Our ABC Countdown is off to a great start. This week we have Lounge Day (pajamas) on Thursday; however, that is also the day of our field trip to the zoo. Please dress your child for the zoo and he/she can wear pajamas to school on Friday instead.
We began our multiplication unit in math. The kids understand the concept of repeated addition and are working really hard at their facts. We'll continue this into next week and then move on to division.
The month of May is all about persuasive writing. The purpose of persuasive writing is to convince the reader to agree with the writer. The children have been exposed to several examples of persuasive writing and they've been busy coming up with their own topics. Next time your child asks for something; have him/her try to persuade you with at least three supporting reasons.
We began a new author study on Patricia Polacco this week. She is one of my favorite children's authors and I'm excited to share her books with the class. Earlier in the week we read Thank You, Mr. Falker, a story about a little girl (Patricia herself) who struggles with reading. When her new teacher discovers her hiding under a stairwell, he realizes that the other kids have been bullying her because she doesn't know how to read. Many girls and a handful of boys were in tears while listening to the story. It really sheds light on the problems that struggling readers face. I highly recommend checking out this book from the library and reading it with your child.
We began our science unit on ecosystems. We will be exploring the desert, ocean, arctic, rainforest, and grassland habitats. We also had a special visitor in science last week. Mrs. Kraulidis came to school along with Dylan's chick, Brownie. Dylan gave a report on the chick and answered all of our questions. What a fun science lesson!
We have a PTO Meeting tomorrow night at 6:00 in the GP Media Center.
GP would like to invite the newly registered 2013-2014 Kindergarten students and their families to an Open House. Please come explore the school, board a school bus, meet staff, ask questions, get information from the PTO, and receive a Kindergarten Handbook. If you have not registered your Kindergartener, please contact the school office at 815-436-7000.
Friday night is our 2nd Annual Pet Parade & Expo. The events will be taking place from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.
Yearbook orders are still being accepted in the main office. The yearbooks are $16.00.
