Pleasant Valley School
October 2021 Newsletter
News from Miss Sheets
Welcome Back! I’m so excited to have all the new students and our previous students back this year. Our current enrollment for the year includes: 2 Kindergartners, 3 First graders, 1 Second grader, 1 Fourth grader, 1 Fifth grader, and 2 Seventh graders. We are off to a great start and settling into our class routines. I’m excited for all the new things that we will be learning this year!
Parent - Teacher Conferences: Conferences are November 1. Please see below to complete a Google Form to let me know when you would like to come visit and learn about all the wonderful things that your student is doing at school.
Lunch: Parents, I need your help with lunches. Please try to limit meals that need to be microwaved and pack meals that your student can prepare on their own. This is especially critical on Friday when all of our students eat lunch at the same time. They have been doing a great job learning how to use the microwave properly. Also please limit beverages that can stain if spilt. We would like to keep the carpet looking nice.
Seesaw: Parents, please connect to the app. I only have a few parents connected. If you need help or need the code again, please let me know.
Calendar: I have had parents asking me about different events. As soon as dates are set I will be adding them to the Google calendar.
Planners, Discovery Journals (K-2), and Reward System
Please check your students planner and discovery journal every night. I will be using them as a communication area for homework or other information that I need to let parents know about how the day went. Please feel free to leave me comments as well.
Students will also be receiving a sticker for daily behavior. For each level between green and purple, students receive one penny to shop in our student store on Friday. Students may not bring their own money for the store, they must earn it in class.
Behavior Color Key:
- Purple - Outstanding - 5 pennies
- Teal - Excellent Choices - 4 pennies
- Blue - Great Effort - 3 pennies
- Green - Ready to Learn - 2 penny
- Yellow - Think About It - 1 penny
- Orange - Make Better Choices - 5 min. of recess with Miss Sheets to discuss better choices
- Red - Parent Contact - Parents may choose a consequence at home
Meet Our New Furry Friends
Finn
New Little Mousers
Dawn
Looking Back at September
School Events
School Picture Day - October 11
Fall Harvest Festival - October 16
Pumpkin Patch And Hockaday Field Trip - October 20
No School: MEA Days - October 21-22
Fall MAP Test - October 28
Class Halloween Party - October 29
No School: Parent-Teacher Conferences - November 1
What Are We Learning?
Kindergarten
Finishing - Unit 1 - Numbers 0-5
Counting, Writing, and Comparing
Starting - Unit 2 - Numbers 6-10
Counting, Writing, Comparing, and Sorting
Reading
Finishing - UNIT 1 THEME: Going Places
- Essential Question: What makes a place special?
- Reading Workshop: Read realistic fiction and understand its elements.
- Phonics: Letter sounds for Mm, Tt, Aa, Ss, Pp, Cc, Ii, Nn, Bb, Rr
- High Frequency Words: Week 1) I, am, the; Week 2) like to a; Week 3) have, is, he; Week 4) my, we, make; Week 5) for, me, with; Week 6) she see, look
Please review Unit 1 letters in their ABC Journal this month.
Starting on 10/11 - UNIT 2 THEME: Living Together
- Essential Question: What do living things need?
- Reading Workshop: Read informational text and understand its elements.
- Phonics: Letter sounds for Dd, Kk, Oo, Ff, Hh, Ll, Gg, Ee, Ww, Yy
- High Frequency Words: Week 1) are, that, of; Week 2) they, you, do; Week 3) one, two, three; Week 4) four, five, here; Week 5) go, from, yellow; Week 6) blue, green, what
Science
Finishing - Unit 1 - Pushes and Pulls
Essential Question: What happens if you push or pull and object?
Starting - Unit 2 - Matter
Essential Question: How can you classify different objects?
Social Studies - Me and My World
Topic 1 - Who am I?
In a series of activities, students will explore what they look like, what they care about, how they feel, and things they can do.
Arts
This month we are finishing our Native American art from September and starting to learn about line. In music, we are learning our notes from middle c up one octave and the solfege name for each note: c - do, d - re, e - mi, f - fa, g - sol, a - la, b - ti, c - do.
1st Grade
Unit 1 - Numbers Within 10
Addition and Subtraction
Reading
Finishing - UNIT 1 THEME: My Neighborhood
- Essential Question: What is a neighborhood?
- Reading Workshop: Know about different types of fiction and understand their elements.
- Phonics: Reviewing alphabet sounds
- High Frequency Words: Week 1) a, I, is, his, see; Week 2) we, like, the, one, do; Week 3) look, you, was, by, are; Week 4) have, they, that two, up; Week 5) he, as, to, with, three; Week 6) where, here, for, me, go
Starting on 10/11 - UNIT 2 THEME: I Spy
- Essential Question: How do living thinks change?
- Reading Workshop: Read informational text and understand its elements.
- Phonics: Consonant Blends and Digraphs - ck, sh, th, ing
- High Frequency Words: Week 1) help, little, come, my, saw; Week 2) walk, she, what, take, jump; Week 3) this, use, from, think, blue; Week 4) goes, make, her, too, all; Week 5) four, five, ride, your, part; Week 6) know, many, after, into, don't
Science
Finishing - Topic 1 - Sound
What happens when things vibrate?
Starting - Topic 2 - Light
How can I use light?
Social Studies - My School and Family
Topic 1 - How do I get along with others?
Students will learn how cooperating is important to completing a task when working with others.
Arts
This month we are finishing our Native American art from September and starting to learn about line. In music, we are learning our notes from middle c up one octave and the solfege name for each note: c - do, d - re, e - mi, f - fa, g - sol, a - la, b - ti, c - do.
2nd Grade
Finishing - Unit 1 - Numbers Within 20
Addition, Subtraction, and Data
Starting - Unit 2 - Numbers within 100
Addition, Subtraction, Time, and Money
Reading
Finishing - UNIT 1 THEME: You are Here
- Essential Question: How do different places affect us?
- Reading Workshop: Read realistic fiction and understand its elements.
- Phonics: Long and Short Vowels; Consonant Blends; Digraphs and Trigraphs: ch, sh, wh, th, ph, tch; Endings: -s, -es, -ed, -ing; r-controlled vowels: ar, or, ore, oar
- High Frequency Words: Week 1) which, each, than; Week 2) called, long, most; Week 3) more, things, sound; Week 4) great, before, means; Week 5) follow, form, show; Week 6) also, large, small
Starting on 10/11 - Unit 2 THEME: Nature's Wonders
- Essential Question: What patterns do we see in nature?
- Reading Workshop: Know about different types of informational text and understand their features and structures.
- Phonics: Contractions; Long a: ai, ay, ea; Digraph: ie; Long e: ee, ea, ey, y; Long o: o, oa, ow; Compound Words
- High Frequency Words: Week 1) different, between, even; Week 2) kind, change, air; Week 3) animal, point, study; Week 4) letter, answer, page; Week 5) near, food, try; Week 6) country, city, school
Science
Finishing - Topic 1 - Properties of Matter
Essential Question: How can different materials be used?
Stating - Topic 2 - Changing Matter
Essential Question: How do you change materials?
Social Studies - My Community
Topic 1 - What is a Community?
Students will learn about places found in a community.
Arts
This month we are finishing our Native American art from September and starting to learn about line. In music, we are learning our notes from middle c up one octave and the solfege name for each note: c - do, d - re, e - mi, f - fa, g - sol, a - la, b - ti, c - do.
4th Grade
Finishing - Unit 1 - Whole Numbers
Place Value, Comparison, Addition, and Subtraction
Starting - Unit 2 - Operations
Multiplication, Division, and Algebraic Thinking
Reading
Finishing - UNIT 1 THEME: Networks
- Essential Question: How can a place affect how we live?
- Reading Workshop: Read realistic fiction and understand its elements.
- Trade Book: Life in the West - Due Oct. 8
- Unit Academic Vocabulary Words: contribute, exposed, habit, severe, significant
- Words of the Week: Week 1) determination, independence, specialized, struggled, confidence; Week 2) poverty, pursued, treacherous, remarkable, assembled; Week 3) identical, radiation, duplicate, comparison, DNA, chromosomes; Week 4) endurance, excel, capacity, motivation, drive; Week 5) descent, internment, desolate, diverted, spectators
- Word Study: Week 1) Suffixes: -ed, -ing, -s, -er, -est; Week 2) Suffixes: -ity, -ty, -ic, -ment; Week 3) Syllable Pattern VCe, Week 4) Vowel Teams and Digraphs; Week 5) Prefixes: mis-, en-, em-
- Week 6 Project: Make a brochure about a place that you think should be a landmark.
Starting on 10/11 - Unit 2 THEME: Adaptations
- Essential Question: How do living things adapt to the world around them?
- Reading Workshop: Know about different types of informational text and understand their features and structures.
- Trade Book: Animal Camouflage - Due Nov. 19
- Unit Academic Vocabulary Words: acquire, classified, defense, sufficient, survive
- Words of the Week: Week 1) bristle, brittle, contour, system, prey; Week 2) mimicry, species, environment, arranged, habitat; Week 3) rapids, shimmering, desire, shallow, deserted; Week 4) tender, steeped, excreted, vessels, ultraviolet; Week 5) monotremes, unique, adaptations, burrow
- Word Study: Week 1) Plurals; Week 2) Vowel Digraphs; Week 3) Irregular Plurals; Week 4) Greek Roots; Week 5) Latin Roots: terr, rupt, tract, aqua, dict
- Week 6 Project: Create a poster about an endangered animal.
Science
Finished - Topic 1 - Energy and Motion
Essential Question: What is energy, and how is it related to motion?
Working on - Topic 2 - Human Uses of Energy
Essential Question: How do we convert energy to meet our needs?
Social Studies - Regions of Our Country
Topic 1 - Discovering the Social Sciences
Essential Question: What do social scientists do?
Arts
This month we are finishing our Native American art from September and starting to learn about line. In Music, we are learning how to play the recorder.
5th Grade
Finishing - Unit 1: Whole Number Operations and Applications
Volume, Multiplication, and Division
Starting - Unit 2: Decimals and Fractions
Place Value, Addition, and Subtraction
Reading
Finishing - UNIT 1 THEME: Journeys
- Essential Question: How do journeys change us?
- Reading Workshop: Learn about different types of informational text and understand their features and structures.
- Trade Book: Journeys in Time - Due Oct. 8
- Unit Academic Vocabulary Words: insight, wandered, passage, adventure, curious
- Words of the Week: Week 1) citizens, immigration, opportunity, processing, admitted; Week 2) astrobiologists, microbes, colony, radiation, sensors, rovers; Week 3) tide, course, leagues, fathoms, jaunts; Week 4) peering, via, traversed, girth, intersecting; Week 5) inspired, express, exhibit, imitated, compositions
- Word Study: Week 1) Suffixes: -ic, -ism, -ive; Week 2) Greek Roots; Week 3) Vowel Teams, Week 4) Syllable Patterns V/CV and VC/V; Week 5) Silent Letters
- Week 6 Project: Write a travel guide about a country you want to visit.
Starting on 10/11 - Unit 2 THEME: Observations
- Essential Question: How do we learn through our observations?
- Reading Workshop: Know about different types of informational text and understand their features and structures.
- Trade Book: The Tarantula Scientist - Due Nov. 19
- Unit Academic Vocabulary Words: expert, focus, visible, relate, detect
- Words of the Week: Week 1) marine, ecosystem, flying bridge, chlorophyll, nautical; Week 2) comeback, native, migrating, restore, fungus; Week 3) gingerly, ignite, sputtered, painstaking, gratified; Week 4) transmitter, iconic, nocturnal, burrows, fragmented; Week 5) sanctuaries, diminished, thrive, unfettered, cooperate
- Word Study: Week 1)Open and Closed Syllables; Week 2) Final Stable Syllables: -le, -tion, -sion; Week 3) r-Controlled Vowels; Week 4) Prefixes: il-, in-, im-, ir-; Week 5) Base Words and Endings
- Week 6 Project: Create a survival guide for visitors to a natural area, like a national park.
Science
Finished - Topic 1 - Properties of Matter
Essential Question: How do you describe the properties of matter?
Working on - Topic 2 - Changes in Matter
Essential Question: What evidence do we have that matter changes?
Social Studies - America's Past
Topic 1 - Geography of the United States
Essential Question: What can geography teach us about the United States?
Arts
This month we are finishing our Native American art from September and starting to learn about line. In Music, we are learning how to play the recorder.
7th Grade
Unit 1: Proportional Relationships
Ratios, Rates, and Circles
Reading
UNIT 1 THEME: Generations
Essential Question: What can one generation learn from another?
Trade Book: Stand Tall - Due Oct. 8
Writing: Nonfiction Narrative - In what situations can one generation learn from another?
Science - Life Science
Just Finished - Topic 1 - Living Things in the Biosphere
Essential Question: How do scientist define and organize living things?
Starting - Topic 2 - The Cell System
Essential Question: How does the structure of cells determine their function?
Social Studies - The Ancient World
Topic 1 - Investigating the Past
Essential Question: How do social scientists interpret the past?
Arts
This month we are finishing our Native American art from September and starting to learn about line. In Music, we are learning how to play our band instruments.
Contact
Email: teacher@pvsmt.org
Website: pvsmt.org
Location: 7975 Pleasant Valley Rd, Marion, MT 59925, USA
Phone: 406-858-2343