Saint Ann School News

I hope that you all enjoyed the long weekend and were able to spend some relaxing family time together. We have a very exciting week ahead of us.

Christopher Columbus
Our main theme of study this week will be the explorations of Christopher Columbus and his voyage to the New World. We will also learn the location of the continents and the oceans, learn about the four cardinal directions and how to use a compass rose. The students will be introduced to the facts and myths associated with the time that Columbus sailed. As we make our own nonfiction books about the explorations of Christopher Columbus, we just might discover that he also followed our Schoolwide Learning Expectations! Columbus was most certainly a critical thinker and problem solver who worked independently and collaboratively, solved conflicts peacefully and analyzed alternatives to find solutions. It will be a fun learning experience to compare ways that Columbus acted a s a problem solver with ways that we act as problem solvers!

Patron Saint Homework/Saint Remembrance Heart
In addition to the regular homework packet, your child is also bringing home two special assignments regarding learning about our patron saints and the Communion of Saints. Please read the attached information letters carefully. These sheets are in the Blue Homework folder. They are due by Friday, Oct. 31. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Also, please remember to continue to pray the rosary through the month of October. The students have been praying a decade each day in class and learning the mysteries associated with each decade. We are Catholic learners who express our faith through participating in devotion and prayer. On Wednesday mornings in October, we join the school at 7:30am by the grotto to pray the rosary together. All are welcome to join us.

Pumpkin Patch/Halloween Festival
We are looking forward to sharing a fun morning with Shine Montessori on Thursday, Oct. 30. You will find a permission slip for this upcoming trip in the Monday Envelope. Our fun will begin at 8:45, as we leave to sing our Halloween songs to the residents at High Desert Haven. Sharing our songs with our friends at High Desert Haven allows us to express our faith through Christian service and have fun, too! We will then travel to the park in Heritage Village for our Halloween activities. Parents who volunteer to drive/chaperone will be asked to work at the fun stations available for the children. The students will make a craft, have a variety of games to play, listen to stories and sing songs. There is no need to pack a snack for your child on this day. Your child should wear his/her uniform to school and bring his/her costume to school in a bag. We will change into our costumes before leaving. The costumes must be simple with no make-up. Please be sure to mark your child’s costume with his/her name.

Parent Teacher Conferences
Please be sure to check in the school office to sign up for a conference time. If you are unable to schedule a time listed on the sheet, please see me so that we can make other arrangements. Thanks! We will go over your child’s first quarter progress report at the conference.

Language Development
*Shared Reading of 1492
*letter recognition and formation with a focus on Uu, Vv and Ww
*putting the letters from A-M in alphabetical order
*recognizing the 5 vowels and learning the two sounds each vowel makes (a-e-i-o-u)
*read nonfiction stories sharing information about Christopher Columbus
*sing “Black” song and illustrate things that are black
*continue to work on segmentation and hearing word parts (syllables)
*introduction of new Star Words and review of previous words
How can you help?
Practice the letter formations for the letters Aa-Mm. Continue to review all Star Words and participate in Lap Reading nightly.

Math
*explore and extend patterns of shape
*learn to recognize the following shapes of pattern blocks (triangle, square, diamond, rhombus and hexagon)
*make pattern necklaces using link manipulatives
*counting and recognizing numbers to 40 as we celebrate the 40th day of school on Wednesday
How can you help?
Order number flash cards from 1-30 on the floor. Make a pattern necklace by stringing beads at home. Make patterns using common objects found at home such as crayons, cereal or pasta.

Religion
*continue to recite the Guardian Angel Prayer
*we pray the Grace Before Meals to thank God for providing us with food
*know the story of Noah’s Ark and that the rainbow is a symbol of God’s love
How can you help?
Test objects to see if they float or sink.

Science/Health/Social Studies
*study the explorations of Christopher Columbus
*compare a globe and a map
*learn about the 7 continents and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
*explore the concepts of floating and sinking
How can you help?
Test objects to see if they float or sink.

“Be prepared, for you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.”
Matthew 24:42
Spelling List
There will not be a spelling list for this week because we are testing. Review previous week’s words for this week!
Cooler Temperatures
As the weather cools down, finally, I wanted to remind you and your child that it may be necessary to bring a sweater, sweatshirt or jacket to school. Students are allowed to wear any type of outerwear when they are on the playground or to and from school. In the classroom, it must be plain red. This means no insignia unless it is school spirit wear.
Rosary
In celebration of October being the Month of the Rosary we will be saying a decade of the rosary every Wednesday during Morning Assembly. Your child may bring a rosary from home to use on this day. We will be using them in class as well. If it is possible, they may keep them in their desks for the entire month.
ITBS Testing
We will finish up testing at the end of the week. Please make sure that your child gets plenty of rest and eats a good breakfast so they have the energy to think and do their best. Thank you for your support during this busy week.
Please also remember that although these tests are an opportunity to see how your child is doing in school, it is only a snapshot of what they can do.
Here’s What We Are Learning This Week
Every week I highlight what I am covering in class. This will give you an opportunity to talk with your child about specific subjects that we are covering. Not all topics are covered everyday. Be sure to always check to see what we are doing in 2nd Grade!
Reading –We are reading the story Story Hour - Starring Megan.
Phonics – Reviewing long /e/ sound and suffixes -ing and -ed.
Writing – We are starting our autobiographies
Grammar - Commas in a series
Health - We will discuss our family trees that we completed last week.
Math –We are learning more about graphs.
Spelling – No spelling this week because of ITBS.
Religion – We are finishing our chapter on how to pray.

Wednesday

Sun Glass Day
Incorrect Words from Pre-Test 7 written 3 times, see hand-out

Thursday

Spelling Connect Work Unit 7

Friday

Test Spelling Connection Unit 7
Book Orders

Reading Counts
We finished Island of the Blue Dolphins and students took the Reading Counts quiz. Students will have to the end of the quarter on October 24th to complete other Reading Counts quizzes.

Math
We will return to Chapter 2 and jump into our first introduction to Algebra by learning about variables, evaluating equations and order of operations as we look at addition and subtraction equations.

Social Studies (CWB=California workbook)
We will continue our study of the government during this week.

LA
We will write a paragraph to answer the question about how we knew that Karana longed for companionship when she was all alone on the island. We will review the writing element of elaboration, and incorporate it into answering this question in our paragraph. Students are required to use three appositive phrases in this writing.

Science/Health
We will begin a Unit on Nutrition this week as we discuss the food pyramid and the nutrients which are necessary for healthy bodies.

Spelling
We will have no High Frequency Spelling Test this week, but the Spelling Connection Unit 7 will be due on Thursday, and the final test will taken on Friday, October 10th.

Mission Choice
Every student will write a Mission report, do a project, and give an oral presentation about his/her mission. The project, presentation and report will be due at the end of May; however, I want to assign the particular mission to your child early so that you may plan an opportunity to visit if you wish. Visiting your mission is not required; however, it can be helpful for your child to see what he/she will be researching. If you visit, make sure to take plenty of pictures, one project possibility is to make a presentation board or a slide show. Please see the attachment for Mission Choice. Mission Choice Forms are due next week on Thursday, October 16th.

Religion
We will discuss the dignity of all life and tie in our responsibility to take care of our bodies by making healthy choices. Our students did wonderfully at leading the Mass last Friday and helping to support our Catholic Learner SLE which requires students to express faith through participating in the Holy Mass, sacraments, devotions, prayer and Christian service. Please join us for Rosary in the grotto every Wednesday Morning at 7:30am during the month of October.

ITBS Testing
We finish standardized testing on Tuesday.

Thanks for all you do.

October 6, 2008

Dear Fifth Grade Parents and Guardians,

If all goes as planned, our class should be finished with our ITBS Testing today. I appreciate the students’ cooperation and work ethic from the first test to the very end.

I would like to thank Mrs. Cornelius for information and supplies for a new service project for our class. We will participate in the ‘Cell Phones for Soldiers’ program. We will periodically mail in donated cell phones to a company who sells the used cell phones to, in turn, purchase calling cards for our military men and women overseas. What’s inspiring about this program is that it was started by two teenagers. Since then, they’ve helped in raising over $1 million dollars and sending over 400,000 phone cards to our troops. In your Monday envelope today, I’ve included one bag to collect used cell phones and a couple of copies of tax forms for those donating their cell phones. Bags should be placed in a highly visible area (at your office? at a friend’s place of business?) where potential donors can see the bag and you can see progress in donations. If you would like more than one bag, please let me know, and I’ll gladly get you as many as you’d like. You don’ t need to wait until the bag is full; as you get four or five, send those into the classroom and we’ll work to get them packaged to mail. You can go to the website (http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/) for more information. Thank you in advance for this very important project!

The fourth and fifth grade classes have decided to use our PE time each week to work on volleyball while the nets and lines are already set up in the Parish Center for the middle school girls. We have moved our PE time for now to Thursday afternoons. Although we enjoyed cooler temperatures last week, students will still need water bottles and perhaps, an extra water bottle, on Thursdays for volleyball.

Have a great week,

Tracy

Religion: We will finish Chapter 4 (The Calming of the Sea-A Scripture Story) this week. This chapter covers the importance of Jesus’ public ministry as recorded in Scripture to our growth in faith and trust in Jesus. We will have a test over this chapter on Thursday. Students may take a practice test on the publisher’s website FaithFirst.com. Students should click on the ‘Legacy edition’. I do not need students to e-mail me their results.

Math: We will finish Chapter 1, Lessons 8-13 (decimal numbers – place value, comparing and ordering, rounding and working with negative numbers and the number line). Students will take a quiz this Friday over Chapter 1 Lessons 8-13. Students will take a chapter test next Tuesday or Wednesday.

English: We will review subjects and predicates and begin studying pronouns. Then we will begin working on subject, possessive, indefinite and object pronouns. Students will take a grammar quiz over subjects and predicates and pronouns on Friday. Students should turn in their book report rough drafts by next Wednesday to give them sufficient time to work on their final drafts. The second, and final, book report for first quarter will be due next Friday on October 17.

Literature: Students will finish The Sign of the Beaver Chapters 17-19 vocabulary, and they will take a quiz over these chapters on Wednesday.

Social Studies: We will continue Chapter 2 (Age of Exploration) in the Social Studies workbook. We will review the first couple of lessons we started before ITBS testing, and then we will move onto the last two lessons covering explorations made by land and where in the Americas European countries claimed land.

Science: We will finish Unit E Chapter 2 (Observing Weather) by looking at wind direction, wind speed and wind energy.

Spelling: Students will complete Unit 8 p. 50-55. This is due Thursday. The Unit 8 Test is Friday. Students should use the information for this week’s paragraph on p. 53 ‘Write a Tribute’. They should especially focus on describing the qualities they admire about the featured person by using strong verbs and vivid adjectives. The paragraph is due on Friday and should be a minimum of 10 sentences.

Cursive: Students need to complete Lesson 8 (Day 1 through Day 4) in cursive. Students may use pen or pencil. The Scripture verse for Day 4 can be written on the blank pages at the back of the Handwriting workbook or done on regular notebook paper. This assignment is due on Friday.

October 6, 2008 Middle School Newsletter

Dear Middle School Parents and Guardians,

• We would like to say a fond farewell to Tommy Purcell who will be moving with his family to the Bay Area this week. Good luck, Tommy! We will miss you!

• ITBS testing will continue this week. Students will still have some homework, although it will be less than usual. Please make sure that your child is well rested, has a nutritional snack and is ready to test.

• This week’s student council spirit day will be on Wednesday. Students will be allowed to wear sunglasses to school to continue our theme of “Your Future is Bright.”

• 8th Grade has important information about the week included in the Monday Envelope – please read all flyers!

• No School next Monday (Oct 13th for Columbus Day).

• The first quarter is quickly coming to an end and we are beginning to plan for our Parent/Teacher Conferences. These conferences are optional at the Middle School level. With 42 students this year, our conference schedule is going to be very busy. We will be providing you with information about whether or not we feel it would be beneficial to schedule a conference. You are still more than welcome to make a conference.

• Volleyball News from Miss Rossi: Volunteers needed! We desperately need volunteers to help take admission fees and do clean-up today, tomorrow and Thursday. It is a pretty easy way to rack up Parent Hours! I will e-mail you the shift schedule . . . any help you can give will be greatly appreciated! Mrs. Little and I will do the supervision and fill in for the shifts for which parents are unavailable.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Stokes, Ms. Gibbs, and Mrs. Lloyd

6th Grade

Language Arts: Students will work towards the following objectives which will focus on the SLE of “A Communicator who articulates ideas clearly and creatively through writing”: use an informal outline to begin the drafting process of writing their essay, learn how to write an effective introduction and strong body paragraphs. Spelling unit 8 workbooks will be due Thursday and the final test is on Friday.
Outside Reading: Students need to finish reading Roll of Thunder by Friday. Students should be prepared for a quiz over this week’s reading.
Social Studies: This week the students will be focusing on examining archaeology and reading The Henge by Edward Rutherford.
Religion: Students will work towards the following objectives as they begin Chapter 3, “The Mystery of God”: explore why we say God is a mystery, understand that God created the world and identify the sins of our first parents. These objectives focus on the SLE of “A Catholic Learner who studies and understands the doctrine and scriptures of the Catholic faith.”
Earth Science: Chapter 4 Rocks: Mineral Mixtures will be started. The students will learn about the rock cycle. There is a fun lab on Friday, which will model the various aspects of the rock cycle using chocolate chips.

7th Grade

Language Arts: Students will work towards the following objectives which will focus on the SLE of “A Communicator who articulates ideas clearly and creatively through writing”: continue the drafting stage by writing effective body paragraphs, learn how to use clear transitions between paragraphs and incorporate evidence to support statements made in their writing.
Outside Reading: Students need to finish reading The Giver by Friday. Students should be prepared for a quiz over this week’s reading.
Social Studies: Students will begin learning about the events that contributed to the decline of feudalism. They will also be experiencing King John and the Magna Carta. At the end of the week, they get an opportunity to experience the Bubonic Plague. They have been waiting since the beginning of the year to catch the Bubonic Plague.
Religion: In October, we pray the rosary. These next couple weeks we will not only focus on the rosary, but a special type of rosary for world missions. Students will be learning about the different continents connected with the different decades of the rosary. They will also be doing a world mission project in which they will pick a continent and research the Church’s missions there. This project will not only help students learn about the mission of the Church to spread the Good News and help others, but assists them in working on being a life-long learner.
Life Science: Chapter 4 will start with students learning about the organization of organisms and the role of cells.

8th Grade

Language Arts: Students will work towards the following objectives which will focus on the SLE of “A Communicator who articulates ideas clearly and creatively through writing”: continue the drafting stage by writing effective body paragraphs, use appropriate transitions between paragraphs, incorporate evidence to support statements made in their writing and learn how to edit their work as they progress.
Outside Reading: Students need to read Ch. 16-25 in Treasure Island by Friday. Students should be prepared for a quiz over this week’s reading.
Social Studies: Monday is the Ch. 2 test on the Revolution. This week the students will start examining the state of the government after the Revolution.
Religion: This week the students are focusing on Christian Morality and God’s gift, The Freedom of Choice. The students will be answering the question “How does Christian morality and free will fit into our school’s SLE’s?”
Physical Science: Chapter 4 will begin with a focus on elements. Students will learn the characteristics of elements and be given examples of these characteristics. They will also be shown how to identify and classify elements as metals, nonmetals, and metalloids based on their properties.
Math 6th, 7th, & 8th

Concepts & Applications: Students will work towards the following objectives: review and prepare for the chapter 2 test on Thursday. Students will also begin working on a group statistics project which focuses on the SLE of “A Critical Thinker and Problem Solver who works independently and collaboratively.”
Pre-Algebra: Students will learn to solve equations through multiplication and division. They will start solving two-step equations at the end of the week. There will be a quiz on Friday that covers solving equations through addition, subtraction, multiplication and/or division.
Algebra: Students will continue to work on chapter 3. They will be learning how to solve equations with variables on each side, ratios and proportions. They will also review percent of change. There is test over this chapter on October 17th.
Geometry: Chapter 2 test will be on Tuesday. Students will then begin chapter 3 which covers parallel and perpendicular lines.

PE 6th, 7th, & 8th

PE: The unit on Volleyball will start with a focus on skills and techniques.

• I am beginning this newsletter with a serious plea for volunteers for our upcoming events. In this Monday Envelope, you are being asked to help with the Casino Night (Oct. 18) and the Holiday Bazaar (Nov. 14-16). With over 150 shifts to fill and only 85 families in the school, we really need every family to help with these events by signing up for one or more shifts for both events. If you have a scheduling conflict with working the actual day, you can still help in advance by:

Casino Night – sell/purchase raffle tickets, donate a door prize, decorate, sponsor a table
Holiday Bazaar – bake pies, contribute baked goods, make crafts, donate raffle items, decorate, organize a class Christmas tree

• For the next week and a half, students will continue to take the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (Oct. 1-14). These tests are difficult to make up, so please do not remove your child from school for anything other than illness.

• “Your Future is Bright”—in keeping with the Student Council’s theme this month, students may wear sunglasses during their break and lunch period on Wednesday. Throughout this month we are reinforcing with students the importance of making healthy choices.

• The Middle School’ car wash fundraiser raised over $1,000 towards their Camp KEEP trip. Thank you for supporting this fundraiser – and thank you to Weinerschnietzel for use of their facilities!

• The Desert Empire Fair parade will be on Saturday, October 18 !!! We had a suggestion of centering on George Washington Carver for the parade theme of We’re Nuts about the Fair . Any help you could give on figuring out dress/decorations would be greatly appreciated. Please call the School Office if you have any ideas or would like to help. Permission slips will be sent home next week. Earn parent participation hours!

• Enclosed is a scrip handout for you to use to have friends and family link their Albertson Community Partner cards to Saint Ann School. This takes no effort on anyone’s part other than registering their name, phone number and card number. Please put your name at the top of this form so that your family gets the scrip credit from these linked purchases.

• The Middle School Girls’ Volleyball game schedule is as follows. Please come cheer them on!
o Monday, Oct 6, @ 3:00 PM vs Monroe, 7th Grade team at Monroe
o Tuesday, Oct 7, @ 3:00 PM vs Monroe, 7th Grade team at Monroe
o Thursday, Oct 9, @ 5:20 PM vs Murray, 8th Grade team at Monroe

• PTG News:

The PTG meeting is this Thursday, October 9, in the school library.

Look for flyers regarding the Casino Night and Holiday Bazaar in this Monday Envelope.

Last week in the Monday Envelope, you received Casino Night tickets. Please remember that it is important that you return the money for sold dinner tickets by October 13 so we will have an idea of how much food to prepare. Although it is not mandatory that you sell the raffle tickets, we urge you to do so because the raffle is critical to making this event successful. Ticket stubs of sold raffle tickets, all unsold tickets and the money must be returned before the event.

Pie Baking Up-Date: No baking this Thursday or Friday.

Pie Pre-Orders: Just a reminder that the purple pre-order forms went home last week. Please return these pre-order forms by Oct. 24.

Reminders
• Please join us in saying a decade of the rosary each Wednesday morning at 7:30 AM at the grotto. This week, the decade will focus on the third Luminous Mystery, the Proclamation of the Kingdom.
• Turn in Box Tops for Education by Oct. 15 so we can meet the submission deadline.
• Tuition and EDP Contract Payments are due this Fri., Oct. 10.
• Parent/Teacher Conference Scheduling starts this Wednesday. Come to the School Office to sign up.
• The annual Pumpkin Carving Contest will be on Halloween, Oct. 31.

Upcoming Events—

Wed., Oct 1
Rosary at the Grotto, 7:30 AM

Thurs., Oct 9
PTG Meeting, 7:00 PM, School Library

Fri., Oct 10
Communion Service, 8:15 AM, 3rd Grade

Monday, October 6, 2008

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Our Blessing of the Animals on Friday was truly special. Thank you to parents and guardians who were able to bring pets. The children are showing that they are Catholic learners by participating in this devotion. I hope that the children will always remember this tradition for years to come.

ITBS Testing continues this week. Again, they usually do better when they are well rested. Please be sure to have your child get plenty of rest this week.

We started praying the rosary last week. The children are doing a very fine job. Every day the children have a job during the rosary. They take their leadership role very seriously. Every Wednesday the school will be praying one decade of the rosary together in the grotto at 7:30 am. Please join us!

God bless,

Susan McDonald

Third Grade Goals This Week

Religion: We will study the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus in chapter 6. Check out the website www.faithfirst.com weekly for activities for your child.
Reading: We will finish reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle. Since we are still testing, we will not read a story from our reading book. We will play phonics games to take the place of the phonics lessons this week. The children will be working on reading folder games this week.
Language: In “Writer’s Workshop” we will continue to focus on grammar and punctuation. Writer’s Workshop is a time the students will work on expository paragraphs they write, revise and edit.
Spelling Words: We will not have a spelling test this short week.
Math: We will study telling time to the minute and elapsed time.
Science: We will begin our unit titled Sun, Moon, and Earth. We will begin by studying the moon and comparing it to Earth.
Handwriting: We will continue to work on reviewing manuscript letters for the next few weeks.
P.E.: We will finish volleyball skills this week.
Social Studies: We will continue our study of Native Americans this week. We will discover the differences of the coastal, valley, mountain, and desert Native Americans of California.

Spelling Unit 8
8th Grade

1. circuit
2. perforate
3. transform
4. perplex
5. circulation
6. transparent
7. circumstance
8. persistence
9. transition
10. perpetual
11. circumvent
12. circumnavigate
13. transfer
14. persuade
15. transplant
16. circulating
17. pertinent
18. transistor
19. persevere
20. circumstantial

Spelling Unit 8
7th Grade

1. encouragement
2. idleness
3. canoe
4. manage
5. forgiveness
6. acreage
7. outrageous
8. management
9. forgive
10. canoeing
11. inventiveness
12. encourage
13. acre
14. commencement
15. advantageous
16. commence
17. fierceness
18. amazement
19. awareness
20. announcement

Spelling unit 8
6th grade

1. mischief
2. ceiling
3. siege
4. relief
5. reign
6. niece
7. leisure
8. achieve
9. yield
10. weird
11. conceit
12. grief
13. shriek
14. fierce
15. seize
16. thief
17. receive
18. sleigh
19. receipt
20. shield