KINDERGARTEN
Mrs. Hernandez Nagreen
February 2010 News

Valentine’s Day: We will be having a small party on the 12th.  We will exchange Valentines, read about how Valentine’s Day started, play a game and also eat a treat.  Attached to this letter is a list of class names for your convenience in having your child write out Valentines for classmates.  Start early so they are not overwhelmed by the task of doing all 26 in one night. Please try to have your child do the Valentine’s rather than parents writing them out.  I do not really need any helpers on the day of the party (although parents are always welcome).  I could, however, use some treats for the party.  Please send in the attached note if you are willing to donate something to our party.

At Classical School, each classroom has its own practices for days that are celebrated.  If your child’s classroom is participating in a Valentine’s Day celebration, we ask parents to observe the following requests:

· Please be sure to include a card for each student in the classroom to avoid hurt feelings by leaving some students out
· Please do not include treats or prizes with the Valentine’s Day cards – cards only. 

January: We had a super month in January studying about Africa and Antarctica.  We learned so much about the people, geography, and culture of the great continent of Africa.  We also had a special speaker for Antarctica.  Of course we know that no one actually lives in Antarctica full time, but Bruce Smith, a retired science teacher at North High School, was able to go there and stay for 10 weeks while doing scientific investigations.  He had a really neat presentation for us.  We loved the pictures of the huge vehicles, the Adele penguins and the leopard seals. This year we were also fortunate enough to have Gabe’s aunt come and share her adventure in Africa. It is so nice to have someone come to the room and share about somewhere they have actually visited.  Someday I want to be a world traveler, but as of now I haven’t been very many places. In science we also learned about the four seasons, weather and temperature. The study of weather will continue as the year progresses.

February:  February is one of my favorite months when it comes to the topics that we cover.  We study about the four presidents of Mount Rushmore.  This includes Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and Roosevelt.  We will learn about each of their lives and why some people thought they were great presidents.  The students will be amazed at the size of Mount Rushmore and the time and skill that went into making such a monument.  We also talk about our current president, who is eligible to be president, Independence Day, the American flag, democracy and the Statue of Liberty.  Wow! That is just social studies.  On top of that we still need to learn about the Wright Brothers and many of Aesop’s Fables. The students usually get very interested in flight during our studies on the Wright Brothers.  We learn that they made a lot of mistakes on their way to building the first airplane, but they were very persistent. Yes, we will be busy this month. 

Reading:  Our last test was better than I expected.  I was surprised at the number of really high scores.  This means that you are really helping at home and I am very proud of everyone. The bookmarks are really doing their jobs in helping us remember to read. I have looked at the next test that is coming up for Lesson 90.  It is a bit more difficult than Lesson 80 test.  The children should never miss a spelling word if they listen to the “rule of the day.”  For example, they are told if the words use a combination or end with an /e/.  You will also notice that the words that are on the test are not different than the ones that are practiced on each of the previous homework sheetsJ

Math: We are progressing very nicely in math.  We are learning to use new math equipment like the geoboards and the balance.  We continue to work on counting and recognizing numbers to 100.  We will begin to do a lot of addition using counters.  The children are not required to memorize any math facts this year. Please continue to review ordinal numbers and recognition of coins.

It is a joy for me to see the children every day. 

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Later this month our class will learn about past American presidents during Social Studies, and this will tie in nicely with our travel through the North American Continent for Geography.  While we are still on the African Continent, we will explore Jane Goodall’s world of chimpanzees for Science.  The Wright brothers and their inventions will also be part of our February science explorations.

In Literature class, we will learn about and discuss the following stories: The Lion and the Mouse, The Grasshopper and the Ants, 
The Dog and his Shadow, and The Tortoise and the Hare.

I would like to offer a very big “THANK YOU” to the following parents who have been such diligent volunteers in our classroom.  How would I get through the week without your help?

Our Valentine’s Day Party will be on Friday Feb. 12.  Please find a list of student names on the reverse side of this newsletter.  The children can put their handwriting skills to work on the Valentine cards.  If your child is sending cards, please send one for every child in the class.  Also our school policy states that only cards can be given out…no candy.

February Calendar
1 Star – Claire
8 Star – Anna
8 100th Day of School
9 Spirit Day
12 Valentine’s Day Party
15 No School – Staff Development
18 Aesop’s Fables Performance
22 Star - Breelyn

On February 8th, we will celebrate the 100th day of school.  Help your child find 100 small things to bring to school on or before Monday.

Mrs. Syverson’s Reading Class
We will cover lessons 85 to 99 this month. Continue to read the lesson each night. Test Date:  Feb. 10

Mrs. Syverson’s Math Class
We will cover lessons 78 to 93 this month.  Test Dates:  Feb. 4, 12, 23

Any questions? Contact me at:
alvaradosyvers@aasd.k12.wi.us

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It is amazing that March is here and spring is just around the corner.  Let’s hope that spring weather will be here soon.  The children have had an “out of this world” experience with our study of the solar system in February, and will have a busy month of March as well.

In History we will continue our study of the American Revolution and the events that led to the conclusion of the war.  We will be introduced to some important patriots such as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington who served America during that time period.   We will also learn about our country’s Capital and some important symbols like the flag and the liberty bell. 

Animals are definitely the topic for this month’s poems and stories in Language Arts.  The students will incorporate the categories of fiction and non-fiction as they encounter different animal literature like The Tale of Peter Rabbit,  The Tales of Brer Rabbit, and “The Pasture”. The sayings for March are “There’s no place like home” and “Let the cat out of the bag”.

The focus for Science this month is on the ocean and undersea life.  We will be reviewing the continents, cardinal directions, and the oceans.  We will learn about the landscape and conditions of the ocean floor and gain an understanding of the concepts of coast, shore, wave, tide, and current. 

In reading, the Horizons B group has begun the third book in their level.  The words per minute for Horizons B will continue to increase with each test, so please continue to work on picking up the pace when reading at home. Reading Mastery 3 students will soon begin the third book in their level.  Reading Mastery 3 students have been writing the questions from the book on a separate sheet of lined paper.  Check your child’s homework to make sure they have done these questions.  There are usually about 20-25 questions.

In math, Saxon 1, students will be counting nickels and pennies, identifying a missing addend, and measuring and drawing line segments to the nearest inch.   Fact practice will include sums of 10 and subtracting a number from 10, and adding 9.  Saxon 2 students will be subtracting 2 digit numbers that requires borrowing, multiplying by 10, and rounding numbers to the nearest 10.  Fact practice will include subtracting 5, 6, 7, and 8.

The students will be writing two-point expository paragraphs about some of their favorite things in grammar this month.  We have already written about our favorite colors.

In spelling, the next test will be test 45. Be sure when you are studying with your child at home that they can spell all words on the previous lists also.  Do some extra practice with those words that your child is having difficulty with.   The new concepts will include words that have the letters ve at the end, spelling the short u sound in words, and the irregularly spelled words they and read.

Important dates to remember: 
Book orders are due March 8th .
March 9th is Spirit Day.  Dress in school colors.
Daylight Savings time begins March 14th.   Spring ahead!!!!!
Parent teacher conferences are March 19th, March 22nd, and March 24th. 
There will be no classes on March 19th  and a half day of school on March 26th.   Dismissal will be at 11:17.
Spring break begins March 29th.  Classes resume Tuesday, April 6th.
Think Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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2ND GRADE
 Mr. Bomann and Mrs. Campshure
March 2010 News

As we “march” through the year here are a few notes of importance.  Please ask your children if they need replacement school supplies.  We are seeing many children without enough pencils, glue sticks and such.  During this busy month we transition to using the card chart for responsibility.  Starting with the 4th quarter, second graders will have a 5 minute card flip for not having an assignment notebook signature.  Hopefully, this will not be needed often as we have been talking to the children about responsibility and the need for daily signatures all year.  Lastly, there is a conference reminder in this newsletter and we look forward to seeing you and talking about your wonderful children!  Think spring!

Reading Mastery 3: Please remember to have your child read the next day’s entire lesson (including word lists) to you the night before instruction.  Pointing under each word continues to be very important.  Students tend to be sloppy when pointing to the first word of the next line.  Be careful and thank you.

Reading Mastery 4 :  The students are progressing through these last set of stories with diligence.  I can’t believe the amount of information they have each learned this year.  Please have your child read the next day’s story nightly.  It will really help them to have an additional exposure to the dense amount of science facts in each story.  This should also help them retain accurate science information.  I have also been requiring complete sentence answers for two questions in the workbook each day.  This will help prepare the children for the novels we will be reading once we finish the current book. 

Spelling Mastery Level B –   Keep practicing the word lists.  Kids are generally doing well and are at mastery. 

Saxon Level 2 Math – Multiplication is introduced in the coming lessons.  Saxon uses “count by” to teach the kids the times facts.  Your child has already been counting by 3’s to 30, 5’s to 50 and 25’s to 300.  We will begin counting by 2’s to 20 and 4’s to 40 very soon.  Please practice these count by’s at home; they should be able to count to the last number without much hesitation.  Please keep studying all facts especially the new subtraction facts, daily practice even if it is brief will really help those facts become ingrained in memory.  New concepts that are coming up are telling time to the minute, adding and subtracting 3 digit numbers and subtracting 7’s, 8’s and 9’s.  Some children are still struggling a bit with a few concepts.  If you notice this please give them a bit more practice at home with the concept.  This last quarter tends to be difficult and so the additional practice really helps. 

Saxon Level 3 Math – Please practice the new count by’s.  They are 6’s to 60, 9’s to 90 and the perfect squares to 100. 

Core Knowledge Literature – This month we will be reading trickster tales.  The students will listen to several different Iktomi stories.  Iktomi is a Plains Indian trickster figure who is quite a character.  They will also read Talk, Talk an African folk tale and El Pajaro Cu which is a Hispanic tale.  The poems for the month are Rudolph is Tired of the City by Gwendolyn Brooks and There Was an Old Man with a Beard by Edward Lear.  The kids will be learning what a limerick is and writing their own.  Our sayings this month will be Cold Feet and Easier Said Than Done.

Core Knowledge History – This month is all about immigration and citizenship.  The students learn about America, the “land of opportunity” and why people from other countries wanted to come here.  They will study about Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  We will learn the meaning of “E Pluribus Unum” and end the month with a study of citizenship and what it means to be a citizen of our nation. 

Core Knowledge Science – This month we learn about the digestive and excretory systems.  We learn all the major parts and functions of each system.  Oh yes, we always have lots of giggles as the teachers talk about peeand poop.  We end the month talking about nutrition and the food pyramid.  The students will also study a science biography on Anton van Leewenhoek who invented the microscope.

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3RD GRADE
Mrs. Holcomb
March 2010 News

We are marching into some very exciting curriculum this month!

HISTORY 
We will be traveling back in time to 753 B.C., the time of Ancient
Rome. Our study will begin with the legend of Romulus and Remus, which tells about the dawning of Rome. The students will be intrigued hearing how Hannibal crossed the Alps with a large herd of elephants.  The drama of Ceasar’s life will be unraveled
as the class hears how he rose to power, and how his enemies carried out their plan to destroy his life.  Also, the class will become familiar with the Mediterranean Region by locating and identifying the countries of Italy, Greece, France, Spain, North Africa, and the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas.

LITERATURE 
Coinciding with our study of Ancient Rome will be our consideration of Roman myths.  The gods and goddesses created by the Romans were often borrowed from the Greeks and simply renamed.  From these myths, the students will learn lessons about right and wrong, rewards and punishment.   I know they will eagerly listen to the stories of heroes and supernatural beasts.

SCIENCE 
We are beginning our investigations about “sound”.  We will be studying
vibrations, sound waves, volume and pitch.   The students’ inventiveness will be challenged by creating a musical instrument.  The class will be challenged by hearing the story of Alexander Graham Bell’s inventiveness and passion for human kind.

GRAMMAR 
We will be learning the rules on making nouns possessive.  We will be writing three point paragraphs and be continuing to write descriptive paragraphs.  Indirect objects will be introduced and the students will also learn how to identify fragments and run-on sentences. 

SPELLING 
Keep up the good work.  Remember to make studying spelling words a nightly routine. The words are becoming more difficult, but the students are meeting the challenge.

SAXON MATH 3 
Keep working on math facts.  The subtraction facts need to become more firm.  They need to know how to multiply by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9.  They need this foundation so they can be ready for fourth grade.   Please review square roots with your child.  We will be comparing and ordering fractions, finding missing addends, and multiplying by 100. 

LA3 
We will begin reading the delightful book, The Railway Children.  This is a wonderful  classic by Edith Nesbit.  The book is filled with adventure and a hidden mystery concerning the father’s disappearance.  We will experience British culture as we hear the characters dialogue and as we follow the children on their daily excursions.

THANK YOU
Thank you to all who contributed to the Valentine Party.  Special thanks goes out to Mrs. Ho for teaching the students how to make their valentine door hanging.  Also, we appreciate her gift or organization and creating a super party for the students.

ALERT - This spring the students will be needing a Pringle can for a science model.  Please send one in with your student. Thank you.

DATES TO REMEMBER
March 3 – Third grade field trip to the Building for Kids
March 4 – Spring choral concert 1:30 and 7:20 p.m.
March 9 – Summer School Registration, 4:00 – 6:00 pm, only one night this year
March 9 – Spirit Day – Wear your school colors
March 18 – KAT Kick off
March 19 – No school
March 19 – Parent/teacher Conferences 8 – 11:00 am
March 22 – Parent/teacher Conferences 4:15 – 6:30
March 24 – Parent/teacher Conferences 4:15 – 6:30
March 26 – No PM classes today
March 29 – Spring break begins

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3RD GRADE
Mrs. Hoppe
March 2010 News

Literature - Coinciding with our study of Ancient Rome will be our consideration of Roman myths.  The gods and goddesses created by the Romans were often borrowed from the Greeks and simply renamed.  From these myths, the students will learn lessons about right and wrong, rewards and punishments.  I know they will eagerly listen to the stories of heroes and supernatural beasts.

We will also continue reading about the adventures of Mole, Rat, and Toad in the Wind in the Willows.

Science - Our investigations about sound will begin in the month of March.  We will study vibrations, sound waves, volume, and pitch.  The students will also learn how sound is heard by identifying the parts of the ear and understanding how they work.  The students’ inventiveness will be challenged by hearing the story of Alexander Graham Bell.  The unit will conclude with the children making a musical instrument.

Grammar - We are beginning to about indirect objects.  Possessive nouns and direct objects will be reviewed.  Finally, the students will also learn how to identify fragments and run-on sentences.

Spelling - We continue to work hard to learn how to combine morphographs.  Remember to study your word lists before each spelling test.  Keep up the good work!

Reading (Reading Mastery 4) - Please remember to ask your child to read orally at home.  The stories are getting more difficult and this oral reading helps both in class and on their checkouts every five lessons.

As you may have noticed, we have started our last set of stories.  All of the remaining stories will be about Al, Angela, and the old man.  These stories contain a lot of factual and interesting information.  In class we have talked about the difference between reading for fun and reading for information.  These last stories have lots of great and interesting information in them.  In order to understand that information, I have encouraged the children to slow their reading down so that they understand the story more completely.

Within the next couple of weeks, we will begin to transition the children from completing their assignments using printing to using cursive.  This allows the children to practice and improve their handwriting that they will be required to use next year.

Math (Saxon 5/4) - We continue to work on our facts.  Overall the children are doing well on their facts.  Keep up the great work!

Our upcoming lessons will focus on decimals to the thousandths place, multiplying two-digit numbers, mixed numbers and improper fractions, fractions, and multi-step problems.

I continue to encourage the children to read carefully when completing tests and assignments, as well as to go back through the assignments and read the comments that we have made on their papers.  If they understand why they made the error the first time, it is less likely to happen again.
 
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4TH GRADE
Mrs. Chen
March 2010 News

The unit for science for this month (after chemistry finishes up) is meteorology. We will learn about the forces that shape weather, such as clouds, winds, fronts, jet streams, forecasting, the water cycle, and storms such as hurricanes and tornadoes.  It is quite interesting, and children love it because weather affects their world so much. 

In Literature/Language Arts, we will concentrate on poetry.  Our poems for the month are "A Tragic Story" by Thackery, "The Purple Cow" by Burgess, "Clarence" by Shel Silverstein, "The Pobble Who Has No Toes" by Edward Lear, and "The Rhinoceros" by Ogden Nash.  Sayings and virtues include Faith, Diligence, Humility, Mercy, Make Hay While the Sun Shines, When It Rains It Pours, and Lightning Never Strikes Twice in the Same Place.  The Pasty Koop on Wisconsin Ave. will supply us with pasties to try that food from the Middle Ages time period, which are mentioned several times in Door in the Wall.

History lessons will conclude the Middle Ages in Europe, but move to the Middle Ages in the Middle East as we learn about the forces of religion and struggle of power during the Crusades, the birth of Muhammed and how Islam was formed, and the basic belief system of Muslims. Geography lessons will emphasize the land formations, rivers, and seas of Europe and the Middle East, and the Iberian Penninsula. 

Parent-teacher conferences are to be held later this month.  It is also a good time to check for school supplies for the end of the year - perhaps more pencils, markers, gym shoes or other supplies need to be replaced. 

We are working on pattern three sentences in our grammar lessons, and we will soon be transitioning to pattern four sentences which incorporate the predicate noun.

Spelling is going well – at least we are in a very established routine with it but some students need to review the word lists a few times a week.  Being at mastery is important in this course (achieving an 85% or higher). The remedies packets have been helpful for reviewing missed words.

My reading class is reading Gulliver’s Travels.  We will be learning how this is a political satire and have had fun with some of the symbolism like wearing either high or low heels to class one day and breaking a hard boiled egg on either the big end or the little end, as noted in the novel. 
 

My math class is well into the hardest part of the year.  Taking extra care with the problems, checking work and rechecking on tests and daily assignments is critical to success.  Parents, feel free to help your child – that is really important with math.   A few students have C averages so far and I hope those can be pushed up by some good tests before the quarter ends. Hang in there!  Fourth quarter seems a bit easier!

Thank you in advance for your support of our Middle Ages Feast on March 24 in the morning.  Everyone is asked to sign up for a dish to bring.  Please be sure your child is rehearsing his or her parts and that you are gathering costume parts at home in a brown paper bag labeled with your child’s name.   Thank you!

Spring is coming soon, and we can tell the kids are excited to get outside when the weather is nice!
 

4TH GRADE
Mrs. Coenen 
February 2010 News

In history and geography, we continue with our study of medieval Europe.  Historical people will be discussed during the month such as William the Conqueror, King Henry II, Thomas Becket, and Eleanor of Aquitaine.  We will learn about the events leading up to the signing of the Magna Carta and the beginning of trial by jury.  Concluding the unit is a lesson on the Black Death that swept across Europe.  Next week introduction outline notes are due for the research paper.  This assignment is huge and has firm deadlines, so please make sure your son/daughter is continuously working on it. 

Our language arts time will focus on poetry, sayings, and virtues this month.  We will recite Humanity by Elma Stuckey and Afternoon on a Hill by Edna St. Vincent Millay.  Forgiveness, faithfulness, graciousness, and constancy are our focus virtues, and they coincide well with medieval history.  Our sayings are beauty is only skin deep, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, bull in a china shop, and seeing is believing.  A Door in is a wonderful tale of the Middle Ages that fourth graders  have the opportunity to read. 

Grammar lessons continue with direct objects, indirect objects and transitive verbs.  The students are doing very well with the question and answer flow, but they are making a lot of mistakes on the exercises involving capitalization and punctuation of friendly letters and plural possessives.
In math we continue with lesson 75 tomorrow.  I urge you to check your child’s homework daily!  Also, additional practice with multiplication and division facts is always beneficial.

During February, Robin Hood will inevitably turn out to be a class favorite in reading class (Mrs. Coenen’s) as it fits in perfectly with the middle ages studies, and Mrs. Chen’s class is enjoying the enchantment of Peter Pan. 

Our spelling class is currently on lesson 74.  Suddenly, it seems, the daily words have gotten longer, and it’s amazing how students rattle off twelve  letter/3 morphograph words quite quickly.  But the tests are getting more difficult - it is often necessary to apply the knowledge of rules previously learned. 

As always, thank you for your support at home.  Your commitment to education is apparent in the work ethic of your remarkable children!

Regarding Valentine’s Day, the following insert comes directly from the school handbook and has been discussed with the students:
VALENTINE’S DAY CARDS

At Classical School, each classroom has its own practices for days that are celebrated.  If your child’s classroom is participating in a Valentine’s Day celebration, we ask parents to observe the following requests:

· Please be sure to include a card for each student in the classroom to avoid hurt feelings by leaving some students out
· Please do not include treats or prizes with the Valentine’s Day cards – cards only. 

Have a wonderful February!
 

5TH GRADE
Mrs. Rivers
March 2010 News

Students have worked hard over the winter months and are progressing well. Conferences are this month. I will include my conference schedule so you are able to confirm your date and time.  Here’s what we’re up to in the month of March:

WRITING:  SKILL TRAIT / ORGANIZATION
ORGANIZING OUR WRITING SO THAT THE STRUCTURE MAKES GOOD SENSE, IS INTERESTING AND HAS AN INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION THAT WANT TO MAKE THE READER READ MORE.

HANDWRITING: CONTINUE POSTURE AND PENCIL GRIP CHECKS

       INSTRUCTION:  I.T,U,W,E,L,B,H, F,K,R,S,J,P,A,D,G,O,C,Q

ROOTS Study # 51 – 81

History –The study of the American Civil War. Living History is April 30th. I will be handing out informational packets during conference times. We are looking forward to this day.

Science – More about Plants and photosynthesis this month. It is interesting to learn more about the plant world. We will begin asexual and sexual plant reproduction, the life cycle, and reproduction soon.  We have been observing plant development and drawing the observations weekly in our Science journals.

Grammar – We are now practicing writing complex sentences. We. Ask your son or daughter to classify a sentence for you Shurley grammar style!  I think you will be impressed.  Unit 3 Focus of Study!  SN V-T IO DO P3  We have also included the study of verb and verb phrase tenses as presented in Unit four. Some of these can be confusing, as the correct grammar at times is not how we speak. I have asked the students to memorize the past, present, and future helping verbs.

Math – (for students in Saxon 76) Please continue to check over your child’s work at home and quiz him or her on math facts.  Having the students practice long division and column multiplication would also be helpful.  We are 

Spelling – We have completed Test Lesson 95. Please practice your child’s spelling lists with him or her each week. Writing neatly is very important. PRACTICE AT HOME 2X PER WEEK. I also ask students to stay in and see me at recess for spelling corrections.

READING: MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 

 WILL BEGIN TOM SAWYER THIS MONTH !

SAYINGS: 
· EAT CROW
· ELEVENTH HOUR
· LOCK, STOCK, AND BARREL 
· It’s never tool ate to mend.
· Time heals all wounds.
· To kill two birds with one sent.

DATES TO REMEMBER
MARCH 9  SPIRIT DAY and Weidner Field Trip (need sack lunch)
MARCH  14  SPRING AHEAD TO DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME (spring ahead)
MARCH 19, 22, 24   CONFERENCES.. SEE SCHEDULE BELOW
NO SCHOOL MARCH 19
SPRING BREAK MARCH 29-APRIL 6TH 
 

5TH GRADE
Mrs.Tirimacco
March 2010 News

On April 30th, we will be participating in a Civil War Re enactment at Pierce Park.   I will be giving you more information at the conferences.    You can start thinking about what your child is going to be wearing on that day.   Our classroom will be representing the Union.  This means our uniforms will be blue…blue jackets and tan, blue or denim pants.   As has been our experience, we never know what to expect in terms of weather so we need to be prepared, like any good solider for everything that day.   The reenactment is a wonderful learning experience.  Our re enactors do a great job in teaching the students about the life and times of a soldier.  Some of the centers will be food, clothing, toys, weapons, medical practices, and songs, to name a few.  The battle reenactment will occur towards the end of the day.  If you would rather your child not participate in the battle, there will be an alternate activity.  I will need to know ahead of time, so please contact me if this is the case.  Parents, you are welcome to come and watch.   Students will stay in their group the entire day and then return home on the bus.  We will be retuning around 3:10pm that day so please make carpool/transportation arrangements.  Please bring any questions you have to conferences or contact me via e mail.

I wish you and your family a restful and happy spring break.

Here’s what we will be studying in March…

Language Arts 5: – Lincoln: a Photobiography will be our next novel.  We will be getting to know Lincoln beginning next week.   This important President will lead the way into our study of the Civil War. 

Spelling Master E – We will be resuming spelling tests next week after a two week break.    I always remind the students that we work on our spelling in every area of our curriculum. 

Math – Saxon 65 – Our math program is getting a little more difficult as we approach fourth quarter.    Answers need to have labels and to be reduced.  Students lose points if these things are missing.  Please remind and encourage your children to double check their practice problems so that they have less corrections to do!

Latin and Greek Roots – We are on word 90 of the 100 Latin and Greek roots that we will be learning this year.  We test every Wednesday n order to keep these root words fresh in our mind.  Each test will be a review of the roots we know as well as a test of the new ones. 

Literature – Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Frederick Douglass).  We will study this poignant piece beginning at the end of March and finishing up in April. 

Science – The science presentations were very informative, interesting and entertaining.     Our next topic in science is photosynthesis.  Knowledge of the cell and its structures will continue to be important. 

History and Geography -   We will complete our study of Westward Expansion before the Civil War and Introduce the Conflicts of the Civil War this month. 
 

6TH GRADE
Mrs. Foley
February 2010 News

Announcements:

Reminder of our Valentine’s party tomorrow.  The students will be enjoying your treats and pizza for lunch!!!  If you are sending valentine’s with your child, they must have enough for the entire class, and they cannot contain candy or chocolates.  If you have questions regarding this, please ask!

Reminder that there is no school on Monday!!!!

Random Acts of Kindness Week:  Student Council is sponsoring Random Acts of Kindness Week which is next week!  We are talking about random acts of kindness, and the students will be encouraged to do random acts of kindness for others, not only this week, but all year round!

Curriculum:

Reading:  We are continuing our trek through The Odyssey.  We are currently reading Book 15, and we will continue to get through about a book per day as we continue.  The students are responsible for reading and answering questions for homework.  Homework is not assigned daily, so please check in their assignment notebook for what is expected of them.  We will be writing an analytical essay when we complete the poem, but I will send out information regarding this as we near this process.

Spelling:  We continue to do a lesson each day (with the exception of Wednesdays).  We have four lessons and then a test for every fifth.  Today we are on L83, so we will be having a test tomorrow.  Over all the test scores in spelling are very high!  Keep up the good work kids!!!  They should be reviewing each night.

Research:  As many of you know, we are working through our research paper right now…which takes up MOST of our day!  Currently we are working on our third subtopic.  We will be writing our introduction next week and our conclusion the week after.  Below is the listing of our weekly schedule, so you know what is occurring here in school:

o   Monday:  Write rough draft of current paragraph (handwritten copy due Tuesdays)
o   Tuesday:  Edit rough draft of that paragraph (typed copy due Thursdays)
o   Wednesday:  preview sources or explain next paragraph
o   Thursday:  take notes or organize paragraph in outline form- due Friday
o   Friday:  fuse outline in preparation to write paragraph- due Monday

History:  We are closing our French Revolution unit this week with a test.  We will begin our Latin American Revolution unit next week.  Information regarding this can be found in their binders.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!  If you have any questions, please email me! 

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6TH GRADE
Mrs. Schroeder
March 2010 News

Sixth-Grade Syllabus

Immune System Flash Cards

Happy March!  I am looking forward to seeing all of you at conferences this month!

Please continue to work on study strategies with your child.  Consistent review of material is so helpful with recollection of material.  This focuses on the goal of being a life-long learner!

Please continue to sign assignment notebooks after you have checked with your child about homework completion.  The back cover of the assignment notebook contains information on your child’s gimmes, so be sure to check this part of the assignment notebook as well.  Assignment notebooks can be used as a communication device, so please feel free to write notes to me in your child’s assignment notebook. 

Remember you are able to check grades via the parent portal at http://portal.aasd.k12.wi.us. If you need your login and/or password, please contact the office.

The Core Knowledge Foundation e-newsletter is a wonderful resource for information on the curriculum of Classical School.  You can subscribe to this newsletter at www.coreknowledge.org.  Not only is the newsletter a great informational tool, but so is the Core Knowledge Foundation website.

Encourage your child to read outside of school! J You might even challenge your child with a certain number of books per month or with a certain number of minutes per month.  This additional reading will help your child continue to grow as a reader and learner.

Algebra 1/2
As of Thursday, March 4th, we are through Lesson 92.  During class, students have the opportunity to check their homework with me as well as ask questions.  It is imperative for students to use this independent time as a means to receive help with any difficult concepts or questions, especially since material is getting harder.

Spelling Mastery F
As of Thursday, March 4th, we are through Lesson 88. Word lists and the four most recent lessons should be used for studying purposes; we also highlight words within our spelling books that will be part of the upcoming test.

Greek and Latin Roots
We continue to examine two new roots per week; we have studied 46 roots thus far.  Students are responsible for the definition, example words, and origin for each of the roots.

Grammar
Our focus for grammar will be on correct usage of homonyms and troublesome words.

English 6
We finished reading our famous epic The Odyssey, and I know the students enjoyed sharing in the many adventures of Odysseus.  We are currently working on an ABC Odyssey book as a class.  In the remaining weeks prior to spring break, we will be reading The Old Man and the Sea with a focus on summarizing.

Writing
We are nearing the end of our research paper project, and the students are doing well!  For continued success, it is important for students to stay on top of all assignments and due dates.  Business letters will be an additional writing focus for March as well.

Science
In science, we completed our study of the circulatory and lymphatic systems.  Our next unit is on the immune system.  We will discuss our defense systems as well as various diseases. 

Use the link in my Classroom News section of Classical School’s website for IMMUNE SYSTEM flashcards…

History/Geography
In history, once Mrs. Foley and the students complete their study of Latin American independence movements, they will examine the Industrial Revolution as well as various economic systems.

Here are a few dates to put in your calendar for the month of March:

· Monday, March 1 – Mid Quarter
· Thursday, March 4 – Spring Chorus Concert (1:30 and 7:20) 
· Tuesday, March 9 – Spirit Day!
· Tuesday, March 9 – Summer School Registration (4:00-6:00)
· Thursday, March 18 – KAT Kickoff!
· Friday, March 19 – No School (Conferences in AM)
· Monday, March 22 – Conferences
· Wednesday, March 24 – Arbitrary Friday
· Wednesday, March 24 – Conferences
· Friday, March 26 – No School PM
· Friday, March 26 – End of Third Quarter
· Friday, March 26 (PM) through Monday, April 5 – Spring Break
· Tuesday, April 6 – School Resumes

Please check out the Classical School website at www.classicalcharter.com.   If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at 832-4968 or schroedersara@aasd.k12.wi.us. 
 

March is here and many of the students and staff at Classical School seem to have spring fever. Spring Break is just around the corner.  While Spring Break may be approaching quickly, please make sure your student is completing his or her homework and that you are signing your student’s planner each night.  Please remember that my last official day is Friday, March 5th.  I plan to return from maternity leave near the end of April.  I will not be able to attend spring conferences, however.  If you have questions or concerns regarding your student’s academic progress, please contact me as soon as possible. 

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  Email seems to be the best way to make sure that I have received your message and ensure a quick response. 

Message from Mrs. Meyer
Hello! My name is Pauline Meyer, and I am enthusiastic about filling in for Mrs. Crownhart while she is on maternity leave! I have had the privilege of subbing at Classical in the past, and look forward to working with your middle school student and Classical’s exciting curriculum over the next six weeks. I am certified to teach grades 1-8, and sub regularly at middle schools in and around the Fox Cities. As I also have a son in 7th grade, I have an understanding and appreciation for the social and emotional demands and dynamics of middle school. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at Classical. E-mail is the most efficient way to reach me as I will check it daily and respond promptly. My email address will be posted on Mrs. Crownhart’s Classroom News as soon as it is assigned to me!

English 7
The English 7A class recently finished reading Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank .  We were fortunate to have the opportunity to peek into Anne’s world during World War II.

 Next up is Jack London’s Call of the Wild.  Students will also be working on their research papers for History/English.  It will be a busy couple of months for the 7th graders.

 In the world of Spelling, Roots, and Foreign Phrases, we added 5 new spelling words, and 6 new Greek and Latin roots to our list.  Please remember that all tests are cumulative! 

I.  Spelling Words: 
remembrance             responsibility     rhyme    sacrifice      scholar 

achievement, address, analysis, anonymous, argument, beginning, business, college, conscience, control, criticism, definite, definitely, description, despise, doesn’t, environment, excellent, existence, grammar, hypocrisy, immediately, interpret, knowledge, lieutenant, medieval, muscle, muscular, occasionally, offense, particularly, persuade, politician, prejudice, probably, recognize 

II.  Roots:
 Latin/Greek Root     Meaning  Examples
ab [L]    away from   abnormal, absent
 ad [L]    to, forward  advocate, advance
 amo [L]    love   amiable, amorous
audio [L]      hear   audience, inaudible
 auto [G]    self   automobile, autocrat
 bene [L]    good/well   beneficial, benefit

circum [L]    around   circulate, circumference
celer [L]     swift   accelerate
chronos [G]   time   chronological
cresco [L]     grow   increase, decrease 
cum [L]                     with/(like co-)  cum laude, cumulative, compose, accommodate
curro [L]     run   current, cursive, course

demos [G]   people   democracy, epidemic
erro [L]    wander, stray  error, erratic
ex [L]    from, out of  exclaim, exhaust, extinct
extra [L]    outside   extravagant, extraordinary
facio [L]    make   effect, affect
fero [L]    bring, bear  confer, defer, reference

fragilis [L]    breakable   fragile, fragment
finis [L]    end   confine, finality
homos [G]   same   homogenous, homophone (to, two) 
hyper [G from “huper”]  over, beyond  hypertension, hyperactive
hypo [G]    under, beneath  hypodermic, hypothesis, hypothermia
jacio [L]    throw   eject, interject, reject

judex [L]    a judge   judge, prejudice
juro [L]    swear   jury, perjury
makros [G]   long   macrocosm, macron
malus [L]    bad   malady, malice
manus [L]    hand   manufacture, manuscript, manual
morphe [G] form   metamorphosis, amorphous

neos [G]    new   neophyte, neoclassical
pan [G] all    panorama, panacea
pedis [L]    foot   pedal, biped
polis [G]    city   metropolis
pro [L]    before,for   proceed, propose, prodigy
pseudos [G]   a lie   pseudonym

re [L]    back, again  react, reply, revise
scribo [L] write   scribble, inscribe
sentio [L] feel (with senses)  sensation, sensual, sentry
strictus [L]   drawn tight  strict, constricted
 sub [L]    under   subdue, subject, subtract
 super [L]   above   superficial, superlative, supreme

III.  Foreign Phrases Commonly Used in English:
ad hoc—concerned with a particular purpose; improvised [literally, “to the thing”]
bona fides—good faith; sincere, involving no deceit or fraud
carpe diem—seize the day, enjoy the present
caveat emptor—let the buyer beware, buy at your own risk
de facto—in reality, actually existing
in extremis—in extreme circumstances, especially at the point of death
in medias res—in the midst of things, in the middle of a narrative or plot 
in toto—altogether, entirely
modus operandi (singular)--a method of procedure/ modi operandi (plural)—methods of procedure
modus vivendi (singular)—a way of living, getting along/modi vivendi (plural)—ways of living, getting along
persona non grata—an unacceptable or unwelcome person (not used with an article)
prima facie—at first view, apparently; self-evident
pro bono publico —for the public good
pro forma—for the sake of form, carried out as a matter of formality
quid pro quo—something given or received in exchange for something else
requiescat in pace, R I P—may he or she rest in peace [seen on tombstones]
sic transit gloria mundi––thus passes away the glory of the world
sine qua non—something absolutely indispensable [literally, “without which not”]
sub rosa––secretly

English 8
This month and next month, English 8 students will be studying a little bit of everything from short stories, essays, speeches, poetry, and of course grammar.  Titles include “The Open Boat”, “God Sees the Truth But Waits”, “ The Marginal World”, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, “Mr. Flood’s Party”, and “A Supermarket in California”. 
 In the world of Spelling, Roots, and Foreign Phrases, we added 5 new spelling words and 6 new Greek and Latin roots to our list.  Please remember that all tests are cumulative! 

I. Spelling Words:
permanence   physician     prairie              sergeant          souvenir 

absence, accommodate, analysis, attendance, believe, bureau, capitol, colonel, committee, correspondence, counterfeit, courageous, curiosity, defendant, dessert, desperate, dissatisfied, extraordinary, fascinating, foreign, guarantee, hygiene, independence, laboratory, library, lightning, maintenance, mileage, necessary, occurrence

II. Roots:
Latin/Greek Word Meaning  Examples
aequus [L]   equal   equal, equation
ago, acta [L]   do, drive   agent, enact, transact
anthropos [G]   man, human being  anthropology, misanthrope
ars [L]   art   artist, artifact
brevis [L]   short   brevity, abbreviate
canto [L]   sing   chant, cantor

caput [L]   head   captain, decapitate
clino [L]   to lean, bend  incline, decline
cognito [L]   know   cognizant, recognize
copia [L]   plenty   copy, copious
credo [L]   believe   credible, incredulous
culpa [L]   blame   culpable, culprit

dominus [L]   a lord, master  dominate, dominion
duco [L]   lead   abduct, introduce
fido [L]   to trust, believe  confide, infidel
fundo, fusum [L]  pour, thing poured  effusive, transfusion
genus [L]   kind, origin  generic, congenital

holos [G]   whole   holistic, catholic
jungo [L]   join   junction, conjugal
lego, lectum [L]  read, thing read  intellect, legible
locus [L]   a place   local, dislocate
loquor [L]   speak   eloquent, loquacious
medius [L]   middle   mediate, mediocrity

missio [L]   a sending   emissary, mission
morior [L]   die   mortal
nego [L]   deny   negate
nihil [L]   nothing   nihilism, annihilate
occido [L]   kill   homicide, suicide
pathos [G]   suffering, feeling  sympathy, apathy
pendo [L]   weigh or hang  depend, pendant
per [L]   through   perceive, persist, persevere
phobos [G]   fear   phobia, claustrophobia
plenus [L]   full   plenty, plenary
positum [L]   placed   position, opposite
porto [L]   carry   transport, export

possum [L]   be able   possible, potent
pugno [L]   to fight   impugn, pugnacious
rego [L]   to rule   regular, regency
sanguis [L]   blood   sanguine
satis [L]   enough   satisfy

III. Foreign Phrases Commonly Used in English:
au revoir -- good-bye, until we see each other again
avant-garde – a group developing new or experimental concepts, a vanguard (the forefront of an action or movement)
bête noire—a person or thing especially dreaded and avoided (literally, “black beast”)
c’est la vie—that’s life, that’s how things happen
carte blanche—full discretionary power (literally, “blank page”)
cause célèbre—a very controversial issue that generates fervent public debate (literally, a “celebrated case”)
coup de grâce—a decisive finishing blow
coup d’état—overthrow of a government by a group
déjà vu—something overly familiar (literally, “already seen”)
enfant terrible—one whose remarks or actions cause embarrassment, or someone strikingly unconventional (literally, “terrible child”)
fait accompli—an accomplished fact, presumably irreversible [something that is over and done]
faux pas—a social blunder [literally, “false step”]
Madame, Mademoiselle, Monsieur—Mrs., Miss, Mr.
merci—thank you  (Merci beaucoup—thank you very much)
pièce de résistance—the principal part of the meal, a showpiece item
raison d’être—reason for being
savoir-faire—the ability to say or do the right thing in any situation, polished sureness in society (literally, “to know [how] to do”)
tête-à-tête—private conversation between two people (literally, “head to head”)

Humanities 7
Students in Humanities 7 are just putting the finishing touches on their movies based on the dramas they wrote in class.  They have worked very hard and I look forward to viewing the finished projects when I return from maternity leave!

Next the class will be studying  William Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  This tragedy is filled with themes of temptation, greed, and the age old adage, “do you reap what you sow?”

Humanities 8
The Humanities 8 students are almost done editing their movies for our drama unit.   They have worked very hard and I can’t wait for us to view their movies in class when I return from maternity leave. 
 Next up is the short book of pen pal letter 84 Charing Cross Road.  A great book that shows the blossoming friendship between an American writer and a English bookshop worker.  Students will take a page from the book during the next month and a half and begin writing letters to various people in their lives.
 

7th and 8th Grade History/8th Grade Geometry
Mrs.VanRyzin 
February 2010News

Newsletter—7th/8th Grade History and Geometry
History—Topics to be covered 

7th Grade—February 
The Great Depression
· Wall Street stock market crash.
· Black Tuesday
· European war debt payments
· Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
· Mass unemployment
· Bonus Army
· Hoovervilles
· The “Dust Bowl,” Okies, migration
· Huey Long, American Communist Party
· FDR—The New Deal
· Growth of unions: John L. Lewis and the CIO; A. Philip Randolph, Memorial Day Massacre
· Social Security; Alphabet government
· New regulatory agencies; Securities and Exchange Commission, National Labor Relations Board; Tennessee Valley Authority
· Roosevelt’s use of executive power: “Imperial Presidency,” “court packing”

8th Grade—February
The Civil Rights Movement
· Plessy v. Ferguson,  separate but equal
· “Jim Crow” laws
· Post-war steps to desegregation: Truman desegregates Armed Forces; Integration of public schools—Brown v. Board of Ed.
· Little Rock Nine
· Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks
· Murder of Medgar Evers; Gov. George Wallace in Alabama
· Nonviolent challenges to segregation—Woolworth lunch counter sit-ins; Freedom riders, CORE; Martin Luther King, Jr.; SCLC; March on Washington; Selma 

March
· Civil Rights Act of 1964; Voting Rights Act of 1965; affirmative action
· African American militance: Malcolm X; Black Power; Black Panthers; Summer of 1968 riots (Watts, Newark, and rest of country)
· Assassinations: Martin Luther King, Jr., Bobby Kennedy

7th Grade—March
The rise of Totalitarianism in Europe
· Italy: Mussolini establishes fascism
· Germany: Weimar Republic/ economic repercussions of WWI
· Rise of Adolf Hitler; Nazism and the ideology of fascism/ anti-Semitism; Lebensraum; “master race”; Kristallnacht
· Soviet Union: Communist totalitarianism
· Spanish Civil War: Franco, International Brigade, Guernica
· Hitler occupies Rhineland, Anschluss, annexation of Austria.
· Appeasement: Munich Agreement, “peace in our time”
· Soviet-Nazi Nonaggression Pact
· Blitzkrieg: invasion of Poland, fall of France, Dunkirk
· Battle of Britain: Winston Churchill, “nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat”

8th Grade—March
· Feminist Movement: Betty Friedan, NOW
· Roe v. Wade, Failure of Equal Rights Amend.
· Cesar Chavez, United Farm Workers
· American Indian Movement: Wounded Knee, Federal recognition of Indian right to self-determination
The Vietnam War
· French Indochina War: Dien Bien Phu, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Minh, Viet Cong
· Domino Theory
· US becomes involved in Vietnam: Special Forces, Tonkin Gulf Resolution
· Tet Offensive; My Lai Masssacre
· Antiwar protests, Kent State, The Pentagon Papers
· “hawks v. doves”

Geometry

February

v Determining If a Quadrilateral is a Parallelogram
v Finding Surface Areas and Volumes of Cylinders
v Introduction to Vectors
v Angles Interior to Circles
v Distinguishing Types of Parallelograms
v Finding Perimeters and Areas of Regular Polygons
v Intro. to Transformations
v Intro. to Trig Ratios
v Properties of Trapezoids and Kites
v Finding Surface  Areas and Volumes of Pyramids
v Translations
v Tangents and Circles, Part 2
v Applying Trig: Angles of Elevation and Depression

March

v Reflections
v Writing the Equation of a Circle
v Symmetry
v Finding Surface Areas and Volumes of Cones
v Rotations
v Angles Exterior to Circles
v Finding Surface Areas and Volumes of Spheres
v Patterns
v Graphing and Solving Linear Systems
v Vector Addition
v Dilations
v Cross Section of Solids
v Determining Chord Length
v Area Ratios of Similar Figures
v Graphing and Solving Linear Inequalities
v Vector Decomposition
v Composite transformations; Tessellations

7th and 8th Grade Science and Algebra
Mr. Nelson
February 2010 News

Welcome to this month’s installment of Nelson’s Notes.  Here are some of the news items that we have been covering in Mr. Nelson’s Classes.

Homeroom:  A reminder to collect Box Tops for Education and bring those into Homeroom.  In addition, our school will be enjoying the Science Fair on the 16th of this month.  To remember – students will need to set up their projects after school in the Forum before they leave, then they will need to be there for judging from 4:30 – 6:30 pm.  Finally, from 6:30 – 7:30 pm the fair is open for all to see and enjoy.

Algebra:  We are now in full fledged Algebra mode.  The material recently covered includes: finite and infinite sets, solving geometric solids, subsets of real numbers, and simplifying radical expressions.  Throughout the rest of this month, students should plan on factoring trinomials, probability, scientific notion, graphing, and writing equations of a line.

Science 7:  We are completing our unit of chemistry and organic chemistry.  We will be exploring oxidation and reduction reactions as well as getting an in depth look at acids and bases.  Students will be able to test various solutions for their power of hydrogen where proton donors like acids would react differently when compared to proton acceptors like bases.  We will continue with the biochemical aspects of chemistry in future lessons.  Students have done an outstanding job on their Science Fair Projects and are looking forward to showing them off on the 16th!

Science 8:  The eighth grade science classes just completed an exploration through the different types of energy and its transformations.  Students made transformation posters that decorate Mr. Nelson’s classroom.  We also are investigating heat energy and how it is transferred.  Labs involving calculating the energy in our bodies as well as the caloric energy in foods were completed.  The upcoming weeks will include explorations in the science behind electricity and magnetism.
 

6th - 8th Grade Math and 7th Grade Science
Mrs. Lindsay
March 2010 News

Science
Monday: Infecting petri dishes.
Due Today: Codominance Handout
Homework: Paper Pets handout, due Tuesday. Petri dish handout, due Monday

Tuesday: How ribosomes make proteins
Due Today: Paper Pets handout.
Homework: Read p. 97-101 and write two paragraphs about the four steps of protein synthesis, due Wednesday. Each paragraph must have at least 6 sentences. The first paragraph must include steps one and two. The second paragraph must include steps three and four. Use cursive.

Wednesday: Microscopes 
Due Today: Paragraphs about protein synthesis.
Homework: Draw pictures of 4 different cells from four different slides. Label any items you can identify. Due Thursday.

Thursday: Mutations 
Homework: Read p. 102-103 and answer 1a,1b, 2b, 2c, 3b from page 103. Also answer questions 1-10 on page 105. Use cursive and complete sentences. Due Friday.

Friday: Finish petri dishes, Review
Due Today: Questions from pages 103 and 105.
Homework: Review handout and petri dish handout due Monday.

Math  
Monday: Lesson 84 due. Homework: Lesson 85 due Tuesday.
Tuesday: Lesson 85 due. Homework: Test 16b Practice test, due Wednesday.
Wednesday: Practice test due. Test 16. No Homework.
Thursday: Homework: Test 16 corrections and Lesson 86 due Friday.
Friday: Lesson 86 due. Homework: Lesson 87 due Monday.

Lesson 83 omit: 19, 20, 21, 25, 30
Lesson 84 omit: 1, 4, 18, 21, 29
Lesson 85 omit: 6, 8 18, 29, 30
Lesson 86 omit: 8, 11, 13, 18, 21
Lesson 87 omit: 1, 8, 13, 19, 27
Lesson 88 omit: 18, 19, 20, 21, 26
Lesson 89 omit: 12, 15, 22, 25, 29
 

* Cinco de mayo is coming up, don’t forget to start saving your eggs for cascarones!

Parent Portal: I try to update the grades listed on parent portal weekly.

2nd Grade
We will begin each day working with the calendar and will be working on telling time in Spanish.
Es la una- it’s 1:00  Son las dos- it’s 2:00  Son las tres y media- it’s 3:30
Son las cuatro y cuarto- it’s 4:15 Son las cinco menos cuarto- it’s 4:45

Grade 3
We will begin each day reviewing past vocabulary. We will be working on adjective agreement and definite articles.
El- the (singular and masculine) La- the (singular and feminine)
Los- the (plural and masculine) Las- the (plural and feminine)

Grade 4
Visit the textbook website at www.phschool.com. We will be working on food vocabulary and preferences for meals.
Desayuno- breakfast Almuerzo- lunch Cena- dinner  Merienda- snack

Grade 5
Visit the textbook website at www.phschool.com. We will be working on the present progressive or “ing.”

Grade 7
Visit the textbook website at www.phschool.com. We will be continuing to learn the imperfect tense and focusing on television vocabulary.

Back to the top 

LA CLASE DE ESPANOL - Grades K, 1, and 7
Señora Cihlar
March 2010 News 

Kindergarten
¡Hola!  This month we are going to be learning foods in Spanish.  Below is a list of the words we will be learning.   Please take some time, when you can, to practice these with your children over the next few weeks. 

We will also sample Mexican hot chocolate.  I have included the recipe on the back for two reasons:  1) so you can check the ingredients – if you do not want your child to sample it, please let me know,  2) so you can try making it at home! The recipe is quite simple and fun to make with children. J

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, the best way to reach me is by 
e-mail:  cihlaranna@aasd.k12.wi.us. 

LA COMIDA – FOOD
La manzana – apple 
el cereal - cereal 
la leche - milk
La banana – banana 
las galletas - cookies 
el jugo - juice
Las uvas – grapes 
el pollo - chicken 
el agua - water
La naranja - orange 
el helado – ice cream 
el pan – bread
el queso - cheese 
el huevo – egg 
el pastel - cake
el jamón – ham
el chocolate – chocolate 

EL CHOCOLATE MEXICANO
(MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE)

½  c. sugar
¼ c. cocoa
¼t. salt
1T. flour 
1t. cinnamon
1 c. cold water
4 c. milk
2t. vanilla extract

1. Place the sugar, cocoa, salt, flour, cinnamon, and water in a large saucepan.  Place the saucepan over low heat and stir until the mixture dissolves into the water.
2. After the mixture is disolved turn up the temperature of the stove to medium high.  Stir the mixture until it boils.  Boil for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring all the time. 
3. Add the milk.  Continue to stir until the milk is hot, but not boiling. 
4. Just before the milk boils, remove the saucpan from the heat.  Stir in the vanilla extract.  You may want to let it cool a bit before serving.  Be careful not to burn your mouth!

First Grade
¡Hola!  This month we are going to be learning about foods and ordering in a restaurant in Spanish.  Below is the vocabulary list we will be working with.  Please take some time, when you can, to practice these with your children over the next few weeks. 

IMPORTANTE:  Also, as part of our unit on food we will be learning how to make burritos.  I would like for the children to be able to taste burritos and possibly, some other authentic foods from various Spanish-speaking countries.  Therefore, I am in need of PARENT VOLUNTEERS to coordinate, prepare, and serve the food to the class.  Please contact me by TUESDAY, MARCH 9th if you are interested in helping out.  Also, if you could prepare any other authentic dish to accompany the burritos, please let me know by March 9th, as well.  GRACIAS.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.  The best way to reach me is by e-mail:  cihlaranna@aasd.k12.wi.us. 

LA COMIDA – FOOD 
La fresa – strawberry 
La pera – pear 
La piña – pineapple 
El tomate – tomato 
La lechuga – lettuce 
La zanahoria – carrot 
El pescado – fish 
El bistéc – steak 
El yogur – yogurt 
El queso – cheese 
La pasta – pasta 
El arroz – rice 

EL RESTAURANTE – RESTAURANT
el plato - plate 
la escudilla - bowl 
el tenedor - fork
la cuchara – spoon
el cuchillo – knife
el vaso – glass
la taza – cup
el mantel – table cloth
la servilleta – napkin
Me falta… - I am missing…
¿Qué desea para comer? – What would you like to eat?

Seventh Grade
¡Hola!  During the month of March we will be studying the vocabulary and grammar concepts from Chapter 3B:  ¿Cómo se va…?(How do you get to …?).  Upon completion of this unit students will be able to:

· Give and follow directions to places in a city
· Discuss driving and good driving habits
· Understand cultural perspectives on neighborhoods

If you have some extra time, please help enrich your child’s learning by visiting the textbook’s website at home:  phschool.com.  You will find many activities that correspond to each chapter of our textbook. 

Challenge of the Month:  Towards the end of the month, test your child’s progress by asking him/her to tell you in Spanish how to get from your house to Classical school. 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time throughout the school year.  The best way to reach me is by e-mail:  cihlaranna@aasd.k12.wi.us. 
 

LA CLASE DE ESPANOL - Grades 6 and 8
Señora Nelson
February 2010 News 

The 8th grade students are beginning a chapter about staying fit.  They will discuss eating habits, talk about symptoms of illnesses and their remedies  and talk about fitness.  Students will learn to give advice (talk with commands).  Students will talk about exercises and exercise equipment.  Finally students will review the subjunctive mood to talk about hypothetical events. 

The theme for the chapter is Experiencias and this chapter is called Ayudando en la comunidad (Helping in the community).  Upon completion of this chapter, your child should be able to talk about volunteer work and ways to protect the environment, talk about what people say, talk about what people did for others and talk about volunteer organizations.    Remember that additional help is always available through the school website and textbook link. 

Ideas for utilizing your Spanish:

1.  Go to a Mexican restaurant and order in Spanish.
2.  Go to the library and check out (AND read) books written in Spanish.  (The Menasha and Neenah libraries have really good collections in their children’s sections).
3.  Go to the library and check out computer software to practice Spanish.
4.  Go to the following websites and practice your Spanish or learn new vocabulary:

• www.studyspanish.com
• www.conjuguemos.com
• www.quia.com/dir/spanish/
• http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/adventure/index.htm
• www.spaleon.com
• www.classicalcharter.com(see textbook links or other Spanish links)

Useful websites:

www.phschool.com

http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/exercises/

http://www.quia.com/shared/spanish/

http://www.spaleon.com/index.php

Websites for practicing Spanish:

www.studyspanish.com

www.conjuguemos.com

http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/exercises/index.html

http://www.quia.com/shared/index_top50.html
 

LA CLASE DE ESPANOL - Grade 6
Señora Meidl
February 2010 News

Mrs. Foley’s sixth grade class is working on learning the past tense.  We have practiced with the regular verbs and students love singing out loud all the endings of the verbs to the Sesame Street song.  We have also made sure that the present tense is not forgotten, we keep reviewing and recycling it.  I would like the students to be able to go back and forth between the 2 tenses.

Now, we are approaching all the irregular verbs, and students are doing an excellent job.  This class loves to be active, and we have come up with activities that keep them on task while practicing the verb forms.  Ask you son or daughter to teach the “Seven up” game in Spanish to the family.

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MUSIC - Grades 1-6
Mrs. Lindsay
February 2010

Classical School Elementary Spring Concert
Music is the Rhythm of Life!
Thursday, March 4th 

These are the correct times!

1:30 Concert in the forum K-6th grade
6:30-7:00 Kindergarten through 2nd grade
7:20-7:50 3rd through 6th grade

Please show proper audience behavior throughout the concert  and help your children to behave appropriately.  If you remain for both concerts, please control your children between concerts. 

Thank you!

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MUSIC - Kindergarten
Ms. Swaagman
February 2010

February will be spent getting ready for our concert in March.  Songs we will be preparing:  Aiken Drum, Different Beat, Let the Music Begin, Mi Cuerpo hace Musica, and movement to Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals. 
 

MUSIC -Orchestra/Chorus/Band

7th/8th Grade Chorus - Ms. Olson - February 2010
Congratulations, choir students, for a fantastic concert!  I received many compliments on your singing, and even comments on how nice you looked!  You can be proud of your accomplishments.  Thank you, parents, for all of your support.

This month we are studying solfege more in depth and working out of sight-singing packets.  This helps students improve their music reading abilities and strengthen their tuning.  Some of the repertoire for our next concert has been handed out, including “Oh Shenandoah” and “Seasons of Love.”

7th/8th Grade Band - Mr. Schneider - February  2010
Congratulations to all 7th and 8th grade band students on their January 14th concert.  Both grade level bands played with a wonderful sound and very good blend, balance, and intonation.  The success of this concert will be a good point of departure for your musical advancement as we prepare for the May concert.

The 6th grade band students started full band rehearsal three weeks ago and are doing very well regarding the fundamentals of ensemble playing particularly blend and balance.

Seventh grade band students are progressing through the lesson book.  Everyone is working on some new rhythms and expanding their upper and lower register with new notes.  The clarinets in particular are working hard as they learn to “go across the break” to the upper register of the clarinet.  It is challenging and everyone has been patient as the clarinets work on this technique that is unique to their instrument. 

The 8th grade band members are preparing materials for their High School band auditions in late February or early March. 

We have a number of students preparing for the solo/ensemble contest.  All participants are now formally registered and will receive information regarding their performance time about one week before the contest.  The instrumental contest is March 6 at Riverview Middle School in Kaukauna. 

Again, congratulations on your concert; keep working hard and let’s prepare as good a program for your parents in May.

7th/8th Grade Strings - Ms. Wilson - February 2010
We are preparing for Saturday, March 6th solo-ensemble, with volunteer string students from the 7th and 8th grade Classical Orchestra. We will be performing J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 2 (abridged version) We will be receiving the scheduled times for solo’s and ensembles a week prior to March 6th. I will then hand out scheduled times, room information and a map to Kaukauna’s Riverview Middle School.

We are also preparing for the All City String Festival to be held at the PAC on April 13th.  This festival includes 5th-8th grades and 10th-12th grades.  The 7th and 8th grade orchestra students are preparing Hoefelt’s Toccatina and Carrie Lane Gruselle’s arrangement of Go’in to Boston.  Gary Wolfman will be coming to Classical School on Tuesday, Feb 9th to work with the students during 4th hour.

5th and 6th grade orchestra students are diligently working on Dragon Hunter and Gaelic Castle for their portion of the All City Strings Festival along with assigned Suzuki book tunes.

4th Graders are  working on note reading from their Essential Elements 2000 string book and they are also memorizing early Suzuki tunes for our May concert at Classical School.

Keep them practicing!!
 

ART Grades K-6/Fine Arts - Grades 7-8
Ms. Fischer
February 2010 News

Kindergarten
Students are working on a piece by Edward Hopper titled Nighthawks.  They will create a diner scene of themselves, much like the characters in the painting.

Grade 1
Students are working learning about portraits and self portraits.  They are creating a Pablo Picasso-style portrait using basic shapes and lines.

Grade 2
Students are reviewing line direction (vertical, horizontal, and diagonal), and creating a line drawing/watercolor piece based on the artist Joan Miró. 

Grade 3
Students will finish their space pieces.

Grade 4
Students will continue to look at Vincent van Gogh’s piece, Starry Night, creating a marbling piece similar to the movement of Starry Night (Students say this is their favorite project!)

Grade 5
Students will be finishing their landscape watercolor piece.

Grade 6
Students will finish their clay vase pieces.  We will be starting another clay piece, learning how to slab-build a container with a lid. 

7th and 8th Grade February Calendar:
Green=7th Grade; Red=8th Grade
***Note*** Schedule may change throughout the month.  Please check frequently.

1 Continue Construction	2 Para. II & III due Go over conclusion-due Thursday (4th)	3 Continue Construction	4  Check conclusion Discuss where to put citations.  Rewrite in class with citations. Typed R.D. (without works cited page) due 9th .	5 Continue Construction
8 ½ class time-wrap up construction ½ class time-Assign S.G. for Neoclassicsim/        Romanticism-Due               10th	9  Typed R.D. due Go over works cited page in class.  Write out works cited.	10 Correct S.G. Go over answers for exam*Exam on 24th*	11 Hand back R.D. Go over final draft material Final drafts due 16th. Collect Sketches.	12 Computer lab time to type up works cited page.  Print out works cited page before leaving!
15 No School-Staff Development	16  Final draft due Take pics for unit project Reading/S.G. for Cubism-due 26th	17 Begin Glazing	18 Begin conferencing for sketches. Begin transferring to tracing paper & transparency.	19 Continue Glazing
22 Glazing due at end of hour	23 Continue transferring image to tracing paper & transparency Begin transferring image to canvas board.	24 S.G. Exam(finish glazing if needed)	25  Continue to transfer image to canvas board.  Sketch out extra images on board if needed	26  Hand back final drafts. Correct Cubism S.G.           Exam on Thurs,  March 4th

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Phy Ed: Grades K-6
Mr. Gallus
March 2010 News

Monday, March 1st will start a 2-week fitness unit.  This will lead into general fitness testing (3rd - 6th).  K-2 will be introduced to fitness skills but not tested.

This unit will consist of several stations that will deal with arm and abdominal strength, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility and agility.  The stations will last for 30 seconds during week 1 and 45 seconds during week 2.  If any students need inhalers, please make sure they have them at school.  If any special situations arise, please let me know.

K-2 will do v-sits and push-up bridges instead of curl-ups and push-ups.  They also will spend a maximum of 30 seconds at each station instead of 45 seconds as 3rd-6th grades will.

3-6:  Besides physically doing fitness stations (curl-ups, push-ups, leg stretches, agility and endurance runs, jump roping and step box) we will talk about our hearts and take pulse rates during class. 

We will know that our resting heart rate is low and our target heart rate is higher.  This higher heart rate needs to be sustained for a period of time to get the most our of our workout.

If our heart rate reaches our maximum range, we will also know we need to slow down a little.

All stations are self-motivated.  Each student will perform a specific exercise for as long as they can.  If they try, they will improve.  We will take a resting heart rate at the beginning of class.  During the activities, we will again take heart rates by using 3 heart rate wands spread throughout the stations.  This will help them to see what their work ethic is.

The cool down period is the hardest for most students to understand.  Going from a very active time to a non-active time slowly is not in their nature.  In fact, with regard to this concept, the students remind me of kittens.  They play as hard as they can for as long as they can, and then they drop and rest wherever they are. 

After two weeks the 3rd - 6th grades will be tested to see where their physical fitness is currently with regard to the following:

 Curl-ups - abdominal strength
 Push-ups - arm strength
 Trunk lift - back flexibility
 Sit & reach - leg flexibility
 Pacer - cardiovascular endurance

Every student (3-6) will have a worksheet to share with you when we are finished.  Our “HFZ” (Healthy Fitness Zone) is established by the Fitnessgram, a fitness program adopted by the AASD physical education department.