Mrs.

Donzes Newsletter
Volume 8

April 2, 2014
Important Dates
No SchoolSpring Break
April 4-11: April 14:
Hi Parents,

Classroom News

late start: 10:40

am
April 23 & 24: Spring Pictures April 25: Donuts with Dad and Popcorn Day May 9: Popcorn Day May 16: Muffins with Mom May 26: No School, Memorial Day

We did a lot of exciting things in March, but are looking forward to April as well. First, although it didnt feel like it, spring arrived. We graphed Marchs weather and there were more Lion days than Lamb days, On March 19, my daughter, Kyleigh, and 2 other students from GRCCs Dental school came into our class to teach the kids why its important to take care of their teeth. It was a fun hour and we all learned a lot. I took a few pictures that I will add to this newsletter and put on the classroom blog. They all got a new toothbrush and toothpaste too. We presented our 2nd Readers Theaters to each other. They are getting more confident and it is helping with fluency and expression. We have been writing Persuasive/Opinion Stories and will finish this week by writing a movie review. Theyve all seen a movie recently, and are excited to write about why it is a great movie to see. We finished our Rock Unit and also learned a lot about States of Matter: Solids, Liquids and Gases. We did some great experiments with this concept and also did many extension lessons to make sure we understood all the concepts. We learned new vocabulary and things about Sinking, Floating, Magnetism, Attract, Repel, and more.

Special Schedule:
Monday: P.E. and Art Tuesday: Music Wednesday: Computer Lab Thursday: Library Friday: P.E.
NEEDS FOR OUR CLASSROOM:

Thank you so much for your donation!

*Kleenex boxes, *Lysol wipes, and *glue sticks

Mrs. Kim Donze Email address: kdonze@rockfordschools.org Blog: kimdonzeclassroom.blogspot.com Office Phone #: 616-863-6362, Classroom phone #: 616-863-6363 ext. 4721

Word Wall Words: March 31-April 3

always, goes, drink, soon open

In Our Classroom:
Reading: It was great having so many students participate in the Marchs reading month activities. Way to go to the students for all the minutes they read!! Also, please continue to read with your child and turn in the monthly reading calendars. Although March was the last month for Pizza Hut coupons, your child will still be rewarded in April and May for reading at least 15 minutes 5 times a week. This should be easy for every child to do because they are all so excited about books and are reading longer books. Reading every night is a great habit to develop and will help make your child a better reader. Math: I will be sending home some extra addition timed tests again that you can do with your child for practice at home. We have moved on to problems with sums greater than 10, but practicing these extra pages at home will help them gain speed and accuracy. Remember the goal is for 95% accuracy and complete the 30 problems in 2 minutes or less. I dont need to have you send them to school just have fun practicing them at home. Also, we just started learning about Fractions-parts of wholes. This is a nice break from counting money and giving change. Science: When we return after spring break, we will begin a new science unit involving bugs! It will be fun for the kids because I will be asking them to bring some into our classroom. We will first create a habitat for them to live in-so dont send them on our first day back. Hopefully it will warm up for them to be found in April and May.

April 14-18
made, three, those, read, upon Skill work: long vowels find, only, us, our, better

April 21-25

April 28-May 2
hold, funny, gave, buy, warm

Belmonts Best
Every child was celebrated as one of Belmonts Best this year and enjoyed their time with Mrs. Thelen. The kids also loved their Fly Guy book they received from the PTO. Thank you to them for the great book!

Other Information Here

Have a Great Spring Vacation!! Enjoy your time together with your family at home or on your travels! Im sure the kids will have a lot to tell me once we all see each other again on April 14. Remember it will be a late start day for the kids, so school starts on that day at 10:40. Im so looking forward to reading some books and spending time with my family too. Take Care! Kim Donze

On March 19, Miss Shelby, Miss Kyleigh, and Miss Aleah visited our classroom to teach us how to take care of our teeth. Our favorite things were meeting Dino the Dinosaur. He taught us how to brush our teeth properly. We also loved seeing Devin chew the pink pill so it would show where she needed to brush better. (We think we would all have had pink teeth like Devin.) Another activity we loved was learning how to floss our teeth and watching some of our classmates show us how to do that. We LAUGHED and LAUGHED. It was a GREAT morning!