Literacy – Phonics Principle: Change the ‘y’ to ‘I’ and add ‘es’ or ‘ed’ to words that end in a consonant and ‘y’. EXS: cry-cries-cried, hurry-hurries-hurried. Last week and this week we are learning about Dr. Seuss. So far we have discovered that he writes in rhyme, uses made-up creatures, “plays” with words to make them fit, and that his stories generally have a lesson. This week, we will create our own Seuss-ical creature, and write a short poem or story about our creature.

Math – Our math focus this week will be on solving double digit addition and subtraction math facts and story problems. Our strategy for solving is to draw a quick sketch using base-ten blocks, or dimes and pennies, and circling to group new tens. This gets the children ready for “regrouping”, formerly known as carrying and borrowing. We are working with hands-on materials and sketching our thinking so that everyone understands the process behind the regrouping.

Themes – Our goal this week is to finish our planet postcards, and combine them into a classroom book. We have gathered all our information, and are now ready to write our informational postcard.

Pen Pals – Last week, we received our letters from the PSU pen pals. These students are members of Dr. Buteau’s educational course which explores literacy in the early grades. We will exchange about 3 letters during the next 2 months. The PSU students use our letters to look for examples of learning with regards to writing. Writing letters is a part of our writing curriculum, so it ties in nicely with that. At the end of the PSU term, the pen pals come out to RES for a short visit, bringing a story-based activity along.

Report Cards/Conferences – Report cards for Trimester 2 will be coming home with your child on Friday. Please refer to the Reading and Writing Continuum sheets to help you understand your child’s present levels. If you have any questions or concerns, please call me. Also, please remember to sign up for Conferences. You may call the office to schedule an appointment, or call, e-mail, or send me a note about a time convenient for you. I will be scheduling 20 minute blocks so that I can see everyone!

Upcoming events:

Friday, March 12 – “Winter Olympics” 1-2:30 PM (multi-age teams), Report Cards

Thursday, March 18 – Early Release/Parent-Teacher Conferences 12:30-3:00

Friday, March 19 – No School / Teacher In-Service Day