ELA:  We are excited to be back at school and getting back into classroom routines.  Your child will need to read nightly as part of our reading program.  Please record the pages they read (and when a book is completed), daily in the agenda....and don't forget to sign each night to indicate to us that they have completed the reading and any other homework assigned.

Students are choosing leveled books at school for credit but can choose their own level of book for home reading.  Please ensure that they choose appropriate reading books and avoid comic books or very easy materials. They will be given credit for reading the books at home also. Their volume of reading is reflected on their report card.

We are enjoying recounting our summer highlights in written form.  Look for these on the bulletin board outside my office soon. We are "Out of This World Students" who are earning lots of star awards and working hard! Ask your child to tell you about this!

Math:  Both grades are continuing to review math skills through their 'comic strip math' booklets. Towards the end of this week students will evaluate their success and confidence with various math topics and make personal goals for this term.   

Multiple Intelligences:  Students have been learning about many ways to be 'smart'.  They are completing posters for our classroom bulletin board and will begin working on a short presentationto highlight one of their strongest 'smarts'.  

Social Studies:  We will be alternating social studies and science units this year.  Towards the end of the week we will start our unit on "First Peoples" by looking at creation stories from various aboriginal groups. 

Christian Education: This year we will be pursuing answers to:

• What is in the Bible?
• Is it actually true?  How can we know?
• What does the Old Testament have to do with Jesus?

I will be using curriculum and kids books from  http://www.answersingenesis.org/ including The Answers Book for Kids and Case for a Creator for Kids.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the content we are covering.

*Thanks to the grade 5 parents who replied to the email about violins.  I realize several of you rented, and several others plan on continuing with violin.  If there are any other grade 5 parents who would like to sell their child's violin, please let me know.  Thanks.