First Week March/ Conferences 2020

Welcome to March. This is where our year begins to kick into high speed. I still cannot believe how fast February flew by. We have so much coming up this month, so please read on for conference info and much more.

Math:  We have wrapped up our unit on measurement and data. Friday we began learning about coins and their values. On Friday we looked at pennies, nickels, and dimes. This week we will add quarters and learn how to count on using pennies from a given amount of coins (ex: if I show a dime and a nickel and I want the students to show me 18¢ they will add 3 more pennies). This is always an interesting unit because most get it, but for whatever reason if a child does not, it proves to be very tricky for them to distinguish between the coins.  Feel free to break out your change and play little games with your child.  What is the coin called?  How much is a certain coin worth?  What about a mixture of coins?  Put a pile of coins together and see if they can pick out the nickels and then tell you the value of a nickel, etc.  Please avoid quarters until after we learn them on Tuesday to avoid frustrating or confusing your child.  Any extra practice at home doing these types of activities is always useful during this unit.  Thank you for your partnership!

ELA:  We have wrapped up our NatGeo unit on weather. Next week we will take a break from NatGeo and instead do a corresponding LitStudy with another loved Magic Treehouse book, "Twister On Tuesday." We began learning about Tornadoes during our science unit last, and will continue to learn about them during the next two weeks while reading about Jack and Annie's adventures in Twister on Tuesday. This book will also kick off our social studies unit on Then and Now, comparing life now to life long ago.

Because we will not be doing any NatGeo there will be no spelling this week. Since we will not have spelling, there will be no homework this week. Homework will return next week. Enjoy the week off!

Science/Social Studies: We just wrapped up our unit on weather. Next week we will begin our unit on sound. We will also start studying famous inventors. These units should encompass the month of March.

Parent/Teacher Conferences:  Conferences are next week, Wednesday, March 11th-Friday, March 13th. For anyone who is interested in conferences this time around, and has already signed up, the semi-finalized list has gone home with your conference time indicated. I say semi-finalized because if you want a conference and your name is not on the list you still have this week to pick a couple of spots and return the sign up to me ASAP. Also, I forgot to accomodate for Wednesday's extra early release, so if you would like one of those times instead of the time you signed up for, please let me know. Remember, this is and has been a first come first serve basis. I will honor those who have already signed up and want to switch for a new time first to make up for my mistake to try to be fair. Sorry! Do not forget, all 3 conference days are early release days as follows:

• Wednesday March 11th extra early release at 11:10 
• Thursday March 12th and Friday March 13th release at 12:25

Book Fair:  While conferences are happening the library will be hosting our annual Scholastic Book Fair. Feel free to come by either before or after your conference, or anytime during conference (March 9th-13th) week to buy some books for your student. All other times can be viewed on the link below. Book fair flyers will be going home with your students this week so you can see a sample of the books offered at our book fair. You can also check it out online through this link here   https://www.scholastic.com/bf/marshallmagnetschool.  This link will also allow you to set up digital payments for your child and shop online if you prefer. Money from the sales do come back to our Marshall library! Let the reading begin!

Spring Break: The week after conferences is Spring Break. Monday, March 16th-Friday, 20th school will be closed. Hopefully mother nature gets the call and the weather warms up! 

As always, I feel like I'm forgetting things so if and when I remember I will update and send an email. Hope your weekend was restful! Cannot wait to see those faces tomorrow! -Ms. Shaw