November News

So many events on the go, and  so many details to keep track of!

Here is the scoop:
Parents are encouraged to check out Mrs. Hritzuk's blog as she has important messages from the library: http://mkis-esblog-nhritzuk.blogspot.com/ 

Also, a remind to students and parents to check out Mrs. Story's blog as she has very important information regarding the upcoming concert. She also has ALL of the music posted so students can be preparing at home, both with the music, and with performing in front of others!!!

On Friday, many important papers went home:
*SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory) and ITBS testing results went home. If you have questions regarding this information, please let me know, or we can discuss it at the upcoming conferences.
*Time-slots for upcoming conferences were sent home as well. Thank you to those of you who have already gotten back to me regarding your times. If you need to change your allotted time, please let me know and we can work something out.

Other items to note:
*Report cards will be available to check online, on Monday, November 25th. Please be sure that you know how to log in to your Aspen account in order to check the reports. 

*We have started algebra in math. This can be a rather tricky subject. Students are encouraged to be reinforcing the lessons learned in school, at home each night. IXL is a great way to do this.  Also, we do have an IXL trial account for Language Arts, which will expire on November 27th, so students are again encouraged to try these skills out before the trial ends!

*In Science, we have been studying Earth and it's plates. I showed the students a neat website where they can track earthquakes over the past month. You may enjoy discussing this site at home with your child! Here is the link to Earthquake site.

*Thank you to Savitree for sharing some pictures form our field trip. If anyone else has pictures, you can send them in to me and I will add them to the album. Field Trip Pictures

Updates

Thank you to our volunteers for Friday's field trip to the Petrosains museum. Susan, Savitree, and Caroline did a great job keeping the students focused and moving through the museum. I think that everyone enjoyed the day, and hopefully learned a thing or two about Earth's layers!

A message from the Varsity Sports:
PACK THE PLACE!  Varsity Basketball is back and let's pack the gym tomorrow at 4pm to help our TIGERS defend the local championship.  It's the first game of the season versus rivals ISKL.  First 100 supporters will receive a popcorn coupon courtesy of the team, Connie's Kitchen, and the athletic department. GO TIGERS!

The Grade 3 & 4 Music Concert is coming up on December 10th. More information can be found on Mrs. Story's blog, or in the Link. 

In Class:
Language Arts:
Students have started presenting the book reports for Trimester 1. They look great so far, and I think that the students are benefiting from the opportunity to present to their classmates. These presentations also provide the students with a long list of suggested books to read. Last week, students took their SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory) test, which is a reading test done online. Results will be going home this week.  Also, students are reminded to be constantly working on their Reading Reflections. Every other week, two reflections are due, along with 10 interesting vocabulary words. Students do have class time to work on this, but are reminded to work on them at home as well, in order to get them completed in time. 

Math: 
Students have been working hard on the multiplication facts. They have recently finished Chapter 4 and are now moving on to Chapter 5, which is an introduction to Algebra. This can be a difficult chapter, but with lots of practice at school and at home, I am sure that students will be successful. 

Science:
We are still covering Earth and changes in it's surface. We will be looking at earthquakes and volcanoes, how they are created and the impact that they can have on Earth's surface. This is a really fascinating unit for the students.