Dear Parents,
      Merry Christmas!!!  I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday!  I know I did!  I am always sad to see it come to an end!  We are all a little tired this week but it will all be fine.  Some thought the break was too long and some not enough! We are back in the routine of things.  I will say everyone seems very refreshed!  We came back from break and found a new student in our room.  We have been very welcoming to Josephine Bolinger!  We are excited to have a new girl to add to our room!  

Thank you! I would like to say thank you to all the students who gave me a Christmas gift.  I love everything!   I sent notecard thank you's with the kids but I fear you don't see them.  I really appreciate all the nice things I received.  It was a very Merry Christmas for me!

Language Arts-  We jumped right back into a routine this week with a new story.  It is called The Life and Times of the Ant.  It is informational text about the life of the ant.  All the jobs they work, what they dangers are of being an ant, and what their nests look like.  It is a fun story cause all the pictures relate ant life to human life. In grammar we are talking about present and past participles and also participle phrases. They have done an excellent job learning a lot in a short period of time.  We also read a fable called The Ant and the Dove.  It is a cute story with a moral.  It focused on being kind and returning kind deeds.  Nice thing to talk about as we enter back into a social setting together!

Math - We started learning the regrouping strategy in double digit multiplication.  This is the standard algorithm, the one strategy you learned as a kid.  It seems to be moving along very well.  I think it is moving smoothly due to the strategies we learn prior to this one and due to ST Math.  Some of them are all ready passed this section in ST Math.  What a great support for our math program this has proved to be. I know the kids don't care for it all that much but I see the benefits as a teacher.  After we finish this chapter we will do a chapter on Area and Perimeter which most kids have all ready completed on ST Math.  Then we will move into division.  I hope to have a round of division in by the time we take our Iowa Assessments the week of March 5th. 

Social Studies-  Projects start coming due on Monday!! Please make sure your child is aware of their project and due date.  We are also getting ready for our first test in the Northeast Region.  I gave them maps today to help them study the location of the states. They will be expected to label a map with all the Northeast States.  We will begin working the capitals for the next test. I have a song that I will introduce to them that sings all 50 states and capitals. It is a great way to memorize all of them.  The students will begin their study guides tomorrow and will test next Tuesday.  Please spend some time over the weekend working on studying the maps.

Auction- The St. Malachy Auction is fast approaching!  I am just wondering if I have any parents that have any interest in heading up our class basket?  If you are interested please let me know.  I usually have a hand in the silent auction item.  I have all ready started looking for ideas I am also open to any ideas you might have.  Thank you in advance for your help.

Cold Weather -  The temperatures have dropped and it is very cold outside.  Please be sure your student comes to school prepared.  Our rule is if the temperature the windchill are about 0 degrees we will be outside.  If is it 0 degrees or below we stay inside.  Tomorrow we are suppose to walk to the Food Pantry to help them unload the truck of food. If it is even 1 degree we are going.  They really need our help.  We make life so much easier and faster for them when we are there.  It is amazing how much time some of those volunteers put in to keep the food pantry moving successfully. Please remember hats and mittens tomorrow!  Thank you!!

It is good to be back in the classroom with the kids.  I hope they are all ready to work hard for the next 3 weeks.  Then we are blessed with Catholic Schools Week.  Yay! So much fun celebrating our school!  The teachers are planning a fun-filled week!!

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels