Mr. Brown’s Classroom Newsletter 

Week of March 18, 2019 

Upcoming Dates

March 21 - Case 21 Testing (Track 4) March 22 - Case 21 Testing (Track 4) March 25 - April 5 - Spring Book Fair March 26 - Spring & Class Pictures, Tracks 2 & 4 March 28 - Grandparents Breakfast Tracks 2 & 4 (rescheduled from fall) March 29 - Final day before track April 11 - PTA Meeting, 6:00 p.m. (All parents welcome) April 29 - SchoolKits (School Supplies for 2019-2020 school year) orders DUE May 6 - Field Day, Tracks 1 & 2 May 9 - Kindergarten Orientation, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. May 10 - Spring Carnival! Details to come! May 13 - Field Day, Tracks 3 & 4 out! (Track 4) June 3 - Spring Chorus Concert   

Please check out the PTA’s Beacon here! You can sign up for email updates too! 

List of OCE Spirit Days 

 

Classroom Updates 

Spring Pictures and Class Picture Tuesday, March 26 is Spring Pictures for Tracks 2 & 4. You do not have to PRE-pay for these pictures. You will have the option to buy picture packages when we receive the pictures from the company. Class Pictures: Unlike individual student photo packages, you MUST prepay for a class picture. Send in $12 (in a labeled envelope) to the front office as soon as you can. 

Book Fair Next Week! The book fair begins on Monday, March 25! Our class will go to preview the book selections on Monday, March 25 at 2:30. We will return to the book fair to make any purchases on Thursday, March 28 at 2:30. With permission from their classroom teacher, students can also visit the book fair on any morning next week. Students MUST check in with their classroom teacher before heading to the book fair.  School Supply Orders (for next school year) DUE April 29 Kits include the exact colors, quantities, and brands of school supplies your teachers have approved for class. Get your back-to-school shopping out of the way early and enjoy your summer track out days! Simply place your order by April 29, 2019. Order online at www.shopttkits.com. Enter our school’s account number 38010. Questions? Contact Whitney Ludlow at whitneyludlow@gmail.com.  Case 21 Track 4 will complete Case 21 testing for ELA and Math on Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22. Please do everything you can to get your child to school on time these days.  Social-Emotional Learning Pilot E-mail I sent an e-mail about this pilot program last week. You can find this on the “Newsletters” section of my website too. The deadline to opt-out was Friday, March 15, but if you would still like to opt-out please ask me (or the front office) for an opt-out form. I will need to complete these surveys by Friday, March 22. 

 

Curriculum Updates 

Social Studies / Science Last week, we had a guest from Junior Achievement come to our class to teach the children about entrepreneurship, so we took a short break from science for social studies. This week, we will continue to explore the concept that forms of energy can be grouped based on their interactions with matter. These forms of energy can include sound, heat, magnetic, electrical, and light energy. Here is a short study guide that includes some guiding questions and vocabulary for the unit.  

Reading and Writing This week, students will work on drafting their first broadside (opinion piece) from the perspective of a Patriot during the American Revolution. Each essay will include an introduction with a focus statement, followed by two “proof paragraphs”. Each essay should end with a concluding paragraph that restates their focus statement. Students will have time to work on these independently and with peer revision and editing. Homework : Each week, students are assigned a digital reading log on Google Classroom. Each night, students will choose a prompt (from the bottom of the document) and respond to it on this online document. As usual, students may spend two nights on research reading and two nights on free choice reading. Let Mr. Brown know if you need help finding books for research reading!  Math Students will build on their investigations of decimals and fractions and the relationship between these values. Students will use visual models, number lines, and equations to represent fractional values. Click here for the parent’s guide to this unit! (Scroll down for the visuals!) Homework : Complete the nightly math worksheet that is associated with the day’s lesson. If a student does not have a worksheet, they have lessons to complete on Dreambox. Be prepared to share and discuss your work with classmates the following day.