MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.
Wednesday 11/22: Early Release - NOON dismissal
Thursday 11/23-Friday 11/24: NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving
Wednesday, 11/29 - 6:30-8:30: Responsive Home Workshop - Are you struggling with behaviors at home or think that things could run more smoothly? 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. My husband and I attended one of these workshops last year and it was definitely 2 hours well spent! We left with a concrete plan for how to tackle our most tricky times as home (such as setting up morning routines that work for everyone or how to agree on what "clean" means when we say, "Please go clean your room."). If you can't make it on 11/29, they are also offered on 1/10, 2/7 and 3/6. All sessions are from 6:30-8:30 in Room 210 at the District Education Center, 100 Walnut Street, Newtonville. I would HIGHLY recommend that you try to attend one of these workshops. If you do attend and you would be willing recommend attendance to others, please email me your thoughts so that I can post in future newsletters. Thanks!
** Friday, 12/1: Integrating the Arts Morning (8:30-9:15) Please plan to attend or find someone (a friend, neighbor, grandparent, aunt, uncle, nanny, babysitter, etc.) to accompany your child during this time, as we will be creating art together.
**Click HERE to RSVP**
IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:
Circle of Hope Coat Drive: The kindergarten and second grade classes will be holding a hat/mitten/coat drive to benefit Circle of Hope – a Needham-based nonprofit that collects and distributes new and gently used clothing and accessories to homeless families in Boston. Please consider donating. Click HERE for more information.
REMINDERS FOR FAMILIES:
Facts to 20 practice at home: Is your child fluent in math facts to 20? If not please practice at home. Here are some ways:
4. If you find any other ways that you and your child are enjoying math fact practice, please share so that I can share with our classroom community. Thank you!
Wishlist: Thank you for your support with our wish list! I will continue to post items to our classroom wish list when there is a specific need or wish that would help enhance learning in our classroom. The items posted will likely change throughout the year, but for now they are mostly books that will enrich our classroom’s independent reading and read aloud libraries. If you are curious, you’ll always be able to find it through our classroom’s Sign Ups page. Click HERE to go there.
ASK ME ABOUTS:
Ask me about...
- the book fair! (Also, thank you so much for all of your generous book donations! We are more motivated and enthusiastic about reading as we have more variety in our book choices!)
- bulb planting.
- whose birthday was today.
- my Plus Time group. What is my group focusing on and who is my Plus Time teacher?
- when it is important to let an adult know about unexpected behaviors.
- the books that we've read by James Marshall and what are some similar features.
- the trick words against, knew, know
- my current small moment story. How am I using sound effects, talking to the reader, the setting, or dialogue to hook my reader in the beginning?
- showing you my double digit addition skills. Pose a double digit addition problem and listen to me tell you how I solved it. Please click HERE to refer to the math practices section of our website to learn about how this will be taught in second grade and how we would like you teach teach your child at home.
- urban, suburban and rural areas. As you are exploring different areas, discuss what you see and hear that clues you into what type of area you are in.
LOOKING FORWARD:
Looking forward, we will:- meet George and Martha, two of James Marshall's most famous characters.
- continue unit 5 in fundations, focusing reading and writing words with more than 1 syllable and the suffixes ful, ment, ness, less, able, en, ish (Click HERE for unit 5 family fundations letters.)
- begin publishing a favorite small moment story.
- wrap up our project-based math unit, Measuring for the Art Show and begin a new math unit on place value, time and miney
- continue our study of the United States by learning about U.S landmarks. If you have photos you are willing to share of your child/family at various U.S. landmarks, please send them in! Please write the name of the landmark where the photo was taken on the back of the photo. If you send in photos, please be sure they are copies that we can keep at school. They will only be used for in class purposes, but they will not be returned.
