Week in Review, October 23-27, 2023

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In Reading, we continued with Unit 2, Word Detectives. We accepted a reading challenge from the Secret Service Detective Agency. They have been sending us secret missions to complete in order to earn a Word Detective Badge. This week we learned that Word Detectives STOP when they encounter a problem and work to fix it. They don't ask for the answer! They look across the whole word from start to finish and use everything they know to solve it. This means we look at all parts of the word. We look at the beginning sound (is it a blend or digraph?), the middle sound (what is the vowel doing?), and the end sound (is it a blend or added ending?). 

In Writing, we took our Pre-Assessment and started Unit 2-Writing Reviews. Students learned the difference between a fact and an opinion. Please have a conversation with your child about some of their favorite and least favorite things, so they are ready to write about their opinions (food, toys, movie, park, trip, etc.). Next week we will use our collections to learn how to write an opinion piece. We also shared our Personal Narratives with a couple 4th grade classes. We then enjoyed a short Choice Time with them. 

In Word Study, we learned that "n" makes a second sound when followed by "g" or "k". The sound is made by lifting the tongue to the back of the throat. This sound can be found in words like long, song, tank, and bunk. We also learned four new heart words: or, for, there and where. Please practice spelling these heart words and review the new "n" sound this coming week. 

Here's a reminder of the G1 Reading/Word Study homework expectations. 

In Math, we started Unit 3-Adding and Subtracting Within 20. We practiced our math facts (through 10), worked to understand the commutative property (turn around facts), and learned the sums of ten (friends of ten). Watch these videos for a review:

• Addition Fact Song
• Turn Around Fact Song
• Friends of Ten

In Social Studies, we used STEAM (coding and engineering) to build a spinning game to explore the responsibilities of the adults in our SAS community. We realized that all these amazing people are here for us (to help us learn and grow). We also realized that we don't know some of these people very well. We decided we should interview them to learn more about their responsibilities and take some time to learn about their likes and dislikes. 

We also attended a Diwali celebration with award winning author and SAS parent Namita Mehra. Her latest picture book The Light Within You has received rave reviews. Click here to order your own signed copy of her book.

Upcoming Events:

*Our 2nd Quarter Class Calendar and SAS 2024-2025 School Calendar are now ready.

• October 31-Halloween color dress and party! 
• We will be having our Halloween Party from 2-3 pm. Your child may wear Halloween colors (black and orange) to school and even festive themed clothes, but please do not wear costumes to school. Costumes need to be sent in your child's school bag. Please do not send in any play weapons. Your child will be given time to change before the party. 
• Haunted Scavenger Hunt (2nd post down) in the Middle School 4:30-6:00. Come park at SAS, do the Scavenger Hunt, and then Trick or Treat in the Woodlands neighborhood! 
• Registration for EAA Season 2 opens tonight. 
• November 3-Zombie Run! Sign up here.
• November 6-Vision screening today!
• November 9-Deepavali Celebration from 2:00-3:00 PM! Please let our Room Parents know if you can help. 
• Cultural Dress Day!
• Bookmark (3rd post down), for the Book Fair competition, is due today.
• November 10-No School! Faculty Inservice Day!
• November 13-No School! Deepavali!
• November 15-Field Trip to Waterways Watch Society! 
• Please review the Parent Letter (4th post down).
• November 23-24-No School! Thanksgiving!
• Nov. 27-Dec. 1-Spirit Week! 
• Dress up days will be shared later. 
• November 28-Ms. Aida's Birthday!
• December 8-Book Fair! Bring $ to shop. 

Week In Review, October 9-10, 2023

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Thank you for joining us for Fall Conferences. Students did a wonderful job sharing their strengths and goals and were proud to share their learning with you. We had an amazing first quarter and students grew in every way, shape, and form. Together, we have created a caring, safe, and fun classroom community! 

In Reading and Writing, we prepared for conferences, finished publishing our favorite small moment, and had a Writing Celebration. Students shared their stories with each other and then made a class rainbow cake to share. Each student picked a color, based on what they were most proud of, and mixed it into their batter (yellow=handwriting, pink=powerful ending, blue=beautiful beginning, & purple=perfect small steps). We enjoyed the rainbow cake during our PM snack. 

After fall break we continue with Unit 2, Word Detectives (Reading) and start Unit 2, Writing Reviews (Writing). For writing, we will need a fun collection sent to school for the launch of the unit. Please read the Collection Letter.

In Word Study, we learned about consonant digraph "wh" and "ph". We also added could, would, and should to our heart word list. 

In Math, we took our Pre-Assessment for Unit 3-Adding and Subtracting Within 20 and played some math games. We will start Unit 3 after break.

*Reminder-Students can work on Lexia, IXL, and RAZ over break.

Have a wonderful Fall Break!

Upcoming Events:

*Our 2nd Quarter Calendar is now ready.

*We will be in the keyboarding lab, for music class, for the rest of October. If your child wants to bring their personal piano lesson books, on Music days, please send them in.

• October 14-22-Fall Break. Drop 4-5 pictures from your holiday here. Your child will share these pictures to practice public speaking and to work on identifying the when, where, who, what & how (what we are working on during reading retells and in our writing). 
• October 23-Late Start (10:00)
• October 25-Free Dress Day!
• October 27-Visiting Author
• October 31-Halloween color dress and party! You may want to look for a costume over fall break.
• We will be having our Halloween Party from 2-3 pm. Your child may wear Halloween colors (black and orange) to school and even festive themed clothes, but please do not wear costumes to school. Costumes need to be sent in your child's school bag. Please do not send in any play weapons. Your child will be given time to change before the party. 
• November 3-Zombie Run! Sign up here.
• November 15-Field Trip to Waterways Watch Society! Please review the Parent Letter and sign the permission slip by October 27th.

Week in Review, October 2-6, 2023

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In Writing, we worked to publish our favorite book and will finish it up next week. We can't wait to share our published story and Post-Assessment with you during Conferences. The Post-Assessment came home in your child's zippy pouch Friday. Please review the assessment and bring any questions you may have to our conference. After fall break we start Unit 2, Writing Reviews. We will need a fun collection sent to school for the launch of the unit. Please read the Collection Letter.

In Reading, we started Unit 2, Word Detectives. Please read the Parents Letter for more information. We learned that Word Detectives STOP when they encounter a problem and work to fix it. They don't ask for the anwer! They use a s-l-o-w check to solve the mystery. This means we look at all parts of the word. We look at the beginning sound (is it a blend or digraph?), the middle sound (what is the vowel doing?), and the end sound (is it a blend or added ending?). 

In Word Study, we learned about consonant digraph "ch" and reviewed digraphs "ck", "sh" and the two sounds of "th". We added talk and walk to our heart word list. We also reviewed the other heart words we have added to our reading/spelling toolbox. Please review the following next week with your child:

In Math, we learned how to write two different equations to match a story. We saw that we can use addition to solve a subtraction problem and subtraction to solve an addition problem. Watch this video for a quick review. We also learned how to write a story problem to match given equations. We took our end of Unit 1 Assessment and had a Math Center Game Day. Results will be shared with you during conferences next week. 

In Social Studies, we talked about the rights and responsibilities we have in our classroom community. This led to us looking at our classroom jobs and how we can take on some extra responsibility to make our community a safer and better place to learn. We also took our community formative assessment. Please watch for it coming home in your child's zippy. 

Upcoming Events:

*Our 2nd Quarter Calendar is now ready.

*We will be in the keyboarding lab, for music class, for the rest of October. If your child wants to bring their personal piano lesson books, on Music days, please send them in.

• October 11-13-Fall Conferences! Click here for the schedule. If you need to change your time, please email us directly. 
• This is a student led conference. Please bring your child with you. 
• The goal of the conference is to celebrate all the learning your child has already done this year (20 minutes). 
• Your child will share their strengths and goals for community, reading, writing, and math. 
• We can take the last 10 minutes to have your child step out of the room and address any questions or concerns you may have.
• October 14-22-Fall Break. Drop 4-5 pictures from your holiday here. Your child will share these pictures to practice public speaking and to work on identifying the when, where, who, what & how (what we are working on during reading retells and in our writing). 
• October 23-Late Start (10:00)
• October 25-Free Dress Day!
• October 27-Visiting Author
• October 31-Halloween color dress and party! You may want to look for a costume over fall break.
• We will be having our Halloween Party from 2-3 pm. Your child may wear Halloween colors (black and orange) to school and even festive themed clothes, but please do not wear costumes to school. Costumes need to be sent in your child's school bag. Your child will be given time to change before the party. 
• November 3-Zombie Run! Sign up here.
• November 15-Field Trip to Waterways Watch Society! Please review the Parent Letter.