Newsletter 7

2006-2007…Room 302—Newsletter 7…http://room302.blogspot.com

December 21, 2006

Dear Families,

Wow!

What a great party.

Really.

I wish I could describe the genuine and enthusiastic appreciation in this room as the students opened their books from their Secret Santas. It was amazing. I was a bit nervous about doing the Secret Santa thing because it required everything being coordinated all on the same day, but it was well worth the trouble. Thanks so much to everyone who was able to get the books wrapped and sent in, especially considering that many people were without power last weekend. A special thanks to those people who were able to send in an extra book, in case they were needed—we couldn’t have done the book exchange on Tuesday without those extra books. And it wouldn’t have been as much fun, certainly, without all of the adults who were able to come and help out.

Another great thing was the gingerbread houses. What artistry! My favorite part was watching the kids work together, help each other, and appreciate their classmates’ creations. It’s fun and inspiring to work in a place where others value what you do, and that is how this class treats each other. With the party on Tuesday afternoon, followed on Wednesday by Music, Physical Education, and a Read-In, it was a wonderful and relaxing way to head into the break and the holidays.

Holiday Program

Speaking of wonderful, the children and music teacher deserve immense praise for providing us with such an entertaining evening of performing the other night at the program. I’m glad that so many of the children were able to attend. They did a lot of hard work to get ready for that show, and it paid off.

Field Trip

Some excellent hustle by our principal is paying off as well: We are already rescheduled to go to see The Sorcerer’s Apprentice again. It seems only fair to offer first chance to chaperone to those who were with us today. If you came with us last time and would like to again, please email me, or send a note. I sometimes forget if it’s not written down. As far as permission slips for the kids, we’re able to honor those you’ve already sent from last time. If you don’t want your child to attend this time, please let me know. We’ll get more details out after the break.

Chapter Book

Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe.

Calendar

Wednesday, December 20—Early release, 12:15

Thursday, December 21-Monday, January 1—No school: Winter Break

Tuesday, January 2—School resumes

Monday, January 15—No School

Thursday, January 25—Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Here’s to a relaxing, enjoyable and safe holiday.

Sincerely,

Jeff

Monday, December 11, 2006

Here are ideas for those last three:

Taylor B.—song books

Jamie—horses, dinosaurs, farm animals

Brycen—Sponge Bob, math books, Christmas books

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

We added seven more items to our food drive collection. We had 166 before, so now we have 173. There is still time for people to bring more.

Yesterday and today we practiced for our Holiday Concert. There were five other classes there, too. We lined up in the gym. We arranged ourselves from tallest to smallest so people could see everyone on the risers. Then we went up on the risers by sixes. We sang the songs that we learned in music class. It was fun. Tomorrow we will practice in front of the third, fourth, and fifth grades.

Friday, December 08, 2006

Here are more things we like to read about:

Sydney--—song books, Christmas books, Littlest Pet Shop

John--—song books, Christmas books, car books

Brandon--—rescue heroes, sharks, wrestling

Jesse--—animals, dinosaurs, Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones

Hannah--—Christmas, ice skating, science, math, poetry

Chris—--super heroes, snowmen, Christmas

Tyler--—Sponge Bob, Charlie Brown

Ashley—--Junie B. Jones, animals, Littlest Pet Shop, ice skating, Christmas

YaXi—--princesses, friends, animals

Taylor B.—???

Jamie—???

Brycen—???

(these are pending)

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Our class is doing “Secret Santa.” Each of us picked the name of one classmate to buy a book for. The book should be inexpensive, new or gently used. Here are some things we like to read about:

Noah—--dogs, cats, sharks

Katie—--Magic Tree House, Bailey School Kids, poetry, Junie B. Jones, memory books

Jordan—--math, science, Magic Tree House

Mariah—--dogs, cats, birds

Connor—--dinosaurs, oceans, sharks

Savannah--—fairies, Magic Tree House, animals

Mckayla—--animals, Magic Tree House, poetry, Junie B. Jones

Aubrey—--princesses, ice skating, poetry

Jared—--Magic Tree House, Spiderman, Junie B. Jones

Taylor T.—--animals, princesses, ice skating

more to follow.....

Newsletter 6--2006

2006-2007
Room 302—Newsletter 6
http://room302.blogspot.com

December 6, 2006

Dear Families,

The busy times continue.  But there is a lot of good energy around, and we’re having fun.  Thanks so much to everyone for putting the time and effort into conferences.  I enjoy having the time to sit down and have those conversations.  Please keep in touch if you have concerns or questions as the year continues.
Field Trip
Well, it was interesting.  We only made it as far as Tiger Mountain, and we didn’t even see any tigers.  We got back at 11:00.  All in all, I thought the kids did great.  It was just one of those things.  I was grateful for all of the parent support we had with us.
The good news:  Thanks to some excellent work by our principal, we are already rescheduled to go again.  It seems only fair to offer first chance to chaperone to those who were with us today.  Let me know if that doesn’t work, or if you’d like to be on a chaperone waiting list.  I’ll send more details as we get closer.
Holiday Program
The students are working very hard to get ready for the big show.  The gym is usually packed, and parking is tricky, but it will all be worth it.  The students need to arrive at 6:45 and meet in our classroom.  Then we’ll all walk down together as a class.  After the show, we walk back to the classroom and dismiss to families from there.  It’s the safest way to go.  I’ll be sending home copies of the lyrics for the songs, in case the students want some extra practice.
Holiday Party
On Tuesday, December 19 we’ll be having a holiday party.  We’ll trade books with our secret Santas and build gingerbread houses.  I’ll be assigning each child something to bring from the list of supplies to make the gingerbread houses.  We’d also welcome any treats and/or volunteers to help us create our masterpieces.  Once again, Savannah’s mom has agreed to help me coordinate this.  Contact Kim if you can contribute in some way, or if you can’t send something for the gingerbread houses.
Book Exchange--Secret Santa
I thought it would be fun for part of our Christmas Party to do a Secret Santa book exchange.  Each child will secretly draw the name of another classmate.  Then he or she will bring a new or gently used (inexpensive, non-religious) book as a gift to exchange at the party.  The book should be wrapped, with only the recipient’s name on the outside.  At the party, we’ll exchange gifts and reveal Secret Santas.  
Let me know if you’re unable to provide a new or gently used book for this so that we can make sure to have a present for everyone.  Also let me know if you have extra books you’d like to donate for this.  
Chapter Book
Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe.
We’re also reading Junie B., First Grader:  BOO…and I Mean It! by Barbara Park
Calendar
Thursday, December 7—Connor’s Birthday (     Tuesday, December 19—Holiday Party, 1:30
Thursday, December 7—Jared’s Birthday (     Wednesday, December 20—Early release, 12:15
Thursday, December 7—Mrs. Couch’s Birthday (     Thursday, December 21-Monday, January 1—No school:  Winter Break
Thursday, December 14—Holiday Program, 7:00     Tuesday, January 2—School resumes


Sincerely,


Jeff

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

We put ornaments on the school’s Christmas tree and sang Christmas songs while we were waiting for our turn. A teacher called us up when it was time. We sang Rudolph, Up on the Housetop, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Here Comes Santa Claus, and Jolly Old St. Nicholas. We had fifth graders helping us put the ornaments up on the tree.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

We tried to go on a field trip to see the play called Sorcerer’s Apprentice. We brought some things to do on the way, like reading, writing, and drawing. Some of us did a scavenger hunt. We had a piece of paper that told us what to look for on the way. If you found something, you had to check it off.

But we got stuck in traffic for about 40 minutes, so we didn’t get to see the play after all. We had to turn around and come back to school instead. When the bus turned around, we jerked back and forth because we took a sharp turn where it was gravelly and bumpy. Some people fell out of their seats because they weren’t ready.

We had fun anyway. We’ll be going again in January.

Monday, December 04, 2006

We used new science stuff. We were the first ones. It was fun. We blew air through a plastic tube with a syringe (not our mouths) and discovered ways to use the syringes and the tubes. If we stuck the cap back where it was on a syringe and pushed the plunger really hard, the cap flew off onto the table. Another thing we did was with two syringes. We hooked them together with the plastic tube. When we pushed in the plunger of one syringe, the other plunger popped out. We were careful not to aim them at each other.

Friday, December 01, 2006

We went to the gymnasium and had our hearing and our vision checked. There was a long line. They could only check two people at a time: one on hearing and one on vision. There wasn’t anything for the other people to do while we were waiting.

So, we went back to the classroom and got our calendars, and then went back to the gymnasium and wrote the numerals in on them.

When it was time to get checked, here is what happened: For the eye test, you put a piece of paper over your left or right eye. Then a woman pointed to a letter and you would say it out loud. She did this a few times, and then we had to switch eyes. For the hearing test, she had us put on a pair of headphones. The headphones were weird. They were metal, with one red side and one blue side. Then she pressed a button and it would beep in one ear. You had to put up the hand on the side where you heard the beep. There were about 5 beeps in each ear.

They wrote down how we did, and we took the papers home to show.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Katie lost a tooth.

Noah’s mom brought cupcakes. They looked like a cake on top, but underneath were 28 cupcakes. It said “Happy Birthday, Noah!” on it. They were tender. There were chocolate cupcakes with about two inches of frosting and sprinkles. The frosting was rainbow colored. Some people got writing. They were delicious. They were so yummy that everyone wanted their favorite color. They were blue and yellow and green and red.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

We're thankful (continued):

Taylor T. is thankful for her mom and dad putting dinner on the table.

Jared is thankful for his teacher for helping him in math when he gets mixed up.

Tyler is thankful for his family because they tuck him in at night. He loves them.

Brandon is thankful for his grandma because every time he goes to her house, she lets him pet her pet pig, and his name is Snot because he snots all the time.

Connor is thankful for his teacher because he helps Connor with writing.

John is thankful for his mom and dad for putting dinner on his plate.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

We’re thankful for lots of things:

Noah is thankful for his mom and dad, because when he misses the bus, they drive him to school.

Katie is thankful for her parents because they feed her and take care of her.

Jamie is thankful for her friends because they help her when she gets hurt.

Sydney is thankful for her parents because they give the most important thing about life, and that’s love.

Jordan is thankful for the army because they protect our country.

Mariah is thankful to God for giving America to us. Brycen is thankful for the whole world because it’s very nice to us.

Hannah is thankful for the army because they are trying to save our world. Chris is thankful for police for saving us, and for people giving us food every day.

Mckayla is thankful for the people who grow plants and trees so we can breathe air.

Aubrey is thankful for her grandma helping her when she gets sick.

Ashley is thankful for her parents because they work to put food on the table and give her love. YaXi is thankful for her mommy and daddy because they hug her and kiss her before she goes to bed.

to be continued...

Monday, November 20, 2006

It’s another half day today because we are having conferences. Conferences are when the teacher talks to the parents or guardians to hear about how well you are doing in class. They talk about behavior and school work. The teacher hands out the report card, too. The kids get to share some of their work, too, like science journals, math notebooks, writing journals, published writing, and books they like. It’s a time to celebrate.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Today is another half day. The people that have hot lunch go down right after first recess. The people with cold lunch get their lunches and go down to join them. The hot lunches came in bags. But this time they didn’t cook it. The lunch lady just made it. It was a tuna sandwich with tiny pickle squares in it. They were as tiny as pencil erasers. There was a mini bag of Doritos. There was strawberry applesauce and an M&M cookie. It was delicious.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Levi is moving to his new house. He is moving to a new school, too. He is moving to Seattle. We got him a book. It’s a poem book about animals. It’s called Rumble in the Jungle. It'’s by Giles Andreae. We wrote our names and messages in it so he would remember his class. Tomorrow he is going to visit his new school. We hope he makes lots of new friends. We hope he'’ll come back and visit us. We will really miss him. Goodbye, Levi.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

We went to the book fair. It was fun. We picked out the books that we liked, and then we wrote them down on a piece of paper. Some people had to have two pieces of paper because they wanted a lot of books; some people only needed one piece. Now we’re going to take the lists home. Then we’re going to show it to our dads, or moms, or whoever. Then we’ll ask if someone will buy books for us. We can bring the money back to school tomorrow, or Friday, or next Monday, or next Tuesday if we want to buy the book.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

We did science using water and air yesterday. We used water and we could put vials inside of the water and it would make bubbles come up out of the water. The bubbles in the vial were air. When we put the vial in the basin sideways, then it will make make big bubbles, if you force it in. One thing we did was put a paper towel in the bottom of the vial. We put it into the water and tried to keep the paper towel dry. It is easier to block the opening with your hand than to just plunge it in when you’re trying to keep the paper towel dry. We learned that when you put a towel into a vial and you stick the vial upside down in the water, the towel won’t get wet, even if you move the vial around.

Newletter 5

2006-2007…Room 302—Newsletter 5…http://room302.blogspot.com

November 8, 2006

Dear Families,

We have busy times ahead, including conferences, holidays, and our holiday program. It should be lots of fun.

Party

Our Halloween party was great. There were six stations, and the children spent about 10 minutes at each. Without fail, the students were interested and engaged at all times. My thanks to everyone who was able to contribute and help make this another meaningful and worthwhile use of our school day.

conferences

Speaking of meaningful experiences, conference time is upon us. I plan to have the children present. I plan about 20 minutes for us to talk. For some, 20 minutes is plenty of time. For others, it might not be enough. Either way, I ask your help in making sure the conferences start at the appropriate time and do not run long. Our staff has worked to coordinate schedules so that sibling times are back to back, and if we get off schedule, the impact could affect many others. A sheet came home today, Wednesday, with your scheduled conference time. Please send it back to let me know the time works for you. As I said, these have been coordinated throughout our school, so if changes need to happen, we need to know fast. If I don’t see the confirmation slip back, I assume the time works.

In the interest of making the experience meaningful for you, I’m asking that you plan on starting with any specific questions that you have. My hope is that you won’t walk away with concerns or questions unanswered.

Why bring kids?

I want the students at the conferences. The topic of the conference will be them. The point of the conference is to celebrate their work, their progress, their accomplishments. They did all the work—how can we celebrate without them?

If you have an overriding need to speak to me about something that is inappropriate for the child to witness or overhear, perhaps we set up a different time to talk. If there are other conflicts that cannot be helped, so be it. It might not work for everyone.

Our day, each day…..

I thought that having a sense of our day might help before you come in, so here’s a basic layout:

Read Aloud / word work: I like to start our day with a story. Word Work includes “spelling”.

Writers’ Workshop: They usually write in journals. Once a week they do special project.

Bathroom/Recess

Readers’ Workshop: Students usually choose their own reading material. They each have a book box or bag containing things they want to read.

Lunch and recess

Math: Each student has a math workbook and a math notebook.

Science: we have just started science journals, which may be of interest

Jobs / clean up / pack up

Shared Writing

Chapter Book

Chapter Book

Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe.

We’re also reading Junie B., First Grader: BOO…and I Mean It! by Barbara Park

Field Trip

We’re signed up to go to the Seattle Children’s Theater to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice by OyamO. We’re going with the other second grade class,. I think we’re about full on the chaperone list, but if you still want to go, I can put you on a waiting list, in case we end up with extra room. Some people have sent permission slips back; many have not. If you’re confirmed chaperone, please make a note of it and include an extra $10.50.

Blog

The main thing I use the web log (blog) for is to relate what happens in our school day, so we try to do it at the end of the day. Lately, our afternoons have been quite full. As a result, we do not always get time to do our daily news. I do think it’s a valuable use of our time, though, so I’ll continue to play with the schedule. I have recently updated the blog with what we’ve done so far, and I’ll try to be more timely about posting in the future. Thanks to those that have been asking about it.

Calendar

Thursday, November 9—no school	Monday, November 20—conferences, early release, 12:15
Friday, November 10—no school	Tuesday, November 21—conferences, early release, 12:15
Wednesday, November 15—Library	Wednesday, November 22—early release, 12:15
Thursday, November 16—conferences, early release, 12:15	Thursday, November 23—no school
Friday, November 17—Levi’s last day	Friday, November 24—no school
Friday, November 17—conferences, early release, 12:15

Sincerely,

Jeff

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Today we went to an assembly, and we sang. We sang Yankee Doodle and then America . We celebrated Veterans Day. Veterans are people who served in the Coast Guard, Marines, Army, Air Force, and Navy. Lots of people in our class have relatives that were veterans, or who are in the service right now. Mr. Stocker read us a veterans book. It was Veterans Day by Jacqueline S. Cotton. We had fun.

A note on spelling from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs web site FAQ (http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetday_faq.asp):

Q. Which is the correct spelling of Veterans Day? a. "Veterans Day" b. "Veteran's Day" c. "Veterans' Day"

A. Veterans Day (choice a, above). Veterans Day does not include an apostrophe but does include an "s" at the end of "veterans" because it is not a day that "belongs" to veterans, it is a day for honoring all veterans.

November 3, 2006

It was Levi’s birthday. He turned seven. Sydney was nice enough to share the cupcakes that her dad made for the Halloween party. The cupcakes were tender, peanut-buttery, and delicious. They had little chopped pieces of Butterfinger in them.

We got a new student six days ago. His name is Chris. He’s one of the coolest kids ever. He’s really funny. He’s really nice. He’s awesome.

Today we had an assembly that was called Mad Science. They did funny jokes. The guy put a flash paper on his hand and burned it. The paper burned, but his hand did not. It burned really fast. They held up a roll of toilet paper on a plunger stick. They used a leaf blower to make it all blow off the roll. It went onto a student and onto Mr. Stocker. The made scientist had a garbage can. It had a big rubber piece on one end, and a hole in the other end. He filled it with smoke. Then when he hit the rubber side, we could see the air and smoke come out the other side. It was so cool and really neat!

November 2, 2006

A Fun Day at Halloween We went to the bathrooms and put on our costumes. We came back to the carpet and counted off by sixes. That made six groups. Each group started at a different table. We ate lots of stuff. We painted pumpkins. We made our own cupcakes. We made Halloween mobiles. We made wind socks. We also played Hangman. We had a Halloween party. Happy Halloween!

Monday, October 23, 2006

We had science today; we worked with partners. We could use these tracks that are long, white, shaped like an arch or a semi-circle, and made out of foam. You can bend them and they won’t break. You could make a loop. You take a sphere (we used small marbles) and send it down the tube and it will roll. You can use tape on the end to make the marble stop. We could make the marble loop-de-loop, or twist, or slide. We could put the track against the table and send the marble down. You could even roll the marble up the track.

Newsletter 4

2006-2007…Room 302—Newsletter 4…http://room302.blogspot.com

October 19, 2006

Dear Families,

The year seems to be going by so very quickly. We’re already planning the Halloween celebration, and I’m already thinking about that first round of report cards. I hope the school days are going well for your child. Here is the latest:

Substitute

I missed some work time the week before last, and I didn’t like it. I enjoy being here teaching your children. Judy was out of town, so I was a full time dad, and a part time teacher. Luckily, we were able to get two fantastic people to fill in.

Reading

I have started to do Developmental Reading Assessments with the students. This is where I sit down with the students, one at a time, and really try to figure out just what skills and strategies they use when they read. Knowing what they already do helps me figure out the next thing I can teach them. The other good thing about this is that it requires the rest of the class to read quietly by themselves, which is another useful skill.

Writing

During writing, we split into groups. The groups sit at a different table every day, and one day a week they do guided writing--we call it “special project”. Our first special project was making birthday cards for people. This was a chance to talk about purpose for writing, audience for the writing, and all the things that should happen when writing a card, including greeting, message, closing, decorations, and overall personalization of the card. I’d expect that you’d see some evidence of this when the children are making cards (birthday, thank-you, etc.) for people at home.

Math

Sometimes our afternoons are so full, that we move right into science. We usually do math first, so does that mean we skip math on those days? You can perhaps guess where I’m going with this: I’m concerned that students will think that we’re doing math only during “math” time and nowhere else. I used part of our time together the other day to point out all the ways we use math when we’re doing science. Math is simply a form of communication (like writing) that we use to communicate understanding about the world. When we want to be precise, we use numbers to quantify; but we can do math without numbers: He is heavier, she is taller, mine is longer, yours is higher are all examples of math without numbers. Any sort of pattern is math without numbers. Numbers could be used to quantify all these examples if they were real, but often we don’t need the numbers. I think it’s helpful for students to look beyond numbers when thinking about math. I think it can provide a different filter for their thinking, and I think it could help them avoid the perspective of “I’m not good in math.” If you think of it (next time you hear “I want more.” or “Can I stay up later?” or something similar) you could point out the many ways they use math every day.

Science

We began this science unit with the “balance” in Balance and Motion. Now we’re experimenting with motion. We’ve done a lot of work with spinning. Ask your child about the tops, zoomers, twirlers, wheels and axels they made.

Halloween Party

We’ll have an afternoon celebration on October 31, starting about 1:30. I’ll be sending a separate note with details about how you can contribute.

Chapter Book

We finished My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet. Actually, the sub finished it while I was gone. L If your child is interested, there are two more books in that series: Elmer and the Dragon, and Dragons of Blueland. Our latest one is Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe.

Field Trip

We’re signed up to go to the Seattle Children’s Theater to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice by OyamO. We’re going with the other second grade class, leaving right away in the morning and returning to school about 2:00. I think we’re about full on the chaperone list, but if you still want to go, I can put you on a waiting list, in case we end up with extra room. I tried to email confirmation to those who already contacted me, but I was out part of the time and may have missed you, so if you wrote and I didn’t write back, please let me know. I’ll be sending permission slips for the kids soon.

Class Video

From time to time I video tape things that are happening at school. Then the students take turns taking the tape home to share. The tape should return to school the next day so the next person gets a chance; please help your child remember.

Email List

I’m hearing every now and then that people aren’t seeing this newsletter—the hard copy is not always making it home. If you’re one of those people, then you aren’t reading this. If you do happen to see the newsletter sometimes, and would like to get every copy via email, please make sure I have your email address. I currently have 12 families on the list.

Volunteers

We’re quite fortunate to have a number of parents helping out in the classroom this year. I know that not everyone can (I wish I could for my boys) but if you can and want to, there is still plenty of opportunity. Please let me know. We’d love to have you.

Calendar

Friday, October 27—early release, 12:15	Tuesday, October 31—Halloween party, 1:30
Friday, November 3—Science Fair, 6:30-8:30

Sincerely,

Jeff

Friday, October 20, 2006

In library today we learned about leaves. The leaves go on a tree. The tree sends the sap to the leaves so they can grow. If it’s cold the sap goes slower and slower. And then the leaves change colors, and then they fall off.

We also learned that people make syrup out of Sugar Maple tree sap. They drill a hole in the tree, and they put a thing like a faucet in there. They leave it there for awhile. They put a big bucket under it and turn the handle. The sap comes out of the faucet and into the bucket. Then they give the sap to a company and the company makes syrup. Then they sell it in stores.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

In science, we made Twirly Birds. The Twirly Birds can spin in the air when you throw, or toss, or drop them. The Twirly Birds were made out of paper—they weren’t real birds. We folded the paper on the dotted lines and cut on the solid lines. Some people colored them paper to make designs. Taylor T. made a design that hypnotized us. Instead of using straws for weights like on the spinners, we used paper clips. It was really fun and exciting.

In math, the first graders tried to make 12 for their Daily Equation.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

We had a fire drill, an earthquake drill, and a lockdown. Every time we were waiting for one of them to start, we pretended to work at our tables. It was exciting. When we did the earthquake drill we had to hide under the tables. If you don’t have tables in your house, hide inside a doorway. If you’re in your room, you could hide under your bed.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

We had a fire truck outside in the field. The fire fighters had stickers and magnets for us. The fire truck had headphones hanging down from the ceiling. Noah got to put them on and heard what the people were saying. Some kids heard that somebody was sick, and the firefighters had to go back and help the sick people. We hope the sick people got better.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

We made zoomers. We used plastic disks with holes in the middle. We put string through two of the holes and tied it to make a loop with the disk in the middle. We wound the string, then pulled it out gently and pushed it in to hear it make a whooshing sound. We had Mrs. Couch as a teacher this morning. Most of us gave her a hug.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

We had a substitute teacher. She was so nice. She helped us with math. We had library and checked out books. We also had much and physical education.

Newsletter 3, 2006-2007

2006-2007  Room 302—Newsletter 3  http://room302.blogspot.com

October 2, 2006

Dear Families,

Here is what I have to share:
Reading
Good readers are always making connections between the story and something that they’ve experienced or read:  the story reminds them of other things that aren’t in the story.  We often take a second to share these connections when I’m reading aloud, but we can never share all of them.  This is one of those things that you can do much better at home than I can do at school.  When you’re reading aloud, take the time to share your connections, and take the time to let the children share theirs as well.  You may only have time for one or two books, or one or two pages, but the conversation can be just as important.  It helps make the stories personal, relevant, and meaningful—this means that reading becomes personal, relevant, and meaningful.
Math
The first graders are moving into the book called Building Number Sense.  The second graders are starting Coins, Coupons, and Combinations.  As we finish a book, the students will bring home their old workbooks.  You’ll find that we’ve done some of the work, but usually not all of it.  Sometimes the books have lots extra, or things we don’t need.  The students may use those books as they like.  We don’t need them back once we’re done with them.
Science
For our first science investigation, we balanced tag board shaped like crayfish, triangles, and arches.  We also tried a tag board pencil and a real pencil.  We used clothespins for counterweights, and figured out which configurations were stable.  There is a lot of excitement and interest during our science times.  It’s great.  Now we’re into experimenting with tops.
Book Orders
I’m going to start sending book orders home.  Order if you like, but don’t feel obligated.  If you do order, please do not send cash, only checks.  And please make out checks for each book order, rather than one for all.  
We’ll always take time to look through the orders and circle the books that look interesting.  I encourage the children to save the part with the books and use that section to help find new things to read.  Sometimes a library can be a bit intimidating because it has so many choices, but if children walk in with a list of interesting things, it’s easier for a librarian to help them.  
Library
We’ll again have library on Wednesday this week, due to an assembly on Friday afternoon.
Chapter Book
Our current one is My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet.  Before that we finished Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park.
Field Trip
We’re signed up to go to the Seattle Children’s Theater on to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice by OyamO.  We’re going with the other second grade class, leaving right away in the morning and returning to school about 2:00.  It looks like we’ll have room for 10 adults to chaperone, so let me know if you would like to join us.  I’ll take the first ten.  I’ll be sending permission slips for the kids at a later date.
Class Video
From time to time I video tape things that are happening at school.  Then the students take turns taking the tape home to share.  The tape should return to school the next day so the next person gets a chance; please help your child remember.
Email List
In an effort to help with communication, I’d like to put together a mailing list so that I’ve got another way to get you information like this.  If you’d like to be on it, please send me an email requesting that I put you on the list.  Include your name and your child’s name so I can identify you.  (If you got this newsletter via email, you’re already on the list.  If you didn’t, you’re not.)
Classroom Visits
Any time you’d like to visit, you’re welcome to do so.  Just make sure to stop in at the office to sign in and get a Visitor sticker.
Calendar
Friday, October 6—Taylor’s birthday     Friday, October 13—no school
Thursday, October 12—70’s Dance, 6-8:30     Friday, October 27—early release, 12:15
     


Sincerely,


Jeff

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Today in science some of us decorated our tops. The tops spin on our tables or on the floor. We used plastic disks and straws to make the tops. We had paper circles with black and white designs on them. There was also a blank one we could decorate with any design we wanted. We put those paper disks on the tops to make them look very cool while they were spinning. The rest of the class finished painting the pictures for their October calendars.

Monday, October 02, 2006

A librarian came from the public library to our school. She read us two books named Mudball by Matt Tavares, and Mabela the Clever by Margaret Read MacDonald. She gave us library cards that need to be activated. They have little bracelets attached to them. They’re stretchy and they cling to your wrist. Everybody in the whole school gets one.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

We made mobiles again today in science, but these were bigger. They were twice as big as the ones we made yesterday. They were kind of hard to make because you had to get so much stuff and do so much stuff. We had a choice of making them by ourselves or having a partner to help us.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

We got our pictures taken. Everybody got all dressed up and looked nice. Brandon and Jesse matched—they both wore the same shirt and pants. Except Jesse had a mohawk.

We made mobiles in science. We made them out of rubber bands, paper clips, index cards that we decorated, and a straw cut in half. They turned out perfect. We hung them from the lights in our room. They balanced, and they look beautiful.

Friday, September 22, 2006

It was Ashley’s birthday. She turned eight years old. Her mom brought delicious chocolate chip cookies, Wonka’s Laffy Taffy, and green apple fruit punch. She brought chips, too, and we had those on Monday. It was a half day. Ashley’s mom stayed the whole time and even ate lunch with her.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Jesse lost his tooth. It was in front, and now it feels like it’s still in, but it’s not.

Today at science we balanced things. We taped a popsicle stick onto our tables. Then we took two clothespins and hooked them to an arch or a triangle, and put them on the popsicle stick and tried to make them balance. Some ways worked and some ways didn’t.

Newsletter 2

2006-2007 Room 302—Newsletter 2 http://room302.blogspot.com

September 20, 2006

Dear Families,

I hope everyone is settling into the school routine okay. It’s something that has to happen at home, as well as at school, and it can be tricky. All the kids seem to be enjoying it here so far, which is to be expected. If you hear otherwise, please let me know.

Thanks so much to everyone who was able to attend our Open House/Curriculum Night. I wish we could all get together like that more often. I think there is power in being in the same room, and if we did it more often, maybe someone else could even get a word in edgewise now and then. But for now, this is the next best thing.

That first newsletter was a long one, so I intentionally included some of the same information on this one. Remember, too, that these are always posted on the blog (address above) if you need to reread one at any point.

Reading

Taking a page from Judy’s (my wife) book, we have been doing Read it; Act it; Make it! during some of our reading times. As you might guess, we read a book, act it out, and make some sort of project that ties in. Everything I do with reading is meant to make it purposeful and enjoyable for the readers, and this has been a big hit.

Writing

Wow! Our writing to this point has included daily writing books, names, and a class book. Our class book (based on Yikes!!! by Robert Florczak) used interjections like he did, and then extended them. We next talked about how to add interjections into our daily writing. This week I’ll be sharing the Interjections song from Schoolhouse Rock. You might ask your child about interjections. Hurray!

Math

Our district uses the Investigations program. These are grade specific, so most of the time we’ll be split into grade levels for math. If you want more information about Investigations, one place to look is their web site: http://investigations.terc.edu/.

Science

The science we’re using this year is called FOSS. This is our first year with it. We started using it this week, and it’s really fun. Both grades are starting with the first FOSS unit, called Balance and Motion. Later in the year, the second graders will do the three second grade units, which the first graders will do next year. For more information on FOSS, here is a web link: http://www.fossweb.com/modulesK-2/index.html.

Snacks

We’ll have time for snack each day. If everyone takes turns sending in a snack about once a month for the whole class to share, that will work great. If you and your child would rather bring an individual snack each day, that’s fine, too. I only ask that the children know if they’re bringing their own or sharing.

Volunteers

I welcome volunteers in the classroom. There are no special skills required—you’re qualified to help. Every volunteer needs to fill out the appropriate forms. If you don’t know what these are, contact me or the office. The completed forms are returned to the office, and they let me know when people are clear to work in the classroom. There was a signup sheet for volunteers at Open House. If you missed it but still want to come in and help, please let me know.

Birthdays

We’ll plan to celebrate the birthdays of all the students (unless otherwise requested). Let me know if you’d like to bring something like treats or a classroom book for the celebration.

Counselor / Library

Our class works with our new counselor from 2:35-3:05 every Tuesday. Our library time this year is 2:30-3:00 on Fridays. Since we miss so many Fridays, and since library is too important to miss, we have an alternate day for weeks when we don’t have our Friday time. Our alternate day is Wednesday, and our first one was today, September 20.

Physical Education / Musical Education

These important classes will happen for us this year on Mondays and Wednesdays. Please help the students make sure to dress appropriately for moving around on those days.

Email List

In an effort to help with communication, I’d like to put together a mailing list so that I’ve got another way to get you information like this. If you’d like to be on it, please send me an email requesting that I put you on the list. Include your name and your child’s name so I can identify you.

Classroom Visits

Any time you’d like to visit, you’re welcome to do so. Just make sure to stop in at the office to sign in and get a Visitor sticker.

Calendar

Friday, September 22—Ashley’s birthday Thursday, September 28—Katie’s birthday

Friday, September 22—early release day, 12:15 Friday, October 13—no school

Tuesday, September 26—picture day

Sincerely,

Jeff