December Happenings

This month, the Social Studies class will be traveling the world to learn about different holidays celebrated by different cultural regions. Students will be applying their map skills to find the country on the maps. They will be learning about the culture and holiday celebrated. Then they will have to follow directions and use their fine motor skills to make crafts to go along with the holiday. They will also be writing about the things they learned.

The Science class will be learning about all kinds of weather, how the weather can change, and how it affects us. We will be conducting experiments to understand weather better. The class will also be doing some cooking to celebrate the upcoming holidays. We will be making Lattkes to celebrate Hanukkah; baking cookies to celebrate Christmas; and making for Kwanzaaa.

The Language Arts class is working on improving sentences and writing as a whole. The students are also working on their typing skills on the computer.

The Reading class will be beginning Al Capone Does My Shirts. It is a novel that provides some great topics  and subject matter for the students.

The Math class is learning how to apply their skills to real life application. The students are so eager to learn to be good consumers.

Back to business

The students did a nice job returning back to school after our unanticipated break due to the hurricane. We have begun many new things in our classes and I am excited to share them with you.

In Social Studies, the students are continuing to work on their calendars. They are also working on filling out forms. Recently, they filled out a NJ voter registration form.

In Science, the students began a study on the weather. We dabbled a bit with hurricanes, but are now learning about clouds.

In Writing, students finished their fractured fairy tales. They will continue to write each day and refine the skills we have worked through the years.

In Reading, students have begun to study onsets and rimes. They are also beginning a new reading program called Reading Key. I am hoping these skills will help them to become the great readers they have the potential to be.

October Fun!

This month we have a lot going on. In science, we will be studying leaves and photosynthesis. We are also studying pumpkins. We will be carving a pumpkin next week and roasting the seeds for a delicious snack. We are also working on following directions on recipes to make yummy food items. Next week we will be making fresh applesauce. Yummy!




In social studies, we are working on our calendar skills each day. We will be working hard to understand the election process in our country. We are also working on various life and social skills.



In language arts, we have finished our parts of speech unit. We will be looking at writing correct sentences and beginning a writers' workshop.



In reading, we have enjoyed reading David Lubar's short stories from his latest book, Attack of the Vampire Wienies. We are working on reading strategies that good readers do to improve comprehension of what they read. I am happy to report that the students were so excited by one of the stories they took it even further and developed their own version of an old fairy tale. We will be publishing them for all to read.



In math, some students are finishing up a unit on division. Others are finishing with counting change and dollars. While, others are working on addition and telling time. All students are working hard to be great mathematicians.

MARE

Students have been enjoying class trips with their grade level classes this month. While in school, they continue to work on their individual reading goals. We are also reading Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events. We are working on various activities in relation to the book. We'll watch the movie when we finish the book.

The math students just finished learning about place value of decimals. To help us relate place value to real life, we play The Price is Right on the Wii on Fridays. It gives the students an opportunity to undestand the cost of items as well as apply their knowledge of place value in determining the price. We are moving on to learn about probability before the end of the school year.

Each grade level contributed to out MARE bulletin board. We are all looking forward to Ocean Night at OCS.

May

The 7th grade has finished testing. Yahoo! My 7th graders tried their best each day on the NJASK test. This week the 5th and 6th grades are testing. They are also working very hard to apply all that they have learned to answer test questions.

The 7th graders are finishing up their research papers. They are putting on the final touches. The papers will be due on Friday, May 11. They are also working on reading comprehension this week by reading articles about Native Americans and answering questions based on their reading. This ties into what they jusat finished learning about in Social Studies class.

In Math, we are working on activities that require remembering basic math facts.

In Science, 6th grade is learning about the Galapagos Islands. The 7th grade is learning about the Coral Reef.

April

This month many of the students will be working on test taking strategies. We will be practicing using grade-level test practice books so that the students are familiar with test wording and set up. We will do this in Language Arts and Math classes. In addition to test prep, we will still work on the core goals during class.

In science, we are beginning to study physical and chemical changes. We will be conducting experiments to learn about each.

In social studies, we are learning about the Monroe Doctrine and the Trail of Tears.

Please call or e-mail me with any questions.

Mrs. P.

Nicholas Edward Pettinelli

I am still out on maternity leave, but wanted to add a link to the baby's birth announcement. I am enjoying time at home with my family, but am looking forward to finishing out this school year with my students!
Nicholas Edward Pettinelli