Newsletter 11

2005-2006 Room 302—Newsletter 11 http://room302.blogspot.com Monday, December 05, 2005 Dear Families, It was great to see everyone at conferences. I enjoyed all the feedback and questions and conversations. It was nice to be able to convey information face to face for a change, instead of like this. I hope you all left with a sense of how much I appreciate and enjoy your children. We don’t have another scheduled conference time, but if you need me, please don’t hesitate to write, or call, or visit. I have a list of stuff to cover this time, so here it is: Holiday Concert… We perform for families at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 8. Everyone in the class has a part, so we hope to see everyone there. Please let me know if you don’t think you’ll make it so we can reassign the part. Plan on dropping the students off in our classroom with me around 6:45 p.m. Then our whole class will walk down together. Following the concert, all children will return with their teachers to the classrooms. You may then collect your children from their classrooms. Reading… Our big push right now is learning the Gingerbread Boy play for the concert, so much of our time is spent doing that. I hope you saw the copy I sent home and are able to help your child learn the assigned part. Some kids have speaking parts; some have sound effect parts; all need to know it without scripts by next Thursday, but sooner would be better. I’d like them to not only know their lines, but their cues as well, and one way to do this would be for someone to read the play aloud and have the student come in at the appropriate time. Please encourage them to speak clearly and loudly. The “loudly” part seems to be the most challenging for many, and it’s rather important, since it can be difficult to hear in a gym full of people. The second part of our show will be performing a set of songs. The lyrics to those were sent home as well, and that is another thing where I encourage you to help as needed. In math…. We made our new calendars on Thursday. We did weaving and talked about pattern, repetition, contrast, horizontal, and vertical. As an experiment, ask your child what those words mean, and if he or she can demonstrate those things on the weavings. Weather Fun… Last week was a strange one. I was glad to be able to send an email to those of you on my list the other day as soon as we knew school would be released early. It made me feel like we’d have a better chance of everyone getting where they need to be safely. I doubt that will happen again, but if so I will try to keep you in the loop. Video… I’ve started circulating a video “in progress” of some things I’ve filmed, including our field trip, parties, and kids reading. It’s highly motivating for those who volunteer to be filmed performing, and I hope it gives you a chance to see a bit of what goes on here. If you haven’t had it at your house yet, it will be coming some time. I’ve asked the students to bring the video back on the next school day whether they got to watch it or not. This is so the next person does not miss a turn, and so I can add new footage. When everyone has had a turn, we’ll send it around again. Wish List … One thing I don’t have is a big analog clock. The one in the room is digital, but I’d also like one with hands so we can work on telling time. And the bigger, the better. So if you have an old one you’d like to donate, please let me know. Another thing I use every day is a big desk calendar (22”x17”). We write in important dates and keep track of our days and months. Unfortunately, the one I have ends in December. So if you have access to an inexpensive or free one, we’d love it. Current Chapter Book Read Aloud… Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne Calendar… Thursday, December 8—K-2 Holiday Concert, 7:00 p.m. Friday, December 16—Holiday Party, 1:40 p.m. December 19 – January 2—No School, Winter Break Tuesday, January 3—School Resumes Friday, January 13—Early Release Monday, January 16—No School, M. L. King Day Sincerely, Jeff

Week of Monday, November 28

Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Yesterday was Noah’s birthday.  We didn’t get the donuts yesterday because we had to go home at 2:30.  We went home at 2:30 because it was snowy outside.  It was snowing a lot and the busses had get us home before it was too snowy, and icy, and slippery on the roads.  And maybe they wanted us to get enough time to play in the snow before it melted.  Or maybe our parents were worried about us.  

But we got the treats today.  Noah’s mom brought donuts from Safeway and milk from a cow.  The treats were super delicious and terrific.  Thank you to Noah and his mom.  Happy belated birthday, Noah!

I See Snow

I see snow on the tree.
I see snow on the ground.
I see snow on my nose.
I see snow onto my brother.
I wonder?
How many snowflakes are in this world?


--by Taylor

What are we thankful for, and why?

Lukas I am thankful for my sister because she gives me love. She gives me kisses and hugs before I go to school. When I come back from school she hugs me tight. Justyn I am thankful for my X-Box because I can beat my brother, Kevn, and my X-Box games, but sometimes he beats me. And I am thankful for my dogs because they give me company, because they love me. Noah I am thankful for my mom because she plays with me and she does the dishes for me. She loves me so much and I love her too. I love her because she helps me with stuff. Jamie I am thankful for my brother, even if he’s a cat. I love my cat because my cat lets me pet him. My cat lets me pet him on his neck. It makes me happy. Jordan I am thankful for my cat. She lets me hold her. I am happy to love her. Her name is Kitty. Travis I am thankful for my cat named Jessie. She keeps me company. She lays with me on my bed. I feed my cat. It makes her happy, and me, too. I love my cat. My cat is in my bed. Donna I am thankful for my mom and dad because they love me, and help me spell, and kiss me before I go to bed. And I also love them, too. I don’t get to see my mom in the morning because she goes to work at five o’clock in the morning. I wish she didn’t have to do that, but she does, anyway. But my dad is there in the morning, and he watches me until the clock says 8:25. Then I have to go to the bus stop with all my friends and play Simon Says with the parent who’s there. Then when the school bus comes we have to line up and get on the bus. I usually have to go to the back of the bus and finally we get there and I get to get off that smelly bus. Just joking. Anyway, I’m thankful for my mom and dad. I love them so much, and they love me, too, but I love them more. Jesse I am thankful for my Thanksgiving because you get to have a fiesta. I feel good. I love the food, and I have my friends over. Kaelyn I am thankful for my family because they gave me lots of presents like Brats, a Brat Cat, and Pinball Alley. I felt happy, and it was my birthday. I love them, and they love me, too. Rien I am thankful for my mom, my dad, and my brother. They are helping us move into Aubree’s neighborhood. It makes me happy. Cameron I am thankful for my mom and dad for getting me a new bike. It is cool that they spent money for me on my birthday. It is blue. It has a pink and white basket on it. It has a kickstand that is really hard to put up and down. Jordan I am thankful for my birthday because I get lots of presents and I am thankful for Christmas because I get lots of presents and I can’t wait until Christmas. Christmas is next month! Aubree I am thankful for the people who help to serve Thanksgiving. I love to eat cranberries because they are good. Savannah I am thankful for Pilgrims because they thought of Thanksgiving. I always get cranberries only on Thanksgiving. I get them that day. I get them at my grandma and grandpa’s house. The cranberries are so yummy! I am so happy to eat them! Abby I am thankful for my daddy because he is coming home on Saturday or Sunday. I am very, very, very happy. My mommy told me that. I met him at Disneyland when I was meeting Eeyore. When I saw Charlie, I said in my head, “Who is that baby?” But when my mommy said, “Abby…” I knew it was mommy and Charlie. But I did not know that my daddy was with them. But when my daddy said, “Abby…” I ran up to him. I was super, super, super happy to see him. We are going to Whistler. It is going to be fun. I will be happy. We are going to eat turkey and cranberries. They are YUMMY! Turkey is yummy, and cranberries are yummy, too. I like cranberries. The end. Mckayla I am thankful for the turkey and pie I have on Thanksgiving because one Thanksgiving the Pilgrims had their first Thanksgiving with the Indians. And I also am thankful for the cranberries I have on Thanksgiving. Kevin I am thankful for my puppy, Willy, because he keeps me company when my dad goes to work at night. Taylor Being Thankful I am thankful for the turkey and my mom, and dad, and my brother. I am thankful for my family because they are really nice to me. I like turkey because it is good. I am thankful for my cat, my other cat, my one dog, and my hamster because she keeps me company when I am sad. And that’s all I am thankful for at Thanksgiving. I am thankful for animals I love. Shelby I am thankful for my cat. When my cat bonks me in the head, she wants me to pet her. It makes me confused. I love my cat! Jasen I am thankful for my mom because she protects me. She looks out for me, too, because she loves me. She lets me have whatever I want for lunch. I like peanut butter sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. Happy Thanksgiving!

Week of Monday, November 14

Monday, November 14, 2005
Busy Day, Lots of Stuff
We didn’t get Writer’s Workshop today.  We wished we could have writing because it’s fun to learn to spell words, and to work on our journal because we have a lot of things in our heads to write about in our journals, and sometimes our stories are published.  

But we didn’t because of music and P.E.  P.E. was really special because we got to go on the climbing wall, and we never, ever get to go on the climbing wall.  We did in Kindergarten, but that’s it.  Not in first grade.  

Math was fun, too.  We built stuff out of cubes with a partner, and the partner had to copy it.   First we tried it with 10 cubes, then with 15, and then with 20.  We did Daily Equation, too.  We had to write an equation that matches the date.  Today is November 14, so our equations had to equal 14.  We had to think of a way to make 14, like 13+1=14.  

Also, we finally got treats today, since the Packers won.


Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Crossing Over
We got to go on the climbing wall again today!  It was so fantastic!  It was awesome!  We got two tries to go all the way across.  It wasn’t easy to do.    It was hard to get up, and in the middle of the climbing wall there weren’t too many handholds, and when you don’t grab the handholds and just slide your hands on the rough wall, it could give you a scrape.  Jesse’s arms felt like they were stretching out; after Jordan was done, it felt like he was still holding on to the handles on the wall, even after he let go; Abby’s hands hurt from doing it.  Some people have gone across many times, but some people are still working on it.


Thursday, November 17, 2005
Book Fair
We got to visit the book fair today.  The book fair is like a bookstore that comes to your school library.  They have cases and cases of books.  A book fair is a chance for people to buy books for families, friends, themselves, and teachers.  Mrs. Yonkers and Mrs. Sullivan got all these shelves and tables and they filled them with books.  Everyone got to choose some books that they want.  We looked for the books we liked.   We wrote the titles on our wish lists, along with the prices.  We had to find the prices that said U.S.  We will take our lists home and show them to our moms and dads and we’ll hope they will buy one for us.  Part of the money for the books goes to our school library so they can buy new books.

Week of Monday, November 7

Monday, November 07, 2005
Substitute P.E. Teacher
Today in P.E. we had a new substitute teacher.  Her name was a German name, but she taught us how to count to 10 in Spanish.  It goes like this:  uno (1), dos (2), tres (3), cuatro (4), cinco (5), seis (6), siete (7), ocho (8), nueve (9), diez (10).  She  taught us a game: The boys stand in a line facing a line of girls.  We found out there is one more girl than boy in our class:  11 boys and 12 girls.  The boys get a ball and they throw the ball to the girl across from them.  Kayla got to play with the teacher.  They toss the ball back and forth and count the number of catches.  That was one of our best physical education classes ever, but we still missed Mrs. Smith.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Veteran’s Day
Our day ended with an assembly.  It was about Veteran’s Day.  Veteran’s Day is on the eleventh day of the eleventh month at 11:00 in the morning.  That’s when they agreed to stop fighting.  We sang The Star Spangled Banner and This Land is Your Land.    Mr. Stocker taught us about the military, which is the Army, the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marines.   Then he read us a book about Veteran’s Day.  On Veteran’s Day, bells might ring, and many people are quiet for two minutes.

Newsletter 10

2005-2006                          Room 302—Newsletter 10                     http://room302.blogspot.com
     

November 4, 2005

Dear Families,

What a great party.  Thanks so much to everyone for helping out.  If you didn’t get a chance to be here, you can get a feel for some of it on the blog site.  I still have a scale and some knives here, so if you’re missing either, please let me know.  The next big thing is conferences.  I’m hoping to hear from you about what you’ve noticed, and what you’re wondering, because you know your child best.  
Here’s what’s going on…..
In reading….
I’m currently assessing the students, and I’ll share my findings at conferences.  I’d like you to do the same thing at home, in a different way.  I’m assessing for reading strategies and appropriate levels.  I’d like you to assess for reading behaviors and attitudes:  How often does he or she choose to read, and what types of things?  Does he see himself as a reader.  Does she have favorite authors, or stories that she rereads?  I can get some idea of these things here, but I want to know what happens away from school.  
In writing….
If you could see the huge variety of writing that happens every day, you would know why I dislike saying some kids are “meeting standards” and some kids are above or below.  Some, but not all, of the things we’ve discussed this last week include rereading, a date on every page, “period-space-upper case” to end a sentence and start a new one, beginning-middle-end, showing and telling details, mixing capital and lower case letters, and using spaces between words.  That is a lot to keep in mind, but we’re practicing; and we’re having fun doing it.  
In math….
We started the next workbook in the series, which is Building Number Sense.  My teacher’s guide says our emphasis will be “Counting quantities up to about 20, developing strategies for counting and comparing the number of dots in dot patterns and strategies for organizing collections of objects so that they are easy to count and combine, and using numerals to record how many.”
Conferences…
Please return the yellow slips as soon as possible, so I know the time I picked is good for you.  If not, please let me know so we can plan another time.
Current Chapter Book Read Aloud…
Winnie the Pooh  by A. A. Milne
Calendar…
Friday, November 4—Science Fair, Western Dance
Thursday, November 10—No school
Friday, November 11—No school
November 17-November 22—Early release days; conferences
Wednesday, November 23—Early release day
November 24 & 25—No school
November 29—Noah’s birthday


Sincerely,


Jeff

Week of Monday, October 31

Tuesday, November 1, 2005
Fall Party
When we came in from recess everything was set up, and we were excited.  There were  black streamers and pumpkins up on the lights.   There was a dancing pumpkin about 34 inches high.  There was a big spider web in the corner with a spider on it.  In another corner there was a hay bale and corn stalks.  

There were lots of parents here.  Some of the parents were dressed up in costumes.  We put on our costumes, too.  Then Mr. Kurtz put us in stations and we had to stay there until it was time to move to the next one.  The parents were at the stations helping the kids do the stuff.  

At the counting seeds station, we got up to 899 seeds, and there were still more.  When we took out the pumpkin seeds, our hands were all gooey.  We used chalk to decorate wind socks at table 5.  We used a scale to weigh the pumpkins at table 4.  At station 5 we had to see if the pumpkins would float, and all three of them floated, and you got to get some food.  There were some Kit Kats, Oreos, twisty Cheetos, m&m’s, pretzels, juice, chips, cupcakes, carrots and dip, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin seeds.  A parent took pictures of everyone sitting on the hay bale, one at a time, and we got to take the pictures home.  We also got to take home treat bags that people brought.

By the time it was done, we were tired, full of food (including seconds and thirds for some, with more food to take home), and some people even had stomach aches.  


Thursday, November 03, 2005
The Hole Thing
Savannah lost a tooth.  She lost it in the bathroom.  Then she came back into the room and said, “I lost a tooth!”  And then everyone was crowding around the door.   It was the second one out on the top left.  She likes the hole because she thinks it looks funny.  She hopes another tooth will not grow in that spot.  


Friday, November 04, 2005
Science Fair
The science fair was in two places.  One was up on the stage, and one was in the library.  There was a lot of cool science.  First we went to the library and then we went to the stage.  

In the library, Lukas’s was about “Why Do Barn Owls Puke?”  We learned they puke because they eat the animals and the animal have bones inside.  So the owls puke out the bones and the fur.  It all comes out in a little fur ball.  The owls don’t have hands, so they pick it up with their feet, and later they spit it out.  There are two places.  One is the place where the meat goes, and the other is the place where the bad stuff goes.  And later they puke up the stuff they can’t have in their bodies.

We saw things other kids made, too.  We saw things like a bottle rocket with an air presser to make it fly off, volcanoes, “what is sour,” a rocket, blue water, this thing that picks up litter, this little car pulling a big wheel thingy, paper airplanes, boats in the water, and a mouse trap with a magnet.  All of these things will be on display again tonight for those people who are coming to the western dance.  Yee haw!

Newsletter 9

October 29, 2005

Dear Families,

Here’s what’s going on…..
In reading….
     We continue to work on book choice.  I want them to choose carefully, but I also want them to realize that sometimes it’s not easy to tell if a book is good or not until they try it.  Something that may help you as you choose books to read at home is the list of contenders vying for the Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award.  We’ll be reading these at school, and voting on our favorite, and I think you’d enjoy them at home, too.  Many are worth rereading.  The web site is http://www.wlma.org/Association/wccpba.htm
Title
Author

Actual Size
Steve Jenkins
Forest Explorer
Nic Bishop
Agent A to Agent Z
Andy Rash
Gator Gumbo
Candace Fleming
Alice the Fairy
David Shannon
Goldie and the Three Bears
Diane Stanley
Arrowhawk
Lola M. Schaefer
I Wanna Iguana
Karen Kaufman Orloff
Baby Brains
Simon James
Karate Hour
Carol Nevius
Beatrice Doesn't Want To
Laura Numeroff
King of the Cats
Aaron Shepard
Blizzard
Betty Ren Wright
Manana Iguana
Ann Whitford Paul
Catalina Magdalena
Tedd Arnold
Mighty Jackie
Marissa Moss
Crazy Hair Day
Barney Saltzberg
Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth
Alison McGhee
Elves and the Shoemaker
Jim LaMarche
Superdog
Caralyn Buehner

In writing….
One consequence of writing every day is that students start paying more attention to spelling, because all of a sudden it’s important.  We’re working on teaching them strategies: like looking around the room for the word, thinking of a word they know that sounds the same, and stretching out the sounds and trying to match the sounds with letters that could make those sounds.  When you’re helping them write at home, I encourage you to just tell them the correct spelling.  This will help them maintain their focus on the most important thing:  meaning.  This will help them develop a personal “bank” of correctly spelled words they can use when they’re trying to spell a new word.  If you find yourself spelling certain things over and over, like grandma or thank you, I’d suggest writing those down somewhere so the writer has them when needed.
In math….
Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota.  Or is it South Dakota?  But really, who cares?  For most of us, this is just trivia.  It has no personal relevance, so we don’t pay much attention.  The fact is, all knowledge is trivia, unless there is some personal relevance.  There are just too many things to know and learn, and it is actually one important job of the brain to filter out that which is irrelevant.  We want our kids to learn math facts, so we ask: How do we turn them from trivial to important and personally relevant?  I think one great way is with games, which is why we’ve been practicing Cross Out, and which is why it came home this week.  Many students seem to enjoy this game, and my hope is that they’ll teach it to you, and it can be something you play now and then.  If so, great.  If not, there are other ways in—you probably have games right now that incorporate math at some level.  Your child will choose those that have personal relevance and importance.  Play when you get the chance—whether it’s at home, at a restaurant, or driving on a family trip through Bismarck, North Dakota.
Fall Party…
This will begin around 1:45 on October 31.  Students (and anyone else—feel free to bring those siblings) may bring costumes.  We’ll have them change after lunch recess, before the party.  Some may need reminders to wear proper shoes for P.E. that day, too.  Savannah’s mom has graciously volunteered to coordinate this, so I am forwarding offers of help to her.  If you can contribute, please call her.  
Current Chapter Book Read Aloud…
Winnie the Pooh  by A. A. Milne
Wish List…
Wallpaper—We’d like to have wallpaper samples to use for an art project, so if you have access to one of those books we can use, please let me know.
Dice—someone told me that casinos give their dice away free after they’ve used them, so if you or someone you know is in Las Vegas (or another place where they do that) we would really appreciate any they could get for us.  We find many uses for them.
Conferences…
You’ll see on the calendar that these are coming up in November.  I plan to share what I’ve learned about your child, and I’d love to hear anything you’ve noticed, or questions you have.  I’d also love to have the students here during the conferences, so they may take part.  I find it much more powerful to talk with them and to them, rather than about them.  They deserve to celebrate with us, and they deserve to hear what the next steps might be.  I don’t plan on saying anything they can’t hear, so please plan to bring them.  The sign-up sheets for conference times came home in the Thursday folders.
Calendar…

Friday, October 28—Early Release Day
Monday, October 31—Fall party (afternoon)
Friday, November 4—Science Fair, Western Dance
Thursday, November 10—No school
Friday, November 11—No school
November 17-November 22—Early release days; conferences
Wednesday, November 23—Early release day
November 24 & 25—No school
November 29—Noah’s birthday




Sincerely,


Jeff

Conference Request Form

October, 2005

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we near the end of the first report card period, plans are being made for parent-teacher
conferences.  In order to accommodate conferences, children will have early dismissal on each
of the following days:  

     Thursday, November 17          Friday, November 18
     Monday, November 21          Tuesday, November 22

On each of these days, students in will be dismissed at 12:15.  Parent-teacher conferences will be scheduled on these afternoons.  Before establishing our conference schedules, it would be extremely helpful to have an indication of your availability during these dates/times.  Every effort will be
made to schedule your conference at a time you indicate as being available.  Please note that we
will be able to offer a limited number of conferences on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 17.   Please indicate your availability by circling "yes" or "no" for each date below and return this to school
by Tuesday, November 1.   As soon as conferences are scheduled, you will receive notification of
your conference date and time.  

•     Thursday, November 17               YES               NO
•     Friday, November 18               YES               NO
•     Monday, November 21               YES               NO
•     Tuesday, November 22               YES               NO     

Student Name:______________________________     Teacher  :______________________________

Sibling(s) : ______________________________________________________________________________

Other information that would help us in scheduling your conference(s):
                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                           


*** Our Annual Bookfair will also happen during conference week…more information to follow…***