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Career Day / Early Release Day... Tuesday!

Last week we had spring picture day and our children do photograph well! The poses were fun for the students and look quite professional. I can't wait to see the finished results! Please consider supporting this school project with your check. 

We will be reading Arnold Lobel next. His stories have a humorous grain of truth about friendship.In math we will continue our study of money by counting mixed coins of dimes, nickels, pennies and quarters.

Please help at home. the math addition facts are getting a bit more demanding and will require a lot more practice. Our goal after +9 will be 100 facts in a hurry. If you need a little direction, start with + doubles, then doubles +1.

Fast forward to spring and science. Our focus will be plants and  animals. This is such a broad study that we will key in on the essential question of, "What are the needs of plants and animals?"                        How  are your visits to the CRCT test site? Please make at least a weekly stop at that site to review and practice for the CRCT that will be the third week in April.

Report cards come out again in March. I am proud of how the children are taking more responsibility for their own products in class. Putting forth effort is the key to success in all we do. Hard work trumps ability every time! 

How do I care for my teeth?

This week we will learn the four ways to keep our teeth healthy for life. Can you name them now? Each of the students will construct a toothbrush that can be hung in at home to remind us. We'll see what happens to enamel when it is placed in various  common liquids. The results are dramatic. Ask your Butterfly about it on Friday!

Tuesday is picture day! This is the day that your child will be photographed individually and with the class. I hope you consider supporting this fund raiser and that all the students are healthy and at school on time. First graders are photographed early that morning. It is not a PE day.

The stamps you created are unique and thoughtful. As your students presented their stamp to the class the pride was evident. This Friday is the 5th grade Famous American Reception. We will be able to see each fifth grader parade past us as we line the hallways. It is just one event that makes Sope Creek such an excellent place for children to learn and grow. Sack lunches will be eaten in the room on Friday.

Consult the newsletter for other news of the week and enjoy the last week of February!

Join in the Celebration on Thursday! Sope Creek Turns 30!

A short week is upon us but it's long on excitement.Thursday is Sope Creek's 30th birthday. Join in the fun by turning back the clock to 1978. Let the following list help you dress for 1978. We'll have  a school wide costume contest! Have fun getting in the spirit of the celebration!

Popular 70s Trademarks: Feathered hair, bell bottoms, short shorts, mopeds, disco and glam, roller skating, 8-track tapes, puka beads, - mini, midi and maxi skirt lengths, movie Thank God It's Friday, movie Roller Boogie, movie Saturday Night Fever, movie Grease, chukka boots, STUDIO 54, Pet Rocks, Star Wars, Wacky Packs (trading cards), KC & the Sunshine Band, ABBA, arena rock, David Bowie, Boston, Kansas, Styx, fringe, angel flights (pants), Happy Days & Laverne and Shirley (TV shows), Annie Hall.

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Sounds Like Fun! Art Show!

Friday come to Sope Creek from 6:00- 8:30 to view the beautiful framed work of each Sope Creek student. Your child's work has been framed and matted and is available for purchase. There is a multiple child discount. I have seen them and they are quite nice! Please drop by and support this fund raiser!

This week we will learn about the world of sound!  We'll share non fiction and fiction text as well as prepare a sound experiment to share. Each student will have a chance to share an assigned experiment. Look for it on Monday in your child's folder. If you have any questions or problems let me know. Friday is our High Touch high Tech  in-house field trip.

This week the Food and Nutrition Committee wants the students to try natural milk, soy milk or yogurt this week in the lunchroom.

Mark your calendar for the Sope Creek Fun Run Saturday, March 15,  9-12:30.

Keep reading for Six Flags. It is due in February.

We have another early release this Wednesday.

Read your Butterfly Banter for details and look at the homework assignment sheet for more academic information.

Art Day... Horray!

Art Day is one of the most memorable days of the year and it is quickly approaching. We have been asked to wear black and white or any combination of those colors! So on Friday, February 1 our schedule will be quite different. A new twist to this day is an art fair featuring your students original art. It will be presented in an irresistible art show that evening at Sope Creek. Please stop in and have a look. You will want to purchase these masterpieces for your won home! Consult the invitation for time and details.

In science we are looking at sound. I am asking each student to prepare an experiment to present to the class next week. I will send the specific experiment next Friday and you will have a week to prepare to share. Thank you in advance for your participation with this assignment. Let me know if you have any special needs.

We continue to learn to spell new words and memorize math facts. A few minutes review each day should do the trick, but... if you or your child is having any problem with this, please let me know!

Conference Week 2008

We are looking forward to a very busy and short week! Conferences will fill our early morning and afternoons and the 100th Day will be observed! The second semester opens up many new beginnings!

We now will have a weekly spelling, reading comprehension, and math fact quiz. Look for the words and facts in Friday's folder along with the newsletter. If you should choose to get an early start, you'll have the weekend. 

Yearbooks are still available for $30 until the end of January.

Remember early dismissal  of 12:20 is for one week from Tuesday, January 22- Monday, January 29.

Six Flags Reading
Record any time spent reading any book to, with, or by your child! Try to keep up with the minutes.

Happy New Year! 2008

The Butterflies are well rested and ready to take off for a great 2008. Folders are filled with new units of study, and in the next few weeks we begin weekly  spelling lists and math fact quizes. Any questions you have may be answered at our upcoming conference during the week of January 22. Send in your confirmation as soon as you determine if the time will work for you. Thank you for making  every effort to keep the scheduled conference for your child.

This week we will take a skills test over our third anthology. We also will revisit a math pretest we took in August to check on overall progress in CRCT tested skills. Thanks for having your child well rested and prepared for class each day. Starting in 08 the students will post their homework in a pocket chart each morning. The students like to take responsibility for their work. Please help your child to check his folder for any assignment and return them to school each day. Normally there will not be homework on weekends, except for a preview of vocabulary words.

Place value and numbers to 100 will be our focus in math. The greater than, less than and equal to signs will help us show we know how much a number is. We'll represent groups of 10,100 and even 1,000.

Does your child like to scroll? some of the students are gaining a new appreciation for large numbers in this  optional activity.

Welcome back to school and the rhythm of our second semester!

January 8 is pizza night at Papa Johns. Send in your receipts on Wednesday.

Our Trip to the North Pole, Magnets and Marshmallows!

                                                    

We enjoyed hot chocolate,a classic Christmas story of the North Pole, and experimented with magnets all in the same week. Ask your student about "induction". It was a new vocabulary word we learned at our High Touch High Tech in school field trip. Scientist A led us through a series of centers that reviewed and informed as we experimented!

Please help us create a winter wonderland in the first grade hall by sending in a bag of minature marshmallows if you can. We will need about 12 bags in all for our mural.

Next week we'll visit the countries of North America. Our suitcases are packed and ready to check at the gate. Mexico, Canada ,and the good old USA will be our destimation as we discover how we are alike and how we are different!

Delicious Domino Math

Did you know that we can generate an entire fact family from one domino? Recently the Butterflies picked several dominoes to find the four fact family number sentences. Then we chose one to create an edible domino. Yummy! View the photos below to see a few examples. Click on the image to enlarge it!

                           

Photos of our Class Activities

Enjoy these pictures of the Butterflies in action.