March 5

Student-led Conferences
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These conferences are led by students.  They will look different our Fall conferences.  Each conference will last about 30 minutes.  Students will be at the center of the conversation, guiding parents/guardians through an exhibition of their learning.  Students will focus this conference around highlights, successes, and goals.  We find that student-led conferences are a tremendous opportunity for students to be leaders in their education.  If you would like to meet for a traditional parent-teacher conference please email Curtis or Melissa and we can schedule a meeting outside of these conference dates.

Heart & Sole
Please see this link for information about this program.

WSAS Unit and Reading
We are continuing our study of Earth Systems.  Before vacation, we focused on the layers of the Earth and plate tectonics.  What delicious Earths we had!!  Now, we are studying more of the geosphere, the hydrosphere, and some of the atmosphere.  Your student has selected a disaster or phenomenon of one of the spheres to study in more depth.  The topics include: tsunamis, volcanoes, drought and wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, mountain building, and deep sea exploration. 

All students will be reading a non-fiction book regarding their phenomenon.  Some students will also be reading a fiction book that has the event in it (that is by choice).  The books are due to come in next Tuesday, and although they should be read at school, several students find it helpful to bring them home.  If your student brings home their book to read, please help them to bring it back to school, as we will be using them in class as well. 

In April, your student will be participating in a project in which they will need to model a phenomenon, and either explain, or create a design solution which reduces the impacts of weather related hazards.  More information will be coming out at that time.

Spelling
Students had been studying spelling with workbooks and Spelling City.  The enthusiasm for those has waned a bit.... We will be dedicating part of Friday's WSAS to spelling lessons, games, and class bees.  We have greatly improved our capitalization skills, but I'll be sure to throw some grammar into the mix then.  The rest of Friday WSAS is dedicated to free reading and free writing (or making up back work)