May 6-10, 2013

Dear Parents,

I can hardly believe that we are entering into the final 5 weeks of school this year!  I praise God for the amazing group of students I am privileged to work with each week!  I will be encouraging your children to continue to stay focused and work hard to the final day of school on June 5!  Until then, we have a lot to accomplish and I am eager to jump into this week!

As you know, Tulip Time is officially here this week.  We will have a 1/2 day of school on Wednesday, dismissing at 11:50a.m.  On Thursday, we will have a full day of school.  There will be hot lunch, however, there is NO PM BUSSING.  I think the tulips will be beautiful and we'll enjoy much more than a stem-fest this year!! :)

Science Presentations:  Students did a fantastic job sharing their learning in our electricity unit last week!  I am so proud of how their eagerness to share, their eye contact, self-confidence and ability to recall what they have learned has all grown since they began sharing their work!  Well done!  I know that you have worked hard to help your child prepare for their presentation and the time  you've taught the content and rehearsed for the presentation is amazing.  Thank you for your diligence at home.  The lesson materials in our Science Fusion online curriculum has valuable material that I don't want anyone to miss, so thank you again for thoroughly covering the material.

New Plants Unit:  We are ready to jump into a new Science unit this week, learning all about plants!  We will be using the 2nd grade book, Unit 4, and the 5th grade book, Unit 4.  The 4th grade material may be used as supplemental material, as we looked that over briefly last fall when we covered the animal unit.  Please see the link on the sidebar for the checklist/rubric of lessons and assignments that need to be completed in this unit.  In addition, I will be sending home 2 plants with each student.  Please send a shoebox or sturdy bag to school on Wednesday to transport these plants home.  Students will be using one plant as a "Control-group" and the other plant as a "Variable Group".  Students will be making a weekly observation to note similarities and differences between these two plants.  The culmination presentation, which will be different from the usual presentation, will be due on Thursday, May 30.  Because of field trips that week, everyone will present on that day.  Please let me know if you have any questions throughout the unit.

Upcoming Field Trips:  We do have several field trips coming up, for each individual grade, as well as an SHC trip to DeGraaf Nature Center next week Thursday.  We could use one more driver, so if you are available, please let me know.  Please see the list of trips below at the bottom of the newsletter.

Economics Unit:  I am excited about the Market Day projects that are under way for our 4th graders!  The girls did a fabulous job presenting their "Pitch" to a group of local entrepreneurs or "Venture Capitalists".  A flyer was sent home last week, asking for donations for glass jars for their project.  If you have any clean jars with lids (mayonnaise, pickles, olives, spaghetti, etc) the 4th graders would appreciate your donation!

In addition, we will be having our own "Mini-Market Day" within our class to continue to raise money for chickens, rabbits, goats, or ducks for the World Vision organization!  Stayed tuned for more details as we finalize our "Market Plan" this week!

I have heard from about half of  our students about marching in the Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 27.  We would love to have as many of our students march as possible.  Please let me know if you are able to join us!

Please let me know if you have any questions about anything as we begin to wrap up the year.  There are many things going on, so please let me know if you need any additional information!

Have a great week!
 Mrs. Walters

Dates to Remember:

    -May 8- Tulip Time 1/2 Day of School
    -May 9- Full Day of School- No PM BUSSING
    -May 9- 2nd Grade Walking field trip to City Hall.  Leave at 1:00, return approx. 2:30.
    -May 13- Upcoming 1st Graders (currently in Kdg) who will be joining our SHC class in the 
     fall will be visiting our room for a short time in the afternoon!
    -May 15- 3rd Grade to the Cappon House - Leave at 9:00am and return approx. 11:15.

    -May 16- SHC trip to DeGraaf Nature Center- Natural Resources; We will leave school at 12:10 
      and return by 2:30.   Students should plan to bring a “cold” lunch so we can eat together quickly 
      in our classroom.   

     Drivers:  Mrs. Sal and Mrs. Tucker (Looking for 1 more, if you’re available).
    -May 22- 3rd Grade trip to Van Raalte Farm- Leave at 9:00 and return approx. Noon.

    -May 23- 2nd Grade trip to Frederick Meijer Gardens-all day

    -May 27- Memorial Day Vacation/Parade

    -May 29- 2nd Grade trip to Camp Roger-all day
    -May 29- 3rd Grade to the Zeeland Historical Museum- Leave at 9:00 and return at Noon.

    -May 29- 4th Grade trip to John Ball Zoo

    -May 30- ZCS Market Day- 4th grade Vendors

    -May 31- First Grade trip to the John Ball Zoo (AM trip, lunch at a park, return by 1:00ish.)
    -June 3- Family Groups Field Day- bring sunscreen!
    -June 5- Last Day of School- Full Day- Lunch in the park together! More details will follow.