First PTO Meeting is Tommorow Night

Room K-3 students work on labeling their drawings during Writers’ Workshop.

First PTO Meeting
Ann Arbor STEAM will have our first Parent Council meeting Tuesday evening from 5:30 - 7:30 PM.  The announcement the PTO sent out read "Join us in the Media Center where we’ll hear updates about happenings at the school and discuss plans for the rest of the school year.  Childcare provided"

Lunch Accounts
If you would like for your student to eat hot lunches from the school cafeteria you need set up an account for them.  You can either go here to set up an account online.  Or you can send in a check in an envelope with your students name and classroom on it.  I will give the check to the cafeteria and they will set up the account for you.  It is not possible for students to bring money and pay for a meal the same day they need to eat it.

Parent/Teacher Conferences
As I wrote last week, the kindergarten team will be holding Parent/Teacher conferences on Tuesday, October 20th and Thursday, October 22nd.  If you haven't already please sign up for a time slot here.

Library Books
Thanks for getting those library books back to school last Thursday!  Bring them again this Wednesday or Thursday.

This Week’s Curriculum Overview

Science Weather Project - We are studying what it means to be a scientist and a meteorologist.  We will begin learning about and tracking the weather.  For more about the project read last week’s post below and check out the charts in the Photo Gallery.

Math - This week will find all the different ways to make the number 5 (4+1=5, 3+2=5, 1+4=5, 2+3=5, and 5+0=5).  Additionally as part of our understanding of numbers we are creating graphs, including weather graphs for our weather project.  At the end of the week we will see how we can use numbers to describe simple shapes.

Literacy - We are reading fiction books where weather causes problems for the characters.  We are studying what characters are, and what a book’s setting is. We are also identifying the most important events from the story.

Writing - Students are using pictures, letters, and words to tell stories from their lives.  This week we will also begin writing about the weather we see.  We are also trying to learn words that will help our writing like 'me', 'the', ‘to’, 'went’, ‘like’, and ’saw’.

Word Study - This week we are studying rhyme.

School Picture Day is Tuesday 9/22

Two Room K-3 students read Dinosaur Rock together during Partnership Reading.

Wow, last week was an excellent one in Room K-3, please thank your students for all of their hard work.

Curriculum Night
It was wonderful seeing so many of you at Curriculum Night.  My hope is that this website will keep you updated on our curriculum as the school year continues.

Parent/Teacher Conferences
The kindergarten team will be holding Parent/Teacher conferences on Tuesday, October 20th and Thursday, October 22nd.  Please sign up for a time slot here.

STEAM Project on Weather Beginning This Week
This week we are beginning a unit where students will learn about and track the weather.  We will be reading and writing about weather and creating graphs in math that track the kinds of weather we experience here in Ann Arbor.  As the unit continues we will watch how different types of weather creates seasons.  We will also create weather tracking tools and study how weather causes problems for characters in fiction books. 

School Picture Day
Picture day is tomorrow, Tuesday, September 22nd.  An information sheet went home in student folders today.

Walk To School Day
Walk to School Day is Wednesday, October 7th.  This is a great day to get some family exercise first thing in the morning.  This flyer has more information.

Library Books
Last Thursday Room K-3 students were able to check out a book from the A2 STEAM Media Lab.  Please bring that book back to school this Wednesday or Thursday.  The books will be returned to the Media Lab so your children can choose a new one.

This Week’s Curriculum Overview

Science - We are studying what it means to be a scientist and a meteorologist.  We will begin learning about and tracking the weather.

Math - Our primary focus right now is being able to count and build quantities to 12.  We will also begin to see how numbers and information are represented in graphs, including weather graphs.

Literacy - We are reading books to learn about different types of weather.

Writing - Students are using pictures, letters, and words to tell stories from their lives.

Word Study - We are studying the letter K, as well as well as words that will help our writing: 'me', 'the', ‘to’, 'went’, ‘like’, and ’saw’.

Curriculum Night is Next Monday

A Room K-3 student reads a big book.

We had a great first week in Room K-3.  Please thank your students for their hard work.  Here are some updates for the week:

Afternoon Dismissal
Thank you for helping student pick-up run so smoothly.  I wrote you an email about this last Tuesday, but it is worth reviewing again.  Parents who pick up their kindergarten students after school should meet us at the front entrance of the school under the awning (see picture below).  You’ve been doing a great job of letting me know before you leave with your child, that way I can make sure every student is accounted for. 

Bus Riders
If your child has been riding the bus home after school we are sorry that the buses have been running so late.  All week Principal Fitzgibbon has been working to change our bus schedule so this is no longer a problem.  A change has been made and the buses should be running on time starting today.

Parent Surveys
I’ve been reading through the parent surveys you submitted online for me.  Thank you for filling those out, and giving me a bit of insight into your child’s interests.  If you haven’t already filled out the survey you can find it here.

Curriculum Night
Curriculum Night is next Monday, September 21st, beginning at 6:30 PM.  This will be a chance for you to learn about our plan for the year, meet me, and see the classroom.  Here is the schedule for the night:

6:30 PM - 7:05 PM | Presentations in all classrooms K-6
7:10 PM - 7:30 PM | Principal Welcome in the MPR for all A2 STEAM families
7:35 PM - 8:10 PM | Repeat of presentations in all classrooms K-6

This Week’s Curriculum Overview

Science - We are studying what it means to be a scientist.  As we prepare for our STEAM unit on weather, we will also be studying what it means to be a meteorologist.

Math - Our primary focus right now is being able to count and build quantities to 12.  We are also breaking apart numbers, for example, 9 and 1 is the same as 10.

Literacy - Last week we read fiction books that showed different ways you can be a good friend at school.  Ask your students about How I Found a Friend,  Nathan and Nicholas Alexander, and The Rainbow Fish.

Writing - Students are using pictures, letters, and words to tell stories from their lives.

Word Study - We are studying the letters S and L, as well as the words 'me', 'the', and 'went'.

Kindergarten students who are scheduled for Parent Pick-Up will be dismissed under the awning at the front of the school.