At Louis Padnos, we learned what happens to the things we recycle. While watching the machine shred huge pieces of metal, we saw several cars and even a boat waiting to be shredded!

We visited Ottawa County Farms Landfill this morning. We learned how landfills put a great deal of effort into being environmentally safe. This landfill collects the gas from rotting garbage to generate enough electricity to power several thousand homes. They compost several hundred thousand tons of material per year, and recycle glass back into sand. We also discovered that when riding through the landfill that it is important to keep our heads away from the windows. (It took several bumped foreheads to learn that lesson.)

It’s that time of year again!  Report cards were sent home today.  Please look for it in your child’s TRAVEL binder.

This week we formed book clubs in which we will study historical fiction.   Clubs began reading books centered around certain historical eras, such as the wild west, immigration to the United States, World War II, and the Great Depression. Kids are using their topic to truly understand what it means to read a complicated texts.

Through our book clubs, kids are...
  -taking complex stories and noticing the complexities.
  -understanding that characters, like people, are not just one way.
  -noticing things about characters that the author didn't directly say.
  -noticing the relationship a character has with a place and time.
  -noticing how a place and time changes throughout the story.
  -noticing how a character's age changes what the character notices.
  -understanding how authors frequently jump back and forth in time.

Mark May 3 on your calendar for an evening of fun at Woodside.  If you have sent back an RSVP, your child’s artwork will be framed, displayed, and available for purchase.  If you missed this paper regarding the art fair and the RSVP, a reminder will be sent on Monday.  Our school wide Celebration of Learning will be that evening as well.  More info to come!

International Baccalaureate is a way of teaching children through thematic learning and global thinking.  We began a unit this week on “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle”.  We began by examining different types of earth materials: gravel, sand, clay, silt, and soil.  We also observed how water acts in each of these materials and have drawn some conclusions as to why soil is such a good material for plants.  Ask your child how worms can help make the soil on our earth even more rich for plants.

Food will be served from 6:00-7:00, with games taking place from 6:30-8:30.

Please consider the ways you can help out:
-Donate full size candy bars for Bingo
-Donate 20 oz. pops for Ring a Pop
-Donate bottles of water
-Sign up to bake goods for the cake walks
-Sign up to volunteer working a shift
-Donate items to our grade level basket for the raffle.  Our theme is: DISNEY DELIGHTS (Any items with Disney characters)