Newsletter and Valentine List

Newsletter 7                       2012-2013                                 2/11/2013

 

Dear Families,

 

Valentines

We’ll exchange valentines on February 14. We’ll take some time to write them at school, and I’m hoping that they can find some time to work on them at home, too. I sent a class list home with the kids. I’ll post one below this newsletter, too. I’ve got two learning targets in mind for this: planning and budgeting time to make sure they have one for each class member by the 14^th, and thinking about purpose and audience to make each valentine special.

Writing

We finished writing personal narratives, and we’re working on narrative fiction. This is not easy, but they’re writing some nice stories. So far we’ve drafted one story, and we’ll be starting on the next one soon. It’s best when write about familiar things, so I’m suggesting they keep watch for anything in life that they could use in a story.

Reading

We’ve been learning about inference—using background knowledge combined with clues on the page—to figure out unknown words, and to follow the story. Please continue to read to your children every day. You can use your background knowledge and experience to help them infer and understand things that might be too hard otherwise.

As an additional reading resource that may work for some students, our school PTA purchased a school subscription to Raz-Kids, where children can read and listen to books online. To access your child's account, log in at www.raz-kids.com/login/jkurtzk using the information on the log-in card I’ll send home. The Bookroom tab allows access to the entire library. Please help find them find things they want to read and can read especially as they get started, including the poetry, songs, and nursery rhymes.

Math

Our current unit is multiplication and division. It includes learning about area and arrays. There are LOTS of facts to memorize, and I hope you’ve seen the many practice pages come home, along with the regular daily math homework sheet (except Fridays). It would be great if students had their x/÷ facts memorized by the end of third grade. To accomplish this, I suggest a little practice each night, rather than trying to cram a lot all at once. Also remember to keep practicing +/- facts, if needed.

Calendar

Thurs, Feb 14—Valentine Exchange     

Feb. 18-22—No school

Chapter Book

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

Reminder

I post all of these newsletters on our classroom blog: http://room302.blogspot.com/. It also has other things of interest, including a calendar, links, and the newest feature: a translate button that allows you to read in your language of choice (except sign language).

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Jeff

 

 

 

http://twitter.com/room302

http://room302.blogspot.com/ http://swift.enumclaw.wednet.edu/bde/jkurtz/index.php

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name	Likes:	Words done	Decorations done
1.        Angel	hockey, gold, parrots	1.	1.
2.        Carson	purple, soccer, gold, swimming	2.	2.
3.        Emma	pink, dragons, hearts, flowers	3.	3.
4.        Joseph	black, X-box, football	4.	4.
5.        Lauren	black, white, blue, polar bears	5.	5.
6.        Diana	pink, dogs, horses, gold, cats	6.	6.
7.        Mariah	blue, basketball, salad, dogs	7.	7.
8.        Megan	pink, puppies, books	8.	8.
9.        Kaylee	orange, green, horses, goats	9.	9.
10.     Nathaniel	soccer, helping people, X-box, blue	10.	10.
11.     Alexander	Xbox, blue, hound dogs	11.	11.
12.     Benjamin	orange, skiing, books	12.	12.
13.     Carter	silver, Xbox, dogs, hockey	13.	13.
14.     Nicholas	green, video games, turtles	14.	14.
15.     Yelena	kittens, dogs, rabbits, black	15.	15.
16.     Mathew	red, hockey, Xbox, dogs	16.	16.
17.     Rogelio	red, blue, motorcycles	17.	17.
18.     Kimberly	hot pink, Monster High, dogs, box hockey	18.	18.
19.     Katelynn	blue, dogs, church, jewelry	19.	19.
20.     Ana	blue, black, soccer, horses, Monster High	20.	20.
21.     Shania	pink, puppies, red roses	21.	21.
22.     Leanna	gold, silver, whales, swimming, tennis	22.	22.
23.     Alex	black, Xbox, fishing, parkour	23.	23.
24.     Easton	motorcycles, red, baseball, swimming	24.	24.
25.     Trevor	computer, legos, making videos, bubbles, green	25.	25.
Word List: Valentine, dear, sincerely, favorite, because, from, awesome, friendship, cool, great, good, color, responsible, compassion, kind, respectful, perfect, people, thoughtful, helpful, nice, thankful, generous

 

 

Doodle 4 Google

Doodle 4 Google

Fwd: Lecture Series kicks off Jan 24: Secrets to resilient kids + teens

These tend to be pretty good, based on the ones I've been to.

Jeff

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ParentMap Events <jo@parentmap.com>
Date: Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 11:42 AM
Subject: Lecture Series kicks off Jan 24: Secrets to resilient kids + teens
To: jjkmailis@gmail.com

Jon & Myla Kabat-Zinn kick off ParentMap's top-notch speaker line-up on January 24th with Mindful Parenting: Nurturing our Children, Growing Ourselves.  The theme running through all our lectures this year is how to reduce stress in family life and raise healthy, happy, resilient kids. Advance Tickets: $20  details here   Pre-Season Special: All six lectures only $99! College/CE credits now available for attendance

JANUARY 24 Town Hall Seattle Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn Mindful Parenting: Nurturing Our Children, Growing Ourselves In the rush-rush-rush of daily life, the all-important, nurturing aspects of parenthood can often get lost. Discover how to slow down and be more present with your kids. Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, the scientist who brought mindfulness to mainstream society, presents powerful techniques to help you stay aware of your child's needs, be patient and build stronger family bonds. For all ages! More details

FEBRUARY 12 Kirkland Performance Center Laura Kastner, Ph.D. The Tween + Teen Years: Strategies for Wise-Minded Parents Raising a happy, healthy, and successful teenager is a serious undertaking. Leading psychologist and author of bestseller Getting To Calm, Dr. Laura Kastner, prepares parents well, offering advice on changes to expect and ways to stay connected through the unpredictable years ahead. Recommended for parents of kids aged 10+. More details

MARCH 1 Seattle Children's Theatre  Dan Siegel, M.D. The Whole-Brain Child: Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind World renown neuropsychiatrist, Dr Siegel sweeps aside old models of 'good' and 'bad' parenting to offer a new scientific focus to the cultivation of healthy emotional + intellectual development, leading to calmer, happier, more resilient kids. More details   Half-day seminar  - not part of $99 lecture series package

MARCH 14 Town Hall Seattle Denise Pope, Ph.D. The Resilient Student: Finding Balance in Today's Culture of Competition Homework, sports, GPAs, college, SATs ... the stress of today's high-pressure, fast-paced culture can interfere with healthy development of children and teens. Race To Nowhere expert, Dr. Denise Pope, explores what it takes to be a well-balanced student and offers strategies to reduce academic stress without sacrificing achievement or college goals. More details

APRIL 10 Mercer Island High School Susan Cain Quiet Kids: Raising an Introvert in a World That Won't Stop Talking Quiet kids have a tough time in our schools, playgrounds, even at home. Susan Cain, author of NYT bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking helps parents and educators understand the science and emotional needs of introverts, how to help them cope with the pressure to perform and bring out their special qualities. More details

APRIL 30 Kirkland Performance Center Adele Diamond, Ph.D. Bright Young Minds: Early Learning, Play and Executive Function To be successful takes creativity, flexibility, self-control,and discipline — central to these are the brain's executive functions. Dr. Diamond, one of the world's leading researchers on development of executive function, will share key influencers that help young children become great learners. For parents, psychologists and early learning specialists. More details

MAY 7 Town Hall Seattle John Gottman, Ph.D. Making Love Last and Marriage Work The greatest gift parents can give their children is a happy, stable home environment. Celebrated psychologist Dr. John Gottman returns by popular demand to offer couples a valuable marriage tune-up. Dr. Gottman shares fascinating insights from 40 years of relationships research on how to make love last. "Gottman comes to this endeavor with the best of qualifications: he's got the spirit of a scientist and the soul of a romantic." -- Newsweek  More details

Tickets on sale now: parentmap.com/lectures   ($20 advance/$25 door) Special offer: All six lectures for only $99 | Discount for groups of 6+ College/CE credits available for attendance (North Seattle Community College) Please contact us with your questions: events@parentmap.com   Share this message with your friends         This email was sent to jjkmailis@gmail.com by ParentMap PMB #399 | 4742 42nd Ave. SW | Seattle | WA | 98116 Forward to a friend   | Manage Preferences   | Unsubscribe

 

FW: Newsletter 6

Newsletter 6                       2012-2013                                 12/13/2012

 

Dear Families,

 

Just some quick reminders:

Christmas Concert

Our Winter Holiday Concert for 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th will be Thursday, December 13 (tonight) at 6:30pm. The PTA is accepting donations for the bake sale they have at this time every year, too.

Please drop off the students in our classroom at 6:20; and the whole class will walk down together. Many people often get here earlier than that for seats and parking (and just walk the students up to the classroom at 6:20), since the place will be packed.

After the show, teachers take students back to the classroom, and families pick them up there.

Because 2 of my own kids have events tonight as well, I’m not able to be here. Mrs. Smith has volunteered to be here in my place, and I’m grateful.

Celebration

We were hoping to have a class breakfast before the break, but so far only 2 people have responded. I know things are hectic this time of year, so we can cancel if this doesn’t work. If it does work, please let us know so we can plan for it.

We’ll have our year-end celebration on Wednesday, December 19^th, which will be a holiday breakfast together in the classroom. We’ll start around 9:15.

For the breakfast, we’ll need families to contribute supplies, and volunteers to help here at school. We’d like to have toast decorated with food coloring, sausages, fruit for kabobs (bananas, apples, grapes, oranges), and something to drink.

Renee Hopkins has (again) volunteered to coordinate supplies. If you can help out by volunteering or bringing in any supplies please contact Renee Hopkins.

We’ll need plates, napkins, plastic silverware, toasters, white bread, food coloring, cut fruit, sausages (either cooked at home and reheated here, or cooked here in electric skillets), something to spread on the bread like butter or jam, and juice boxes or pouches. No peanuts, please.

Calendar

Thurs, Dec. 13—3-5 Concert, 6:30

Dec. 20-Jan. 1—Winter Break

Dec. 26—Kaylee’s birthday

Wed, Jan. 2—Break over; back to school

Reminder / Recuerda

I post all of these newsletters on our classroom blog: http://room302.blogspot.com/. It also has other things of interest, including a calendar, links, and the newest feature: a translate button that allows you to read in your language of choice (except sign language).

 

Puedo publicar todos estos boletines en nuestro blog de aula: http://room302.blogspot.com. También tiene otras cosas de interés, incluyendo un calendario, enlaces, y la nueva característica: un botón de traducir (translate) que le permite leer en el idioma de su elección (excepto la lengua de signos).

Chapter Book

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Jeff Kurtz

http://twitter.com/room302		http://room302.blogspot.com/ http://swift.enumclaw.wednet.edu/bde/jkurtz/index.php

 

 

Fwd: 2013 Lecture Series: Secrets To Raising Resilient Kids + Teens

This message was forwarded to you by Jeff (jjkmailis@gmail.com).

--------------------------------------
These are always good.
--------------------------------------

To mark our 10th birthday, ParentMap has gathered a top-notch speaker line-up for 2013, starting on January 24th with mindfulness leaders, Jon and Myla Kabat-Zinn. The theme running through all six lectures is how to keep stress out of family life and raise healthy, happy, resilient kids. Advance Tickets: $20  details here Holiday Special: All six lectures only $99!

JANUARY 24 Town Hall Seattle Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn Mindful Parenting: Nurturing Our Children, Growing Ourselves In the rush-rush-rush of daily life, the all-important, nurturing aspects of parenthood can often get lost. Discover how to slow down and be more present with your kids. Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, the scientist who brought mindfulness to mainstream society, presents powerful techniques to help you stay aware of your child's needs, be patient and build stronger family bonds. For all ages! More details

FEBRUARY 12 Kirkland Performance Center Laura Kastner, Ph.D. The Tween + Teen Years: Strategies for Wise-Minded Parents Raising a happy, healthy, and successful teenager is a serious undertaking. Leading psychologist and author of bestseller Getting To Calm, Dr. Laura Kastner, prepares parents well, offering advice on changes to expect and ways to stay connected through the unpredictable years ahead. Recommended for parents of kids aged 10+. More details

MARCH 14 Town Hall Seattle Denise Pope, Ph.D. The Resilient Student: Finding Balance in Today's Culture of Competition Homework, sports, GPAs, college, SATs ... the stress of today’s high-pressure, fast-paced culture can interfere with healthy development of children and teens. Race To Nowhere expert, Dr. Denise Pope, explores what it takes to be a well-balanced student and offers strategies to reduce academic stress without sacrificing achievement or college goals. More details

APRIL 10 Mercer Island High School Susan Cain Quiet Kids: Raising an Introvert in a World That Won't Stop Talking Quiet kids have a tough time in our schools, playgrounds, even at home. Susan Cain, author of NYT bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking helps parents and educators understand the science and emotional needs of introverts, how to help them cope with the pressure to perform and bring out their special qualities. More details

APRIL 30 Kirkland Performance Center Adele Diamond, Ph.D. Bright Young Minds: Early Learning, Play and Executive Function To be successful takes creativity, flexibility, self-control,and discipline — central to these are the brain’s executive functions. Dr. Diamond, one of the world’s leading researchers on development of executive function, will share key influencers that help young children become great learners. For parents, psychologists and early learning specialists. More details

MAY 7 Town Hall Seattle John Gottman, Ph.D. Making Love Last and Marriage Work The greatest gift parents can give their children is a happy, stable home environment. Celebrated psychologist Dr. John Gottman returns by popular demand to offer couples a valuable marriage tune-up. Dr. Gottman shares fascinating insights from 40 years of relationships research on how to make love last. "Gottman comes to this endeavor with the best of qualifications: he's got the spirit of a scientist and the soul of a romantic." -- Newsweek  More details

Tickets on sale now: parentmap.com/lectures ($20 advance/$25 door) Special offer: All six lectures for only $99 (offer ends Dec 31)  Group ticket discounts: Contact us for groups of 6+   Please contact us with your questions: events@parentmap.com   Share this message with your friends This email was sent to by ParentMap PMB #399 | 4742 42nd Ave. SW | Seattle | WA | 98116 Forward to a friend | Manage Preferences | Unsubscribe