February

2/8

- Parent Teacher Conferences 3:30-6:30

- Wear Red Day

2/9

NO SCHOOL

- Parent Teacher Conferences 8:00-11:40

2/15

- Spring Pictures!

2/23

- Character Assembly

Dear First Grade Parents,

As the weather begins to change, please be sure that your child is dressed accordingly. Also, be sure to check TalkingPoints for updates and reminders.

Math Focus:

Module 3: Ordering and Comparing Length Measurements as Numbers

Module 4: Place Value, Comparison, Addition and Subtraction to 40

Reading Focus:

• Using illustrations and details to retell a story

• Identify who is telling the story

Writing Focus:

Informative/Explanatory writing that includes:

• Write steps in sequence.

Narrative writing that includes:

• Write a short story with a beginning, middle, and end.

• Recount two or more appropriately sequenced events.

• Use temporal words to signal the sequence of events.

FEBRUARY CONFERENCES ARE QUICKLY APPROACHING! WE WILL SEND OUT MORE INFORMATION AT A LATER TIME. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO FOR YOUR CHILD!

-Miss Barrientos

-Mrs. Falcon

-Mrs. Morton

Math Update

We are on Module 5, which is the continuation of adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers using place value strategies. Students are becoming more confident with using the vertical method. You could help them practice by giving them problems to do at home. Example: 250 + 140, 150 – 47.

Reading Update

ELA Unit 4 Module A & B: Students will read and write about challenges characters face. We are also learning about earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Students are practicing reading words with long vowels and words with the vowel patterns of oo, u, ou, ow, oi, and oy. We have been setting goals for reading more fluently. You can help your child by having them practice reading the same book or even a page in a book every night several times.

Upcoming Event

We are excited to discuss your child’s improvements during conferences!

Our third grade timeline is coming up! More information will be sent out with the students. Our science fair will be held in March! This will be natural disasters. More information coming soon! We have been busy learning area, talking about exploring the frontier of the west, and learning about figurative language within our ELA stories. Conferences are February 8th and 9th and we look forward to seeing all of you there!

Math: -We will be completing the following topics for Module 5: Fraction Equivalence, Ordering, and Operations. Topic D: Fraction Addition and Subtraction, Topic E: Extending Fraction Equivalence to Fractions Greater Than 1, Topic F: Addition and Subtraction of Fractions by Decomposing, Topic G: Repeated Addition of Fractions as Multiplication, and Topic H: Exploring a Fraction Pattern. After completing the final topic, we will be completing our Module 5 Test.

Reading: We will be finishing up Unit 3 Module A and getting ready to start Unit 3 Module B. In module B, readers will understand that specific strategies can be used to help them understand what they read. Writers will understand that research of both literary and informational texts can be used to convey ideas and information. Learners will understand the effects of changes in nature on both the environment and people

For our performance based assessment, students will choose a natural event to research (for example, a hurricane, a tornado or other storm, a flood, a volcanic eruption, or erosion). They will write a news report that explains the effects of the natural event on both living things and Earth.

Science: Our focus this month will be on Bundle 2 - Changes Over Time to Earth’s Surface and Resources. Students will be to create an ad to attract new workers to a coal-mining project. As your child works toward this goal, he or she will be exploring many phenomena while learning the following concepts:

● The locations of mountain ranges, deep-ocean trenches, ocean-floor structures, earthquakes, and volcanoes usually occur near the borders of Earth’s tectonic plates.

● Patterns of rock formations and fossils can tell us what changes to Earth’s surface have occurred over time.

● Earth’s surface also changes slowly over time due to forces from wind, water, and ice.

● Renewable and nonrenewable resources exist in and on Earth’s surface, and their use affects the environment.

● Natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis also cause changes to Earth’s surface, but humans can take steps to reduce their impacts.

Thank you for your continued support at home!

-4th grade team

5th Grade

Valentine’s Day is soon approaching, which means January is a thing of the past. The second semester always seems to go by so quickly. February is a great month to make kindness goals. What are you going to do each day to spread kindness to others? A little bit of kindness goes a long way. If you choose to send cards or treats for Valentine’s Day, please remember to send enough for the whole class.

In the next few months we will have several activities occurring: a trip to DCHS to see the musical, parent teacher conferences, field trip to the Cosmosphere, family Title 1 activities, LOTS of testing, visits to DCMS and a visit to DCHS to check out the music programs. Our schedules are filling up fast.

Now on to the good stuff!! In the month of February, we will begin a new unit in math. We just finished multiplying and dividing fractions and decimals and will begin working on addition and multiplication with volume and area. The kids are beginning to understand why we worked on some of the skills we did earlier in the year. Knowing our multiplication and division facts are very important as we continue to introduce new concepts that use the same skills. Please continue working on these skills with your children at home.

For ELA we will continue our mission to understand the universe by reading “The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon,” “Jess and Layla’s Astronomical Assignment” and “Our Mysterious Universe”. The things we are learning in ELA right now tie in well with our Science unit and our upcoming field trip.

Our 5th graders only have 4 months left of elementary school. Let’s make the last few months the best months! Keep encouraging your child to work hard and let’s all spread kindness to others.

Mr. Struzik, Miss Ochoa, and Mrs. Whelchel

Mrs. Scheve’s Music Newsletter for February

Kindergarten: In kindergarten we do a focus song each week or every other week that the children will sing for a few days and sometimes there will be movement or instrument playing to go along with the song. The students are learning high and low and solfege pitches sol and mi. There will also be some Valentine’s music activities incorporated into the month. Every Thursday we are doing Listening Thursday in which the students watch a music performance and they evaluate it and identify the music elements, some of which is done using academic discourse with a partner: tempo, dynamics, pitch, and what emotion it makes them feel.

1st grade: In 1st grade we do a focus song each week or every other week that the children will sing for a few days and sometimes there will be movement or instrument playing to go along with the song. The students are learning how to distinguish between high and low, working on eighth note, quarter note, and quarter rest rhythms and being able to identify the notes and rests. There will also be Valentine’s music activities incorporated into the month. Every Thursday we are doing Listening Thursday in which the students watch a music performance and they evaluate it and identify the music elements, some of which is done using academic discourse with a partner: tempo, dynamics, pitch, and what emotion it makes them feel.

3rd grade: In 3rd grade we do a focus song each week or every other week that the children will sing for a few days and sometimes there will be movement or instrument playing to go along with the song. They are working on speaking and clapping rhythms that include eighth, quarter, and half notes and quarter and half rests, along with working on solfege with the pitches sol and mi. The students are also working on performing ostinatos and within a group have a created an ostinato they perform for the whole class. Every Thursday we are doing Listening Thursday in which the students watch a music performance and they evaluate it and identify the music elements, some of which is done using academic discourse with a partner: tempo, dynamics, pitch, and what emotion it makes them feel.

4th grade: : In 4th grade we do a focus song each week or every other week that the children will sing for a few days and sometimes there will be movement or instrument playing to go along with the song. They are working on speaking and clapping rhythms that include eighth, quarter, and half notes and quarter and half rests, along with working on solfege with the pitches sol and mi. We will be working hard on knowing the notes on the treble clef staff, identifying symbols, and being able to perform rhythms in order to prepare for playing recorders. Every Thursday we are doing Listening Thursday in which the students watch a music performance and they evaluate it and identify the music elements, some of which is done using academic discourse with a partner: tempo, dynamics, pitch, and what emotion it makes them feel.