A peek at our week 06/08/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Tuesday, June 12th: Color Day

Friday, June 15th: End of the Year Celebration - Poetry Slam 8:30-9:00 a.m.

Monday, June 18th: Book Swap - Please have you child bring in any donations to be dropped on in the library by June 13th.

Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

Color Day:

Color Day will be on Tuesday, June 12th. Click HERE to access the Color Day information sheet if you need it.

REMINDERS FOR FAMILIES:

Poetry Slam: Please join us on Friday, June 15th from 8:30-9:00 a.m. in our classroom for our end of year celebration - Our Poetry Slam. Students will be presenting original poems and artwork. We hope to see you there to help your child celebrate his/her hard work in 2nd grade! 

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• line breaks in poetry...what are they and why are they important?  
• life cycles...what has a life cycle and how are all life cycles similar?
• our plants... what happened with the plants in the light box, window and in the dark? Why do you think they are growing differently?
• our field trip...how did my team collaborate to construct the roller coaster? 
• different sized problems...what are flat road, bumpy road, hill and mountain problems? How should our reactions match the size of our problems?  

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• practice our teamwork and spotspersonship at Color Day
• continue reading and writing poems.  
• work in unit 16 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams au and aw.
• learn about Ghanaian marketplaces.
• continue working with place value in math.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

A Peek at Our Week 6/1/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Tuesday, June 5th (raindate Tuesday, June 12th): Color Day

Thursday, June 7th: Children's Museum field trip

Friday, June 15th: End of the Year Celebration - Poetry Slam 8:30-9:00 a.m.

Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

Color Day:

Color Day will be on Tuesday, June 5th (or Tuesday, June 12th if it rain on the 5th). A goldenrod sheet should have come home earlier this week with information about Color Day. Click HERE to access the Color Day information sheet if you need it.

The Children's Museum Field Trip: 

Our Children's Museum field trip is this Thursday, June 7th. Here are some details that will help us all prepare for our visit.

• Please send your child to school with a lunch, and write your child's name on the bag. Try to send lunch in disposable packaging.  Every student will need to bring a lunch.

• Do not send money with your child. Children will not be permitted to visit the gift shop

• It is especially important your child arrives to school on time.  We will leave promptly at 9:00.

REMINDERS FOR FAMILIES:

Poetry Slam: Please join us on Friday, June 15th from 8:30-9:00 a.m. in our classroom for our end of year celebration - Our Poetry Slam. Be prepared to be wowed by our poems and accompanying art. More info to come.  

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• similes. We discussed that similes are comparisons that use "like" or "as" when comparing the objects. Have your child share some of their similes with you and create some similes together.  
• my new learning about Ghana. What did I learn about Accra? How do they fish in Accra? What is special about caskets built in Ghana?
• our plants. What is happening with the plants in the light box, window and in the dark?
• how to count up when making change. Practice this at home!
• my inner coach...When do I use my inner coach and how can my inner coach help me? 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue reading and writing poems.  
• finish working in unit 15 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oo, ou, ue and ew.
• finish publishing our opinions.
• continue observing our plants.
• compare activities and events in a Ghanaian child's life to my life
• continue working with place value in math.

Have a great weekend! 

A Peek At Our Week 05/25/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Monday, May 28th: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival 6-8 p.m.

Thursday, June 7th: Children's Museum field trip

**Friday, June 15th: End of the Year Celebration - Poetry Slam 8:30-9:00 a.m.

Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

Poetry Slam: Please join us on Friday, June 15th from 8:30-9:00 a.m. in our classroom for our end of year celebration - Our Poetry Slam. Be prepared to be wowed by our poems and accompanying art. More info to come.  

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• the poems I read and wrote this week. We read poems that gave us strong feelings, make us think or question, had rhythm, had juicy words or phrases and had onomatopoeia. Have me tell you about some of these elements.  
• our butterflies. What do I now know about a butterfly's life cycle.
• our plants. What is happening with the plants in the light box, window and in the dark?
• how to use dollars and cents notation when writing monetary amounts.
• different ways to make the oo sound (as in school)...there are 6 of them! What are some words that have this sound?
• different ways to take deep breaths. Why is is useful to take deep breaths? When would be a useful time to use deep breaths as a tool or strategy?

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue reading and writing poems.  
• continue work in unit 15 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oo, ou, ue and ew.
• begin publishing our opinions.
• continue observing our plants.
• explore maps of Ghana and learn about Accra, the capital city.
• continue working with place value in math.

Enjoy the long weekend! 

A Peek at Our Week 5/18/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Thursday, May 24th: Art Show - 5-7 p.m.

Monday, May 28th: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival 6-8 p.m.

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• a day in Ghana...This week we had a visit from Mr. Joe and Ms. Vida and they taught us about life in Ghana. 
• the poems I read this week. What are some things I visualized as I read? If you have any favorite poems, please share them with me!
• school tools...What tools do I use at school and how do they help me? 
• how to measure in inches and centimeters. Have me show you my measuring skills!
• what I observed about my caterpillar this week. What does it look like? How did it change? Why do I think it changed? What do I predict will happen next.
• what I observed with my plant this week. What does it look like? How did it change? What do I predict will happen next? 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue reading and writing poems. 
• work in unit 15 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oo, ou, ue and ew.
• begin wrapping up our opinion unit in writing.
• continue observing our caterpillars and plants.
• work more with place value in math.

Enjoy the weekend!

A peek at our week 5/4/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

**Saturday, May 5th (rescheduled from 4/29): Memorial-Spaulding Spring Gardening Project 1-3 p.m. Click HERE to sign up.

Saturday, May 5th: Memorial-Spaulding Community Gala 7 p.m.- 11 p.m. 

**Thursday, May 24th: Art Show - 5-7 p.m.

Monday, May 28th: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival 6-8 p.m.

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

The Caterpillar Lab: in class, we are currently observing and learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. This community event connects well with our curriculum. You may want to check it out!

CAP: On Thursday, we had our first CAP session. We discussed:

• being safe, strong and free. 
• safe places and people in our lives. 
• having your children talk with you about what you would like them to do if you are ever separated in a public place, such as a store or museum. The suggestions were to either find someone who works at that location or a mom, however talk with your child about what you would like him/her to do.
• stranger safety.

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• what has wowed me in my classmates' China presentations so far...They have been wonderful! Thank you for supporting your children with their special projects!
• life in urban and rural China
• the Forbidden City
• what we can learn from a bar graph
• the zones of regulation. How do I feel when I am in the red, yellow, green and blue zones?
• What happened this week in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon?
• what I observed about my caterpillar this week. What does it look like? How did it change? Why do you think it changed? 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• have our second CAP session
• begin reading trickster tales and learning about trickster tale elements
• work in unit 14 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams ou (as in trout) and ow (as is plow).
• learn about Chinese Food and Chinese New Year. 
• continue observing our caterpillars.
• explore measurement in math.

Enjoy the weekend!

A peek at our week 4/27/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

**Sunday, April 29th: Memorial-Spaulding Spring Gardening Project 1-3 p.m. Click HERE to sign up.

Monday, April 30th: China Projects Due. Your children have been sharing their learning already as we are studying the topics that they are studying at home. It's been really exciting to them to teach their classmates. Click HERE to access the information sheet if you need it.

Thursday, May 3rd: CAP session 1. Please send back signed CAP forms by this Monday.  Your child needs a signed form to participate. They are attached to the email sent on 4/27.

Thursday, May 3rd: 12:30 Release

**Saturday, May 5th: Memorial-Spaulding Community Gala 7 p.m.- 11 p.m. (I am so disappointed that I will not be able to join all of of you in this wonderful event. It is my son's 9th birthday and we will be hosting a slew of 3rd grade boys for a sleepover that night...Wish me luck!)

Monday, May 28th: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• the pourquoi tale I am writing. What question is my pourquoi tale answering? How did the change happen? 
• the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Why are they important to the people of China?
• homophones...what are they and what are some examples?
• using an open number line to show the difference between numbers, as we did when we solved number stories.
• the zones of regulation. What are the red, yellow, green and blue zones?\
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (a chapter book by Grace Lin, set in China, that we have been reading as a class). What problem is Minli trying to solve?
• my new pet(s) in the classroom. What are they and what will they become? 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• finish writing our pourquoi tales and share them with each other.
• finish unit 13 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oa, oe and ow and move into unit 14, focusing on the vowel teams ou (as in trout) and ow (as is plow).
• learn about life for children in urban and rural China and compare their lives to our own. 
• explore the Forbidden City and find our what the Forbidden City can teach us about Chinese culture and history.
• begin careful observations of our caterpillars.
• create graphs from data and explore fractions in math.

Enjoy the weekend!

A peek at our week: 4/13/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Monday, April 16-Friday, April 20: NO SCHOOL - Spring Vacation

Thursday, May 3rd: 12:30 Release

**Monday, May 28th: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

**Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

REMINDERS FOR FAMILIES:

CAP: Please send back signed CAP forms as soon as you can (see email sent 4/6 for forms). Your child needs a signed form to participate.

China Project: Keep working on China projects. They are due on 4/30. Click HERE to access the information sheet if you need it!

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• pourquoi tales - what are they...what do they contain? 
• my opinions. Ask me for reasons and examples to support my opinion.     
• buyers, sellers, producers and consumers. 
• long o words. What are the ways to make the long o sound in words. Notice them when you are reading.
• using an open number line to show the difference between numbers, as we did when we played Hit the Target
• the 3 steps to problem solving (1. Stop and calm down. 2 Think about positive solutions to solve your problem. 3. Try out a solution. If it doesn't work, try something else.) 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue our folktales unit by reading and discussing pourquoi tales and also trying our hand at writing some of our own! 
• continue work in unit 13 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oa, oe and ow. Our new trick words are Monday, Tuesday, cousin, lose, tomorrow and beautiful.
• learn more about things that come from China.
• continue writing opinions about beloved books!
• continue math work focusing on subtraction, data and fractions. 

Have a wonderful week!

A peek at our week: 4/6/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Wednesday, April 11 12:45-1:15: You're invited to join music class for our first annual folk dance week! 

Monday, April 16-Friday, April 20: NO SCHOOL - Spring Vacation

** Thursday, May 3rd: 12:30 Release

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

CAP: Please send back signed CAP forms as soon as you can (see email sent today for forms). Your child needs a signed form to participate.

China Project: Your child came home today with a yellow sheet in his/her folder with information about an exciting home project that s/he will be working on over the next few weeks. Click HERE to access this sheet if you need it!

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• my fable reader's theater.  
• my opinions. This week, we began writing about our favorite books and gave reasons why we love these books.    
• Beijing. What would I like to see if I were to visit Beijing? Why? 
• the life cycles presentation that I had today. What living things did we encounter and talk about their life cycles.
• the spelling rules of oi and oy...When do you use oi? When do you use oy?
• telling time...ask me tell you the time on analog clocks when we encounter them.  

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue our folktales unit by reading and discussing pourquoi tales.
• work in unit 13 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oa, oe and ow. Our new trick words are Monday, Tuesday, cousin, lose, tomorrow and beautiful.
• learn about buying, selling, consuming and producing in China.
• continue writing opinions about beloved books!
• begin a new math unit, focusing on subtraction, data and fractions. 

Enjoy the weekend! 

A peek at our week: 3/29/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Friday, March 30: NO SCHOOL - Good Friday

Wednesday, April 11 12:45-1:15: You're invited to join music class for our first annual folk dance week! 

Monday, April 16-Friday, April 20: NO SCHOOL - Spring Vacation

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• fables...What are fables and what do you find in fables? Ask your child about some of the fables we read this week and the lessons that they set out to teach. Maybe you could read some fables together, too. There are many available online. 
• the opinions I shared this week. When sharing our opinions, we are working to provide reasons and examples to support our opinions.    
• what I learned about China through reading maps this week. 
• Our mystery reader this week.
• how I can solve this number story:
• Madison had a box of 64 crayons. She gave 26 to Maya. How many crayons does Madison have now? 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue our folktales unit by reading and discussing fables and working on a fable reader's theater.
• work in unit 12 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oi and oy.
• learn about Beijing.
• continue in our opinion writing unit, writing our opinions and providing reasons and examples to support our opinions. Next week, we will begin writing about beloved books!
• Work more with arrays and take our unit 6 assessment in math (focusing on solving number stories, time, and arrays). 

Enjoy the weekend! 

A Peek at Our Week: 3/23/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Friday, March 30: NO SCHOOL - Good Friday

**Wednesday, April 11 12:45-1:15: You're invited to join music class for our first annual folk dance week! 

Monday, April 16-Friday, April 20: NO SCHOOL - Spring Vacation

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• lessons I can learn when reading. We read a slew of Patricia Polacco books this week and picked out many life lessons along the way. We also looked for lessons in our independent reading books. 
• my opinion about...everything!! We have started our opinion writing unit and the more we practice sharing our opinions with reasons and examples, the better we will be at writing opinions!  
• my experiences at the Chinese Cultural Center.  
• the new creature in our classroom. We learned that it is a cocoon...what will it be when it emerges?
• how I can solve this number story:
•  Sam read 32 books this month and Pat read 49. How many more books did Pat read? 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• begin a folktales unit in reading. 
• finish unit 11 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams ee, ea and ey and move into unit 12, focusing on the vowel teams oi and oy.
• read maps of China to learn more about China.
• continue in our opinion writing unit, writing our opinions and providing reasons and examples to support our opinions.
• work with time, solve number stories and discuss arrays in math.

Enjoy the weekend! 

A Peek at our Week: 3/9/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Friday, 3/23: Chinese Cultural Center field trip

Friday, March 30: NO SCHOOL - Good Friday

**Monday, April 16-Friday, April 20: NO SCHOOL - Spring Vacation

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• character change. When reading at home, talk about character traits and evidence of these traits. Look for ways that characters change and what causes them to change.
• my non-fiction book progress.
• my Mexico book progress. 
• the partial sums algorithm...We made up songs and actions to our songs to remember to: 
• Add the tens.
• Add the ones.
• Add the partial sums together. 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• discuss lessons learned through reading fiction text.
• Finish unit 10 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams ai and ay and move into unit 11, focusing on the long e sound and vowel teams ee, ea and ey.
• fly to China and begin learning about China.
• write one last non-fiction books to demonstrate all that we have learned about writing non -fiction in this unit.
• work on further addition and subtraction strategies and solving number stories

Enjoy the weekend! 

Happy March!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Tuesday, 3/6 - Tuesday, 3/13: Spring Conferences - Please click HERE to sign up.

Thursday, 3/8: Early Release - 12:30 dismissal

Thursday, 3/8: International Festival - 6-8 pm. Click HERE for more information.

**Friday, March 30: NO SCHOOL - Good Friday

Friday, 3/23: Chinese Cultural Center field trip

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• getting to know characters by making personal connections, thinking about what they say and do and thinking about lessons they learned. When reading at home ask them to prove their ideas through text or illustrations.
• the book that I am publishing at writing workshop.
• what information I am including in my book about Mexico...Please help your child to do further research about their topics if they are interested.
• how I can show my thinking about subtraction using an open number line.  

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue working in our reading unit focusing on characters in fiction books, focusing on character change.
• continue work in unit 10 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams ai and ay.
• continue writing a book about in Mexico, thinking about other chapter types that I could add.
• continue publishing our non-fiction books.
• continue working on subtraction strategies in math.

Enjoy the weekend! 

A peek at our week...

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

**Tuesday, 3/6 - Tuesday, 3/13: Spring Conferences - Please click HERE to sign up.

**Thursday, 3/8: Early Release - 12:30 dismissal

**Thursday, 3/8: International Festival - 6-8 pm. Click HERE for more information.

Friday, 3/23: Chinese Cultural Center field trip

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• Lunar New Year...Both Andrew's mom, Chen, and Ellie's dad, Wei, came in this week to teach us about Lunar New Year. What traditions interested you? 
• inferring character feelings...when reading at home, ask you child about how their  characters are feeling and how they know. Guide them to provide direct evidence from the text to prove their inference. 
• my ideas for my book about Mexico.
• the foods people eat in Mexico.
• how I can show my thinking about subtraction using an open number line.

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue working in our reading unit focusing on characters in books. We will be reading many books about friendship. 
• continue work in unit 10 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams ai and ay.
• continue writing about topics in Mexico.
• continue work in our math unit focusing on ages and timelines. 

Have a great week!!

We're 100 days smarter!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Wednesday, 2/14: Valentine's Day (see below)

Monday 2/19-Friday 2/23: NO SCHOOL - Winter Vacation

Friday, 3/23: Chinese Cultural Center field trip

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

REMINDERS FOR FAMILIES:

We will be exchanging Friendship/Valentine cards on Wednesday, 2/14. More information and a class list went home last week in your child's folder. You may also click HERE for this information.

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• how I can get to know my characters...This week we practiced getting to know our characters through noticing what they do, what they say, what they want, how they respond to challenges, and how they interact with other characters. We then made inferences about them based on what we read. When reading with your child at home, talk about their characters and what you can infer about them. 
• my 3D shapes that I created
• my informational book that I am writing...How do I hook my reader in my introduction?
• what I am thinking to write about when I begin writing my book about Mexico next week.
• bucket filling
• Diego Rivera
• the spelling options procedure and how I can use it to help me spell words with ir, er, and ur (all make the sound /er/).

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue working in our reading unit focusing on characters in books.
• continue work in unit 9 in fundations, focusing on the r-controlled vowels -ir, -er, and -ur. We will use a procedure called the spelling options procedure to determine correct spelling of words, since all three r-controlled vowels make the same sound!
• begin writing about topics in Mexico.
• begin a new unit in math focusing on ages and timelines.
• continue our study of Mexico by learning about Mexican foods.

A peek at our week...

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Monday, 2/5: Progress notes available to families

Wednesday, 2/7: Early release - 12:30 dismissal

Friday, 2/9: 100th Day of School...More information will come home with your child on Monday

Wednesday, 2/14: Valentine's Day (see below)

Monday 2/19-Friday 2/23: NO SCHOOL - Winter Vacation

**Friday, 3/23: Chinese Cultural Center field trip

**Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

REMINDERS FOR FAMILIES:

Friday 2/9 is the 100th day of school. You child should collect 100 items to share on that day (and maybe even find 100 things to wear as well, such as 100 beads on a necklace or 100 polka dots on a shirt!). A bag to collect your items and more information were sent home today. The same information can also be found HERE. 

We will be exchanging Friendship/Valentine cards on Wednesday, 2/14. More information and a class list went home today in your child's folder. You may also click HERE for this information.

Please send your child with weather appropriate clothing. Please make sure to send your child to school with weather appropriate clothing for both indoor and outdoor times. If you send your child to school wearing boots, please send sneakers or other indoor shoes to change into while we are inside. When there is snow on the ground, please send in boots, snow pants, hats, mittens and jackets so that your child can participate fully in snow-related outdoor activities. Thanks!

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• my character traits...How do my actions show my character traits? When you are reading at home, discuss the characters in the books you are reading and try to determine their character traits. Pick out evidence (words and actions from the text) that support those claims.
• how I can combine shapes to make other shapes.
• my informational book that I am writing...Have your child tell you about the different chapters that s/he added this week.
• any interesting places or things that I learned about Mexico this week...What are some responsibilities that children have in Mexico that are similar or different from my own?
• how kindness spreads...discuss your own experiences with kindness spreading.

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• work in our new reading unit focusing on characters in books.
• work in unit 9 in fundations, focusing on the r-controlled vowels -ir, -er, and -ur. We will use a procedure called the spelling options procedure to determine correct spelling of words, since all three r-controlled vowels make the same sound!
• continue our informational writing unit focusing on writing non-fiction about expert topics. We will begin writing about topics in Mexico soon.
• begin a new unit in math focusing on ages and timelines.
• continue our study of Mexico by reading and discussing The Day of the Dead and learning about Diego Rivera.

90 days smarter!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Monday, 2/5: Progress notes available to families

Wednesday, 2/7: Early release - 12:30 dismissal

**Friday, 2/9: 100th Day of School...More information will come home with your child on Monday

**Wednesday, 2/14: Valentine's Day (see below)

**Monday 2/19-Friday 2/23: NO SCHOOL - Winter Vacation

NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

Friday 2/9 is the 100th day of school. You child should collect 100 items to share on that day (and maybe even find 100 things to wear as well, such as 100 beads on a necklace or 100 polka dots on a shirt!). A bag to collect your items and more information were sent home today. The same information can also be found HERE. 

We will be exchanging Friendship/Valentine cards on Wednesday, 2/14. More information and a class list went home today in your child's folder. You may also click HERE for this information.

REMINDERS FOR FAMILIES:

Please send your child with weather appropriate clothing. Please make sure to send your child to school with weather appropriate clothing for both indoor and outdoor times. If you send your child to school wearing boots, please send sneakers or other indoor shoes to change into while we are inside. When there is snow on the ground, please send in boots, snow pants, hats, mittens and jackets so that your child can participate fully in snow-related outdoor activities. Thanks!

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• making inferences. Why do we need to make inferences? How do you make inferences?
• polygons. How can you tell a shape is a polygon? Go on a polygon shape hunt at home!
• my informational book that I am writing...What am I writing about? How am I working with my writing partner?
• What are some things that come from Mexico and what can one find at Mexican Marketplaces?

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue our work in our questioning and inferring unit in reading.
• finish unit 8 in fundations, focusing on the r-controlled vowels -ar and -or.
• continue our informational writing unit focusing on writing non-fiction about expert topics. We will begin publishing a favorite book soon! 
• continue our math unit in geometry, focusing on the various attributes of two dimensional shapes how we classify shapes using those attributes. Students will also examine the attributes of 3 dimensional shapes, focusing on cubes.
• continue our study of Mexico by learning about different regions in Mexico and their landmarks and comparing the responsibilities of children in Mexico with our own responsibilities