Photos and Reminders

Thank you to those parents who braved the cold and helped us on our trip to Moose Point!  We couldn't have done it without you.  

Although we managed to dodge the raindrops, it was still quite cold on Monday.  Many children braved the frigid ocean water and had fun exploring the tide pools.  Unfortunately, because it was so cold down on the rocks, many didn't stay there for long.

How fortunate we are to live in Maine and have such a playground in our backyard!  Even though the tide pool exploration was short lived, many found fun in exploring the park's hiking trails, playing on the playground, and engaging in various field activities (including a new one called "Pop the Boomerang Out of the Very High Tree Branch" -- thank you, Mr. Hart!).

If anyone stood still and could hear over their chattering teeth, you would see and hear lots of very happy children!

There's a crab in that bucket!

Dates to Remember:

Thursday, June 11 - Pajama and Game Day for our class (a notice will be sent home on Tuesday)

Friday, June 12 - Field Day grades K-4

Monday, June 15 - Last Day of School; Noon Dismissal

Moose Point

Unless I hear anything different, the trip to Moose Point is still on for today: Monday, June 8.  I will see all students and chaperones in our classroom at 8:20.

Dress warm!

New Field Trip Date!

Our field Trip to Moose Point has been rescheduled.  It will be

 Monday, June 8.  

Let's hope for a sunny day!!!

Field Trip Cancelled

The Field Trip to Moose Point has been cancelled due to rain.  More information will follow soon.

Field Trip

Don't forget our Field Trip to Moose Point State Park is on Monday, June 1.  

Please refer to one of the two notices that have come home for a list of things you will need.  

(And don't forget your lunch!)

Chaperones, please come to our classroom Monday morning to receive a "Chaperone Pass".

UPDATE!

As soon as I posted our Calendar reminders, I discovered that there is already a change in dates!

PLEASE NOTE:

The K-4 Concert will be Thursday, June 4 at 1:00. (Not June 5, as originally stated.)

Thank You!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!  To all students and their families who sent in cards, gifts, and flowers of appreciation.  It is a pure joy to work with such an amazing group of students and families!

Also a BIG thank you to the PTG and all of the dedicated volunteers who have worked endless hours putting together a very memorable Teacher Appreciation Week at school!  Teachers were treated every day with everything from snacks, breakfast, and lunch to decorations and bulletin board messages.  Again, the support of our community is what makes teaching such a gift. 

Mark Your Calendars!

Our calendars are getting full as we start to wrap up the school year.  Below are some dates that you will want to keep in mind.  I will keep you updated on any new events or changes as they come.

Wednesday, May 13: Book Orders are due.  This is the final book order that I will be sending home for the school year.

Friday, May 22: No School. Inservice Day

Monday, May 25:  No School. Memorial Day

Monday, June 1: 1st and 2nd Grade Field Trip to Moose Point.  More information and a volunteer slip will be coming home on Monday, May 11.  (Rain date, Tuesday, June 2)

Friday, June 5: K-4 Concert at 1:00 for all families and friends.

Friday, June 12: K-4 Field Day.  Information and a volunteer slip has come home today (May 8).

Monday, June 15: Last Day of School

March Update

It was great seeing you all at conferences this month!  The following is an update of what we have been working on in the classroom, and a sneak peek of what's to come:

In math we finished up a unit on number patterns and ratios and have moved into re-visiting the number system as we explore more with place value up to the thousands place.  We have also been learning more efficient strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems with 2- and 3-digit numbers.  We continue to work with coin values and equivalencies, and continue to work on telling time to the fifteen minutes.  Throughout the year, students work on sets of addition or subtraction facts that they need to be fluent in.  A paper went home recently, stating any facts that your child might need to work on.  As we wrap up our current math unit soon, we will begin to work on recognizing and understanding fractions 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, as well as explore equivalent fractions.

In Reading, we just finished up a theme called "Amazing Animals" and have started a new theme which explores a variety of family relationships through both fiction and nonfiction.  We are always reading and talking about our reading, creating quite the literacy-rich community!  One area of reading that we are all working on is comprehension.  This goes beyond being able to summarize a story, as students are challenged to really dig deep with the reading by making predictions, inferences, and develop ideas and understanding about why characters act the way they do. Another way to help with comprehension is when the reader makes connections between what she is currently reading and something that she has read or experienced before.  Bringing background knowledge to a text helps bring about deeper comprehension.

In Writing Workshop we recently finished up a unit on Opinion Writing.  Students used books they have read to help focus their opinions.  Students were challenged to not only form an opinion, but to also state reasons for their opinion and pull evidence from the text that supports their opinion.  We have now moved on to a Poetry unit, where we will be exposed to lots of different types of poetry, share favorites with each other, and try to write our own poetry.

Valentine Celebration

Our classroom Valentine celebration was a huge success!  We had a card exchange, special (and healthy!) snacks, played some Valentine games, and even wrote letters of kindness.  

Thank you to all families who supported their children in creating Valentines for the class, thank you to those who were able to donate items for our snack, and thank you for all of the Valentines and treats that I received!

Also, a big thank you to Mrs. Ramos and Mrs. Lester, who were brave enough to stay in the classroom and help out with the celebration!

I hope you all have a fun vacation time and manage to stay warm!

Some of delicious snacks.

A "Minute to Win It" game with candy hearts.

100th Day of School

On Wednesday, February 11 we celebrated the 100th Day of School.  Students in our class created "100 Day" books, highlighting things like what they would eat 100 of, what they would buy with $100, and what they wish they had 100 of.  They also discovered that they could write 100 words (and more!).  

Math activities included filling in a 100 Chart, playing a game called "Collect $1.00", and making a display that shows 100 Ways to Make 100.

* Don't Forget *

On Friday, February 13 we will have a classroom Valentine celebration, including healthy snacks (thanks for the donations!) and an optional Valentine exchange.

As a reward for meeting our class goal on our behavior clip chart, students are also allowed to bring in a small stuffed animal for the day to join in the celebrating :)

February Homework

The snow days have really thrown me off!  I am not sending any homework home this week (February 3 - 6).  I also will not be able to send home the February Reading Calendar and Reading Log until later this week or next week.  Please just continue to read for at least 20 minutes each day (don't worry about keeping track of the titles you read without a Reading Log). 

Also, if you have math facts to work on (from the letter sent home last week), please continue to work on those.

Report Cards

Due to the two snow days this week, report cards will not be going home until Monday, February 2.  This gives teachers time to input grades in our Web2School system, and gives office staff time to print drafts for proofing, as well as any time needed for fixing up mistakes before final copies are printed.

Thank you for your patience.  As always, I will be happy to talk to you about any particular questions or concerns you may have.

January News

The first week of January flew by so quick!  This month brings us new units to explore in math and writing.  While we will continue to work with money, adding and subtracting, and telling time, we will also explore a unit in math on data analysis.  Students will learn how to read and interpret data, as well as how to collect data and make representations of their results.

In writing workshop we have just completed our unit on Information Texts, and will begin to learn how to write opinion pieces.  So far this year, second graders have really risen to the challenge of our new writing program.  I am excited to see where the Opinion Writing unit will take us!

Reading Response

The purpose of our Reading Responses is not only to get students thinking about their reading, but also to encourage students to talk about good books as they present their Responses to their peers.  I am incredibly pleased at the level of conversation that takes place around the books that students in our class are reading!  The passion for a good story ends up spreading to others and students find themselves reading and enjoying books that they might not have noticed otherwise.  Thank you, families, for supporting your child's reading - and responding to reading - at home!  It is quite evident how literacy rich this classroom is.

Mark Your Calendars

Monday, January 19 -- No School

Celebrations

Our K-4 Winter Concert is Monday, December 22 at 1:00 pm. Please join us as our students celebrate winter with song.

On Tuesday, December 23, we will have a classroom party. You do not need to bring anything in – I will provide a small snack.

I hope you all have a happy and safe Christmas!

Dates to Remember

Newsletters and other notices have come home, but December is a busy month so I want to remind families of some important dates:

Tuesday, December 16 - 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
                                        book celebration day
                                        (students may wear pajamas)

Monday, December 22 - Winter Concert for grades K-4 at 1:00

Tuesday, December 23 - Noon dismissal

Car Ramps and Catapults

Writing Workshop is looking a lot like science class these days! Working with the concepts of simple machines and forces and motion, we are learning to write like scientists.  Instead of stories, we are writing "Lab Reports".  We are using scientific ideas such as question, hypothesis, procedure, results, and conclusion to write in a way that will inform our readers.  

In order to write like a scientist, we need to be scientists!  So far we have performed experiments that involve the distance a toy car will travel off a ramp on tile floor and on carpet; and the distances a ping-pong ball and cotton ball will travel when shot out of a catapult.

It is a shared opinion in our class that science and writing are fun!

Book Fair

The school library will be transformed into a Scholastic Book Fair from November 17 - 26.  A flyer has come home today that gives a little peek into the book fair.  The flyer is not the same thing as a monthly book order form (it is larger and says "Book Fair" on the front page).  Students will have an opportunity next week to browse the Book Fair and it will be open for families during Parent/Teacher conferences.

November News

I cannot believe that it is November already!  I am blown away by how much we have learned together so far!

In Writing Workshop, our Narrative unit has come to and end and we are about to learn all about writing Informational Texts.  I am really looking forward to this unit.  I have seen so much growth in our young writers as they apply narrative writing strategies in their own writing; using mentor texts as inspiration.  I am sure that we will see several experts writing about what they know the most about - including using features such as a Table of Contents, bold print, and captions under pictures.

In math we have just ended a unit in geometry and are now re-visiting the number system.  We will learn more efficient strategies for adding and subtracting two digit numbers, become familiar with mental math strategies when adding several addends together, explore even and odd numbers, and work with skip counting (an early introduction to "multiples").

*Report Card Notice*

Please note that Report Cards will not be available until November 12.  Although you will still receive a paper copy, we want to make sure that our on-line reporting system is up and running for you to use.

*Mark Your Calendars*

There will be no school Tuesday, November 11.
There will be noon dismissal on Tuesday, November 25.
Parent/Teacher Conferences are on Tuesday, November 25 and Wednesday, November 26. Please refer to your November School Newsletter for details on signing up!

Here are a few photos from October:

A visit from Orrington Fire & Rescue

Sharing our Book Responses

Working with 2-dimensional rectangles

 to create 3-dimensional rectangular prisms (boxes)

Headphones

Students will be using headphones in the computer lab throughout the year.  If your child had headphones last year, most likely Mrs. Stone kept them over the summer.  If you are new to the school, you might not have sent any in yet. 

Please have a conversation with your child to see if they have headphones at school.  If your child does not have headphones at school, and if you are able to supply a pair, please send them in as soon as you can.  We do have extra headphones in the computer lab, if needed.