Announcements and Reminders

- This Friday, December 9th , is our field trip to Williamsburg and Jamestown. We will be leaving CDS promptly at 8:00 AM and will return by 8:00 PM. Right now we have enough drivers and I will let each of you know who your child will be riding with. Permission slips will go home Tuesday.

- Thursday is pizza lunch. Last week we had several children who were not signed up for pizza for December but who were expecting it for lunch. Please make sure you have filled out a new form and submitted payment for December. The box is outside Kim's office.

- Thursday is also SPIRIT DAY! Please encourage your child to come with CRAZY HAIR!!!! I will take pictures.

- On Wednesday, December 7th, at 7 PM there is a PTO meeting in the MAC. Please attend if you are able. It is a great way to be involved.

- Early Enrollment Forms are due on Tuesday, December 6th. Please get them in on time as it helps us begin the planning process for next year. If you have any questions, please contact Stacey. She will gladly talk with you.

- Tomorrow is Chipotle Lunch.

- Tis the time of year for giving. The Kodiak and Black Bear classes are initiating a Food Drive at CDS. All classes will be collecting food to donate to the Food Bank on December 13th. There is a food collection box in our room. Please have your child bring non-perishable items to school. I am hoping to take the class to the Food Bank on the 13th to see this full circle. In addition, we will be deciding as a class how WE (Sunbears) want to give back to our community. We will begin brainstorming tomorrow. My hope is to choose a goal that we work towards for the remainder of our school year.

Winter Break is just around the corner and we have so much to do before then. It is going to be a great and busy couple of weeks. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to touch base.

Have a great upcoming week!

All the best,

Annelise

Week of November 7, 2011

The past couple of weeks have continued to be full of activity, learning, and fun. Last week we had our Harvest Festival and this week we had our first WOW day celebration and two birthdays! Happy Birthday August and Ved!

Highlights

In Writing, the kids have each chosen their final Personal Narrative to take from a seed story and grow into a final, published piece. We worked on telling our stories, adding dynamic beginnings and will move into developing our closings tomorrow.

We began The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Di Camillo, a beautiful book offering ample opportunity for meaningful discussion, written response, and looking beyond the written words. Each student now has a Reading Response journal s/he will use to write in response to what is read. Please look at the questions/prompts and your child's responses. It is a great opportunity for conversation and may help your child develop their thoughts and understandings. We also began the read aloud, The Magician's Elephant, also written by Kate Di Camillo. Reading these books simultaneously will allow us to compare the texts and really look at the author's style of writing. Rather than hurry through these books in order to finish this week, we will continue both after Thanksgiving Break.

Word Study is moving right along. The kids are getting used to it, and enjoying the activities.

In Math, we are stepping back from the traditional methods of solving problems and are exploring non-traditional methods, such as breaking down the numbers. It is a challenge but will have lasting benefit and the kids are taking it in and beginning to apply the strategies. We are also continuing to visit place value, rounding, estimation, and comparing numbers. This week we will extend our math time to an hour and fifteen minutes, spending the first 15 minutes doing a game to practice all of our math facts -- addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We will also be continuing with number operations, primarily through word problems.

The kids are really enjoying Social Studies and are learning so much about Virginia. Several times per day, the kids make connections between something we have read or talked about with what they are learning in Social Studies. I have no doubt that I will learn a lot about this state from their brochures when they are complete. We have talked about a trip to Williamsburg/Jamestown in early December and they are very excited. Mrs. Reed and I should have the details worked out this week.

In Science, the class did an experiment with roots and root hairs. Working in groups, they were given a root and either altered it or left it as is, put it in a cup of water and compared the absorption and what changed with the roots over time. The kids made observations and predictions. As always, they loved the experiment.

Announcements and Reminders

• This week we have our Giving Thanks Feast on Friday at 11. I will keep you posted with the details.

• Prior to the feast, we have our annual Talent Show. The kids who chose to be part of the Talent Show signed up this past week. Ask your child if s/he signed up. The talent show acts need to be practiced outside of school as there will not be time during school hours. The Talent Show is so much fun to watch and is certain to be as wonderful as last year's show.

• On Wednesday, our class will be going to Chroma to see Lindsay Diamond's art exhibit. Following that, we will go to the library to return and check out books. We will leave around 10:30 and will return by 1:30, eating lunch and playing at McGuffey during that time.

• Next week is Thanksgiving Break and there is no school. We will have Kids Camp on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. If you would like to sign your child up, please contact Kim.

• If you are a Black Friday shopper, and want to stock up on SCRIPS prior to break, Elaine will be selling a variety of cards on Friday morning outside of the M.A.C.. This is a great way to give to CDS without spending a penny up and above.

• Please send your child to school every day with a water bottle and tennis shoes. I am telling you, running laps in fur-lined boots is miserable.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions at all.

I hope you all have as wonderful of a week as we in the Sunbear class are sure to have.

Best,

Annelise

Week of October 24

Dear Families,

It's hard to believe that November is at our door. The time just seems to fly by. In our class this past week, we continued to overflow with learning and activity.

In Language Arts, the kids continued to work on many writing pieces. This week we will be choosing the one to revise, edit, and publish. The kids are looking forward to this. Thank you to Bethany Pritchard for working hard to get our computers up and running, right in time for this step in our writing process.

We have been reading short stories in class, focusing on reading for meaning. The recent connection we discussed and applied to these stories is Text to Self, where the reader finds moments where they connect to the character(s) in a story. We added this connection to Reminders and the students will continue to practice both through in-class read alouds and their independent reading books. Please make sure your child comes to school each day with his/her independent reading book. On Wednesday, I will be making sure each child is in a book that is appropriate to his/her reading level. In addition, we started a new read aloud, A Haunting in Williamsburg. The book is older and, as you can tell from the title, is a mystery. What is great about the book is that it connects to Social Studies where the kids are learning about the landmarks of Virginia. I expect to finish the book within a few days and then we will dive into another read aloud and whole class book selection. I will keep you posted as to the title of our next book.

We started Word Study this past week and the kids really love it. Our first sort is a whole class, concept sort as opposed to small group sorts based on spelling patterns. Our words this week are related to what we are learning in Science and Social Studies. Ask your child to share a few. We created Word Study journals, and the class was introduced to the weekly routine of activities related to their current sort. That routine is pasted to the inside of their journals. They will have some time in class to complete their activity for that day but if they don't finish, they will finish at home.

In Math, we moved into smaller groups, focusing on rounding and multiplying numbers. We also did estimation activities. The class will be getting used to the routine of math warm-ups which will be problems related to what we are learning and others that are from other strands of math. This is an opportunity for reinforcement and revisiting. After warm-ups, we break up into target groups, working on specific concepts.

The brochures the kids are working on in Social Studies are really coming along. The kids are writing paragraphs about the different regions of Virginia, including information from natural resources to specific landmarks. In addition to their writing, they are also illustrating their brochures. We are in the beginning stages of planning a field trip with the Middle School class to Jamestown. It will be great! I will let you know the date as soon as we confirm.

What a great field trip to Riverview Park! The weather was glorious, the walk was refreshing, and the kids had a wonderful time. The only drawback was that we were unable to spend the whole day there. While there, groups rotated through going on a leaf walk, playing on the playground, and going down to and exploring the river. Needless to say, we had a hard time getting the kids out of the river, they were so excited to investigate with their seine nets. It was a fantastic trip. We are now moving into plant life and on Friday the class was able to share all they know, or think they know, about plants. It was fun to hear knowledge flow. And, it was informative. My fact about plants was wrong!!! I can't believe it. It will be a great unit of study.

Reminders and Announcements

- Tomorrow, October 31st is our Harvest Festival from 10 - 11:30 AM. PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD WEAR FALL COLORS. Our booth is Tootsie Pop Coffee Filter Ghosts and should be simple yet fun. Several parents have donated the lollipops, and offered to help with set-up and clean-up as well as hanging out during the festival. Thank you!

- School dismisses immediately following the Harvest Festival at 11:30. Please call Kim if you need to sign your child up for Kids Camp.

- There is NO SCHOOL on Tuesday, November 1st as we have Parent/Teacher Conferences. Please make sure you signed up for a conference and, if you are unable to make it on Tuesday, please let me know so we can make other arrangements. We do not provide child care during conferences. If you need to sign your child up for half or full-day Kids Camp, please call Kim.

- Please remember to send your child to school with water and tennis shoes.

- You now have the option to order pizza for your child on Thursdays. An email with the sign-up forms attached went out recently. Please let Kim know if you need these forms resent.

- Elaine Cafferillo has been selling SCRIPS giftcards before and after school on Fridays. There is a huge selection -- Giant, Sams Club, Starbucks, and Outback just to name a few. Using these cards rather than your credit or check card, checkbook, or cash for your expenditures greatly benefits the school, providing money back for every card sold. It is such an easy way to contribute to CDS, at no additional cost to you. Please check out the selection and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. A little bit of planning can bring a lot of benefit to our school.

It will be another great week for the Sunbears. I hope you have a great week too!

Thanks for all of your support,

Annelise

Week of October 17

Highlights

What better way to begin a week than with a birthday to share with a classroom full of wonderful kids! Thank you to all for helping this be one of the best birthdays yet. And, then to end the week with a day as special and wonderful as Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day! It was fantastic!

In Language Arts this week we were writers, readers, creators, interviewers, and connectors. The kids worked hard on their personal narratives, employing new strategies for generating ideas, and beginning to look at the qualities of good writing. They certainly are eager and proficient writers and story tellers! We will continue our narratives this week, adding conferences and revision to our repertoire.

We also began making connections with text we read, more specifically learning how to note parts of text that remind us of something related to our lives. Paying attention to how stories and print can remind us of our own experiences forces the kids to look at text differently, and is the first strategy for making connections with what we read. This week we will talk about and practice making text to self connections as well. The students will practice these strategies in their independent reading books by keeping post-its nearby and writing the connections on post-its and sticking them next to the relevant text. We will also practice it as a class with our read alouds.

To end our last read aloud, Maniac Magee, we talked in depth about the book and the main character, listing characteristics that describe him. We then made comparisons between his attributes and our own, looking at specific times in our lives when we have demonstrated certain characteristics. Each student picked a shared attribute and illustrated scenes from his/her life and from Maniac's life when that attribute was prominent. It was wonderful to see what characteristics were chosen and the insightfulness that went into selecting the connecting scenes. Please take a minute to see these creations up on our walls in our room.

In Math, we continued to explore place value, comparing the place of a digit with the value of the digit. The students are practicing putting numbers in standard, expanded, and word form, strengthening their understanding of how our place value system works. This week we will be rounding numbers and jumping into number operations, from subtraction to multiplication. Tomorrow I will introduce Speed Racer, an individualized way for students to practice their math facts at the same time, at their own pace, while providing me with information about how each is progressing through their facts.

Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day was such a special event. The kids were delighted to share their classroom, work, and friends with all of our guests. It was heartwarming to hear each child give tours of the room, explain what we are up to in class, and talk about CDS in general. There was such pride and happiness in the air. And, the interviews were fun to listen to. The kids came up with the creative questionnaire as a class and had a blast interrogating their guest(s).

When asked what her greatest talent is, one grandmother responded with "talking". When asked what he wanted to grow up to be when he was a child, one grandfather responded with "smart". The responses were compared and talked about all the way to the Jefferson Theater for our WSC. Being at the Jefferson was such a treat and the kids did a great job! We then went to the park and ended our day and week at the library.

Reminders and Announcements

- Next Monday, October 31st, is our Harvest Festival. We will host an activity for which we will need volunteers to set-up, manage, and clean-up. Once we decide what our activity will be, I will let you know. SCHOOL DISMISSES FOLLOWING THE HARVEST FESTIVAL at 11:30 AM, unless your child is signed up for Kids Camp with Ms. Breeden. Please call Kim if you need to sign your child up.

- On Tuesday, November 1, we have Parent/Teacher Conferences and there is NO SCHOOL for the kiddos. If you need to sign your child up for Kids Camp, please call Kim. I will post a sign-up sheet with conference times tomorrow. Let me know if you are unable to meet on November 1st so we can set up a different time. Please note that care is not provided for children during conferences unless your child is signed up for Kids Camp.

- Hopefully we will be able to go to Riverview Park this week. We will meet tomorrow to determine the day and I will let you all know.

- Please help your child remember to bring his/her independent reading book to school on a daily basis.

There is no doubt that this will be another great and busy week! Please let me know if you have any questions.

All the best,

Annelise

Week of October 11, 2011

Highlights

While this past week was only four days, it was filled with activity and experience. In Language Arts, we launched our Writer's Workshop, beginning personal narratives. Different strategies for writing are introduced on a regular basis and the students are invited to use them as needed. They have been excited about their writing and have been showing more independence as they develop new strategies. This week we will continue with these personal narratives. Both Maniac Magee and Dear Mr. Henshaw are coming to a close. We read the final, tear-jerking pages of Maniac Magee on Thursday. What a fantastic book! This week we will reflect on both novels, making connections with the text and characters through discussion and projects, before starting new books next week.

In Math, we finished our Graphing Unit with an exciting game of Battleship using ordered pairs and a coordinate grid. Prior to that, we finished our circle graphs, learned when to use different types of graphs, and continued extracting data and information from graphs. The students took a pre-assessment in Number Operations and I am looking forward to diving into place value and rounding tomorrow. We will begin small group rotations tomorrow as well. You can expect DLA's in math at least twice a week from here on out.

In Social Studies, the class is continuing with Virginia geography and investigating each region. They continue to work on their brochures of the regions, and are reading text related to what they are studying. Mrs. Reed and I will be working to schedule a field trip in the near future.

Mother Nature forced us to postpone our field trip to the Rivanna River but we managed to get to the creek at Northeast Park. While there, we explored the creek, using screens to investigate the silt and look for life in the water. The kids had a blast! They were so excited to find living creatures, it was near impossible to get some of them out of the water. We will be rescheduling our trip to Riverview Park and I will update you with the details once we figure out what day works best. The kids are even more excited now that they got to practice at the creek.

Reminders and Announcements

- This week the schedule is going to be a bit different as we have Whole School Circle rehearsals on Tuesday and Wednesday and then have Grandparents'/Special Friends' Day on Friday.

- Please make sure your child brings tennis shoes on a daily basis. It is often helpful to have a pair that are left in the locker.

Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day Important Information

- If you have not already done so, please let me know by tomorrow who we can expect on Friday.

- In the event of rain, parents should expect to get their child to the Jefferson Theater for the Whole School Circle. If you are not planning to attend the WSC, please let me know so I can plan a ride for your child should it rain.

- Here is the schedule for Friday. Please read carefully and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Dear Parents, We are looking forward to next week and having Grandparents & Special Friends join us. Please don't miss our first whole school circle at the Jefferson Theater and our Saturday Night Concert in the MAC. Here is the information you need so that everything runs smoothly! Grandparents & Specials Friends Weekend Events (GP Day, Whole School Circle at the Jefferson, Saturday Concert) 1) What to wear for the Whole School Circle? All students should wear a white shirt or the white CDS shirt and jeans or dark pants/skirt. 2) Friday Schedule a. For Grandparents (Itineraries Coming...) 9:00 - 9:10 Greeting at the Front of the MAC, Room Parents will escort to Session #1 9:10 - 9:35 Session #1 9:35 - 9:45 Transition/Snack in the MAC 10:10 - 10:25 Cubs & Panda Song in the MAC 10:10 - 10:30 Parents/Grandparents drive or walk downtown to the Jefferson (remember, most school parking is 2hours) 11:00 - Whole School Circle Starts at the Jefferson (Pandas and Older Performing) The Jefferson will open at 10am and there will be Coffee 11:45 - 12:00 Whole School Circle Ends 12:00 - Everyone leaves the Jefferson - End of Circle and Friday events b. For Parents 7:45 - 8:20 REGULAR MORNING DROP OFF 9:00 - please drop off Grandparents and Special Friends unless they are driving themselves; if you prefer to stay at school, you can stay for the 21st Century Education Presentation in the MAC (classrooms will be too crowded for parents to attend) If your child does not have a Special Friend or Grandparent attending we will match them up with a buddy OR one parent can be the "Special Friend" 10:10 - 10:20 Cubby Parents and Panda Parents can see a special "Music Class" in the MAC 10:25 - All Parents Driving Grandparents or Children to the Jefferson should be ready to get people in cars. (Teachers will send details.) 10:45 - Get your seat at the Jefferson Theatre - bring your cameras! 11:00 - Whole School Circle Begins 11:45/Noon - Circle Ends; Noon pick-up at the Jefferson (YOU MUST CHECK YOUR CHILD OUT WITH HIS/HER TEACHER) 12:00 - Kids Return to School 3:30 or 5:30 - Regular Pick Up 3) Saturday NIGHT Concert a. Please join us for a celebratory concert in the MAC. b. Featuring John D'earth and Pete Spaar! c. Heavy Hors D'oeuvres, Wine and great friends!!! d. Cocktail Party attire. e. Please come and bring Grandparents & Friends. f. RSVP to Kim kkotarski@charlottesvilledayschool.org or 817-2371 g. Our community deserves this celebration. Please make a commitment to attend. It means a lot to the whole faculty to see you there. Cottage Babysitting is available.

Week of 10/3/11

Dear Parents,

We are getting closer to a blog with photos to support. I have figured out how to add the photos, just not quite where I want them. Hopefully next week.

Highlights

Last week was as busy and exciting as usual. In Language Arts, we continued to read and discuss Dear Mr. Henshaw. We had really good conversation, diving into the less than obvious meaning of the book. These kids are quite insightful, adding meaningful comments, questions, and connections to our conversations. We will finish Dear Mr. Henshaw this week. We will also be wrapping up our read aloud, Maniac Magee. Once we finish both books, we will analyze our Newberry books and guess what criteria a book must have to be selected for a Newberry.

We have also been plugging away at our book summaries. Tomorrow we launch our Writer's Workshop, starting with personal narratives. We will work on these for the next few weeks and will end the unit with a Publishing Party in mid-November. I will keep you posted.

In Math, we created, analyzed, and interpreted line graphs and circle graphs. We will begin this week with coordinate grids which will end our graphing unit, for now. We will then jump into Number Sense and Operations. We will begin with pre-assessments and will then break up into groups where we will start N&O exploring place value.

In Social Studies, the class began a project about Virginia's five regions. With the information they have gathered and will continue to acquire through research and discussion, the kids are putting together brochures packed with important facts.

We welcomed our new batch of trout eggs last Tuesday during Science! The kids were so excited. Ms. Lockwood and Chubby introduced the class to the eggs and what they will need to do to take care of them. The trout are a great connection to our river studies. This Friday we go to Riverview Park and the Rivanna River. While at the river, the students will identify leaves from the trees surrounding the river, examine the rocks in and around the river, and will use instruments to investigate the river's water. It will be a great trip.

On top of all of this, we had Spanish, Music, and P.E., spent time with our Book Buddies, walked to Meade Park, and ended our week with a great trip to McGuffey Art Center. While there, we experienced many different styles of art, utilizing many different mediums. The exhibit Art for Heart, highlighting local children's painitings and photographs auctioned off to benefit the UVA Children's Hospital, was very touching. It was good to experience kids giving back to their community. Thank you Lindsay for bringing this to our attention.

Notes and Reminders:

- This Friday, we will be walking to Riverview Park. We will leave at 11:30 and will return by 3:30. We will eat lunch at the park, spend time at various science stations, and play on the playground before walking back to CDS. Please make sure your child wears appropriate clothing and shoes. Water shoes are great so long as your child can comfortably walk in them. Please pack an additional bottle of water for this trip and a brown bag lunch, using disposable containers and utensils.

- Friday, October 21st is Special Friends' and Grandparents' Day. On Saturday (October 22nd) you and your families are invited to attend a special concert with local musicians John D'Earth and Pete Spaar. Specific details about this wonderful event will be sent out soon.

- Monday, October 31st is our annual Harvest Festival. While details are soon to come, please note that school is dismissed following the Harvest Festival at 11:30 a.m.. If you need your child to attend our Kids Camp, please contact Kim Kotarski or Jan Breeden.

- Tuesday, November 1st are Parent/Teacher Conferences and there is no school for students. If you need your child to attend our Kids Camp, please contact Kim Kotarski or Jan Breeden.

* Our class is still in need of parent volunteers. We need people to help with Whole School Circles, class parties, Harvest Festival, Earth Day Celebration and more. If you are able to help, please sign up. I will post the sign-up sheet on our bulletin board. Thank you SO much!

As always, please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

All the best,

Annelise

Week of 9/26

We had another great week! The days just seem to fly by and find myself wishing I had them for just a little bit longer each day.

Highlights:

- We have been working hard on our Summer Read Book Reviews. We have brainstormed and created our first drafts and are moving into revising, editing, publishing, and illustrating.

- Dear Mr. Henshaw seems to be a hit with the class. It has prompted meaningful discussion just in the two days we have been reading it. We will begin small group Book Talks on Monday. I have asked the class not to read ahead as we will often try to predict what is yet to come in the book. Please feel free to read the book with your child. I will also be asking the kids to respond to their reading in different ways.

- In Math, we started an activitiy involving collecting, graphing, and comparing data. Through this activity, we will also introduce probability. This coming week, we will continue and potentially wrap up Data and Graphing, taking a closer look at line graphs, circle graphs, and introducing coordinate grids in a super fun way!

- In Social Studies, we continued to explore the geography of our state, learning about the regions of Virginia. We are investigating maps and Virginia's natural resources.

- In Science, we explored Meade Creek, looking more closely at the stream habitat. We will continue to study Virginia plants and animals as they relate to Virginia's regions next week, and begin to focus on plant structures and functions.

On top of all of this, the kids are learning a lot in all of their specials and are loving P.E.. We had a great time walking to the library and McGuffey Park today. The kids loved checking out books at the library (I limited them to 3 each). We will definitely go to the library on a regular basis. We also celebrated Adalee's birthday. Certainly an action packed week. It is just wonderful being in the downtown area, with so much right at our fingertips.

Announcements and Reminders:

- Ms. Thomas is no longer with CDS. Ms. Lockwood will be providing support for the equivalent time we had Ms. Thomas. This is a positive change and we are excited to have Ms. Lockwood.

- Please make sure your child has a water bottle every day.

- Back to School Night is this coming Wednesday from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.. I look forward to seeing you there.

- Please help your child remember to complete the Daily Learning Activities. Thank you!

As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Have a great weekend!

Best,

Annelise

Week 2 and 3

Well, we are in the third week of school and we are busy, busy, busy. What a fantastic class we have!

Last week was packed with learning! In Language Arts, we continued to write in our journals, and explored the power of language. Specifically, we talked about descriptive writing, and the use of vivid adjectives in making our writing magnetic. Ask your child about salsa words. I am sure s/he can give you examples. In Math, we began our unit on Data and Graphing by creating a class graph, brainstorming what information we can extract from the graph and then collecting data from our classmates and constructing individual bar graphs. In Social Studies, Ms. Reed began a unit on Virginia, beginning with Virginia geography. What a treat to have her for that time! And in Science, Ms. Lockwood continued with rivers, introducing Meade Creek and talking about the watersheds in Virginia. We were supposed to spend more time exploring Meade Creek on Friday but the weather decided otherwise. Hopefully this week. We made invitiations for grandparents and special friends, started Morning Meeting, did yoga and kickboxing during P.E., and met with our Book Buddies for the first time.

This week in Language Arts, we are diving into our summer books. We talked about what it means to be a book critic and the components of a book review. Each child will be writing his/her own book review of a book s/he read over the summer. This project will introduce the Writing Process as we will go through each step to get to our final product. In addition to this writing project, we will begin Book Groups on Thursday. Our first book is Dear Mr. Henshaw, another Newberry Award winner. The class will read the book at home and will meet in groups to talk about it at school. Your child can read the assigned pages independently or you can read them together. In Math, we are continuing with Data and Graphing. We are working on interpreting graphs and using the information to problem solve. These kiddos are impressive. Today, when looking at a bar graph and figuring out what information we could take from it, one child said, "Well, we inferenced from the graph that Pups Place has the best pizza." And, there were many other insightful responses as well. We also introduced two new math games. Adria brought in Yamslam, an exciting dice game and Tomas brought in Battleship, which is great practice for the kids as we will be playing Battleship on coordinate grids to end our graphing unit. Thank you for sharing with our class!

I hope the DLA folders are working out. This week will bring additional Daily Learning Activities. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

A few notes and reminders:

- Please make sure your child has a water bottle each day. The kids are so active and need it throughout the day. Thank you for the large bottles of water that have been contributed.

- Please make sure your child has tennis shoes every day. It is not fun walking to and from Meade Park in sandals (I speak from experience).

- On Tuesday, we will be staying at Meade Park to explore the creek for Science. We will be back by 3:00.

- We are planning a field trip to the Rivanna River for Friday, October 14th. I will send out the details next week.

- We have started Morning Meeting and the kids can sign up to share. This is a great time to bring in that special something from home.

- Back to School Night is next Wednesday, October 5th from 6:30 - 8:30.



That is it for now. Look for photos in the next blog. I should have it figured out by then.


Have a great week!


Best,

Annelise

First Week of Third and Fourth Grade

What a fantastic first week of school!

This past week was overflowing with activities to get to know the site, to reconnect with one another, and to come together as a community. We toured our school, collaborated to set our classroom expectations, worked hard on our "ME" boards, put together time capsules, and did a lot of writing. We played math games, created personal rivers, and brainstormed our school and classroom themes. We were also introduced to Science and learned a bit about rivers as well as ways we can take care of our environment in our classroom and school.


Outside of our classroom, we were busy as well. On Monday and Thursday, we had Spanish with Senora B. and PE with Ms. Stacey. On Tuesday and Friday, we had Music with Ms. Kelly and walked to Meade Park with the entire elementary school for recess and PE. What a great place we have right in our backyard!


We also had our first assembly. The Chinese Art Performing Troupe from UVA came to teach our elementary students about Chinese culture, specifically through instruments, dance, and opera. The performance was rich and we all learned so much!


This coming week will continue to bring new experiences. In Language Arts, we will be exploring the power of language in a series of different activities. From interpreting poetry, to communcating with no words, to applying words in different situations, we will continue our conversation about our classroom theme Beyond Words... In addition, we will begin and hopefully finish reading assessments with each child. A walk to Jefferson Madison Library is also in our near future. Once I work out when that will be, I will email you with the details. Please have your child read every night for at least 15 minutes.


In Math , we will be doing pre-assessments in Numbers and Operations and diving into Data and Graphing. In order to help each student gain confidence in their math facts, I ask that your child practice his/her facts each school night for 10 minutes. Some are working on addition facts, while others are working on multiplication. Please help your child find a variety of ways to practice these facts. Printed lists, computer games or apps, games with dice and cards, and simply calling out facts are all great ways for the kids to practice. Please help them shake up the routine by practicing in a variety of ways. This will keep it fun. I will send home a sheet with guidelines and suggestions this week.


Notes and Reminders:

- Please have your child bring one Newberry book s/he read this past summer. We will begin talking about these books and rating them over the next couple weeks. If s/he did not read or complete a Newberry, just send in a book s/he did complete. No worries.

- On Tuesday, each child will come home with a DLA (Daily Learning Activities)/communication folder and a DLA journal. The folder will be used to transport work and communications to and from school. The journal will be used to keep track of the daily learning activities. A slip of paper with the DLA's for that day will be stapled into the journal at the end of each school day.

- On Monday, September 26, we will begin reading Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary. Please have your child bring a copy of this book to school by the 26th. You can check it out at the library, order a used copy from Amazon, or pick it up at Barnes and Noble. We will be reading the book as a class and discussing it in small groups.

- On Tuesdays and Fridays we walk to Meade Park for recess and PE. Upon returning, the kids are very thirsty and have often finished the water that was brought to school. While we have sinks in the classroom to fill their water bottles, most would like cold water. We do have a refrigerator in the classroom and, if you would each like to bring in a big bottle of water, I am happy to rotate through those to refill waterbottles. Or, please send an additional waterbottle to school with your child so they have plenty to last the entire day.


I am looking forward to another wonderful week! If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.


Have a great weekend!

Best,


Annelise