DISCOVERY UNLIMITED AND CAMP information is on our website at roycemoreschool.org/summer
The Lunar New Year celebration was super fun! Mrs. Hu and some of her middle school students came to visit our classroom and taught us a little about the Year of the Rooster. On Friday we attended the all school celebration. The kids played games and did some crafts. Social Studies/LA The students watched the video Chicago's North Shore, hosted by Geoffrey Baer. They identified the causes and effects of the railroad on the North Shore. Work continues in our reading small groups. Students are writing responses to chapters and working on their paragraph writing skills and being able to use quotes from the book to support a response. They are also focusing on character analysis. Much of the work we are doing is closely tied to Language Arts. We are reading lots of nonfiction, and asking questions. By asking questions, the focus is on comprehension. There are many types of questions we ask while reading. The students take the time to identify which type of questions they have and then we work on answering them. The types are questions are: 1. Vocabulary 2. Answers we find in the text 3. Answers we find in the world 4. Answers that come from your brain using clues from the text (inference) 5. Never answered (wonderings) We will be heading to the Evanston History Center on February 15, from 12:30-2:30. We will be leaving around noon, as we will be walking. We should be back to school around 3:00. Please let me know if you would like to attend. We will have a tour of the Dawes house, visit the Evanston history kids exhibit and see a special exhibit on the Underground Railroad. Math We wrapped up the division unit today with test corrections. Tomorrow the students will take the pretest for Fraction Concepts.
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Important Dates Preview Night on Wednesday from 5:15-6:30PM is for you too. Cindi DiIorio, Middle School Division Head, will be in attendance to tell you all of the exciting things that are happening in Middle School. I know you will be impressed. We hope to see all of you there. RFA PARENT COFFEE: Tuesday, January 24 at 8:15AM, right after drop off It is time to begin to think about summer. DISCOVERY UNLIMITED AND CAMP information is on our website at roycemoreschool.org/summer LA Work continues in our reading small groups. Students are writing responses to chapters and working on their paragraph writing skills and being able to use quotes from the book to support a response. They are also focusing on character analysis. Social Studies Much of the work we are doing is closely tied to Language Arts. We are reading lots of nonfiction, and asking questions. By asking questions, the focus is on comprehension. There are many types of questions we ask while reading. The students take the time to identify which type of questions they have and then we work on answering them. The types are questions are: 1. Vocabulary 2. Answers we find in the text 3. Answers we find in the world 4. Answers that come from your brain using clues from the text (inference) 5. Never answered (wonderings) Last week we read about the Native Americans in Illinois and the trading forts of the French, Dutch and English. The students participated in a Trade Rendevous simulation. This week will focus on the beginnings of Chicago. All family chronology charts should be complete and at school. We will be creating our family maps this week. I will also assign the family map this week. Frances came in this week to share the Latino experience in Chicago. It was very informative. the kids had lots of great questions and had some strong opinions! Math Continue to work on long division and should be doing the end of unit test by the end of the week. Special Announcements Please send a snack for your student each day. We are focusing on kindness in the new year. Last week the students tried to check off 14 different kind acts from a list. This week we will focus on being kind to ourselves. Each day will focus on how we see ourselves, our self-talk, and how we take care of ourselves. It would be great to talk with your student about what they learn about themselves this week. Next week we will focus on kindness to our family. I would like to play a game with the students, but I need your help. Please email me one or two kind deeds performed by your child. More unique acts will work better than something general. For example, "Gave his new Transformer toy to his brother when his brother was sick," will be better than, "Set the table". It does not need to be recent. Just something kind that they did that sticks out in your mind. Please send them in by Friday. Thank you! MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY: January 16: To honor Dr. Martin Luther King, there is no school on Monday, January 16, but we are running an Extended Day camp for those of you who need childcare. At this time we only have three students enrolled. I am sorry, but if we do not have a minimum of six students in each of the two groups, the younger and the older, for a total of twelve students, we will have to cancel the program. PREVIEW NIGHT: January 25, Watch for an invitation! This is a time for you to meet with the teachers who your children will have next year, so they can describe their excellent programs. It is time to begin to think about summer. Discovery Unlimited and Summer Camp information will be on our website soon, watch for it! CTD TESTING: This year testing for CTD classes for entry into their Spring and Summer programs can happen at Roycemore, Judy Wahl, our gifted coordinator can administer the test, and it is free for Roycemore students. If you would like your child to partake in the CTD classes, email Judy Wahl at j[email protected] and she will schedule a time to test your child. Field Trip to Chicago Children's Theater at the Ruth Page Theater- We will be seeing "The Hundred Dresses". Please send in $15. We will be leaving 8:45 am and returning at 12:45. Please send your child in the Roycemore T-shirt and send a lunch (nut free). I would love to have a parent volunteer. Let me know if you are available. LA We have begun our historical fiction unit. We will be reading a book for small groups that focus on the World's Fair of 1893. In order to prepare for our reading, we are watching excerpts from the documentary "Expo: Magic of the White City." Besides focusing on genre, we will also be focusing on character development and analysis. Next year the students will be given letter grades along with any percentage assigned to assignments. To begin getting them used to this system, I will assign them letter grades to accompany the percentage on the weekly Roots tests. There is no grade assigned to report cards and there is no more value put on these assessments. It is simply to reduce the grade shock of 5th grade. The scale is: 90-100 = A 80-89 = B 70-79 = C 60-69 = D Please let me know if you have any questions. Math We are working on readers theater plays to explain what to do with the remainder of a long division problem in the real world. They are taking it very seriously and having lots of fun learning! Social Studies We will continue to work on our Family History Projects. I will send home a geneology chart this week. Please help your child fill it out. Go back only as far as you can. Every blank does not have to be filled in. Below each name, please write the country of that person's birth. I do not need a year or any other information. They will be creating a map using these countries. It will be due Tuesday, January 17. Thank you! I will also be sending home their Chicago flag assignment this week. Ask your student about it. I love this part of the project! |