Career Day!

Today we had Career Day at Pinebrook Elementary! We had some very special visitors in Room 3! Thank you to all the parent volunteers who shared their wonderful careers with us! We had visitors from: Mrs. Carroll, Foreign Service Assignment Officer; Mr. Zumwalt, Firefighter/Paramedic; Healing House Therapy Dog Training; and Mrs. Kane, NICU Nurse.

Mrs. Carroll teaching our class about her role working for the State Department.

Mr. Zumwalt showing how a firefighter prepares for the job.

Healing House therapy dog purposes and roles.

Therapy dog, Jolene, wanted to play dress up for our class!

Triple Play

We all had a wonderful time at Triple Play last night. Thank you to all the families who attended to cheer on the Pinebrook Pumas! It was a successful night for our PTA and we thank them for organizing the event. Here is a little sneak peek at Teacher Bowling :)

Weekly Update

Hello Everyone!

As we head into the weekend, here's some information for you...

First Grade Music Performance:
If you have not yet returned the signed slip indicating whether your child will be attending our First Grade International Music Program, please do so as soon as possible.

End of Year Literacy Assessments:
I am about to begin our end-of-year literacy assessments. Please be sure your child is reading every day...weekends included. Your child should read out loud to practice decoding and fluency, and then practice retelling the story in sequence using characters' names and providing as many details as possible. Ask your child to make a connection to the story. Ask about the author's message...What is the author trying to teach us in the story? Ask your child to identify is/her favorite part and state why.

Camp STEAM-tacular!
This summer, Pinebrook will host Camp STEAM-tacular. This is a fun-filled week of STEAM related learning and exploration, which takes place June 18th-22nd from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. here at school. Each grade level is aligned to a particular theme. Enrollment is limited and filling up fast! You can learn more and register your child by visiting the Camp STEAM-tacular website HERE

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading-We will study characters in books to learn about the main character and to understand how characters' feelings change throughout the story.
• Writing- We will continue to write with author's craft by studying mentor texts and then practicing editing our work. 
• Social Studies- We will learn about Virginia and the United States
• Math-We will continue our Time unit. We will practice telling time to the hour and half hour. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful week! Hopefully we will have some nice weather this weekend. :) 

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!

Happy Friday! Please read to the end of this post as I have lots of important information to share with you.

Next Week is Spirit Week:
In honor of Career Day next Friday, we will celebrate with Spirit Week next week. Themes for each day are as follows:

• Monday: Career "Champe" Day-Wear navy or silver (Champe High School colors) to represent the importance of high school education.
• Tuesday: College Pride Day- Wear college gear or colors to support our career goals and readiness for college.
• Wednesday: Future Career Day-Dress up like your future profession
• Thursday: Interview Day- Dress for success like you would dress for an interview
• Friday: Our Future Starts Here Day- Wear Pinebrook gear or Pinebrook colors

First Grade Music Program:

Please check yesterday's Thursday folder for important information about our First Grade International Music Program on Wednesday, May 30th. Please sign and return the slip at the bottom of the letter to confirm your child's attendance and participation in the program.

End of the Year Literacy Testing:

I can't believe I am about to type this, but I am...Our end-of-year literacy assessments will begin in May. This means we are at the most critical pat of our entire instructional year, as we make our final push towards our testing dates. Please be sure your child is reading every day...weekends included. Your child should read out loud to practice decoding decoding and fluency, and then practice retelling the story in sequence using characters' names and providing as many details as possible. Ask your child to make a connection to the story. Ask about the author's message...What is the author trying to teach us in the story? Ask your child to identify his/her favorite part and state why. I truly cannot overstate the importance of your child not only reading everyday, but discussing what he/she read!

"Rumble in the Jungle" Triple Play:

Don't forget..."Rumble in the Jungle" Triple Play will be on Thursday, April 26th at John Champe High School!

Camp STEAM-tacular!

This summer, Pinebrook will host Camp STEAM-tacular. This is a fun-filled week of STEAM related learning and exploration, which takes place June 18th-22nd from 9:00 a.m-3:00 p.m. here at school. Each grade level is aligned to a particular theme. Enrollment is limited and is already filling up quickly! You can learn more and register your child by visiting the Camp STEAM-tacular website HERE

Last Call for Pinebrook Yearbooks:

Pinebrook yearbooks are on sale now! Yearbooks may only be purchased online. To purchase a yearbook, go to ybpay.lifetouch.com and enter school code 7561118. You will be prompted through the order and payment process. The deadline to order a yearbook is April 29th. You must pre-order a yearbook if you would like your child to receive one. 

Flat Student Project Update:

We kissed the flat students goodbye yesterday and they are off on their adventures! 

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading: We will begin our next reading unit which focuses around meeting characters and learning lessons
• Writing: We will study a story to learn ways the author makes it special and then try out an author's craft in our own writing.
• Social Studies- We will begin our Maps unit to learn and recognize map skills and symbols
• Math- We will finish learning about Fractions and begin our Time unit by learning to tell time o the hour and half hour. 

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or feedback.

My family is coming to visit this weekend so I am excited to spend some time with them! I hope you all have something fun planned as well! Have a great weekend!

Weekly Update

Hello Everyone!

Happy Friday! I am so excited that it finally feels like spring! We watched a preview of Beauty and the Beast today, which is the play the John Champe HS Drama Department will be performing this spring. The kids loved it! We enjoyed some extra time in the sunshine too! :)

Meantime, I have so many important things to share with you today!

Spring Picture Day:
Spring Picture Day is Monday, April 16th. A whole group (class) picture will be taken on Monday, and your child's individual picture will be taken on Monday too. Please note these two very important points:

• If you would like a class picture (this is the whole group photo), you must order and pay for it by Monday, April 16th. I sent an order form home on Tuesday for the class picture. You can fill out the order form, include payment, and return the payment envelope to school, or you can order and pay online. If you order and pay online, you must return the payment envelope to school with the online payment confirmation code written on the envelope. This means that by Monday, April 16th, you should return either the payment envelope with payment inside, or the payment envelope with the online payment confirmation code written on it. If you do not order a class photo by Monday, April 16th, you will NOT receive one. There is NO option to order a class photo at a later date. This becomes an issue every year. Please, please...if you want a class photo, you MUST order it per the instructions that I've just outlined. 
• Individual pictures will also be taken on Monday, and you will receive a picture packet at a later date. If you would like to purchase individual pictures, you will purchase those AFTER you receive the picture packet. 

Triple Play Rescheduled:

The Pinebrook Triple Play "Rumble in the Jungle" has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 26th at 5:45 p.m. at John Champe High School. Please see your Pinebrook Weekly email for more details!

Plastic Lib Goal Reached:

The 3rd Grade classes have collected enough plastic lids to reach their projected goal and are no longer accepting donations. Please do not send any more plastic lids. You may recycle these at home. Thank you!

Career Day:

Pinebrook will host a Career Day on the morning of Friday, April 27th. We are in need of volunteers to share information about their occupations with students at Pinebrook. If you can't be with us in person, you can Skype in! Please consider volunteering by contacting our school counselors, Jennifer Nocito (jennifer.nocito@lcps.org) and Heather Ross (heather.ross@lcps.org).

Camp STEAM-tacular!

This summer, Pinebrook will host Camp STEAM-tacular. This is a fun-filled week of STEAM related learning and exploration, which takes place June 18th-22nd from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. here at school. Each grade level is aligned to a particular theme. Enrollment is limited and camp will fill up quickly! You can learn more and register your child by visiting the Camp STEAM-tacular website HERE.

Yearbooks:

Pinebrook yearbooks are on sale now! Yearbooks may only be purchased online. To purchase a yearbook, go to ybpay.lifetouch.com and enter school code 7561118. You will be prompted through the order and payment process. The deadline to order a yearbook is April 29th. You must pre-order a yearbook if you would like your child to receive one. 

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading-We will finish our Unit 3 called Being a Reading Boss by understanding that readers use everything that they know to get the job done quickly, readers investigate ways to make their reading sound great, and partners work together to make their reading sound its very best. We will also work on previewing a text and retelling of a text.
• Writing- We will practice writing friendly letters and study other author's craft for inspiration of our own writing
• Word Study-We will receive our new word sorts on Monday and have our next Word Study assessment on Friday, April 20th. 
• Science-We will finish learning about force and motion (pushes and pulls and paths of motion)
• Social Studies-We will begin learning about Maps and create our Flat Stanleys 
• Math-We will continue to learn about fractions and parts of a set. We will create fractions with whole, halves, thirds, and fourths.

Please reach out if you have any questions, comments, or feedback.

Have a great weekend! Enjoy the wonderful weather! I know that I'll be taking Raleigh for lots of walks :) 

Weekly Update

Hello Everyone!

I hope you enjoyed Spring Break. The kids had lots of stories to share about their Spring Break adventures. It was sweet to see them greet each other on Tuesday. They've become a little family and they miss each other during breaks and weekends.

Triple Play Rescheduled:
The Pinebrook Triple Play "Rumble in the Jungle" has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 26th. Please watch your Pinebrook weekly email for more details!

Pennies for Patients:
Our Student Council Association (SCA) is sponsoring a fundraiser called "Pennies for Patients." All funds will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help battle childhood cancer. I sent home a collection box and a more detailed explanation in yesterday's Thursday folder. If your child would like to participate in this optional fundraiser, he/she may bring in any denomination of money (coins or bills) to school during the fundraising period.

Career Day:
Pinebrook will host a Career Day on the morning of Friday, April 27th. We are in need of volunteers to share information about their occupations with students at Pinebrook. If you can't be with us in person, you can Skype in! Please consider volunteering by contacting our counselors, Jennifer Nocito (jennifer.nocito@lcps.org) and Heather Ross (heather.ross@lcps.org).

Yearbooks:
Pinebrook yearbooks are now on sale! Yearbooks may only be purchased online. To purchase a yearbook, go to ybpay.lifetouch.com and enter school code 7561118. You will be prompted through the order and payment process. The deadline to order a yearbook is April 29th. You must pre-order a yearbook if you would like your child to receive one.

Flat Stanley:
Next week I will be sending home information about our Flat Stanley projects. Students have been learning about letter writing this week and will begin to learn about Maps within the next two weeks. For this project, your child will be mailing a letter and their Flat Stanely to someone else within the U.S. or even another country. Students will need to bring in stamps and an address when I send home the information about the project next week. I just wanted to give you all a heads up of upcoming projects.

Timed Math Tests:
Starting next week students will be completing weekly timed math assessments. Students will be given five minutes to complete the assessment. These assessments are used to measure addition fact fluency. Students will receive a grade for knowing addition and subtraction facts. Based on student performance on the assessments, they should move up to a new level each week. For example, facts to 5, facts to 6, facts to 7...etc. Students practice Reflex math at school and should be using this program at home to build addition fact fluency.

Camp STEAM-tacular 2018!
I am excited to announce the return of Camp STEAM-tacular this year! If your child enjoyed STEAM Expo day in March, then they will absolutely LOVE STEAM Camp! Camp STEAM-tacular will be June 18th-22nd. During this week, students will be completing Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math activities based on their grade level. Each afternoon will be spent developing and creating a STEAM project based on their grade-levels theme. Fliers about Camp STEAM-tacular were sent home on Tuesday in Homework folders. I will be at Camp STEAM-tacular, as I am the director of the camp this year! I hope your child can join us!

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading-Students are learning strategies to comprehend a text. Now that we know lots of strategies to read unknown words, we are focusing on strategies to use if we don't understand (comprehend) what we are reading. Please ask your child about these strategies while they do their daily reading homework. 
• Writing-Students are continuing to learn how to write a friendly letter. 
• Math-We will begin to learn about fractions. We will complete our first timed test
• Word Study-Students will continue to practice their word study sorts at school and at home in preparation for their next word study assessment on Friday. 
• Science- We will finish learning about matter (solids, liquids, and gases) and begin to learn about force and motion. 

Your feedback is always welcome. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. 

Have a great weekend and don't forget that there is no school on Monday due to a teacher workday.