Weekly Update 4/25/16 - 4/29/16

The end of April? We aren't sure how this happened! It seems as though the feeling of fleeting time will never leave us, and we're surely not ready for this class to "graduate." The past week was full of excitement and we hope stories of Daniel Stowe, The Lion King, and the First Grade Parade all made it home to you. A huge thank you to our many parent volunteers who took the time to join us and lend an extra set of hands and eyes during our field trip. You can find all our pictures from Daniel Stowe by clicking THIS LINK. Mrs. Bolding and Mr. Smith also captured some great moments -- so be sure to check out their photos HERE!

Here's what's happening now! Reader's Workshop has continued to focus on Book Clubs, which your children seem to be greatly enjoying. Each club has its own name and spends time discussing and questioning the text at hand. Book Clubs are looking for similarities across texts in regard to character, plot and problems that are encountered. Should you be reading any series books at home, we encourage you to engage in similar conversation at home.

Writing poetry has been a true joy. As we mentioned to you during Student-Led Conferences, poetry brings a certain freedom that is so refreshing and enjoyable for your children. We have learned to use repetition, personification, theme, and change the point of view. Our poetry notebooks are filling up and these will certainly be treasures to keep! Mrs. Lanze has joined us several afternoons to incorporate technology into our writing. Each child has selected a poem to publish digitally, and we will have printed copy of these as well. We look forward to publishing more poetry soon and to celebrating the great work of these young, inspired poets. The next unit will be on realistic fiction, and will carry us through the end of the year.

Should you still have your child's End of Unit Assessment from Unit 6, please send in at your earliest convenience. We are in the midst of a short unit on fractions, which all seem to be very interested in -- especially when we relate it to pizza slices! We will spend another week on fractions and wrap up next week.

In Science, we have been studying matter and the class has enjoyed reading, observing, and experimenting with solids, liquids, and gases. We loved that several students noticed the presence of all three states of matter within their homemade terrariums from Daniel Stowe. This week, we will join Mrs. Rudisill in the science lab to experiment a bit with dry ice. Should be a fun lesson!

Reminders for the Upcoming Weeks:

• This Friday, April 29th we will walk to the Children's Theater to see "The Magic Kite." This will be our last show of the year. 
• Next Thursday, May 5th is the Spring Arts Festival! See Good News for details. As always, Ms. Rankey, Ms. O'Sullivan and your children will have worked very hard (all year!) in preparation for this event and it comes together beautifully. We look forward to celebrating!  
• The Book Fair is back! Next week, May 4th - 6th, we will be having another Book Fair on campus. It will take place on the track and we will go as a class, but also welcome you to go individually with your children. Students are welcome to go with their Grandfriends on Friday as well. 
• Friday, May 6th is our beloved Grandfriends Day. It is a half day, with dismissal at 11:30 following a 10:30 Chapel service in the gym. 

Below you will find an update from the Art Department! Thank you, Mrs. Rankey and Ms. O!

Things have been super exciting in the art studio for our 2nd grade friends!  Although they are learning new things every class, the second grade artists are starting to hone their artistic voices.  From voracious painters to joyful builders, each young artist has found their way towards authentic work, work that represents pure creative joy for the artist and viewer!  Don’t forget, the greatest evening of the year is very close!!  The Spring Arts Festival is May 5th and all the 2nd grade artists will have multiple works of art on display along with all the TES students.  In case you missed it, take a look at the blog post from last month as you prepare to be amazed by the creative powerhouse that is the student body at Trinity.

Thanks for sharing your artist with us.

Jen Rankey and Mary Ann O’Sullivan

P.S.  Don’t forget the subscribe the the Art Department Blog (tesartdepartment.wordpress.com) and follow us on Twitter (@tesarttab1) to keep up with all the wonderful things happening!   Also, we are in the process of creating digital portfolios using the website Artsonia.  For now you can simply search “Find by School” then search your child's name. We are adding new work every day so don’t worry if your child does not have work yet:).