October 6, 2022

Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday!! Another full week and also a good week! More students are choosing to highlight their work in their assignment book when it is complete and I feel like I am giving out less late slips! That is a WIN for all of us. They are adjusting very well. I struggle during Unit Test Weeks for Language Arts because they do not have the normal homework to keep them busy. They still do not do well just reading during their free time. I have a few that LOVE to read but mostly they would rather talk or draw. When they draw they are talking at the same time. I am hoping that this gets better as the year progresses. They now have a book report to do so they need to be reading.

Language Arts

This week has been a Unit 1 Test Week. I split the test into 3 sections and spend 3 days completing the test. We were throw off schedule on Monday because we did not have any internet all day, and the test is online. I rearranged and gave them their first book report instructions instead of testing. The best part of having a book to read for a book report is they can use the minutes on their Book It Calendar also. It's two birds with one stone. YAY! I love it when that happens. Next week we will go back to our textbooks and begin Unit 2. This Unit is reading a lot of nonfiction, we will talk about hurricanes. How they form and what fuels them to strengthen or weaken. I will relate to Hurricane Ian. We also read about Hurricane Katrina and add in Andrew. They will be back to taking spelling tests and having vocabulary packets.

Book Report

I have assigned the students their first book report. They have been given the directions on what they will be doing. They will be creating a cereal box report. They are required to read a book that has more than 130 pages in it. I have to okay they book they are reading to be sure it fits requirements. After they have read their book in full, they will come to me to get the pieces they need to complete the report. They will need to keep a cereal box at home when it is empty. I will give them items to put on the sides and the top. They have to create the front and back themselves. They need a title that goes along with the book they read. The directions are on an orange sheet in their expanded file. This report is not due until Monday, November 7th. They have 5 weeks to work on it. I have helped most of them figure out how many chapters or pages they need to read a day to allow them 2 weeks to just work on the project. They all seem very excited to do this project.

Math

We have dug in this week to working on adding larger numbers and also subtracting them. The adding was pretty good. All of them to a pretty good job adding. I slowed down our pace for subtraction because most of them want to hurry to get done and do not take their time on subtraction. They do not want to regroup to find answers. They will get the wrong answer every time. I showed them how to check their work using addition, so they should not miss any of their subtraction problems. I am trying to have fun with this topic because it is mainly review just applying our knowledge to larger numbers. The next few chapters will have heavier content and they will be doing more work and learning.

Social Studies

We have started the Northeast Region! They have created a practice map to study, locating the states on a map. We began reading today about Niagara Falls. We discussed its beauty but also how important it is to the state of New York. We will also talk abut the mountain ranges found in the Northeast and the different coastlines in the region. This Chapter is called Land and Water so we will focus on those two things.

Spirit Day, Friday October 7th

Tomorrow is a Spirit Day! The students can pay $1.00 to wear sweatpants to school. It is the perfect day to do it! The high temperature for tomorrow is like 52 degrees. I would love to wear sweats! I hope more students participate this time. I didn't have anyone participate last time. The money we raise really does go to good causes. It helps out our own St. Malachy families when there is a need.

I feel like this week has kind have gone quickly! No clue why! I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. I will be mostly around home reading and enjoying my down time. I haven't had a good day to just sit and read for a while. I am looking forward to it!!

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels