Week 35

 Dear Parents,

       This week in math we finished up our unit on graphing and took our assessment! We are very good at analyzing and interpreting graphs. We know how to ask many questions using the data from a graph!

        In writing we finished our informational writing on the Great White Shark and published it. We chose our own animal and began researching it at school. I hope you are having fun creating the habitat box at home. Let me know if you need any supplies- but my shoe boxes have all been taken. This project is due Tuesday, May 16^th.

         In reading we reviewed story structure and figurative language as we read Abuela and the three Bears. We read a Scholastic News article about making Crayons and answered comprehension questions. I loved the names they came up with for the blue crayon! On Friday we learned all about Cinco de Mayo as we tried some tortillas with honey!

         In science we finished learning about animal characteristics and behaviors and took our assessment. We are excited to start our next unit on food chains. I can’t believe how quickly this last nine weeks is going- I don’t even want to think about saying good-bye to this amazing group of students!

 

• Pillowcases are going home today to the parents who are helping write the poem on them with a Sharpie Marker- I appreciate your help, more than I can say! I got 5 volunteers so you each have your child’s pillowcase and 3 more. 

 

• FIELD TRIP IS MONDAY- your child brought home a letter on Thursday about reminders, and one for my chaperones. I have attached them here in case they were not seen. We are excited to go to the Perot Museum!

        

 

Week 34

 Dear Parents,

         This week in math we continued on with graphing. We read bar graphs and pictographs to answer questions. We had to be sure to look at the numbers at the bottom of the graph or the graph key to see if the numbers were going up by 1s, 2s, 5s, or 10s. We also had a chance to analyze the data and come up with our own questions.

           In writing we continued researching the Great White Shark. They children were amazed at the interesting facts we learned through research. Once we are finished with our class paper your child will begin researching an animal of his/her choice during writing and science time to write their own research paper. Information is coming home today in your child’s Coyote folder about a habitat box that your child will make at home. Directions are on the paper. Using a shoe box your child creates a habitat that can support their chosen animal. There should be a water source, a food source and possibly shelter depending on the animal. This can be completely made out of paper. There is no need to spend money on supplies unless you choose to. If you would like some construction paper to help support this project, just send an e-mail to me telling me what colors you would like. Printing a picture of your animal and placing it in the habitat works, but if your child would like to draw their animal, I can send home white paper.

           In reading and social studies we learned about the continents and oceans of the world. We also learned who  producers and consumers are and how they are dependent on one another. We made a circle-rama showing how we are consumers who buy things that are grown by, made by, or are provided a service by a producer.

             In science we are learning all about the characteristics of animals eyes, ears, teeth, limbs, and body coverings. We talked about how these different characteristics help them survive. We even got to handle real animal furs from our library!

 

• Thank you to my five parents who volunteered to help with the pillowcase project (Amber Rice, Yessidey Stevens, Michelle Douglas, Jee Yeun Yun, and Christopher Restorff) and for all the extra donations so that all students have a pillowcase. – I do not have the printed poem from our team lead as of yet, but will get them sent home as soon as I do .

 

Hello CRE families!  Our CRE Yearbook online sale portal will close on Friday, May 5^th.  If you have not purchased a yearbook, you have a week left before it closes!  Once it is closed the only way to purchase a yearbook will be after May 19^th in the office.  As of this morning, we have 14 yearbooks left to sale.  Whatever does not get sold by next Friday will be available in the office, first come first serve.  Have a great day!

 

Purchase your yearbook here:  http://bit.ly/CREyearbook

 

Mrs. Clements and Mrs. Hernandez

Yearbook advisors

Week 33

 Dear Parents,

 

   This week in math we finished our geometry unit as we learned all about plane shapes and solid shapes. It was quite challenging! We then took our assessment on Thursday.

    In writing we began our last unit which will be researching animals. We will do a class research paper on sharks and then each student will pick an animal of his/her choice to research.

    In social Studies we learned about Earth Day and read a Scholastic News about what happens to a plastic bottle when it gets recycled. In reading we read two stories, Jack and the Beanstalk as well as Jackie and the Beanstalk. We compared the external and internal characteristics of two of the characters and  found text to self, text to text, and text to world connections.

     In science we finished our unit about the life cycles of insects. Next week we have a Master Naturalist giving a Presentation to our second graders about butterflies and grasshoppers. Our butterflies all came out of their Chrysalises on Wednesday. We actually got to see one of them pump up its wings!

    

Please Send a white- STANDARD size pillow case for a special second grade project by  April 24th. They are $5.00 for 2 at Wallmart. If you would like to donate an extra pillow case for a child that does not get one it would be appreciated.

 

Art Room Newsletter: https://www.smore.com/ypwv8

Exciting LISD Elementary District Art show information. Our Coyote Ridge Artist works will be on display at the gallery. A family fun night for sure!

 

State testing will begin soon across the district and state.  Our campus will be participating in STAAR testing on the following dates:  April 26^th  (RLA- reading/language arts); May 4^th (Science);and  May 10^th(Mathematics). This is a state mandated test. Because of the confidentiality and security of testing, please note campus adjustments to support staff and students: 

 

• NO VISITORS WILL BE ALLOWED ON CAMPUS ON THESE DATES and this includes no lunch visitors. Please ensure that your child has a proper lunch prior to the day starting to reduce lunch drop-offs. 

 

Please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher if you have additional questions. We thank you for your support during this very important state assessment process. 

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Thompson (Asst. Principal & Testing Coordinator)

Week 32

 Dear Parents,

      This week in math we continued learning about 2-d , plane shapes, and 3-D, solid shapes. We learned the names, the number of vertices and sides of the plane shapes and that they are all called polygons. We learned strategies for counting the faces, vertices and edges of the solid shapes. We learned how to reason and use pattern blocks to create new shapes. 

       In writing we finished our “how to” class papers and began our own “how to” paper about something we know how to do. We made sure we were clear, used transition words, drew illustrations, and labeled them.

      In reading we reviewed story structure and retelling. I challenged the class to retell Jack and the Beanstalk  using all important details in their own words. Two  students have earned a $20 bonus for meeting the challenge thus far.

        In science we have been fascinated as we learn more about the life cycles of grasshoppers and butterflies. We were so excited so see our larva turn into a pupa stage by shedding its skin! 

        Please Send a white- STANDARD size pillow case for a special second grade project. They are $5.00 for 2 at Wallmart. If you would like to donate an extra pillow case for a child that does not get one it would be appreciated.

Week 31

 Dear Parents,

      This week we learned about 2-D shapes that had from 3 vertices and sides to 12 vertices and sides. We learned how to be exact in our marking and counting those sides. We also learned a new vocabulary word- parallel. We talked about which shapes have parallel sides.

       In writing we continued on drafting, editing and revising our how to paper. We learned about prepositions and how they are helpful words when you are writing a procedural paper.

        In Social studies/ reading we learned all about landforms like mountains, hills, plains, volcanoes, coastlines, and plateaus. We created a flip book to demonstrate our knowledge of those landforms.

         In science we had an exciting development. Our butterfly larvae arrived. All week we observed them as they ate and grew. They shed their skin as they grew. We can’t wait to see them make their Chrysalis. We wrote down our wonderings about grasshoppers and butterflies as we will continue to learn about an insects life cycle.

 

    *A Field Trip letter and form came home last week in your child’s Coyote Folder. The form and $12.00 are due on MONDAY. Please make sure it gets put in your child’s blue folder as we have to send the money to the museum. We will be going to the Perot Museum on Monday, May 8^th.

      I will be allowed to take 5 chaperones to the museum. The chaperones will come at 8:40 to collect their groups lunches in our classroom. Each chaperone will have 3-4 children. Please bring a bag large enough to hold the lunches. Chaperones will follow the buses to the museum. The cost of the student is $12.00. The 5 chaperone slots are filled. If you are one of the five, you will receive a second e-mail from me today, including my classroom  link for you to sign up for our field trip.

 

 

* Good Afternoon CRE Families!  

 

Please join us on Wednesday, April 19th from 5:30-7:00 pm for our Spring into STEM math and STEM night.  This year’s theme will be Spring!  Students will be able to travel through the school completing fun math and STEM based activities! Students who complete their passport will receive a prize at the end! Can’t wait to see everyone there!  

 

Week 30

 Dear Parents,

      This week in math we looked at fractional parts of more than one whole. We reviewed all the skills we learned while talking about fractions and practiced them together. On Thursday we took our fraction assessment.

       In writing and reading/social studies. we continued our focus on researching things from our past and compare them to now. This week we researched toys and games as well as transportation. The students were amazed at the changes that were made over time. At the end of the week we began our procedural writing unit. We will begin working on a whole group project and then the students will choose an individual procedure to write out in steps, include important details, and illustrations.

       In science we continued our observations as our plants grew, played a plants and parts game with our table groups, represented the parts of a plant in an art project, and participated in a talk/read/talk/write activity.

        The children are getting excited about their upcoming student led conference. We practiced the steps on how to lead the conference and documented them to help us during the conference.

 

      *A Field Trip letter and form are coming home in your child’s Coyote Folder today. We will be going to the Perot Museum on Monday, May 8^th. I will be allowed to take 5 chaperones to the museum. The chaperones will come at 8:40 to collect their groups lunches in our classroom. Each chaperone will have 3-4 children. Please bring a bag large enough to hold the lunches. Chaperones will follow the buses to the museum. The cost of the student is $12.00, a chaperone is $8.00. Please check in advance to see if your background check is still in date. That information can be found in Voly. The first 5 parents to turn in their child’s form, $20.00, and has a background check that is complete, will be our chaperones for the day. Those 5 parents will receive a second e-mail with a link to Voly to my class to sign up. If you sent money to be a chaperone, and you were not one of the first 5, your money will be returned. We leave the school at 9:00 and return to school by 2:30. We are so excited to go to the Perot Museum!

 

 

     * It is time for your child to take the lead and run his/her own Spring Conference. In this conference your child will share his/her Leadership Binder, talk about The Seven Habits that we’ve learned in the Leader In Me Program, discuss his/her year’s growth in istation and tell you about his/her biggest challenges and successes this year. Please click on the link below to sign up for a time before or after school. Your child should be with you at the conference. I am looking forward to seeing my leaders take charge!

 

• If you do not wish to have a student led conference, please e-mail me to let me know and I will send home a conference information sheet for you to sign.
• PLEASE sign up or e-mail me that you do not wish to participate by Sunday, April 2nd

 

 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B4CAFA82AA02-spring2

 

 

 

Week 29

Dear Parents,

     This week in math our focus was on fractions. We are learning about halves, fourths, and eighths. We learned that there must be equal parts of a whole to have a fraction of a shape. We learned how to divide shapes into halves, fourths, and eighths. We talked about one part of a shape, then more parts of the shape and how to write those fractions. We learned what a fraction looks like if it is equal to the whole shape. We used  an app on our ipads to make shapes and divide them into equal parts, then show the fraction for our shaded part. We then took pictures of our fractions and made a pic collage showing them.

     In writing we finished up our Helen Keller nonfiction papers and began a combined research unit about technology now and then. It is fun learning about how we did things in the past and compare them to how we do them now.

      In reading we read a book about the First day of Spring and wrote a poem about saying goodbye to Winter things and welcoming Spring things.

      In Science we began our unit on the physical characteristics of plants. We planted some seeds, observed the parts of plants, and  discussed their basic needs. We did a Talk, Read, Talk, Write activity where we learned more about the basic needs of plants. We began an experiment of putting celery in colored water and made predictions about how we think that will affect the celery.

 

• A conference sign up Genius will be sent home on Monday. Spring Conferences are student led. Your child needs to attend the conference with you. Students will be discussing their leadership binder. They will discuss their  achievements and their goals this year. If you choose NOT to have a conference, please let me know as well, and I will send home a form for you to sign.