Dear Families,

This upcoming week marks the end of our argument writing unit. For the last part of this unit, students are working on writing an argument essay where they make a claim (argument), support that claim with reasons, and use evidence from trustworthy sources to support their reasons. Students are more than welcome to work on their argument essays over the weekend. Mrs. Carroll and I have stressed repeatedly that the last day to work on this essay, barring any crazy weather, will be Wednesday. We have worked extensively on learning what goes into an argument essay and how we need to support our claim. This essay is the culmination of our work where the students show what they can do!

A handful of students proclaimed the words that I dread to hear toward the end of a writing unit, “I’m done!” The truth is, there is still work to be done. In an email to both you and your children, I have attached the writing rubric that is used to score students’ work and a writing checklist. The checklists are for fifth and sixth graders because fourth graders are working toward becoming a fifth grader and fifth graders are working towards becoming sixth graders.

Our school is participating in the Kids Heart Challenge, formerly and most commonly known as Jump for Heart. This program is both a fundraiser for The American Heart Association and an activity that promotes exercise and healthy eating habits. In P.E., we are working on increasing our stamina by working out with jump ropes. Students came home with a fundraising sheet two weeks ago, but the weather definitely threw off the rhythm of this. No worries, because all of the information can be accessed here on our school’s fundraising page. You can sign up and make pledges or donate money to the American Heart Association here. This upcoming Thursday is the last day to donate money. If every child is able to pledge $5, we will meet our school goal.

Congratulations to our classmates Jessie, Anand, and Oak. They participated in the Math is Cool competition. They took first place in their category and will be competing in Moses Lake in a larger competition in May. Woo hoo!

Our last read-aloud book, A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck, came to a beautiful close two weeks ago. Our new read aloud sticks with the time period of the Great Depression. We shift from rural Illinois to urban Michigan where we follow a character named Bud try to find his father in a heartwarming story by Christopher Paul Curtis titled Bud, Not Buddy. I know I say this a lot, but this is one of my favorite books.

Enjoy the weekend,

Mr. B

Idiom of the Week: Here We Go Again