LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL! WE MADE IT!!
Thank you to our parents for an incredible year!!! We appreciate your faithful help and support to partner with us in your child's academic and spiritual formation this year! We will certainly miss our students over the summer, but will look forward to seeing them in the halls next year as 3rd graders! Keep reading and practicing those math facts! See below for additional information for incoming 3rd grade assignments over the summer. Greek Festival: Parents, thank you so much for making our Greek Festival a success! We couldn't have done it without you! The kids had SO MUCH FUN! Be sure you ask them about their favorite part :) Important Reminders:
Dress Up Days!
From your 3rd grade teachers!!! Incoming 3rd Graders Summer Assignments:
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Reading Calendars for May: Since we will be turning in library books we will not be keeping track of reading minutes in May. Please return ALL LIBRARY BOOKS ASAP! Bible: The students have done an outstanding job this year memorizing and storing God's words in their hearts! We are so proud of them :) THANK YOU to all our amazing parent volunteers who came to listen to our students every Monday! We will not be reciting our bible verse this Monday with volunteers. We couldn't do it without you! Spelling: No test on Friday, but we'll review our words from the 4th 9 weeks with Spelling centers and games. Language Arts: We will use this week to finish up our memory books of our year. When your child brings this home, you can place it in their portfolio for safe keeping! Math: This week we will review concepts from unit 8 and take our last unit test. We will spend the remainder of the year reviewing past concepts. Reading: Using a Magic Tree House book, Hour of the Olympics, we will go back in time to recall the first Olympics held in Greece 776 years before the birth of Christ. In this book we will discuss how the theater differs from our entertainment today. We will continue to grow our vocabulary by using the dictionary to look up words that are new to us. We'll be completing an independent comprehension study of the book. Our biblical integration is, "The truthfulness and wholesomeness of any aspect of human communication, whether through written words or spoken word, can be evaluated by the standards of God's Word." Psalm 119:89; 97-100; Isaiah 8:20; John 17:17 History: We will finish up our study of Greece this week by looking at Greece and the Bible. We will also review and take our quiz. Don't forget the Greek Festival is THIS THURSDAY. See below for more details! Greek Festival: We will conclude our study of Greece with a fun-filled day of games, food, and costumes on Thurs, May 16th. Students are encouraged to dress in their finest Greek attire (togas, Soldiers, Greek Goddesses, etc.) as we parade the halls in the morning around 8:30. Parents are welcome to attend the parade! We will continue the festival activities in the Activity Center after the parade between 8:45-9:00. If you are signed up to help at a station, please be here ready to go by 8:45. If you signed up to bring food, it can be delivered that morning. Below you will find links to volunteer at a station during our festival or to bring food samples for our tasting station! We appreciate all of your help to make this a fun day! If you have any questions, please e-mail Mrs. McNeely at [email protected] Food Sign up Station Helpers Science: We have enjoyed our Mystery Science units this year and exploring the beautiful world God has created for us. We hope your students will continue to be curious about our world! ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Important Dates
Reading Calendars for May: Since we will be turning in library books soon we will not be keeping track of reading minutes in May. However, make sure your child is reading to meet their AR goal, and reading to help us reach the Principal's Reading Challenge of 3,000 books/chapters by May 10! We can't wait to see what Mrs. Hughes will be doing if we meet our goal! Spelling: i before e, except after c Week 34: chief, pier, shield, field, cashier, ceiling, receive, receipt, deceive,, perceive No Excuse: when, was Challenge: summer, popsicle, holiday Language Arts: We will use this week to make memory books of our year. These can be placed it in their portfolio for safe keeping! Reading: The Trojan Horse, How the Greeks Won the War, by Emily Little, is the book we will be reading this week. Our vocabulary words include: hostile, narrow, sacred, skilled, extraordinary, deserted, clatter, clever, intense, doom, Iliad and archaeologist. The Biblical connection will be how humans were created in the likeness and image of God so we could engage in His purposes. While we are created in His image, the Greeks created gods fashioned after sinful humans. The Greeks didn't have the Ten Commandments as a "fence" to keep them safe and happy. As a result, there were a lot of problems! But, the way the Greeks tricked the Trojans and ended their long war is a fascinating story that the children enjoy. Science: Students learn how to make predictions about the weather by observing clouds and their changes. In the activity, Storm Spotter's Guide, students create a small book to record their notes, identify different types of clouds, and think about wind direction to figure out if a storm is heading their way. Math: We will be continuing our STEM activities by testing theories on what makes a marble go further/faster. We will look at making our ramps higher and also look at using marbles with different masses. History: We will continue our study of Greece by looking at the Persian Wars and studying 3 great thinkers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Greek Festival: We will conclude our study of Greece with a fun-filled day of games, food, and costumes on Thurs, May 16th. Students are encouraged to dress in their finest Greek attire (togas, Soldiers, Greek Goddesses, etc.) as we parade the halls in the morning around 8:30. Parents are welcome to come to the parade! We will start the festival activities in the Activity Center after the parade between 8:45-9:00. If you are signed up to help at a station, please be here ready to go by 8:45. If you signed up to bring food, it can be delivered that morning. Below you will find links to volunteer at a station during our festival or to bring food samples for our tasting station! We appreciate all of your help to make this a fun day! If you have any questions, please e-mail Mrs. McNeely at [email protected] Food Sign up Station Helpers ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Pine Pantry: The Pine Pantry Food Drive was so successful last year, we are excited to collect for them again! Pine Pantry is a community-supported free food pantry that creates a space to address the need of food insecurity in our community. Our lower school students will be collecting packaged or canned food, toiletries, and water in support of this organization. We would like to deliver to various Pine Pantry locations by Friday, May 10, so please bring donations by Thursday, May 9. Thank you so much for helping us to develop Christ-centered servant leaders! 2nd graders may bring packaged crackers, cookies, or snacks. Greek Festival: Our Greek festival will be on Thurs. May 16th. We will need parent volunteers to help oversee some of the games/activities, as well as some to bring Greek inspired food samples to taste that day. If you have already participated in a classroom party, please let other parents sign up for this event first. The link to sign up is below. We will also parade the halls that morning at 8:30 so students may come dressed in their Greek costume and bring spirit wear to change into. Parents are welcome to watch the parade, but we ask that you only stay for the festival if you are signed up to help. If you have any questions please email Mrs. McNeely at [email protected] Food Sign up Greek Stations Bible: Students should be ready to recite v. 9-15 on Monday, April 29th. We will work on our final verse this week Psalm 119: 9-16 and be prepared to say the entire thing Monday, May 6th. Target Truths:
Spelling: Week 33: overflow, underline, replay, rewrite, disobey, dislike, preheat, preview, unlock, misbehave No Excuse: quiet, quiz Challenge: travel, swimming, camping Reading: We'll be introduced to the ancient Greek storyteller, Aesop and will read some of his fables. Fables are short fictional stories that are meant to teach a moral lesson. Selections we will be reading include: "The Grasshopper and the Ants", "The Goose That Laid Golden Egg", "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" and "The Sun and the Wind". Math: We will continue with Unit 8 working with some STEM activities. This week students will build marble runs and investigate different factors that can cause the marble to go further distances (height of the ramp, weight of the marble, etc.) Language Arts: Our time this week will be spent making something special for our wonderful mothers! Happy Mother's Day! History: We will continue our study of Greece this week by taking a closer look into the Trojan War, comparing Athens to Sparta, and looking at how the Olympics got their start. Science: Students analyze data from dinosaur fossils in order to provide evidence about the appearance and behavior of those dinosaurs when they were living. In the activity, Dinosaur Detectives, students compare the traits of dinosaur fossils with the traits of modern animals in order to help a paleoartist draw a dinosaur as accurately as possible. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Lost and Found: Please take a moment to check our Lost and Found. It's overflowing!!
Bible: This week we will study the story of the golden calf found in Exodus 32.
Memory Verse: We will recite Psalm 119: 9-14 on Monday 4/22. We are so impressed with how quickly they are learning our last passage! Spelling: Week 32: session, mansion, decision, vision, mission, fiction, vacation, motion, option, question No Excuse words: talk, better Challenge words: fable, lesson, Greece Math: We will start our last unit of the year this week. In this unit we will work on numbers up to 1,000 as well as adding and subtracting three digit numbers. Language Arts/Writing: We will make a flipbook of all the Parts of Speech we have learned this year! Reading: How did the dinosaurs disappear? Our second graders will investigate several theories of this mystery. We'll be using the Bible, some of our library books written by Christian authors, and reading a story from our basal text entitled, "Why Did the Dinosaurs Disappear?" Cause and effect comprehension strategies will be taught as we consider various possible causes of the dinosaur extinction. Vocabulary words we will be working on are: climate, crater, discovery, erupt, moisture, and starve. History: We're off to Ancient Greece this week, our final unit of study this year. We'll be locating Greece, and learning about the Greek gods/goddesses. We'll put our "Bible glasses" on as we see that the people of Ancient Greece did not follow the 2nd Commandment to not worship idols or false gods (Exodus 20:3-6). We'll be learning the names of the Greek gods and goddesses who were believed to live on Mount Olympus. Greek Festival: Our Greek festival will be on Friday. May 17th. We will need parent volunteers to help oversee some of the games/activities, as well as some to bring Greek inspired food samples to taste that day. Be looking for the email signup link online starting next week. We will also parade the halls that morning at 8:30 so students may come dressed in their Greek costume and bring spirit wear to change into. Parents are welcome to watch the parade, but we ask that you only stay for the festival if you are signed up to help. If you have any questions please email Mrs. McNeely at [email protected] Science: Students will celebrate Earth Day as we remember the Earth and everything in it was created by God and is good! We will think of ways we can help take care of this beautiful gift and create a 3D earth craft. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Bible: We will look at God giving the law to Moses as the Ten Commandments. Target truths:
Spelling: Week 31: edge, badge, hedge, ledge, wedge, bridge, judge, dodge, pledge, smudge No Excuse words: busy, knock Challenge words: tournament, challenge, hedgehog Math: We will finish up Unit 7 on measuring with metric units and adding and subtracting 3 digit numbers. We will review and take our unit test on Wednesday. Language Arts/Writing: How? When? Where? Those are some of the questions we can ask when looking for adverbs. That will be our focus this week as well as reviewing previously learned parts of speech! Reading: We will read two fun dinosaur poems, "Iguanodon" and "Seismosaurus" by Jack Prelutsky and then use our dictionary skills to discover the meanings of some of the words in the poems. Also, we'll focus on finding the main idea and the details from the story, Dinosaur Fossils by Dr, Alvin Granowsky. History: This week we will finish up our unit to Japan. Students will identify the kimono as traditional Japanese clothing and understand the importance of nature in Japanese traditional crafts. Science: Students explore the idea that the rock under our feet sometimes contains fossils, and investigate how these fossils reveal changes in habitat through time. In the activity, Fossil Dig, students use paper to create a model fossil dig. They identify traits of fossils to determine what the habitat looked like when these organisms were alive. Then they use this information to figure out where some Mystery Fossils belong in their fossil dig. Announcements:
AR Deadline is May 10. Book Fair coming this week! April 8-12. Students can shop during their library time or the day they bring money during a break or silent reading time. Total Solar Eclipse Day is Monday, April 8. Please let us know if you need an alternate activity for your child during our outdoor viewing time asap. Friday, April 19: No School April 25: *SAVE THE DATE-Our next Field Trip will be Thursday, April 25th. We will be visiting Super Cao Nguyen Asian Supermarket as an enrichment experience from our China/Japan History unit. Afterwards, we'll head to the Festival of the Arts for lunch and the Children's Art Tent to make some fun art of our own. Permission slips and detailed info coming soon! Bible: We will recite Psalm 119: 9-12 on Monday, April 8th. We will work on adding v. 13 this weeks and be prepares to say v.9-13 on April 15th. Target Truths:
Spelling Week 30: light, sight, bright, flight, right, knight, tight, alright, flashlight, height No Excuse words: table, almost Challenge words: neighbor, research, Olympics Language Arts: How? When? Where? Those are some of the questions we can ask when looking for adverbs. That will be our focus this week! Reading: Did God create dinosaurs? Genesis 1:24-25 tells us that God created animals on the 6th day of Creation. Then, Colossians 1:16-17 tells us that God created and sustains all things. Fossils provide evidence of the existence of dinosaurs. The expository story we will read this week will introduce us to what fossils are, how they are formed, what they tell us about the world of long ago, and the nature of the work of scientists who study dinosaur fossils. Vocabulary words we will be learning are: extinct, preserved, seeps, peat and mammoth. The name of the story is "Fossils Tell of Long Ago" by Aliki. Math: This week we will be working on solving word problems and using strategies for adding and subtracting 3 digit numbers with and without regrouping. History: This week we'll begin our unit on Japan. We've located Japan on a map, recognizing that it is a country made up of four islands. We've taken a look at the symbolism of the Japanese flag, the main geographical features, and staple foods. We will recognize Japan as a modern industrial nation and identify Tokyo as the capitol and largest city. Science: We are excited to witness the total solar eclipse on Monday and will begin our new unit on fossils/dinosaurs by exploring a water-filled cave that contains footprints, fossils, and ancient fire pits. How can these things be found deep underwater? Students will generate observations and questions about the phenomenon and create an initial conceptual model to explain how and why they think this is happening. We will discuss how everything we can see was created by God. Many species of animals have gone extinct for various reasons, while many new species are discovered every year. There is beauty in knowing we can see God’s fingerprints on all of creation, including the dinosaur fossils that archaeologists uncover. We may never truly understand the history of dinosaurs, but we can be assured that they were created by God. Announcements:
Thank you for making the necessary arrangements to attend your child's Student-Led conferences. Your attendance meant so much to your child and to us. They have worked so hard this year! Let's finish the year strong! New AR points and levels have been set for the last 9 weeks. Let's work really hard to encourage the students to meet their point goals early! Deadline is May 10. Book Fair coming April 8-12! More info coming soon from Mrs. McKee. Total Solar Eclipse Day is April 8. We plan to do a few activities. More info coming soon from Mrs. Hughes. Friday, April 19: No School April 25: *SAVE THE DATE-Our next Field Trip will be Thursday, April 25th. We will be visiting Super Cao Nguyen Asian Supermarket as an enrichment experience from our China/Japan History unit. Afterwards, we'll head to the Festival of the Arts for lunch and the Children's Art Tent to make some fun art of our own. Permission slips and detailed info coming soon! Reading: Almost every culture in the world has a Cinderella story! We'll read the traditional version and take a test over it. Then, we'll compare and contrast it to other versions, including stories from Africa, Korea and Ireland (where the protagonist is a boy, Cinder-lad!). Math: This week we will continue working on measurement with the metric system. We will also begin working on 3 digit addition and subtraction problems and solving story problems. Language Arts: This week we will study homophones, words that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning. Spelling List 29: white, wheat, whatever, whistle, whine, whale, whiskers, which, while, whip No Excuse: smile, trouble Challenge: eighteen, weight, cartwheel Science: We will be learning about the total solar eclipse that will take place on Monday, April 8th. History: Our unit on India begins this week. Students will learn where India is located and know its major geographical features such as the Ganges River (which is considered holy) & Himalayan Mountains. We will also be learning about the ancient Indus Civilization that archeologists have discovered named Mohenjo-Daro. It was a well planned city with indoor plumbing. The people had jewelry and decorative figurines in their houses. We don’t know where the civilization came from or what language they spoke or even where they went. We didn’t know they existed until a hundred years ago. We'll also take a look at the Aryans that came from Central Asia to ancient India. They were a nomadic people that brought their religion everywhere they went. Upcoming Events:
Wed. March 27 : Resurrection Party @ 2:30 Thurs, March 28: NO SCHOOL! Student-Led Conferences (Bring your child with you!) Please sign-up online. Please sign up for a time slot at the following site: https://ptcfast.com/schools/Crossings_Christian_Lower_School Fri, March 29th: NO SCHOOL, Good Friday Bible: This week we will study the Easter Story. Scripture Memory: We will not recite our scripture verse after spring break on Monday the 25th. Students should be ready to recite Psalm 119 vs. 9-11 on Monday, April 1st. Math: This week students will measure the length of objects/distances in cm and meters. We will also be working on strategies for adding and subtracting 3 digit numbers with and without regrouping. Reading: We will continue with our reading about some of our important American symbols and a non-fiction, informational text, The Story of the Statue of Liberty, by Betsy Maestro. We will learn how this important symbol of freedom was given as a gift to our country from France to celebrate our 100th birthday. Vocabulary words include: harbor, ferry, monument, voyage, symbol and independence. Language Arts: This week as we discuss the Resurrection story we will be opening Resurrection Eggs and rewriting the story of events in a special Easter book. Spelling: Week 28 Students will learn and practice words that have the -ea digraph saying the short e sound (head, bread, sweater, etc) Due to conferences on Thursday and Good Friday holiday we will not have a spelling test this week. Science: In our lesson this week, students investigate how different plants grow best under very different conditions, ranging from deserts to tropical rainforests. In the activity, Puzzling Plants, students plan and conduct virtual experiments in order to determine how much water and sunlight a set of mystery plants need to grow and stay healthy. History: We will be introduced to 2 Christian missionaries who devoted their lives to mission work in China, Gladys Aylward and Eric Liddell. Listed below are the "Journey to China" stations we have completed throughout the unit has culminated our study of China with hands-on activities and participation! Our Journey to China Stations: 1. Confucius Fortune Envelopes 2. Lunar New Year of the Dragon craft 3. Chinese Dragon Craft 4. Ms. Connie's Photos from Her Trip to China 5. Unifix Cubes Building Contest of the Great Wall of China 7. Chinese Lantern Craft 8. Chopstick Practice with Gummy Worms UPCOMING DATES:
March 18-22: Spring Break Thurs. March 28: PT Conference Day/2nd Grade Student-Led Conferences
Bible: Our lesson title is Pharaoh's armies are destroyed. Target Truths:
Memory Verse: Students will recite Psalm 119:9-10 on Monday, March 11th. We will work on adding verse 11. We will not recite the Monday following spring break. We will pick back up with verses 9-11 on Monday, April 1st. Language Arts/Writing: We are hard at work getting prepared and organized for our Student- Led Conferences. We will work on self evaluations and goal-setting as well as practicing how and what it will look like when we share with you! Spelling: -plural nouns and suffix -ous List 27: pounds, crayons, matches, beaches, coaches, turkeys, scarves, candies, teeth, geese No Excuse: minute, people Challenge: museum, weather, Principal (with a capital letter) Math: We will be finishing up our unit on geometry this week looking more closely at area and symmetry with some fun games and crafts. Reading: For the next two weeks, we will be reading about American symbols along with a non-fiction text, The Story of the Statue of Liberty by Betsy Maestro. We will learn how this important symbol of freedom was given as a gift to our country from France to celebrate our 100th birthday as a country. Vocabulary words include: harbor, ferry, monument, voyage, symbol and independence. Science: Last week, students read the story "The Bad Seed" and then created a cozy home for the seed using our STEM bin materials. We are now waiting on our seeds to sprout to determine the mystery "Do plants really need sunlight to grow?" We planted radish seeds under different conditions (light/no light, water/no water) to see which grow best! This week, we will discover the unique creation of dandelions by God and create an art project. History/Geography: We will be introduced to 2 Christian missionaries who devoted their lives to mission work in China, Gladys Aylward and Eric Liddell. |