September Newsletter
Randy and Jocelyn's Class
Important Dates
- Labor Day Holiday: 9/7
- iPad Parent Info. Night: 9/16 6:30-7:30pm
- Rosh Hashanah: 9/13
- Early Dismissal (Music Midtown) 9/18: 12:00pm
- Book Faire: 9/22-9/24
- Fall Trip to Blackrock Mountain: 9/29-10/1
- Maker Faire: 10/3-10/4
What we are learning
Social Studies – European Exploration/Georgia History: We are examining this unit under the lens "what makes people take risks?" Students will use examples of risk taking from personal interviews with relatives and that of historical risks taken throughout time. Students will compile the information they gather and form student-groups to write a collaborative interactive story based on historical probability. Within this context, we will also be focusing on the settlement of Georgia and the Native American tribes who once inhabited the state. To culminate this unit we will be exploring the Foxfire Heritage Museum in Clayton, Georgia to better understand and empathize with life in the early days.
Math – Geometry: We will be finishing up unit 1 in Everyday Math prior to the Labor Day Weekend.
Skills and Content covered:
1. Labeling and identifying points, lines, rays and line segments
2. Introduction of angles, triangles and quadrangles
3.Parallelograms, polygons
4. Circle construction with a compass
After Labor Day Break, we will begin Unit 2 on Using Numbers and Organizing Data.
Writing Workshop:
As we get comfortable in our writer's workshop routine, we are creating baseline writing samples in the narrative, informative and opinion writing genres. These baselines will serve as a comparison to future writing pieces. We will begin our writing unit in Realistic Fiction once these baselines are complete.
Skills and content covered:
1. Study mentor texts and learn how to introduce a story
2. Use transitional words and new vocabulary
3. Review and practice the writing process as it is organized and structured for narrative writing
4. Explore and utilize both student and teacher conferencing
Reading- We have begun our Read Aloud book Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. This is a story about a young girl who struggles with her inability to read until she meets a new teacher who sees her for the creative bright girl she is.
Students are also reading books of their choice that were selected from the TCS library focusing on risk-taking, and problem solving to make connections to our Social Studies unit.
Learning on the Megatron:)
Cicada Discoveries
Kickball @ Piedmont
Other Important Infomation
- Our Blackrock Mountain information packets will be sent out within the next week. Items included will be packing lists and permission forms to be signed.
- We will begin our iPad training and citizenship classes with Tony Perez, our Technology Director, in the upcoming weeks. Look for more info.
- Randy and Jocelyn will both be out of the classroom on Friday September 4. Please direct emails to Michelle Toma-Harrold @ Michelleth@thechildrensschool.com