Humerick Happenings

Hello! Happy Weekend! It's been a LONG week with a lot of work, but we ended it with a wonderful party! You'll see photos of that at the end, for right now, here's what we've been up to:

Language Arts: We have been working sooo hard on our MSA practices. Reading stories (fiction and nonfiction), articles, menus, directions, pamphlets, and just about everything else, and then answering comprehension questions about them. These questions may be multiple choice or short answer - just like the MSA's. Ask your child about the strategies we've been talking about for these types of tests.

Math: We've just finished a fractions unit and we'll be revisiting some skills as a review for the MSA's. As we have been all year, we continue to practice our BCR's (Brief Constructed Responses) to show that we can explain how we get the answer to any problem. This shows deep understanding of the skills being learned.

Writing: Our writing is really improving! The kids are really finding their "voice" and using "word choice" strategies to make what they write interesting.

Cursive: We're almost finished lower case and upper case letters. Once we've covered all of them, some assignments will be mandatory in cursive!

Science: In our Rocks, Soil, and Fossils Unit we have been taking apart "rocks" to find the "minerals" that make it up. These "rocks" looked surprisingly like clay with different colored beads, but the idea was made! These were measured and weighed with a spring scale.

PLEASE speak with your child about taking the MSA's. The first day of testing is March 8. We'll be doing 2 days of LA and 2 days of Math. They are prepared for this test! They just need to take their time and CHECK THEIR WORK! Also, please be sure your child eats a healthy breakfast each morning and gets plenty of sleep.

Some interesting things going on:
Next week is School Spirit Week if your child wants to participate
March 4 and 5 are the rescheduled days for Donuts for Dad.
Change is still being collected for Haiti.

IMPORTANT: Conferences were cancelled because of loss of instructional time. I am willing to meet/speak with any parent who has concerns. Please call me or email me!

NOW ON TO THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE BLOG - PICTURES!!!!
We had such an awesome Valentine's Party - thanks to Meena Bassan for organizing everything and to Jim McCown for the fun games. Also, thanks to all who sent in the goodies!

Here they are opening their Valentines and goody bags.