Welcome March!

We made it through February and we are one step closer to spring! This week is a full week for the kids and an important one: ISAT testing! We have worked hard to prepare for these tests and now the kids have an opportunity to show off what they know. We will be taking 8 tests this week: 2 science, 3 math, and 3 reading. I sent an email out last week that had our test names and times given. If you would like another copy, please email me to let me know. I hope everyone has a great start to this week and the new month. Here is a look at our week ahead:

Since it is ISAT week, it is important the kids stay well-rested and eat healthy meals to keep them going. We are going to have 2 snack times this week: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Please feel free to send your child with 2 healthy snacks (making sure that they stay peanut and tree nut free).

To celebrate our hard work and completion of ISAT testing, we will have a classroom party on Friday afternoon. The kids were asked to bring in some "G" rated movies and we will be taking a vote later in the week for which one we would like to watch. We will also have a snack time during Friday afternoon as well, and I told the kids that if they wanted to make this one a bit sweeter than their usual snacks, they are more than welcome to. Please make sure to check the label to be certain that the treat is peanut and tree nut free. We will be checking labels in class as well.

Due to ISAT testing, the math schedule will be a bit different than usual. We will only have our regular math times on Monday and Wednesday this week (the other days will be taken up with testing). We will spend our time in class reviewing and playing some math games to keep our brains going. I will pass out an information later for parents on Wednesday about our upcoming unit. We will begin Unit 7 on Monday next week.

There will be no Treasures again this week due to testing. This means that there will be no spelling, DLA, grammar, or new reading strategies. We will return to our normal reading schedule next week.

The kids took a test over electricity last week and are working to finish their circuit board quizzes. These will be on display in the hallway during conference times with some open circuits so that you can test your electricity knowledge with the projects. We will also be beginning a new unit in social studies this week. Our new unit focuses on exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries. The kids will have a chance to "excavate" and examine objects from a "sunken ship". The kids will take on the role of underwater archeologists to investigate eight placards, each of which contains an image of an artifact from an explorer's sunken ship, such as a Bible, a compass, and tobacco. After analyzing and reading about the artifacts, students will categorize them in one of three ways: as motives for exploration as new technology that encouraged exploration or as "new" products from the Americas. Then students will discuss what the artifacts reveal about exploration.

March book order catalogs will go home later in the week. Feel free to send in your order form -- CHECKS ONLY, PLEASE -- or order online. These orders are due Friday, March 11th..

The teachers will be scheduling our conferences on Wednesday morning. You will receive your scheduled time and day later on this week. Please take some time to look this over and return the bottom half of the sheet as a confirmation to the date/time. If you need to reschedule, we will try to do this as soon as possible. I will also be sending home a short response sheet to get a feel for your concerns, praises, or questions that you may have about your child. We can take time to cover these during our conference time.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Have a great start to your week!