Saying Goodbye to January

Good Afternoon,

As we embark on the second half of the school year students are feeling motivated to want to do their best. With mid year assessments wrapped up, students had a chance to reflect on where they are at, and then discussed what are things they can do everyday to help themselves continue to grow in their learning. The concepts they are learning in math, reading, etc. are challenging them to push beyond some of their comfort zones to do more. I'm excited to see each one of them as they strive to achieve their goals, and watch they continued growth this second half of the school year. 

Week in Review: 

Leader in Me: Our class talked about using courage and consideration to Think Win-Win. Ask your child, “Why are both courage and consideration important to Think Win-Win?”

Writing: Writers spent this past week planning out their second informational books which the topics they are writing about are the extreme weather and natural disasters they have been doing research on in reading. Writers worked collaboratively with their groups to plan on how they wanted their chapters to be organized, and structured with the week ending where they were able to bring their plans to life when they started to draft.

Math: Mathematicians explored the concepts of perimeter and area this week, and used those concepts to solve word problems. They persevered through various problems of multi step measurement problems where they had to make conversions, use the four operations, and dig deeper to understand exactly what the problem was asking. 

Reading: Readers researched across various types of media: books, articles, Chromebook to build their knowledge base on their extreme weather and natural disaster topic. We ended the week with a celebration where groups planned, and presented on their topics to teach to the rest of their classmates on their research. See pictures here of their presentations!

Content: Researchers were continuing to study Colonial America and the path to the Revolutionary War with an emphasis on the 17th Century. Students studied the original 13 colonies which formed in 1606, and researched on what made each of the colonies unique from each other, while also forming and building a brand new life for themselves. 

A Look Ahead:

  • Recorders are due back for Music Class, MONDAY January 30th
  • Kids Heart Challenge notes
    • All donations will be online, NO in person money or checks accepted
    • Donation window is now until Feb 28th
  • Valentine's Day - Students are allowed this year to bring in, and distribute Valentine's. We will have a small classroom celebration. 
  • i-Ready scores sent home yesterday; Report Cards will be posted next week
  • 4th Grade Concert info here
That's all for this week! Another great week at NDLC!

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend,

Mr. VW



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