This weekend was a happy and exciting weekend in the McKenzie household. As you know, we celebrated Finley's first birthday! We also took time to celebrate making it through our first year of being parents. I have never experienced anything more rewarding!! I know you all know this feeling. Thank you for the books. Finley LOVES books and was so excited when I brought the basket home. She spent the longest time taking them out, pointing to pictures saying "what's that", and kissing any person or animal she noticed. Priceless! I love that she will enjoy the books that your children enjoyed and will have their names inside. What a precious memory. Thank you again for being so thoughtful.
This week has already gotten off to a great start! Today we started a new writing unit on Poetry. The kids are very excited about putting on their "poet" hats. We love listening to and reading poetry in the class and now we get to write some! Today we read some poems from Zoe Ryder White. She has a great way of taking something ordinary and making it extraordinary through her writing. We talked about the difference between writing like a scientist and writing like a poet. To kick off the unit, the kids grabbed their clipboards, some paper and a pencil and we headed outdoors. They had a blast finding things to write about and experimenting with becoming a poet. I can tell we are going to have a lot of fun with this unit!!
We are continuing our study in reading - Journey Through Friendships: Examining Good Times and Bad Times. Today we talked about how great readers don't just pay attention to how friends resolved their problems at the end of the book. Ww also think about how the end of the book fits with the beginning. We do this by rereading the ending and thinking about the journey the friends in their book have gone on together. Readers often linger in the ends of their books by talking with someone, such as their reading partner (or at home, YOU!), about the journey and changes that friends experienced together.
In Math this week we will be completing Unit 7 and taking our unit assessment.
We are now studying Africa! During the next month, the students will be doing a project in the classroom on African Animals. The students will be choosing the animal they would like to research this week. They will also be deciding how they want to present their information. The essential question that will guide the students' research is:
How does an animal's habitat affect its ability to survive?
We will be discussing the different factors that support this question. I am so very excited to see all that the students are going to accomplish. They are very excited!
Please continue to have your child read at least 20 minutes each night - making sure they fill out their reading log and you are signing their homework sheets.
Here are some upcoming dates/information:
- Next week, fourth grade student Jessica Davis will be the Principal for the Day. As Principal for the Day, Jessica wants to make Monday, April 9, WEAR YOUR HAT TO SCHOOL DAY. Jessica is concerned about sun safety and this is her way to bring awareness to our community. Her goal is for 100% of our students to bring their hats to school and wear them at Town Meeting, recess and PE. Please remind your child to bring their favorite hat to school.
- Celebrate the Arts week takes place April 16-20. The Upper Division performance this year is the Sound of Music (4/19, 4/20, 4/21). Mrs. O'Mullane's daughter, Grace, is in the show!! I look forward to seeing the show!
- The Lower Division Celebrate the Arts will take place on Friday, April 20. We will have visiting Artists in the morning from 8:10-10:45. The Lower Division students' performance is at 11:00 followed by a family picnic lunch at 12:00. A flier will be going home asking families to let us know if they are bringing a lunch or ordering a Sage lunch. Please remember to bring blankets to sit on for the picnic lunch.
- We will have visiting musicians during the week and a storyteller on Wednesday, 4/18.
- "Shorecrest's Fourth Annual Daddy Daughter Dance is just around the corner! Designed for girls in Kindergarten through Fourth grade, this memorable affair offers up a DJ, games, prizes, dancing, a dessert bar and refreshments for all those who love getting fancy and hula hooping the night away.
It will be held on Friday, May 4 from 7 to 9:30 pm at the Shorecrest Athletic Center. You can register for this FUNraiser (all proceeds benefit Shorecrest Parent Association initiatives) online by visiting:
http://gala.shorecrest.org and clicking on the "FUNraisers" link. Admission is $65 for each daddy daughter pair and just $75 for more than one daughter. Check out last year's photos at:http://shorecrestdd2011.shutterfly.com/
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