Wow. I can't believe it is already February vacation. The time is flying by, and I am already starting to get sad about saying goodby to this class! I know that a little rest and relaxation is in order, and I think we will all come back ready to roll up our sleeves and work hard in early March.

This has been a finishing up week, so there is not much to tell you about. Math is the one subject area that had any new learning this week. After making decks of fraction cards, we compared them to landmarks (such a 1/2, 1 and 2) and then put them in order on a number line. We also learned a variety of strategies to determine which fraction is bigger. This is not easy! We ended the week making decks of decimal cards, and we will return to those right after the break.

We had a lovely time at Camp Swampy this morning, and I am so glad we went despite the cold. We tried to do some tracking, but only one group found a rabbit track. I guess we were there too early for the animals to be out and about! Instead, the students decided to organize a game of Hide and Seek (entirely on their own!) The got it going and had a blast. Mr. Bouchard and I were only there to make sure everyone was safe -- they didn't need or want our guidance. I loved seeing them take on leadership roles and make sure no one was excluded. I was smiling from ear to ear, and they were enjoying every minute.

I am sending home a sign-up sheet (in my email) for parent conferences. Please find a time that works for you, and let me know if you need a different time. Also, your children are always welcome to attend if that works for you!

Please also keep an eye out for a letter from Mr. Williams about NAEP testing. Students are chosen randomly to be given this test -- for some reason, my class got lucky (or unlucky, depending on your perspective) and 19 out of 23 of them were chosen! The letter tells more about the testing, which we are mostly uninvolved in.

I hope you all have an opportunity to take some time off to be with your children over the next 10 days. I will miss them, and look forward to seeing them in March! 

 Happy Friday! Another week down, and one to go before vacation.

Here is this week's rundown:

Math: Our main focus this week was on creating decks of fraction cards. The "wholes" were made up of blank squares or squares divided into thirds or fifths, and the students had to decide which whole to use to make 3/12, 2/10, etc. This was harder than I anticipated, but they worked in groups and helped each other. Today, each group spent some time comparing each card in their deck to landmark numbers like 0, 1/2, 1, and 2. They are getting better at noticing equivalent fractions and learning to put fractions in order!

Reading: This week, I continued assessments while the class had free reading time. We are working hard to build our stamina as readers, trying to really dig in to read for 30 to 45 minutes with no interruptions. This is harder in a classroom full of peers than it is at home, because there are clearly more distractions! But we keep working at it, and we will get there. The students also wrote letters to me about their reading this week -- telling me about the themes, the main ideas, the characters, etc. I have not read them all yet, but I look forward to it!

Writing: We are in the final days of our persuasive writing unit. The students are working on making sure they have an introduction with a hook, a thesis with 3 solid reasons, and body paragraphs with lots of good evidence for each reason. We've had a lot of practice with this format, so it is definitely getting easier, and I am excited to see them all understanding what a paragraph is!

We finished watching Cool Runnings today, and the class really seemed to love it. They are asking for another movie, but I think we will wait until after vacation. Now that we have been informed that they can talk without their masks on, I'd rather let lunch be a social time rather than a time to look at a screen. 

We have been cleared to go to Camp Swampy again next Friday! I will keep a careful eye on the weather and be in touch with  you again mid-week to verify, but we are all looking forward to seeing our forts and being in that special place again!

Please check backpacks today for notices from the library. Many students have overdue books!

That's all for this week! Enjoy your weekend.

 Hi Families,

Yesterday's snow day was a lovely chance to rest and refresh, but it also caused me to forget about my weekly blog. So here is a somewhat abbreviated version just to keep you in the loop.

Math: We are fully into our fraction unit. This week, we tackled decimals and learned how they are related to fractions. We used a 10X10 grid to visualize decimals, and we talked a lot about decimal place value (tenths and hundredths) so that students can read and write them correctly. This coming week, we will begin learning how to put variou fractions in order, and we will also learn about improper fractions and what they mean.

Reading: All groups have finished their social issues books! We are spending a little time just free reading during reading time. This gives everyone the opportunity to have some choice, and also give me a chance to do some reading assessments as I get ready to write up report cards. I am noticing that the class has a lot more stamina than they used do when it comes to reading!

Writing: We are just about finished with our persuasive essays. After learning the format of this kind of essay with their opinion piece, this essay is getting written quickly! The students are becoming proficient at using paragraphs, which is one of the main objectives of this particular unit. Next we will tackle literary essays, using a very similar format.

Social Studies: We finished our civics unit on Monday with a debate. I really enjoyed watching and listening as the "legislators" debated the pros and cons of the bill. They all had nametags and I referred to them all as "Representative Smith, etc."  They thoroughly enjoyed this! In the end, the bill did not pass. Since then, we have moved onto a short unit celebrating Black History month. Although we started out talking about and defining racism, we will focus a lot on the lives of both ordinary Black people and those who have done amazing things (not only activists but musicians, doctors, etc.) We will read a lot of books and watch a lot of short videos to spark conversation over the next few weeks.

A few other important points:

Sale: Thank you to all who have sent in items for our sale this Wednesday. If you have anything to send, it's not too late!

Valentine's Day is coming up. Although we won't have a party, I will allow the students to pass out Valentines. Bringing Valentines is completely optional, but if your child brings them, please make sure they bring one for everyone in the class so that we don't have any hurt feelings. Here is a class list:

• Gabe A
• Gabe P
• Maeve
• Jaela
• Lily
• Makaylee
• Aubri
• Greta
• Lorna
• Catherine
• Kuziva
• Noah
• Jack
• Eli
• Aiden
• Dylan
• Myles
• Ellie
• Emma
• JJ
• Malakai
• Cameron
• Abel

Movie: Since we are trying to keep talking to a minimum during lunchtime due to COVID protocols, we often watch a silly cartoon. The students have asked if we could watch a movie instead. Lunch is only about 25 minutes, so it would take us almost a week to watch a movie. I thought of the movie Cool Runnings since the Winter Olympics are happening and the movie is about the first Jamaican bobsled team. The movie is rated PG for mild language and one barroom brawl, but has a wonderful message about sportsmanship and determination.  If any of you have any objections to your children watching this, please let me know and I will find something else.

That's all for now. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.