Next Week

We have Monday off due to Memorial Day.
On Tuesday, students will have a math quiz on multiplying and dividing decimals. Many of the problems will be in story form.
We are getting closer to performing our play and will have two visits from Scott, the teaching artist, along with an excursion to the Imagination Playground to watch a rehearsal of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The workshops will be on Tuesday and Wednesday and the excursion will be on Friday.
We will also visit the school garden on Tuesday to check in on the plants growing there. This is part of our school wide green initiative.
We will also have grade level PE, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday.

Poetry Night

Please note that Poetry Night is Thursday, June 3 at 6 pm. A notice went out yesterday that said it was on June 4 but that should have been changed. If your child is interested in reading a poem that night please return the tear off at the bottom of that notice.

Green Progress Report

I apologize for not writing out the progress reports today for children with names L to R. With the trip and Shakespeare, there wasn't any time, but I will have them done on Monday. Thank you for your understanding.

Next Week

The class will take the NYS Science Manipulatives test on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. This test is a series of tasks tests your child's ability to conduct a science experiment. They will be asked to read directions, measure and record data. Each child will be tested on a rotating basis and some children will be tested on Tuesday while the rest are tested on Wednesday. This test does not factor into promotional criteria but is included in your child's testing history. The written exam is scheduled for Monday, June 7.

On Tuesday evening, there will also be a recorder concert at 5:45 pm. If your child has not sent in the tear off indicating whether s/he will be attending, please send a note in by Monday.

Wyckoff Farmhouse!

The trip to the oldest house in Brooklyn was wonderful! The children learned a lot about colonial Brooklyn and interacted with some interesting artifacts. Each child also received a free pass to return to the Farmhouse with up to six family members!
We want to thank our chaperones Mrs. Klot, Mrs. Carmody, Mrs. Spezio, Mrs. Tortorelli, Mrs. Manzano, Ms. Beirne and Ms. Decoteau for their assistance.

Percent Quiz!

We will have a quiz on our work with percentages from Unit 9 this Thursday. As usual, there will be a study sheet for review given tomorrow.

The Answer is...

Fifty percent of 40 questions would be 20 questions! Nice work!

Coming this week...

Tuesday will be the day of our last excursion to the Armory. Please make sure your child comes prepared with sneakers. Friday will be the day we finally visit Wyckoff Farmhouse. Our class is scheduled for a session of colonial toys and writing with quills :) Should be fun!

Shakespeare Costumes

Today's Parents as Enrichment Partners was fantastic! It was great seeing the turnout with so many parents, along with an aunt and a grandmother! The kids had a memorable time making the costumes.

The costumes are almost dried and some children will work further to decorate them. By next Friday, we will send some costumes to our volunteers for additional sewing.

Our talented volunteers are Mrs. Mc Clintock, Mrs. Rao- Herel, Mrs. Klot, Mrs. Chinchilla, Mrs. Tunitsky, Ms. Johnson, Mrs. Richardson, Mrs. Carmody, Mrs. Manzano, Mrs. Wojno and Mrs. Noda, who also brought in some beautiful fabrics to use. There are also many volunteers who were unable to attend the meetings but have offered to help finish the costumes. Thank you all for contributing your time, money. materials and support in this project!

On another note, we have four volunteers in the Set Dressing Committee and it would be great to have more helpers. Please let me know if you are interested as the teachers are compiling a list of volunteers.

Shakespeare Volunteers

So far we have eight parents coming in on Parents as Enrichment Partners to help the children sew togas. Four parents have volunteered to work on the committees to help support the play and one parent has offered to be an usher. Again, we are grateful for any help and look forward to sharing this experience with you!

Golden Trash Can Award

We are the proud recipients of the Golden Trash Can award! This honors the children's efforts in recycling at the classroom. Kudos to all!

Parents as Enrichment Partners

This Friday's session will be focused on creating costumes for our play. There are a few volunteers for the Enrichment session and three parents who have volunteered to join the committees outlined in the Shakespeare letter.
We appreciate any help you can offer if you can take on any of the tasks listed on the May 10th letter. Please return the tear off on that letter by May 12th. Thank you!

Field Test

Due to the changes made for next years ELA and State Math test, there will be a field test tomorrow. This wiil not count towards your child's academic standing but will serve as a way for the State to gather information to further enhance future tests.

Shakespeare Session 1

We had a great time with Scott, the teaching artist from the American Globe Theater. Today's lesson focused on the tools of an actor: body, voice and face. Children were asked to consider the way their characters might say their lines: staccato (short, choppy) or legato (smooth). For homework tonight, each child was asked to look over his/her lines and decide how s/he will say it. Please keep this in mind if you are rehearsing with your child. Encourage your child to use the two techniques and avoid "reading" the text in a flat monotone voice. Thank you!

The Answer is...

When asked who ran the most, Lia with 3/4 of a mile definitely went further than Harry with 1/3 of a mile and Josie with 4/6 of a mile. Good job to those who voted for Lia!

Happy Mother's Day

Best wishes and a wonderful weekend to all the important ladies in our lives!

Shakespeare Starts!

Monday will be our first Shakespeare session with our teaching artist Scott Lilly. We have been reading the play and most children have been cast in roles. Other children have been told to rehearse for a few available roles (some kids are so good it's hard to cast them in one role).By Monday, each child will know who they are playing.
Please make sure you have return your Shakespeare form and the $7.00 for costumes and supplies. Thank you!

Whew!

We finished with the two major tests and the class performed admirably. There is still the Science test during the week of May 24 and June 7.

May Units of Study

Literacy
We have started reading and writing Poetry during the last days of April. We will continue that work in May as well as publish a number of poems. Each child will submit their favorite poem to the school's poetry anthology.
We are also reading and learning our lines from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Hopefully by May 7th, every child will be cast in a part. It is important to remember that every one has an important part in the play despite the number of lines given and our goal is to really have fun with Shakespeare's story.
We will resume Word Study, starting with regular and irregular plurals.

Math

In class, we will continue working with fractions, decimals and percents, focusing on how these concepts are a part of our daily lives. Multiplying and dividing decimal amounts will be introduced. Finally, we will finish the month looking at properties of shapes.

Social Studies

Last month we began reading about Revolutionary New York and learning about the War for Independence. This month we will continue this study and look at key moments and people in the American Revolution outside of New York.

The Answer is ...

The area of a rectangle that is 13 ft long and 4 feet wide is 52 square feet. Great job to those children who still got the correct answer despite the fact that there was a choice of 52 feet as a distractor!