It was great to meet all of you at first quarter conferences.  I think the students have made the transition between Mrs. Salamone and myself a smooth one.  Conferences for the remainder of the year will be on an "as needed" basis.  If you feel like you need to come in at any time for a conference, please let me know and we will schedule one.  Please feel free to contact me via phone (704) 857-3400 or via email @ sloopjt@rss.k12.nc.us.

     I've highlighted some things below to update you on our classroom. Some points remain on this page as they are continually important throughout the school year.

•   Your support at home is valued GREATLY ! It takes two components (home support and school support) to have a successful school year.

• Please make sure to look over and return your student's weekly work folders. Ask them about their work and go over any weak areas that you may notice.

• READ, READ, READ!!! Vocabulary development is so important not only in the primary grades, but also in the intermediate grades as students begin to develop more enhanced reading and writing skills. Exposure to varied text and frequent reading is key to developing these literacy skills.  

• HOMEWORK: We try not to overload students with homework. However homework is essential for practice and repetition, especially in math. Please make sure to go over your child's homework and make sure they understand the assignments. A good way to monitor understanding is to ask your child to explain their work or the process that they followed to arrive at their answer.   Daily HW will be given in math, reading and spelling 

• MATH:  We've been working on addition and subtraction with regrouping.  Please  continue to practice math facts on a daily basis.  This is such an important skill for students to be able to have when it comes to 2 and 3 digit addition.

• LANGUAGE ARTS:   We've finished out unit on communities and are about to begin Amazing Animals and biographies.

• SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES:  We've been playing in the dirt!!!  We're excited this year to be participating in a pilot project with NCSU and the Cooperative Extension Service on a strawberry project.  Several elementary schools across the state are growing strawberries.  This makes a great project for students to learn with as the fruit will be harvested before we leave for summer break, whereas most gardens produce fruit/veggies over the summer.  We've hauled in dirt (soil to be technically correct) and have a strawberry bed similar to what you'd find at a commercial grower's farm.  Our bed is covered with black plastic to help control warmth, moisture and prevent weeds and is equipped with a soaker hose to help with watering.  Students helped to form the bed and plant the young strawberry plants.  In addition to weekly watering, we'll be observing and "dissecting" our plants on a monthly basis to look at root and plant growth.  We've found a way to incorporate science, math, writing and technology into our project.  We're looking forward to sharing our progress throughout the year.  Next time you're at the school, stop by the water tower and check out our garden.

We've also been learning about states of matter and have done some fun experiments to learn about solids, liquids and gases.

• TECHNOLOGY: Take time to check out the links below. I've listed a couple websites that have math games for your student to play. You'll be hearing lots about technology this year as Knollwood is an IMPACT school.  That means that we'll be integrating technology into our lessons and creating some really cool projects to showcase our learning.  Later in the year we'll be starting Type To Learn, a technology program that teaches proper keyboarding skills. As your youngster is at home using the computer, please encourage use of "home keys" (a,s,d,f,j,k,l,;).

     

      

Again, thanks for all you do at home to support your student's academic progress. I look forward to your continued support throughout the school year.

Mrs. Sloop

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