Oakview South Newsletter
February
Principal Message
The best part of Capturing KIds' Hearts is that it can be used in all aspects of life. You could start sharing good things at the start of every dinner. You could even stick a positive affirmation note in your child's lunch. It truly is just a reminder of ways to make people around you feel valued and loved. I'm' proud of how well our staff has embraced this program and the difference it is making with our students!
Important Dates
2/14 Valentine's Day parties
2/16 No School
2/19 No School
3/7 Early Release @ 12:35
3/8 Early Release @ 12:35
Title 1 Resources
If you get a chance, check out the resources we have for families on our Title 1 page.
Weather and Recess
Just a friendly reminder with the up and down temperatures, students will need to wear coats if the temperature is below 50 degrees.
Valentine's Day Parties
All of the parties at Oakview will take place in the afternoon. Everyone should have already received an email from their teacher with details, but if you have questions please feel free to contact the office.
Suggestion Box
If you have any feedback or suggestions for Oakview, click the box below. Thank you!
3rd Grade
Math
Third graders have finished a unit on addition and subtraction. One easy way to help your child with addition and subtraction at home is to practice counting forward and backward by groups of 10. (For example- 183, 173, 163, 153…). This helps with efficiency when adding and subtracting. Now third graders are in a unit on measurement and 2-D geometry. Students had the opportunity to measure the perimeter of different objects and solve story problems as well. To find the area, students have noticed the connection to multiplication! Later in our unit students will classify 2-D shapes by their attributes.
Social Studies
Third graders have been learning about Michigan history! Students have learned about three Native American Tribes: Ojibwe (also called Chippewa), the Odawa (also called Ottawa) and the Potawatomi. Then we moved forward into history during the time of the fur trade and French explorers. Soon students will be learning about the settlers in Michigan, which eventually leads to Michigan becoming a state in 1837.
Valentine’s Party
Third grade Valentine’s Parties will take place on Wednesday, February 14 from 2-3pm. Be sure that your child has filled out Valentines for everyone in their class. Check with the individual classroom teachers for further details.
Third Grade Field Trips
We have two exciting learning trips planned for all third graders! We will be visiting the AgroLiquid IQhub in St. Johns to learn about plants and agriculture. This learning experience will be a great connection to our plants and animals unit that students will be studying later this year. In the spring our third graders will be visiting the Michigan History Museum in Lansing. Students will be able to connect their Michigan history learning with hands-on exhibits and experiences! In order for this trip to be a success, we will be asking for many parent chaperones.
4th Grade
In Writing, we are working on using commas and quotation marks to correctly cite evidence and use dialogue. We are working on speaking clearly in front of groups as we share our writing with the class. In Math we are still working on our geometry unit. Students are finding the area of irregular polygons. In Reading, we are working on understanding Informational texts and using the text features to help us comprehend what the author is telling us.
5th Grade
Math
We are finishing up our unit on multiplying and dividing larger numbers. Students will be taking the final assessment for the unit this week, where they will show their ability to multiply multi-digit numbers and divide a 4-digit number by a 2-digit number. Our next unit will be about decimals. Students will be learning how to compare, order, add, and subtract decimals.
Social Studies
In social studies, we are wrapping up our unit on European Sea Exploration. We studied the causes of this exploration and how it impacted the whole world through the Columbian Exchange and the “discovery” of new lands. This leads us into the study of European colonization of the Americas and the development of the 13 English colonies.
Science
We are finishing our unit on Nurse Logs and then we will spend a few weeks on Geometry to help with making sure some math content is covered before we begin M-Step testing in the spring. The next science unit will explore Matter Properties. We will begin our unit by looking at how we can make water healthy for all living things.
Music
In music class, we are diligently preparing for our spring concerts!
3rd grade concert: April 11, 6 pm
4th grade concert: April 23rd, 6 pm
5th grade concert: April 23rd, 6:45 pm.
Please see the email sent on February 6 for more details.
Helping Your Child Read at Home
Does your child understand what they are reading?
It is extremely important for students to understand what they are reading. We want them to visualize (picture it) in their head. Below are some question stems that will work for all kinds of books. Periodically, ask these questions to check for understanding with your child.
What is the text mostly about?
Who is the main character? Describe him or her.
Give an example of a cause and effect situation in the text. (something that happened because of something else)
What is the problem and the solution in the story?
What is the theme of the text?
(For informational text) What kind of text features do you see? How do they help you learn more about the text?
What is something you liked or something you learned from the text?
Capturing Kids' Hearts
Here is a link to our monthly newsletter from Capturing Kids' Hearts.