*** MS Readathon ***

Dear parents/guardians -
Hopefully you've already sent in the little registration card at the bottom of the MS Readathon pamphlet. PCA is participating in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's annual Readathon. Once registered children are to collect sponsor names, who agree to pay per book read or just a flat amount -the amounts are their choice. Then, an envelope and further information will be sent to your home from the MS Society. All monies collected will be sent directly to the MS Society and need to be received by March 13th. This is something we are participating in to help our students realize that they truly can make a difference. This is not a PCA fundraiser. Everything collected will benefit the MS Society and the services, resources, and research they provide to help those afflicted with multiple sclerosis. We hope that you will emphasize the importance of participating in such an important cause.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Roberts

Spelling Words - 1/26/09

1. station
2. subway
3. plaque
4. collection
5. illustrate
6. surprise
7. community
8. birthday
9. believe
10. picture

Homework as usual, except for pyramids on Thursdays instead of three times each.
Example of pyramid homework:
s
st
sta This will require more focus with spelling the word out - and
stat the students seem to like it!
stati
statio
station

In addition to regular homework, students should be reading and recording the books they've read on their MS Readathon reading log. Hopefully everyone has already sent in their registration cards and has started collecting sponsors. It is wonderful to know that our students are working to help such a good cause! :-)

Math update

We have been learning about plane shapes and solid figures. We learned about finding and counting the sides and angles of plane shapes. We also learned about counting/finding the flat surfaces, edges, and vertices of solid shapes. We learned about congruency and symmetry. We also learned how a shape may change the way it looks (or may just change its position) after a slide, flip, or turn. Each student has a review packet with practice on all of these concepts/skills. We have been working on these packets for the past two class periods and their job (homework) tonight is to "teach" you about what they learned as they go through each page of the packet. Happy learning! :-)

Spelling Words - 1/12/09

1. emergency
2. solve
3. solution
4. disguise
5. costume
6. mustache
7. mirror
8. character
9. creation
10. chief

see previous posts for weekly homework

Social Studies

This week the students had an assignment to interview an adult that they live with. There was a sheet with specific questions for them to ask and they were also to create at least two questions on their own that they would want to know. Please assure that they are truly interviewing you - as that is one of the skills we are learning. So, they should be reading the questions to you and then recording your answers. Some of the students wanted to interview more than one adult from home. I encourage this- they are really excited about this project and I think it's great for them to learn a bit about our "very recent" history. :-) If your child wants to interview more than one adult from home, I simply ask that the answers for the additional adult be recorded on a separate piece of paper. I hope you enjoy this project as much as they are. I love these at-home assignments that promote quality family time, something for us all to cherish.

Spelling Words - 1/5/09

We will be working on writing friendly letters, so this week our spelling words are related to letter writing.

1. letter
2. friendly
3. date
4. greeting
5. body
6. closing
7. revise
8. details
9. topic
10. paragraph
11. organize

With this spelling list we have reviewed how to add endings to a word (-ly, and -ing, etc.). We discussed the rule that when there is a silent -e- at the end of a word, you drop the -e- then add your ending (like in the word closing).

We are also focusing more on using details and descriptive words (adjectives) in all of our writing.