Announcements
Monday: Regarding the Solar Eclipse on Monday, 4/8: Because we are not close to totality, we do not have eclipse glasses for students and will not be having a school event. I will be in the building but will have Ms. Lindsey as my Sub, as Ms. Bethany and I are taking a planning day in prep for Voyage. Our Crew will not be outside during the time of the eclipse. Please do not send eclipse glasses to school with your child, as they will not have supervised time to use them. Parents may choose to check students out early or keep them home if this is something you want to enjoy as a family together!
Camp Elim Paperwork: Please check your email for a message from Ashley Cammack. She sent an email on 4/4 (last night) titled: Kindergarten Camp Elim Voyage Kick-Off (Important Information!). If you did not receive it, please let me know. Ms. Ashley will be your point of contact for voyage paperwork, questions, and logistics. Please thoroughly read and save this important Kindergarten Voyage Information document and checklist. All paperwork is due April 12th.
News from Ms. Hope: If your family is making plans to leave REMS for the 24-25 school year, please call the main office and notify Ms. Hope. This allows for us to have accurate enrollment numbers.
Calendar
April 19: No School- Comp Day
April 24: Mandatory Camp Elim Information Meeting 4:30-5:30. One parent or guardian from each family must attend, we have tons of information to share! Chaperone meeting immediately following from 5:30-6pm.
April 26: No School- Professional Development
May 1: Art Walk 4:15-6, more info to come!
May 15-16: Overnight Voyage to Camp Elim
May 17: Day of Rest (No school for kindergarten)
May 22: Student Led Conferences- Save the Date!
Crew Highlights:
In phonics, we were working on the letter J. We worked on clapping syllables, identifying words in the -ug family, and blending CVC words. We reviewed sight words, especially said, one, and are which are tricky. On Wednesday, we took a phonics assessment. They went home in Take Home Folders today, so please check out if there is any additional sight word practice that your child needs at home. For reference, here is a list of what students should have mastered, as well as a look at what is coming up next. Additionally, phonics booklets went home today. These have great resources at the back with games and ideas of how to reinforce learning at home.
In reading, we used the mentor text These Are The Best Ways to Celebrate Holidays to discuss the features of opinion writing. Students noticed that the writer would clearly identify an opinion and then support it with reasons why. Students were detectives to use illustrations to deepen understanding about the text and notice little details that helped explain more about what was in the text. We did an online Benchmark Reading Comprehension Assessment, and we celebrated that our crew has shown so much growth with their comprehension and answering questions that require proficiency of these higher-level reading strategies. Bravo!
In writing, we have been working to make our Personal Narrative stories better, with peer feedback, editing, and a title page. On Monday, students were paired with a Literacy Partner. We practiced how to share “two stars and a wish.” Partners would take turns giving two compliments and one idea of what else to add (for example “I wish you told more about…”). Then, at the end of writing, partners met again to share what words they had added to their writing. It was so impressive to see how beneficial this activity was! When debriefing, students reflected that it helped them know what else to add and it was exciting to share that with their partner. Awesome! We will continue to use Literacy Partners. Other lessons this week targeted stretching out long words to add more sounds, checking for periods and capitals, and coming up with a 1-3 word title.
In math, students were working on teen numbers. We did a variety of activities to count and draw items between 11-20. I recommend continuing to practice this at home. There is a tendency to start counting carefully but then rush towards the end, and record the incorrect number. Also, our workbook pages included counting items in a variety of formations. With items in a circle, I modeled how to point or make a dash at the starting item to help count correctly.
We have officially wrapped up our learning on force and simple machines in our expedition called MOVE IT! Students selected a simple machine to create a final learning product. They could choose to do this in the format of an informational video or a brochure. I shared examples of both, including one that showed “mastery” and one that was “apprentice.” (They thought my poor examples were hilarious!). We came up with a rubric to determine the criteria of what information was needed and how many examples to share. Students completed a planning page, and then they worked on their final product. I will share these on Seesaw. We are excited for you to see what we have been learning! Being able to create a final product and present our learning is layered into expeditionary learning all through REMS, culminating in 3rd and 6th grade showcases. Have you signed up to sit on a panel yet? :)
In lieu of pictures on my Crew News, please take a minute to check out pictures on Seesaw. I included pictures from our Purposeful Play time earlier this week and their expedition final product. Please watch these with your child to celebrate their wonderful learning. Reflection questions: What are you proud of in this video/brochure? What would you change if you had more time? What activities were your favorite from this expedition? (Examples might be going to the skate park, building Lego Challenges, building with ramps (inclined planes) or gears, watching the videos, or the final product). Can you name examples of force and the simple machines we learned about? What learning will you always remember from this unit?
In Crew Skills and in our read aloud books, we are learning about flexible thinking and having a growth mindset. We talked about the power of “yet.” Students are working on persevering through challenges, even when it takes time, extra effort, or multiple tries. “I cannot do this YET but I will keep trying until I can!”
Have a great weekend!
~Ms. Lauren
