April 2024

   Welcome April! Welcome Spring! And a Blessed Easter season to all! He is RISEN! Truly Risen!  It is hard to fathom that we are entering the last few months for the 2023-2024 school year here at Saint Christopher Academy. As I watch in wonder and awe how every child has grown in faith and love and knowledge, I think about how blessed I am to be serving the Lord through the youngest of disciples. What a gift it is to be teaching such an exuberant, happy group of children here in 3L! Report cards for the third marking period will be meailed out on April 2, the day after we return from Easter break, and then it's onward towards the fourth and final marking period of the year. 

         In Religion, we are discovering more deeply the sacraments of  Healing (through prayinf for Eternal Life) and how we are called to be disciples of Christ in our thoughts, words and deeds. With a good emphasis on Catholic Social Teaching, the children will learn more about Jesus' mission to the world and how He worked for justice and peace through evangelizing, and  living out the Good News.

        Math continues our exploration into measurement, as we wrap up our chapter on customary units of liquid measurment, and move into the concept of temperature, time and date, and dabble in the metric system. We will soon be exploring beginning geometry and learning area and perimeter. 

        In Reading we will be completing our unit on Heroes, and after reading such a great biography on Mama Miti Wangari last month, we will find ourselves first studying poems about different kinds of heroes, elements of a poem and some specific types of poetry. then begin a unit on Biography, visiting our friend Jane Addams as she champions social justice in early 1900's Chicago, and reading a "sweet" selection on Milton Hershey as he builds his chocolate empire. Our biography book reports will also tie into this study, as we will dress like our "hero" and present a short report on their lives and a shopping bag full of important artifacts from their lives. 

         An old friend comes back to visit us in Language Arts, the "bossy r".  This sound  returns in our spelling words, this time focusing on the "errrr" sound and how we spell certain words with such a tricky sound. we will also start to explore personal possessive pronouns and work on our poems as we prepare for the Poetry Slam on April 19th, Earth Day. We have a bunch of blooming poets as the class spins images of buzzing bees in the trees, and beautiful flowers and gentle showers. 

          Social Studies brings us a more in depth look at the Explorers of the New World, as we go beyond the actual explorations of explorers like Ponce de Leon and deChamplain and into the communities and settlements they established. 

            We end the month of April with a school favorite, Vocation Day, as we spend the morning with some of our favorite clergy and sisters, asking questions and learning about what led them to follow God a little closer. We are invited to listen to speakers from the religious community talk about how they have heard God's call in their lives and what we can do to listen for it in our own life. We will end the day by doing a special craft to show our love for these special people in our lives.  

It is sure to be a busy, but short month. The children are eagerly playing outside, and we welcome this season of spring in so many ways that make us aware of God and His presence in our lives. From the smallest of ants to the tallest of trees, to the gift of running water to the essential medicine and technology that allows us to move forward in a time such as this, we are reminded of the way God moves in our lives. May you continue to be blessed and loved as only your child can. Have a wonderful and wonder-filled April!