Week of February 2 to 6

What We Learned this Week:

Bible: We studied the extent of King Solomon's wealth and read about his many building projects- palaces, ships, and stables. During this time, he had heavily taxed the people in order to fund these ambitious projects. We read about the queen of Sheba's visit, and we focused on her comment of Solomon's great love for God and God's great blessings on him and his household. However, King Solomon failed in some areas. He married many foreign women and built places of worship for their idols and he himself began to worship those idols as well. Solomon relied on his wealth, power, and wisdom and grew distant from God. The students took the test on King Solomon, and we look forward to studying our next unit- "The Divided Kingdom."

Math: This week, we worked with number strings to identify patterns and continue with the pattern. We also did similar work with figures. We looked at math tables to identify the rule given the numbers and worked to fill out the rest of the table. The students ended the week by taking the practice Unit 4 Test. The actual Unit 4 Test will happen next week. The students will receive multiple review sources leading up to the test.

Reading: The students have been thinking about the informational narrative texts they have been reading during this unit and have been thinking about life lessons one could learn from this person's story. 

During the third week of February, we will begin a brand-new reading unit focused on Analyzing Characters. In this unit, students will dive deep into their texts to study character traits, motivations, and growth.

To get the most out of this unit, it is essential that every student selects a chapter book that meets the following criteria:

  • Genre: It should ideally be a fiction book. This allows students to better analyze "unseen" traits like thoughts and feelings that drive a character's actions.

  • Appropriate Level: The book should be a good fit for both their reading level and their interests.

  • Strong Characters: The story needs well-developed characters that provide plenty of material for analysis.

  • Consistency: The goal is for students to stick with this one book throughout the entire unit. We want to avoid students switching books frequently, as this eats into our "precious time" for deep thinking and completing their daily reading diaries.

I am encouraging students to start looking for that "perfect" book now! They are welcome to browse our classroom library or the school library. If they are having trouble finding a book they love at school, I highly recommend a trip to the public library this weekend to find a title they are excited to stick with for the next few weeks.

Thank you for helping your child find a story they can truly get lost in!

Writing: The students conducted online investigations for their selected topic for their informative writing essays. Meanwhile, they have been continuing to write the drafts for their chapters. We ended the week by talking about the importance of elaborating our writing. We started by looking at small sentences in our writing and thinking about what kinds of small details could be added in order to elaborate the writing even more. 

Social Studies: This week, the students have been working on creating a Google Slides Presentation about the geography of the United States of America. They are applying all the skills and concepts they learned through-out this unit onto this project, and they have been working so hard on this.

Spelling: Here is the link to next week's list!

From the Office:

  • Upcoming Dates:

    • February 13 & 16: No School



  • Community Opportunities: 

    • The below list of organizations are not necessarily affiliated with Holland Christian Schools but have requested the sharing of these community opportunities.

         


Exciting News: Our Students are Becoming Published Authors!

I am thrilled to share some very exciting news with you: Our students are going to become published authors! We are beginning work on a professional class book, and more information about the project and how you can order a copy will be coming soon. Right now, our students are hard at work creating the actual pages of our book.

The Illustration Phase

Each student has been assigned two pages to illustrate their part of the story. I have sent home the official paper that the publisher requires for these drawings today. Because this is a professional printing process, there are a few very important rules we must follow:

  • Stay Inside the Lines: Students must keep their drawings and coloring strictly within the designated box on the paper. Anything outside of that box will not be scanned or printed.

  • Materials: Please ensure students use washable markers for their illustrations. This provides the best color saturation for the printing press.

  • Deadline: Please have your student bring their completed drawings back to school by Tuesday, February 17.

I can't wait to see their creativity come to life in a real book! Thank you for your support in making this project a success.


Hemlock Crossing Park Field Trip Information (Thursday, February 12):

We are SO excited for our upcoming field trip to Hemlock Crossing Park on Thursday, February 12. We are leaving school immediately after our lunch time. Please make sure to send your child to school with their full winter gear on this day! We will spend the afternoon outside, and it could certainly be a bit chilly. 

Please check out this link which contains a parent letter from the Ottawa County Parks and Recreation program supervisor. Note: The students won't need to bring a snack with them on the field trip as we will arrive back to school on time to eat our afternoon snacks.

Additionally, we are still looking for a few more parents to chaperone this field trip. If this interests you, please check out this link. Thank you for considering! If you have signed up to chaperone this field trip, I will be reaching out via email really soon with some information.


Friendship Day Celebration (February 11):

With February just around the corner, I wanted to share our plans for Friendship Day (Valentine's Day)! We will be celebrating together on Wednesday, February 11, during the final period of our school day.

Participation Details

If your child would like to bring in cards or small treats/candies to share with their classmates, they are more than welcome to do so!

  • Class Set: If you choose to participate, please ensure there is an item for every student in the class so that everyone feels included.

  • Storage: Students are encouraged to bring a small box or a decorated bag to hold the goodies they receive. If you don't have one at home, don't worry—I have plenty of plastic shopping bags available in the classroom for students to use!

Our Class List

To help with card preparation, here is the list of students in our class:

  1. Grace

  2. Cora

  3. Henry

  4. Chase

  5. Cecily

  6. Skylar

  7. Cristopher

  8. Benjamin

  9. Luke

  10. Max

  11. Nemo

  12. Samuel

  13. Millie

We are looking forward to a wonderful afternoon celebrating our classroom community and friendships!


January Progress Update:

I sent the January Progress Update home with the students on Monday, February 2. Please take a look at it when you are able, sign it, and return it to school with your student by Monday, February 9. Thank you so much for your continued partnership in our students' learning!

From the Music Room:

Recorder Karate was introduced in music this week. Please look for a pink note that explains it in detail.  In addition, please check out my "Recorder Resource Doc" with links to additional resources and backup materials.  

Blessed to partner with you, 
Stacey

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