First of all, my apologies for not updating the blog sooner.  We have been so busy learning and working, the time slipped right by.

Our field trip last week was a lot of fun.  Everyone enjoyed the walk to the cemetery and looking at the old headstones.  We found the oldest person, she was 101 when she passed away.  We saw headstones from the 1800s, headstones with photos and headstones that were sculptures.  The children were all very respectful and sympathetic to those who had passed away.  I think it was a fantastic experience for almost everyone in the class.  It did get a bit cold at the end of our field trip, but thankfully, it didn’t rain.  Here is a photo from our outing.

On Halloween we had a read-a-thon and drank hot apple cider.  It was a nice break before the “big night”.

In History our 4th level students are studying early man, our 5th level students are finishing up Mesopotamia and our 6th level students are finishing ancient Rome.  We had our second set of presentations and the kids did great!  Our 5th level students did presentations on Mesopotamia while the 6th level students did presentations on Ancient Rome.   It is so fun to see them grow as the year progresses and while some students still have a bit of “stage fright” they are all doing so well.

In science our 4th level students had an in school field trip presented by The Living Planet Aquarium.  Thanks to the presenters who talked about wetlands to our students.  Wetlands are a vital part of our ecosystem so it was great to be able to have that experience.  Our 5th level students are studying our dynamic planet.  We have covered plate tectonics, volcanoes and earthquakes.  The level 5 students have a project due Dec. 2nd.  Please ask them about it.  Some chose to do a project on earthquakes and others chose volcanoes. We will have time in classes to begin working on it, but some of the work may need to come home as we have limited time and computer resources.   Level 6 science students are studying heat and light.

In geography we will begin our continent research projects.  This is a big project, with high expectations so the students will be given 2 months to work on it.  This project, in particular, will require at home time.  The expectations for this will be coming home with your students tomorrow.  Please go over it with them and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Ms. Kari is working diligently to get our in class reading groups up and running.  I know several of you signed up to read with our students, and within the next week we are hoping to be able to let you know the times we can use your help.

Last but not least, tomorrow is early out.  Students will need to be picked up at 1:00pm.

Cheers!