Room 12’s Weekly Update

I am so sorry I have not been updating the class blog on a regular basis.  These last two weeks have been exceptionally hectic, especially last week.  So here is a recap of what has been going on during the month of February:

We have learned about three very important presidents this year.  Over the last two weeks we have learned about our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, and we are currently learning about our 1st president, George Washington.  This coincided nicely with our social studies unit on Our Country.  We learned about symbols of the United States including Mt. Rushmore, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, the bald eagle, the White House and the American Flag.  We then learned about Our State.  We wrapped up this lesson by coloring in a map of CA and making delicious quesadillas shaped like our state.  While we are still struggling to differentiate between our state and our city, I am very impressed with the conversations I have been hearing about our state and country.

In science, Ms. Schwab taught our class about paper.  Did you know that paper and rope come from trees?  And that by recycling we can save thousands of trees? 

Last week we celebrated two very special days:  The 100th Day and Valentine’s Day.  Thank you to all the parents who volunteered on these two fun-filled days.  On Thursday we joined the other 5 Kinder classes in the auditorium to celebrate the 100th Day of School with a variety of math centers.  We then continued the celebration in the classroom with 100th Day themed centers.  On Friday, we celebrated Valentine’s Day with our 3rd Grade Buddies and then with fun activities in our classroom.

In Writing we are working on 4 areas:

1. Spacing

2. Handwriting

3. Spelling “No-Excuse Words” correctly

4. Taking on unfamiliar words

I am very impressed with the work my students are producing, they are truly great writers as evidenced by the “Small Moments” stories they wrote yesterday.

Finally, a note from Mr. T. on attendance:

Hello Parents,

This is Mr. T. with a brief message for Bay Park parents. As we approach spring break, I want to remind you of the importance in making sure your child comes to school every day and is on time. Students must be in their classroom line at the beginning of our morning opening. I also want to ask that you avoid planning vacations during school days. Current studies have shown that good attendance leads to good academic performance and increased test scores. If you have any questions about your child’s attendance you can contact Nancy Cleaver in our office between 7:30am to 1:30pm.

This week we did a lot of learning!  On Tuesday we attended an assembly.  We got to learn about the equipment divers use and we saw beautiful pictures of sea life.  We learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the impact he had on our society.  We finished up our chapter in math and practiced graphing.  We also learned a new word, ‘me’.  Today we learned the macarana with our 3rd Grade Buddies and got a 4 out of 5 from Miss Woodling.  Next week we will begin new Science/Social Studies rotations and we will spend some time learning about our new president.

Please return the “Friday Folders” your child brought home today.  These folders will go home each Friday filled with all of the work your child has done during the week but it is their responsibility to return it on the following Monday.  If your child did not receive a Friday Folder today I will have one for them next week (a few got destroyed in the car accident back in October).

Remember, there is no school on Monday.  Enjoy the long weekend!

I hope you all had a wonderful and restful winter vacation.  I definitely caught up on my sleep and spent quality time with my family.  Now that we are back I have to say I am very impressed with all of my students.  We had a great week both academically and behaviorally.  We started Social Studies/Science rotations again and are learning about where we live and about wood and paper.  Next week we will learn about our state and fabric.  In math we started learning about the numbers 6-10 by making groups with connecting cubes and then creating different shapes with those cubes.  In Language Arts we are learning about text features and the differences between stories (fiction) and informational text (non-fiction).  We are also doing a lot of writing and word making.  During centers groups practice writing sentences with the word of the week (this week’s word was ‘go’), play a game called “Show Me” that involves making simple 3-letter words (like ‘cat’ or ‘pen’) with the short a and e sounds. 

We heard a story and sang a song with our 3rd Grade Buddies.  The song is called “I Wanna Be A Dog”.

Miss Woodling gave our class a 4+ out of 5 today.  She said the class did a great job helping one another and following directions.

Next week we will have an assembly based on the book Island of the Blue Dolphin.

Don’t forget:  Monday January 19th is a holiday, we will be observing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday so there is no school.

Have a great weekend.  Go Chargers!

We had a lot of fun at the Natural History Museum!  Thank you Ms. Shannon, Mr. Pedro, and Ms. Agnes for chaperoning.  You can view a short photo album by clicking the link below:

http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4e54637a4e446b354e673d3d0d0a

Wow!  Time really does fly.  I cannot believe today is December 1st.  I hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving.  I got great news last Monday, my finger is healing nicely-no surgery needed and I got my cast off! 

We started this week with an extra Art lesson with Mrs. Isbell.  Then we learned about water in preparation for our trip to the Natural History Museum.  Tomorrow we will learn about fossils.  Please read the following note that will be going home tomorrow:

December 2, 2008

Dear parents/guardians,

Tomorrow, December 3^rd, is our exciting field trip to the Natural History Museum!  Here are a few things to remember when getting ready for our exciting day:

·         Dress your child in comfortable clothes: we will be doing a lot of walking! 

o   Please consider the weather!  While we will spend most of our time inside the museum we will be eating and playing on the grass by the Botanical Garden (weather permitting)

·         Pack a snack and lunch!  Please pack both a snack and a lunch (with drink) in one sack/lunch box

·         There is no shopping on this trip

·         Remind your child what our expectations for them are:

o   Use a quiet voice indoors

o   Walk, never run

o   Stay with your assigned chaperone

o   Don’t touch (unless you’ve been given permission)

o   Never go to the restroom alone

I am looking forward to this very fun day.  It will be a long one so make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep and has a healthy breakfast in the morning!

Miss Allen

Parent/Teacher Conferences:

I had such a nice time meeting with all of you for parent/teacher conferences.  Your dedication to your child’s education makes a huge difference.

Candy Orders:

See’s candy orders are due no later than this Wed, December 3rd.  Please return them ASAP as we will be gone Wed.

P.E.:

We are back to our regular P.E. schedule so athletic shoes and attire required on Fridays.

I will begin posting to the class blog on Fridays and some Mondays.  Please use the subscription button in the top right-hand side to automatically receive updates everytime the site is updated.  Have a great week!

-Miss Allen

Good morning!  I am so glad to hear that you are all doing so well with Mrs. Wallace.  I have wonderful news to share with all of you, I  saw a new doctor yesterday and he was able to fix my broken finger for me.  It hurt a little but it feels much better this morning.  The doctor wants me to stay home for the rest of this week to make sure the bone heals correctly.  I will have another set of x-rays taken next Monday.  If the x-rays look good then I can come back next Wednesday!  But…I won’t be able to write for a long time so I will need all of your help.  Have a great week with Mrs. Wallace, thank you for being such awesome kids!

Love,

Miss Allen 

Happy Halloween room 12. 

I apologize for not keeping up with the blog over the last two weeks.  Having been gone a few days made it difficult to catch up but I will be on top of it from now on.  I will also be sending home ticket notices again.

We had an exciting week.  We wrapped up our Science and Nutrition rotations.  Unfortunately, Miss Julie was not here Tuesday so we were not able to visit the library or check out new books.  Please hold on to your library books until next Tuesday.

Federal Survey Cards are due ASAP.  If you haven’t turned in your Federal Card please do so.

Report cards are coming out soon.  I will be sending out a sign up sheet for parent-teacher conferences soon.

Thank you to Ms Shannon for planning a Halloween Celebration and to all of our classroom volunteers for all of their hard work.

Have a great and safe Halloween!

Hello friends and family of room 12.  Last week was another busy one for Room 12, we welcomed a new friend, our Artist-in-Residence, Mrs. Isbell.  She will be working with us every Wednesday afternoon.  We also went on our first field trip.  We walked down to the fire station.  After our tour of the station each member of the class got to hold and spray the hose on the fire engine.  Due to the field trip schedule we had to postpone our Nutrition/Science rotations.  We will begin a new rotation next week.  Last Tuesday we visited the school’s library and checked out books.  Remember, library books are due the following Tuesday.  You may not check out a library book until you return the one you have already borrowed.

Tomorrow is picture day!  Don’t forget to wear your nicest clothes and your brightest smiles.  Have a happy Tuesday!

We had a very busy week in Room 12!  Our week started with a new chapter in math.  Now we are working on patterns and movement.  The new homework packet went home today is full of math activities to help us practice patterning.  Tuesday I was at a Standards Based Report Card training but Ms. Coleman was here and had a good day with the class with few interruptions.  Wednesday and Thursday flew by filled with learning about color words, beginning sounds and science and health.  Our 3rd Grade Buddies went on a field trip today so we saw them for a few minutes yesterday before recess.  Next Friday we will be reciting the story The City Mouse and The Country Mouse to our buddies.  You can help us get ready by asking us to practice telling you the story at home.  In P.E. we used rhythm sticks to make patterns.

Three of our classmates were honored today with awards.  Anthony received an award for Excellence in Citizenship, Ava received one for Being a Good Role Model, and Sophie got one for Excellence in Academics.  I’m keeping my eye on all my friends to see who will receive an award next month.

Anthony, Ava, Sophie and Brooklyn are our newest members of the “I can tie my shoes club”.  Keep practicing your shoe tying because I’ll be watching! 

It is so very important that our Kinders come to school prepared not only to learn but to move around safely.  Today one of our classmates was playing at recess and her shoes slipped off causing her to skin her knees and her elbow.  Please make sure your child can run on all types of surfaces in whatever shoes you buy.  We all know I am a sucker for a cute shoe but when it comes to playing safety comes first.  Lace up tennis shoes (with socks) are always a great idea.

Field Trip Reminder:  We will be walking to the Fire Station on Tuesday right after lunch and will be returning at 3:30.  Please send your child to school in comfortable walking shoes.  You may also want to apply a small amount of sunblock to their arms, face and neck.

Have a great, restful weekend and we will see you on Monday- ready for another wonderful week of learning!

Hello family and friends of Room 12.  We have finished another week of Kinder and are off to a good start this Monday.  Thank you to all of you who were able to attend Back to School Night last week.  We are going to have a great year and I look forward to getting parent volunteers into the classroom.  We started sharing today.  I sent home the Sharing Schedule on Friday but will also post it to this blog for your reference.  As mentioned at Back to School Night I am implementing the Ticket System this week.  So far we are off to a good start with very few tickets being handed out. 

Please continue to send healthy snacks for your children and discuss the importance of eating a good snack at recess.  Some of our classmates have decided not to eat their snacks which makes them unfocused and tired.

Finally, we will be visiting the school library on Tuesday.  Hopefully we will be able to check out books.  Please remind your child to bring his/her library book back to school the following Tuesday.