28 February-7 March 2010
WELCOME HOME, Cody's Dad!!!
Our SUN dance is beginning to work and the students are looking forward to finally getting to actually use their extra recess minutes earned throughout the long winter. Little do they know, they'll be taking their work with them outside for some of the time. We REALLY need to soak up some Vitamin D, but we also have more to learn. Please continue to send them with, at least, a light jacket for the cooler days.
Tuesday of this week is Read Across America Day. This is a day that we observe Dr. Suess' birthday (better known as Theodore Giesell). Thank you for sharing your I Can Read and Dr. Suess books for the week. Ms. Hoff's 2nd graders will join us in the morning as we begin counting 'minutes read' for the month. Your child's reading bag will contain a new reading log to reflect time read daily, so count up the minutes of reading bag books, and RAZ-kids books/quizzes read. This comes at a great time, in that, we all want our readers' success throughout the school to increase before the end of the 3rd quarter. Please have fun with your child during this time. You are allowed to count the minutes that Dad, Mom and siblings READ TO your child as well. PLEASE fill out the form daily, and we'll count up the minutes for all students in the morning. The students will also use timers to track their minutes in school. How exciting.
Our next walking study trip will be on Tuesday, 16 March, to the Aviano Open Air Market, and lunch at Casa Bianco Restaurant. Please sign the permission slip in your child's blue homework folder and return with the Euro with a name on the zip-loc bag. Your help with the chaperoning is very appreciated. Students will be allowed to purchase something at the market, if they have Euro with them on that day, also. I will not be keeping the money for them on that day, so try placing it in their backpack in a secure location that they can access during the morning. We'll depart the school NLT 10:00 a.m., head to the market and depart for lunch at the restaurant by noon, and return to school NLT 1:15 p.m.
We're working on writing, with an emphasis on mechanics, super sentences, and amazing words, to increase interest and overall writing standards. We finished a rough draft of 'Things I Do at School' and most students were able to generate over 10 sentences without delay, or further prompts after we filled in a graphic organizer with every one's ideas. We'll work on editing, and publishing to our final draft this coming week. I find that I'm always amazed at what they can do, even in the first draft. Your support with the Reader's Response Journal has made a difference, so thank you for all the help. If you haven't begun this 2-3 times a week, please do so.
FINAL THOUGHTS: At this time of year, I am encouraging independence in work habits, reading, writing, and overall choices students make throughout the day. I am also encouraging good choices as they maneuver their way through thinking before acting. At the end of the year, come mid-June, I will base my success on this measure: What can students DO ON THEIR OWN? You, as parents, are partners in this. Please assist in Reading, Writing, and Math through using the links from now until the end of the year. I want to increase their success and independence. They're doing such a great job!
Have a great week.
Mrs. Petty
