March, 2020

Hello Parents & Families!

Here's what's going on in March...

Upcoming Dates:

• March 12th - Field Trip to Asheville Zoo
• We are leaving the school at 7am, so you need to arrive no later than 6:45am
• March 12th - S.T.E.A.M. Night from 5:00-6:30pm
• March 12th - End of 3rd Quarter
• March 13th - No School: Teacher Workday
• March 16th - No School: Teacher Workday
• March 20th - Science: Newton's Laws Project Due
• March 20th - Report Cards
• March 20th - Payment Due for Spring Pictures
• March 23rd - Spring Pictures with Chanda
• March 25th - Math: Topic 11 Measurement Conversion Assessment
• April 1st - Science: Force & Motion Unit Assessment
• April 1st - Math: Topic 12 Line Plots Assessment

This Month in Math:

We just finished our unit on Volume and took the test today (3/6). Next week we'll start a unit on Measurement Conversions. We'll finish that unit on the 23rd, and then review and take our test on the 25th. Our next unit will be on Line Plots. We'll take that assessment on April 1st.

This Month in Science:

In Science, we're studying Force & Motion. On Monday, 3/9 the kids will be bringing home a project - Newton's Laws of Motion Project - that is due on 3/20. They can choose to make a poster, a brochure, or a powerpoint presentation about Newton's three laws of motion. I've included a link to the directions here. We'll wrap up our Force and Motion unit at the end of the month and take our unit assessment on April 1st. Then we'll begin learning about the Human Body.

Have a great weekend!
Ms. Poole

February, 2020

Hello Parents & Families!!!

When I started writing the list of upcoming dates for the month of February (below) I couldn't believe what a busy month it is. Between our field trip, Valentines Day, and Math & Science assessments, we've got a lot going on! But it's a good mix of learning and fun, so we'll make it...😀.

We've got the Valentine Dance for K-5th on Thursday, February 13th from 4:45 until 6:00pm, and the next day we'd like to do a Valentine exchange (I'll send home a list of names with the kids this week) and have some fun and treats. If you're able to send in cupcakes, cookies, or juice boxes, please see our Valentine's Day Sign Up Genius.

Upcoming Dates
Friday, Feb 3rd - Field Trip to Imaginon - Akeelah and the Bee
Thursday, Feb 6th - Math Unit 8 Assessment, Multiplying Fractions
Thursday, Feb 6th - Weather Unit Assessment
Tuesday, Feb 11th - Math Benchmark Assessment, Units 1-8
Thursday, Feb 13th - Valentine Dance K-4, 4:45-6:00 pm 
Friday, Feb 14th - Valentine Exchange 1:20pm
Thursday, Feb 20th - Thermal Energy Unit Assessment
Wednesday, Feb 26th - Math Unit 9 Assessment, Dividing Fractions

This Month in Math
We're wrapping up our unit on multiplying fractions this week, and the kids have done REALLY well with it! We'll review the unit on Wednesday (2/5) and take the Unit 8 Assessment on Thursday (2/6) The following week we'll take a Math benchmark assessment that covers units 1-8 (everything since the beginning of the year. We'll review on Monday (2/10) and take the assessment on Tuesday (2/11). After that we'll begin our last fractions unit, Dividing Fractions. That will keep us busy until the end of the month when we begin learning about Volume.

This Month in Science
We're finishing up our big Weather unit that took us through the month of January. We'll be reviewing the unit on Wednesday (2/5), and taking the unit assessment on Thursday (2/6). The following week we'll begin our unit on Thermal Energy. The kids will learn about the ways that heat energy is transferred (conduction, convection, and radiation) and we'll do some fun experiments, like making s'mores in solar ovens. The thermal energy unit is pretty short...about two weeks, and I'm planning to do a final test on February 20th. Then we'll begin our next big unit...Force and Motion. This is always a fun one to do with the kids because there are so many fun labs to do! The Force and Motion unit will continue until the end of March.

Have a Fantastic February!
Ms. Poole 💗

January 2020

Happy New Year!!!

I hope all of you had some time to rest and relax during the crazy busyness of the holidays! I got my house clean and organized (it was a bit of a wreck after moving classrooms at the beginning of December!) and spent a good chunk of time planning for the rest of the school year. Don't worry though...I got plenty of rest and relaxation in too (no alarm clocks for two weeks was wonderful)!  I'm excited to get back to teaching and learning! I really enjoyed my first couple of weeks with your children, and am looking forward to the rest of our year together.

I'd like to introduce our class blog, The Poole Pages, which I'll use to give you monthly updates about what we're doing in class. The Math and Science pages have an overview of what we'll be studying each month, as well as helpful links. The Homework page will be updated each week with links to our homework assignments for that week. On the Homeroom page I've posted lots of helpful information about our daily schedule, specials classes, celebrating birthdays, etc. Let me know if there's other information you'd like to see here :)

Upcoming Dates
A few dates to add to your calendar:

1/10 - Report Cards issued
1/17 - No School: Teacher Workday
1/20 - No School: MLK Jr. Day
1/23 - Chick-fil-a Night
1/27 or 1/28 - Unit 7 Math Assessment (Add/Subtract Fractions with Unlike Denominators)
1/31 - Weather Unit Assessment

Homework
Many of the kids have been asking for 'paper/pencil' homework, so I'll begin sending this home on Monday, Jan 6th. I'll also have links to each assignment on the Homework page on our blog. For those students who prefer the online homework, this is still an option! For Math, students can choose to complete the 'paper/pencil' homework OR do Mathletics, OR do Dreambox. I'm also sending home Science homework. This will mainly consist of vocabulary practice on Quizlet.com (there's a link on the Homework page AND on the assignment page that's sent home) and some reading/questions that will help give the kids more exposure to our Science content.

Homework will be sent home each Monday, and will not be due until the following Monday, so this week's homework is not due until Jan 13th. This way you can get homework done when it works best for your family.

 This Month in Math:
We're starting a series of Fractions units (adding/subtracting, multiplying, and dividing) that will take us to the end of February. Most of January will be spent learning about adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. The first half of the month we'll be learning to find common denominators and using them to find equivalent fractions so we can add and subtract fractions. Then we'll bring mixed numbers into the equation. I've got some fun hand-on activities planned too, and hope you won't mind sending in some ingredients for us to make Sprinkle Chow (similar Puppy Chow, but no peanut butter)! I'll send out a Signup Genius link later this week :) I anticipate taking our Unit 7 assessment on Jan 27th or Jan 28th.

I'll be showing the following video in class...it's really helpful for learning how to find common denominators:

This Month in Science:
We're starting our Weather unit this month! During the first week of the unit, we'll learn the difference between weather and climate, as well as finding out about the tools that meteorologists use to forecast the weather. We're going to make some of those tools and set up our own Weather Stations to observe and record the weather at MIDCCS. Then we'll track the weather in Nunavut, Canada, and Sao Paulo, Brazil so we can compare what's happening there with the weather in North Carolina.

In week two, we'll learn about air pressure, air masses, and weather fronts, as well as the four main types of clouds that we see, and what all of these things tell us about the weather we can expect.
We'll wrap up the unit with all kinds of information about ocean currents, global winds, and hazardous weather like tornados and hurricanes. I'm planning to give the unit assessment on Jan 31st.

Please feel free to contact me via email (kpoole@midschool.org), or Remind (text within the app) at any time with questions, concerns, or updates. I'm also happy to meet with you after school...just let me know ahead of time so I can make sure that I'm here :)

Warm Winter Wishes,
Ms. Poole