Campus News

Lower Division Newsletter

February 26, 2010

Junior Kindergarten

Language Arts

We will start a new theme, “Let’s

Move.” We will focus on the ways we
move and the way things move. We
will develop more of an awareness of
action words. To start our unit, we will
investigate ways to move our bodies.
Then we will have the children
describe their plans and movements.
We will also sing and practice the
Hokey Pokey! We will learn about our
Alpha friends, J and H. In handwriting
(HWT), we will learn Kk and Aa.

Social Studies

We will discuss interests, traditions,

and skills that make individuals and
families unique.

Science

We will continue to observe and journal our lima bean. We will also observe
the difference between the plant that is cared for and the plant that is not
and compare seeds. As we continue our theme of Characteristics of
Living Things, we will discuss animals and how they all have certain basic
needs and have different ways of meeting these needs.

Math

Students will review position words and times of the day. We will continue
to review our coins and shapes. We will also go over capacities and how to make equal groups.

Senior Kindergarten

Language Arts

One of my favorite stories for this month is the Rumble in the Jungle .The students will be sequencing and
retelling the story with cut-out shaped animals. Be on the lookout for it to be coming home with your child.
Students are working on decoding skills in their reading groups. Some of the most common strategies to
ensure success include: getting your mouth ready to make the sounds, looking for smaller words hiding
inside of bigger words, and using pictures to make sense of what is happening. Phonics lessons will focus
on long vowel sounds and brainstorming words that begin with /dr/ and /wh/. In writing, students will
continue with the traits of conventions, ideas, organization, and word choice. As they write each day we
will continue to improve vocabulary and add exciting details. We are
encouraging them to be creative with their word choice and not to settle for
the most common word. We will continue to talk about nouns, adjectives,
and verbs. The children are learning editing skills to evaluate and improve
their writing.

Social Studies

We will continue with our study of the seven continents and the animals that
live in the jungle. We will continue to read books about our animal friends
and the places in which they live.

Math

The children are having a great time using the clocks they made to tell time.
We are currently telling time by the hour and have introduced the half hour.
One of our activities will be to construct a glyph. A glyph is a non standard
way of graphing a variety of information to tell a story. It uses symbols to
represent different data. The creation of glyphs requires problem solving and
data organization. Our centers will reinforce the skills of addition, measuring,
counting money using pennies, counting backwards from 20, skip counting,
odd and even numbers, and tally marks. The children will begin subtraction
next week. Please go over the different coins and their amounts at home.
Our goal this month is for the children to name each coin and its amount.

Grade 1

Language Arts

In the next two weeks our reading strategies will continue to focus on comparing/contrasting,
comprehension check, and noting details while reading fiction and realistic fiction selections. Our phonics
and spelling will focus on vowel pairs ew, ue, ou, high frequency words, prefixes un and re, and plurals
with –es and –ies endings. We will also work on paragraph writing and adding juicy details to our
writing. Please continue to practice reading those high
frequency words.

Social Studies

We will wrap up our study of Black History month. Through

our reading selections, students have been amazed at the
courage and will power that so many important African
Americans had years ago when there were many unfair
laws.

Math

In the next two weeks, students will work on skip counting

by 2’s to 100, skip counting by 5’s to 100, identifying the
number that is 1 or 10 more and 1 or 10 less, and have
more practice with odd/even numbers.
Math vocabulary: ones, tens, regroup, greater than,
less than, before, after, between, and ordinal numbers, skip count, odd, even.
Science

We have started our unit on comparing and measuring. Students will pair up with a science partner, trace
their bodies on paper, compare each other’s heights, and use standard and non standard forms of
measurements such as rulers, yard sticks, and unifix cubes.

Grade 2

Language Arts

We have really enjoyed reading about some “Amazing Animals.” As we finish our theme we will connect
and compare literature and then focus on reading several different biographies. We will continue to
focus on reviewing reading strategies while developing story elements and retelling skills. The selections
will help us to connect and compare, draw conclusions, summarize, identify fantasy and realism, as well
as discuss cause and effect and fact and opinion. Our phonics and spelling
skills focus will include ar, or, ore, oa, ow and words with nd, nt, mp, ng,
nk, and endings –s, -es, -ies. Our writing experiences will center upon
developing good paragraphs with details, composing letters, writing
stories, and writing biographies. Our grammar will focus on nouns,
pronouns, and singular and plural possessive nouns.

Social Studies

We focused heavily on biographies in February. We will continue our

study of important people in our county. We will also begin to learn more
about United States symbols. Be sure to ask your second grader who they
have read about and what they know about that person.

Science

We will be starting our new unit of study, “Changes.” We will begin

by thinking about how things change and discuss changes that could
happen in solids, liquids, and gases. We will test, observe, and
describe changes in water experiments. We will explore separating
solids and liquids, have dissolving races, and attempt to change salt
water to crystals.

Math

We continue to practice regrouping when adding. We will continue

to develop our skills of subtracting two-digit numbers from two-digit
numbers using regrouping. A new strategy we will learn will be
using addition to check subtraction. Then, we will begin focusing on
money by skip counting and counting on to find the value of a set of coins, using pennies, nickels, dimes,
quarters, and half dollars. We always continue to practice problem solving and our math facts.

Grade 3

Third grade welcomes two new students: Hannah and Evan. We’re so glad to have them in our class!

Language Arts
Students are thoroughly involved in learning about
people they have never heard about, as well as
learning new information about people they are
familiar with. Students are reading, taking notes,
writing chapter summaries and sharing information
with others. We will continue with this process
through the coming weeks.

Social Studies

As part of our study of Florida, we were able to

enjoy a field trip to The Florida Pioneer Museum in
Dade City. Be sure to ask your child to tell you
about their experience, especially their favorite
part. ☺ Third grade has gone
above and beyond with their
commitment to learn and
participate in the study of the early
Floridians. We are very impressed.

Science

There’s lots of excitement in

science class. Your child will be
researching and making a model
of a famous rock or monument. I
must say everyone was eager and
excited to begin. Your child
should have their particular rock or
monument and all the information
needed to complete the project. I
will be distributing the boards next
week. My advice to the students
is to plan before gluing! I will be
giving them guidelines and
benchmarks to help with time
management. In class we will be
studying the three classes of
rocks. Warmer weather should be
right around the corner, right?
When it gets here, we’ll be back in
the garden.

Math

As we continue to use
multiplication facts in class for our division unit, it appears that many have reached a plateau in their
commitment to study the facts each night. However, continued practice will reap huge benefits and
much satisfaction for those who persevere! Please, please, please help your child make this practice a
standard part of the daily routine. In preparation for our next test in division we will continue with drills
and strategies to help with the more challenging word problems.

Grade 4
Language Arts

The students are using the information they

learned from their biographies to compose
odes. They are also writing beautiful poetry to
be unveiled on Grandparents’ Day. In
Grammar, we plan to spend a week reviewing
our lessons on pronouns before assessing the
last week of quarter 3. As our vocabulary
words and exercises become more challenging,
I am reminding students to spend some extra
time studying. Students would benefit by going
on the website
http://www.wordlywise3000.com/ . Click on
students, choose Book 3, and select the
current lesson of study. It includes definitions
of each lesson and a choice of interactive
games to help students learn their meanings and applications.

Social Studies

We will spend time reviewing the geography, early history, and growth of the northeast region of the
United States. We will also practice reading a time line and deciding if a source of information is primary
or secondary. Our assessment will take place the second week of March.

Science

My room has been buzzing, beeping, and emitting siren like noises. We even had Mr. Raul convinced
that our fire alarm was tripped! Although all of these noises signaled that a successful circuit had been
wired, we collectively decided that we needed to add an additional component to our Buzz Boxes -
SWITCHES! We will complete these scientific masterpieces and showcase them for the grandparents
who will be visiting soon. Students will be permitted to bring them home at the end of the quarter.

Math

We are continuing our study of fractions which will take us to the end of the third quarter. To make
sense of these new concepts, students are required to synthesize their knowledge of factors, multiples,
multiplication, and division, in addition to comprehending the math vocabulary and deciphering what the
problem is asking them to do. I am so proud of their hard work! A recent recommendation of a good
website to practice math concepts is http://www.ixl.com/. Thank you Ms. Fowler!

The Giraffe Club would like to thank all the Academy friends
who donated money on Jeans Day. The money collected
will be going to UNICEF to help the victims in Haiti.

Scholastic Book Fair starts on March 8, 2010. Grandparents can have

fun browsing through the great books with their grandchildren. Books
purchased may be dedicated to grandchild(ren).
House Day Was Really Cold, But So Much Fun!!
 Upcoming Events…..

February 27, 2010

Academy competes in Odyssey of the Mind

March 5 and 6, 2010

All School Production – Wesley Chapel Center

March 8, 2010
Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day – 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (see
schedule below)
Book Fair starts

March 10, 2010

JK hosts assembly – dress uniforms – 2:30 p.m.

March 11, 2010

End of third quarter

March 12, 2010

No classes – Professional Day

March 17, 2010

Grade 3 hosts assembly – dress uniforms – 2:30 p.m.

March 19, 2010

Report cards go home

Schedule for Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day on March 8, 2010

8:30 AM Arrival
Grandparents and special friends may begin to arrive and proceed to the gym at McCormick Campus, where they
will register and receive name tags. Parking is available at both campuses, and shuttle buses will be running
continuously until 1:00 p.m.
9:00 AM Student Performance
Students in JK through Grade 12 will perform a variety of numbers. At the end of the performance, Lower Division
students will return to Wendlek Campus.
10:00 AM-Lunch Classroom Visits
Grandparents visit with their Lower Division grandchildren in their classrooms. Grandparents will have the
opportunity to have pictures taken with their grandchildren during this time. Those who ordered pictures will be
directed by school personnel at their scheduled time. Please fill out the attached form if you wish to order pictures.
Lunch
Twila Gonzalez will call Junior and Senior Kindergarten students and their grandparents and special friends to lunch
at 10:50 a.m. First and second grade will be called at approximately 11:20 a.m. followed by third and fourth grade
at approximately 11:50 a.m. The staggered lunch is designed to alleviate any long lines. Please wait to be called
before going to lunch. Older siblings may join younger siblings during their allotted lunch time in order to keep
families together. Middle and Upper Division students are also welcome to join their younger siblings and
grandparents for lunch. Lunch will be a buffet. Please fill out the attached lunch form and turn it in to Twila if a
lunch is being ordered. Tables and chairs will be set up in the following areas: the garden, first grade deck, and
basketball court.
12:30 P.M. Classes Resume
Grandparents may leave with their grandchildren as long as a letter has been provided and turned in to Twila.
Grandparents who are taking their grandchildren MUST sign out at the front office building.
All Day Book Fair (Kretzinger Library, Lower Division)
Grandparents may purchase a book for their grandchild and write a dedication that will be placed in this
specially-selected book.