New Semester, New Learnings

It is hard to believe that second semester is here! This year seems to be flying by.  Here are some highlights from the past month.

Country Gallery Walk

Students worked hard on their research projects and were so proud to show off their posters! Thank you to all the families who were able to join us.  Here are a few highlights from that day.

Our next writing unit will focus on opinion writing.  This unit begins with the question Should There be Zoos?  Students will take a stand, do some research and then write a shared opinion.  Next, students will pick a topic they are passionate about, conduct a short research project and then write an opinion piece.  We hope to have a video recording of these opinions pieces!

Saying Good Bye to Ms. Reidy and Ms. Li

We tearfully said goodbye to Ms. Reidy and Ms. Li.  They were both showed kindness and compassion to all of our students and we wish them good luck in their next placement.

However, we are so lucky to have Ms. McMaMahon and Ms. Ohvall back with us FULL TIME this semester!  If you have not met this Dynamic Duo, stop by the LilyPad and say "Hi!"

I Believe in my #selfie

Our last PBS assembly was all about growth mindset and thinking about what we can accomplish in 2017.  All students set a goal for what they will work on in 2017.  We also took some #selfies that were used in a slideshow during the assembly.  Here are ours:

World Read Aloud Day

We have decided to make February 16, which is World Read Aloud Day into an all-school Read Your Heart Out Celebration. We will have author skypes that day 

Author Skypes for each grade level

• 10:20 5th Grade Skype with Mike Grosso (I Am Drums)
• 12:05 4th Grade Skype with Abby Cooper (Sticks & Stones)
• 2:00 3rd Grade Skype with Erin Soderberg (The Quirks)

We are also asking parents to send in photos (you can send the printed photo or an electronic photo) of you reading at home.  We will have a display in the school.  We would like to have some guest readers on the 16th as well.  If you have a book you love (picture book) and would like to read to us, please let me know!  If you would like to read but want a book suggestion, I can help with that, too.

Genius Time

You may or may not have heard your child talking about our genius time (passion projects).  We are working in conjunction with Ms. Heindel to create a time and space for students to work on a project they want to create or a topic they want to learn more about.  We are doing this during the last half hour on Friday afternoons.  If you want to help with this time, let me know! As our projects get underway we may need some assistance.

Upcoming Events

• February 14 - Valentine's day Party 
• February 16 - World Read aloud day
• March 3 - PTG Auction