Hi parents!

I just wanted to share a few pictures and notes about our short week last week. Your kids planned an excellent Christmas party and were so thoughtful in the gift exchange!

• Here are some pictures from the gingerbread houses! These houses ended up being a wonderful team building and problem solving activity. Some houses collapsed and some decorations didn’t turn out quite as planned, but each group found a way to create a standing house made of gingerbread, candy, and frosting.

• We followed up on our experiment from the Halloween party. We discussed catalysts and made predictions. We were disappointed with the reaction our first time on Tuesday so we started brainstorming what could have been different. We realized the soap was different from our previous attempt at elephant toothpaste. After adjusting the soap, we considered other variables we could change like how we added the yeast to the hydrogen peroxide mixed with water or without. When we added yeast without water, we noticed the reaction happened significantly more slowly which started a conversation about why the catalyst was suddenly less effective.

I hope you are having a wonderful break! I will see you all in 2023 🙂

Hi parents!

I hope you had a wonderful week and enjoyed the show today. Your kids have been working hard over the past weeks practicing the many songs they sang and perfecting our class dance. They should be proud of their dedication to a great show!

• This week we have been busy little elves making gifts to go home for the holidays! I cannot share what we made this week but will say your kids helped pick the project and many chose to add extra steps to the process, going above and beyond the initial plan. Speaking of planning, your kids planned our class holiday party for next week too! Complete with a science experiment, building project, and Secret Santa gift exchange! I’m looking forward to the celebration.
• As we continued our study of graphic novels this week, students read their own graphic novel checked out from the library. They also wrote a complete graphic novel that tells the story of one of their favorite holiday memories. This story will ultimately be one of the chapters in their autobiographies. As we go through the editing process, we have been discussing the importance of correct spelling and legible handwriting. We have also been editing for some things that are more unique to graphic novels such as placement of speech bubbles to support the flow of the story and strategies to show the reader the details instead of simply labeling a picture and telling the reader. I think the final products are going to turn out great!

• Students designed and created postcards for the national park they have been researching. These will be up on our wall near our map where we will also mark each park. This project will continue when we return from winter break.

I hope you have a good weekend and that you enjoy the snow! Quick reminders that Monday is spirit day and Tuesday students may wear any holiday attire. Of course, students are welcome to still wear their uniform either day.

See you next week 🙂

-Ms. Anna

Hi parents,

I hope you had a wonderful week! We were busy here in Room 220!

• Throughout the week we have been practicing our class and school songs for the holiday show next week. We cannot wait to perform for you next Friday! It will be an excellent show as always 🙂 Your kids know the songs well, but it doesn’t hurt to hear them a few extra times, so I’ve included the links here again: There’s No Place like Home for the Holidays  and I’ll Be Home for Christmas.
• Our morning challenges and practice placement test questions had us discussing multiplying fractions, analyzing articles about food containing GMOs, and revisiting rounding decimals. I have been most impressed with the class’s eagerness to share their responses and reasoning behind each answer. I have loved seeing groups work together in the morning and each student taking a turn as the expert when we review the answers as a class.
• Also this week we practiced coordinate pairs. Each student made a drawing and then wrote directions using coordinate pairs to explain how to recreate the drawing. Some students drew multiple circles or curved lines which made for a bonus challenge! This was a fun exercise in understanding coordinate pairs and precision of language. I was happy to hear students ask to have their papers back because they realized one of their directions didn’t make sense or they could clarify a portion of what they wrote.

• Throughout this week, students have been planning and starting to create their graphic novel chapters for their autobiographies. Each student is telling a story of a favorite memory in the format of a graphic novel. In order to be true to the style of writing, we read Stinky by Eleanor Davis and have been using this as a mentor text. Each student also has a graphic novel checked out from the library so the class has additional examples of graphic novel writing styles. I’m looking forward to seeing each student’s story come to life!

• We ended the week at the Candy Cane Lane holiday shop. Your kids had so much fun shopping for each person on their list!! Thank you thank you to our parent volunteers for making such an amazing event!

• Quick reminder – Secret Santa gifts are due back at school wrapped and labeled by Thursday, December 15th. Please let me know if you need anything from me for your child to participate!

I hope you have a great weekend!

-Ms. Anna

Hi parents,

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving break! We had an awesome week back in the classroom. Take a look at what we’ve been up to.

• We kicked off our unit that will carry us until our next break! Throughout the week students practiced drawing cartoons, checked out a graphic novel from the library to study, read about animation strategies to show a range of emotions, and chose a National Park to research in further detail. We will continue to study graphic novels throughout the coming weeks while simultaneously learning about United States National Parks. The students are looking forward to ultimately writing their own graphic novel-style chapter for their autobiographies and create one about the National Park they research. This week we started by analyzing the value of pictures in a story – how a picture can show, instead of tell, details of a story. We practiced drawing variations of cartoons both showing emotions and actions and creating a variety of characters. You can try one of the drawing videos we tried as a class yourself!

• This week we have been preparing for the upcoming holidays. The students worked with our dance teacher, Ms. Sara, to create choreography for our class song for the upcoming Holiday Program. We will continue to practice at school, but it would be great for students to practice our song, No Place Like Home for the Holidays, at home as well! The class also requested and helped plan a Secret Santa gift exchange. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions regarding this gift exchange.

• On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, the class worked with Mr. Chris to understand how to measure and draw angles. In particular, they applied this understanding to space – constellations and the moon. We also practiced coordinate planes in relation to explorers from a hundred years ago. Ask your child about their favorite High School Placement Test Prep Question of the Day so far! This week we introduced a new daily morning question to practice the format of these test questions and introduce a range of topics for our class to discuss.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! See you next week 🙂

-Ms. Anna