Week 37

Dear parents and students,

The hot, sunny days have returned. I hope you are all managing to stay cool. With only one full week left before our shorter, final week of the year, everybody is getting excited about the upcoming summer break. We have still managed to remain productive in the class, however, and had another busy week.

We finished our final topic in Math this week, closing with the Topic 20 test, about probability. Over the next week and a half, we will be reviewing the year’s curriculum, including some cumulative tests to check how much we remember form our learning throughout the year.

In Science, we have had a lot of fun experimenting with electrical circuits and magnets. We have continued with developing our understanding of  how to build circuits in a series, parallel circuits, and how to add a switch to a simple circuit. We have also been investigating the properties of magnets, which materials they affect, and how. We will have a minor test about what we have learned on Monday, before beginning our final unit about motion and simple machines.

In our Reading and Writing Workshop, we read have continued with our theme of nonfiction writing, spending most of the week discussing an expository account of the wildfires that engulfed Yellowstone National Park, back in 1988. We have come to realize that forest fires aren’t completely bad, and in fact, are necessary for the continuation of nature’s cycle of rebirth and renewal. Next week, we will be reading Skylark, and discussing the genre of historical fiction.

We completed our Persuasive Essays this week, and presented them on Wednesday and Thursday. Questions following each presentation gave a good indication of how successful the essays were, and should prove to be useful feedback for when we next want to make a point!

Dates to Remember:

·      Mon, June 8^th      – Spelling Test
                                 –  Science Test

·      Tue, June 9^th       – Cumulative Math Test

·      Wed, June 10^th    – Last day of clubs

·      Fri, June 12^th       – Benchmark Math Test

·      Wed, June 17^th    – Monthly Assembly, 1:10 in the Library
                                 – Reports go home

·      Thu, June 11^th     – Last day of school (half day)