December

• Thursday, December 19 - Shakespeare's Fundraiser
• Friday, December 20 - Winter Parties
• December 23 - January 3 - No School Winter Break

January

• Friday, January 3 - No School - Teacher Work Day
• Monday, January 6 - School Resumes
• Thursday, January 9 - PTSA Meeting 6:30 PM
• Friday, January 10 - Munch-n-Read, Unit A families welcome, 1:50 - 2:20
• Monday, January 20 - No School, MLK Jr. Day
• Thursday, January 23 - Talent Show 5:30 - 7:00 PM

Tuesday/Thursday Morning (7:10-7:35 AM)

Running Club - Tuesday, December 17 and Thursday, December 19 (Final Club Meeting)

Afternoon Clubs

Monday, December 16 - No Clubs

Tuesday, December 17 - No Clubs

Wednesday, December 18 - No Clubs

Thursday, December 19 - Choir

Friday, December 20 - No Clubs

There are several important items in your child’s Friday Folder today. Please take time to look through their folder and read through the information below sometime this weekend.

• AMI (Alternative Methods of Instruction) Choice Boards - As you know (district communication), this year snow days will be AMI days. Each student has a grade level Choice Board in their Friday Folder. If your child receives special education services, they will also receive a Resource Choice Board with their area of impact highlighted (so they would complete activities in that column) and/or a Speech Language Choice Board (if they receive speech services through an IEP). We encourage parents to put this up somewhere so it can be located if/when we have an AMI day. These documents are also available on the district website and are attached to the bottom of this RAP.

• Spelling Bee Practice Word List (for 3rd-5th) - This year our spelling bee will look a little different. Each Unit B (3rd graders only for competing) and C class will host a classroom spelling bee. The 3rd grade classroom bees will take place during math and phonics time, when they are separated by grade level already (since 2nd grade isn’t participating). It is optional, students/parents will choose whether they want to participate or not. The top two from each classroom will then compete in the school wide spelling bee. The winner of our school bee advances to the Columbia bee. Only 3rd-5th graders are eligible to advance to the city bee, which is why we are only having 3rd-5th compete at school. Every 3rd-5th grade student was sent home with the spelling bee practice list should you want to prepare/practice at home. It is up to you and your child if they participate in the bee and/or if they practice at home. No practice opportunities will be provided at school.

• Sometimes parents and students do not agree on participation. If you want your child to participate, please email/message their homeroom teacher. If we have not heard from a parent, we will let the student decide if they will participate or not. If you don’t care either way, no need to reach out!

• Parents of students participating in the school wide spelling bee will be invited to attend (scheduled for January 31). Your child’s teacher or the office will reach out if your child is advancing to the school wide bee.

If you’d like to volunteer for or provide supplies/food for your child’s winter party next Friday, please refer back to Unit notes from previous RAPs for links or reach out to your child’s teacher!

Unit A is excited about our Winter Party next Friday, December 20. If you would like to help, you can use the link below to sign up to donate or volunteer.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4EA5AE23ABFB6-53607621-unit#/

**Reading & Writing:** We continue studying holidays and traditions from other countries.

**Fundations (Mincke/Triplett):** We are focusing on letter formation for all uppercase letters in the alphabet. We are also working on alphabetical order and reading/making CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words.

**Phonics (Blades/Horn):** We are concentrating on blends and ending blends using -tch. Our new high-frequency words are: who, good, by, and them.

**Math (Mincke/Triplett):** We are wrapping up Unit 4 and have had fun learning about calculators and exploring teen numbers in various ways.

**Math (Blades/Horn):** We are finishing our work on data and measurement, addition and subtraction, with an emphasis on place value.

• Unit B is so very fortunate that families often think of us when shopping during the holiday season. Please don't feel obligated, but if you would like to give a gift to unit b this holiday season check your student’s Friday folder for class wish list QR codes. Please clearly label the gift with class name or unit B and your child's name when you have your student bring it to school.
• Check your child’s Friday Folder for a Winter Break Reading Challenge from the Unit B teachers! Students who complete the challenge will receive a coveted Golden 20 B-Buck!

Literacy- In literacy, we are concentrating on chronological order, comparing and contrasting text structures, and identifying features of historical fiction writing.

Science- Students in science are learning about Rube Goldberg machines and exploring concepts related to motion.

In language therapy this year, we have been reading one book each month, and our activities for the month focus on the book. We practice answering questions about the story, retelling the story, and creating our own similar stories. Here are the books we’ve read so far this year:

The Hat by Jan Brett

Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson

Frankie Stein by Lola M. Schaefer

How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague

If you have a student who receives language services, ask them about these books and see what they can tell you!

https://forms.gle/PD42LFrPDrhrqBny9

Volunteer to wrap gifts for RWE Staff the week of Dec 16-19 (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4BA4AB2EA02-53633100-ridgeway)