Friday News for 3/20-3/24

Here's a look at our week:

Reading:  This week we focused on suffixes which are word parts that are added to the end of a word to change the meaning. We learned these suffixes:

ful - full of                  less - without                   able - able to
er - someone who       ly - how something is done

Writing: We continued working on our Animal Research Projects. This week we learned how to take our notes and put them into paragraphs. We also started peer editing our work.

Math: This week we finished our unit on graphs. We wrote our own survey in groups and went to different classrooms to conduct our survey. Then we made tally graphs, picture graphs, and bar graphs with the data. We also answered questions about our graphs.

Bible: In Bible we continued learning about Passion Week. This week we looked at how we can show Jesus that we love Him. We learned about how Mary showed Jesus that she loved Him with her actions and how Judas said he loved Jesus but then betrayed Him.

Important Information:

1. Terra Nova Testing will take place next week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The Terra Nova is a standardized test that will provide data on how your student is progressing in comparison to other students in American and International schools worldwide. In preparation for these tests please be sure your student:

- gets 8-10 hours of sleep each night
- eats a nutritional breakfast before school each morning
- refrains from extra activities in the evening during testing days
- brings a light, healthy snack each day such as: one banana, a small baggie of popcorn, dried fruit, etc.
- is on time for school each day

Upcoming Dates:
3/29-3/31 - Terra Nova Testing
3/31 - 3rd Quarter Report Cards sent home
4/1-4/9 - Spring Break
4/14 - 12:30 Dismissal
4/21 - Kid City for 1st and 2nd grade
4/28 - Elementary Field Day
5/5 - Children's Day - No School

Have a great weekend! :)

Friday News for 3/13-3/17

Here's a look at our week:

We had the chance to go to the 3rd-5th grade classroom to hear about the countries they have been researching. We enjoyed getting to see their instruments, clothes, houses, and other projects!

Reading: In reading we focused on prefixes. These are word parts that are added to the beginning of words to change the meaning. We focused on these prefixes:

pre - before       re - again       mis - wrong       un - not      
        dis - not       non - not       over - too much

Math: This week we continued learning about graphs. We focused on how to make and read bar graphs. We also started learning about line plots.

Bible: In Bible we began learning about the week leading up to Jesus' death. This week is called Passion Week. We learned about Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey and how all the people were rejoicing that He had come. We also learned about how the Jewish leaders were using the temple to make money by selling animals and other things. We learned that Jesus went to the temple and made all of those people leave so that the Jewish people could come and worship God and pray at the temple.

Important Information:

1. Spelling Words: This week is a review week for Spelling.
    January, February, doesn't, threw, clothes, squeal, scene, traffic, strange, drive, close, drift, didn't,
    through, sprint, building

2. Memory Verse: Christ didn't have any sin. But God made him become sin for us. So we can be made right with God because of what Christ has done for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21

3. Our Scholastic Book Order will close this Friday (24th). If you would like to order please click on this link: http://world-schools.scholastic.co.uk/okinawa-christian-school-intl

4. Tomorrow is Student-Led Conference Day! Please be sure to be here at your appointed time so that we can stay on schedule. This is a great time for you to hear from your child about how they are doing in school and the progress they have made. Here is the schedule for the day:

9:00 - Hirohisa Fukuda

9:20 - Open Slot

9:40 - Yoshitaka Isobe

10:00 - Kiana Kelly

10:20 - Kai Kobayashi

10:40 - Break

11:00 - Mirai Kuba

11:20 - Teresa Kosinski

11:40 - Mia Perkins

12:00-1:00 - Lunch Break

1:00 - Ibuki Murai

1:20 - Trinity Tucker

1:40 - Hannah Rubero

2:00 - Hime Sakane

2:20 - Mika Tokutomi

2:40 - Ryan Lynn

3:00 - Dorothea Wiberg

3:20 - Ksenya Wilson

3:40 - Seojeong Yoon

4:00 - Kensei Novak

4:20 - Zimri Lopez

At the end of the conference, you will have a chance to ask your child some questions. Here are some possible questions to ask:

- What piece of work in your portfolio are you proud of? Why?
- What is your favorite part of school?
- What is your favorite subject? Why?
- What subject is the hardest? Why?
- How can we help you at home?

Have a great weekend! :)

Friday News 3/6-3/10

Here's a look at our week:

Reading: This week we focused on Making Inferences while reading. Sometimes an author doesn't tell us everything about the story, but leaves clues for us to think deeper. We practiced making inferences on pages where the author didn't write any words. We used the pictures and what we already knew about the story to guess what was happening.

Writing: We continued working on our Ocean Animal Research Projects. We focused on finding good information and taking notes on different aspects of our animals.

Math: This week we continued learning about graphs. We learned how to make and read picture graphs and bar graphs.

Bible: We finished our unit on Jesus' parables. We learned that God invites everyone to go to Heaven, but not everyone believes. We also learned that God's grace and love extend to everyone.

Important Information:
1. Spelling Words: halfway, calf, gulf, shelf, built, felt, building, golden, held, folktale, milk, raft, left, drift, once, Thursday

2. Memory Verse: But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

3. Next Friday will be the 3rd-5th grade Culture Fair. We will be going around to their classrooms to hear about the different countries they have been studying. All students need to bring a home lunch on that day because the cafeteria will not be serving lunch.

4. Student Led Conferences are coming up on Monday, March 20th. There will not be normal school on this day. This week we sent home the conference paper stating your time. Please sign and send those back with your student by Friday. If you are unable to come at your appointed time, please let me know and we can set up a different time or day to meet. This will be a great time for you to hear from your student about the hard work that they have been doing this year, their progress, and their goals for the rest of the year.

Upcoming Dates:
3/13 - OCSI Holiday - No School
3/17 - Culture Fair - All students need a home lunch
3/20 - Student Led Conferences
3/24 - End of 3rd Quarter
3/29-3/31 - Terra Nova Testing
4/1-4/9 - Spring Break
4/14 - Early Dismissal (12:30)
4/21 - Kid City
4/28 - Elementary Field Day

Have a wonderful long weekend!

Friday News for 2/27-3/3

Reading: This week we focused on finding the Main Idea and Details of a story. We read several books and worked together to figure out what the author was trying to tell us or teach us. Then we found details to support that main idea.

Writing: We began our Ocean Animal Research Projects! Each student picked an ocean animal and began researching. We learned how to find the best information and put it in our own words. This week we focused on the appearance and the diet of our animals.

Math: In Math we finished our unit on money and took our chapter test. On Friday we started learning about surveys and graphs.

Bible: This week we learned three more parables of Jesus. We learned that God is a loving father who forgives us when we mess up and disobey Him. We also learned how God wants us to pray. He doesn't want us to pray in a way that brings honor to ourselves, but to Him. Lastly, we learned about how God wants us to use the talents and abilities that He has given us to tell other people about Him.

Social Studies: This week we learned about communities. We talked about Urban, Suburban, and Rural communities and the characteristics of each one. Then we made Community Circles.

Important Information:

1. Spelling Words: spend, front, thumb, sending, triangle, climb, hung, strong, along, thank, trunk, bring, donkey, think, February, himself

2. Memory Verse: Be kind and tender to one another. Forgive one another, just as God forgave you because of what Christ has done. Ephesians 4:32

3. Student Led Conferences are coming up on Monday, March 20th. There will be no school on that day. Next week you will receive your conference time. If you are not able to come at your time, please let me know and we can arrange for another time or day.

4. On March 17th the 3rd-5th grade will be hosting their Culture Fair. We will be going to each of their classrooms to learn about the different countries they have studied. On this day every student will need to bring a cold, home lunch.

Upcoming Dates:
3/13 - No School
3/17 - Culture Fair - Students need home lunch
3/20 - Student Led Conference
3/24 - End of 3rd Quarter
3/29-3/31 - Terra Nova Testing
3/31 - Report Cards Issued
4/1-4/9 - Spring Break

Have a wonderful weekend!