Change for the Quarter

Dear Parents,

This week we read a story about American money, in particular, the quarter. "Change for the Quarter" talks about new designs that were printed on the 'tails' side of the coin. The new designs honor each of the 50 states. I showed them some of the special designs on quarters that I brought from USA. The students then had a chance to pick a quarter and then find the state on the map. I also showed them a one dollar bill, dime, nickel, and penny.

We talked about fresh water and salt water habitats in science. Each water habitat has it's own plants and animals that live there. On Friday we watched the BBC's "Planet Earth" DVD on fresh water habitats.

For grammar the students learned when to use the verbs have, has, and had.

The students will have a vocabulary test next week on week 20 vocabulary words, grammar, science (water habitats), and a reading test. It's the end of the semester so we have to wrap up our testing. We will do something fun for the last day of the semester too!

Thanks to the parents that returned the Progress Reports this week.

All the best and have a wonderful weekend!

Teacher Andy

New Classroom!!!

Dear Parents,

After weeks of loud noises and moving around tables and books, there is light at the end of the tunnel! Our Alien class has moved into our new classroom as part of the school's total makeover. We hope this will help make Tree House a more enjoyable learning environment for the students. Some of the students helped moved books and chairs to the new classroom and are excited to be in there.

This week we did lots of science! They have just finished learning about habitats so I showed them a wonderful educational video made by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) called "Planet Earth". The video is amazing and gives closer looks into the plants and animals that live in different habitats. Students who have been performing well in class and with vocabulary got to spend 2 classes watching this while others who have not been so good had to work more on vocabulary.

We also studied past tense verbs in grammar.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEKEND:

1) Student Journal- We read "Insect or Arachnid" in class together. Students are to read the book to parents, then answer the questions in their Student Journal in complete sentences, and draw a creative picture from the story.

2) Vocabulary- Students were given new words for Week 20. They are to write them in their vocabulary book.

3)Progress Reports- These were given to the students to take home and show their parents. Please sign your name and write any comments or feedback you would like to share. This is a great opportunity for us to all help the Aliens have a better learning experience here at Tree House. Have the students bring these back to me on Monday.

ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE ON MONDAY!

For Fun Day we will go to a night market. The weather is much warmer than earlier this week and I hope the students enjoy it.

Have a great weekend and all the best,

Teacher Andy

Happy New Year!!!

Dear Parents,

I'm back from USA and had a wonderful time there! I feel well rested and relaxed after the break and was happy to see all of The Aliens again. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year's! Teacher Jan said he enjoyed the class very much. Students sometimes have difficulty getting used to a new teacher and their way of teaching but I hope they enjoyed meeting Teacher Jan and having him for their teacher.

This week we read a folk tale from Laos called "Nine-in-One, Grr! Grr!" about a lonely tiger that goes to visit a wise god to find out how many cubs she will have. Tiger learns that she will have 9 cubs every year and all she has to do is remember that. She makes up a chant to help her remember and sings it as she walks. A clever black bird hears Tiger singing then distracts her so Tiger will forget. Bird then tells Tiger she was singing "One-in-Nine, Grr! Grr!" Bird was much smaller than Tiger, but because bird was so clever, she was able to help her and other animals stay safe from to many tigers.

In science we continued to learn about habitats. They learned about the arctic and what kind of plants and animals live there. We will watch a video next week about different habitats that I'm sure the students will enjoy and help them better understand life in different habitats.

We also reviewed the vocabulary they learned while I was away. We will take a vocabulary test on weeks 17 and 18 on Monday, so they are to study for that this weekend.

The school is getting a make-over and adding new classrooms to make a nicer learning environment for the students. Things have been pretty crazy and unusual for the kids with all of the work going on now, but the work is almost finished and we'll be in a new classroom very soon. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time as class arrangements and work may be unusual.

For Fun Day we will make New Year's resolutions. The new year is a good chance to start over, make a new beginning, and make changes for the better for the new year.

Detailed progress reports will go home with the students next week.

All the best,

Teacher Andy