Week of August 30

 Hey all!  We have survived another week and had some fun along the way!  Here's what you need to know for this coming week:

General Classroom Reminders:

• Behavior Checks.  Each day in class I remind the kids about our 3 R's... be Respectful, be Responsible, be Ready to learn.  These are the very basics of my classroom expectations.  Check in with your child and get their opinion on how this is going!  Are they showing up each day ready to do these 3 things?  As the kids continue to choose, or not to choose, to demonstrate the 3 R's, there is a simple way for you to keep tabs on this.  Both ways can be found in their blue folder:
• Paw Cards!  Ask your child to show you their Paw Card.  They earn stamps when I see them demonstrating these character traits.  When they get to 25, they earn a sweet treat from the office.  We've had a few kids fill up their first card already!  Woohoo!
• Behavior Log.  This is where you can see when things aren't going so well.  This week, as behaviors continue to arise, Mrs. Stout and I have begun to sign their behavior logs.  You will also hear from us as we continue to try and work out the behavior areas.
• Walk-A-Thon Fundraiser!  Information for our school Walk-A-Thon fundraiser will be coming home on Monday!  Be on the look out for that envelope with all the details and what prizes your child can win based on how much money they collect.  Envelopes are due back to me by Thursday, September 10.
• Charging chromebooks!  This is an important nightly habit to develop with your child.  As technology is an ever present piece of society, these chromebooks are being used on a daily basis in the classroom.  While we do have some outlets to allow kids to charge in an emergency situation, we don't have the space for everyone to charge.  
• Goolge Classroom!  As we are still living in the age of Covid, Google Classroom is that link between home and school.  This also includes any single day your child may be absent.  If they are ever not present in class, they need to log on to Google Classroom to see and complete the assignments they missed in class that day.

Language Happenings:

We are nearing the end of our study on narrative wriitng.  This past week we worked hard to become better at crafting strong sentences.  We looked at many different techniques to do this, including figurative language, adverbs, adjectives, prepositional phrases, and conjunctions.  This coming week we will begin crafting and editing our own stories (finally!).  The kids are ready to get to work on their story!

Science Happenings:

This week in science we continued learning and experimenting with different science tools.  We had fun playing a game with Tweezers, measuring with Graduated Cylinders, and weighing objects on a Triple Beam Balance.  Today, we had the chance to write secret messages with a baking soda/water mixture and reveal it with grape juice.  This was a fun way to talk about simple acid + base reactions!  This coming week we will spend LOTS of time practicing and prepparing for our Science Tools test on Friday.  On Tuesday, the kids will be coming home with a study packet that they can cut apart to use like matching cards to practice pairing the tool name, picture, and definition.  Enjoy these pics from this week's science fun!

Have a great week!

-Sarah