Important Dates
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Wednesday,
September 26: I will be gone (see note at bottom of
newsletter), Speech Meeting for parents and students
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Thursday,
September27: Literature quiz
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Friday,
September 28: Spelling Test, Due date for September independent reading (see below), Math
quiz, Final draft of Social Studies writing project due. ** This may look like a great deal of things
for Friday, but please know that the students will have ample class time
to prepare for these things. Please
check with them throughout the week to find out their progress.
Subject Update
Language Arts: We are working on Unit 1 in our English text. The focus for this week is on complete vs.
simple subjects and predicates. Later in
the week, the students will learn the process for participating in peer writing
conferences. We will be using these
conferences throughout the year to give the students the tools they need to provide
useful feedback to one another about their writing. Once this process has been explained, they
will be meeting in peer conferences to discuss their Role Model rough drafts.
Literature: We finished reading Zlateh the Goat last week and now the students will begin
working on the comprehension questions.
We will also discuss the key elements of this story and how to use them
to write a well-informed summary. There
will be a quiz over Zlateh on Thursday.
Friday is also the due date for the September independent reading
requirements. All books for September
need to completed and tests taken by the end of the
day on Friday. We will be going the lab
on Tuesday and the students will have time then to take A/R or Book Adventure
tests. They can also take these tests
during our daily silent reading time. In
the last 2 weeks, I have met with each student to check their progress and
their plan for completing their books by this date. You may also want to check with you student
this week to find out how they are doing.
Remember that the minimum requirement is that
they read one book over the course of the month.
Math: This week we will be working on the following:
·
Comparing and
ordering whole numbers
·
Rounding whole
numbers and decimals
·
Estimating sums
and differences
·
Adding whole
numbers and decimals.
There will be a quiz on
Friday.
The first math progress
report will be sent out on October 3, and every two weeks after that.
Religion: We will be continuing on in Chapter 1 this week,
probably to be completed Thursday or Friday.
I told the students they can expect to take the test next Tuesday. They will receive a review sheet on Friday
that includes information and suggestions about what they should know for the
test.
Science: This week we will be expanding our discussion of
arthropods, mollusks, and echinoderms, into all invertebrates. We will be
working out of our text, referencing all of chapter 4. We will begin a lab
exploring the growth rate and environmental factors of crustaceans.
Social Studies: This week the main focus will be continuing to work on the Sumerian news writing project. Remind your students to continually check their work against the project sheet and grading criteria handed out last week. Students will be expected to have a draft ready for a peer edit tomorrow (Tuesday). Final drafts are due on Friday.
Toward the end of the week, we will discuss the Hammurabi’s Code. We will spend some time comparing and contrasting these laws with Biblical laws in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy.
Other information: Mr. Louthain
came to the class today to talk with the students about joining the speech
team. I told the students that this is
an excellent way to improve their public speaking skills and to have fun while
doing it! Plus, it looks really good on
their high school application! There is
an informational meeting on Wednesday at
As many of you remember, St.
Brendan went through the accreditation process a few years ago, which includes
a self-study to identify areas of strengths and areas needing improvement. As a part of this process, a team of teachers
and administrators from other Archdiocesan schools visited St. Brendan to help
determine if we met the qualifications for accreditation. This year, I have been asked to participate
on the visiting accreditation team for
Have a great week!
Pam Schwartz