Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!

Happy Friday! It is hard to believe we have made it to Spring Break! Before we have a week off of school, here is your weekly update.

Spring Break Reading Incentive:
The kids have made a "Bucket List" Spring Break reading incentive. If they complete and return the signed bucket list on Monday, April 22nd, they will earn 5 puma paws as a reward. :)

Field Trip:
We are excited for our field trip to Leesburg Animal Park on Thursday, April 25th. Please watch the weather and help your child dress appropriately and comfortably. Your child should wear sneakers, and pack a disposable lunch. Sunscreen and/or bug spray should be applied at home. We are unable to apply these things at school.

First Grade Music Program:
The students have begun to practice for our First Grade International Music Program, which will be on Tuesday, May 14th at 8:30 a.m. in the Pinebrook gym. Please mark your calendar!

Project Based Learning Update:
Our class has started a learning project called "The Great Crayon Rescue." We are exploring ways to reduce the number of crayons that end up in landfills each year by reusing or recycling our old crayons. The kids are loving this project. Please ask your child about it!

End of the Year Literacy Assessments:
I can't believe I'm about to type this, but I am...Our end-of-the-year literacy assessments will begin in May. This means we are at the most critical part of our whole instructional year, as we make our final push toward our testing dates. Please be sure your child is reading every day...weekend included. Your child should read out loud to practice decoding and fluency, and then retelling the story in sequence using character names and providing as many details as possible without prompting. 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 in the story and provide details as to why that is their favorite part. I truly cannot overstate the importance of your child not only reading everyday, but also discussing what they have read.

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 7561119. You will prompted through the order and payment process. The deadline to order a yearbook is April 28th. You must pre-order a yearbook if you would like your child to receive one.

Focus Areas for the Week 4/22-4/26:

• Reading- We will continue our reading unit, "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons"
• Writing- We will continue our narrative writing unit. We will continue to focus on editing our writing for mechanics, punctuation, and proper sight word spelling. 
• Math- We will continue our Time unit. We will practice telling time to the hour and half hour and learn about elapsed time. 
• Science and Social Studies- We will continue our project based learning unit in which we think of ways to impact the environment by reducing the number of crayons that we throw away each year.

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

I hope that you all have a wonderful spring break and have safe travels! I will be staying in VA this year and I'm going to get a head start on my spring cleaning and taking time to relax. I'll miss the kiddos and can't wait to hear all about their adventures when they return! :)