I will add pictures from our Museum soon. Please remember there is no Lunch A Month or Pizza Day tomorrow. Please remind students to pack a lunch. Also, on Friday we will be tie-dyeing with our little buddies. Students can bring in a white T-shirt if they would like to dye something.

by Daisy

Today we showed Katlyn's class our magic tricks. We worked on our reports. In Betsy's math class, we worked on fractions. In Kim's math class, we worked on challenging subtraction.

Frontier Culture Museum by Sarah and Daisy

A few days ago we went to the Frontier Culture Museum. We got to go back in time to Africa in the 1600s. In Africa we got to see the huts in which one African family lived. We also got to do "women's and men's" work. On the American side in 1850 we got to help farm and got to see a meat house. Two kids went to the spring to take water pails to the house. We all had a wonderful time!

Kim's Math by the Molly Pitchers

We have been working on codes about the American Revolution. We have also been looking at angles and turns.

Strawberry Festival Volunteer Hours

Just over two weeks left until festival...sign up for your top choice of shifts before they all fill up! To sign up, go to www.communityschool.net, click on the strawberry at the top, and scroll down to "Sign up for Berry Cleaning and Festival Days here!" Click the link to go to the form. More detailed information about festival jobs can be found under the "Committee Description" tab on the Blog. If you have any questions about volunteering, please contact Katlyn (katlync@communityschool.net). Each parent is expected to volunteer 12 hours each towards the festival. Shifts are already filling up, so get your requests in today to get your top pick. Thanks Berry Much!

Berry Cleaning - Thursday, May 3 @ Murray's Cider (103 Murray's Farm Road, Roanoke)
Festival Days - Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5 @ Elmwood Park

April Dates to Remember

Please remember Spring Break starts tomorrow (April 6). School will reopen on April 16th.

Students received information to help them start their museum project. Please go over it with them during Spring Break. The "My Topic" information sheet needs to be completed and returned by April 17th.

We will go to Camp Bethel on April 20th for The Sounds of the Blue Ridge. We cannot take any additional adults.

On April 27th, we are going to The Frontier Museum in Staunton, VA. We will need parent help.

Please remember the date for Arts Festival is May 18th.

by Daisy

Today in Drama we practiced the “Wacky Boogie!” And we learned dthe moves that go with it. The “Wacky Boogie” is in the “Wonderland” play I told you aboutyesterday. Also in class we got to choose what we wanted to write about. I chose “Free Choice” and I'm writing about a girl named Ko and she is from Japan and her family was forced to live on the streets. Now we are going to Art.

by Daisy

Today in Betsy's math we worked on our folders. In Kim's math we closed the School Stuff Store. We counted the money, wrote an article for Quick Notes, and figured out what it should say on our brick. Scott and Ben tried on their costumes for the school play! Ben is Tweedledum and Scott is Tweedledee! We are doing Alice and Wonderland! We were reading our books that we chose. I'm reading Bridge to Terabithia! We went to Betsy's for science.

Puzzles assembled by Josiah.

Today we had visits from two Edgar Allan Poes, George Washington, Annie Sullivan, John Glenn, Harry Houdini, Donn Fendler, Charles Darwin, Squirrel, Amelia Earhart, and King Tutankhamen.

by Tallulah and Noah

Today in Kim's math, we made little people that live in Babalobbyland.  We need to make their houses.  The people must be between 5 and 8 cm.  In Betsy's math, we worked on sheets about mammals vs. humans.  Some people worked on DynaMath.  We had fruit break.   We had class.  In class, we worked on our limericks.  We also worked on memorizing poems for Poetry Day.  We had recess.  We had Art.  In Art, we worked on bracelets.  I am finishing a picture I wanted to make.  Now, we are in class.  Next, we have Spanish and then go home.  Our Spanish homework is due Thursday, March 22.

by Tallulah

This morning we had math. In Kim's math class we worked on things we did not finish. We did not have outside fruit break because it was raining. So we played inside. After fruit break we went down to Beth's class to get our sunglasses to wear. We had class after that. In class we worked either on writing a limerick or a Dr. Seuss poem. We also worked on our rough draft for colonial times. We met with Kim to start our better drafts.  We had recess. We had lunch. We had class. We did the same thing in class. Now, we are doing our jobs and getting ready to go to music.

Monday by Sierra

Please bring in materials to make your egg drop containers.  Containers will be built on Wednesday and Thursday.


Today in Kim's math, we worked on Math Blaster and then finished our inch stories or played a math game.  We had fruit break and came back in.   We ate and listened to Raiders' Ransom.  After that we flew our kites for Kite Day.  On Friday, we made kites with our buddies.  We drew pictures on a kite.   We had recess and ate lunch with Katlyn.  We worked on our Jamestown study by looking at a comic book about Jamestown and answered questions and pulled out facts.  If you finished, you either read or wrote a letter to Byron.  Now, we are going to music and we will work on our scripts.

Kite Day

Game Book Project

Literacy Activities

Monday by Connor

We went to the Roanoke Orchestra and listened to Civil War songs and we got to see Civil War clothes.  Then, we went back to school, had fruit break, and went outside for recess.  We had lunch with Katlyn's class.  We read.  Now, we are going to music.

Tuesday by Collin

Today in class we played the games we made for homework.  I made a portable board game based on The Hobbit.  We had Art and now we are going to Spanish.

Friday by Sierra

Today in Kim's math, we measured our paces and came up with the middle one.  That one was Lorraine's and Henry's.  We had fruit break and went outside.  After fruit break, we went to Ruth Ann's class.  We read The Lorax and played games.  We had recess and lunch.  After lunch, we had Poetry Day.  Then, we had class and Kim read Raider's Ransom, while we drew or crocheted.  We went to Betsy's class and they did some puppet shows for us.  We read to our buddies with Beth.  Now, we have class again and we are reading while others finish their poems about Jamestown.

Thursday by Sierra

Today in Kim's math, Henry and I were doing something where we pretend we are robots and count steps and tell each other which direction to go.  After Fruit Break, we had Hollytime.  In Drama, we went over the scripts.  We had recess and lunch.  We went to Computers and worked on our stories for our little buddies.  In Spanish we got homework that is due March 22.  We need to write a paragraph about an animal in Spanish.  We went over poems for Poetry Day.

Spanish Homework is due March 22.

Bob at Community School

We have been collecting tin foil to make the world's largest tin foil ball and we would like you to send in clean tin foil to help us. The world record of the biggest tin foil ball is 500 pounds and we have 6 ounces. We Need Tin Foil Please!!!

Update from Kim's Math Class

Dear Family and Friends,

Over the next several weeks, our class will be working on measurement in a unit called From Paces to Feet. We'll start out measuring distances with “giant steps” and “baby steps.” Later on your student will be pacing off distances in the classroom and at home. After making these informal kinds of measurements, we will start using rulers, yardsticks, and their heights.

Measurement activities include a fun side—such as figuring out how many giant steps it takes to win a game of "Mother, May I". We enjoy playing such games, and they're learning important math at the same time.

The more experience with measurement that students get at school and at home, the better. Encourage them to estimate and measure distances. Typical questions that might come up include these:

• How far is it across our kitchen table—and can we really reach that far?
• How many children can sit comfortably on our couch? How many adults?
• Will that extra bookcase really fit in the kids' bedroom?
  
  

These are good questions, and they're also very practical ones! Measurement questions come up a lot in our lives, and it's exciting for children to be involved with real-world issues.

Here's how you can help during this unit:

• Listen to your child's strategies for measuring.
• Involve your child in your own measurement activities—hobbies like sewing or carpentry are a natural for this.
• Work together on measurement activities your child brings home.
  
  

Don't worry if your child doesn't use a ruler accurately yet—it's a skill that will develop over time, with more and more opportunities to measure.

Happy measuring!

Sincerely,

Kim

This letter is from the From Paces to Feet curriculum by TERC.  We will be using parts of this curriculum for the next couple months.  

Update about Bake Sale and the School Stuff Store

Between bake sale and the School Stuff Store, we have raised $60 for refugees.  We will be giving school supplies to local refugees and we will decorate some of the supplies to help welcome new refugees to the Roanoke area.


We are also trying to earn a little more to buy a brick here at Community School.  Bricks, Boxwoods, and Benches is a fundraiser for the school.  You can find out more on our website  (http://www.communityschool.net/giving_capital.html) about celebrating Community School by purchasing a commemorative brick, bench, or a planting. The engraved brick will be set in the walkways leading to the new classroom building, and the engraved benches and plantings will be placed throughout campus as a lasting tribute.

Pictures from our Plays