Dear Parents,

August is nearing an end already!!  Where did that month go?  I have enjoyed the first full two weeks of getting to know your children a little better.  We are still finishing up with a few assessments but otherwise are academically in full swing.  P.E. began last week as well as computers.  P.E. will be every Tuesday and Thursday and Computers will be on Thursdays.  Our school library day is Tuesdays and our first visit to the library will be next week.

Important Dates:

Monday, September 2nd is Labor Day.  There will not be school on that Monday.

APEX Fun Run is coming!  The team will be on our campus starting next week.  This is a great way to earn much needed funds for our school.  Please be on the lookout for more information.  The actual run will happen on September 12th!

Color Days this week (dress in this color as much as possible):
Monday – Purple day
Tuesday – White day
Wednesday – Brown day
Thursday – Black day
Friday – Favorite color day

What are we doing in class this week?
Math – We are continuing to review rounding and will be learning mental math and break apart strategies for addition.

Reading – We will be reading some Kevin Henkes books as we discuss story elements and character traits.  Last week we learned our routine for Read to Self and are practicing building our reading stamina.  We will continue with that this week as well as expectations for Work On Writing.

Writing – Last week and the first part of this week, students have been learning the routines and expectations for Writer’s Workshop time.  It will consist of a mini lesson, work time and share time on an almost daily basis.  On Wednesday students completed a pre-assessment writing piece.  On Thursday we will be starting our unit on Personal Narratives.

Spelling – The spelling pattern this week is long a.  Spelling patterns are ie, ea, a_e, _ay, a and ai_.  There will be a test on Friday.

Vocabulary – Students are learning 5 new words.  They will know their definition, an example sentence using the word, a synonym for each word and an antonym for each word.  Words will be reviewed daily in simple ways and a fun review activity will take place this Friday.