February 27-March 2

It's hard to believe we are approaching the end of our 3rd quarter! Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Tuesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 15 from 4-7pm. Tuesday will be by teacher invitation or parent request. If you do not have any concerns, Thursday will be open for you and your child to come by the classroom at your convenience. They will share with you some of their work, as I share with you their progress and goals for second grade. Look for more information in their homework folders.

Friday is Dr. Seuss' birthday and Read Across America. We will be honoring Dr. Seuss by having a variety of reading activities going on throughout the day. If you would like to help with some of the activities or drop by to read, please let me know. We would love to have you! Your child is invited to wear a Dr. Seuss hat or dress up as their favorite character.

I am in need of parent volunteers. Due to a variety of circumstances, the volunteers I have had the first half of the year have been unable to continue their services. I would love to have a parent every day from 8:15-9:45 to help with small groups and individuals with their reading. These students benefit greatly from the additional support. Please call me if you can commit to helping in the classroom once a week.

We are in need of a few supplies to finish out our year. Our Elmer's glue (the liquid bottles) are getting low. If you are able to send in one bottle before Spring Break, it would be greatly appreciated. We could also use a few additional dry erase markers. As St. Patrick's Day draws near, a box of Lucky Charms would come in handy for our math lessons.

Homework:
Spelling: These words are from our literature in our reading curriculum. Please take time every night to review these words. Find a common spelling pattern, identify the vowel sounds and how they are spelled, listen for the beginning, middle and ends sounds. Read it, spell it, write it, read it. Test on Friday!
Math: I will be sending home some games to play. They ask for blue and red squares. I will send home some paper scraps to cut apart. It also asks for number cards. Keep these in a small Ziploc bag for any future homework.
Reading: I am sending home a reading log for this weeks reading homework, along with a review of the daily lessons. Please encourage your child to read independently for 10 minutes each night. It can include the books in their shoebox library, their school library book or a book from their own bookshelf. This reading can also be recorded on their monthly calendar for the Book It Pizza Hut coupon. February calendar is due next week and March calendar is in the homework folder.
However, if you are participating in the Roaring Springs Reading Incentive, your child will be required to read additional minutes. Homework cannot be recorded on that reading log.

Just a reminder of our School Wide Positive Behavior Incentive System. We are encouraging students in their positive behavior. I hope you are seeing the "Shine" tickets coming home and asking your child what they did to earn it. It focuses on our M&M's expectations: Maintain the right to learn, Make responsible choices, and Show respect to all. After they collect 10, they get a prize from our classroom treasure chest. When they deposit them in our school barrel, they get a chance for a Mystery Friday drawing. Keep up the good work!

February 13-17

I am so excited and pleased with our BSU intern, Ms. Yurek. She is doing a fabulous job working with small groups and teaching lessons throughout the week. She even took my class the day I was so sick. I am looking forward to her opportunity to take my class again this week, as I will be traveling with our first grade team to Portland on Friday to get further training in math instruction. Ms. Yurek has a passion for teaching and a love for the students. We are blessed to have her in our class!

We will be celebrating Valentine's Day on Tuesday at 1:30. Please let me know if you can bring anything for the party. We are in need of cookies or cupcakes, sliced fruit, and apple juice. Some Valentine plates, cups and napkins would be nice also. Your child can bring in their Valentine's Monday or Tuesday to pass out.

Roaring Springs information will be sent home soon. Please follow the directions and expectations for your child to earn a day pass at Roaring Springs. I have high expectations for this reward and expect parents and children to meet the requirements in full. These are due back to me by March 31st.

Class pictures are scheduled for Thursday, February 23rd. If you plan on purchasing them, you must send in payment prior to Feb. 23rd. Individual pictures are optional. Your child will not get individual pictures unless you prepay for them. Picture packets will be in their homework folder this week.

Homework:
We are beginning to use our basal readers in our reading this week, which means that there will be less decodable books coming home on their bookrings. It is very important that you continue to have your child read nightly! If your child is struggling in reading, pull the books that you have put in their library shoebox and review those. If your child is fluent and meeting the first grade fluency expectations (39-60 wpm), then encourage them to begin reading books of their choice. Be sure the books are at their reading level and not at a frustration level. One way to check is to have them read a page, if they miss less than 3 words, it is at their independent level.

We are continuing to work on number sense in math, using the 100's chart. These are the skills you can continue to reinforce at home: skip counting (by 2's, 5's, 10's), finding numbers 10 more and 10 less, 1 more and 1 less, comparing numbers (using > < =,) place value, and addition/subtraction facts (starting at 5).

Spelling test is on Friday. Please take time to practice the words nightly. Some fun activities is using shaving cream in the bath tub, writing on the mirror with dry erase markers, using spaghetti noodles, or playing the dice game (I will try to remember to send home a copy of this in their homework folder).

February 6-10

It's hard to believe that we have been in school 100 DAYS!! Monday is a fun day celebrating the number 100. We will be reading, writing, drawing, counting, eating and weighing anything that has 100 in it!!

Don't forget Dad's and Donuts on Thursday, from 7-7:45am. I would love to see everyone there!

Check Family Access this week for your child's progress this quarter. I will still be entering current grades Monday evening, but should have them all current and posted by Tuesday morning. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

Check homework folders for February Book It calendar and our class list for Valentine's. Your child can bring in their Valentine's any day after Wednesday. We will be having a Valentine's party on Tuesday, February 14th at 1:30. Please let me know if you would like to help by volunteering or donating items.

Homework this week.
Review those 3rd quarter sight words. Listen to your child read for 10-15 minutes a night. Practice, practice, practice!! Our goal for fluency is 39 words per minute by the end of 3rd quarter. Check to see where your child is and adjust homework accordingly.
Spelling test is on Friday and we are reviewing the different spelling patterns for Unit 6. These will be difficult words, so please spend some time practicing them this week.
We have begun our timed math facts. We do a 4 minute timed test (40 problems) on mixed facts on Wednesday. Every student begins with all the facts (+/-) for 5 and as they pass, they move on to the next number. Homework for math will be having your child show all the ways to make the number 5 and the number 6. Counting will be the emphasis this week. I have noticed that many students are still struggling with number sense. Have your child count objects to 120, by ones, then grouping them by 10's and then 5's.