February 2nd, 2018
Good Evening parents/guardians!
It has been a great week at “The Creek”! We had Winter MAP testing for Reading and Math this week and I was very proud of the growth that the scholars showed! These scores, along with CFA scores, will be placed in your scholar’s Report Card envelope next Friday. The scores from these assessments are not counted towards your scholar’s grade and are used as an instructional tool.
Please take advantage of having access to PowerSchool and check your scholar’s grades often. This helps hold them accountable and keeps you up to date on their progress! To log into PowerSchool, you can use your scholar’s login information or get a parent login from the school office.
Important Dates:
February 7th: Early Release (12:00pm)
February 9th: Report Cards Go Home/2nd Quarter Achievement Recognition (9:30am)
February 10th: Daddy Daughter Dance sponsored by PTO (RRHS, 4:00pm-6:00pm)
February 15th: RCE Basketball Game at Home (4:30pm)
February 19th: Snow Day #2 Make-Up
February 24th: International Festival (11:00am-2:00pm)
Here is a recap of what we engaged in this past week of school, as well as what we will be starting to learn next week!
Math:
This week we finished our study of using line plots to analyze data and answer EOG-like word problems. We then started our unit on dividing fractions. So far we have focused on the relationship between fractions and division and how the quotients can be expressed as mixed numbers. We have also worked on using models to represent our fractions and division equations. It’s important to visually see that when dividing we are telling how many fractional parts are in another number.
Next week we will continue to work on dividing fractions. We will look at dividing whole numbers by fractions, fractions by whole numbers, and fractions by fractions. We will continue to use models to represent our quotients, as well as equations. We will also be resuming math stations and weekly standard mastery quizzes.
Science:
This week we continued our unit of study on Ecosystems. We have covered multiple ecosystems, their environments, inhabitants, and how they all work together. We’ve learned about the transfer of energy through a food chain and food webs. Today the scholars took a quiz today on the material that has been covered so far and their test score slips were stapled in their agendas.
Next week we will wrap up our study of Ecosystems. We will spend a couple of days reviewing the material before taking an End of Unit Formal Assessment on Friday. In lieu of the Africa project your scholars are completing for the International Festival, they were not assigned a vocabulary book for Ecosystems. The Africa project is due on February 20th and will be recorded as a formal grade.
Reading:
We have continued our Historical Fiction unit by reading Woods Runner (we are almost finished), discussing the themes throughout the book, and identifying decisions the author made, such as events included, character actions, specific word choice, and how those decisions supported the themes. Scholars then used their own historical fiction books to do the same work.
Next week we will continue to work in our Historical Fiction books by analyzing how the characters act and why they act in that way. They will examine the relationship between the rules and roles of the time period. We will also examine how scenes might change when told from a different character’s point of view.
Scholars have been assigned International Festival Projects to work on. We will have 8 completed projects, each representing a different African country, when the project is completed. Scholars are researching the climate, physical features, population and economy, cultures, languages and tribes, and important people of each country. The end product will be a slide show presentation of each country.
Reading homework: Please have your child read 30 minutes (or more) each night and log the title of the book read and number of pages read into his/her agenda daily. This provides us with a record of your scholar’s reading so we can ensure he/she is reading “just right” books at an appropriate speed. Looking for ways to help your child with his/her reading homework? Please click here to view questions you can be asking your child about his/her book to check for understanding.
Social Studies:
Next week scholars will compare the colonies by examining the three colonial regions. We will identify the unique characteristics of each region by looking at the types of people, geographies, and economies each region had to offer. We will then discuss the differences between the colonies in each region by identifying the different types of governments.
Writing:
We are continuing to plan our Historical Fiction stories. Scholars planned the problems and character motivations this week.
Next week scholars will finalize the planning of their Historical Fiction stories and begin writing using a rubric. Scholars will draft their stories, keeping in mind the time period their story takes place in, the characters, settings, problems and solutions, and motivations they have planned to include.
Have a wonderful weekend!
It has been a great week at “The Creek”! We had Winter MAP testing for Reading and Math this week and I was very proud of the growth that the scholars showed! These scores, along with CFA scores, will be placed in your scholar’s Report Card envelope next Friday. The scores from these assessments are not counted towards your scholar’s grade and are used as an instructional tool.
Please take advantage of having access to PowerSchool and check your scholar’s grades often. This helps hold them accountable and keeps you up to date on their progress! To log into PowerSchool, you can use your scholar’s login information or get a parent login from the school office.
Important Dates:
February 7th: Early Release (12:00pm)
February 9th: Report Cards Go Home/2nd Quarter Achievement Recognition (9:30am)
February 10th: Daddy Daughter Dance sponsored by PTO (RRHS, 4:00pm-6:00pm)
February 15th: RCE Basketball Game at Home (4:30pm)
February 19th: Snow Day #2 Make-Up
February 24th: International Festival (11:00am-2:00pm)
Here is a recap of what we engaged in this past week of school, as well as what we will be starting to learn next week!
Math:
This week we finished our study of using line plots to analyze data and answer EOG-like word problems. We then started our unit on dividing fractions. So far we have focused on the relationship between fractions and division and how the quotients can be expressed as mixed numbers. We have also worked on using models to represent our fractions and division equations. It’s important to visually see that when dividing we are telling how many fractional parts are in another number.
Next week we will continue to work on dividing fractions. We will look at dividing whole numbers by fractions, fractions by whole numbers, and fractions by fractions. We will continue to use models to represent our quotients, as well as equations. We will also be resuming math stations and weekly standard mastery quizzes.
Science:
This week we continued our unit of study on Ecosystems. We have covered multiple ecosystems, their environments, inhabitants, and how they all work together. We’ve learned about the transfer of energy through a food chain and food webs. Today the scholars took a quiz today on the material that has been covered so far and their test score slips were stapled in their agendas.
Next week we will wrap up our study of Ecosystems. We will spend a couple of days reviewing the material before taking an End of Unit Formal Assessment on Friday. In lieu of the Africa project your scholars are completing for the International Festival, they were not assigned a vocabulary book for Ecosystems. The Africa project is due on February 20th and will be recorded as a formal grade.
Reading:
We have continued our Historical Fiction unit by reading Woods Runner (we are almost finished), discussing the themes throughout the book, and identifying decisions the author made, such as events included, character actions, specific word choice, and how those decisions supported the themes. Scholars then used their own historical fiction books to do the same work.
Next week we will continue to work in our Historical Fiction books by analyzing how the characters act and why they act in that way. They will examine the relationship between the rules and roles of the time period. We will also examine how scenes might change when told from a different character’s point of view.
Scholars have been assigned International Festival Projects to work on. We will have 8 completed projects, each representing a different African country, when the project is completed. Scholars are researching the climate, physical features, population and economy, cultures, languages and tribes, and important people of each country. The end product will be a slide show presentation of each country.
Reading homework: Please have your child read 30 minutes (or more) each night and log the title of the book read and number of pages read into his/her agenda daily. This provides us with a record of your scholar’s reading so we can ensure he/she is reading “just right” books at an appropriate speed. Looking for ways to help your child with his/her reading homework? Please click here to view questions you can be asking your child about his/her book to check for understanding.
Social Studies:
Next week scholars will compare the colonies by examining the three colonial regions. We will identify the unique characteristics of each region by looking at the types of people, geographies, and economies each region had to offer. We will then discuss the differences between the colonies in each region by identifying the different types of governments.
Writing:
We are continuing to plan our Historical Fiction stories. Scholars planned the problems and character motivations this week.
Next week scholars will finalize the planning of their Historical Fiction stories and begin writing using a rubric. Scholars will draft their stories, keeping in mind the time period their story takes place in, the characters, settings, problems and solutions, and motivations they have planned to include.
Have a wonderful weekend!