November+18

=__**NOVEMBER 18**__=

**We have a field trip coming up on Friday, December 16! We will be attending a performance of The Nutcracker at the Civic Center in the morning. Thank you to Mrs. Fries for arranging that! We will then travel to The Science Center, arriving at approximately 11:30. Parents, you are invited to join us at that time! We will divide the kids into small groups and assign a group to each parent chaperone. We will eat sack lunches (brought from home), watch an I-Max movie on mummies, enjoy a "live show" entitled Zap (which is about electricity), and be able to tour the Center's current traveling exhibit on mummies and Ancient Egypt. Each parent chaperone will need to pay $9 for all the above-mentioned activities. Students' costs for both the Nutcracker and the Science Center are covered due to the genrosity of our VMEPC!**

=== **So, parents...check your calendars and work schedules... and let Mrs. Skahill or Mrs. Volk know if you will be able to chaperone at the Science Center on the afternoon of Fri., Dec. 16. We would like your name (and your $9!) by Friday, Dec. 2. Thanks!** ===

__** ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING DATES :**__
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** There will be no newsletter...and NO HOMEWORK PACKET...next week! **
= Wed., Nov. 23-Fri., Nov. 25...NO SCHOOL! Thanksgiving Vacation. =

** Have a blessed Thanksgiving...drive safely if you're traveling, and enjoy great food and family time together! **** We'll look forward to seeing your kids back on Mon., Nov. 28! **
Mrs. Volk's math class will be having a test on Monday! Students are encouraged to review if they are uncertain about any of the covered material.

We still have a few folks that need to return the spelling challenge money. Please do so ASAP as the money was due on October 31st. Thank you for supporting our VMEPC and our students through your generous donations. All the money earned is used to pay for books, i-pads, field trips, etc. for our elementary students. Your donation helps to make your child's education a richer experience.

** //Don't forget about the BOOK IT! program!// **
** //The new November calendar has been sent home. Read, read, read!// **

One of our annual, and favorite, assemblies every year is The Old Creamery Theater's Young People's Tour. It is always packed with fun skits and songs, based on a theme. ==== The theme this year is "The Very Best Me". They are looking for original stories, poems, or songs that focus on characters striving to do their personal best by using one or more of the pillars of character. ====

It would be fun to announce a winner from our school when The Old Creamery Theater visits us on April 16!
=== Both homerooms will have a "Homework Club" each quarter. We will keep a chart in our rooms, tracking which students return their homework packets on time each week. Students who consistently return their packets each week will be rewarded at the end of each quarter! ===

=== //We have been informed that the kitchen can no longer store items that need to be frozen or refrigerated. You will need to provide a cooler if your child is bringing treats that require refrigeration. Thank you for your cooperation.// ===

__**LITERACY:**__
We are introducing organization in the 6-Traits of Writing. In reading, we will make predictions and connections. We will use context clues, identify main events, question, and infer. Please encourage your child to read at home.

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This chapter will focus on place value--specifically reading, writing, and identifying place values of digits in whole numbers through hundred thousands. We will round numbers through four digits, compare and order numbers, and analyze and solve problems using skills and strategies. ===== Please continue to practice the basic math facts. Many of the errors we see with addition and subtraction of greater numbers are errors in our basic facts, not errors in the process.

__SCIENCE:__
This week we continued our study of matter with a dissolving race between two types of the same solid, an investigation which involved separating colors and discovering that colors are a "mixture", and learning about the third state of matter...gas...as we watched it expand a baggie in a big, big way! We then learned about the similarities and differences between solids, liquids, and gases. On Monday we will do a study guide together in class...watch for it to come home, and **please help your child study on Monday evening. Our final assessment for this unit will be on Tuesday.**

= __**SOCIAL STUDIES:**__ =

Please remember to send in an address for our Flat Friend Project.
We have started our unit on the Hopi, Iroquois, Jamestown settlers, and Salem. We will be discussing how resources were used, the problems the colonists had adapting to the new lands, and how the Powhatan helped the settlers. We will also be inviting Living History Farms in to teach us about the Ioway Indians, which will be compared to the Hopi and Iroquois. ==== Check with your child about Daily Detective. The purpose of this project is to not only help the students learn about the countries of the world, but also to help them research. Each day a new clue will go up on our 'detective board'. The students will be able to write the clue down and bring it home so that you can, if needed, help your child to identify the country. The clues start out very broad and as the week goes on, get more specific. Please ask your child about Daily Detective and each daily clue. ==== Congratulations to London, Lucy, Isaac, Sean, Colin, Molly, and Lilly for solving last week's daily detective.

__**MRS. VOLK:**__
Your child has been registered for Sumdog.com. This is a site that will help your child practice their math facts. Each student was given a username and password. They are encouraged to use this site at home.

Please encourage your child to read at home. Our goal, again this month, is 400 minutes. The participating students read a total of 6,370 minutes in October! Let's try to beat that time and have everyone participate. Please feel free to visit with your child about their reading. I sent home a list of questions that may help you facilitate a reading conversation with your child. Thank you for your continued support at home.

We are still looking for some helpers. Please let me know if you are interested in signing up for any of the following spots:
We are needing someone to bring in a drink item for the Christmas party, and another person to bring in a non-edible treat for the Valentine's Day party. Please let me know if you are interested in helping with any of these areas!

**__MRS. SKAHILL/MISS STEPHENS:__**

**Congratulations to the entire elementary for doing so well on the VMEPC Spelling Challenge! Every class earned an extra recess!**
==== **And congratulations to US! Our homeroom got 88% of the Spelling Challenge words correct, and we have earned a movie party with popcorn provided by VMEPC! We'll be cashing in on that treat after Thanksgiving break!** ====

====** //Please have your child read for Nov. Book-It. This month's goal is to complete 250 minutes of reading time AND the book report printed on the back of the calendar. I'd like to see 100% participation from our class this month! (It's a great excuse to go to Pizza Hut!//!) **====

==== Just a reminder: Spelling word lists are handed out at the //beginning// of each unit so they can be studied in preparation for the cloze test. Watch for the word lists glued into the planner. As mentioned previously, we won't be taking a cloze test every week...we work up to tests as we go through the word/phonics lessons in each unit. ====