February 6, 2025

Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday! What a week we have had. I never ask for ice. I ask for snow all the time but never ice. I sure hope we do not have a completely void of snow winter. I did enjoy my afternoon yesterday. I worked on schoolwork until 3:30 then enjoyed a movie. This morning I did not sleep in but I did laze around in bed for a while longer. The end of the trimester is the 21st so I am working hard on all paperwork do I am ready for report cards. If your student has corrections in their folders they need to work on them because I will not accept any after the 21st.

Language Arts

We finished a story this week and we have been trying to start the next one. The Early out yesterday and the delay this morning has not helped us out. We are going to start Week 2 of Module 4. This week has two stories to read so it will take more like 8-10 days to complete. I will keep you posted on when the spelling post test will be. This week's spelling list is on Homophones. These are words that sound the exact same but have different spelling. Examples would be hanger/hangar, pedal/peddle, who's/whose, and steel/steal. They really have to listen to how the word is used in the sentence to make sure they have the correct spelling. In grammar we will also talk about homophones and their uses. Words we will work on are two,to, and too, their, they're, and there, and it's and its. These are words that I see misused all the time on Social Media. I hope to drill into them how to use them properly. The First story we read is about Smokejumpers, which is appropriate to discuss after the wildfires in California. The 2nd story is called Perseus and the Fall of Medusa. It is a Myth written as a play. It is an interesting drama to read. I think they will all enjoy it.

Math

We are off a day due to the early out. They are finishing a practice test for Topic 4 right now. We will check it together tomorrow and then their test will be Monday. I have not taught them the standard algorithm for double-digit multiplication. The book we have does not require me to do that. We feel as a school that it is important for us to teach them this strategy. We will work on it after this test. We will spend some time learning it but we will not test over it unless I decide it is necessary. Topic 5 will be on Division. We will then add division to our basic fact testing on Wednesdays.

Social Studies

We are still working on our last chapter of the Southeast. We have started lesson 4 which is the last lesson of this chapter. So a test will be coming soon. Definitely a study guide next week for sure.

Valentine's Day

We will celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14th this year. The students may bring Valentine's to pass out to the class. I request they do not bring them until Friday, the 14th. I have no place to store them. I also have the homeroom moms supply a drink and a snack to have at this time. I do not allow the students to eat any treats from their Valentine bags (which we make at school). That is for the parents to decide not me.

Super Bowl Friday

Tomorrow is Super Bowl Friday. This is to celebrate the Super Bowl. So you can wear your Chief's or Eagle's gear tomorrow. If you don't have anything then you can wear green and black or red and gold. I am not a fan of either and will be supporting my Iowa State gear since that is all I have. It's a lucky thing your Principal is a Chief's fan! Just because I wear Iowa State does not mean I am a Chief's fan. I just wanted to clarify.

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. I am sure some of you will be celebrating a Super Bowl Party somewhere. I just like the food and the half-time show. Oh wait the commercials are always fun too. I am not much of a football fan otherwise. I hope you cheer loud for your favorite team.

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels