November 26th through 30th

Keenoy Kardinal News                                                                 

November 30, 2018

Dear Families,

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I enjoyed the extra time off with the family.  We always host Thanksgiving, and our children had a blast playing with their cousins.  Have wonderful week and thanks again for your continued support this year.

Keenoy Kardinal of the Week-Campbell L.

Hello, my name is Campbell.  I’m 10 years old and my birthday is February 14^th.  I live with my mom, dad, and older sister Jillian.  We also have a cuddly dog named Scout.   My mom is an 8^th grade English teacher at Smithton.  My dad works at Socket and coaches my softball team in the Spring.  I like playing softball, basketball, and I used to be on the swim team.  I also enjoy reading books and drawing.  Life is good!

Next week’s Kardinal of the Week-Gracey R.

Please bring any pictures or items that you would like to put on our bulletin board that is located outside of our classroom.

Holiday Open House Reminder

Schedule for the Winter Open House-December 14th.

      Perform in Gym    Open House    Lunch/Recess

K         11:15 am         11:35-11:55     10:05-10:55

5th       11:35 am         12:15-12:35    12:45-1:35

Choir  11:55 am         12:15-12:35    12:45-1:35

4th       12:15 pm         12:35-12:55     10:55-11:45

1          1:30 pm           1:50-2:10         10:30-11:20

3          1:50 pm           2:10-2:30         12:20-1:10

2          2:10 pm           2:30-2:50         11:55-12:45

Paxton Toy Drive

Please consider buying a toy to donate for the Paxton Toy Drive.  At the end of the drive, these donated toys will be given to The Columbia Voluntary Action Center.  They will then provide gifts to families that have been adopted by this organization.  At this point, it appears that we do not have many gifts in the office to donate.  Thanks for considering helping out Columbia families in need.

BizTown

This week we focused on financial literacy.  We are learning about types of bank accounts, how to fill out a bank application, how to write a check and deposit ticket, and the differences between standard vs. direct deposits.  As a class, we are really enjoying this unit.

A visit informational paper will be coming home today.  Please take time to carefully read, sign, and have your child return this permission slip early next week.

Math

A few parents mentioned (at conferences) that they would enjoy some math resources for their child’s home practice.  I’ve located several online resources that each parent could find useful, especially if you would like your child to get in this extra practice at home.  This paper copy of resources will be included in your child’s Friday folder today.

This week students………

We completed Topic 3 on Thursday and spent the end of the week reviewing concepts from the fraction unit.  Students will take an assessment early next week that addresses each fraction concept taught.  I feel confident that they are prepared and will score well.  Our next unit will focus on Decimal and Coordinate Grid concepts. 

Reading

We are nearing the end of our book, Zach’s Lie by Roland Smith.  I have continued modeling good comprehension strategies as I read.  We are still working on inferring, using context clues to figure out the meaning of unknown words, and making thoughtful predictions.  I have really been impressed with the deep level of thinking that is happening during class discussions. 

Writing

We have entered our informational genre of writing this week.  After carefully looking through the pre-assessments that students took prior to Thanksgiving, it was noticeable that organizing ideas within paragraphs is an area for us to work on.  We will work on these skills daily for the next week or so.  I feel like building this paragraph understanding will pay dividends when we start working on our research project after break. 

During our work with organizing factual information into paragraphs, we will also build crafting techniques that help to make facts sound interesting.  Even though this is a different genre than Personal Narrative, I do not want students to lose their writing “VOICE.”  Non-fiction writing does not have to sound boringJ

Social Studies

We Started learning about the first 13 colonies in chapter 5 this week.  I will enjoy a taxing activity that is planned for early next week😊 During this activity, I will play the role of King George of England and the class will be the colonists.  I predict that my wonderful colonists will not be especially happy with the taxing practices of the KING!

Science

With Biztown, extended breaks, snow day, and a sub Wednesday, I have not been able to include a science lesson in our day.  We will pick back up with science next week.  The focus will be on experimental design-testable questions.

Word Study

Students took another pre-test on words having the Long O sound.  Please look for student’s Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check papers to come home often so that they can study their words.

Important Dates:

Dec. 14 Winter Performance & Open House

Dec. 17 Biztown (field trip to Chesterfield)

Dec. 21-Jan. 2 Winter Break

Jan. 3 School Resumes

Jan. 9 Fine Arts Extravaganza (field trip) - more information to come

Jan. 10 Instrument try out night at Smithton 6:00-9:00

Have a wonderful week!

                                                                                                            Sincerely,
                                                                                                            Dan Keenoy