Week 37

 Weekly Greetings!

As we move into May this week, we have lots of things planned for the end of the year. I am sending home three permission slips for field trips coming up, and I would like them back as soon as possible. Tim Lorenzini will be in the Wednesday afternoon to discuss and do activities with the students on identifying ducks. Then next Wednesday we will spend the day at Moon Lake practicing those skills. There ate two other trips after that, so lease read through the permission slips and return them to me.

There was a clean up day last Wednesday, and the students worked hard at cleaning the areas around the school. After we were done, everyone got root-beer floats.

 On Thursday, there was also a presentation put on by the local troopers on water safety.

Then on Friday, awards were given out to students that read the most in each class during the reading incentive program. Everyone in each class got a ribbon, and the top three readers in each class got a medal. In addition, the first place student from each class got $25. The fifth grade made it to the seventh continent first, and will do a scavenger hunt around Tok this Wednesday with additional prizes.

I hope the letter from Mrs. Fastenau got home to you all on Friday, but just to be safe I am adding it to my parent letter. The play looks like a really cute program, and I hope you can all make it!

Have a fantastic week!

Kind Regards,

Week 36

Weekly Greetings!

Each week seems to be going by faster than the last! The school year is quickly coming to a close, and this week there is a lot planned. First, we will start MAP testing on Tuesday, and continue  Wednesday and Thursday. It is extremely important that your child be well rested on those days. The community clean up will be Wednesday afternoon, and on Thursday afternoon there students will hear about boating safety. This is the last week of our reading incentive program, and there will be an awards ceremony before the early release on Friday.

As for last week, the Ecosystem pod class had a field trip to the Tetlin Refuge office to discuss the secession of plants returning in the clearing by the office buildings. The students also listened to, and looked for returning songbirds. That tied nicely into the next class when they were able to make birdhouses.

On Friday we made a little time for some Easter fun, and had a candy egg hunt.

I hope you had a refreshing weekend, and enjoy the upcoming week.

Kind egards,

Julie Brown

Week 35

 Weekly Greetings!

This is the last week before the final round of tests for this year. The students have had a hard time focusing since returning from Spring Break, but I have continued to press forward with their studies. With the added daylight and nice weather, it is always hard to make the most of students' learning in the spring. Especially with the MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) testing next week, please make sure your child is well rested each day.

For the last few weeks in PE, the class has been learning how to play soccer along with the 4th grade. They are starting to get pretty good, and understand the role of certain positions in the game.

We were even able to fit in the Makerspace room this week to do a project, and then explore all the wonderful materials available to use in the room.

In the Ecosystems pod I am teaching, we had Tim Lorenzini in from the Tetlin Refuge to share about furbearers in the local ecosystem. He shared their role in the ecosystem, passed around furs, and even shared about how to trap the animals. In a few weeks, he will be in to share with all the 3rd graders about waterfowl in our area.

 I hope you have a wonderful week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown

Week 34

Weekly Greetings!

This week we will continue to press forward in preparation for he next set of testing that will happen in two weeks. In addition, students are being encouraged to keep reading to add minutes to our Read Around the World incentive activity. The fifth grade has already read enough minutes to be the first to complete the goal to read enough minutes to get to the final continent, but there are prizes for the  student in each class that read the most. Each week we have tried to keep the enthusiasm going with special presenters for each continent. During our reading rotations last Monday, I shared with three different groups about my time living in Botswana, Africa. This Monday, Jane Teague will be sharing about Australia.  The following photo is of the second and third grade seeing a brief video on the continent of Africa before I shared my experience.

On Wednesday, we started a new Science unit on the states of Matter. We will continue this area for the next few weeks.  The students were introduced to the concept and then began a collage using magazines to create a poster with things that fall into the trees states of matter.

By Friday, all the PEAKS test were completed and we celebrated by tossing the foam Frisbees while the song "You Got to Move It, Move It" was playing. The students really enjoy it when we do this activity to celebrate their hard work.

 

 Have a great week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown