March+9

=__**MARCH 9**__= Don't forget to SPRING ahead an hour this Saturday night! __** ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING DATES :**__ **Tues., Mar. 13...Parent-Teacher Conferences, 4:00-8:00 p.m. __DISMISS at 1:30!__** **Thurs., Mar. 15...Parent-Teacher Conferences, 4:00-8:00 p.m. __DISMISS at 1:30!__** **Fri., Mar. 16...NO SCHOOL...Conference Comp Day** **Mon., Mar. 19-Fri., Mar. 23...SPRING BREAK!** **Mon., Mar. 26...NO SCHOOL...Professional Development Day for Staff** **Tues., Mar. 27...SCHOOL RESUMES**

**If your child is going to be absent for a few days due to a family trip, please let us know with a note in advance so we may gather homework to send with you. We can't always have //everything// ready to go, but it's very helpful to the teachers and the office to be aware of extended absences ahead of time. Thank you!**

=== 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 continuing to introduce the 6-Traits of Writing. We have focused on the traits of Ideas, Organization, and most recently, Word Choice. In reading, we are making predictions and connections. We are using context clues, identifying main events, questioning, inferring and summarizing. Please encourage your child to read at home.

__SCIENCE:__
The cell models are ALL returned, and we are excited for you to see our display at conference time next week! We have a wonderful variety of models, and the students really seem to have become experts on the two major types of cells and their parts! Thank you, parents, for your cooperation at home! One student wondered if they can make models as the assessment for EVERY unit! (Don't worry! I said "no"!)

This week we treated our unknowns to a heat test, and recorded the results. Then on Wednesday, it was the BIG day...when the mystery was solved and our unknowns turned into real chemicals with real names...sugar, cornstarch, baking soda, baby powder, and alum!

__**SOCIAL STUDIES:**__
==== The objectives this chapter are to analyze the role of natural resources in creating new communities and to describe some ways that communities change as they grow. They will be discussing why natural resources are important to industry, and they will give examples of the ways factories changed communities. The students will be responsible for listing some of the reasons immigrants came to the U.S., and they will be describing how communities changed when large numbers of immigrants came to the U.S. Finally, the students will explain how the automobile changed how and where people lived and worked, and students will identify changes made during the last century to provide people with better transportation. ====

The Country Project has started! Each student has chosen a country that they will research. Some students chose to work with a partner and some preferred to work independently. Please check with your child about their country choice and then visit the following link to find out more! Mrs. Volk's Google Site ==== 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. ==== Daily Detective has resumed and the winners this week will be announced in next week's newsletter.

__**MRS. VOLK:**__
There will not be a homework packet sent home next week.

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 continue to encourage your child to complete and return their weekly homework packet. Some students are not returning their packets in a timely fashion, if at all. Please be looking for those each Monday and they are to be returned on Thursday. Thank you to those students who are completing and returning their packets each week. You are showing responsibility when you do so!

The March reading calendar was sent home. The reading minutes remain at 425 minutes. Please use the questions sent home earlier this year to facilitate a conversation with your child about their reading. This is the last month to earn Book-It certificates. Let's finish strong and have everyone meet the reading goal!

**__MRS. SKAHILL/MISS STEPHENS__**

**We enjoyed a pizza party on Friday afternoon to celebrate being one of the top two money-raising classes during last fall's Spelling Challenge! Thanks to the VMEPC for our pizza!**

***Lily, Kennedy, Emma, Josie, Jonah, Claire, Alex, Ryder, Amy, Connor, Jaeden, Zach, Sydney, Kaleala, Brandon, and Samantha***

 * The following students only missed one week, and are honorary members of the Homework Club!**
 * Dylan, Heston, Gavin, and Beau***

//** March is the final month for Book-It, and our last calendar has gone home. March's goal is 450 minutes (which comes out to about 14 1/2 minutes per day), as well as the book report on the back of the calendar. Please encourage your child to meet this final goal.Spring break would be a great time to get in a lot of extra reading! **//

//**Lily, Kennedy, Emma, Claire, Sydney, and Samantha**//.
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.