Monday News

Dear Families,

On Friday, February 2nd, we will have a guest author, John Churchman present to the students. Two characters from the book, "Maisie" and "Laddie" will be joining us! Click here to read about Mr. Churchman. 

We started tracking our mystery classes on Friday. Over the next couple months, we will be trying to find 10 mystery locations by tracking the amount of daylight (photoperiods). Click here if you would like to read about the global mystery!

We had kinderbuddies on Wednesday. The students read Snowmen at Work and made kindergarten-sized snowmen. You can see them in the gym.

I am not sure what will happen on Tuesday with cross-country skiing. I will let you know when a decision is made. Last week, the students did indoor skiing activities. Students practiced clipping bindings on and off.

There will be play practice on Wednesday.

Book projects are due on Friday. 

We will lead all school morning meeting on February 9th. We will also go to the Flynn Theater that day to see Pilobolus.

Enjoy your week,

Mrs. Carter

Monday News

Dear Families,

Our gratitude journals start today! We will be writing entries in journals daily for a month.

The students will have play practice on Monday.

The weather does not look favorable for skiing on Tuesday. The students will have P.E. on Tuesday if we are not able to ski. The students had a great time skiing last week!

The book project this month is a comic strip. Here is the link for the book project rubric. Students have their comic strip templates in their mailboxes at school. They can bring them home when they are ready to start.

Enjoy your week,

Mrs. Carter

Monday News

Dear Families,

Tomorrow will be our first day of cross-country skiing. Please send your child to school with snow pants, hats and mittens. We will ski on the playground for one hour.

The students have started their informational books. Students are the experts on their subject of choice. We are learning about different text structures within our books.

Students are researching different countries. They are learning how to take notes, find the main idea, and compare different subtopics in non-fiction books.
Please follow this link to see pictures from the Outdoor Classroom.

Homework - Last week, the students worked on a paper about antonyms and did two pages of cursive. This week, students will do an antonym crossword puzzle and two pages of cursive. Please encourage your child to complete the homework and read for at least 20 minutes every night.

BPMS is having a Gratitude Challenge for 30 days starting on January 22nd. Each student is receiving a gratitude journal. Students and staff will write one thing they are thankful for everyday. There will also be a "Wall of Gratitude" displayed in the hallway.

We will also be focusing on mindfulness. I will be showing this video to the students to explain mindfulness and then we will do short mindfulness activities.

Enjoy your week,
Mrs. Carter

Monday News

Dear Families,

Happy New Year! Please look in your child's backpack for the permission slip and information about  nordic skiing. The students will ski on Tuesdays during P.E. All students were fitted for skis and boots before break. Students will need to dress warm on Tuesdays and Thursdays since they will be outside skiing on Tuesdays and outdoor classroom is on Thursdays. Skiing will start on January 16th.

During January and February, we will focus on nonfiction reading and writing. Below are the essential questions that will drive students' learning.

Reading Workshop Essential Questions:
*How can I use all that I know about nonfiction reading and writing in order to launch a research

inquiry about the factors that shape life in different countries?

*How can I think critically about the reasons that texts offer contrasting information on the same topic?

Writing Workshop Essential Questions:
*How can I organize my learning to record new knowledge about a topic and grow ideas?
 (observational writing, annotated timelines, embellished notes, writing-to-grow ideas)
*How can I organize my writing to share my new knowledge with independence?  
(box-and-bullets; compare and contrast)
*How can I revise and improve my writing using mentor texts?
*How can I use readers and authentic audience to improve my writing prior to publication?

Social Studies Essential Questions:
*How does the geography of a region impact its culture?

In December, we finished up our unit on Westward Expansion and the hardships that pioneers faced as they settled the west. Now we will learn about countries around the world!

Our read aloud book will be Save Me A Seat, by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan.

About the book: "Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they're both stuck in the same place: SCHOOL. Joe's lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own. Ravi's family just moved to America from India, and he's finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in. Joe and Ravi don't think they have anything in common -- but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week."

We will continue to go outside on Thursdays for outdoor learning.

Enjoy your week,
Mrs. Carter