March 4 -8

¡Queridos Padres!

A great five days week here in first grade! Between Zero the Hero, Therapy dogs and the kick-off for March reading month.
Our Spring Elementary Music Program is quickly approaching! Mark your calendars for Tuesday evening, March 19, at Community Reformed Church in Zeeland. Two short performances will be held: K/1/2nd grades at 6:15pm, and 3/4/5th grades at 7:15pm. Families who do not have students at both levels do not need to stay for both events as there will be a transition time. More details to come!
Mark your calendars for Thursday, March 14.
Elementary– 11:00am in the Media Center
We will be selling Dan and Joel’s book, Lulu and the Long Walk.
Book orders need to be in by Tuesday, March 12. 
 Here is how the idea started:
 My name is Jill Koning and I am a ZCS mom with kids in 4th, 2nd and preschool.  I had an idea that I wanted to pass onto you both for a chapel at ZCS perhaps in March or when it would work for you.
My husband and I recently joined a committee for Blood: Water Mission in the Holland area.  Blood: WaterMission helps African organizations to address their water HIV/AIDS issues in their communities (bloodwater.org). As a committee, we are wanting to raise awareness and support in the Holland area.  Joel Schoon- Tanis, a local artist, is also on this committee and has a passion for this mission.  He is going into several local schools in March (reading month) to not only promote reading but more importantly to speak about using our gifts to help others.  He illustrated a book called Lulu and the Long Walk” by the lead singer of Jars of Clay, Dan Haseltine, who is one of the co-founders of Blood: Water Mission.  They are selling the book and 100% of the money raised will go to helping communities in Africa.  Joel would love to return to our school and speak about loving and serving others through our gifts and perhaps draw a bit too.  We would love to send home a note to the parents with the opportunity to purchase the book ($20) and all the money will go directly to Blood: Water to those in need of clean water
Here is additional information you might like to check out:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2140144377/lulu-and-the-long-walk

Grace & Peace;

Maestra Ruiz

If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions; please do not hesitate to contact me.

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Announcements

* Upcoming Events…

March 1
Np PM Elem. or MS Bus

March 5
Optional Parent/Teacher Conferences – Y5-8 in session

March 22
End of Marking Period – K-8

March 27
All School Chapel – 9:00 a.m.

From the Immersion Director
What do we mean by cross-linguistic connections? As our students begin their immersion experience, we focus on maintaining a clear definition between languages by insisting that teachers resist any direct translation and by having clear expectations for using the target language only in the classrooms. As students mature, though, we look for opportunities to draw connections between the languages. Helping students see cognates (which is a skill that usually doesn’t develop until upper elementary), pointing out grammatical similarities and differences, and highlighting the mechanical differences between languages are just a few of the ways we encourage our students to draw connections between their two languages. While focusing on cross-linguistic connections deepens a child’s understanding of the language, we are still careful to never mix the languages and to stay true to the expectation that teachers and students use only Spanish/Mandarin in their classrooms.
Book it!
This is the last month!!!
The Pizza Hut Book It reading calendar will be sent soon! Check your child’s communication folders. The program runs from October thru March.

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Curriculum

Bible:

– Unit 7: The settling of the land

– Bible Verse Memory

Josue 24:15 

“Por mi parte mi familia y yo serviremos al Señor”

Math:

– Unit 5  Place Value Situation  

Finishing, Reviewing and Assessing the unit

Science:

Weather Watchers
Review on the Life cycle

Grammar:

Language Art U5W2

  • Verbs
  • Accents in syllables
  • Word Wall Words: alguien, había, puedo, vez, ninguna
  • Syllables: gue, gui, güe, güi
  • Phonetic Book: El pingüino y la cigüeña
  • Poems: Para jugar y cantar, Pingüinito
  • Culture and language
  • Phrases:  Una vez…
  • Mentor Text: La vida del pingüino
  • Vocabulary words: el cascarón, el macho, sedosa, la hembra, alimentar

Reading:

Books and book-bags were sent home! Please, keep encouraging your child to read at home daily.

March is Reading Month:

March 6 – Waldo at Night – Wear PJ’s or Comfy Clothes and bring a flashlight

March 13 – Waldo Goes to the “Game” – Wear the colors of your favorite team or come dressed in “sports” clothes 

March 20 – Dress as Waldo/or Give Waldo a New Look – Hats and Stripes Day

March 27 – Beach Day – Wear Summer clothes

Strategies:

Accuracy

*Look carefully at letters and words. Make sure what you see is what you say
*Read each word carefully from beginning to end
*Blend the sounds, stretch and re-read
*Say known words quickly
Comprehension
*Check for understanding
*Use prior knowledge to connect with the text
*Make pictures or mental images, visualize
*Ask questions
Fluency
*Practice common sight words and high-frequency words
*Read phrases, not word by word
*Make your reading sound like talking
*Use a character’s voice

Books and book-bags should return to school on Monday.

There is a $5.00 fee that needs to be paid for books and or book-bags that are not returned or found.

Writing:

Authors as mentors – Learning from Angela Johnson’s books

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Volunteers

Lunchtime duty 11:55 – 12:20 pm

A wonderfully made celebration will be from 12:45 – 1:15

March 7 -> Kate’s wonderfully made/ 1-2 B-day

March 14 -> Ty’s wonderfully made/ B-day

March 21 -> Levi’s wonderfully made/ B-day

March 28 -> Harper’s wonderfully made/ B-day

 Thanks for reading it until the end! 

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