Newsletter 4/12-4/16

Here's What's Happening...

English/Language Arts: This week, students will have the opportunity to read and dive into the other two texts about Paul Revere's ride.  We begin with the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, entitled "Paul Revere's Ride."  We will do a close read to understand some of the difficult vocabulary in this poem, as well as gather an understanding of what is happening in each stanza of the poem.  Then, we will do a mini lesson on reciting poetry, and learn about marking up the text to help with pacing, inflection, fluency, and tone/mood.  Students will have the opportunity to choose a portion of the poem to practice and recite later in the week.  Then we will move on to the final text, which is called "The Real Midnight Ride."  Students will engage in stations with this text, as well as work on Word Work List 9 slides.

Science: We will move to our next lesson on decomposers.  We will review what they learned about decomposers by reading "Walk in the Woods."  Then, they will explore with the online simulation to determine how decomposers affect soil.  They will then begin synthesizing their findings to make an initial claim about why the soil in the project area is different from the soil in the healthy rainforest ecosystem. 

Social Studies: We will finish up Chapter 8, Lesson 2 by learning about  the Boston Tea Party, as well as the Intolerable Acts that followed, and the idea of colonists beginning to take sides.  We will also talk about the First Continental Congress, George Washington's role, and about Patrick Henry's Liberty or Death speech.  We continue to emphasize sequence chains, and students will have a checkpoint on the material at the end of the week.

Advanced Math: We will begin Topic 9 in earnest  this week.  Students will learn about Rational Numbers and the Number Line, as well as how to compare and order rational numbers.  This is where they will have the opportunity to put their conversion between fractions and decimals skills to practice!  We will wrap up the week with a Homework Review on Topic 9, Lessons 1-3.

Important Info:

Full Days Ahead!

I am so excited to be moving to a full day schedule this week!  Another baby step towards going back to pre-pandemic ways.  A few important notes for those coming back for full days:

• Students should bring a towel or blanket to sit on for days when we do outdoor, picnic style lunches.  I will have the students bring these home every Thursday to be washed!  Please return them each Monday.
• Students should bring back to school their SS books and any notebooks they have left at home.
• Students will either need to bring their own lunch, or they can select to have the sack lunch provided by Aramark (free to all students!).
• Dismissal for BACC and Parent Pick Up will be at 2:20, and Bus Riders/Bike Riders/Walkers will be at 2:25. 
• Fridays will be an early dismissal at 12:05PM.  Students will have work to be done independently on Friday afternoon, so that the teachers have time to continue collaborating on activities for this year, as well as begin preparations for the transition to Lakeview.  They will not need to log on to Meets at 1pm, unless I have directed them to do so.  However, I will be using Go Guardian to ensure they are working on their assigned afternoon work. 

PRIDE! Winner

Congratulations to Ava M., who was the Everything Exclamation winner for the month of March.  Ava received this award because she demonstrates a positive attitude, respect, improvement, determination, and empathy.  Way to go, Ava!

Schedule of Events

• Monday, April 12th: Full Day Schedule begins! (8:25-2:25)
• Friday. April 16th: Panther Fun Day, 9:40-10:30 AM (Weather permitting)
• Friday, April 16th: 12:05 Dismissal, Asynchronous Afternoon Work
• Friday, April 16th: Midterm of Third Trimester