Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Pictures

I have posted pictures of kids who have returned permission slips. Many of the slips are still sitting on their desks. As soon as I get permission slips I will post pictures!I would really love to thank Lisa Marvier for taking such wonderful photos. She just opened a new studio on Grant Ave. called blink "ink". You can also check out her work at the gift boutique on Friday afternoon from 2pm to 5pm in the Multi Use Room.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Pumpkin Day Pictures

We have wonderful pictures of Pumpkin Day! I would love to post them and have sent home a permission slip. It is due on Friday. I will post the pictures Friday. If I do not have your permission I will not post your child's photo. No names will be used. Please return the slip as soon as possible.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Update

I think someone put this school year on warp speed and forgot to tell me. We are ending the first trimester and report cards are coming out. You will receive your child's report card at your conference. If you haven't turned in your white confirmation sheet confirming the time and date of your conference please do that immediately!

Homework Update:
As promised the fluency sheet has gotten more difficult. It will also incorporate five comprehension questions. There is a note attached to the fluency sheet this week. Please read it very carefully. Please ask your child the comprehension questions after the first read so that you can see how well they understood what they read. You do not need to turn this back in. The October fluency sheet is due next Friday. Please make sure it is completed and in the homework folder.

Homework Alerts: Friday, November 16th is the official end of the first trimester. Since report cards will begin going out on the 7th of November I will consider Monday, November 5th as a fresh start on homework alerts. If your child has received any homework alerts during the first trimester the slate will be wiped clean and they will be given a fresh start! Yeah! A chance to start a new!

Halloween Parade: The Halloween Parade will be on Wednesday, October 31 on the lower playground. It will begin at 8:45. Please attend if you are able to make it! Class we go on as usual until our Halloween Party after lunch. Please contact a room parent if you have questions or would still like to do something for the party.

Good Deeds Log: Our reading unit this month is on Kindness. Our story this week talks about the kindness of strangers. On Monday your child will be bringing home a good deeds log. They need to record one nice thing they did for someone on Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday night. We will be recording their responses in a book on Friday in class. If they don't have it done not only will they receive a homework alert but they will also be unable to participate in the class activity. This should not be chore or something they are expected to do.

Stone Soup: During the week of November 12th we will be reading many different versions of the story "Stone Soup" in class. On Thursday, November 15th I would like all of the kids to bring in a vegetable (fresh or canned it's your choice) so that we can make Stone Soup in class and eat it on Friday. It will be a chicken broth based soup just in case your were curious.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Weekly Update

We are racing through October! Parent conferences are fast approaching and I have not received white slips back from all parents. Please turn them in by Monday.

If you are able to volunteer from 12:40 to 2:45 on Friday I really need your help! We still need three more volunteers for our Pumpkin Math Activity. This is an activity the entire second grade is participating in. Each class is broken into five groups of four. Each groups is headed up by one parent leader who takes them through a series of really exciting and fun math activities that have to do with the pumpkin. Please e-mail me immediately or call me at school if you can help.

Attached to the kids homework this week is a parent survey. Please take the survey and turn it in by Tuesday. This is the same survey I posted online but only seven parents took it. I am trying again this way to see if I get more takers. Please take it again! Thank you! We are still working on addition and subtraction facts. As I assess for report cards I am concerned with how many students are still having trouble subtracting. Please keep practicing this at home and using the Harcourt Website to assist with math practice.

We had a great week. We have started our science unit on the Human Body. We did a lab on digestion on Thursday and will finish up on Friday with a lab on stomach bile and the small intestine. Next week we will work on bones.

We worked on synonyms and capitalization in class this week. We also did a retelling activitiy as well as a compare and contrast activity using the story the Mitten by Jan Brett. Your child should be coming home with a paper mitten and animals that they made in class. Please have them retell the story for you using the animals.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Crazy Classroom Antics

I am still looking for three more volunteers to help on Friday the 26th for Pumpkin Day. If anyone is available and would be willing to help out from 12:40 until the end of the school day I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

Please keep working on the subtraction facts with your kids. I was very impressed with an addition timed test I gave today but when I gave a subtraction timed test the kids had a much more difficult time. We will keep working on it in class too!

Book orders are due tomorrow! Please get them in if you haven't already.

Friday, October 12, 2007

BOOK ORDERS!!!

Book Orders are due on Wednesday, October 17th!!! Please get your book orders in!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Calling All Volunteers!

The Lawrence Hall of Science is coming on Thursday, October 18th from 1:00 to 1:50. I am looking for ONE parent to come and help us make slime during that time. I can't have younger siblings that day, sorry. Please let me know if you would be interested in helping out.

There is lots of good stuff in the Friday Folder this week. Please make sure you are looking over everything. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call! We will be doing a Pumpkin Math Activity on Friday, October 26th with the entire second grade. We are looking for volunteers and pumpkins! This is another day where we can't have siblings attend. Thank you for understanding.

Your confirmation notes for conferences were also in the Friday Folder. Please send them back right away. I just found out conferences can be held on Wednesday, November 7th after 2pm. I am willing to hold conferences then. If you would like to sign up for a 2pm, 2:30, 3:00, or 3:30 please let me know and I will change your time.

I am pretty good on magazines. Thanks to everyone who sent them in.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

PALS

We need PALS parents! Please e-mail if you are interested in being a PALS parent. We still need two days filled and parent alternates! You may bring younger siblings!