Skinner North Hat Parade

Team 212's creative, vocabulary hats were very entertaining in Skinner North's first Vocabulary Hat Parade!  

Walk-a-Thon Pledge Forms

Walk-a-Thon pledge forms were sent home today.  Return the pledge form by Thursday, November 1st to qualify for prizes!

Field Trip

We will visit the Museum of Science and Industry on Friday, November 16th.  Trip slips were sent home in your child's Friday Folder.  You only need to pay the $13.00 if you DID NOT pay the student fees at the beginning of the year.  Please return the trip slip as soon as possible.

Walk-a-Thon

We had a successful Walk-a-Thon, and a great time cheering on our 7th grade buddies! 

A Sneak Peek Into Next Week...

Literacy:  Our whole class mini-lessons will focus on using main ideas to write a summary of an article.  We will review components of a summary and the importance of telling only the most important ideas.  During writing, students will begin writing an opinion piece.  We will use The Day the Crayons Quit (a personal favorite!) as a mentor text to discuss argumentative writing.  Students will also have a word work quiz at the beginning of next week.

Science:  Next week, we'll will wrap up our first investigation series in Science.  Students will take their science test on Wednesday of next week.  The test will be an open notebook test.  A study guide will be sent home on Monday, please have your child review for the test using their notebook.  Following the test, we'll begin the second investigation series which focuses on magnetism.

Math: Geometry, units of time, and multiplicative comparison statements will be the focus of our math lessons next week.  You can expect the math test the following week.

Important Reminders: 
10/31 Vocabulary Hat Parade
11/2 No School for Students/End of Quarter 1
11/8 Book Tower Check In
11/12 No School for Students
11/14 Parent/Teacher Conferences- sign up coming home next week
11/16 Field Trip- details coming soon

Vocabulary Hat Project

Please ask your child about the Vocabulary Hat project.  Students brought the assignment home today.  You can find a link to a variety of word choices on the Homework Page of the TGW.  Just click "Vocabulary Hat" under today's homework.

A Sneak Peek Into Our Week...

Literacy:  Inferring the main idea of a paragraph and short passage will be the focus of our mini-lessons this week.  Students will work in small group reviewing this skill as well.  During reading workshop stations, students will work on word work activities, practice reading skills on Freckle, and have time to read "Just Right Books" appropriate for the 30 Book Tower.  During writing, we will finish "The Important Book" based on the Native American tribe we studied.  Students will begin an opinion writing unit later in the week.

Math:  This week in math Ms. C and I will instruct lessons 2.4-2.6.  You can expect corresponding Home Links as homework.  Students will review factors, multiples, and prime/composite numbers.

Science:  We'll continue investigating energy this week.  Students will learn to distinguish between conductors and insulators.  They will also work on building series and parallel circuits.  Students may have some light reading homework for science later in the week.

Read Aloud: Ms. C will continue reading the Birchbark House.  We are about half-way through the book.  The author does a fantastic job of describing life as an Ojibwa Native American.

Reminders:  

• Picture Day is Tomorrow (10/23)
• End of Quarter 1/No School for kids (11/2)
• 30 BT Check-In (11/8)
• No School in Observance of Veteran's Day (11/12)
• Parent/Teacher Conferences (11/14)

Picture Day

Just a reminder tomorrow is picture day.  A form was sent home with your child.  You may return the form to school or order online.

AMID Survey

The Skinner North Classical School has partnered with a 3rd party diversity and education consultant, Single Story, Inc., to administer the AMID (Assessment of Multiculturalism, Inclusion, and Diversity) survey. The survey will remain live digitally to Skinner North parents, staff, and students in grades 5th - 8th Monday, October 1, 2018 through Friday, November 2. (The parent survey is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SkinnerParents.) 

This survey will be used as a basis for our work and the work of the school as we continue to promote diversity and inclusion, and to foster understanding of differing perspectives and experiences in the Skinner North community.  We really value your participation.

Meet Ms. Cecchin

A Peek into Our Week...

Reading: This week students will review inferencing skills and learn a new word study procedure.  During the reading block, they will work in stations while I complete diagnostic testing with individual students.

Writing:  Students received feedback on an essay titled, "My Favorite Trip."  They will use the feedback to write a final essay using a different prompt.  Students will practice using a variety of sentence structures and interesting word choice in their essays.  They will also practice using elaborations strategies to add detail to their writing.

Math: Today students reviewed formulas to determine the area and perimeter of a rectangle.  The next couple of days will be review days and students will take the final assessment for the unit next Monday.  

Social Studies:  During the social studies block, students will research Native American tribes that once inhabited the Chicagoland area.  They will share and synthesize information with group members in order to complete a final "Important Book."  The book will be based off of The Important Book, by Margaret Wise Brown.

Important Reminders: 
30 BT jackets and project due 10/11