Wind Energy Family Night Is Tonight!

The Wind Energy Family Night is tonight!

Wind Energy Night Tuesday 5/31
The Ann Arbor Hands On Museum is hosting a Wind Energy Night tonight, Tuesday, May 31st.  It will be similar to the tech night they hosted in the fall which was a lot of fun. Volunteers are needed!  More information can be found here.

Kindergarten and First Grade Potluck
There is a kindergarten and first grade potluck scheduled for Sunday, June 5th from 12:00 to 2:00 PM.  More information can be found here.  I mentioned last week that I planned on attending the first hour with my son though he’s been a little under the weather lately so it may just be me.

Thanks Again For the FUN RUN Donations
We met and exceeded our goal of $20,000! Our final total was $21,227!

A2STEAM Ice Cream Social is Friday, June 10, 6-8pm!
Come to the super-fun annual Ice Cream Social--with FREE games, petting zoo, bounce-houses, and other events. We'll have Washtenaw Dairy ice cream and pizza--available by the slice or whole-pizza pre-orders (use the order form sent out by the PTO). Food items will involve a small cost. This event can't be pulled off without a lot of volunteer help--please sign up using this LINK if you can help on the day of the event. Questions? Contact Ellen Fischer: fischer.asis@gmail.com

Curriculum Overview
Science/Social Studies - We are studying and mapping the neighborhood here in Northside.  Students will build small models of the homes and apartments where they live to create a 3D representation of our neighborhood.

Math - As part of our 3D mapping we are reviewing 3 dimensional shapes and figures as well as becoming more fluent with our addition and subtraction math facts.  We are also revisiting fractions.

Literacy - We have been reading non-fiction books about neighborhoods as well as enjoying some books by author Chris Van Allsburg.

Writing - Students are writing and drawing about their favorite spot in their neighborhood.

Word Study - We are studying the qu- and tw- bends.  Words like queen, quick, twin, and twist.

Room K-3 students sign each other’s shirts at the fun run.

Fun Run Was A Lot of Fun!

Room K-3 students ran their hearts out.

Wind Energy Night Tuesday 5/31
The Ann Arbor Hands On Museum is hosting a Wind Energy Night next Tuesday, May 31st.  It will be similar to the tech night they hosted in the fall which was a lot of fun.  More information can be found in this document.

Fun Run Was A lot Of Fun
Thank you for donating, and for coming to participate.  It was a fun time and the students really, really enjoyed themselves. More pictures are up in the photo gallery.

Kindergarten and First Grade Potluck
There is a kindergarten and first grade potluck scheduled for Sunday, June 5th from 12:00 to 2:00 PM.  I plan on attending the first hour with my son before his nap.  More information can be found here.

NWEA Reading
We are taking the reading portion of the NWEA assessment this week on Monday, May 23rd and Tuesday, May 24th.  We will also have extra time on Friday, May 27th as necessary.  Make sure students get a good night's sleep on Monday and Thursday of this week. 

No School on Monday
In observance of Memorial Day we will not have school on Monday, May 30th.

Curriculum Overview
Science/Social Studies - This week we are being a unit to help students better understand where they are in the world.  We will start by studying and mapping the neighborhood here in Northside.

Math - This week we will study the more complicated 2D quadrilaterals like the rhombus and trapezoid.  We will also learn about the meaning of the prefixes tri- (triangle, tricycle, triple) and quad- (quadrilateral)

Literacy - We are reading books by author Kevin Henkes and exploring the emotions of the characters depicted in those books.  Ask your child about Lily's Purple Plastic Purse.

Writing - Last week we began some writing about the characters in the books we have read by Kevin Henkes.  This week we are learning to edit our writing to check for proper capitalization, and to add additional details.

Word Study - This week we are studying plural words, what they are and how they are formed.

Fun Run is This Friday!

Last week students worked in collaborative groups to build casts to heal a fractured bone.

Fun Run is this Friday!
Don’t forget!  The A2STEAM PTO is hosting the annual Fun Run fundraiser this Friday, May 20th. Our class has already raised $300 in one week alone!  Thank you for helping our school any way you can.

As I wrote last week, you can learn more about the Fun Run by watching this online slideshow, and this video.  The money we raise helps us pay for the costs of field trips, expos, and more.  After you watch those videos you can use this link if you want to donate online.

If you want to donate by cash or check, use the form that went last week or print another copy.  Thank you so much for your consideration, every donation really helps our school.

NWEA Reading Assessment
We are taking the reading portion of the NWEA assessment next week on Monday, May 23rd and Tuesday, May 24th.  Make sure students get a good night's sleep on Sunday and Monday of that week.  All students worked really hard and did really well last week when we took the math portion.

Curriculum Overview
Science - Last week students worked in collaborative groups to build casts to heal a fractured bone.

Math - This week we will study the more complicated 2D quadrilaterals like the rhombus and trapezoid.  We will also look at simple word problems that can be solved with repeated addition (simple multiplication).

Literacy - We are reading books by author Kevin Henkes and exploring the emotions of the characters depicted in those books.  Ask your child about Lily's Purple Plastic Purse.

Writing - Students have been writing about what they have learned about the human body.  Some of that writing is on Seesaw!  We we also completing some writing in Seesaw this week about the characters in the books we have read by Kevin Henkes.

Word Study - This week we are studying sh-, ch-, wh-, and th- words.

Using Seesaw to Create Writing Pieces

A student completes a writing assignment about the bone structure of our hands using Seesaw.

Fun Run!
The A2STEAM Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is hosting the annual Fun Run fundraiser on Friday, May 20th. That's next week!  A pledge sheet went home today in every student's red folder.  You can learn more by watching this online slideshow, as well as this video.  The money we raise helps us pay for the costs of field trips, expos, and more.  After you watch those videos you can use this link if you want to donate online. 

If you want to donate by cash or check, use the form that went home today or print another copy.  Thank you so much for your consideration, every donation really helps our school.

Blue Book Bags
Send in your child’s blue and clear book bag so I can send out new books to read at home!

Homework
I’m sorry that the May homework packet did not go home last week, it went home today.  I modified it to reduce the number of assignments and included an open-ended writing assignment as well.  Complete instructions went home today in the red homework folders.  Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Mr. Luxon Not in Class on Tuesday
Tomorrow, May 10th, I will not be in Room K-3.  I will be at school, but I will be in a meeting with other teachers.  A visiting teacher will be teaching in my absence.  Our classroom aide, Mrs. Meyers, will be here too.

NWEA Math
As I wrote last week, we are taking the math portion of the NWEA assessment on Monday and Wednesday of this week.  Make sure students get a good night's sleep on Tuesday night.

Birthdays
We have a lot of birthdays this month. Remember, at A2STEAM we cannot celebrate birthdays with food.  If you want to send in a simple gift for every student that is fine, but we cannot bring in food for birthdays.

Curriculum Overview
Science - We are in the middle of our unit on the human body.  Students have been learning about bones, muscles, and the brain.  Last week we studied the structure of the hand and why it is so advantageous to have multiple bones and joints in our hand.  This week students will build a cast to help broken bones heal.

Math - This week we will study how to measure the volume of different containers.  We will also use a balance to find the weight of objects.

Literacy - We are reading books about the human body to support the learning of our Project Lead The Way unit on the structure and function of the human body.

Writing - Students have been writing about what they have learned about the human body.  Some of that writing is on Seesaw!

Word Study - This week we are studying sh-, ch-, wh-, and th- words.

Teacher appreciation week was amazing, thank you!

Studying the Brain

A neurologist (and parent of a Room K-3 student) came to our class to teach us about the brain and how it interacts with the rest of the body.

Schools Closed Tomorrow for a Special Election
Ann Arbor Schools will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, May 3rd.  The city is holding a vote on a Special Education Millage Proposal.  AAPS encourages all district families to participate and vote.  More information about the proposal can be found here.

NWEA Math
Next week students will take the math portion of their NWEA end-of-year exam.  They will have time to complete the exam on Monday, May 9th and Wednesday, May 11th.  The students will take the exam on the computer.  It is a visual test and the questions will be read out loud to students through the computer.  Make sure your children get a good night sleep on Sunday and Wednesday night.  Also, make sure they know that this is an assessment not a game and they should do their best--sometimes the computer format makes it seem like a game.  They also can take as much time as they need, if they do not finish on our given days additional time will be provided.

Seesaw Learning Portfolio
As I mentioned last week, A2 STEAM has been using an app called Seesaw in the primary grades to create a digital portfolio of some of the work we do at school.  A flyer showing you how to access your child’s work went home in student folders last week and again today.  When you access your child’s portfolio you will see many photos and videos going back to the fall.  Items tagged with green were created in Room K-3.  Some of the first items you will see reflect our current study of the human body.  You will also see work tagged pink from Sr. Steuer’s Spanish class.

Blue Book Bags
If you haven’t already, send in your child’s blue book bag so I can send out new books to read at home.

Bike To School Day
Bike to School Day is this Wednesday.

Mr. Luxon Not in Class
On Tuesday, May 10th I will not be in Room K-3.  I will be at school but I will be in a meeting with other teachers.  A visiting teacher will be teaching in my absence.

Curriculum Overview
Science - We are in the middle of our unit on the human body.  Students have been learning about bones, muscles, and the brain.  This week we will focus on the structure of the hand and why it is so advantageous to have multiple bones and joints in our hand.

Math - This week we will do a little bit more work with a ‘function machine’ where one number is inputted and another number is outputted based on a specific rule (like subtract 4).  We will also review place value, addition, and subtraction.

Literacy - We are reading books about the human body to support the learning of our Project Lead The Way unit on the structure and function of the human body.

Writing - Students have been writing about what they have learned about the human body.  Some of that writing is on Seesaw.

Word Study - We are finishing our study of more complex word families as well as some initial consonant blends like pr- tr- and dr-.