The Adventures in Mrs. Ripp's Class

It is great to be back!

Math – We finished unit 5 this week and pre-tested for unit 6.  Due to the geo bee, the unit will then start on Monday with new groups.  My afternoon sub will be teaching math but I will try to monitor and help as much as I can.  The first part of unit 6 is heavily focused on working with data and then the second half is all about adding and subtracting fractions.  To make fractions more tangible please point them out outside of school such as in cooking or shopping. 

Science – We have been busy with our landforms and will continue working with that throughout the month of January.  Our super tube challenge was a blast with students focused on their build for 45 minutes.  Pictures will soon show up on our website.

Social Studies – I am incredibly proud of how the students lesson planned with me for the month of January.  Since we may have a different sub every day, we wanted to make sure that students stayed engaged in social studies and also knew what to work on.  We therefore created a long-term project for them all to work on.  I will post details on our website soon.

Reading – We started our new unit of looking at themes and discussing characters, this unit reintroduces important concepts that we discussed earlier in the year, leading to a deeper understanding.  We will also be refocusing on thinking deeply about our books and having better partner conversations.  Finally, I revealed the January book challenge as well.  Details to come on our website!  I have also been adding many new books to our library thanks to the generous Amazon gift card, there are just so many great books out there!

Writing – Our next writing unit was revealed yesterday; an informational book about a historical event.  Students will research a specific historical event and then try to take on the perspective of someone living through it.  This project will wrap up in the beginning of February.   

Special Notes –

* Augustine is ending the week on a better note than she started, they do not think she has NEC (huge sigh of relief) but a viral infection instead.  They therefore cautiously took her off antibiotics yesterday and resumed feeding her in very small doses.  We are now keeping our fingers crossed that she can tolerate the feeds and does not need further treatment for this problem. She also finally crossed 2,000 grams this morning.

* It was a great short week to be back, the students and I are coming up with plans on how to best deal with all the subs in our room and I am proud of how they are approaching their learning.

* Please remember to send in report card envelopes as well as field trip permission slips.

*  Book orders will also go home today and will be due next Friday – there are some great books in January.

* Blogging challenges are back on track with the new one being poster later today.

* I am out of the building all day Monday at a meeting, I am so sorry for the inconvenience.

*  We have 12 applicants so far for my maternity leave sub, I will be looking at their applications these next few days and then we will get interviews rolling. Hopefully we will have it taken care of soon.

*  We did our MAP test for reading on Wednesday and will do math next Wednesday.

*  I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: MAP testing January 15^th, No school Monday, January 21st and Friday, January 24th, , Read-in party (if we make our reading goal) Thursday, January 30^th, Kindness Retreat field trip all day January 31^st,  Carnival Saturday, February 8^th at 2 PM, Valentine’s Day Party 2 PM February 14^th