Weekly Update, February 28th, 2016

I hope the kids enjoyed spirit week as much as I did last week!

**If you are unsure if you still owe money for the Williamsburg Field Trip, please send me an email!**

The upcoming week in academia...

Science: Part 1 of the Electricity Unit Test will be on Thursday, March 3rd.  The test will cover: conductors vs. insulators (students should know the difference and examples of each); circuits (open, closed, parallel, and series); and static electricity.  Students should use their notebooks to study as well as solpass.org and their study guide.

VA Studies: Before starting the Civil War Unit, I want students to finish their American Revolution Projects so I will be spending VA studies time for science to review electricity concepts.

Writing: Students will receive new word study words Monday, and are expected to complete an assignment each night.  The assignments are listed in their notebook.  Students  have been practicing research and note-taking skills throughout their American Revolution project, as well as in their OTTW project.  I will display the OTTW projects on the blog as soon as they are all done!

Reading: The research project is all consuming and students have learned to synthesize between texts and find credible sources.  This week we will differentiate between primary and secondary sources.   The class has done a phenomenal job getting ready for the Read-A-Thon, thank you for your support!

My nephew pausing to think about what he just read.

ASSIGNMENTS FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 1ST:
*Word Study
*Scholastic News Weekly Reader - Questions 1-10  on the back AND both sides of the worksheet
*Reflex Math if no 100% fluent (if you don't know, email me and I'll tell you his or her fluency)
*READ READ READ READ READ READ READ READ READ!

IMPORTANT DATES: 

February 29th: The Read-a-Thon officially begins!!!!  

March:

Tuesday, March 1st: NO SCHOOL DUE TO THE PRIMARY ELECTION

Thursday, March 3rd: Spring Photos

 March 7th to 11th: Scholastic Book Fair

Tuesday, March 8th, 3:00 - 6:00 pm: Family Night at the Book Fair (I'll be there from 4-5)

Tuesday, March 8th, 6:30 pm:  PTA Fine Arts and Cultures Night (I'll be there!)

Wednesday, March 9th:  3rd Quarter Interim Progress Reports Go Home

Monday, March 14th - 18th: LAST WILLIAMSBURG MONEY COLLECTION WINDOW!

Monday, March 14th, 6:30 pm:  PTA General Meeting in the Library at School

Monday, March 21st - Friday, March 25th:  Spring Break

Lastly, because this is a Leap Year, each grade is putting something in a Pinebrook Time Capsule that will be opened in 2020.  Each fourth grade class took a photograph of students with the book they are currently reading.  Will the fourth graders of 2020 still be reading the same books???

Read-A-Thon Update

Read-a-Thon Update:  As a member of Pinebrook's Language Arts Committee, I am a huge supporter of the first Read-a-Thon!  As an extra incentive, I told the class that the student who raised the most money would earn a special afternoon with ME!  (Seriously?  She thinks she's a prize?    Hey, I'm shameless when it comes for raising money for a good cause.)  The student who earns the most money for the Read-A-Thon can choose how they want to spend the afternoon (within reason - I'm not flying anyone to Disney!)  Suggestions I gave were - frozen yogurt, go out to a movie, bowling, trip to the zoo, lunch at a favorite restaurant - I'm game!

In recognizing that it's not all about the money, I will also have a special reward for the student who actually READS the most.  That student and I will pick out a fun reward together too!  

If your child has not already created his or her page, please have him or her do so tonight.  Even if your child does not fundraise, he or she can still track how much reading is done!  

Read-A-Thon

Please see your child's homework folder for information about the Read-A-Thon!  Students need to visit the website http://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/

and enter the secret code on their personalized flyer.  They do earn a prize for just setting up their homepage.  Students are expected to log a minimum of 20 minutes nightly (Monday - Thursday) for their regular reading homework, and we will be logging time IN CLASS as well which is counted toward their reading sessions.  

Please note that donations are a one-time, lump-sum - donations are not based on the amount of time read or number of sessions completed.  

We sincerely appreciate all the donations you can gather for this NECESSARY AND WORTH-WHILE fundraiser!!!  

Vocabulary Assignments for this Week

Students were given eight new vocabulary words and definitions today.  They are:

electricity	A form of energy made by electrons
current electricity	The flow of free electrons along a pathway such as a wire
static electricity	Electrons that do not flow, but build up on a material
circuit	The pathway on which current travels
insulators	Materials that do not allow electricity to flow
conductors	Materials that allow electrical currents to pass more easily
magnetism	A force that can attract or repel certain substances
electromagnet	A magnet created by the flow of electric current

Their assignments for this week are as follows:

Monday - Illustrate and label all eight words

Tuesday - Write four complete sentences using four vocabulary words.  The sentences may not be definitions, and must demonstrate that you know what the word means.

Wednesday - Same assignment as Tuesday, with the remaining four words you didn't already use.

Thursday - Study and have your parents quiz you on the words

FRIDAY - Vocabulary QUIZ!

Which of my students said the following today:
"Ms. Akbar, don't eat that cookie or else you won't fit in your wedding dress!"  

I ate the cookie.  

Weekly Update, Sunday, February 21st, 2016

I think we may be entering our first full week of school in weeks!
  
REMINDERS:
1)  I need all signed report cards tomorrow with the envelope if your child hasn't already turned it in!
2) This is a Williamsburg Field Trip Payment Collection week!

SPIRIT WEEK STARTS TOMORROW!

Monday: Wear Pinebrook Colors or Gear

-Maroon, Navy, or any Pinebrook gear

Tuesday: Twin Day

-pick a friend and dress alike

Wednesday: Wacky Wear and Wacky Hair

-wear wacky clothes, hair or both

Thursday: Throw backwards

-Choose a decade or wear your clothes backwards

Friday: Dress like it’s Saturday

-wear your comfy clothes

This week in academia:

Virginia Studies: The New Nation unit test will be Wednesday, February 24th.  Students completed study guides last week in class, and they should use their notebooks and solpass.org to prepare.  The VA Studies Weekly is due Tuesday, February 23rd.  

Science: We've been incorporating our unit on electricity with our new One-to-the-World project, hopefully your child has filled you in!  Students are working in groups to create a small poster that will be hung around a light switch in a prominent Pinebrook location.  Student groups are responsible for Persuading, Informing, and Entertaining their specific audience.  Students will mainly be assessed on their group-work skills, oral communication skills, and ability to persuade, inform, and entertain through a written message.

Language Arts: Instead of Word Study this week, students will have science vocabulary words related to electricity.  There will be a vocabulary quiz on Friday, February 26th.  There is NO Word Study this week.

Reading: Students are working in groups on their new research project relating to a Revolutionary War or New Nation topic.  As usual, students are expected to read for 20 minutes nightly and record their reading in their reading logs.  Information regarding the first Pinebrook Read-A-Thon will come home tomorrow!!!  

IMPORTANT DATES: 

Monday February 22nd - 26th: WILLIAMSBURG MONEY COLLECTION WINDOW!

February 29th: The Read-a-Thon begins!!!!  

March:

Tuesday, March 1st: AS OF RIGHT NOW, THERE IS A TWO-HOUR DELAY due to the Virginia Presidential Primary Election

Thursday, March 3rd: Spring Photos

Monday, March 8th, 6:30 pm:  PTA Fine Arts and Cultures Night

Wednesday, March 9th:  3rd Quarter Interim Progress Reports Go Home

Monday, March 14th - 18th: LAST WILLIAMSBURG MONEY COLLECTION WINDOW!

Monday, March 14th, 6:30 pm:  PTA General Meeting in the Library at School

Monday, March 21st - Friday, March 25th:  Spring Break

Mid-week Update - February 17th, 2016

The students are watching me as I type this blog post. This way they'll know that I let their parents know that I am postponing the New Nation Unit Test until Wednesday of next week.  There is a new VA Studies Weekly Newspaper in their homework folder, it will be due Tuesday of next week, but they can work on it before then if they want to, it will help them study for the test.  We are also completing a study guide in class that should help them study too.

Please send all signed report cards and the envelope back tomorrow if you have not already done so.  

Lastly, tomorrow is a Monday schedule and next week is Spirit Week.

Ask your child about our new One to the World project ;)   Today we learned about using memes as a way to persuade the reader to do something...  here's a meme that the kids particularly liked:

Weekly Update, February 15th, 2016

Happy President's Day!

(Last year's photos of my nephew on President's Day!)

Are we going to have another snow day tomorrow?

A big thank you to Kim Sullivan, Mikey's mom, who arranged a delicious and fun Valentine's Day Party!  Students had fun exchanging Valentine's Day cards, looking at each other's homemade boxes, playing "stack the candy hearts," devouring chocolate covered strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, and pretzels, and trying to get an Oreo cookie from their forehead to their mouth without their hands!  Thank you Kim for also setting a great example to the class with your "Count the Change" guessing game and donating over $8 to the Pennies for Patients cause! Thank you to Priscilla Quesada, Santiago's mom, for the photos!  I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day yesterday and stayed warm!

Please sign the bottom portion of your child's report card and have him or her return it WITH the envelope tomorrow! 

This week in...
Virginia Studies: The unit test for the New Nation unit will be on Thursday, February 18th, regardless if we have a snow day tomorrow.  The unit was fairly short, and the test will cover the contributions of George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and George Mason.  Students should review the three notepages in their VA Studies notebook, as well as the foldable we made that compares and contrasts the differences between the VA Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute of Religious freedom.  Students also need to know about America's migration west.  Students should have their VA Studies notebook in their backpacks, they packed them in their bags on Friday in case of snow!  As always, please use the study guide on www.solpass.org!

Reading: We will begin our next unit on researching nonfiction and students will work in small groups on a new research project relating to the American Revolution. Students enjoyed reading and being read to by their first grade buddies on Friday, how does your child enjoy working with the first graders?  Homework this week is to read for 20 minutes nightly and record the minutes and pages on the reading log.

Writing: Students are expected to complete all 8 assignments given last Monday.  The Word Study Test is on Friday, February 19th.  Students will also work on organizing notes on their nonfiction topic, as well as summarizing nonfiction.  

Science: Students will recognize the differences between heat, mechanical, and light energy.  We will also begin to build circuits if time allows this week!

Important Dates:
Pennies for Patients continues through this week!
Monday, February 15th:  Presidents' Day - No school
Monday, February 15th:  Random Acts of Kindness Week Begins
Thursday, February 16th, 7:00 pm:  Elementary Gifted Information Session at Buffalo Trail Elementary School
Thursday, February 18th: Monday Schedule
Friday, February 19th: 
   Box Tops and Labels for Education Collection
    8:40 AM Principal's List Assembly  in the cafeteria
    6:30 pm - 8:00 pm:  Someone Special Dance 
Monday February 22nd - 26th: WILLIAMSBURG MONEY COLLECTION WINDOW!

Monday, February 22nd:  Spirit Week Begins:

  Monday:  Wear Pinebrook Gear

  Tuesday:  Twin Day

  Wednesday:  Wacky Wear / Wacky Hair Day

  Thursday:  Throwback or Backwards Day

  Friday:  Dress Like It's Saturday

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2:35 - 4:00 pm:  Jump Rope for Heart (Grades 1 & 2) in the gym at school

March:

Tuesday, March 1st: Virginia Presidential Primary Election

Thursday, March 3rd: Spring Photos

Monday, March 8th, 6:30 pm:  PTA Fine Arts and Cultures Night

Wednesday, March 9th:  3rd Quarter Interim Progress Reports Go Home

Monday, March 14th - 18th: LAST WILLIAMSBURG MONEY COLLECTION WINDOW!

Monday, March 14th, 6:30 pm:  PTA General Meeting in the Library at School

Monday, March 21st - Friday, March 25th:  Spring Break

Pennies for Patients:

What: Pennies for Patients is a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Pinebrook community will be raising funds. 

Where: Our classroom and school. Students may bring in money and deposit in our classroom collection box, they will be given their own box to collect donations tomorrow.

When: Feb 8^th-26th. 

Why: It is a service learning, character education and philanthropy program that gives students a unique experience by making a difference through teamwork—working together to aid thousands of children and adults in the fight against blood cancers like leukemia.

Dates to remember:

Monday Feb 8^th- P4P begins. Students will take home information and their own box!

http://events.lls.org/pages/nca/PinebrookElementarySchool

Our Goal is $3000.00 I am sure we reach it with your help and encouragement! We raised $2,700 last year, we know we can reach $3,000.

Weekly Update, Sunday, February 7th, 2016

My sincere apologies for the late post, the little guy below kept me busy all day!

I never stop teaching history!

Third quarter begins tomorrow which means your kiddos are officially halfway through fourth grade!  I've loved watching them develop reading and writing skills since the beginning of the year, take an interest in Virginia history (yes, I've stopped taxing them), and watch them teach what they know about science to first graders.  Thank you for your continued support at home and ensuring they completed the Snow Day assignments.  
In the event we have more snow days, their only homework will be:
1. Read 30 minutes
2. Reflex Math if they are not 100% fluent
3. 2 games on solpass.org for the current unit of VA Studies we are on and 2 games on solpass.org for the current unit of science we are on.
4. Give you a bear hug.  

Focus for the week:
Reading: We finished Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library last week, and focused on small details that the author includes.  This week we will continue to look closely at how characters develop and differentiating between fact and opinion.
Language Arts: Students will receive new word study words tomorrow, the Word Study test will be Friday, February 19th.
***I will be giving out a new list of Word Study assignments tomorrow, students will no longer be required to accumulate 200 points of assignments, but will be expected to do one assignment each night.  If students know ahead of time that a particular day of the week is busy due to other obligations like sports practice or family events, please have them complete assignments ahead of time.***
Math: Please make sure your child is going on Reflex Math two times a week unless told otherwise by your child's math teacher.
VA Studies: Students did very well on the American Revolution Unit Test!  We will begin to learn about the Founding Fathers this week.  Students will have a quiz on Thursday, February 11th, and their VA Studies Weekly Newspapers are due Thursday as well.
Science: We will begin our unit on electricity this week!  


Important Dates:
Monday, February 8th:  Pennies for Patients Campaign Begin (More information at the bottom of this post!)
Monday, February 8th, 6:30 pm:  PTA General Meeting in the Library at school
Tuesday, February 9th, 6:30 pm: 5th Grade Play at John Champe High School
Wednesday, February 10th, 11:00 - 12:00: Valentine's Day Party!
Friday, February 12th:  2nd Quarter Report Cards Go Home
Monday, February 15th:  Presidents' Day - No school
Monday, February 15th:  Random Acts of Kindness Week Begins
Thursday, February 16th, 7:00 pm:  Elementary Gifted Information Session at Buffalo Trail Elementary School
Thursday, February 18th: Monday Schedule
Friday, February 19th: Principal's List Assembly (I will send out a time when I have one, it's definitely in the morning!)
Friday, February 19th, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm:  Someone Special Dance 
Monday February 22nd - 26th: WILLIAMSBURG MONEY COLLECTION WINDOW!

Monday, February 22nd:  Spirit Week Begins:

  Monday:  Wear Pinebrook Gear

  Tuesday:  Twin Day

  Wednesday:  Wacky Wear / Wacky Hair Day

  Thursday:  Throwback or Backwards Day

  Friday:  Dress Like It's Saturday

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2:35 - 4:00 pm:  Jump Rope for Heart (Grades 1 & 2) in the gym at school

March:

Tuesday, March 1st: Virginia Presidential Primary Election

Thursday, March 3rd: Spring Photos

Monday, March 8th, 6:30 pm:  PTA Fine Arts and Cultures Night

Wednesday, March 9th:  3rd Quarter Interim Progress Reports Go Home

Monday, March 14th - 18th: LAST WILLIAMSBURG MONEY COLLECTION WINDOW!

Monday, March 14th, 6:30 pm:  PTA General Meeting in the Library at School

Monday, March 21st - Friday, March 25th:  Spring Break

Pennies for Patients:

What: Pennies for Patients is a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Pinebrook community will be raising funds. 

Where: Our classroom and school. Students may bring in money and deposit in our classroom collection box, they will be given their own box to collect donations tomorrow.

When: Feb 8^th-26th. 

Why: It is a service learning, character education and philanthropy program that gives students a unique experience by making a difference through teamwork—working together to aid thousands of children and adults in the fight against blood cancers like leukemia.

Dates to remember:

Monday Feb 8^th- P4P begins. Students will take home information and their own box!

http://events.lls.org/pages/nca/PinebrookElementarySchool

Our Goal is $3000.00 I am sure we reach it with your help and encouragement! We raised $2,700 last year, we know we can reach $3,000.