SEADOG NEWSLETTER
February 2016
Dear Seadog Families,
February brings a short break and snow days! Connections theme for this month is acceptance.
Seadogs watched a video about the Sneetches. Are you a star-bellied Sneetch or one without a star?
Children need to wear a coat to go out after lunch. Birthdays for January and February will be
celebrated after the break. It was great to see so many of you on parent visitation days. Please email us
if you have any questions or concerns.
Lights! Camera! Action! Student scientists have learned several aspects of light, including the
electromagnetic spectrum, and its various properties: as a form of energy (wow, it gets hot!), visible
reflection, and refraction. This week, students began crafting a one-minute movie using iPads to explain
convex and concave lenses. Next week we’ll begin our exploration of color and then peer into the eye to
discover how we “see” light. In other areas of science, we’re using our knowledge about the seasons
learned early in the year to investigate clues needed to discover 10 mystery classes located around the
globe. Each Friday, we’ll calculate the photoperiod for Niantic and compare it to that of each mystery
location. We’ll chart the data and by the equinox students will be able to pinpoint the mystery class
locations. Meanwhile, we’re monitoring the progress of the extremely rare cahow, a pelagic bird that
nests only in Bermuda. An infrared camera monitors the parents nesting and will capture the hatching
and fledging of a cahow chick. We’ll learn about the fragile ecosystem and efforts to continue the
comeback of a bird thought extinct for nearly 400 years. As we practice lab investigations and the
scientific method this year and next, we focus on developing good written lab conclusions. Students are
working hard and enjoying each new discovery.
Winter has finally arrived! The snow days set us back a bit, but we're doing our best to make the
time up. The rest of February and all of March will be full of fractions. The students will add, subtract
and multiply fractions as well as divide unit fractions and whole numbers by unit fractions. The skills
required are reducing fractions (greatest common factor), finding equivalent fractions, finding common
denominator (least common multiple), displaying fractions on a number line and solving word problems.
It's a rigorous unit. At the risk of sounding redundant, it is critical that the students know the times
tables. I hope you have a large Valentine cake on the 14th, the kids can eat one third of it, give half of
the remaining cake to your friend, your child snags (again!) half of what's left. What fraction of the
cake is left for you?
In social studies, January brought the end of our Christopher Columbus long term research
project. Students used their research to write organized, detailed, and elaborated letters to Senator
Formica expressing their opinions on whether or not we should celebrate Columbus Day. Many had very
strong opinions to share! In February, we started our next unit – American colonization. This unit will
introduce students to the first settlements which were established in America and the hardships and
challenges that the colonists faced. Each student is researching a different colony with a peer. They
will use this information to create advertisements to encourage other settlers to join their colony. We
are continuing to practice our geography skills by learning about the 50 states. Our next states quiz will
be coming up in the next few weeks. Students finished presenting their second current event project of
the year. They are doing a wonderful job sharing their learning with their classmates about all of the
important events going on around the world.
Language arts this month is finishing opinion essays on chocolate milk and whether we should or
should not serve it in our cafeteria. Ask your child which side he or she is on. We will be doing some nonfiction reading, comprehension, and demonstrating comprehension by responding to the text. After that,
we will start colonial novels to support the social studies unit. We will also work on reader response and
summarizing while reading. We are currently presenting biography book talks. Students learn a great
deal by listening to one another. Our grammar this month is pronoun antecedent agreement, sentence
fragments and run-ons, and then review starts. Many students have stopped bringing in reading logs
every Wednesday. Please remind your Seadog to bring one in each week.
Thank you for your continued support with checking the homework, practicing math facts and for
tests and quizzes, and signing papers. Working together we can ensure the success of every child. Have a
restful, although short, break.
Sincerely,
Seadog Teachers