January 9th-13th!

Hello Parents and Heroes!

     It is the second week of the new year and already we have a full list of exciting things!  On Friday, our class will celebrate having earned 1,000 star tickets by watching a student selected video and playing a movie comprehension trivia game.  This activity should fit perfectly with our Early Release Day schedule, remember that school ends at 1:15pm on Friday.  Also, we are registering for our new electives tomorrow!  Our new electives will start on Tuesday, January 17th.
     A quick run-down of our lessons this week include:  reading a variety of Non-fiction texts about Gandhi & Martin Luther King Jr. (while answering "How," "Why," and "What if" questions regarding them).  We will also be exploring weather (and air pressure) through a variety of science experiments this week, please be sure to ask your student each day what they have done in class to learn about weather.  For writing we will begin practicing using contractions/apostrophes in our writing.  In case  it's been a while since you've reviewed the rules of apostrophes here is a quick crash course:  Rule 1-Use the apostrophe with contractions. The apostrophe is always placed at the spot where the letter(s) has been removed.  Rule 2-Use the apostrophe to show possession. Place the apostrophe before the s to show singular possession.  Rule 3-Use the apostrophe where the noun that should follow is implied.  Example: This was his father's, not his, jacket.  Rule 4-To show plural possession, make the noun plural first. Then immediately use the apostrophe.  Example:  two children's hats.  Rule 5-Do not use an apostrophe for the plural of a name.  Rule 6-Use the apostrophe and s after the second name only if two people possess the same item.  Example: Cesar and Maribel's home is constructed of redwood. Rule 7-Never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns: his, hers, its, theirs, ours, yours, whose. They already show possession so they do not require an apostrophe.  Rule 8-The only time an apostrophe is used for it's is when it is a contraction for it is or it has.  I hope that these reminders help you and your child.  Finally, in Math we will be wrapping up our short unit on time this week and taking a brief quiz.  The NCSCOS says that your child should be able to tell time to within 5 minutes but I will continue to challenge your student to tell time to the minute for the rest of the year.  Please try to quiz your student throughout the year to monitor their understanding of telling time, after all...it is a life-skill.  I would also like to take this time to introduce our "Word of the Week" which is emulate.  Please challenge your child to tell you the meaning of the word and to use it in a sentence at some point in the week.
     Finally, please be sure to look over all of the information inside your son or daughter's Monday Folder.  There is a lot of information from the PTA coming home today.  Some items include the book trade which will be occuring next Friday, Readathon, and the One Hunter Family Night.  I've listed some of the dates below.---------------------Important Dates------------------------------

January 13th-Early Release at 1:15pm
January 16th-NO SCHOOL!!!
January 20th-PTA Book Exchange
January 24th-Read-a-thon Begins
January 26th-One Hunter Family Night
February 13th-Healthy Hunter Challenge Begins