Campus News

Lower Division Newsletter

November 6, 2009

Junior Kindergarten

Language Arts

We will begin our theme on the seasons and

discuss weather throughout the year.
Children will learn about nature and read
stories about animals and plants. The
students will continue to work on color
words, adding brown to our previously
studied color words. We will learn new
Alpha friends, Y and W. In handwriting
(HWT), we will learn the letters, Cc and Oo.

Social Studies

We will talk about the proper attire for

different weather conditions. We will also
discuss the importance of celebrations.

Science

Students will do a variety of experiments that focus on the sense of sight and look at how objects differ
when far and near. Children will also learn to categorize objects by shape, size, color, and texture.

Math

Students will learn about the order of things. Vocabulary words will include first and last, as well as
position words. Children will also work on
sets of 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Senior Kindergarten

Language Arts

The children will read the story, The Very

First Thanksgiving. They will review the
story elements of character, setting,
events, and problems. The reading
strategy will emphasize the use of picture
clues, trying to sound out words, and
checking to see if words make sense in a
story. They will also work on rhyming
words, CVC patterns, and review the
vowels a, e, and i. We will introduce the
letter Oo. Handwriting practice will focus on first and last names, proper spacing, and letter formation of
Ee, Ll and Yy. The children are now working on developing their organization skills as well as expanding
their writing ideas when writing. We are so
proud of our great young authors!

Science

Our Pumpkin Math and Science was a HUGE

success. Thank you to our dads, Mr. Riley, Mr.
Reed, and Mr. Rodriguez. They were a great
help, and the children really enjoyed it. The
children will continue in their efforts to “think
like scientists” while questioning, investigating,
predicting, and discovering. The students will
study the four seasons and Thanksgiving.

Math

Our focus this week is on: counting to 20, counting backwards from 20, identifying odd and even
numbers to 20, making tally marks to 20, simple addition to 10, measuring using non–standard units of
measurement, graphing, and using same, more, and less in our thinking.

Virtues

The children will read stories such as “The Most Thankful Thing” to discuss the virtue of thankfulness.

Grade 1

Language Arts

We will continue to work on story elements including comparing and contrasting using a Venn diagram.
The children will review plot, setting, main characters, and main idea. Please continue to read with your
child and review the high frequency words each evening. We will continue to emphasize sentence
conventions such as beginning with a capital letter and ending with punctuation. The children are
grasping the concepts of nouns
and verbs. We will continue to
stress the importance of having
nouns and verbs in our sentences
as we write. Vowel patterns and
digraphs will be reviewed. We will
also introduce homophones.

Social Studies

Our emphasis this period will be on

learning about the pilgrims and
Native Americans and how they
learned to get along with each
other. Our virtue, thankfulness,
will be a significant part of our
lessons.
Math

The children need to learn addition and subtraction facts to 10. As a part of our math routine, we will
have daily timed tests. Please review at least 2 times a week. Our emphasis for the next two weeks will
be on mastering subtraction concepts in word problems.

Grade 2

Language Arts

We will finish our reading theme “Nature Walk” by

connecting and comparing realistic fiction and
nonfiction stories and then focus on fables in
literature. As we read these selections we will
monitor/clarify, categorize and classify, compare and
contrast, predict and infer, and discuss fact and
opinion. Our phonics and spelling skills will focus on
long vowels o, u, e with final e words, two sounds
for g, two sounds for c, and /k/ spelled ck and k.
Our writing will focus on creating a complete
paragraph and adding details to our writing, writing
complete sentences, and writing a fable. Our
grammar will focus on nouns, verbs, exclamation
points, question marks, and periods.

Social Studies

We will continue to focus on the concept of a community by looking at Native American tribes. The
children are discovering things about Native
Americans and communities long ago as we read
The Magic Tree House book, Thanksgiving on
Thursday. We are also reading books about the first
Thanksgiving.

Science

The students will begin an inquiry about soils as we

begin our second science unit. We will discuss what
soil is and where dead plants go, as well as
investigate sand, clay, and humus. Now that the
weather is better for gardening, we will be sprucing
up the butterfly garden and identifying the plants in
the garden. We hope to discover different kinds of
butterflies and which plants they like best.

Math

The students have gained a better understanding of place value. We will continue to focus on place
value, the order of two-digit numbers to 100, ordinal numbers, and repeating and growing patterns. We
will then begin our next unit on geometry and fractions and focus on identifying, classifying, and
describing plane shapes. The students will continue to practice problem solving skills and addition and
subtraction facts.
Grade 3

Language Arts

Students are enjoying reading their chapter books. They are working on applying the skills of prediction,
understanding cause and effect, identifying
problem and solution, and understanding
character analysis and inference.
As it turns out, third grade is a very
imaginative group, and they are writing
amazing fictional narratives. Students are
learning to organize their writing into a
logical sequence with a beginning that
grabs the reader and an ending that leaves
the reader satisfied. We will be moving
from fictional narratives where the author is
telling a personal story to story writing that
can be told from another point of view. This
group loves writing fiction!

Social Studies

Third grade really enjoyed locating the major cities and other points of interest on the AAA map. They
then transferred that information to their own state map. Our next activity will be to locate springs in
Florida and answer questions utilizing their understanding of cardinal directions and the location of major
cities in Florida. They will also be learning how springs are formed. This is in preparation for our
December field trip to Crystal Springs Preserve.

Science

Students are very excited about their first

project. I can’t wait to see their finished
product. Our plant and flower unit will come
full circle as we complete our study with the
flower’s production of seed and then seed
travel.
Our garden is providing so much enjoyment.
We have lunch next to the garden and observe
the changes and growth daily. Passersby
always comment on how beautiful it is. We
have to agree!

Math

We were very impressed with the students’

performance on their addition chapter test.
They will be using those same skills and quick
recall to solve subtraction problems. We are
working very hard to encourage students to use strategies rather than rely on counting when adding and
subtracting.
The subtraction lessons include subtraction without and with regrouping from the tens to the thousands
place. They also include the very challenging lessons of subtraction across zero.
Grade 4

Language Arts

The November book projects have been

assigned. The students will organize their
story elements on a turkey’s tail feathers. I am
pleased with the way these creative projects
are encouraging the students to read. Reading
groups are a highlight of the day. Kate
DiCamillo’s literature is chock full of interesting
vocabulary and meaningful plots that challenge
us as readers and inspire us as writers. The
students are in the final editing stages of their
short stories, Veteran’s Day writing projects
and free verse poems. Our next writing
endeavors are persuasive essays and diamante
poems. In grammar, we will begin our unit on
the study of all types of verbs.

Social Studies

We will begin our next chapter that focuses on the

American people. We will discuss culture, patriotism,
and immigration.

Science

Our focus this quarter is on Animal Studies. We have

begun to conduct research on the habitats of aquatic,
land, and amphibian animals. We plan to set up a
classroom habitat for our first animal of study,
guppies! Prepare yourselves; the persuasive essays
the students work on in writing may just convince you
that a guppy makes the perfect pet.

Math

We have begun Algebra! The students are like little detectives solving for “n”. They have such a great
attitude, and I am very proud of their enthusiasm and dedication. We are continuing our Mad Minute
quizzes on Fridays. Have they told you that the first student to correctly answer 30 facts in a minute will
share a Sonic snack with me after school?

Helping Hands Food Drive

The Giraffe Club is collecting different foods for Helping Hands, a local food bank.

November 3 – 6 Cans of fruit and vegetables

November 9 – 13 Dry cereals and soups
November 16 – 20 Cake mixes, frosting, and pasta
Library Spotlight

Jane Wood, a Florida author, will be visiting in January. If you

wish to order her books and have them autographed, please
return the order form in the Friday Folders before the
Thanksgiving Break.

Did You Know….

Our Lower Division has a team of cheerleaders who are just

awesome! They performed at the pep rally and had everyone
cheering.

Halloween is always a fun-filled day of celebration at Academy at

the Lakes. The day starts with the traditional parade of costumes
followed by trick-or-treating through the classrooms on both
Wendlek and McCormick Campuses. Fourth grade enjoys the
traditional Monster Mash haunted house that is completely created
by the hard-working fourth grade parents. All other classes
celebrate in their classrooms in a variety of ways, including the
carving of pumpkins. The day before the parade is the annual
Pumpkin Decorating Contest. Each year we are amazed by the
number of extremely creative entries! This year was no exception!
Upcoming Events…..

November 7, 2009
Dillard’s Fashion Show – 2:00 p.m. at Wiregrass
November 9, 2009
JK Parent Conference Day

November 10, 2009

SK Parent Conference Day
Grade 1 to Homosassa Springs – regular uniforms – 8:45 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

November 11, 2009

All School Assembly for Veteran’s Day 10:30 – 11:15 a.m. in McCormick Gym – dress uniforms

November 12, 2009

Grade 1 Parent Conference Day

November 13, 2009

Grade 2 Parent Conference Day
Grade 4 to Plant Museum – dress uniforms – 9:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

November 14, 2009

Wildcat Jamboree – McCormick Campus – 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

November 16, 2009

Grade 3 Parent Conference Day

November 17, 2009

Grade 4 Parent Conference Day
JK in-house science field trip – regular uniforms - 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

November 18, 2009

SK hosts assembly – 2:30 p.m.

November 19, 2009

Sonic Family Night – 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Grade 2 to the Pioneer Museum – dress uniforms – 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

November 20, 2009

No classes – Professional Day

Miss Sandy Bakes Miss

Twila’s Birthday Cake

Our one and only Miss Twila

celebrated her birthday recently.
Miss Sandy surprised us all by
baking a very professional cake!
Not only was it beautiful, it was
absolutely delicious.