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.
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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! Important announcement! Upon our return from the break we will begin our Chicago History unit. The conclusion of the unit is a calss conference where students present their family history. Therefore, they must comlete a family history interview over the break. It is due the day we return. The work they will complete for the presentation is dependent on the interview. We have talked about the interview in class. Please know that each family's results will look different. The main idea of the project is to learn about your family and how they came to be in Chicago. You can focus on one side of the family, or both. I send it home over the break, because most of us see extended family at this time of year. Please feel free to add pages and/or information as needed. Most of all, have fun with it! LA Theme essays have been wrapped up, and new writing goals are in the works. The historical fiction unit will begin, in January, alongside the Chicago History unit in social studies. Science It was super fun to finish up our soil unit by dissecting worms. Everyone participated and made it through to the end. Important Dates With the cold weather upon us, please make sure your children have the proper clothes for recess! They need jackets, hats, gloves, snow pants and boots!! Scarves are optional! We go out every day that the temperature is above 20 degrees and windchill in double digits. Snow does not deter us; in fact we love it!! ADMISSIONS MORNING: DECEMBER 6, 8:30-10:00AM If you know someone who is interested in seeing out school in action, please invite them to come. A TIME FOR GIVING: There are many community service projects starting this week. Please check Melinda's blog so you and your children can participate. HOUR OF CODE: Family Celebration will be December 9, 3:30-5:00PM. Be sure to put this on your calendar. It is always a wonderful event. ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES:t All activities are going this week, please check Melinda's blog for more information. December 16 is the last day of school before Winter Break. LA The first three paragraphs of the literary analysis have been written. This week the students will write the closing paragraph. Then the focus will be on revising and strengthening their analysis. Lastly, they will peer edit and produce a final copy. During Daily 5 I have been working with students on revising their memoirs. The focus is on beginning the writing with a hook and making sure the main idea of the writing is clearly stated as a life lesson. Math Multiplication test corrections have been completed. Division pretests were also completed. They continue to work on the fact and number sense packets. Please continue to work on multiplication facts whenever it fits into your schedule. Science Essential nutrients are needed by human and plants to live and flourish. The relationship between soil, our food and our health has been explored. The students completed chemical tests on their student samples to determine the health of the soil in our garden area. This information will help us decide which plants to grow in the spring. While waiting for the test results, the students worked on case studies where they are soil scientists and diagnose nutrient deficiencies for farmers in Africa. Grandparent's Day was so much fun! It was great to meet so many new faces. We hope your guests enjoyed themselves. Important Dates RFA COFFEE TUESDAY NOV. 29 View the webinar, "Girls' Friendships & Drama: How to Support Your Daughter" and then enjoy the discussion afterwards WINTER PROGRAM, THURSDAY DECEMBER 1 at 7:00p.m. Students need to be in their classrooms at 6:30. HOUR OF CODE: Family Celebration will be December 9, 3:30-5:00PM. Be sure to put this on your calendar. It is always a wonderful event. LA We will be working on final drafts of the microstories. The focus will be on creating an engaging opening. Literary essays are also underway. Each student has chosen a theme from one of the books they read. They have written a thesis statement and are working on finding examples from the book to support their thesis. Much of realistic fiction focuses on the emotion of the characters. In art they have been working on paintings to show their favorite scene, using color to evoke emotion. Look for an invitation to see our show opening! Verbs will be the focus of study from now until the Winter Break. Math Everyone took the multiplication unit test on Friday. They will make corrections tomorrow and then we will be working on long division until Winter Break. Science Last week we studied the soil samples we took from our garden area outside. The type of soil was identified and a list of what composes soil was made during two separate investigations. This week we will focus on the essential nutrients found in soil and how they play a role in plant and human growth and health. Special Dates We will be attending Opera in the Neighborhood on Tuesday, form 9:00 to 11:00 am. There is no payment needed. We will return to school for lunch. Nov 18 and 19 Upper School will be performing Guys and Dolls at 7:00PM. There is no charge for tickets and the show is open to all ages! Tuesday, November 22 is our annual Grandparent's Day Celebration! The morning will begin at 8:45 with a special musical performance and continue with a special event in our classroom. The entire event should be over by 11am. I HIGHLY encourage a Grandparent or special guest to attend in lieu of parents. This special guest can be a parent's friend, babysitter, cousin, aunt/uncle, etc. Please let me know if you do NOT have anyone who will be able to attend. 8:30 a.m. Check-in & refreshments - Front foyer 8:45 a.m. Welcome from Headmaster Clark Daggett - Multipurpose Room 9:00 a.m. Music program - Multipurpose Room 10:00 a.m. Guests visit classrooms or tour the school 11:00 a.m. Departure - morning concludes LA We had a few binge reading sessions and finished Eight Keys. Along the way the students created lists of their favorites scenes for a special project in art. We talked about how artists use color to evoke emotion. They identified the feelings in the scene and the colors they will use in their project. they also answered questions from the text. We are working on finding the answers in the text and noting the page number. The students identified several of the 7 Habits that are utilized in the book, as well as focusing on the Core Value of empathy. We also identified textual evidence that supports the themes of family and friendship. Math Please continue working on basic facts at home. Many of you shared how you do that at conferences. Thank you for supporting what we do in the classroom. They are essential to the topics we studying in 4th and 5th grade math. We are moving forward with learning about multiplication. Carnival was a spooktacular hit! The kids had a wonderful time. They even convinced me to go through the Haunted Maze! Thank you to everyone who spent time with us and donated to the class party. Please do not send your child in costume tomorrow. We will have a regular day. There will be no homework. Conferences are this week. Please check SignUp Genius for your conference time. I am looking forward to seeing you. Springfield Trip I am excited to announce that our Springfield trip will take place Thursday and Friday, May 4 & 5. Please mark your calendars! More info to follow... LA There has been a mad flurry of typing around these parts. We are prepping our memoirs for online publication and will share with you when they are complete. The students wrote, self edited and peer edited the work that is being done. I love seeing them discuss word choice and punctuation rules. Don't Hide It, Flaunt It! is an essay contest students worked on this week. They brainstormed things that made them different and wrote about how it has influenced their lives. There has been insightful conversation about what makes us different and how it makes us who we are. Super Grammar introduces us to The Noun Team and The Pronoun this week. Check out the comics hanging outside the classroom that demonstrate the powers of The Subject and The Predicate. The whole class is reading the novel Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur. This realistic fiction novel focuses on friendship and family as one moves into middle school. It is a great way for students to connect to their own lives and start talking about middle school at Roycemore. Ask your student about the first day of school for Elise. It was a rough one! Math Please continue working on basic facts at home. They are essential to the topics we studying in 4th and 5th grade math. We are moving forward with learning about multiplication. Science We will be wrapping up our study of water and moving on to the soil study. We will be working in the space for our garden. If you have gardening gloves and /or small shovels, it would be great if you were willing to let your student bring them in for our work. We will be outside a couple of times this week, weather permitting. Thank you! Special Announcements I know that many of the students in the class are interested in making videos and movies. I came across this cool opportunity and wanted to share it with you. Tomorrow is Pumpkin Carving Night! It is $10 per person. Dinner for the family and a pumpkin for each child is included. It is a ton of fun and the kids are super excited. Let Mrs Orzoff know ASAP if you plan to attend. We will be attending a musical at the Youtheater in Skokie on Tuesday. I am sending a flyer home today. Please send $10 in by Monday, October 24. We will eat lunch at school upon our return. Carnival is next Friday, October 28. Costumes may be worn to school in the morning, as is traditional for the 4th graders only. Be aware that costumes will be worn to lunch and recess. They may change before we go to Carnival, if they would like. Please send $10 in for tickets by Thursday, October 27th. I am noticing a need to work on typing skills. This is a great page where your student can set up an account and keep track of their progress. You may see it come home as homework... Go to the resources page and scroll down to the bottom for the link. LA October brings the realistic fiction genre study. We have begun our small group book studies. It is a chance to work in small groups to work on specific strategies good readers use. Each group is responsible for reading independently between meetings. We have also started reading Eight Keys as a whole group to introduce new literary devices and terms. The nonfiction unit will be wrapped up with a memoir project. The students will be writing a short memoir, including nonfiction text structures and utilizing text features to tell their story. It will be presented in their choice of multimedia. If they come asking for artifacts or pictures, they can be sent via email. Math The addition and subtraction unit was wrapped up last week. We have been working on ways to show multiplication and the area model of multiplication this week. Please continue to practice basic math facts when you need to have a little family fun! Science We will talking about soil quality soon. Please send in any gardening shovels you may have at home. We will be working on preparing our garden for spring. Computer Science & Studio Lab We had a special guest speak with our class on Monday. Debi Lewis is a website designer. She spoke with the class about the purpose of websites, how to market your clientele and showed a little bit of HTML code. The students asked great questions and learned a lot that they will apply when they design their blogs. We worked on conditionals in Computer Science. The students are welcome to login to code.org and work any time they wish. They will need to login to their Roycemore Google account first. I am so impressed by how quickly everyone embraced the research portion of Studio Lab. Everyone is learning so many new things, I can hardly keep up with them! Some students are ready to bring in materials to work next Wednesday. I can store materials in the classroom. They do not need to go back and forth. Special announcements: *Wednesday, October 12 there will be no school due to Yom Kippur. EDP camp is available. Please preregister using the form from Mrs. Orzoff's email. *Friday, October 21 5:30-7:00 is our pumpkin carving night. We hope to see you there!! *Tuesday, October 25 will be our first field trip of the year. We will be going to see a show called Operation Lunch Line at the North Shore Center for Performing Arts, which will help us work on Sharpen the Saw! Let me know if you are interested in coming along. *Friday, October 28 is the annual Carnival run by the Upper School students for our Lower School students. More info to come. It is super fun and one of the highlights of the year! I am noticing a need to work on typing skills. This is a great page where your student can set up an account and keep track of their progress. You may see it come home as homework... Go to the resources page and scroll down to the bottom for the link. LA Memoirs full of microstories! Everyone is working on brainstorming and writing microstories for the first writing project. The stories will be told or written in Adobe Spark. Your child may be asking you for pictures or other artifacts too support their writing. If you do not want to send in items or artifacts, please take a picture. Pictures can always be emailed to me and I will share with their Google Drive. There was no Roots test last week. We will be reviewing the first three lessons this week and a test will be given Friday. Math Everyone completed the first unit math test on Friday. The next unit of study is multiplication. Please continue to work on basic facts. It is essential to math understanding from here on out. A quick Google search for multiplication math games will produce many choices. Also feel free to use old fashioned flashcards or games to keep up the practice. Science Water is a an important natural resource. We learned about the Water Cycle and scarcity of freshwater on the Earth. The students also designed, built and tested their own watersheds on Friday. Check out the pictures below. It was a lot of fun! Computer Science & Studio Lab We worked on debugging and looking for patterns to loop in Computer Science. The students are welcome to login to code.org and work any time they wish. They will need to login to their Roycemore Google account first. I am so impressed by how quickly everyone embraced the research portion of Studio Lab. Everyone is learning so many new things, I can hardly keep up with them! LEADERSHIP WEEK begins tomorrow!
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES: All activities are going. Our first field trip of the year will be on Thursday. We will be going to the Chicago Botanic Gardens to take part in a plant anatomy workshop. Please send a sack lunch for this field trip, with disposable items only. No thermos or lunch box. It is $7 per child, cash only. Please put the money in an envelope with your child’s name on it. Please let me now if you would be interested in attending with us. Thank you. ROSH HASHANAH EDP CAMP, OCTOBER 3 We are closed in observance of the Jewish Holiday, Rosh Hashanah. We will be running an EDP camp for those of you who need child care. YOM KIPPUR EDP CAMP, OCTOBER 12. We are closed in observance of the Jewish Holiday, Yom Kippur. We will be running an EDP camp for those of you who need child care. PUMPKIN CARVING NIGHT OCTOBER 21, 5:30-7:00 PUT THIS ON YOUR CALENDAR! LA We are moving into Lesson 3 in the Roots book. The roots this week are deli, meaning "pleasant" and ques, meaning "ask or search". This week the student will be able to double check their work with their books, but not use it during the test. We have learned about the first part of the Completion Team, The Subject, in grammar. The Subject is able to be a concrete or abstract noun and he has the power of number. Check in with your student if you don't know what that means! We continue working on finishing our Google Tours and will have them up this week. Text features continue to be reviewed and practiced. Text structures were introduced this week. We will continue to use this knowledge throughout the year when reading informational text in other subjects. Math We continue to review rounding and basic facts. Continue to play facts games whenever possible. Most mistakes are showing up in basic computation. The students are using their rounding skills to add and subtract. Social Studies The Illinois Studies Weekly featured a story of a young Illini boy down the Illinois River. His tribe is travels through the Northwest Territory, stopping to rest and gather plants and hunt wild turkey. We also discussed Illinois waterways and their importance to the vitality of the state. The student used maps of Illinois to locate some of the rivers. |