Dear Parents,

     Happy Thursday!  Here we are once again.  This week has gone rather quickly, I feel.  I am not sure why either.  We actually completed a full week this week.  It looks like we could have flurries or light snowfall for the next three days.  It is such a pretty snowfall when it just falls lightly.  This winter reminds me of the winters when I was a child.  It snowed a lot more than we get now.  People complain about it but it was a lot more when I was young.  Yes, I still love the snow and I am happy we get it.  We live in Iowa it is expected.  I will say I am not a huge fan of the cold though.  This below zero stuff can go away anytime soon.  The sad thing is it looks to be here all next week also.  It may not be below zero but it will be single digit temperatures.  

Masks -  Yes, the Governor lifted mask restrictions but we are not.  Quarantine is still a thing.  If we decide not to wear masks and someone tests positive for COVID then the whole class goes home.  We do not want that to happen.  COVID has not gone away nor has the fact you have to quarantine.  We want to keep everyone healthy and at school so we will continue to wear the masks so we can continue to be in school every day.  Please be sure to have this discussion with your child.  I have a couple that are pulling their masks done below their chin and wanting to leave them there.  If someone gets sick they will have to quarantine and most of you don't want that to happen.  Also, those of us who had COVID in November our 90 days is coming to an end.  So, we are at risk again.  I sure don't want it again.  I am eagerly awaiting my shot!

New Student -  We have the most exciting news to share.  We are getting a new student in 4th grade.  Jonah Post will be joining us Friday afternoon to visit the room and meet the students and myself.  He will begin full-time on Monday.  We are so excited about going back to 6 students.  Well, the girls are excited but they wish it was another girl.   I am sure they will be very helpful in welcoming him to the classroom.

Language Arts -  This week they are reading a story called Riding Freedom.  This story is just an excerpt from a chapter book with the same title.  It is kind of a Mulan story.  A woman named Charlotte Parkhurst wants to work with horses.  Only men/boys were suppose to do that.  She disguises herself as a man and does the job.  She becomes a stagecoach driver, which is a man's job.  She is injured and loses sight in one eye.  She teaches herself to use her other senses to help her and still drive a coach.  The section they read is about her being put to the test on whether she is capable of driving anymore.  It is a good story.  In grammar we are learning what adjectives are and what they do.  Adjectives are descriptive words that describe nouns.  Writing without adjectives can be very boring.  I read some sentences without adjectives then reread them putting the adjectives back in so the students could see the difference.  The vocabulary strategy this week is on figurative language.  It covers similes, metaphors, idioms and adages and proverbs.  That  is a lot for one lesson.  All are review for them.  Tomorrow will be a normal Friday so be sure the students study their vocabulary packet and spelling words.

Math - This week we began chapter 13 and learned perimeter.  They completed some problems finding perimeter of squares and rectangles.  They got to go around the hallways and find 2 rectangular/square objects to measure and find perimeter.  This was a fun activity because it got them out of the room and moving.  We also learned about area.  Today they are practicing finding the area of rectangles/squares.  Tomorrow they will get to go around and find 2 different things to measure and find the area.  Next week they will work on a wkst that is quite challenging.  They will be given a mass of rectangles and squares and they have to find the area of all them. It just helps them with knowing sides of rectangles and squares and it practices our skill.  The last lesson in chapter 13 is how you can find area of an odd shaped room.  It is actually 2 rectangles put together.  I help them find the two and how you can find area of both and add the areas together.  After that lesson we are finished with chapter 13!  Only 3 lessons long!  Quick and easy and good stuff.  We also talked about jobs that require people to use area and perimeter all the time.  

Social Studies- We have been talking about the make-up of the land and climate in the Southeast.  We will put 4 more states in our notebook today and tomorrow.  They have done a great job with the states.  We only have 3 more to go and we will have the Southeast completed.  We will be finishing up the chapter next week and beginning to review for a test.  

Valentine's Day - We are celebrating Valentine's Day tomorrow here at school.  The kids decorated bags yesterday in Art to put their Valentine's in.  The students may bring their valentines to school tomorrow to share with the kids. Our Valentine Party will happen about 2:15.  The students will pass out their valentines and get to eat a snack and drink while doing it.  They will NOT get to eat any candy out of their bags.  That candy will come home for you to decide when and how much they eat.  They will get to look at all their valentines when everyone is done passing them out.  Due to our new student coming tomorrow afternoon if you could add a valentine for Jonah that would be awesome.  

Spirit Day - Tomorrow is a Spirit Day!  What a perfect day to wear sweats to be extra warm on an extra cold day.  The money we raise is used for a good cause.  We just sent a basket of snacks and goodies to the Middle School teachers at East Union for the loss of their student Autumn Gladsfelder to suicide.  We wanted to let them know that our school was praying for them and their loss.  So we really do use it for good things. 

Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend.  It is to be another cold one for sure.  The weatherman from channel 8 that did a zoom with the 5th graders for science told the kids no more snow days for a while but he would not be surprised if many schools called a 2 hour delay for Monday morning because the temperatures are to be way low.  We told the kids, I guess we will just see if his predictions are correct!

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels