There are only 12 days left of school! We will be busy wrapping many things up these next few weeks.

Spanish: The entire book is due on Thursday.

Religion: We will continue to work on our Catholic Social Teaching booklets.

English: We will work on the Unit 6 review in class on Monday. It is due Wednesday, and our test will be on Thursday.

Social Studies: The Chapter 11 packet is due on Monday and our quiz on cultures will on Tuesday. We will then move into our last unit learning about cultural and national holidays. We will also spend time discussing why we celebrate Memorial Day.

Math: The Calculating Cubs will continue reviewing concepts taught earlier this year. The children have been doing lots of partner work involving problem solving. They have also had fun completing logic puzzles!

The Subtracting Sox will wrap up Chapter 18 this week on Fractions. The test will be on Tuesday. We will then move our last chapter to study this year, Chapter 19. We will work on comparing, ordering, adding, and subtracting fractions.

Reading: The Brainstorming Blackhawks will continue working on our fairy tale unit. We will continue to compare different Cinderella stories from different cultures, and discuss similarities and differences between certain story elements.

The Bookworm Bears will be reading The Planets, an expository nonfiction text. Our focus skill this week is making predictions. The Weekly Lesson Test and Spelling Test will be on Friday.

Robust Vocabulary: distinct, slightly, rotates, surface, steady, reflects, appears, evidence, infinite, expansive.
Spelling Words: overnight, bicycle, nonstop, overdue, overlook, biweekly, overflow, nonsense, oversee, overheard, nonfiction, overcoat, nonfat, overdone, biplane, overtaken, overheat, nonstick, nontoxic, overboard.

Odds & Ends

• Please continue to encourage your child to keep reading. Many are so close to reaching their AR goals this trimester!
• Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered this year. You have helped make my first year run smoothly, and I know both the students and I appreciate your time and hard work!

Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Spanish: Pages 18 & 19 due Thursday 5/17. The entire book is due next Thursday 5/24.

Religion: We will be learning about our next Catholic Social Teaching this week: Rights and Responsibilities.

English: We will finish Unit 6 this week and begin the review.

Social Studies: We will watch some clips from the Little House on the Prairie series as a culminating activity to our study of the Colonial time period. We will then start our last topic of learning about the Spanish culture.

Reading: The Brainstorming Blackhawks have reached the end of Theme 6. This will be a review week. The Theme 6 Test will be on Wednesday. The Spelling Test will still be on Friday. We will end the year with a fun Reading unit.

Spelling Words: vision, caution, session, fluid, piano, loyal, reliable, flexible, powerless, dangerous, famous, biplane, nonstop, overnight, oversee.
Robust Vocabulary Words: magnify, observed, generates, confirm, picturesque, safeguard, expedition, uncharted, aligned, occur.

The Bookworm Bears will be reading The Science Fair, a realistic fiction story. The focus skill is making predictions. The Weekly Lesson Test and Spelling Test will be on Friday.

Spelling Words: doable, famous, careless, various, endless, reliable, nervous, useless, flexible, washable, helpless, terrible, valuable, dangerous, powerless, suitable, restlessly, countless, responsible, remarkable.
Robust Vocabulary Words: humor, abroad, sprinkled, expand, erupt, thorough, deliberation, grainy, preparation, gimmick.

Math: The Calculating Cubs have completed all chapters from our textbook. Therefore we will spend time reviewing the more difficult concepts from this year, as well as continue to work on problem solving.

The Subtracting Sox continue to learn about fractions this week.

Odds & Ends

• Hands-on-Science is this Wednesday
• Arts Alive will be on Friday
• Please continue to encourage your child to read to meet their AR point goal. Congratulations to all of the students who have already met theirs!
• Please make sure to return your field trip permission slip to school by May 24. Chaperone notes will be sent home in this week’s Wednesday envelope. Thank you for all who have volunteered!

Have a great week

Please continue to keep the McMahon family in your thoughts and prayers.

Spanish: Pages 14 & 16 due Thursday.

Religion: We have completed all the chapters in our textbook, so we will now spend time finishing up our Catholic Social Teaching booklets over the next few weeks.

English/Writing: We will finish up our writing pieces about our favorite part from our recent field trip.

Social Studies: This week we continue to learn about life in the Colonial Times. The children are doing a wonderful job comparing what life was like then, to their lives today!

Reading: The Weekly Lesson Test and Spelling Test for both groups will be on Friday.

The Brainstorming Blackhawks will be reading The Planets, an expository nonfiction text. Our focus skill this week is making predictions.

Robust Vocabulary: distinct, slightly, rotates, surface, steady, reflects, appears, evidence, infinite, expansive.
Spelling Words: overnight, bicycle, nonstop, overdue, overlook, biweekly, overflow, nonsense, oversee, overheard, nonfiction, overcoat, nonfat, overdone, biplane, overtaken, overheat, nonstick, nontoxic, overboard.

The Bookworm Bears will be reading Spiders and Their Webs, an expository nonfiction text. The focus skill for the week is making inferences.

Robust Vocabulary Words: justice, task, prey, shallow, strands, social, spiral, reels, elaborate, inventive.
Spelling Words: lion, dial, idea, neon, science, area, radio, quiet, piano, fluid, video, loyal, stereo, pliers, create, cereal, triumph, poetry, reality, scientific.

Math: The Calculating Cubs will learn all about Metric Measurement this week. The Chapter 14 Test will be on Friday.

The Subtracting Sox will finish up Chapter 17 on Perimeter, Area, and Volume. The test will be on Thursday. They will then begin Chapter 18 on Fractions.

Odds & Ends

• Please remind your child to bring their recorder to school on Tuesday for music class.
• There are only 22 days left of school–please encourage your child to keep reading in order to meet their AR point goals for this final trimester!
• Please remember to return your permission slip to school by May 24 for our next field trip. If you are interested in chaperoning please respond by May 16. Notes will be sent home to chaperones in the May 16 Wednesday envelope.
• We will attend May Crowning Friday afternoon.

Have a great week!

I cannot believe May starts this week! We have a busy, but fun month ahead of us!

Spanish: Pages 10 & 12 due Thursday.

Religion: We are studying the final chapter of Unit 4 this week, Chapter 19; We Belong to the Kingdom. The Unit 4 Test will be on Thursday.

English: We will continue to work in Unit 6 learning about object pronouns and how to not use too many of them when writing! Writing: We will be writing about our field trip on Tuesday.

Social Studies: This week we will spend time learning about the Colonial time period. We will be creating a booklet to compare what life was like then, to what life is like today!

Math: The Calculating Cubs will finish Chapter 13 this week learning about Measurement. The test will be on Friday.

The Subtracting Sox will finish Chapter 16 this week learning about congruence, symmetry, and transformations. The test will be on Wednesday. They will then begin Chapter 17, Perimeter, Area, and Volume.

Reading: The Spelling Test and Weekly Lesson Test will be on Friday for both groups this week.

The Brainstorming Blackhawks will be reading The Science Fair, a realistic fiction story. The focus skill is making predictions.

Spelling Words: doable, famous, careless, various, endless, reliable, nervous, useless, flexible, washable, helpless, terrible, valuable, dangerous, powerless, suitable, restlessly, countless, responsible, remarkable.
Robust Vocabulary Words: humor, abroad, sprinkled, expand, erupt, thorough, deliberation, grainy, preparation, gimmick.

The Bookworm Bears will be reading Charlotte’s Web, a fantasy. The focus skill is making inferences, and the comprehension strategy is asking questions.

Spelling Words: section, caution, fiction, nation, action, vision, vacation, motion, question, mention, station, attention, portion, collection, session, admission, discussion, decision, definition, description.
Robust Vocabulary Words: bristly, dreadful, summoning, nuisance, sedentary, oblige, boasting, sway, adamant, inevitable.

Happy Earth Day! The children had a great time creating a beautiful mural for our classroom.

Spanish: Pages 6 and 7 are due on Thursday.

Religion: This week we work in Chapter 18, Jesus gives the Spirit to the Church. We will also work on our next page for our Catholic Social Teaching booklets.

English: We will begin our last English unit of the year learning about pronouns. Writing: We will focus on poetry for the next couple of weeks. The children will also create their own jelly bean flavor during creative writing this week.

Social Studies: We will finish up our unit on Economics this week. We combined Chapters 9 and 10. The packet that went home last week will be due on Tuesday. We will review that day in class and the test will be on Wednesday. On Thursday we will discuss the last project for the year. This project will be done completely in school. We will focus on comparing and contrasting life in Colonial Times to life today! This ties in well with our upcoming filed trip to the Lisle Heritage Center.

Math: The Calculating Cubs continue learning about Time this week. The Chapter 12 Test will be on Wednesday. They will then move on to Chapter 13, Customary Units of Measurement.

The Subtracting Sox are doing a great job with the Geometry unit! This chapter is filled with vocabulary terms. The chapter test will be on Tuesday. They will then move on to Chapter 16, Congruence, Symmetry, and Transformations.

Reading: The Brainstorming Blackhawks will be reading, Spiders and Their Webs, an expository nonfiction text. The focus skill for the week is making inferences, and the comprehension strategy is asking questions.

Robust Vocabulary Words: justice, task, prey, shallow, strands, social, spiral, reels, elaborate, inventive.
Spelling Words: lion, dial, idea, neon, science, area, radio, quiet, piano, fluid, video, loyal, stereo, pliers, create, cereal, triumph, poetry, reality, scientific.

The Bookworm Bears have reached the end of Theme 5! The theme test will be split up between two days: Wednesday & Thursday. The Spelling Test will be on Thursday.

Robust Vocabulary Words: required, functional, inhabitants, amazement, ample, responsibility, futuristic, realistic, confused, shifting.
Spelling Words: choose, booth, foot, bruise, threw, soft, cause, thaw, false, preschool, misspell, indoors, apart, across, around, dividend, similar, resolve, inconsiderate, tomato.

Odds & Ends

• Field Trip: Please make sure you return the permission slip for our trip to the Lisle Heritage Center. Remember if you are interested in having your name in the lottery for chaperones please return that slip to school by Wednesday, April 25. We will select chaperones that day and send a note home to you in the Wednesday envelope letting you know your name was drawn.  The information and permission slip for theAdler Planetarium will be sent home on Wednesday, May 2.
• Continue to encourage your child to read to reach their AR point goal!
• Midterm progress reports will come home in this week’s Wednesday envelope.
• Friday morning we will get to see the drama production of Beauty and the Beast!
• Just a reminder that we have music on Tuesday–so please remind your child to have their recorder!

Have a great week!