Dear Parents,
     Happy Thursday!!  This week has been a very short week for me!  I was gone on Monday and Tuesday for a PLC Conference in Des Moines.  What a great conference.  It was very refreshing and inspiring.  I did a lot of thinking about students I have now, students I have had and what practices I used.  It also made me think about what could I do better and how do I make that happen.  There were 1,200 teachers and administrators there from all over the country. We meant a gal from California and a guy from Oregon. There was a group from Mississippi, New York and South Dakota.  I found that very interesting that it was not just for educators in Iowa but all over the country.  I hate being gone and it was great seeing your children's faces, but it was a very beneficial two days.  I am still playing catch-up from being gone. I spent most of Sunday here trying to prepare for 2 days of substitutes, bu I am still trying to catch up on that work I do during those days.  There may not be much in the folders today, sorry.  Next week's will have a ton!  

Language Arts - This week we are reading a story called "Invasion From Mars".  It is a story adapted from the book War of the Worlds. It is an interesting story. This piece was performed on the radio October 30, 1938, people who did not hear the introduction to this play and starting listening in the middle thought it was true.  There was evidently some chaos due to it.  I think I would have been scared too if I didn't know it was just a play for entertainment.  The students learned about verbs this week: action verbs, helping verbs, main verbs, and linking verbs.  This is a lot to learn in one week.  I plan on helping them with the grammar section during the test. Otherwise it is very difficult.  The vocabulary strategy this week was on suffixes, -y, and -ous.  They will have some  questions over these in the vocabulary section.  I think all the students enjoyed this story. I played the radio version for them and we talked about how it would have made them feel if they would have heard this on the radio not knowing it was a play.  It was a fun conversation.  You will find last weeks Unit test scores in the folders.  I am not surprised by the low scores but some scores  were lower than I thought they would be.  They will improve each unit from here. The first one is always low no matter what class.  It has to do with it being a benchmark test.  They always get better as the year goes on.

Math - We have dug into multiplication this week.  They have learned to multiply thousands, hundreds and tens this week.  We will begin work on some word problems today.  It actually goes along with the comparison problems we learned in lesson 1.  We will focus on this for a couple days.  This is the lesson that is taught at the beginning and then the students forget how to do it by the time the test rolls around. We have to review it big time before the test.  We will get into some great multiplication strategies soon.  They are not what we learned but they are great ones that help the students understand the content so much better.  I know you may not be able to help your child with homework which is fine.  If they don't get homework done they need to come in at 7:45 and I will help them. I also give time during class for them to ask for help or clarification.  

Social Studies - We are learning about some of the things the northeast has to offer.  They learned about the different mountain ranges in the northeast, they learned about Niagara Falls.  It talked about how it was formed and why it is important for hydroelectricity and beautiful.  We talked about the Appalachian Trail which is 2,160 miles long and runs through 14 states on the ridge of the Appalachian Mountains.  We also talked about the differences in coastline from Main to New Jersey.  Maine has very rocky coastlines and as you move south you get more into the beaches.  We have talked about people living in New York City having second homes on the Jersey shore, or Cape Cod or even in the Catskill Mountains.   We will work on a map skill today.  We will soon be doing our first state in the interactive notebook.  They are excited for this.  They loved putting the beginning pieces in about the United States.  We will also learn our states and capitals song soon.  We have lots to do!

NO SCHOOL - Reminder that there is no school tomorrow.  The teachers will be heading to Des Moines to listen to a speaker on PLC.  (yes I just did this for two day!)  We will also do some collaborating with our school when the session is over to talk about what we need to do and what Miss Surma and I learned at our conference.  

Conferences are just around the corner!  Here is the link to sign up.  I was able to get my conference at the high school on Wednesday night so it does not interfere with any of the conferences I will hold here.  I will be doing some early ones on Tuesday night if anyone is interested in coming after school that night.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0544A5A72CA1FE3-fall

Mass -  Next week Mass will NOT be held on Wednesday.  Friday is All Saints Day so the mass will take place on Friday instead at the same time. 

Halloween Activities - On Thursday afternoon your child will participate in Halloween Activities.  These are in the middle school and are put on by the Civics Club.  I usually have a small quick snack and drink before we head out for the activities.  At the end of the day we hold a parade in the gym. This parade is loved and happens every year. It will begin at 2:30.  Our parade is very well attended also.  Come early to get a seat!  After the parade you are allowed to take your child home with you. If they are going with a grandparent I will need permission from you. A note or email works.

I think I have covered most everything.  Remember to sign up for conferences! I look forward to visiting with you.

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels