March 31, 2014

Dear Parents,

            The students are beginning new units this week, finishing the year off with a strong science focus in both grades.  The second grade students will learn to identify and sequence life cycles of animals and record observations of life cycles.  The butterfly larvae for this adventure have arrived and will be in the room as soon as the students arrive on Monday.  They will compare and contrast fiction and nonfiction text, along with using nonfiction text features to analyze information. 

            The third grade students will complete their body system writing while beginning to learn about the geography in the Midwest and climates around the world.  They will use mathematics and computational thinking to observe and record local weather data over time and analyze the data to identify day-to-day variations, as well as long-term patterns. 

            In math the second grade students are focusing on the algorithm.  They are regrouping in addition and subtraction using 2 and 3-digit numbers.  The third grade students are moving back into multiplication and division strategies to help solidify their understanding of inverse relationships.

            I hope the students came home talking about developing the Seven Habits.  If not, to give you some background knowledge I have been in a Leader in Me book study at Castlio.  The book is written by Sean Covey, Stephen Covey’s son.  The premise of the book is developing leaders in our kids, by teaching the 7 Habits.  Over spring break I had the opportunity with a handful of teachers to visit a school that was a Leader in Me school, it was absolutely amazing to talk to kindergarten students sharing how they were proactive, creating win-win situations, etc.  After the visit, I knew this was something the kids deserved to learn about; it fits perfectly with character education and helping kids become independent learners, thinkers and leaders.  Hopefully last week you heard about Habit #1-Be Proactive.  This week the students will learn about Habit #2-Begin with the end in mind.

            Finally, due to time and the MAP test coming up I have ended our WIN time with the guest third grade students.  The focus during this time will be work completion, extra practice on any areas that need strengthening and Leader in Me lessons. 

            I am looking forward to another fantastic week!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Carrie Hepburn