Happy Spring Break!

I hope that everyone enjoys their week!  The students worked so hard as the third quarter came to a close, they certainly deserve a break!

This past week, the students learned many new words while we read Abuela.  Many words were Spanish, such as el gato (the cat), mira (look), and more.  Thanks to our bilingual students who helped teach their classmates the meaning of the Spanish words and phrases.  In math, we have been focusing on counting by 10s and making teen numbers.  10 + 7 makes 17.  This is one group of 10 and 7 ones.  This skills is extremely important for understanding place value and being successful in first grade (which is just around the corner!). 

On Thursday, B day students had a visit from the Cincinnati Zoo.  We got to see a spectacled owl, a kookaburra, a cockatoo, and a penguin named Bubba!  We learned some interesting facts, as well.  For example, did you know that female owls are larger than males?  If a penguin has black feet, it means that it is a warm weather penguin.  The students got to hold a feather from a Russian Eagle and pet Bubba, the penguin.  It was the perfect event to kick off Spring Break!

Third quarter is coming to an end!

Oh my!  I am so excited for how much the students have learned this year, but as there are only two days left in the quarter, I am rather sad.  This is a wonderful group of students--they look out for one another, celebrate each others' achievements, and are so caring toward one another.  I am looking forward to one more quarter with them, but will greatly miss them next year!

This past week was packed with fun!  The students had such a good time learning about Antarctica in Reading Street.  In math, we took our 7th unit test AND a subtraction test.  We counted to 100 by one and by ten...we discussed how important it is to be able to count by 10 in order to count money.  This was just the incentive the class needed! 

We had a special visit from the fourth graders this week, as well.  Mrs. Reynolds' students worked with our classes to learn about the Egyptian cartouche and made one for each student.  Both grades had a great time!

A few reminders...
1.  Please pay your school fees, if you have not already done so.  These fees pay for materials that the students use each day, such as their math books, take-home folders, and such.
2.  There is no school on Friday, March 29.  This is the start of our SPRING BREAK.  We will return to school on Monday, April 8, 2013.
3.  If you or someone you know will have a Brantner kindergarten student in the 2013-2014 school year, be sure to make your appointment to register at the main office.  We will have our orientation soon, and only those registered for kindergarten will receive an invitation.  Hope to see many faces there!