Half Day Next Wednesday, 9/26

Students created artwork using crayons and watercolor paints when we studied what the A in STEAM stood for.

I hope you are staying cool this weekend.  At school we have been taking frequent and regular water breaks.  I also will be sending students to their special classes with their water bottles this week.  The very first week of school was warm but we seemed to do okay.

Half Day Next Wednesday, 9/26
Next Wednesday students will be dismissed early at 12:52 PM.  We will still have lunch at school.  The buses will run like they do on a normal school day just earlier.  Aftercare, however, will not be in session.

Attendance Hotline
Just a school-wide reminder, if your child will be absent please call the attendance line at 734-994-2080 (this number is different from previous years). The attendance clerks would like all absences routed through that number, not sent in over email.  It makes it easier for them if it is all in one place. 

Snacks
Thank you for sending in healthy snacks with your students, I really appreciate it and it is a school-wide goal.  Students eat their snacks in the afternoon around 1:45 PM and it is a good way for them to refuel before their specials classes.  During our early morning recess I have been giving students 4 to 5 crackers to keep them satisfied until lunch.  Our lunch is rather early, 10:54 AM, so it is working well to just hand out a few crackers around 9:45 AM during our first recess.  Please contribute some crackers to the class.  Please only bring clearly nut-free choices like Wheat Thin Originals, Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, or Ak Mak Crackers from Trader Joes.  Grab them while you are already shopping, don't make a special trip, I have some stocked up. 

Volunteer Form
If you would like to volunteer at school, or chaperone a field trip, I need you to fill out this form.  You can return it to me or the office.

Seesaw Learning Portfolio
A2 STEAM uses an app called Seesaw to create a digital portfolio of some of the work we do here at school.  A flyer showing you how to access your child’s work went home in student folders a couple times last week.  When you access your child’s portfolio you will see some photos of the class throughout the week.  Items tagged with a blue folder icon were created in Room K-3.  You will also begin to see work tagged by your students specials teachers.

Materials For Ms. Wales
Ms. Wales, the coding and engineering teacher is looking for cardboard and other materials she can use to help students build and create things in her specials class.  She is looking for things like cereal boxes, shoe boxes, small plastic containers, bottle caps, egg cartons, straws, paper towel and toilet paper tubes, old fabric or clothes cut into scraps, clear packing tape & mini tape dispensers, markers, yarn, brown paper bags, bottles of glue, glue sticks, and duct tape.  Bring what you have in to the school computer lab.

Library
This is repeated from last week just to be sure everyone gets the message. Every Tuesday we visit the library and our librarian Mrs. Reader.  During this time each child will check out one book.  Bring that book back the following Tuesday or even on Monday so your child can check out a new book for the new week.  It is also possible for kids to request renewals.  If you ever forget the book, no problem, just bring it any day.

Curriculum Overview
STEAM Project - STEAM Project - These first weeks we are working to answer the question "What does STEAM stand for?"   For every letter in STEAM we are doing an activity.  A science experiment for (S)cience.  An activity with our iPads for (T)echnology.  A building project for (E)ngineering.  An (A)rt project and a (M)ath project.

Reading - We are learning about authors and illustrators and the roles they play in creating books.  Ask your students about The Dot and The Selfish Crocodile.

Writing - Students have been practicing the steps necessary to capture and communicate their experiences using drawing and writing.  This week they will also work on some drawing and writing that shows their classmates a little bit more about their interests and who they are.

Math - We have been counting and building quantities up to 15.

Word Study - We are studying the beginning sounds of words.