Monthly Newsletter: From February to March

Here is a report on projects, events, standards that we have been working on in our class this month.

Language Arts and Social Studies
We finished reading Stargirl and completed book reports.  We worked on creating "narratives to develop...imagined experiences or events using effective technique" (CCSS.W.5.3) by writing a meeting between the two main characters 15 years after the events of the book, writing a speech for an oratorical contest, or creating greeting cards for the main character.  We also wrote "opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information" (CCCSS.W.5.1) by writing one-page reflections on what each student learned from the book.

Once we finished Stargirl, we got started on our next class novel, which is Where The Red Fern Grows.  This book will not only pull at the heartstrings and teach the girls all about all the North Stars that we use to guide us here at Coral, but it will also help to teach about how Americans survived during the Great Depression.  It should be a great experience!

Writing
The girls have been doing great things in Writer's Workshop with Mrs. Bachman.  They have been studying all different forms of poetry, such as haiku, sonnets, and odes.  They have been writing great short stories, and soon we will be moving on to essays, which will be a great resource for the girls as they move on through school.

Math
We are so lucky to have Mrs. Nunn, our Math Specialist, working with us to help our girls continue to improve.  We have been focusing on two different math standards this month--dividing fractions and exponents.  Also, Mr. Nunn has been a great resource in helping us prepare for PARCC tests.  I have seen the girls move up through their Math books with great confidence.  Congratulations to Rachel who has made it into Algebra!  We have several other girls who are close to finishing their Math-U-See books; keep working hard girls, and we are going to do amazing things!

Science
We had a wonderful OSI to Explora this past week, and we had the opportunity to take a class that fits perfectly with our Physical Science unit that we are working on right now.  We are finishing up learning about properties and states of matter, and we are starting to delve into the world of forces.  We got to experience first-hand Newton's Three Laws at Explora, and the girls are really excited to learn more.

We've had a great month, and we are excited for the projects that await us in March!

Meet Notch

This post has been a long time coming, but I wanted to get some good pictures of our class pet.  I'm sure you've heard of her, but I would like you to officially meet Notch, the rabbit.

She was named Notch because of the small notch in her left ear--her mom was cleaning her ears when she was just a baby and accidentally bit through the left ear.  The bite healed, but left the notch as a scar.

Notch has been a wonderful class visitor, and the students absolutely love it when she comes to see the class.  She is sweet and quiet, and she loves to explore.  The students were able to have her join them at their desks, they fed her carrots and green apples (her favorite treats!), and Notch even let the students play with her in our circle on the blue carpet and snuggle her close.

Notch had a cozy little home in the classroom, where she got to relax after playing with the students.  She loved to burrow in the hay, and sometimes we couldn't even find her.

We have loved having Notch come to visit, but sadly, we will need to bid Notch a fond farewell.  Due to family concerns, I will not be able to keep her.  She is going to a very good home, where I know she will be happy.  I will be bringing her often next week, so the students will be able to say goodbye.  Who knows, maybe one day we will have another class pet!

Our new classroom

This past week has been a whirlwind for everyone here at Coral Community Charter School.  We had the opportunity to move into our brand new school, which was very exciting!  All of us teachers had an amazing blank slate to work with, and although it took a lot of work, we got there in the end.  I thought I would share with you how far our classroom has come this past week.

 As you can see, we had a huge space that we could do a lot of fun things with.  This was taken before all the storage trucks came rolling into the parking lot.  I wish I had taken a picture after everything had been unloaded; the room was packed with boxes and furniture!  It was quite the undertaking, but we had fun transforming the space, and it truly was a transformation.  Here you can see the final product of all the hard work from friends and family.

I love that our room is so bright and colorful!  I am especially excited for our reading nook (the two top pictures with the rainbow).  I think we have managed to create a cozy space where the girls will be excited to go to read.  I hope that the room has reflected the amazing year that we will have this school year.