Week 22

 Dear Parents and Students,

Happy new year to everyone! I hope you all had a relaxing vacation, and that we all enjoy a successful and productive Year of the Rabbit. We have wasted no time getting back to work in the classroom, and we have had a most productive first week of Semester 2.

In the Classroom:

Maths

We had our Topic 11 test on Thursday, and we have begun Topic 12. This topic is dedicated to decimals, and we began the topic by learning to identify place value. We will continue with decimals next week, with the topic test to take place next Friday.

Literacy Workshop

We have continued with our Reading Circles activities, and some very interesting

discussions have taken place about our current story, My Name Is María Isabel. In our

grammar lessons, to conclude our study of adjectives we have begun the first stage of a project that involves using as many adjectives as possible to describe our classmates. This will culminate in a special activity to coincide with our Valentine’s Day celebrations that will take place on the 14th February.

Science

We have been discussing Science Fair topics in class and how to begin planning our preliminary research. We have also enjoyed more practical experimentation this week. Our Science Mystery had us exploring ways to complete an electric circuit. We will continue with our study of electricity next week. Students may use the electric kits provided in class, but if you bring your own, you can keep it, and take it home with you. A link to a picture of the kit and further details was posted yesterday, and is also included at the bottom of this post.

Social Studies

We spent the early part of the week learning about the geography and climate of the American Southeast. We also began our studies of the early people of the region. We will continue our investigations next week, including an introduction to the American Civil War.

Other important information

We have a number of new assignments and activities taking place over the next few weeks. Dates for these are listed below. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns regarding any of these. 

Dates to remember:

Fri Feb 10: Math test - Topic 12

Pizza party! Happy birthday to Adam, Luke, and Momoka!

Mon Feb 13: Semester 2 clubs begin

Feb 20-24: Literacy Week

Tue Feb 21 Book Promotion due

Thu Feb 23: Book Promotion - Oral presentations

Wed Feb 22: Caves book sale

Feb 27-28: 2/28 Peace Day holiday - school closed

Science: Next week, we will continue to investigate electric circuits. You may use the electric kits provided in class, but if you buy your own, you can keep it, and take it home with you. These kits are inexpensive, and can be found in most stationery stores and "10 Dollar" stores (五金店).  Don't forget to bring batteries!