Current News

Kindergarten

Kirsten OQuinn — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:42:17 GMT

Maclary’s kindergarten students are so excited to leave our winter weather behind and welcome spring into our classrooms! Our chicks have hatched, and we got to spend some time observing them and holding them before sending them back to Quiver Farm. We completed so many fun activities across the curriculum associated with our chick hatching experience! We also found out about other oviparous animals as well as other animals that live on a farm. Spring wind and moving air lessons taught us more about our environment and world. We are beginning to focus on the many signs of spring, including April rain showers.

In math we are working hard on adding and taking away combinations up to 10. We are also reviewing positional terms such as above, below, on, beside, etc. and practicing how to understand and solve simple word problems.

We are continuing to learn and practice rhyme as well as learn groups of word families that have the same endings. We have talked about quotation marks, apostrophes, and speech bubbles, and what they mean in the books we read. We are becoming such strong readers!

Our Senses Unit has taught us so much about the world around us and how we interact with it! We completed many great projects that helped us better understand our senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. The items we purchased with our grant money added a great deal to our Senses Unit.

Following spring break, we will begin the special economics program through Junior Achievement (JA) entitled Ourselves. This program teaches the children about earning, saving and spending money through a series of five weekly lessons. A special thanks to Mrs. Guckenberger for returning as the volunteer JA teacher for the kindergarten classes.

First Grade

Kirsten OQuinn — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:03:46 GMT

First Grade has been very busy this fall. We have studied School Rules and Citizenship and learned about voting and the rights and responsibilities of a citizen. We have also been busy meteorologists studying the weather. We observe and record the weather each day and are gaining an understanding of how the weather affects our daily plans and is a deciding factor in choosing the clothing we will wear each day.

Of course, we are also very busy improving our reading and writing skills. Please be sure to read with your child every night and to have your child read to you. Thank you for all of your support and cooperation this fall!

Second Grade

Kirsten OQuinn — Mon, 5 Oct 2009 10:33:13 GMT

Our second grade students will be taking part in the 2009 Children’s Christmas Tree Exhibit at Longwood Gardens. Our thanks go to Mrs.Todd for all of her hard work in writing this proposal.

Handmade ornaments were made by our students to decorate a tree. We will be taking a field trip to Longwood Gardens on December 10th to see the Children’s Christmas Tree Exhibit. If a trip to Longwood Gardens is part of your holiday things to do, look for our tree at the Children’s Christmas Tree Exhibit.

Third Grade

Kirsten OQuinn — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:50:41 GMT

Iron Hill Museum will be coming to visit Maclary’s third grade classes to present information on recycling. Students will learn what materials can be recycled and how consumer can shop for those items made from recyclables. Hopefully, after the presentation, children can persuade families to recycle at home!

Biography Presentations

Way to go students in Room 14! You did an awesome job informing your classmates about famous people. Some of you really played your part well.Parents - Stop by our room and check out our timelines that were required as part of the biography presentation.

Water is a unique earth material, the only material on Earth that occurs naturally in all three states of matter; solid, liquid, and gas. Next to the air we breathe, water is probably the most important thing in our lives. Your child will learn these interesting things and more as we investigate water, its properties, and what it can do during our next science unit.

Fourth Grade

Kirsten OQuinn — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:07:55 GMT

Fourth grade has begun switching for Science and Social Studies. Students that started the year with Science are now going to Mr. Lynch’s for Social Studies. Room 21 students are now going to Mrs. Solis’s for Science.

November 6^th will be fourth grade’s first field trip! We will be going to the Dupont Environmental Center for a hands-on experience that correlates with our Land and Water Science kit. We will be outdoors so please dress appropriately. This field trip has been paid for by the district, so there is no cost to students. We will be back in time for our regular lunch schedule at Maclary.

We’ve also started using a wonderful online Math resource called First in Math. First in Math has games that help students improve their numerical fluency. The games range from adding one digit numbers all the way to multiplying and dividing fractions! Students earn “stickers” as they practice their math facts. The website is www.FirstInMath.com. Students have their usernames and passwords and can play at home.

The Social Studies and Science DSTP's are over. Our 4^th graders worked very hard! Thank you to all of the wonderful parents who have graciously sent in classroom supplies and snacks!

Please continue to encourage your children to read outside of the classroom. Have them pick up a newspaper, magazine, picture book, chapter book, or read a story or article on the Internet. Any one of these resources will build a person's vocabulary, decoding, and comprehension skills.

Thank you for all of your wonderful support!

Fifth Grade

Kirsten OQuinn — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:46:49 GMT

The 5^th graders have just completed wonderful essays for Fire Safety Month. Our topic was Safety in the Kitchen! The entries were dropped off at the Newark Fire Department on Friday. Hope we have a winner!

Many of the 5^th graders have volunteered to work at the Fall Festival. Nice job! Also, thank you to the students who have brought in the plastic bottles for the science unit. Critters will be here soon, and they will make a great home for our Ecosystem Unit.

5^th graders are hoping that when we read this the Phillies have won the World Series!!!