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Campus News

Lower Division NewsletterOctober 9, 2009

Junior Kindergarten

Language Arts

We will study the at word family and continue with our theme,My Five Senses. We will also continue to work on rhymes. Ournew Alpha friends will be for the letter X, and we will continue topractice the letter T. Our High Frequency Words (HFW) willcontinue to be I, see, a, my, and like. We will also goover the color words red, blue, and yellow, and add thecolor purple.In handwriting (HWT),we will practice making the letters I,X, and T.

Social Studies

We will read about and discuss the virtue of Compassion.

Science

We will learn about the five senses.

Math

Students will work on the AB and ABC patterns. We will also workon calendar patterns, as well as learn how to create our ownpatterns and extend other patterns.

Senior Kindergarten

Language Arts

The children will be reading the book, Pumpkin, Pumpkin. Theywill review the story elements of characters, setting, events,and problems. The reading strategy will emphasize the use ofpicture clues, trying to sound out words, and checking to see ifthe words make sense in a story. They will also work withrhyming words and CVC patterns and review the vowels (a)and (i). Students will be introduced to the letter Ee.Handwriting practice will focus on first and last names, properspacing, and letter formation on the letters Jj and Kk. Thechildren are now working on developing their organizationskills as well as expanding their ideas when writing. We are soproud of our great young authors!

Science

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The children will be watching their pumpkin seeds grow. They are adding entries into ajournal as they record their observations and the seeds growth. We are also having apumpkin vine growing contest. A few pumpkin seeds will be coming your way soon. Thestudents will continue to read and discuss nonfiction stories about pumpkins.

Math

Students will continue to work on complex patterns, numbers to 20, graphing, probability,problem solving, and addition. The math centers will provide individual practice withodd/even numbers, measuring with non standard units of measure, and recording tallymarks. Munchie Math next week will be sorting and graphing with Halloween crackers.

Virtues

Children will read stories, role play, and discuss the virtue of Compassion.

Grade 1Language Arts

In the next two weeks our readingstrategies will focus on comparing andcontrasting story elements using a Venndiagram. Our phonics and spelling skillswill focus on vowel pairs and thediagraphs, ch, sh, th, and wh. Ourwriting will continue to focus on writingcomplete sentences, applying capitalsand punctuation marks, organizing ourthoughts, doing pre-writing, andlearning how to write a paragraph.

Social Studies

If you have not yet done so, pleasesend in an index card with the followinginformation:

Name, home address, phone number

We need to have a card for each student in order to complete our First Grade Class PhoneBook.

Science

We will continue our unit on Health and nutrition. Students will create a class food pyramidand plan a healthy meal.

Math

In the next two weeks, students will learn the sums of ten chartand use it to add to 10.We will also begin subtraction strategies.

Subtraction Clue words: find the difference, subtract, how many are left, minus

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Grade 2

Language ArtsWe have begun our reading theme Nature Walk. Wewill continue to focus on poetry as we read fiction and

nonfiction stories about nature. As we read theseselections, we will monitor/clarify, compare and contrast,sequence events, evaluate, and discuss fact and opinion.Our phonics and spelling skills focus will be morepractice with long vowels, consonant clusters (r, l, s),and sounds of g and c. Our writing will focus ondeveloping a character sketch, adding details, writingdates, and writing a paragraph. In grammar we will workon identifying nouns and verbs, correcting run-onsentences, and using capital letters, periods, andquestion marks correctly.

Social StudiesWe will continue to learn the concept of a community,focusing on a few Native American tribes. The childrenwill thoroughly enjoy leaning about Native Americansand communities long ago as we read The Magic TreeHouse book, Buffalo Before Breakfast.

Science

We have enjoyed learning about The Life Cycle of Butterflies. It was a wonderfulexperience releasing the Painted Lady butterflies into our second grade garden. It was a joyto watch and listen to the childrens excitement and observe their curiosity. We will discusshow butterflies are insects and investigate our insects and other life cycles. We are finishing

our class reading of The Magic School Bus, Butterfly Battle. What a great science readingadventure!

Math

We will continue working on data, graphing, and probability before focusing on place valueof numbers through 100. The children have enjoyed taking surveys, as well as reading andmaking pictographs, bar graphs, line graphs, and coordinates on a grid. The students willcontinue to practice problem solving skills and addition and subtraction facts.

Grade 3

Language Arts

After ERBs, we will return to Time for Kids to practice our comprehension skills using theListeners Check List. Students will also be building vocabulary with Wordly Wise. With eachnew month we add new words to our Word Wall and students are eager to make up newcheers.We have had fun learning about words to use in our writing that make sounds like buzz andwhack! The use of such words is called onomatopoeia. Most third graders can even spell thatword and thats pretty impressive! Our creative writers will be moving into the genre offictional narratives; they may even create something spooky for Halloween!

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Social Studies

After completion of our longitude andlatitude skills, we will zoom in on map skillsby marking some of the major cities ofFlorida.

Science

Our inside Fast Seeds plants are in bloom!Our study of the jobs of the different partsof the flower will complete our study ofparts of a plant. We will then move on tothe important role and jobs of the honeybee.

Our outside garden looks impressive withour plants and hay paths. Students arethoroughly enjoying and taking full

responsibility for weeding and wateringtheir garden. We have used collars to protect plants from cut worms and will be using aspray of soap and water to ward off recent invaders.

Math

After our chapter test for addition, students will work on the rules of subtraction andsubtracting two to four digit numbers with and without regrouping.

Grade 4

Next week students will be taking the ERB assessments in the morning and participating inproduction rehearsals in the afternoon. Please make sure the children are getting plenty of

rest and beginning their day with a healthy breakfast. Following this busy week, ourschedule will include the following:

Language Arts

Students will work on utilizing context clues to decipher the meanings of unknown wordsand enable them to gain greater comprehension of higher levels of literature. In writing,they will finalize and print their free verse poetry on the colors of autumn. We will continueour vocabulary lessons reinforcing the understanding and usage of words with multiplemeanings. Looking ahead further, November will mark the start of reading groups beginningwith the works of Kate DiCamillo.

Social Studies

The students will practice reading information on a line graph. Next, we will learn aboutimportant natural resources in the United States and assess our knowledge of Chapter 1.

Science

To conclude our study of land and water, groups will work in pairs to discover the three waysin which the direction and flow of water is changed. Following their investigations, they willpresent their models and discoveries to the remainder of the class. We will begin AnimalStudies in November.

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Math

We will continue with our chapter on multiplication and division. I am encouraging studentswho are not yet proficient with their facts to dedicate extra time in order to master facts 0-9.I am utilizing the Mad Minute multiplication quizzes each week to gauge their improvement

in this area. They are eager to be successful and your support is greatly appreciated. Flashcards are an easy way to practice at home and in the car.

Did You Know.

Lower Division voted for their Giraffe Club officers via computer in a special arrangementmade with Pasco County. Students were assigned voter registration numbers that they hadto enter into the computer. Then they scrolled through different screens to vote for thedifferent officers. After voting, all the students got a special sticker that identified them ashaving voted. Special thanks go to the high school students who helped our little onesexercise their right to vote. Congratulations to Miss Twila for making the special

arrangements with Pasco County and Mr. Kapetanis for making all the technology work sothe voting day could be successful! Way to go, team! Our new officers for 2009-2010 are:President Brielle Weiss, Vice-President Cecilia Beedie, Secretary Quinn Atkinson, and

Treasurer Cassidy Fowler.

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Upcoming Events..

October 12, 2009

No school Founders Day

October 13, 2009ERB Testing for Grades 3 and 4 9:00 11:30 a.m.

October 14, 2009ERB Testing for Grades 3 and 4 9:00 11:30 a.m.

October 15, 2009ERB Testing for Grades 3 and 4 9:00 11:30 a.m.

October 16, 2009ERB Testing for Grade 4 9:00 11:30 a.m.

Report cards go home in home school envelopesLD production 6:00 7:30 p.m. McCormick Gym (please read announcements regardingthat day)

Homecoming Week Events:

Monday, October 19, 2009 PJ Day

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 Class Pictures and Picture make-ups dress uniformsCrazy Hat Day (Students may bring hats and wear them after

pictures)

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 Blue and White Day (wear Academy blue and white withschool uniform

bottoms)Pep Rally from 12:15 to 2:45 in McCormick Gym

Thursday, October 22, 2009 Twin Day (come dressed up in similar attires with a friend, doll,or

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stuffed animal)SK goes to Performing Arts Theater 9:00-12:00 dress uniforms

Friday, October 23, 2009 Baseball Jersey Day (to celebrate the World Series, come in yourfavorite

team jersey with school bottoms)

Special Notice:

On Monday, October 26 all students will have their vision checked by Walesby Vision Center.We also have a speech and language therapist and learning specialist on hand that day tosupport our teachers by providing additional evaluations on some students. There is nocharge for any of the screenings that day. Should your child need a more comprehensive testin any area, you will be notified by your childs teacher.