Ms. Arnold's Weekly News
Week of 10-6-14
Message from Ms. Arnold
A great week of learning in the classroom! They made it through the one tough day with the substitute and had an amazing rest of the week. I am blessed to work with such a wonderful group of boys and girls. Thank you for your wonderful support throughout the week with red folders, math homework, and spelling words. Have an awesome week!
Classroom Learning Time
Our Focus Points
Reading / Language Arts
Students are continuing to work through our Daily 5 rotations, Read to Self, Read to Someone, Partner Fluency Time, Listening Time, and Teacher Time. Students are setting goals to pick best-fit books within a variety of genres. I do not expect students to read AR books nor meet any specific AR requirements through the year. Rather I expect them to read, a goal of 40 books this year, across all genres. Reading skills and strategies we are targeting will focus on one our CAFE (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, Expand Vocabulary) areas. In comprehension we are working on identifying the main idea and supporting details. As well as using I-PICK strategies to pick "Just Fit" books.
Math (Topic 2/Unit 2)
This week we began Unit 2 that focuses on Addition/Subtraction concepts. We studied these addition properties: Associative, Communtitive, and the Identity Property. Another focus point was using addition to help us subtract. Finding the difference between two numbers.
Writing
Students are continuing to gather stories in their writer's notebooks. We have begun identifying and creating complete sentences using all 5 parts (subject, verb, complete sense, capital letter and end mark) as well as recognizing different kinds of common nouns and proper nouns. Students wrote their own Spongebob Sentences. And on Friday they took a Quick-Write quiz and a Noun Quiz.
Science
We are continuing our first unit "Forces and Motion". Students are exploring with different types of forces and how they impact motion of things/objects. They will also learn about Sir Isaac Newton and his three laws of motion.
Social Studies
We will begin our first topic of study: Map skills.
MC Mania Day
This Week's Spelling Words: List #5
Week of 10-6-14 (Test is Friday)
1. gold
2. bowl
3. soak
4. sold
5. snow
6. loaf
7. roast
8. coast
9. scold
10. coal
11. slow
12. grows
Weekly Specials and Nightly Homework
Tuesday: Gym; Math Homework #2; Study spelling words; Red folders come home
Wednesday: Computers; Study spelling words; Red folders come home
Thursday: Gym; Study spelling words; Red folders come home
Friday: No specials; Spelling test #5; Red folders come home; new spelling list comes home
Keicher Dates At A Glance
DATES AT A GLANCE
OCTOBER
1 FALL COUNT
6 Bible Release – 2:10 – 3:10 p.m.
13 School Board Meeting – 7:00 p.m. -MCHS
Good News Club – more information to follow
14 Michigan Center Community Food Pantry – 6:30 -7:30 p.m.
21 6th Grade Band – U of M – all day
24 Keicher Elementary Student Lock-in – 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. – Halloween Theme
28 Michigan Center Community Food Pantry –
6:30 -7:30 p.m.
Keicher News
1. THE MICHIGAN CENTER ROTARY CLUB has joined with the Firefighters and PTO to present the 8th Annual Halloween Bash on Sunday, October 26th. It will be from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. All children thru 6th grade are encouraged to put on their costumes and join us for an afternoon of games, contests, food and fun. It is FREE, so please join the fun at the Fifth Street Fire Barn on Fifth St. for fun Halloween excitement.
2. The mornings have been pretty chilly lately. Please remind your child to wear a sweater or jacket. As the day warms up, the students can remove them and be comfortable all day. It is a good idea to put your child’s name on jackets, backpacks, etc. You would be surprised at the surplus of coats, hats, boots and gloves we accumulate by the end of the fall/winter season.
3. The MICHIGAN CENTER COMMUNITY FOOD PANTRY will be open every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month from 6:30 -7:30 p.m. The pantry is located at the west end of Keicher. Follow the signs through the Pre-School playground gate. See dates above.
4. Parents, please drop your children off in the Keicher West parking lot rather than in the parking lot between the two schools. This is a safety factor designed to cut down on the number of cars using the middle parking lot as a drop-off or pick-up zone. The parking lot between the schools will be closed 25 minutes before and after school. Please use the Keicher West parking lot as much as possible. Dropping students off across the street near the church is also an option. Our crossing guard will ensure their safe crossing.
5. EASTERN BRANCH LIBRARY HAPPENINGS - On Saturday, October 4th, the Eastern Branch Library, 3125 E. Michigan Avenue (next to Arby’s), will be hosting the Cascades Humane Society as they hold an Adopt-A-Pet day at the branch. There will be lovable dogs and cats of various breeds available for adoption starting at 1:00 p.m. The Humane Society staff will help new owners with the adoption process. It’s a great chance for kids to find the purrfect pet!
The Eastern Branch now has Levelled Readers for Elementary aged children. These materials can be checked out of the library, and are a great way for you to help your children learn reading basics. This is a great addition to what kids get in the classroom. Stop in and take a look at our materials. Our staff will be glad to help you and your child find the Levelled Reader needed, as well as other books that will help your child.
Sundays are a great time for family activities. Why not come by the Eastern Branch to help your children find school-related books or help them with homework needs? Of course, it doesn’t have to be all work, since we have lots of free movies, computer games, and music as well. If you want, you can even try some of our board games.
Preschool story times here at Eastern have started. Every Thursday at 10:30 a.m., one of our expert staff members (she’s excellent, according to parents, and the kids LOVE her) reads to the children, and has some great craft activities for them as well. Parents love to join in these fun times too!
6. Calling all singers in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades! Mrs. Micheel-Mays is hosting an Elementary Choral Festival at Michigan Center High School on Saturday, November 8th. Singers from across South Central Michigan will rehearse and perform high quality choral literature under the direction of master clinicians. The event will begin at 8:15 AM and conclude at 12:00 PM with a choral performance for family and friends in the Michigan Center Auditorium. All students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades are welcome to attend. Let's show our Michigan Center pride by filling the choir with Keicher Cardinals! Please visit http://www.micheel-mays.weebly.com or the link below for additional information, and return the permission slip to Mrs. Micheel-Mays by Friday, October 10th.