I LOVE the month of November. We will focus on family and all the things we are thankful for, especially our classroom friends. We will have several projects that will be coming for you to work on as a FAMILY. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
1st Grade
Dear Parents,
WOW!! Time flies when you’re having fun! It’s already November and our students have learned so much! In math, we have learned about money, coins, and dollar bills. How to add money and practice paying for things from a classroom store. In addition, we continue to work with addition and subtraction in computation and in word problems. We are also learning about our “Community.” Our classes are Studying the kinds of places and people you find in most communities. The jobs that people do and what Being a citizen of the U.S.A. entails! Please be sure to send your scholar with a sweater or jacket because it is getting colder. Scholars still need water bottles. Thank you for all your support!
Sincerely,
The First Grade Team,
2nd Grade
After learning about changes in the environment, it’s time for the scholars to learn about their roles in our community. From learning about important jobs and community workers, scholars will realize that all people have vital contributions to making our environment a better place to live in. Also, our scholars will be learning useful strategies to enhance their subtraction and addition skills. This week is another learning adventure for our smart and amazing scholars! Way to go Lions!
3rd Grade
In third grade, we are learning about our heritage, culture, and what makes us unique. We are celebrating our differences and practicing showing gratitude.
4th Grade
The fourth grade has been working really hard to get ready for the next interim test in the first week of December. We are studying division and multiplication and working hard on vocabulary so that we can improve our reading skills and our test scores! We are really improving every day!
5th Grade
Grade 5 has hit the ground running in quarter 2. Please encourage your child to practice their math facts and read books at their Lexile level. Improving these base skills will make lessons much more comprehensible. We are grateful for the support of our wonderful grade 5 community and wish everyone a lovely Thanksgiving holiday.
MS Science
6th-grade scientists should all have completed their Science Research Project experiment. They are now analyzing and preparing to communicate the data they have collected. Display boards are due prior to Thanksgiving break. We are nearing the end of our "Properties of Matter" unit and will be moving on to "Classifying Life"
MS Math
We are getting ready for Interim #2! Lots of review and group work to best prepare us for our next round of testing.
MS Social Studies
In Social Studies each grade is exploring the following:
6th: Ancient African Civilizations of Kush and Egypt
7th & 8th: Midterm Mock Election & Midterm Election Results
Last week students finished 2.5 week-long units on the above topics. This week, in the three school days leading up to Thanksgiving break, students spent time reading about and exploring the mythical and factual history of the Thanksgiving holiday. We looked at and explored Indigenous perspectives on this holiday, and discussed the ways in which the early 1600s Smallpox Epidemic, the European Harvest Festival, and the King Phillips War are often left out of the national narrative surrounding Thanksgiving.
When we return from Thanksgiving Break students will turn their attention to preparing for Interim Assessment #2 and then to preparing for their Semester 1 Social Studies Final Exam.
MS ELA
Quarter 2 Humanities is in full swing! Dia de Los Muertos and Parent Teacher conferences brought an extra pep into our step, and now we’re putting our attention to the class readings and upcoming tests. As always, students are working hard to cite evidence, find themes, and defend their opinions through well-structured paragraphs. Keep up the good work kids! Remember to stay up-to-date on your assignments!
Interventions
Good morning, Intervention classes are going well. Interventionists are focusing on Unit 2/3 for our reteach classes, ensuring that we backward plan and scaffold our lesson plans based on the specific needs of each class. Some classes need more support than others, and as a result, each class progresses at a different pace. Interventionists ensure that each exit ticket reflects our daily objective and the AASA standards.
During Mypath time, Interventionists focus on students who have alerts in iReady, and track students (in real-time) as they work in iReady.
Art
The students are making a lot of art related to the coming season
Computer Science
In computer science, the 5th grade is practicing the functional aspects of sending and receiving emails. 6th grade is learning to code with conditional statements. 7th and 8th grade are practicing e-mail etiquette and online safety.
Foreign Language
Please welcome Ms. Hui-Fen! She is the newest teacher to join our team. She is our official Mandarin teacher and will finish the year with us!
PE
Kinder to Second Grade:
From Kindergarten through the Second year they are finding new skills that test their prowess with Hula Hoops. As a result, they gain knowledge of range and motion.
Third to Fifth Grade:
Third to fifth grades are getting introduced to a set of new games that will develop skills in later years. These types of games are competitive and challenging that test your dexterity, strength, and skills. New games that were introduced are Hockey and Volleyball.
Sixth to Eight Grade:
Sixth to Eighth grade, they are getting to know a series of new games that drive them to work as a whole. These types of games are competitive where teamwork is essential.
MUSIC
"Our K-2 musicians are continuing to rehearse their repertoire of songs, such as "Los Pollitos" and "Herman the Worm", as well as improving their rhythm and dance skills. Of that group, our 1st Graders will be putting on a special performance in this week's PAC meeting. Students in Guitar/Piano are also getting ready to make recordings of the songs we've been rehearsing. Shout out to all our young scholars for their hard work and dedication in preparation for our performances."
English Language Development
ELD fall news. First and second graders have been writing, writing, writing! They learned about transition words to use in their writing. Working so hard, little lions! Fourth-Eighth grades have been using class novel studies to enhance learning, this is a great way to approach and understand story themes. All higher grades learned about metaphors and similes. Fourth and fifth graders are learning how to easily write a summary of a given text. Middle school has been identifying a variety of figurative language. I am amazed at the growth I am seeing in MASSA scholars!
