Oct. 1

On Thursday, we were invited to learn about the different heritages of Spanish speaking countries. Our peers in Spanish immersion taught us about the food, music, games, and details about specific Spanish speaking countries. The students had a chance to try new foods, play some games, and hear facts about this countries. The students were so excited to take notes!

 

Walk-a-thon was a blast! We were able to walk on the new turf and see siblings, cousins, and friends. I tried to catch as many of my "green shirts" as possible. Some were just moving TOO fast! To say they were exhausted when we got back...would be an understatement.

 

 

 

 

By now you've likely received your treasure bag of energy saving tools from the power company via your 4th grader.  There's some great items in there!  It certainly was a fun and engaging presentation they gave us all about energy. 

God blessed us with an AMAZING day on Friday. Our ODC teacher, Mr. Tom, taught us about abiotic and biotic. We then went around the property and located abiotic and biotic features in different ecosystems/habitats. The students were about to catch bugs in the meadows, watch frogs hop into the safety of pondweed, and observe a praying mantis walk across our path. We had a great afternoon!

 

 

 

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING:

Bible - We will have a small quiz on Monday. Then start learning about Ruth.

Math - We will begin our new unit learning 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication. 

Reading - Reviewing our strong reading habits as we take on harder books in the classroom.

Writing - We have begun our Realistic Fiction unit. The students are generating ideas of stories they wish existed that include strong emotions.

Science - We will being learning about sound waves.

FORGOT to ADD these details in the planners...

- Bible Quiz on Monday (blue study sheet in their backpack)

- Library on Monday

THINK! Energy: On Thursday, we were treated to the THINK! ENERGY program sponsored by the National Energy Foundation.  For this program, we had a virtual presentation to teach us about energy, sharing information about:

• What energy is

• Where energy comes from 

• How we produce energy

• How we use energy

• How to become more energy efficient through giving our homes efficiency makeovers

As Creation Keepers of God's world, that last bullet point is crucial to fulfilling our cultural mandate here on earth.  To that end, your child is bringing home a THINK! ENERGY Take Action Kit today.  This kit will ask you and your child to work on some energy related changes in your home.  Additionally, there is a white Home Energy Worksheet (HEW) in your child's take home folder today.  That worksheet is homework and will be due by Tuesday, October 11.  You may fill out the paper and return it to me, OR, even better, you may follow the instructions on the top of the paper to fill it out on line and submit it there.  Then simply write your confirmation code on the top of the worksheet and have your child bring it back to school so I know it is done.  Doing it online saves me a TON of time - otherwise I have to go through them all and enter them myself once they are turned in🥴.  (I do not need the Family Activity Guide book back.)  That gives you a big week and a half to read through and work through the guide and complete the  installations provided.  Please note, if you are not interested in installing everything in the kit, you do not have to!  The white home energy sheet simply asks if you installed the products or not.  We still get credit toward the grant for the rest of the work you do, even if you do not install everything.  Just pass the items you don't use on to someone else who can use them. 😊

In your kit you will find:

• an energy efficient shower head (complete the flow test experiment - bag is included - before and after installation)

• a kitchen faucet aerator (complete the flow test experiment - bag is included - before and after installation)

• 2 bathroom faucet aerators (complete the flow test experiment - bag is included - before and after installation)

• plumber's tape to help with installation

• a shower timer to put on the wall in your shower - an efficient shower is no longer than 5 minutes

• a small scratch and sniff sticker to help you learn to identify the scent of natural gas (natural gas has no smell so an odorant called mercaptan is added as a safety feature so you can smell it and GET OUT of the house before there is an explosion)

• "Turn it off" stickers to place on the switches of the lights that are most frequently left on in your home

• 2 LED lightbulbs

• a night light

• hot water pipe insulation

• window insulation kit with vinyl foam to keep the "draft" out

If you are nervous about knowing how to do all this, there are instructions included for most of the items (either on the packaging or in the student guide).  There is also a website where you can view how-to videos.

We learned SO much about Energy and our role as stewards of our resources.  Returning the completed Home Energy Worksheet will earn your child a THINK! ENERGY color changing pencil.

One added benefit of this assignment - if we get 100% participation, our class will be awarded a monetary grant to be used for educational purposes in our classroom.  What a treat!  The kids are already telling me what we should buy with our money!

Again, THANK YOU in advance, for taking on this energy challenge in your home.  Once your child returns the completed Home Energy Worksheet, we be eligible to claim our grant.  But the lasting impact of this assignment is much more valuable - learning to care for and preserve the resources God has given us!  We are being Creation Keepers!

Walk-a-thon T-shirts - Hang on to those shirts!  We will likely need them again for the All School Program in April.

Parent/Teacher Conferences - Please take a moment to sign up for parent/teacher conferences using the information you received from Holland Christian Schools via email on Monday September 26.

GRANDPARENTS DAY: On Thursday, Oct. 27, Rose Park will be inviting Grandparents and Friends into our building for a special visit. This is a busy day and Rose Park cannot quite handle the guest list of over 300+ people. 3-5th grade will allow visitors in their classrooms from 10:15-10:45. Then following we will have a singing program for them from 11:00-11:15. This is all the information I know right now. But I will let you know if anything changes.