TIME TO BUCKLE DOWN!

Families, I hope all had a wonderful, relaxing, and fun break.  I certainly did! In fact, I failed to make any progress on the mountain of great work I have to grade.  I am excited to see some of creative work kids did for the American Revolution unit, the Matter unit in science, and math posters and tests.  Expect to see great work coming home bit by bit.

After our break, we looked at the calendar and the 8 (now 7) weeks we have left. We know to expect MAP testing this month and plenty of field trips coming up.  We will be flexible through our Spring schedule and in between events focus on our community science project, social studies themes, and some smaller units like the health Power unit.  We will always be progressing through math work but a lot of our reading and writing will be integrated into our science and social studies work.

Friday Folder:  There are important letters in the Friday Folder this week.  Dr. Wingert has shared an informative letter about MAP testing home.  While we prepare for this state assessment and kids are more used to it in 5th grade, MAP testing can always be a challenge for students in terms of stamina, schedule changes, increased stress, etc...  Please help your child get through our 8 days of testing with healthy sleep, eating, and activity habits.  Ler me know if you have any questions about the testing format.

There will also be a letter about our Hannibal field trip in the Friday Folder.  This letter is from our parent committee and references transportation choices for this fantastic field trip.  As we closer to more of our Spring events, there will be a lot informative updates sent home.

Snapshot for next week:
Reading/Writing:  Focus on Communication Arts MAP test preparation, some Book Share time, and word study activities.
Social Studies:  A look at the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
Science: Continuing our Community Science project, starting to focus on hydrological cycle.
Math:  Geometry focus on quadrilaterals and characteristics of many different shapes.

Have a wonderful weekend and come and join the Eco Club hike on Sunday if you have time!