IMPORTANT DATES:
October 3rd: Rosh Hashanah - NO SCHOOL (Here is a link to a Sesame Street video with a song about Rosh Hashanah. You may watch with your child if you feel comfortable with this and s/he would like to learn more about the holiday. If you have links to other holiday videos that you think would be appropriate to share to help students learn more about other cultures, please send them to me.)
October 10th: Columbus Day - NO SCHOOL
October 12th: Yom Kippur - NO SCHOOL
October 17th: ASCA begins
October 10th: Columbus Day - NO SCHOOL
October 12th: Yom Kippur - NO SCHOOL
October 17th: ASCA begins
Please notify me in writing if you decide to enroll your child in the PTO's After School Creative Arts Program (ASCA) as this will affect dismissal plans. (Thank you to those who have already notified me). Please visit the ASCA site if you are interested in learning more or registering for classes.
October 19th: Picture Day
More information when it becomes available.
NEW NOTICES:
The Blog: Please read this blog when I update. Use it as a way to connect with your child about school and a way to stay connected with the goings on in the class.
Cool Weather Dressing: As the days are getting cooler, please be sure to send your child with a jacket or sweatshirt, if necessary.
REMINDERS: (any new info added to these reminders is in bold. For those who follow weekly, this is the only newly added info here).
Parent Volunteers: I am looking for parent volunteers to help with with photocopying, laminating and cutting materials, organizing materials, fixing classroom library books, etc. I also have some tasks that can be done outside of school, such as helping with the Scholastic Book Order, helping to organize our classroom library by labeling books, and picking up photos for our class from CVS for those who would like to volunteer, but are not available during school hours. If you wish to volunteer to help with these kinds of things, please email to coordinate a time.
The Blog: Please read this blog when I update. Use it as a way to connect with your child about school and a way to stay connected with the goings on in the class.
Cool Weather Dressing: As the days are getting cooler, please be sure to send your child with a jacket or sweatshirt, if necessary.
REMINDERS: (any new info added to these reminders is in bold. For those who follow weekly, this is the only newly added info here).
Parent Volunteers: I am looking for parent volunteers to help with with photocopying, laminating and cutting materials, organizing materials, fixing classroom library books, etc. I also have some tasks that can be done outside of school, such as helping with the Scholastic Book Order, helping to organize our classroom library by labeling books, and picking up photos for our class from CVS for those who would like to volunteer, but are not available during school hours. If you wish to volunteer to help with these kinds of things, please email to coordinate a time.
Late Morning Snack: Thank you to all who have been sending these in! Your children are much happier during the late morning/early afternoon. Here is the original message for those who missed it: Please begin sending in a second, small, non-messy snack (such as a small apple, cheese stick, etc.) to eat during the late morning during a work time. The children eat lunch at 1:10 and have been getting very hungry around noon, so we are going to add this snack to hopefully fend off the hungry horrors! Please distinguish their early morning snack from their late morning snack so that they are clear which is which.
Responsive Home Workshop: The Social and Emotional Learning Department of the Newton Public Schools will be sponsoring Responsive Home Workshops for families to help you create a calm, supportive and encouraging environment at home. This workshop goes hand in hand with the Responsive Classroom work that we are doing in the classroom. Although I have never attended one of these workshops, I have attended a week-long Responsive Classroom workshop with the presenter, Amy Kelly, and it was phenomenal! I am planning to put on my mom-hat and attend one of these workshops myself just to see what it is all about!
Water bottles: Please send your child with a full water bottle with a sport cap each day (such as this water bottle or this water bottle.) I ask that you do not send in open top bottles if at all possible because they tend to spill and can ruin paper-based school materials. Water bottles will be kept in the classroom for your child to stay hydrated throughout the day.
Pick-up: For dismissal, please stand on the RIGHT side of door 19 as you are looking at the school so that your child will be able to see you through the front windows nearest the corner of the school. As there are 2 classrooms dismissing from the same door at the same time, we have decided that our class will exit through the right door and Ms. Patteson's class will dismiss from the left door. I will have children who see their pick-up person line up, say goodbye to me and then they will be dismissed. If they do not see you, they will stay in the art room until they see you through the window. This will help to ensure everyone's safety. If someone other than those reading this are going to pick up your child, please share this with those individuals as well. Thanks!
Bus riding for playdates: At this time, students can not take a bus that they are not assigned to without prior permission. Buses are extremely full and do not always have room for extra students. If a child is having a play date with a child on a different bus or a child who does not normally take the bus, pick up arrangements should be made by the parents. Parents may write a note requesting their child go on the bus for a particular date, but will need permission in advance and this wish may not be granted if the bus is full on that particular day.
CURRICULUM UPDATE:
Responsive Home Workshop: The Social and Emotional Learning Department of the Newton Public Schools will be sponsoring Responsive Home Workshops for families to help you create a calm, supportive and encouraging environment at home. This workshop goes hand in hand with the Responsive Classroom work that we are doing in the classroom. Although I have never attended one of these workshops, I have attended a week-long Responsive Classroom workshop with the presenter, Amy Kelly, and it was phenomenal! I am planning to put on my mom-hat and attend one of these workshops myself just to see what it is all about!
Water bottles: Please send your child with a full water bottle with a sport cap each day (such as this water bottle or this water bottle.) I ask that you do not send in open top bottles if at all possible because they tend to spill and can ruin paper-based school materials. Water bottles will be kept in the classroom for your child to stay hydrated throughout the day.
Pick-up: For dismissal, please stand on the RIGHT side of door 19 as you are looking at the school so that your child will be able to see you through the front windows nearest the corner of the school. As there are 2 classrooms dismissing from the same door at the same time, we have decided that our class will exit through the right door and Ms. Patteson's class will dismiss from the left door. I will have children who see their pick-up person line up, say goodbye to me and then they will be dismissed. If they do not see you, they will stay in the art room until they see you through the window. This will help to ensure everyone's safety. If someone other than those reading this are going to pick up your child, please share this with those individuals as well. Thanks!
Bus riding for playdates: At this time, students can not take a bus that they are not assigned to without prior permission. Buses are extremely full and do not always have room for extra students. If a child is having a play date with a child on a different bus or a child who does not normally take the bus, pick up arrangements should be made by the parents. Parents may write a note requesting their child go on the bus for a particular date, but will need permission in advance and this wish may not be granted if the bus is full on that particular day.
CURRICULUM UPDATE:
In reading we:
- Are maintaining our independent reading stamina. We are reading machines!
- Learned about Ms. E-Js reading interests and thought about our own. This helps us with choosing "Just right" books. Interest is the I in PICK!
- Read Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry G. Allard, Jr. and illustrated by James Marshall and The School Mouse by Dick King Smith.
- Continued summarizing stories with somebody...wanted...but...so...then. Please continue to work with this framework at home to help your child summarize books that s/he is reading.
- Reviewed letter-keyword-sound
- Reviewed digraphs (two letters, one sound)
- Reviewed blends (more than one letter, one sound per letter)
In writing we:
- Continued our work on writing small moment stories.
- We thought about small moment stories using this watermelon visual. At home, please start brainstorming ideas for writing with your child about small moments that happened to them. Also, as small moments of note occur in daily life, you can tell your child, "That would make a great small moment story!."
In math we:
- Played Two-Fisted Penny Addition.
- Learned about math boxes (a way to review and practice math).
- Reviewed number grids and completed number grid puzzles.
- Reviewed equivalent names for numbers.
- reviewed relations >, < and =.
In Science we:
- Began our Seed Unit. We made observational drawings, noticing small details in our seeds.
- We discussed and practiced hand lens use.
