Posted on August 20th, 2009
Hi 4/5 Families!
We hope your summer is going well. We’re starting to get the classroom ready and looking forward excitedly to the coming school year!
Our “veteran” Wheaton intern, Anna Littlehale, will be back this year working with the 4/5 students after a semester in Denmark and before she begins her student teaching in a local public school. She brings her math expertise and enthusiasm for learning to the classroom.
In social studies, we will begin with the post-Civil War period and continue to the present day. Science begins with Life Processes, starting with cells and their functions, moving to plant systems and traits of living things. Students can expect lots of hands-on and project-based learning!
Language Arts will center around the Houghton Mifflin program along with the study of Robert Frost, Maya Angelou and other notable poets. We’ll continue to build our writing portfolios with the Columbia Writing Project processed writing pieces. We look forward to integrating our areas of study with the arts wherever possible.
Miss Anne and Andy will again work closely with us to correlate their plans with our classroom lessons. In Spanish class, students will continue to use their Converso Mucho workbooks, so if somehow your child’s came home in the end-of-the year baggage, please be sure to send it back in at the start of school.
Pinecroft Pals will encourage our students as mentors as the children truly embrace the Pals activities and letter writing. Our weekly classroom jobs foster a sense of responsibility and pride in our school. Some jobs are more favored than others, but all are a good learning experience for the children.
Pinecroft continues to provide necessary supplies for the students, from planners to organize homework to folders, pencils, pens, etc. Of course, items from home are always welcomed by the children, but please note that too many “supplies” can clutter the desks and make organization difficult for your child. If you would like to send in items, a good idea is to purchase a pencil box and limit supplies from home to the amount of items it can comfortably hold.
We’ll see you soon at the Ice Cream Social!
Bonnie Corkum & Liz Elia
Posted on August 13th, 2009
here is a map
map before this
Posted on August 11th, 2009
I know summer vacation is close to ending when I start shopping for your school supplies and my new school shoes. (Are you ready to do the “new shoe dance” on the first day?) I have some new posters; stickers; folders for Social Studies, Science, and homework – no groans, please, crayons, thin and thick markers, and colored pencils for our projects. There’ll be a supply of pencils, erasers, rulers, scissors, and glue sticks to use as well.
One of our first activities of the school year will be to fill a time capsule. We will fill it with some special things we do on the first day and then “bury” it in the cellar to be opened on the last day of school in June. A shoe box makes a great capsule; try to remember to save one and bring it in on the first day. (We do have some extras if you forget; so, don’t worry.)
This year we will have a Student of the Week activity. For a week you’ll be the one student who can bring in pictures, souvenirs, and other items that are special to you. We’ll make a display that is all about you. It will be fun, but more about that after school starts.
Our Social Studies theme this year is called “Kids, Customs and Cultures”. The first “trip” we take will be to the country of Canada. See if you can locate it on a map of North America. Let me know if you’ve been there; I have. One of our teachers was born there and still has family living there. Any guesses?
In Science our first unit of study is called “How Living Things Function.” We’ll start with plants and move on to animals, looking at leaves and life cycles. And there is so much more. Our estimating jar is always fun to fill. The third graders know how good an estimator each second grader will become as the year goes by. Isn’t that right?
Have a wonderful ending to your summer vacation. Honey (bear), Pouncer (jaguar), and I are looking forward to seeing you and hearing about all that you’ve done.
Mrs. King
