Dear Parents,
     Happy Thursday!!  Well it has been another week for sure!  Another day off and a 2 hr. delay.  When is this going to end!!!  I am ready for winter to be over and I am the winter lover.  I did not ask for all of this for sure. Valentine's Day in all this makes it for a busy week.  One year we had a snow day on Valentine's.  Be careful over the weekend.  Sounds like another storm to roll in.  When we are here we are working hard.

Language Arts -  This week's story is called The Right Dog for the Job.  This is a story about a dog's journey to be a service dog.  I think the kids were pleasantly surprised at the training that happens in the first few years.  One training is in a 6th grade classroom.  Learning to lay still in a noisy environment and learning to "come" to the person who is saying "Come".  They were blown away thinking how lucky for that classroom.  It also may have given them a few ideas on how to better train their animals.  It is interesting the first time you read it but maybe not so much after that.  So I hope that doesn't affect their scores.  In grammar we are learning about Adverbs.  I am not a fan of throwing adverbs at them in only a week's time and it was shortened due to Tuesday.  Long ago I would spend an entire unit on each part of speech.  I still refer to that book  when I need help.  The vocabulary strategy was on the suffixes -ion, ation, and -ition.  Please be sure they study their  yellow vocab packet tonight for tomorrow.  We will do our end of the week test.  Also spelling post test will take place.

Math -  We are working on Biztown math right now.  We are learning about checkbooks, deposit slips, and check registers.  This is financial literacy.  I plan to keep on working on this until I have covered all 5 lessons.  We will finish the rest of chapter 3 when we are done.  Then we will test.  I can't even make a guess when that will be due to weather.  I am going to say sometime during the last week of February.  We will see if weather cooperates with me.

Social Studies -  We are ready to finish up this chapter.  We have been covering the book, map skills which is focusing on Map keys, and putting states into our interactive notebooks.  We will be taking a test for sure next week again depending on what Mother Nature decides to do.  I will be giving them their Southeast Maps tomorrow.  They will then be expected to use those maps to study the region.  I will give them a map test next week or the following week also.  Practice! Practice!

Book Reports -  Sketchbooks are due tomorrow.  I think most of them are finished.  Please be sure to have them remember to bring them tomorrow.

Auction -  I have received a few more donations since I sent another paper home.  Thank you.  Please get me any donations for the basket soon.  The auction and Gala are March 2nd and our coordinator will need to have time to purchase items and put the basket together.

Field Trip -  Our field trip to Biztown will take  place on February 27th. This is a Wednesday and the same day 4th grade is scheduled to do Mass.  We have switched Mass with 3rd grade so now our new day is March 6 which is Ash Wednesday.  I will give more information on what to wear on day of Biztown when we find out what jobs the students will be working.

I hope everyone has a nice safe weekend.

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels