Holiday Break

We had a great trip to the Capitol and Historical Museum. Here are a few pictures from our day:

 

 

 

 

 

 
- Students were sent home with a reading log to earn a FREE ticket for Six Flags. See form for specific details and the mid February due date. Students should continue to write their reading in their school reading log if they are choosing to participate in this program.

 Homework over break:

Reading over break should include a minimum of three days for 25 minutes. All students left school on Friday with a goal for their historical fiction book club and jotting assignments.

Math fact logs will still be collected on Friday, January 3rd. I will be looking for 30 minutes of fact practice.

 

Thank you very much for the thoughtful baby shower gifts. I was so surprised by all of the wonderful books with sweet messages from the students. I had so much fun organizing the books in our little girls room.

Week of December 16th

 

Watch for math tests to come home early next week. Please be sure to sign the sticker in your child's assignment notebook stating that you saw and discussed your test with your child. Unit math tests do not need to be returned back to school.

Field trip on Wednesday!

We will be heading to Madison around 8:50 and returning back to school around 2:30. Please be sure your child brings a lunch in which everything can be thrown away. Since it is a longer drive, students are allowed to bring electronics on the bus. Please use your discretion if you would like your child to bring a device or not. Please know that ALL devices will be left on the bus while we are touring the Capitol and Historical Museum.



Maternity Leave

Mrs. Nancy Loth will be joining our class during my maternity leave. She has worked in our building last year and this year as our math interventionist. She started this school year as a long term sub at Nature Hill. I am excited and confident  to have Mrs. Loth her working in our classroom while I am gone. She is a wonderful colleague and educator. Mrs. Loth will join our class on Monday and Tuesday of this week to get to know the students and our classroom procedures. My plan is to continue to be with the class until my due date of  January 14th and return the beginning of April. Kevin and I are excited to for this next chapter in our lives and are looking forward to meeting our little bundle of joy soon! It is going to be so hard for me to take a step away from "my kids" however, know that Mrs. Loth and I will do everything possible to make this a seamless transition.

Week of December 9th

 

Monday we will start our new reading unit, historical fiction. I am very excited about this unit as we will be reading aloud one of my favorite books, Number the Stars.

During this unit, everyone in class will be reading books from this genre and participating in book clubs. Students will start out reading independently and then will quickly transition into book clubs.  As they read these books, they will be discussing them with their partners or small group. For this reason, it is important that they read the amount their partnership/group decides each day. They should also write down thoughts in their reader’s notebook or on post-it notes to make their conversations more meaningful. We are discouraging students from reading other books unless they are finished with their historical fiction book assignment. Please take the time, especially as we begin to launch these book clubs, to ask your child if they are caught up with their  book and have flagged their thinking, a minimum of 3 to 4 jottings each night. 


In order to make have enough books for successful book clubs, we have to borrow many copies from other libraries.  Students will "checkout" these books with their classroom teacher and are responsible for them.  If the book fails to come back or is damaged, it will be the students responsibility to replace the book or pay the fine.  This way, we can continue borrowing titles from other schools for many years to come.

Language and actions in our books often directly and accurately mimics true historical time periods.  We will be having a conversation about being mature readers and asking questions for clarification if necessary.  If these questions arise at home, please view this as a teaching moment.  History is not always appropriate but valuable and should be apart of our students' lives!  Let me know if you have further questions or would like to preview some of the titles.

 On Thursday your child brought home a book order. It is due on Wednesday, December 11th. I am hopeful that the books will be here before the long holiday break. If you would like to order the books as a gift for your child, please let me know and I can keep them for a time that would work for you to pick them up.

 
 

On Thursday, December 12th, students will take their unit 4 math test. This test will cover solving open number sentences, reading and writing decimals to the hundredths place, locating decimals on a number line, and ordering decimals. We will begin our review for the test on Monday. Thank you for your support at home to help your child prepare for this test.

Friendly Reminder: German Star money and shoeboxes are due on Monday! The $2.50 is used to help purchase paper, wax, and glitter. We will start to making our stars on Thursday!