Update from our Head of School - January 9, 2023

Dear Students and Families,

What a lovely January we have had so far! For those of you who love the snow, I am sure this winter has been a disappointment, but there is still the hope of more snow as we go through the next couple of months. I hope you all enjoy your long weekend and I look forward to seeing the students back on Tuesday!

Mrs. S

Upcoming Dates

1/16 No School-Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

1/20 December Student of the Month Celebration and Breakfast

1/27 January Student of the Month Celebration and Breakfast

1/30 No School for Students-Professional Development Day for Teachers

02/03 Buffalo Sabres to visit and teach hockey

Updates for the Classrooms:

Kindergarten

This week in kindergarten we:

*Learned about the lifestyles of several Native American tribes

*Played 'spelling hopscotch' while learning how to spell words and phrases

*Compared and described attributes of 2-d and 3-D shapes

*Replicated 3-D models using connecter cubes, magna tiles and geoblocks

*Used our knowledge of letter sounds to read the story "Ox and Man" independently

First Grade

This week in first grade we:

-using are reading stamina and knowledge to read longer and harder sentences.

-learned about he vowel pair 'ee'

-read the story ‘Grans Trips’ and used our writing skills to answer comprehension questions!

-learned what a proper noun is

-played our favorite game in Math, Guess the Number!

-learned about longer and shorter and used cubes to measure different objects around our classroom!

-learned what true and false means and practiced reading Math equations like sentences.

-learned about habitats and what every habitat needs

-learned about the Rainforest and how it has 4 different layers based on the amount of sun shines through

-used our knowledge of the Rainforest to create our own animal!

-learned about Edward Jenner and Louis Pasture and how they helped invent the first vaccines!

-spent some time with Mrs. Carr and created our own instruments!

Second Grade

Ask your Second Grader about...

-what they have learned from reading their non-fiction books,

-their non-fiction note taking,

-words that have a final (v) sound,

-playing the math game Penny Pocket and trading ones for tens,

-using their "Sticker Books" to solve 2D+2D addition problems and story problems,

-playing the math game Roll A Square,

-what they have learned about Martin Luther King Jr.,

-investigating solids, liquids and gasses,

-what materials solids are made out of,

-their movie day Reward Party!!

Third Grade

This week in 3rd grade we:

*practiced words which end with le

*worked hard to get our long write "throwaway" draft of our expository (nonfiction) writing piece finished

*practiced division problems using our arrays, used 10 sided dice to get factors to multiple and then figured out the product of those factors, practiced using our CUBES strategy to figure out how to set up multiplication problems (__ groups of ___ = total), practiced fluency using Xtramath (most students are working on addition within 20, extra practice at home makes these facts fluent- accurate and automatic)

*read about Antarctica and discussed the setting, how descriptive words that help us get an image, and how text features support learning more about a topic

*started a one pager about our new read aloud James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

*wrote about our independent reading books in our reading journals

*counted bones in our bodies and discussed the function of our skeletal system

*showed how we are DEPENDABLE when we do our learning job and help others do theirs

*learned about equality, justice, and the civil rights movement when we read about and discussed the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Fourth Grade

The fourth-graders are busy doing leveled reading running records this week.

Students continue to practice standard and metric measurements and converting linear measurements from larger units to smaller units.

Each student became a colonial tradesman, each wrote about their trade and created a colonial trade sign to represent his or her craft. The students are currently sharing these fantastic projects on the 4th grade bulletin board.

Students are also sharing their dinosaur research PowerPoints with their classmates.

Fifth Grade

This week in 5th Grade we:

- Sorted our new vocabulary from The Vanderbeekers into categories, based on meaning.

- Read to Chapter 6 in The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street

- Practiced summarizing and asking/answering inferential questions.

- Learned and read about the three branches of government.

- Used a formula to find equivalent fractions for fractions with unlike denominators

- Used equivalent fractions to compare/order and add fractions with unlike denominators.

- Reviewed/practiced using different multiplication strategies (standard algorithm, multiple tower, array) to multiply factors with double digits.

- Met and set up our new class pet, a Crested Gecko! :)

Many students would like to play Blooket from home! If your child is interested, they may ask you for assistance in setting up an account.

PE/STEM

In PE we selected and started practicing our dance routines for special persons day on Feb. 7th! (More details to come)

In STEM we introduced the new IPads with an app called Scratch Jr. to learn about and practice coding!

Rural Life Lab

All grade levels this week continue to learn about the clothes we wear and where they come from. Grades K-2 are focusing on what a sheep is, and how they are grown on a farm, while grades 3-5 are learning how wool turns into fabric.

Spanish

This week in Spanish we reviewed body parts as we read a story about a potato named Enzo who had a lot of problems! We also continued to review weather and seasons. Here is a song that many of the students enjoy.: Las estaciones

Art

In art class over the past few weeks in K-5, we wrapped up our paper clay projects. Before the break, we created impressions in the clay with organic objects like leaves, pine cones, and pine needles. The resulting textures or mini-narratives were fun to create!

When we returned from break, the clay was dry and ready for pain! We embellished our creations with liquid watercolors with beautiful results. Some students created sculptures while others turned their embellished paper clay creations into ornaments or jewelry like necklaces and bracelets.

This week in K, 2, and 4th grades, we explored artist Wassily Kandinsky's artwork, specifically his 1913 Color Study with Concentric Circles. We explored primary and secondary colors to create our own works independently with the intention of taking the individual parts to make a whole.

In K and 2nd grade, we worked with markers and then put our unique explorations together as a collaborative whole to analyze and discuss our creative discoveries.

In 4th grade, we work with tempera paint and the individual works are assembled for the class to present and discuss their creative discoveries to an audience in a future class.

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"Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education." -Martin Luther King, Jr. Kerryanne Schenck Head of School Truxton Academy Charter School pronouns: she, her, hers Office: (607) 842-6252 Ext. 109 Cell: (607) 218-2268