Happy Easter!

Even without the reading series this week we managed to be very, very busy.  

We read different versions of the same stories and then compared them using a Venn diagram.





On Friday many students showed up in Fairy Tale costumes.  The students looked great!

We performed Reader's Theater for Miss Agostini's class and also watched them perform for us. 

More people have sent photos and journal entries about Flat Stanley's adventures!

We finished up our space research and writing and presented them to the class so that we could all benefit from the work that was done.

Our new canonical administrator, Fr. Josef, visited to wish all of the students and their families a very Happy Easter!!

We also wrote a digital story with our 5th grade reading buddies, attended the Stations of the Cross, made Easter baskets, counted coins, made bread and wrote a story about it, and made mini books about space.  Whew!!  What a week.

Enjoy the vacation with your family and friends.  Happy Easter

Important Dates: No school unti 4/7/15
4/8/15- Mass at 9:40

Happy Spring!

This week we learned about constellations and worked on our research projects about bodies in space.  Each child chose an item to research and write about and we will present them in class at the end of the week.

In reading we learned about Author's Purpose and practiced using pronouns.

In Religion we continue to learn about the Sacraments.  This week we concentrated on Reconciliation.  One of our classmates has already made his Reconciliation so he was able to give us the inside scoop and made everyone feel a little less nervous about it. :-)

Our Easter party will be on Friday.  A room mother will be contacting parents for drinks, paper products, and treats.  If anyone else would like to send a small, wrapped treat for the Easter baskets it would be appreciated. :-)

Next week we will not be using the reading series- No test, spelling, or vocabulary!!  We are going to be using Reader's Theater scripts to work on sight words and fluency.  We will also use Venn diagrams to compare two versions of the same fairy tale.  In addition we will be practicing identifying the main idea of a paragraph.

Important Dates-
3/21/15- DeSales Auction
3/25/15-  Stations of the Cross Prayer Service and Field Trip forms due
3/27/15- Easter Party at 2PM; our new canonical administrator, Fr. Josef, will be visiting each room to wish the students a Happy Easter.
 

Celebration!

Locker Art:  The students made beautiful Easter crosses to decorate their lockers.

The students wrote delightful narratives about leprechauns and shared them with the class.

We have been getting reports back about Flat Stanley's adventures.  This week we learned that he has been to Italy and South Carolina.  I am so jealous of that little world traveler.

 Flat Stanley's adventures with one of our students. 

This photo and below show Stanley in Paris, the French Alps and Venice!!

The highlight of our week was Generation Celebration.  The students did a wonderful job on the readings and presenting the gifts.  They really enjoyed spending time with their special guests.  I tried to get around to everyone to take photos but it was so crowded that I could not find everyone before everyone left.  Enjoy the photos below and my apologies to everyone I left out.

Thank you to all of our special guests.  I know it is difficult to take the time during the middle of the day to attend. 
 This week: Teachers will be attending an in-service on Friday the 20th so our weekly reading test will be on Thursday.
Special Dates: 
Thurs. March 19th- I will be providing a special snack that day so you will not need to send one.

 

Finally... It's March, Spring Must Be Just Around the Corner!

We started off our day with a Scavenger Hunt.  I put clues around the school and the students had to answer questions at each stop before they earned a small prize at the end.  Scavenger Hunts are such a fun way to practice reading!

Flat Stanley reports have started coming in.  He visited Buenos Aires, Argentina; Rome, Italy; and Florida so far.  In Italy he traveled with a group of priests and brothers to the Vatican.  They even made a Flat Stanley dressed like a priest to travel with our Flat Stanley!  We have enjoyed letters and photos from each of those places.  The recipients have had such fun with Stanley and have sent us very detailed reports of landmarks and sites that Stanley has visited.  What a fun way to learn about different countries and states!

Stanley and friends in Rome, Italy.

Stanley traveled to Florida and ran into a friend from DeSales!!

We have just finished our month with author Robert Munsch.  In the Listening Center this student enjoys his book, Makeup Mess

We've started working on telling time.  This student uses a "flip board" to practice time and then flips it over to check his answers.

One of our centers this week was a drawing center.  Students have to read and follow the directions to draw the picture. 

This student practice time with a clock.

Mathlines is always a popular center.  The student beat the clock by finding addends of ten before the time ran out.  It is a great way to practice math facts.  You can find a link under "Educational Links" on this blog. 

 

Other News:
Reading: we worked on prediction and listened to author Cynthia Cotten tell us about writing.
 Religion: learned about Confirmation and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
SS: read about American Symbols
Science: learned about matter (ask your child about solids, liquids, and gases)
 Math:  triple digit subtraction!!

Important Dates:
3/11- Generation Celebration- please email me with the names of guests that are coming.  We want to write a thank you to them. 
3/13- 1/2 day for students