Cougar NewsMAY 2015

MARK YOUR CALENDAR:

May 4-8: Teacher Appreciation Week

May 4: Kindergarten Beginners’ Day, 9:00-10:30

May 5: Mid-Quarter Progress Reports Distributed

May 14: Drama Club Performance, Annie, jr., at 6:00

May 15: Volunteer Breakfast, 9:30-10:30

May 21, 22, and 26: End of Grade TestingMay 21, 22, and 26: End of Grade Testing

May 29: Character Education Assemblies; 5th Grade End of Year

Celebration

MAY CHARACTER TRAIT:

HOPE-- Believe you will be successful

Language Arts/

Balanced Literacy

Thanks to you wonderful parents and PTO members, our

classroom libraries are continuing to grow! Because of the

money we earned at the book fair in the fall and spring, our

teachers were each given $300 “Scholastic Dollars” to purchase

additional books for classroom libraries! Thank you!!

If you are planning to travel this spring break, consider

engaging your child in some of these

literacy activities for car trips:

*Suitcase of books-

Before departing, visit your local library to stock up on new

and interesting books. It might be fun to find research books

about the place you are traveling to.

*Travel Journal-

Capture the highlights of your trips, while building writing

skills. Have the kids keep a personal journal to record their

favorite memories!

*Books on Tape-

The library is a great resource for books on tape. Kids (and

parents!) can listen to the audio recording as they are reading

the book. This helps the travel time pass, while also building

reading fluency.

*Rest Stop Literacy-

Many rest stops provide free brochures on local attractions

and activities. This is a great literature resource for your child

to read when they are back in the car.

MathematicsCheck out these books about Math!

Graphing: If the World a Village

by David J. Smith

Multiplication: Building Tables on Tables

by John V. Trivett

Measurement: How Big is a Foot?

by Rolf Myller (Grades 1-3)

Mean, Median, Mode: Averages

by Jane Srivastava (Grades 4 +)

3-D Shapes: Tar Beach

by Faith Ringgold (Grades 1 – 4)

Encourage your child to write a children’s book

about a current math concept!

to read when they are back in the car.

Counselor NewsHow to Manage Defiance in Children

Get to the root of his behavior. Look for causes and triggers and try to keep track of your child’s defiance. Is there a pattern? Are

there certain specific things that he does not like or want to do? Is he defiant when things are too hectic or hurried? Also make sure

that you have you been clear enough about the rules and chores of the house, and that they are age-appropriate so that your child

can follow them. (For instance, a 5- or 6-year-old child may find it overwhelming to be told to clean his room, and may be able to do

the job better if you break it down into smaller tasks, such as picking up his toys off the floor and helping you put them away.) Once

you investigate the cause, you can take steps to adjust situations so that he is less apt to oppose you.

Set your child up for good behavior. Try to avoid situations in which a child may be more apt to be defiant or exhibit other bad

behavior. For instance, if you know that your child tends to get cranky if she has too much on her plate, try not to schedule too many

things for her after school or on the weekends. If she hates abrupt transitions, try to allow a bit of extra time when you go from one

thing to another.

Treat your child as you would want to be treated. Just as with grownups, your normally well-behaved child can have an off day. He

may be in a bad mood, or may be feeling overwhelmed and want some downtime. Be firm about what he must do, but speak to him

in a loving and understanding manner. When you set a good example for how to express an opinion or disagree in a loving and

respectful manner, your children will follow.

Establish absolute ground rules. Make sure your child knows exactly what he must and must not do. For instance, if talking to you in

a disrespectful manner is something that is an absolute no-no in your house, make it clear to your child that there will be

consequences if he demonstrates that kind of behavior.

Compromise when you can. Is your child insisting on wearing her pretty summery skirt on a cold fall day? Rather than engaging in a

battle, you may be able to come up with a compromise, such as asking her to wear tights or leggings with the skirt. Generally

speaking, it’s a good idea to give in when your child wants to exert control over something minor so that you can be more firm when

it comes to the bigger stuff.

Special Special Special Special

Area Area Area Area

UpdatesUpdatesUpdatesUpdates

MUSIC NEWS

Kindergarten, first, and second

grades: Students continue to learn

essential standards with as many

different instruments as possible. They

are creating and working with

different timbres, rhythms, forms, and

meters.

3rd grade: Students are getting

started for 4th grade recorders early!

Students are learning BAG notes and

experimenting with a new instrument.

4th and 5th grade: Students will

complete their learning of the “Big

Nine” vocabulary/essential standards

by working in teams to create contract

learning projects.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

NEWS

Kindergarten students are working

on group activities that increase

physical fitness

1st Grade and 2nd Grade: Students

are working in small group games that

develop team work and problem

solving.

3rd -5th Grade: Students are fine

tuning their team work and

collaboration skills by overcoming

new individual and group physical

challenges.

MEDIA CENTER INNOVATION LAB ART NEWS

Kindergarten students are creating an

iMovie of folk tales from around the

world.

First Graders are using MyStory to

create an ebook about the Titanic.

Second Graders are synthesizing

their research into an iMovie about

their animal.

Third Graders are doing research

about themes and concepts from the

book Sadako and the Thousand Paper

Cranes.

Fourth Graders are creating custom

Google Maps of North Carolina

landmarks.

Fifth Graders are editing their videos

for their Genius Hour projects using

WeVideo.

Kindergarten students are creating

boats that will float while holding

weight.

First – Fifth grade students are

presenting their stop motion animation

videos to the class.

Kindergarten is learning how to mix

primary colors to create secondary

colors

1st Grade is learning to create a pinch

pot in clay.

2nd Grade is learning how to weave

yarn into burlap.

3rd Grade is learning how to weave

with yarn on a cardboard loom.

4th Grade is learning how create an

image using stitchery techniques.

5th Grade is learning how to create a

cardboard loom and weave a tapestry

using a variety of weaving techniques.

Kindergarten News

1st Grade News

General

Reminders:

Readers’ & Writers’

Workshop

Math: Integrated Studies

(Science, Social

Studies, Health)

*May Homework

Calendars need to be

signed and returned

every Friday.

Spring is here! Please

make sure that the

change of clothes your

child has at school is

appropriate for the

seasonal weather.

In Readers’ Workshop

students will focus on reading

and getting to know characters

from their books by

pretending and performing the

books they read. Students will

continue to practice and use

various reading strategies to

support their development and

growth with reading. Students

will also be expected to read

Level C texts and passages to

identify the main topic and

details.

In Writers’ Workshop

students are continuing to

work on narrative writing

with true stories. Student will

also begin to explore and

practice informational writing

(All About Books).

In Math students will

continue to develop an

understanding of addition

and subtraction using

objects, acting out, verbal

explanations, and

representation through

pictures and written

equations. Students will

continue to work on

decomposing numbers

less than or equal to 10

and exploring

combinations of a

number.

In Science we will begin

our transportation unit and

learn about forces of

motion. Students will also

learn about how animals

move and the importance

of recycling.

In Social Studies students

will learn how natural

resources are used to meet

certain needs.

In Health, we are

continuing to learn about

nutrition and how certain

foods help support our

bodies, bones and teeth.

1st Grade News

General Reminders: Readers’ & Writer’s’

Workshop

Math: Integrated Studies

(Science, Social

Studies, Health)

*Sign your child’s reading

log every night.

*Return the Thursday

Folder every Friday.

*Please be sure to send in

your child’s library card

for our monthly visits to

the library.

In Readers’ Workshop

we are continuing to work

on nonfiction texts.

Students are identifying

nonfiction text features

and how they are

important to the reader.

In Writers’ Workshop

we are working on writing

like scientists! Students

are creating their own

informational texts while

integrating nonfiction text

features.

In Math we are working

on efficient strategies for

counting and combining

numbers. Students must

think algebraically about

problems and apply

properties of place value

to add and subtract larger

numbers.

Students are continuing to

solve a variety of word

problems and developing

fluency with addition and

subtraction.

In Integrated Studies

students are understanding

how humans and the

environment interact

within the local

community. Students are

recognizing the features

and patterns of the earth,

moon, and sun system as

observed from Earth.

In Health we are

identifying safety hazards

in the home and injury

prevention strategies.

2nd Grade News

3rd Grade News

General Reminders: Readers’ & Writers’

Workshop

Math: Integrated Studies

(Science, Social

Studies, Health)

*Sign your child’s reading

log and agenda every night.

*Return the Thursday folder

every Friday.

*Please review all work

attached to the Weekly

Reflection sheet, sign, and

return on Friday.

*Practice addition facts at

home each night.

* Compass Learning

combines rigorous, research-

based instruction with fun,

engaging digital content and

real-time, actionable data to

produce greater student

progress faster. Please

encourage the use of

Compass Learning at home.

In Readers’ Workshop, we

are predicting and noticing

patterns in a story by reading

series books. Students are

also comparing and

contrasting their books by

reading different books in a

series and thinking how they

are alike and different.

In Writers’ Workshop, we

are writing lab reports on a

class science topic. We are

learning how to ask and

record questions, design an

experiment, and conduct

multiple trials of that

experiment.

In Math, we are partitioning

circles and rectangles into

two, three, or four equal

shares, and describing the

shares using the words

halves, thirds, and fourths.

We are also describing the

whole as two halves, three

thirds, and four fourths.

In Science, we are

understanding patterns of

weather and factors that

affect weather.

In Social Studies, we are

interpreting the meaning of

symbols and the location of

physical and human features

on a map.

In Health, we are classifying

activities in terms of their

appropriateness for a healthy

lifestyle.

3rd Grade News

General Reminders: Readers’ & Writers’

Workshop

Math: Integrated Studies

(Science, Social

Studies, Health)

*Sign your child’s

reading log and agenda

every night.

*Please review all work

in Thursday packet, sign,

and return on Friday.

*Practice multiplication

and division facts. We

need to master these for

fourth grade!

In Reading Workshop

we are continuing our

Test Preparation Unit. We

are using EOG test

preparation booklets to

practice our close reading

strategies.

In Writers 'Workshop,

we are writing Personal

Narratives. We are

focusing on adding details

and using correct

conventions.

We are working on

reviewing the concepts

we have learned this year!

We are re-looping on

multiplication, division,

time, and fractions….just

to name a few!

In Science, we are taking

a close look at soil and

plants. We are excited to

be going on a field trip to

Daniel Stowe Botanical

Gardens this month to

deepen our learning about

these topics.

In social studies students

are learning about culture

in our region.

In Health, we are

continuing to focus on all

aspects of safety in our

environment.

4th Grade NewsGeneral Reminders: Readers’ & Writers’

Workshop

Math: Integrated Studies

(Science, Social

Studies, Health)

Please sign your child’s

reading log and agenda every

night.

Review all work in Thursday

packet, sign, and return on

Friday.

Continue to practice

multiplication and division

facts.

Upcoming events:

May 15th – Final Payment for

Raleigh Trip Due

Readers’ Workshop: In

Reading Workshop we are

diving into our Test

Preparation Unit. We are

using EOG test preparation

booklets to practice our close

reading strategies.

Writing: Students are doing

research in preparation for

their wax museum project.

We will continue our unit in

Geometry. Our focus will be

measuring, composing, and

decomposing angles. We will

be solving real world

problems.

Social Studies: Students are

working on learning more

about the NC government

and its branches.

Science: Students are

learning about the Earth and

Universe, Earth History and

Ecosystems.

Health: Students are

studying the negative effects

of drugs and alcohol on the

body.

5th Grade News

General Reminders: Readers’ & Writers’

Workshop

Math: Integrated Studies

(Science, Social

Studies, Health)

Agendas should be

checked and signed each

night.

Weekly Reflections

should be signed every

Thursday.

Reading Workshop:

We are applying an

analytical lens as we read

across both literature and

information texts to find

social issues. We will

look at ways characters

react and change as a

result of those social

issues.

Writing Workshop: We

are writing fantasy

stories. We are also

working on publishing a

take-home book to show

off our hard work.

Math : We reviewing all

content that we’ve

learned this year.

Students will be working

in review stations, games,

and daily cumulative

practice to ensure their

mastery of all skills

learned this year.

Science: We are working

on stations and projects to

review all units learned

this year!

*Students should be

studying their science

vocabulary weekly!*

Social Studies: We are

learning about causes of

the Civil War.

Health: We are learning

about ways to use

technology safely.