Mobile Dentists

Please return the Mobile Dentist permission slips if you would like to have your child's teeth examined and cleaned. They will be here on May 20 through the 22nd.

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone has enjoyed the break as much as I have.  We only have about 10 weeks of school left.  Let's make them count.  We have been closing out our unit on Native Americans in the last couple of weeks.  We have been discussing the ways the Europeans changed the lives of the native people.  Below are some links to help students understand how tribes lived in the past and now in the present day.  Please check them out with your child.

http://millelacsband.com/
http://www.saulttribe.com/
http://nativetech.org/

No School 4-18-14

Please remember there were be no school Friday, April 18 in observance of Good Friday.  School will resume Monday, April 21st.

Spring Break Homework

Many parents have asked for homework over the break.  I have decided to try and conserve paper.  Most of our students really need to focus on the mastery of multiplication and division facts.  Feel free to print up worksheets from the following website Click Here. (themathworksheetsite.com)  It is very easy to do.  Just click on single digit vertical under the multiplication or division section.  In class students have been taking multiplication tests weekly.  Students should have mastered factors 0,1,2,3,4,5,10 &11.  The Thursday (no school Friday 18th)  that we will return we will have our quiz of the factors of 6.  No access to a printer? No problem.  Just use the games in the links on the right of the blog under the section labeled Links for Parents and Students.  Your child can also make flash cards to take with them on the go.    

Early Dismissal Monday's

Wonder what has been going on Monday's after your child has been dismissed early?  Teachers have been completing a series of studies to better impact your child's education.  We are creating and collecting data that helps to inform our instruction based on the needs of our students.  During these meetings Ms. Smith and myself discuss objectives our students are having difficulties with.  We first explore the possible reasons for the difficulties.  We then create a plan to better meet your child's need.  After implementation we collect data and analyze the results.  Finally, we make modifications if needed or move on to a different concept.  Our class' main focuses have been on subtraction with regrouping and is now moving towards mastery of multiplication facts.

Field Trip Reminder

Most all of our class will be traveling to the theatre in Royal Oak on Thursday morning.  This trip was earned as a reward for showing S.T.A.R. behavior in school and especially in the halls and common spaces.  We will leave first thing in the morning and return just before lunch and eat at our normal times.

This Week...3-31-14

In math we have kicked off our 2nd unit on multiplication and division.  This week we have been looking at ways to multiply large numbers such as 2x300 by first taking off the zeros,  then multiplying 2x3 and getting a product of 6.  We then add the 2 zeros back on to the end of our answer and get 600.   Please continue to work on mastery of basic multiplication facts (0-11) nightly with your child.  It will be the key to their successes during this unit.

In social studies we are starting to talk about how the French entered the area of Michigan and began settling and trading with the Native Americans.  We are continuing to discuss the ways of Native American life and the roles everyone in the tribe played.  Ask your child to tell you what their job might have been if they grew up in a Three Fires Tribe.

In science we are preparing our unit on water.  We have started discussions on what we already know and have talked about the different forms in which we see water.  (liquid, solid, gas) I am very excited  to start the fun experiments we have planned.  Please ask them what they discussed about water throughout the week.