I hope you had a restful and enjoyable Christmas. It is always nice to spend time with family and to appreciate our blessings during the Christmas season. The first week back always feels long as it takes all of us (students and teachers) a while to get back into routines. Please continue reading to find out what is taking place in our classroom. Language Arts Our Creative Writing unit is coming to an end. We will soon begin a novel study called Owls in the Family. As a class, we group read a novel and learn to use prior knowledge (what we already know) and discover new information to help with our reading comprehension (understanding). We will continue on with Spelling and Guided Reading. Please ensure that your child continues to read each night. I strongly recommend at least 30 minutes each night. This week, the students will have to complete a reading log that will be checked every Friday. This will help me to track whether the students are reading books that are