Welcome back to school after a nice long break!  I hope everyone enjoyed their time off track and holiday season. The next few months will be very busy as we prepare for our CST assessments at the end of April.

The newest news at David Reese is the announcement and farewell to our vice principal, Mrs. Stoppelmann last Friday. Mrs. Stoppelmann has been awarded the position as principal at Union House Elementary. On Friday, she came around and said “good-bye” to the class and the rest of the school. Many students made her cards to show their appreciation.  Mrs. Stoppelmann will be missed at Reese, but we know she will be a great principal at her new school.

In the classroom, we are off full speed with learning. We came back to school with a new genre for In2books, Social Studies, and have already jumped into our books. Our theme is American West. The students are reading about the early days of pioneers, the Trail of Tears, the Pony Express, Sacajawea, and the challenges and tribulations of moving across country by covered wagon. After some group discussion, we will be ready to begin our letters to our pen pals who are eagerly waiting to hear what we think of our latest book choices.

In math, we are continuing with fractions. We spent a few days reviewing adding and subtraction and now we will continue with multiplication and division of fractions. Fractions have been challenging for many students, but with hard work, the students will master the much needed skills for the future.

There is so much going on across the board, from a new science unit on matter, to social studies where we have begun learning about our rich, diverse country and it’s people. We will continue to work on a variety of writing prompts and techniques to improve our skills there as well.  Lastly, we will begin a larger focus on physical fitness training in preparation for our PE testing around the same time as our CST assessments in April.

Thank you for your support in making sure your child is prepared for school each day with a healthy breakfast, the tools they need (including pencils), and a good night sleep the night before. The success of your child is just as much a priority for me as well. Please continue to check our blog for additional posts and responses from students and others. This is a great way to stay connected to our class throughout the year.