Dear parents and friends of Schaab Scholars,
I hope that everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving break filled with family, relaxation, and fun. We were in Marco Island for a few days and enjoyed the holiday at home with some amazing friends. We were lucky to have a break both on the beach and in town to take advantage of the Christkindle Market at Wrigley in the nice temperatures. I loved seeing so many Field Families yesterday at the Book Fair. It was great to chat, complete the scavenger hunt, and read to such a lovely crowd of people! If I missed you, I'm sorry! I hope everyone had a BLAST!
The Scholars were so excited to be back to school on Monday! It was great to hear about all of the amazing things people did over break and some of the interesting books scholars read. On Tuesday, I was beyond impressed with the 4th grade's dedication, teamwork, kindness, and drive to make a difference at Feed My Starving Children. The Scholars were well behaved, even on the bus (for the most part), and were amazing to see focused and wanting to help others. A HUGE THANK YOU to all of the parents who joined us on the special trip. We couldn't of done it without you! The Scholars all REALLY want to go back, which you can schedule at any time. Check out the FMSC website for more information. I may arrange a weekend outing where we can meet there if anyone is interested. Like Wonder, it would be you need your own grown up. The ratio at FMSC is one adult for every 3 students. I'll keep you posted on a date soon!
In reading, we just launched our unit on nonfiction. We had an unexpected first day back in reading when students unpacked their backpacks and STAR binders looking for nonfiction. Students couldn't believe how much non fiction was around them! We are now reading and studying how to be readers of nonfiction, including a partner book in class. We are going to continue to learn strategies on how to be amazing nonfiction readers, and eventually transfer our skills to learning about weather and presenting about weather. Please make sure that your child is reading 30 minutes every day. Find a good place for them to work it into their routine, like after brushing teeth, or before basketball practice. The best way to grow into a better reader, is READ!
In math, we just wrapped up our unit on multiplication. Students will be getting their tests back on today and we'll be starting dividing by a one digit number, with the goal of finishing the chapter before break. Fact fluency is essential, so please encourage your child to do Xtra Math on a regular basis. There are also some fact fluency games linked in Google Classroom - Math Mavens, if they need extra practice beyond Xtra Math, which I know, many students do.
In Writing, we've been working on some descriptive writing activities around our theme of kindness from our read aloud. We'll be perfecting the final drafts today, then move on to persuasive writing. I know that right now there's a lot of persuading happening and that the Schaab Scholars think they are experts! I'm hoping these skills transfer into writing, as we embark on the new genre.
In Social Studies we just finished up our first chapter talking about what Social Studies really is. We loved wearing the different hats of an economist, geographer, historian, and political scientist. We enjoy examining artifacts wearing each of these hats. We had a little pop quiz to finish off our study on this chapter on Friday, and now we'll be moving on to Exploring the Regions of the United States. We'll be starting with wearing a geographer hat to learn about regions of things we know about, as well as regions of our state, and the United States. The students are going to love these engaging activities!
I'm sure we'll be weaving in some other holiday themed activities however, we have a lot to learn before we break! As always, thank you for your support in and out of the classroom! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out and ask!
Mrs. Caroline Schaab
