Ms. Arnold's Weekly News
Week of 1-26-15
**New videos attached at the end of the newsletter each week. Please share with your student. :)
***Multiplication Fact Focus attached to weekly math and multiplication videos attached to help with studying at home.
****See Mrs. H's website below for extra copies of My Math Homework pages.
Our 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 also meeting with me one-on-one through the week to work on specific goals. Our comprehension focus this week is a using our prior knowledge to connect to text as well as to the story elements. We will continue to work on our summarizing and identifying author's purpose throughout the trimester. Other areas of focus throughout our Daily 5 rotations are: response to reading, writing, fluency, listening, book talks, book analysis, and word building. I am very excited to see their excitement and focus to their day to day reading and writing grow. We are truly building life long readers and writers.
In addition to the Daily 5 rotations, a reading resource we are excited to have this year is RAZ-KIDS. It's an online reading program that the students use a lot through the week. I monitor there reading and meet with them to discuss various reading skills and strategies.
Math (Chapter 5/Unit 5)
We are excited to begin the trimester with our new "MY MATH" journals and lessons all of which focus on our grade level standards. Our current unit is focusing on introductory division skills and concepts. Vocabulary checks will be given throughout the unit. We will be discovering the connections between multiplication and division.
Our Unit 5 Test will be this Friday, January 30th.
Multiplication Fact Focus: multiplying by 3
Previous Fact Focus: multiplying by 0, 1, 2
Another Fact Focus: multiplying the "doubles" (1X1, 2X2, 3X3, 4X4, 5X5, 6X6, 7X7, 8X8, 9X9, 10X10, 11X11, 12X12)
Writing
Students are continuing to gather stories in their writer's notebooks. This is an ongoing process through the entire year. We are also creating an interactive "grammar" notebook that students will use through the year. This notebook will include pages that focus on: nouns, proper nouns, possessive nouns, verbs... Students will also be working on building stories with multiple paragraphs, using commas in a series, developing informational pieces on a variety of topics and working on their revising and editing skills. Paragraph structure and legible handwriting are continuously encouraged and taught. This week will be begin our "informational" piece. Students will be selecting a topic on how we can help animals in our community/state. Research will be done in school prior to our drafting our first piece.
Science
We will begin working on our next science unit on traits, ecosystems, and habitats as we progress through our "Writing Research Paper".
Social Studies
In transition from our focus on "map skills", we are currently studying the difference between a hemisphere, continent, country, region, state, and city. We will look more closely at the different regions of the United States. This is in preparation for our more detailed study of Michigan that we will continue to dig into throughout the year. Some of these Michigan topics will include: natural resources, weather/climate, landforms, agriculture, government, economics, and historical events and people. A study guide will be sent home soon for their next quiz.
This Week's Spelling Words: List #15
Week of 1-26-15 (Test Friday)
1. loop
2. rude
3. look
4. clue
5. spoon
6. tube
7. shook
8. blue
9. cubes
10. goose
11. mules
12. gloom
Please Read Homework Changes for 2015!!!
Weekly Specials and Nightly Homework
Tuesday: Gym; Math Homework #2; Study X facts; Red folders come home
Wednesday: Computers; Math Homework #3; Study spelling words ; Study X facts, folders come home
Thursday: Gym; Study spelling words; Math Homework #4 (possibly), Study X facts; Red folders come home
Friday: No specials; Cardinal Connections; Spelling test #15; Facts Tests; Red folders come home; new spelling list comes home; Study X facts
What information do you need from me?
Keicher Weekly News
DATES AT A GLANCE
JANUARY
26 Spelling Bee practice – Mrs. Barnes’ Computer Lab – 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
27 Bats Presentation – 3rd Grade – 12:15 & 1:15
Michigan Center Community Food Panty – 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
28 iCreate Poetry Field Trip – 4th Grade – 8:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Credit Union Day
Spelling Bee – Semi-Finals – Keicher West Gym – 2:00 p.m. – Parents Welcome
29 Spelling Bee – Finals – Jr. /Sr. High School Auditorium – 7:00 p.m.
30 6th Grade Camp – Permission Slip and $40.00 due
31 Baseball/Softball Sign-ups – High School – 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. – During Basketball Tournament
FEBRUARY
2 Bible Release – 2:10 – 3:10 p.m.
3 Dahlem Center presents “The Life Cycle of Stuff”–4th Grade – 9:00 a.m.
4 Credit Union Day
5 5th Grade Music Program – Keicher West Gym – 2:30 and 6:30 p.m.
6 Keicher Parent’s Night Out – Valentine’s Theme - More information to follow
9 “Four Score and Seven Years Ago” Play – Mrs. DuBois’ Class – Jackson College – 9:15 – 11:30 a.m.
Good News Club – Permission Slips week before
School Board Meeting – MCHS – 7:00 p.m.
10 Michigan Center Community Food Pantry – 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
11 COUNT DAY
Credit Union Day
12 Hearing Rescreening – 4th Grade
13 NO SCHOOL – WINTER BREAK
16 NO SCHOOL – PRESIDENT’S DAY–WINTER BREAK
17 PTO Meeting – Keicher – 6:00 p.m.
18 Credit Union Day
19 Ice Skating at Optimist Arena – Mrs. DuBois’ Class - Big Brothers/Big Sisters – 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
23 Spring Pictures
24 Michigan Center Community Food Pantry – 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
25 Credit Union Day
26 5th Grade Project Night – 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
27 End of 2nd Trimester
28 Daddy/Daughter Dance – More information to come
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1. VALENTINE PARTIES - The parties will be held on Thursday, February 12th. If your children are to furnish anything for the party, they will bring home a note or will have a verbal confirmation from the teacher.
2. All visitors must report to the office to sign in and receive a visitor’s pass before proceeding elsewhere in the building. We welcome communication with your child’s teacher, but an appointment needs to be made prior to visiting their room before, during, or after school. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
3. HAVE YOU UPDATED YOUR CHILD’S EMERGENCY CARD LATELY? On a few occasions we have tried to contact parents and found that we were unable to reach anyone listed on the emergency card. Please send a note or call the school if you have ANY changes for your card. These cards are our only link to you if your child is ill or hurt.
4. PTO’S 6th ANNUAL DADDY/DAUGHTER DANCE will be held on Saturday, February 28th, in the Michigan Center High School Gym from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Preschool through 6th grade girls are welcome with an escort of their choice (Dad, Grandpa, Uncle, Special Friend etc.). The cost is $25.00 per couple (additional girl is $12.00) which includes corsage, tiara, snacks, 5x7 picture, lots of dancing, and fun. Forms were sent home this week to purchase tickets. Please return completed form to the office by JANUARY 28TH with cash or check (Michigan Center PTO). NO REGISTRATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THE DAY OF THE DANCE.
5. POP CAN TABS FOR CHARITY – We are still collecting pop can tabs for Ronald McDonald House Charities, in Northwest Ohio. RMHC provides lodging, food and transportation at little or no cost to families whose children are getting medical care at nearby hospitals. The stays at the house are supported by donations, such as pop can tabs. Tabs may be dropped off at the Keicher office. Your support is greatly appreciated.
6. SIXTH GRADE CAMP (June 1-2) - Information regarding 6th grade camp went home during conference week. All students must have a completed permission slip along with $40.00 to hold their spot by January 30, 2015. Please make checks payable to “Michigan Center Schools.” The total cost is $75.00. We are looking for chaperones to assist us. Please let us know if you can give us the gift of your time. Any questions, please call 764-5200.
7. EASTERN BRANCH LIBRARY - On Saturday, January 24, at 11:00 a.m., we will having Snow Much Fun, a craft and game program for families and kids. There will be a brief story and then the hands-on fun begins. For more information, call the branch at 788-4074 or stop in at 3125 E. Michigan Avenue, right next to Arby’s.
***Don’t forget that we have lots of things that help with school work, like Levelled Readers, Accelerated Readers and tons of online resources linked to the library’s website.
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Students share responsibility for academic achievement
The best formula for academic success is straight-forward: Students need to go to class, pay attention, and study hard. Our children must understand they are not passive partners in their own education, but the most important players.
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Strategies for Word Problems
Word problems help children understand how math fits into the real world. Suggest these steps for working on them.
Start with a problem from your youngster’s homework or one that you make up. Example: Susie’s soccer team baked 6 dozen cookies for a bake sale. They sold the cookies for $3.50 per half dozen. If they sold out, what would the total sales be?
- 1. Write what you know. Your child might write: “6 dozen cookies” and “$3.50 per half dozen.”
- 2. Find what the problem is asking for. The problem mentions cookies and money, but the question asks about the total amount of money.
- 3. Determine the operations needed. She could multiply to find the price per dozen (multiply $3.50 by 2, or $7.00). Then, she would multiply again to find the total amount of money ($7.00 x 6 dozen = $42.00).
- 4. Check that the answer makes sense. Have your youngster reread the problem. If she came up with $420.00 for 6 dozen cookies, that would sound like too much – and would be a clue to redo her work.
Sick Science!!!
Cities, States, Countries, Continents!!!!!
Regions of the United States Video Tour
Region of the United States Song
The 5 Regions
Skip Counting by 3s
3 Times Table Song
Have an amazing week!
Ms. Arnold
Email: Stacy.Arnold@mccardinals.org
Location: Keicher Elementary School, Broad Street, Michigan Center, MI, United States
Phone: 517-764-5200
Facebook: facebook.com/KeicherArnold
Twitter: @Arnold12Stacy