Dearest Lower Elementary West,
What we're working on...
We've ended our study with Asia and it was fantastic to see all of the hard work that came from it. We're now studying Africa! It was wonderful to have visitors to come in and talk about their firsthand experience during our Asia unit, so if you're interested in coming in to present about your African adventures, please contact me. The students love having visitors come in and it really helps the work come alive!
First years are creating Africa maps, practicing math with the bead frame (a kind of abacus), and learning about the external characteristics of birds. Spelling focused on -ock words and they'll also be explore African folk tales this week.
Second years are identifying the physical features of Africa and will be creating physical maps out of salt dough. The students remember this work from last year and are eager to have a turn to create their own this time. Second years are also wrapping up their work with the timeline of life and are currently focusing on the next invertebrate - the Annelid. They are also practicing long division with the stamp game and spelling focused on -st words.
Third years are also identifying the physical features of Africa and will be creating physical maps out of salt dough. The third years have caught on to the different aspects of what they can study when we begin our work on another continent, so many are already independently researching African animals and countries. These students are also doing scientific animal classification work. We learned the classification system: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species and also the fun way to help us remember: King, Philip, Came, Over, For, Good, Soup. We're beginning our study with the most simple invertebrates--porifera, cnidaria, and annelids--and learning about their "Evolutionary Game Changers." See if your child remembers the evolutionary game changer for each invertebrate and ask them about the comic books they're creating to go with this work. Third years are also doing perimeter practice and answering word problems surrounding perimeter, like "The perimeter of a pool is 150 meters. If the length is double the width, what are the length and width of this pool?" Spelling focused on o/au words last week.
Snack Time Grace & Courtesy
As a whole group, we are going to be focusing more on grace and courtesy revolved around snack. It is a freedom and a responsibility to have snack time and we're going to discuss and discover as a whole group what changes we need to make so that snack time is used properly.
If your child likes to bring an extra snack, they are more than welcome to, but we want to avoid from students eating the majority of their lunch during snack time. If you could prepare lunch with your child and specify what the extra snack is, that would help us reinforce snack expectations. Thanks in advance for your support. Snack time is especially important to us since we don't eat lunch until 1:00, so we want to make sure it is done right.
Volunteer Opportunities
Lower Elementary West is in need of a few volunteers for the remainder of the school year. If you are able to fulfill any of these requests, please contact Jennifer Nelson at jennifer.nelson@
1. Classroom Deep Clean:
We are in need of adult volunteers to assist in our next classroom deep clean on Tuesday, March 17th from 5-7pm. These events help keep our learning environment sanitary, beautiful and orderly. Many hands make light work! Please RSVP to Jennifer Nelson if you can attend.
2. March Laundry:
Our classroom is in need of someone to wash our classroom linens for the month of March. Laundry is sent home once a week on Thursdays. Clean linens can be returned the next day or the following Monday.
3. Snack Shoppers for April and May/June:
We are in need of two families to shop and deliver our snack ingredients for the months of April and May/June. Grocery lists are provided to your family the Thursday before each upcoming week. Ingredients can be purchased over the weekend and delivered on the Monday of each week. You can choose to be reimbursed for part, all or none of these purchases. Please be aware that the gift of your time is fully appreciated, so do not hesitate to ask for reimbursement if needed!
Big Thanks
To all of our current volunteers for your ongoing support in the classroom. Your help does not go unnoticed :)
To Jennifer Taylor and Susan Sochacki for helping our beginning readers.
To Laura Whitley for helping with our laundry.
To Mary and Dave Green for helping with snack purchase this month.
And to Heather Thomas for helping with Thursday Folders and working with students on their projects.
That's all for now! Keep an eye out for the next GRS Movie Night scheduled for Friday, March 13th.
Warm regards,
Jessy
