Week of November 16

November 15, 2020

Hello Families! Can you believe it is already mid-November? We are also nearing the end of the first marking period at the end of this week.

Daily Student Health Screener:

Click here for a checklist of symptoms and situations to keep a focused eye on this year. The teachers are logging daily health checks, as well. We are doubling down on health and wellness in efforts to protect our ability to meet for in-person learning. Thank you for your cooperation on this.

Thanksgiving Lunch:

We will have a very special school lunch provided on Thursday! Mrs. Punches and Mrs. Dokter are making a traditional Thanksgiving feast for our students! Please help us in planning for this event by pre-ordering your child's free lunch today.

Stuff-A-Truck Food Drive (November 16-20):

If you have a moment, please view this Stuff-A-Truck "commercial" put together by Mrs. Lokey: https://www.wevideo.com/view/1921778990

Brown School is proud to give back to the larger Berrien County community by collecting non-perishable (canned goods, boxed dinner/pasta) food items November 16-20. If you are able, simply pick up an item (or more) at the grocery store, and send it to school with your student to be donated. We collect now because there is a greater need for food around the holidays. Thanks for spreading kindness and positivity!

Virtual Book Fair:

Please consider taking part in this Media Center fundraiser - November 12-25. Order online! Orders delivered straight to your home. Information will be sent home on Monday 11/9. This is a great way to encourage a healthy, ongoing reading routine for your child to grow their knowledge. Interested in donating books to our classroom? CLICK HERE to view our specific classroom wishlist. Thank you for considering.

Mrs. Bawks' Brown School Family Blog:

Please don't forget to take a peek at Mrs. Bawks' Brown School Family Blog each week. CLICK HERE to read it.

Important Upcoming Dates:

Mon. 11/16 - Stuff-a-truck food drive begins (see information above)

Wed. 11/18 - Late Start (school begins at 9:45am)

Thurs. 11/19 - Special Thanksgiving Luncheon

Fri. 11/20 - 1/2 day of school (school dismisses at 12:34pm) and Stuff-a-truck food drive ends

Wed. 11/25 through Fri. 11/27 - NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break)

This week's learning:

Positivity Project (P2): This coming week we will be focusing on the open-mindedness character strength. We will focus on considering new ideas and trying new things. This week will also focus on examining things from all sides and not jumping to conclusions.

ELA: This week we are starting on our next genre study. We will be looking at the key features of realistic fiction and reading a variety of texts in the genre. Your student will also continue their work on finding the main idea and key details, along with focusing on summarizing realistic fiction texts.

Writing: This week we are finishing up the conclusion on our imagined narrative and will begin the process of peer reviews and editing. The plan is to wrap up our final copy at the end of this week/beginning of next!

Math: This week we will be working on converting units of time and comparing and interpreting multiplicative equations. We are really jumping into our multiplication unit and it is VERY important that your child is practicing their multiplication facts 0 through 12 every day! It is imperative that they are fluent in their multiplication facts as we move into our upcoming division and fraction units.

Math learning the week:

Monday: Lesson 2-7: Units of Time (students will convert units of time to smaller units of time and solve number stories using time)

Tuesday: Lesson 2-8: Students create and interpret statements and equations for multiplicative comparisons.

Wednesday: Lesson 2-9: Students solve number stories involving multiplicative comparisons.

Thursday: Review day and end of trimester assessments

Friday: Review day

Science/Social Studies:

This week we will complete our first unit of social studies by analyzing the different ways to think like an economist. Students will work on identifying how economist think by looking at; what products are being produces, how they are being produced, who is is it for and how much is being produced, along with the role the government plays in the economy. We will us the book Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall to help identify these questions an economist would ask.

Homework reminder: Homework each week consists of reading 20+ minutes at home (this can be a library book, magazine, newspaper, online book, etc) and practicing multiplication and division facts 1 through 12. Mastering multiplication and division facts is vital to our learning this year.

Students will also have a math home link page to work on most days of the week. I will always include the lessons we are working on in the blog each week so that you know when to work on each home link. These home links are not going to be turned back in, but I highly recommend that students work on them each week so that they can show you what they have worked on. I don't mind if students work a bit ahead in the packet; it is also ok if you miss a night and have to come back to that particular lesson on a different day. Times are unpredictable and I completely understand that you may have prior commitments on certain days of the week.