Happy Friday

We hope that you had a wonderful week!  Continue to be checking out Twitter or the sidebar on the blog page for pictures of what happened this week.

Upcoming Events

• May 10: Runge Field Trip 
• Sack lunch needed
• We will get ice cream at the end of the field trip.
• May 15: Field Day
• Please send clothes for your child to change into after Field Day.
• Here is the link for field day donations:  ttps://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0548AFA922A13-field1
• Here is the link for field day volunteers: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0548afa922a13-field
• May 17: Family Lunch Bunch
• 11:00 - eat lunch with child in pavilion
• 11:30 - recess with child on playground
• 11:45 - writing celebration in the classroom
• May 17: Crazy Hair Day
• May 23: Variety Show
• May 27: No School- Memorial Day
• May 28: Last day of school
• Dismissal at 12:10

Lots of Learning!

Math

• Your child brought home his/her geometry test on Monday.  If you have not already reviewed, signed and returned this test please do so.  We have you sign and return to make sure that you are aware of how your child is doing in math.
• This week, we started our last math unit - I can't believe how quickly this year is coming to an end.  We talked more in depth with fractions.  Your child is expected to be able to partition a shape into halves, thirds and fourths, and be able to identify what a shape is partitioned into.
• Next week, we will continue to reinforce fractions, learning about subtracting multiple digit numbers, and reviewing counting coins.

Writing

• This week, the students worked EXTREMELY hard on editing and revising their Which is Better writing.  We worked on adding voice to our writing - this is something that we are going to continue to work on for the rest of the school year.
• Next week, we will start publishing our 10 page book!!!!  This is typically is our students favorite piece of writing and they will be super excited to share it with you at the Lunch Bunch/Writing Celebration on May 17.

Reading

• This week, students were introduced to dramas (no no the drama that sometimes happens in second grade but reading plays).  Students are expected to be able to identify the setting and characters in a drama, and how the dialogue advances the plot of the story.  We also talked about what an Act is versus a Scene.  We discussed the idea if math is the act then stations are like the scenes.  We started with a drama that is familiar ("The Three Little Pigs").
• Next week, we will be continue to reading dramas but in a less familiar story.  We will then move into identifying the main idea and supporting details of a nonfiction text.

Fundations

• We started talking about long o vowel team of oa, oe, and ow.  We learned that "oa" comes when the long o sound is in the middle of a word and the "oe" & "ow" comes at the end of a word.  We also discovered that "ow" also can be in the middle of a word like grown or thrown.  Today, the students made a up a rule about when "ow" can be found in the middle of the word - ask your child about it!!
• Next week, we will continue to talk about the long o vowel teams and have our end of the unit test.  We took a checkup today to see how the students are doing with this skill and they made goals based on what they need to work on.  Ask your child what they need to focus on for the test (some students got a 100% on this checkup and did not make a goal).

Science

• We continued to work on food chains.  We know that all food chains start with the sun and then a producer (plant, nut or seed).  Then, comes the primary and secondary consumers.  This week, we added decomposers and scavengers to our food chains.  Mrs. Ross taught the students a fancy word for decomposer - ask your child what it is!! 
• Next week, students are making their very own food chain based on an ecosystem and then moving into learning about food webs.

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and please let me know if you have any questions! :)

Happy Friday!

We have had an an amazing week!  Make sure to checkout Twitter or the sidebar on the blog for pictures from the week!

Art Walk & Museum Field Trip

What an amazing field trip that we had on Tuesday!  This field trip was planned by Mrs. Clark (RBE's art teacher) and paid for by CPS's Fine Art Department-we are so lucky that the arts are so supported by CPS!!  The morning started off at the Court House and then we traveled down 8th Street looking at the art work.  If you haven't had a chance to look at all the art work - take this walk with your child and have him/her be the travel guide!  We ended on MU campus and took in some iconic sites and art.  We ate lunch on the Quad and then we sketched what we saw.  Our last stop was the Museum of Art and Archaeology at MU North.

Runge Field Trip

Our next field trip is to Runge on May 10.  Funding for this field trip is through Missouri Department of Conservation grant that RBE writes each year.  We are preparing for this field trip by our final science unit on plants and animals.

There is permission slip coming home in your child's Friday Folder today.  You can click here to view the permission slip and timeline.  Please review, fill out and return this permission slip by Monday, April 29.  We are also going to have a new addition of enjoying Central Dairy ice cream at the end of the field trip!  A small ice cream cost $2.00 and we are asking for this money when you return your child's permission slip.

RBE Eat Out at Panera

Don't have a plan for dinner on Tuesday?  Let us help you out!  Come eat at Panera from 4:00-8:00 pm!  If you are eating at Panera make sure to show the flyer below.  You can also order online for rapid pickup, but make sure that you use the code "PRFUND".  Come and enjoy dinner at Panera!

Upcoming Events

• April 23: RBE Family Eat-Out Fundraiser at Panera
• May 10: Runge Field Trip (Permission Slip coming home today)
• Sack lunch needed
• We will get ice cream at the end of the field trip, so $2 will be needed. We will ask for this to be sent in with the permission slip that will come home in a few weeks.
• May 15: Field Day
• May 17: Family Lunch Bunch
• 11:00 - eat lunch with child in pavilion
• 11:30 - recess with child on playground
• 11:45 - writing celebration in the classroom
• May 17: Crazy Hair Day
• May 23: Variety Dhow
• May 27: No school- Memorial Day
• May 28: Last day of school
• Dismissal at 12:10

Lots of Learning!

Math

• We finished up our geometry unit yesterday and took our post-test.  We learned about 2-D shape characteristics (triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon and octagon) and also 3-D shapes.  Your child should know how to draw arrays and write a number model that represents the array.  This test will be coming home on Monday after your child has a chance to look over it.  Please review with your child, sign and return next week.
• Today, we started Unit 9.  This unit is a review of many math concepts that we have taught throughout the year and going more in depth with partitioning shapes.  Coming home in your child's Friday Folder is the Parent Letter and HomeLinks for this unit.  
• We had a conversation today about halves, thirds, and fourths.  We learned that when partitioning the parts must be equal.

Writing

• This week we went back to our Which is Better writing.  On Monday, we wrote our conclusion paragraph that included our opinion on which of the researched items we thought was better, we would want to meet or which would win in a battle.  Then, we came up with creative headings for all of our paragraphs, and decided which text feature is best for each paragraph.
• Next week, we will edit our Which is Better writing and then start publishing!!

Reading

• This week, we worked on making connections.  Connections are important to make as readers.  By making connections we are able to understand more of how the character feels or what the character is going through.  We can make text-to-self connections, text-to-text connections and text-to-world connections. 
• Next week, we will be discussing dramas.  Students will need to be able to identify the characters, setting, acts and scenes in plays.  We will also be discussing the dialogue in drama and what the purpose of it is.

Fundations

• This week, we learned about when to use "oi" versus "oy".  The students took an end of the unit Fundations test today and these will be coming home with your child next week.  We talked about the importance of using our resources (Monster book - spelling options & trick word section) to make sure that words are spelled correctly.
• Next week, we will be learning about the vowel teams that make up the long o sound (oa, oe & ow).  

Science

• Our last science unit of the year is organism needs.  We will be talking about what animals and plants need.  We will be learning about how animals help plants reproduce.  
• We started an experiment last week on putting marigolds in different conditions to see what happens to the plants.  Today, we observed the plants and discovered that water is more important to plants that are in the sun than plants that have no light.  We will continue to be observing our plants for 2 more weeks.
• We have been learning about food chains.  All food chains start with the sun because the sun gives energy to the producers (plants), a primary consumer eats the plants and then a secondary consumer eats the primary consumer.  We will also be learning about decomposers and scavengers next week.

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and please let me know if you have any questions! :)

Happy Loren Long Day!

We had a great time this week with the warm weather and a lot of learning! Check out Twitter to see pictures from this week.  Make sure to ask your kiddo about Shelly (a frozen baby turtle we rescued from the mulch on the playground).

Loren Long

• Today, we were able to see Loren Long; the author of the "Otis" books! We used his writing as mentor texts to write our own Otis books, so it was very cool to meet him in person. The students always have such amazing questions for visiting authors, and it was great to hear the questions that stemmed from our class readings of Loren Long books and our writing.  

Seesaw

• Today, we introduced an interactive website Seesaw.  We are going to use this for students to complete assignments and for us to be able to give feedback.  Their first assignment was to take a picture of their new Fundation passage called "Surprise" and then read it fluently.  Ask you kiddo about it.  Once 

Friday Folders

• In Friday folders this week, you will find a Fundations test. This test was pretty difficult because we had a lot of options for our long /e/ sounds and none of them had rules. We practiced using our Monster Book (mini dictionary) during the unit, and when it comes to applying that to a test it can be difficult. When looking over the test with your child, please talk to them about using our resources to help use spell.

Upcoming Events

• April 16: Field trip to the Art and Archaeology Museum
• Sack lunch needed
• April 23: RBE Family Eat-Out Fundraiser at Panera
• May 10: Runge field trip
• Sack lunch needed
• We will get ice cream at the end of the field trip, so $2 will be needed. We will ask for this to be sent in with the permission slip that will come home in a few weeks.
• May 15: Field Day
• May 17: Family Lunch Bunch
• 11:00 - eat lunch with child in pavilion
• 11:30 - recess with child on playground
• 11:45 - writing celebration in the classroom
• May 17: Crazy Hair Day
• May 23: Variety Dhow
• May 27: No school- Memorial Day
• May 28: Last day of school
• Dismissal at 12:10

Look at All This Learning!

Math

• In math this week, we have been reviewing our geometry vocab and been working on using equal parts both with partitioning shapes and arrays. On Monday, we will be taking our cumulative test that goes over what we have learned so far in math. On Wednesday, we will be taking our Unit 8 test and Unit 9 pretest. We will then be starting an introductory unit on fractions.

Writing

• This week, we worked on using Loren Long's books as mentor texts to create our own Otis books. Next week, we will finish up our "Which is Better" opinion writing. 

Fundations

• In Fundations this week, we finished up our unit on the /e/ sound. We took a test on Tuesday over Unit 11. On Thursday, we started a new unit over oi and oy. Next week, we will finish up this short unit and take our Unit 12 test on Friday.

Reading

• In reading this week, we worked on finding character's point of view in a book. We talked about how point of view can be different between characters and how one character can change another's point of view. Next week, we will begin making connections: text to self, text to text, and text to world.

Science

• In science this week, we finished up our unit on Earth's changes. Next week, we will start a unit on food chains and life cycles. Today, we started a experiment to go along with this unit that focuses on what plants need to survive. We made hypotheses and decided which plants we think will grow the most and which ones we think will not survive.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know. Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday!

We have had a wonderful week and it was so nice to have warm weather!!!  Be sure to check out Twitter for pictures from the week.

Chaperones for Runge

• Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to chaperone our Runge Field Trip and also for filling out the background check and volunteer application forms.  
• If you have not filled out the forms and are interested in chaperoning, please let me know and I will send home a form.

How I Became a Pirate Play

• The students really enjoyed going to see the TRYPS production of  How I Became a Pirate on Thursday.
• A HUGE thank you to PTA for purchasing the tickets for us.
• Another HUGE thank you to the Missouri Arts Council for providing the funding for our transportation.  

Friday Folder

• Art and Archaeology Field Trip Information
• Mrs. Clark, our art teacher, has planned a field trip to explore downtown art as well as go to the Art and Archaeology Museum at Mizzou North on April 16.
• In the Friday folder, is a slip regarding lunch for that day.  Please fill out the bottom portion regarding lunch and return it to school.  We just need to know if your student will be bringing a lunch from home or is purchasing a sack lunch from the cafeteria.
• CPS Fine Arts department is funding this field trip so we will not be taking chaperones.
• Loren Long book order form
• Loren Long is coming to RBE (we are really excited) on April 12.  If you would like to order books, there is an order form in your student's Friday folder.  Any books purchased will be signed by Loren Long.
• Unit 12 Fundations Packet
• We will be wrapping up Unit 11 next week in Fundations, so we have put the Unit 12 information letter in the Friday folder.  As always, please continue practicing trick words at home.
• Unit 8 Math Packet
• The practice pages for Unit 8 are in the Friday folder.  As always, these are not required, but students can do them if they want some extra practice.  
• Field Day Sign Up
• If you would like to sign up to help at Field Day.  There is a note in your student's Friday folder with a link to sign up.
• RBE 2019-2020 Sheets
• As we start looking towards next year, it is always helpful to know if students will be returning.  In the Friday folder is a paper to be filled out letting us know if your students will be returning to RBE next year.  

Important Upcoming Events

• April 10: Full day of school
• April 12: RBE shirt/school colors day
• April 12: Loren Long comes to RBE
• April 16: Field trip to Art and Archaeology Museum
• Sack lunch needed
• May 10: Runge Field Trip
• Sack lunch needed
• We will get ice cream at the end of the field trip, so $2 will be needed.  We will ask for this to be sent in with the permission slip that will come home in a few weeks. 
• May 15: Field Day
• May 17: Family Lunch Bunch
• May 17: Crazy Hair Day
• May 23: Variety Show
• May 28: Last Day of School (Dismiss at 12:10)

Reading

• This week in reading, we worked on cause and effect.  The students are able to explain that a cause is what happens to make the effect happen.  We have been working on identifying cause and effect situations in both read aloud books, as well as independent books.
• Next week, students will start to learn about point of view.  They will discuss how a different character may have a different point of view and how it can change the story.

Writing

• This week, students have been working on supporting their opinions with facts.  They will be writing an opinion piece about reusable water bottles vs. disposable water bottles.  Be sure to ask your student which they think is best and why.
• Next week in preparation for Loren Long's visit, the students will be writing their own Otis stories.  We will then give Loren Long our stories on Friday, April 12 when he is at RBE.

Math

• This week, we continued to work on Unit 8.  The students were introduced to 3-D shapes.  They also started learning about partitioning shapes into equal pieces as well.
• There is A LOT of vocabulary in this unit.  Below is a list of the vocabulary words, please review these at home.  Practicing their math vocabulary can count as a homework bingo activity.  
• side, angle, vertex (both in 2-D and 3-D), right angle, parallel lines, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, polygon, edge and face.
• Next week, students will continue working on partitioning shapes into equal pieces.  They will also be creating and describing arrays.  

Fundations

• This week in Fundations, we have continued to work on vowel teams.  The students now know 4 spelling patterns for the long A and 6 spelling patterns for the long E.  We have been using our Monster book to look up the different spelling patterns.
• Next week, we will start Unit 12.  This unit continues to work on vowel teams.  The students will learn oi as in coin and oy as in boy.  These two are "easier" because oi is in the middle of words and oy is at the end of the words.

Science

• This week in science students learned about fresh water and salt water.  They learned where salt water and fresh water are found.  They also learned about 3 main bodies of water in Missouri, the Missouri River, Mississippi River and the Lake of the Ozarks.
• Next week, we will finish up learning about water and move on to erosion and glaciers.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to let us know.