Post #32

We love our grandparents and special guests! So much, that we put them to work. The  girls engaged their guests with a 3WT (Three Word Thursday). By now, the girls are pros with this weekly creative writing challenge. Our guests did a pretty good job too:) Take a look:

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the girls' extended family. 

The girls were determined mathematicians and tackled a very challenging test on Unit Six. The word problems were multi-step and required some serious bar modeling. Look for these in next week's work packet. We jumped into the new unit with a mini project. The girls are planning a summer wardrobe. These wise and thrifty consumers will show off their fashion sense with real world decimal practice. To add to the real world math practice, we will be going off campus on Wednesday afternoon. The girls earned 100 CLASS COMPLIMENTS and voted for a trip to Zazoli Sweets. The girls may bring $5 but not a penny more. I encourage them to check out the website: https://zazoli.com.

Tools, tools, tools! There was plenty of discussion about tools this week and I don't mean hammers, drills, and wrenches. The girls have all kinds of tools in their binders and should use them- especially in math. Ask your daughter about her decimal number line, adding and subtracting decimal paper, transition guide, flashcard pocket, etc, etc. Did you know that they have more than 30 mini math posters that reinforce all the skills taught in our Singapore Math program? 

The girls are really getting into a writing assignment started this week. They are imagining their family starring in a movie. The genres were varied: comedy, adventure, and an occasional horror story. The younger girls love seeing these movie plot summaries outside the classroom. 

Next week is a plain old regular schedule. The girls were jumping for joy when we talked about our plans for next week. We are all excited to get back into our routine. 

One final note. Thanks so much for the birthday goodies. I explained to the girls that my "baby" is turning 35 tomorrow and I'll be celebrating with her in Blacksburg. 

I'm sorry to miss the Maypole, but I am confident it will be great. I watched practice on Thursday and these girls looked like pros!!

Nuts and Bolts: 

Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

* Homework for family planning purposes.

* Middle School visit (5/8)- the girls will get a bird's eye view of fifth grade 

* Lower School Book Fair (5/15 and 5/16)- more details to follow including fifth grade summer reading selections

* Final Assembly Information is here! 

Class Leadership Week of 4/29

 Carpool Helpers- Ellie and Blair

Special Week Girl- Angelina (5/6)

Ambassadors- Lauren and Ginny

Photographer-Blair

Closers- Ruby and Vivian

Girls-Your blog question is.......What day are we going to Zazoli's and how much money can you bring? Post your answer here.

Post #31

Best field trip ever!

The Naturalization field trip is always a class favorite but this year was really special. The girls watched close to fifty new American citizens take their oath and among them was our very own Mrs. Dorion. Such a privilege to be able to witness the event! The girls also learned about the US Marshal Service, toured holding cells, and visited Judge Lauck's chambers. 

The girls are really getting into our novel study, Number the Stars.  They are doing well on the comprehension checks. Ask your daughter to log in to her Quia account so you can see the quizzes (both reading and Wordly Wise). We continue to celebrate National Poetry Month. The girls dabbled with free verse using a site called Piclits. This site also helps reinforce word functions and identifying and using parts of speech correctly. You can see their poems here:

Peeps, Easter riddles, decimals found their way into math instruction. The girls scanned QR codes and solved math equations and Easter riddles. 

Additionally there was some pretty challenging problem solving this week in math. I LOVE  the determination, resilience, and enthusiasm these girls display during math. The girls will be assessed on Wednesday. The next unit expands on decimal knowledge and teaches the four operations with decimals. 

One final note.... the girls did a beautiful job in chapel today. They were poised and articulate and made the Good Friday Chapel one I will always remember. 

Nuts and Bolts: 

Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

* Grandparents' Special Friends' Day is on Thursday. We will enjoy time with our guests from 10:30-12:30. Box lunches will be served to all students and their guests.
* April is Autism Awareness Month-Details here.
* Homework for family planning purposes.

* Final Assembly Information is here! 

Class Leadership Week of 4/22

 Carpool Helpers- Vivian

Special Week Girl- Allie

Ambassadors- Lauren and Ginny

Photographer-Blair

Closers- Ruby and Vivian

Girls-Your blog question is.......When is Grandparents' Special Friends' Day? Post your answer here.

Post #30

Let's talk about the three R's in education:
Rigor- check
Relationship- check
Relevance:

So many girls were excited about basketball this week, I had to incorporate their enthusiasm into their learning. The girls worked on a mini math project that involved analyzing decimals found on snacks and problem solving with UVA/Auburn basketball. What else can you do when you have a student whose name is Virginia Auburn?!? I absolutely loved their enthusiasm!

The girls worked together to find decimals on packages; they converted the decimals to fractions and reduced to lowest terms. They practiced reading the decimals and then extended their learning by analyzing the packages to determine parts of speech. Thanks Virginia Auburn Green for keeping it real. 

April is Poetry Month and we kicked it off with the biography book project. We read Dogku by Andrew Clements. Dogku is a tender story about a dog and it is written in all haikus. The girls used this book as inspiration to write a summary of the biography they read. They summarized the person, but here's the catch..... the summary is written in all haikus. Look for these next week. 

The girls are researching their country, practicing note taking, and summarizing. They are doing a great job using the library databases.

We started a new novel, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. It's a wonderful tale set in Nazi occupied Denmark. We have already had so many rich discussions. An audio option is available if the girls prefer reading and listening.

Nuts and Bolts: 

Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

* April is Autism Awareness Month-Details here.
* Homework for family planning purposes.

* Naturalization Field Trip is Wednesday. Details here. The girls are going to love this experience.

* Final Assembly Information is here! 

Class Leadership Week of 4/15

 Carpool Helpers- No Fourthies from M02

Special Week Girl- Allie

Ambassadors- Lauren and Allie

Photographer-Kaylee

Closers- Blair and Ellie

Girls-Your blog question is.......How many syllables are in the second line of Ellie's haiku? Post your answer here.

Post #29

It was a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious week!

Nuts and Bolts: 

Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

* Spring Conference Schedule

* April is Autism Awareness Month-Details here.
* Homework for family planning purposes.

* Everyday Parenting Solutions- program at St. Catherine's on April 10th. Details here.

* Final Assembly Information is here! 

Class Leadership Week of 4/8

 Carpool Helpers- Ginny and Chloe

Special Week Girl- Allie (4/15)

Ambassadors- Ellie and Kaylee

Photographer-Ruby

Closers- Kensie and Lura

Girls-Your blog question is.......What kind of week was it? Post your answer here.