10-20-17

10-20-17

Next Friday(10/27) is Halloween.  The school-wide parade will be at 10:30 behind our school on the LCE track.  Feel free to stop by after the parade, just make sure you sign-in at the office.  The kids are planning some activities that will take place following the parade.  If you would like to sign up to send in some snacks or supplies, please use the link below:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4baaab29a6fa7-halloween1

Yearbooks are on sale now (Oct. 16) through Dec. 31 for $12, the lowest price we will offer. We receive a limited number of yearbooks so order now to guarantee a copy. You may order online (www.balfour.com), but please note Balfour charges a $1 processing fee on each order. Or you may order through the school – simply print the attached form that is sent out with the weekly school emails, fill it out and return with your payment to your child’s teacher. Checks must be made payable to PORTAGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. If you do not have access to a printer, please contact the teacher and a paper copy will be sent home.

Conference Time!  Conferences will be held this year on November 14th and 16th.  We will be doing online scheduling again this year.  This will open up at 8am today. You can CLICK HERE  or go to www.schoolbookings.net/code?ecode=ekhj9   If you need a code it is ekhj9.  Please find your child’s teacher and sign up under his/her name.  Remember to not book back to back as you will need time to get to from one classroom to the other.  Also be aware that we are on a tight schedule and we must stick to the time allotted and only one conference per family.  Thank you for your support and understanding.

The last couple of stories haven't been that spectacular so we have been substituting  a lot of our language arts with StoryWorks Magazine.  StoryWorks is a great magazine from Scholastic that has great fiction and non-fiction articles.  As a class, we have been reading articles together and then focusing on inferences, since that is the essential standard for the 1st quarter.  Whether we have a heavy focus on the story in the journeys basil or not, we will still have weekly vocabulary and spelling tests.  We always go over the spelling words and vocabulary words together as a class on Mondays and Tuesdays.  It is every child's responsibility to know the 10 vocabulary words and 20 spelling words. 

Vocabulary Words: unison, uniform, mastered, competition, identical, element, routine, intimidated, recite, qualifying

Spelling Words:  glue, flute, youth, accuse, bruise, stew, choose, loose, lose, view, confuse, cruise, jewel, execute, route, cartoon, avenue, include, assume, souvenir

We wrapped up all 16 lessons from Module 1 this week.  We will spend today(Friday 10/20) and Monday (10/23) taking a review test and going over all the concepts covered.  I will probably have everyone take the End of Module 1 test next Tuesday or Wednesday.  It just depends how long it takes up to go through everything.  Please use the review test to help your child. 

Every students needs to know how to:

1.   Round decimals to the nearest tenth, hundredth, thousandth, or whole number.

2.  Compare Decimals <,>, =

3.  Add and Subtract Decimals

4.  Multiply Decimals

5.  Divide Decimals

Phases of the Moon

We are going to probably take a few weeks and focus on the phases of the moon.  Students need to know all 8 phases of the moon and be able to draw which part of the moon is illuminated correctly.  Students also need to know how the moon has an effect on the tides and the difference between a lunar and solar eclipse. 

10-13-17

10-13-17

The link to sign up for conferences will be live on Monday.  Lake Center will send out a school wide email on Monday as well.  Looks like conferences will be on Tuesday, Nov. 14th and Thursday, Nov. 16th.

www.schoolbookings.net

Parent Code:  ekhj9

Lake Center Dine Out Night

Lake Center Spirit Days

Halloween will be celebrated on Friday, October 27th which is another half day.  October 31st will be used to celebrate a school wide celebration of being 95% referral free.  All students will be able to wear their PJ's to school that day.  I will send out more details about Halloween as I figure out exactly what will be going on that day besides the parade at 10:30.  

This week we read about space exploration and asked the question “How can graphics help you learn about space?” We read an informational text, Blasting Off to Space Academy about a group of children who experience the excitement of space exploration during a space-shuttle mission simulation. 

Vocabulary Words: function, delicate, adjusted, operator, flawed, acute, version, axis, simulate, tethered

Spelling Words:  awake, feast, stray, greet, praise, disease, repeat, display, braces, thief, ashamed, sleeve, waist, beneath, sheepish, release, remain, sway, training, niece

Inferences

Our main comprehension focus for the first quarter has been and will be on inferences.  The students have to be able to quote accurately from a text when drawing inferences and also be able to draw or relate from personal experiences.

Writing

We are finishing up our informational writings on planets this week before we introduce our first persuasive writing next week(hopefully).  

This week was spent on multiplying and dividing decimals by whole numbers.  We are getting close to finishing up our first module in math.  We have 3 more lessons to get through next week and then I'm sure we will spend some time reviewing all the material from the whole module before taking the end of module assessment.  Our main focus this module has been comparing decimals, rounding decimals, multiplying decimals by whole numbers, and dividing decimals by whole numbers.  I would recommend having your child go back and review any past problem sets in their math section of their binder if they need any review.

I've been using mystery science this year to kind of connect together all of our science standards that need to be covered involving the solar system, moon phases, seasons, and tides.  We've pretty much wrapped up our unit on the solar system.  I still need to review the order of the planets with a handful of students but then we will be hitting the phases of the moon.  We will stop and go into a lot of detail between the phases of the moon and how the moon affects the tides.  Below is a brief description of the unit:  Spaceship Earth.

Mystery 1: Day, Night, & Earth's Rotation

Why does the sun rise and set?

Mystery 2: Earth's Rotation & Time

Who set the first clock?

Mystery 3: Seasons & Earth's Revolution

Why do the stars change with the seasons?

Mystery 4: Seasonal Changes & Sun's Path

How can the sun tell you the season?

Mystery 5: Moon Phases, Lunar Cycle

Why does the moon change shape?

Mystery 6: Planets & Solar System

What are the wandering stars?

This astronomy unit helps students develop a new perspective on the world they’re standing on. They will be given evidence that the Earth beneath our feet is actually moving through space, both spinning on its axis, and traveling in a great orbit around the Sun. They will see how these movements account for the patterns we see in our sky (the paths of our Sun across the sky, the changing seasons, and the changing constellations). Accompanying us on this journey are the Moon and planets, which the students will observe have their own patterns of movement in the sky. Throughout this investigation students will engage in actual and simulated observations of the sky, and they will engage in the process of inquiry: beginning with observations, debating a range of possible causes, and reasoning to possible conclusions.