November 26-30

Be sure to check Family Access at this link https://skyweb.msd134.org/ to check your child's progress this quarter.  If you have any questions or concerns, please email me and I will schedule a time to sit down and talk.  Some assessments and grades will not be posted until Friday.

We have 4 full weeks before our Christmas break!  It is so hard to believe it is that close.  We will be working hard these next 4 weeks to prepare for the winter IRI and meeting our first grade fluency goal of 30 wpm by January.  It is an exciting and busy time, not just for the students, but for us adults as well.  Please help your child to remain focused in school by making homework a priority, adequate sleep at night and daily attendance and punctuality.  I will try my best to keep the room a positive learning environment with high learning expectations during this exciting season.

We have finished Unit 3 in our reading curriculum so your child should have brought home a bundle of their books from their bookring.  Please add these to your child's shoebox library and look forward to new books on their bookring.  Don't forget to review the old books, especially if your child is having difficulty reading the new books.  I encourage you to participate in the BINGO homework.  If your child does one square a night and is working towards a BINGO, they will have practiced reading, math, spelling, sight words, and a family activity that week.  That is my goal each week for homework!

Math skills this month is geometry, fractions and addition.  The students will be working on math facts to 10, adding 1 more to any number, using tools such as counting on, the number line and part-part-whole mats. Our number focus is 0-60:  rote counting, identify numbers, ordering numbers and counting objects.

Thank you to the many parents that have stepped up since conferences and volunteered their time in the classroom.  This month I will grow to depend on volunteers more as we prepare for the state IRI and do many Christmas projects.  If you have time and are able to help, please email me or better yet, just come on in!

Our school will begin their annual food drive.  Please send in a canned food item that will be donated to the local food bank, if you are able.  Also, if your family is in need of assistance this time of year please contact our school counselor, Mrs. Davis to discuss help that is available.

There is a list of items we will be needing for our Christmas projects to the right of the blog.  Check it weekly because I often forget of things we need until I get ready to do it.  If you can make a donation it would help to offset the costs that I spend each year to give the students opportunities to make ornaments and gifts for their families.

November 12-16

I can't believe we have one week and two days of school left before Thanksgiving!  My how time flies when you are having fun.  Since Thanksgiving is so early this year, I am having a hard time getting everything in before the Holiday.  I really appreciate the extra hands that came in and volunteered this week giving me opportunity to do more as a class and still meet the individual needs of students.  If you are available to come in and help please let me know...or just show up!  I will always have work for you to do.

Monday is Veterans Day, we are celebrating by wearing RED, WHITE, AND BLUE.

Book rings are coming back!  WAHOO!  I am so "Thankful" for the responsibility the students are showing by returning them daily.  We spend at least 15 minutes a day reading and reviewing these books.  Please be sure to listen to your child read nightly.  The 2nd quarter reading expectations are 26 wpm. There are 95 sight words for this quarter.  Please review 10-25 of these each night.  Work on those your child is struggling with.

Thank you for the huge support in cookie dough sales!  Our school had a record high and our class took 4th place in top sales.  We earned $50 cash prize.  I will let you know what we decide to do with our cash prize.

I am in need of colored comics from the newspaper for a Thanksgiving art project we will be doing next Monday.  Please send in any colored comics you have this week.  Thank you.

November 5-9

Please don’t forget to have your child return their bookring EVERY day!  This is so critical to our reading time in class.  If they do not have it they will not have anything to read and they will have a consequence of staying in from recess.  I have discussed with the students their responsibility in keeping it in their backpack.

I encourage you to take some time each night to do an activity on your child’s homework BINGO.  If you do 5 in a row, you will be practicing spelling, reading, math, sight words and a family activity.  For each BINGO your child gets, they will get a homework star.  After 5 stars, they get a prize from the treasure chest.  A blackout gives them a prize!  Return the October Book It calendar for a FREE personal pan pizza.  Students who participate in all 6 months will be invited to a Pizza party in the classroom in April.
 
It is not too late to become a PTA member or Grandparent Booster Club member! Forms are available on our website if you wish to sign up. Becoming a PTA member will allow you to vote on issues that directly affect your child(ren) and their school. The fall fundraiser is over and soon PTA members will be voting on how they can best support our school with the profits.
For our Grandparent Booster Club, students/parents first give us their mailing addresses if you think you have any Grandparents interested. We then mail them an application. To join this group, grandparents return the application with any donation. Grandparent Booster donations are then used for buying books for our students and our library.

I am still in need of parent/grandparent volunteers in the classroom.  I had many confirmations at conferences, but still have many time slots available.  Your help is greatly appreciated.  Please let me know if you can set apart an hour a week to work with students in the class.