Campus News 11-6-09

Campus News Lower Division Newsletter November 6, 2009

Junior Kindergarten Language Arts We will begin our theme on the seasons and discuss weather throughout the year. Children will learn about nature and read stories about animals and plants. The students will continue to work on color words, adding brown to our previously studied color words. We will learn new Alpha friends, Y and W. In handwriting (HWT), we will learn the letters, Cc and Oo. Social Studies We will talk about the proper attire for different weather conditions. We will also discuss the importance of celebrations. Science Students will do a variety of experiments that focus on the sense of sight and look at how objects differ when far and near. Children will also learn to categorize objects by shape, size, color, and texture. Math Students will learn about the order of things. Vocabulary words will include first and last, as well as position words. Children will also work on sets of 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Senior Kindergarten Language Arts The children will read the story, The Very First Thanksgiving. They will review the story elements of character, setting, events, and problems. The reading strategy will emphasize the use of picture clues, trying to sound out words, and checking to see if words make sense in a story. They will also work on rhyming words, CVC patterns, and review the vowels a, e, and i. We will introduce the

letter Oo. Handwriting practice will focus on first and last names, proper spacing, and letter formation of Ee, Ll and Yy. The children are now working on developing their organization skills as well as expanding their writing ideas when writing. We are so proud of our great young authors! Science Our Pumpkin Math and Science was a HUGE success. Thank you to our dads, Mr. Riley, Mr. Reed, and Mr. Rodriguez. They were a great help, and the children really enjoyed it. The children will continue in their efforts to “think like scientists” while questioning, investigating, predicting, and discovering. The students will study the four seasons and Thanksgiving. Math Our focus this week is on: counting to 20, counting backwards from 20, identifying odd and even numbers to 20, making tally marks to 20, simple addition to 10, measuring using non–standard units of measurement, graphing, and using same, more, and less in our thinking. Virtues The children will read stories such as “The Most Thankful Thing” to discuss the virtue of thankfulness.

Grade 1 Language Arts We will continue to work on story elements including comparing and contrasting using a Venn diagram. The children will review plot, setting, main characters, and main idea. Please continue to read with your child and review the high frequency words each evening. We will continue to emphasize sentence conventions such as beginning with a capital letter and ending with punctuation. The children are grasping the concepts of nouns and verbs. We will continue to stress the importance of having nouns and verbs in our sentences as we write. Vowel patterns and digraphs will be reviewed. We will also introduce homophones. Social Studies Our emphasis this period will be on learning about the pilgrims and Native Americans and how they learned to get along with each other. Our virtue, thankfulness, will be a significant part of our lessons.

Math The children need to learn addition and subtraction facts to 10. As a part of our math routine, we will have daily timed tests. Please review at least 2 times a week. Our emphasis for the next two weeks will be on mastering subtraction concepts in word problems.

Grade 2 Language Arts We will finish our reading theme “Nature Walk” by connecting and comparing realistic fiction and nonfiction stories and then focus on fables in literature. As we read these selections we will monitor/clarify, categorize and classify, compare and contrast, predict and infer, and discuss fact and opinion. Our phonics and spelling skills will focus on long vowels o, u, e with final e words, two sounds for g, two sounds for c, and /k/ spelled ck and k. Our writing will focus on creating a complete paragraph and adding details to our writing, writing complete sentences, and writing a fable. Our grammar will focus on nouns, verbs, exclamation points, question marks, and periods. Social Studies We will continue to focus on the concept of a community by looking at Native American tribes. The children are discovering things about Native Americans and communities long ago as we read The Magic Tree House book, Thanksgiving on Thursday. We are also reading books about the first Thanksgiving. Science The students will begin an inquiry about soils as we begin our second science unit. We will discuss what soil is and where dead plants go, as well as investigate sand, clay, and humus. Now that the weather is better for gardening, we will be sprucing up the butterfly garden and identifying the plants in the garden. We hope to discover different kinds of butterflies and which plants they like best. Math The students have gained a better understanding of place value. We will continue to focus on place value, the order of two-digit numbers to 100, ordinal numbers, and repeating and growing patterns. We will then begin our next unit on geometry and fractions and focus on identifying, classifying, and describing plane shapes. The students will continue to practice problem solving skills and addition and subtraction facts.

Grade 3 Language Arts Students are enjoying reading their chapter books. They are working on applying the skills of prediction, understanding cause and effect, identifying problem and solution, and understanding character analysis and inference. As it turns out, third grade is a very imaginative group, and they are writing amazing fictional narratives. Students are learning to organize their writing into a logical sequence with a beginning that grabs the reader and an ending that leaves the reader satisfied. We will be moving from fictional narratives where the author is telling a personal story to story writing that can be told from another point of view. This group loves writing fiction! Social Studies Third grade really enjoyed locating the major cities and other points of interest on the AAA map. They then transferred that information to their own state map. Our next activity will be to locate springs in Florida and answer questions utilizing their understanding of cardinal directions and the location of major cities in Florida. They will also be learning how springs are formed. This is in preparation for our December field trip to Crystal Springs Preserve. Science Students are very excited about their first project. I can’t wait to see their finished product. Our plant and flower unit will come full circle as we complete our study with the flower’s production of seed and then seed travel. Our garden is providing so much enjoyment. We have lunch next to the garden and observe the changes and growth daily. Passersby always comment on how beautiful it is. We have to agree! Math We were very impressed with the students’ performance on their addition chapter test. They will be using those same skills and quick recall to solve subtraction problems. We are working very hard to encourage students to use strategies rather than rely on counting when adding and subtracting. The subtraction lessons include subtraction without and with regrouping from the tens to the thousands place. They also include the very challenging lessons of subtraction across zero.

Grade 4 Language Arts The November book projects have been assigned. The students will organize their story elements on a turkey’s tail feathers. I am pleased with the way these creative projects are encouraging the students to read. Reading groups are a highlight of the day. Kate DiCamillo’s literature is chock full of interesting vocabulary and meaningful plots that challenge us as readers and inspire us as writers. The students are in the final editing stages of their short stories, Veteran’s Day writing projects and free verse poems. Our next writing endeavors are persuasive essays and diamante poems. In grammar, we will begin our unit on the study of all types of verbs. Social Studies We will begin our next chapter that focuses on the American people. We will discuss culture, patriotism, and immigration. Science Our focus this quarter is on Animal Studies. We have begun to conduct research on the habitats of aquatic, land, and amphibian animals. We plan to set up a classroom habitat for our first animal of study, guppies! Prepare yourselves; the persuasive essays the students work on in writing may just convince you that a guppy makes the perfect pet. Math We have begun Algebra! The students are like little detectives solving for “n”. They have such a great attitude, and I am very proud of their enthusiasm and dedication. We are continuing our Mad Minute quizzes on Fridays. Have they told you that the first student to correctly answer 30 facts in a minute will share a Sonic snack with me after school?

Helping Hands Food Drive The Giraffe Club is collecting different foods for Helping Hands, a local food bank. November 3 – 6 November 9 – 13 November 16 – 20

Cans of fruit and vegetables Dry cereals and soups Cake mixes, frosting, and pasta

Library Spotlight Jane Wood, a Florida author, will be visiting in January. If you wish to order her books and have them autographed, please return the order form in the Friday Folders before the Thanksgiving Break.

Did You Know…. Our Lower Division has a team of cheerleaders who are just awesome! They performed at the pep rally and had everyone cheering.

Halloween is always a fun-filled day of celebration at Academy at the Lakes. The day starts with the traditional parade of costumes followed by trick-or-treating through the classrooms on both Wendlek and McCormick Campuses. Fourth grade enjoys the traditional Monster Mash haunted house that is completely created by the hard-working fourth grade parents. All other classes celebrate in their classrooms in a variety of ways, including the carving of pumpkins. The day before the parade is the annual Pumpkin Decorating Contest. Each year we are amazed by the number of extremely creative entries! This year was no exception!

Upcoming Events….. November 7, 2009 Dillard’s Fashion Show – 2:00 p.m. at Wiregrass

November 9, 2009 JK Parent Conference Day November 10, 2009 SK Parent Conference Day Grade 1 to Homosassa Springs – regular uniforms – 8:45 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. November 11, 2009 All School Assembly for Veteran’s Day 10:30 – 11:15 a.m. in McCormick Gym – dress uniforms November 12, 2009 Grade 1 Parent Conference Day November 13, 2009 Grade 2 Parent Conference Day Grade 4 to Plant Museum – dress uniforms – 9:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. November 14, 2009 Wildcat Jamboree – McCormick Campus – 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. November 16, 2009 Grade 3 Parent Conference Day November 17, 2009 Grade 4 Parent Conference Day JK in-house science field trip – regular uniforms - 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. November 18, 2009 SK hosts assembly – 2:30 p.m. November 19, 2009 Sonic Family Night – 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Grade 2 to the Pioneer Museum – dress uniforms – 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. November 20, 2009 No classes – Professional Day

Miss Sandy Bakes Miss Twila’s Birthday Cake Our one and only Miss Twila celebrated her birthday recently. Miss Sandy surprised us all by baking a very professional cake! Not only was it beautiful, it was absolutely delicious.