Week of April 2nd

Hello everyone! We have a busy month this April and hope you all had a wonderful long weekend. We had an awesome last couple of weeks with our cultural celebration and can not believe we are in the final 9 weeks of the school year! 

Things happening at TCE:

• Tutoring Canceled - Tutoring will be canceled Monday April 2nd due to campus meetings. Tutoring will also be canceled the week of April 9th due to STAAR testing. 

• STAAR Dates - The learners will be participating in Writing, Math and Reading STAAR this school year. The dates for each test are below. As a reminder, there are no parent visitors this day for lunch. If you have a note for your child on one of these days, please contact the front office. 
• Writing STAAR: April 10th
• Math STAAR: May 14th
• Reading STAAR: May 15th

• 4th Grade Schedule Change - Tuesday April 10th
• Lunch 12:15-12:45
• Recess 12:45-1:15
• Specials 2:00-3:00

• Field Trip - Thank you for everyone who has returned the field trip permission form. If you have not, please return it to your learner's homeroom teacher ASAP. We will be taking a Field Trip to the Fort Worth Zoo on May 24th.

• There will be a PTO Meeting on Wednesday, April 4th at 5:30 PM. During this PTO Meeting, the Human Resources department from Coppell ISD will be there to discuss the process for hiring a new principal for Town Center Elementary. The Human Resources department will be asking for feedback from our TCE families before the interview process begins. For more information, see the PTO facebook page or PTO emails. 

Curriculum Tidbits:

Math:

In math, we have begun our unit over measurement. The learners will be skilled at converting measurements within the same system and solving problems that deal with measurement using models to determine a formula for perimeter and area. They will also know relative sizes of measurement within the customary and metric systems.

Science:
In science, we will be investigating why we have seasons and tides. We will also be continuing to track the phases of the moon with the moon packet that was sent home last week. 

Language Arts:
In reading, students will continue reviewing different different skills such as theme and text features to help navigate and understand text.

In writing, the learners will continue to prepare for their Writing STAAR test. Learners are working on memorizing their Revision Checklist so they can do it memory and working through their grammar STAAR review packet.

Week of March 19th

Week of March 19th 

Welcome back! We hope you all had a fun and relaxing Spring Break.  It is great to be back at school!  WOW!  March has been incredibly busy so far, and we've had a blast along the way.  Thanks so much for your support of Jump Rope for Heart in meeting our goal of $20,000.  It certainly was exciting to watch Dr. Applegate and Mrs. Ford get "oatmealed."  Thanks, too, for coming out to Open House. It was so neat to watch all of our learners in action as they showed off their learning to their parents.  The next couple of week are action-packed, as well.

Things Happening at TCE:

• 
• TCE Cultural Celebration Night
  TCE is gearing up for our 1st TCE Family Cultural Celebration Night on Wednesday, March 28th from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM.  We hope to see you there!
  During this event, there will be a station to sample foods from different cultures cooked by TCE families. If your family has a traditional or favorite food you would like to share, please click the link below. Provide your name along with the name of your dish. 
  Click to add your dish!
  In addition, we would love to celebrate your culture.  Please contact your homeroom teacher to partner up and create a station to showcase your culture. It's going to be an amazing night!

• STAAR Writing will be on Tuesday, April 10th.  Please be sure your learner gets plenty of rest, eats a lite/healthy breakfast, and arrives to school on time.

Curriculum Tidbits:

Math:

This week in math, we will be finishing our unit over division. The learners will be tested on their knowledge of  how to represent the quotient of up to a four-digit whole number divided by a one digit whole number using arrays, area models, equations, and standard algorithm on Wednesday. Then, we will begin our next unit, measurement.

Science:
In science, we will be exploring Earth's movement within the solar system resulting in predictable patterns such as the moon phases and how the seasons work.

Language Arts:

In reading, we will be focusing on summarizing, plot, author’s purpose, and theme over the next two weeks.

In language arts, we will be reviewing everything we’ve learned this year! Ask your learner about homophones, subjects, predicates, comma rules, dialogue, apostrophe rules, and sentence patterns!

In writing, we will be continuing to write our hearts out! The learners are working on memorizing the Revision Checklist so that they can do it from memory!

A Note About Language Arts Homework:

• You may notice that your learner has a grammar passage instead of a reading passage this week. In preparation for the upcoming writing STAAR test, we are substituting grammar homework for the next three weeks.
• The learners do have a spelling list this week, so they should be studying at home.

Social Studies:

In Social Studies, Texas has officially been annexed as the 28^th state in the United States and the government has been established. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be exploring the role of Texas in the Civil War.

We really appreciate you taking a few minutes to read our blog post. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your son or daughter's homeroom teacher. 

Week of January 22

Hello everyone! We have a few updates to share with you all. Thank you for taking the time to read our blog!

Things Happening at TCE:

• At our Winter Party, we gave the students a coupon book as their Holiday Gift. The coupon book has one coupon for each month. We will be letting them redeem the January coupon this Wednesday, January 24th. To accompany their coupon on Wednesday, they may bring one pillow or stuffed animal to keep by their side as we read. 

• The learners will be given the chance to participate in the Six Flags Reading Log Challenge to earn a free Six Flags ticket. The reading logs were sent home earlier this week, and they are due February 23rd. 

Homework Updates: 
Now that we are farther into the year, we will be adding a few pieces of homework back into the learners' routines. Math homework started this week, and reading homework will be assigned for the first time on Friday, January 26th. 

Math Homework: 
The learners are still expected to complete Reflex Math 2-3 times a week. 
In addition, we have started sending home weekly math packets again. The math homework packet will go home every Friday, and will be due the following Friday. 

Reading Homework: 
Learners will be expected to login to Raz-Kids and read for at least 15 minutes twice a week. The learners may read any book that is available to them when they login. It is not necessary for parents to sign off on a log because we are able to see their activity when we login to the app. 

In addition, we will be starting a passage of the week. Each Friday, learners will receive a short passage, and they will be expected to complete a short activity with the passage each day. The learners will receive their first passage on Friday, January 26th. You can see the instructions below.

Curriculum Tidbits:

Math:

In math, we are beginning our next unit over multiplication. The learners will use strategies and algorithms, including the standard algorithm, to multiply up to a four-digit number by a one-digit number and to multiply a two-digit number by a two-digit number. Strategies may include mental math, partial products, and the commutative, associative, and distributive properties.

Science:

In science, we are wrapping up our unit over Earth’s resources. The learners will be completing a project where they will be developing a presentation, brochure, or video that explains to the community the importance of recycling and conservation and explains both renewable and nonrenewable resources.

Language Arts:

In reading, we are starting a new unit on Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions. Ask your son or daughter about what they learned about their teacher's Mystery Garbage! 

In writing, we have just completed another expository essay about which pet would be the best. Their essays turned out wonderfully! We have also just completed our Middle of the Year Writing Assessment. 

Social Studies:

In social studies, students will continue their study of the Texas Revolution as they Remember the Alamo and then march on to win the Battle of San Jacinto.


We really appreciate you taking a few minutes to read our blog post. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your son or daughter's homeroom teacher. 

Week of January 8th

Hello everyone! We hope that you and your family had an enjoyable Winter Break. We are back in full swing at TCE. 

We have a few updates to share with you all. Thank you for taking the time to read our blog!

Things Happening at TCE:

• Skate Night is Wednesday, January 10th from 6:00-8:00 PM. All TCE Families are invited to attend! 

New Resources at TCE: 

We have recently acquired a few new digital resources for our learners to use in class. We are really excited about these resources, some of which are because of PTO's generosity. 

Spelling City Premium Accounts

Each learner has an individual account. The learners can login at school or at home, and once they are logged in, they can play various games to practice the spelling words. In addition, when they take the weekly pretest on Mondays, we are able to see the results digitally. It will be a great tool for our spelling instruction! 

Raz Kids

If you have a learner in K-2, you might already be familiar with this resource. Now each learner in 3rd-5th grade will have an individual account on Raz Kids as well. Learners will have access to leveled texts and reading activities. We will be exploring this resource in class over the next few weeks.

Flocabulary
Learners will have access to Flocabulary through their teachers' accounts. Flocabulary is a great resource for learning new information through music, and it something we will use in all subject areas. 

Curriculum Tidbits:

Math:

In math, we are continuing our unit over fractions to learn about how to identify and create equivalent fractions, compare fractions with different numerators and denominators, and solve addition and subtraction problems involving fractions with the same denominator.

Science:

In science, the learners will continue to investigate the 3 types of Earth’s resources: Renewable, Non Renewable, and Inexhaustible . The learners will also investigate the human impact on these different resources.

Language Arts:

In writing, we will be continuing to work on completing the writing process using the Six Traits of writing. Recently, we have been writing about an item from our home we would give to a family that is less fortunate. Later this week, we will begin writing about what kind of pet we would like to have and why we would choose that pet. We will take our mid-year writing assessment at the end of the month. 

Social Studies:

In social studies, students will begin learning about the Texas Revolution.


We really appreciate you taking a few minutes to read our blog post. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your son or daughter's homeroom teacher. 

Week of November 6th-10th

Hello TCE Families! Thank you for taking the time to read our blog. Please take a look at all the exciting and fun events happening between now and Thanksgiving Break at TCE!

Things Happening at TCE:

3rd Grade Music Program - November 7 at 8:15 am & 6:00 pm
Veteran’s Day Program- November 10 at 9:00
Spring Creek BBQ Night- November 13th
TCE Turkey Trot- November 14th (4th Grade time: 9:30-10:20)

Take a look at the awesome submissions for the TCE Pumpkin Design Challenge! Click here to see a video!

Notes from Dr. Applegate:

We have received feedback from about 25 people on our survey looking at ways support social/emotional needs of our learners at TCE. This data will help guide us in lessons for our learners which are supported by our counselor and teachers. Also, it can help guide us for specific resources, presentations or supports we could implement at PTO Meetings/ Roundtables. Please click here to complete the survey.

We would also like for you to complete a survey about your careers, hobbies, or talents. Feel free to fill out all of the answers below or just one!




Curriculum Tidbits:

In math, we are wrapping up our unit over addition and subtraction of whole numbers and decimals. We will soon begin our unit over Personal Financial Literacy. Here are some of the terms that your child will be learning: fixed expense, variable expense, profit, savings, allowance, spending, financial institution, borrowing, and lending. Real connections will help your child gain a better understanding of these terms. If you can, it would be helpful to have discussions with your child about how these vocabulary terms relate to your lives.

In science, we are wrapping up our unit over Force, Motion, and Energy. The learners will be taking a test at the end of this week over the topics we covered during the unit. Next week the learners will be participating in their first Argument Driven Inquiry (ADI) activity. We are very excited to introduce this to the learners. They will have the opportunity to design their own experiment and will use their writing skills to show what they learned from their experiment.

In writing, we will be going through the writing process to write a complete expository piece. If you get a minute, you might ask your son/daughter about his/her favorite time of the year. For their writing assignment, they will be explaining why it’s their favorite.

In Social Studies, learners will be completing reading and writing activities to help them learn about exploration and colonization in Texas. Students will also be participating in Mind Missions to deepen their understanding of the benefit of Exploration.