Author Bob McLeod Kicks off March is Reading Month!

Author Bob McLeod came to Silver Springs to help us kick off March is Reading Month.

From time to time it is starting to seem like Spring is around the corner; I hope you were able to get out this weekend.  I have a lot for you to read this week:

Leadership Day
Leadership Day is this Thursday.  Students will be taking teachers and principals from other districts on a tour of Silver Springs.  Please have students dress up a bit on Thursday.  Students should do their best to dress nicely but there is no need to go out and buy new clothes.

No School For Students On Tuesday
There is no school for students this Tuesday.  Teachers will be in meetings both at Silver Springs and districtwide.  We are forecast for snow that day, so maybe it will end up to be a good day for students to stay home.

March is Reading Month Contest
For March is Reading month we are having a classwide and schoolwide contest to see whether the boys or girls of Room A-2 can read more at home.  You and your child can record the time spent reading on the pink sheets that went home last Monday.  Because I want students to focus on this contest for March I will not be sending home the regular reading logs.

Author Bob McLeod
Last week author Bob McLeod visited Silver Springs to kick off March is Reading Month.  He led an assembly for students that was both informative and captivating.  As part of his presentation Mr. McLeod showed students the process he went through to write and illustrate his book SuperHero ABC.  He also gave students a drawing lesson.  If you haven't already discussed this assembly with your child I recommend asking them about it.

Parent Volunteers
If you would like to volunteer in Room A-2 I could use help in the mornings between 9 and 10:30 AM, Tuesday through Friday.  My plan would be to have volunteers do a few administrative tasks (making copies, etc.) and then read with students.  You could volunteer every week, every other week, whatever suits your schedule.

Curriculum Overview
Literacy - In reading we will be reading non-fiction and seeing if we can sort out what we read to determine what information is most important.  From there we will also be working on internalizing that knowledge and summarizing it our own words.

Math - Last week we finished up our unit on Metric Measurement.  This week we are beginning a unit on Customary Measurement (inches, feet, miles, etc.). 

Writing - This week students will continue writing reviews of movies and restaurants.  As we write we are trying to make our reviews well-rounded by not only talking about what we love, but also include complaints and suggestions.

Science - Last week we conducted an experiment where we used measurement of time to record how long it takes for different objects to roll down a ramp.  This week we are using balances to determine the weight of different objects.

Social Studies with Mrs. Heron - Last week we practiced our civic responsibility of voting and then wrote an opinion piece to support our vote.  We have also been learning about American symbols such as the flag, national anthem, Statue of Liberty, etc.  Finally, we are learning about ways to show patriotism such as saying the pledge of allegiance, singing a patriotic song, celebrating national holiday, and learning about our county’s history.  We will be finishing this unit soon, so look for your child’s review packet to come home to study in the next week or two.

Word Study with Mrs. Sepich - This week, we will continue working with the vocabulary words for from the book about Roberto Clemente.  We will be playing games to reinforce both the definition of the word, as well as the synonyms and antonyms that we have learned.  We will also be doing the writing sort for the word sort we've been working on.  This word sort will come home in NEXT week's Monday Envelope.

Leadership - Preparing for Leadership Day this Thursday!

Room A-2 students use an iPad to track how quickly cars and marbles travel down a ramp.