Week of 4/4/16 - 4/8/16

We’ve made it to Easter and Spring Break; may it be safe and wonderful for everyone!!   See you all in April!

Mrs. Cushing, our PE teacher, is looking for some help with her  indoor tennis unit come April.  Parents can just come in for their child's 25 min. PE class or come for the grade level time.  Students need help getting the fundamentals down.  Students would benefit from having extra people to help toss balls to them so they can practice their skills.  Please let her know if you are available at all to help out.  Please email Mrs. Cushing at tcushing@ccsd66.org  Thank you!

Coming up the week after Spring Break: 

Spelling:   Six spelling activities (2 from each column)  need to be completed by Friday, 4/15.  The test will be on 4/15 as well.  On Monday, 4/4, students will be bringing home a new Words Their Way spelling sort and a new homework menu.  

Reading & Language Arts:  We’re continuing our third and final reading unit:”Stand Up for what You Believe In!”   We’re enjoying The One and Only Ivan.  The story is wonderful; ask your child to summarize it for you!  

Book reports for non-fiction books are due on 4/4.  (Most students have completed this activity.)

March reading logs are due on 4/4.

Social Studies:  We will be continuing our Chicago unit. This week we’re focusing on the rebuilding of the city after the Great Chicago Fire and the first Chicago World’s Fair.  A study guide will be going home on Monday for Test II.  I am planning that test for 4/11.  Study guides may be used!  

Science:   We will start reading about the solar system during our Reading/ELA stations.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:  We’re finishing up Unit 6 on Geometry.  This coming week we’ll be working  on perimeter problems and fractions on a geoboard.  The final test on Unit 6 will be on Friday, 4/8.  A pretest will go home on Monday.  Please make sure your child works on it; we’ll go over all the answers and review for the test on Thursday.

Important Dates:

3/24 - Last day of school before Spring Break

3/25 - 4/1 - Spring Break

4/13 - Early Dismissal
4/28 - Spring Open House & Book Fair
5/13 - Early Dismissal

5/30 - Memorial Day (no school)

6/3 - Last Day of School

Have a Happy Easter and a wonderful Spring Break!

Week of 3/14/16 - 3/18/16

Don’t forget to set your clocks an hour ahead on Saturday night!  Spring is here...

Mrs. Cushing, our PE teacher, is looking for some help with her  indoor tennis unit come April.  Parents can just come in for their child's 25 min. PE class or come for the grade level time.  Students need help getting the fundamentals down.  Students would benefit from having extra people to help toss balls to them so they can practice their skills.  Please let her know if you are available at all to help out.  Please email Mrs. Cushing at tcushing@ccsd66.org  Thank you!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and can go out and enjoy the warm temperatures!!

Coming up next week:

Spelling:   Six spelling activities (2 from each column)  need to be completed by Friday, 3/18.  The test will be on 3/18 as well.  During the week of 3/21, I’ll be giving the students a new Words Their Way inventory to see which spelling list they will use for the rest of the year.  Consequently, there will be no spelling the week leading up to spring break.

Reading & Language Arts:  We’re continuing our third and final reading unit:”Stand Up for what You Believe In!”   We started reading The One and Only Ivan (together) this trimester.  The story is wonderful and I encourage parents to read it as well.  

For Read to Self, we’re reading non-fiction books.  There is another book report to complete, and it’s a new format. Many of the students have already started and some have finished!

Leprechaun traps are due on Wednesday.  We’ll then write the “informational” piece with step by step directions on how they built it.  I can't wait to see them!

Keep reading for March!!

Social Studies:  We will be continuing our Chicago unit.  This week we’re reading about the Great Chicago Fire.  Flip books will be created (mostly in class.)  Students are also working on a research project.  They need to find out all they can about a special place in Chicago that they may have been to or are interested in going to.  Some examples would be the Lincoln Park Zoo or The Museum of Science and Industry.  This activity will mostly be done in class.  It will be due on Friday, 3/18. 

When I use the term “mostly in class” I’d like to clarify that I give the kids ample time to work on all projects; if they use their time wisely, they get the work done!   If they choose to waste time, it becomes a homework activity.  You will see the activities (flip book and brochure) in the assignment notebooks.

Science:   We are on hiatus!

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:  We’re continuing Unit 6 on Geometry.  This coming week we’ll be working with quadrilaterals and starting perimeter.  A checkpoint quiz is scheduled for Wednesday, 3/16.  They will need to know about polygons, quadrilaterals, and parallelograms.

Important Dates:

3/15 - Election Day, no school

3/24 - Last day of school before Spring Break

3/25 - 4/1 - Spring Break

Have a great weekend!

Week of 3/7/16 - 3/11/16

This upcoming week begins Trimester 3.  I am shocked at how quickly this year is flying by.  We have a full week coming up before another 4 day week.  Before you know it, it will be Spring Break!!   

Spring pictures have gone home.  Payments or unwanted pictures are due back by next Friday 3/11.

I have really enjoyed our Culture Day presentations so far.  It’s amazing the things I’m learning!  We’ll have one more group going on Monday.  

Mrs. Cushing, the PE teacher, is looking for some help with her indoor tennis unit come April. Parents can just come in for their child's 25 min. PE class or come for the grade level time. Students need help getting the fundamentals down. Students would benefit from having extra people to help toss balls to them so they can practice their skills. Please let her know if you are available at all to help out. Please email Mrs. Cushing at tcushing@ccsd66.org Thank you!

Coming up next week:

Spelling:   New sorts will be going home on Monday.  Six spelling activities (2 from each column)  need to be completed by Friday, 3/18.  The test will be on 3/18 as well.  

Reading & Language Arts:  We’re starting our third and final reading unit:”Stand Up for what You Believe In!”   We’ll be reading The One and Only Ivan (together) this trimester.  The story is wonderful and I encourage parents to read it as well.  

For Read to Self, we’re reading non-fiction books again.  There is another book report to complete, and it’s a new format.  I’ll be introducing it to the kids this week.

March reading logs are in your hands!

Social Studies:  We will be continuing our Chicago unit this week.   We’ll be learning about the waterways and the industrial boom.  I’ll also be introducing a research project this week.  Don’t panic; it’s fun and easy!

Science:   We are on hiatus!

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:  We’ve begun Unit 6 on Geometry.  This coming week we’ll be working with tangrams, polygons, and geoboards.  Should be fun!  A checkpoint is tentatively scheduled for 3/16.

Important Dates:

3/15 - Election Day, no school

3/24 - Last day of school before Spring Break

3/25 - 4/1 - Spring Break

Have a great long weekend!