Important To Know

There are Several important dates to be aware of going forward.

This Wednesday, February 3 is a late start day.  School will start at 11:30 and dismiss at the normal time of 3:40.

There is no school on Friday, February 12.  It is a no-student contact day.

There's no school on Monday, February 15.  It is President's Day.

To make up for lost time, the children will be at school all day on Friday, February 19.

There is no school on Friday, February 26.  It is a no-student contact day.

Wednesday, March 2 is a late start day.  School will start at 11:30 and end at the normal time of 3:40.

Valentine's Day

We will celebrate Valentine's Day from 3:05-3:30 on Wednesday, February 10.  The children are welcome to bring in Valentine cards for all their classmates.  We have 25 students in our class.  Please have your child write their names on the back of the Valentine, but do not worry about writing the names of students they are giving the Valentine to.  The reason for this is that it is too difficult and time consuming to guide 25 students through trying to find specific Valentine bags.  I appreciate your understanding and cooperation with this.  

Parents are always welcome to join us for the party.  I would love to have the kids decorate cookies with frosting and sprinkles during the party.  Would any one be willing to donate heart shaped sugar cookies?  Pink or red frosting?  Sprinkles?  Drinks?  Valentine paper plates and napkins? Thank you for your help!

Parent Teacher Conferences

I look forward to meeting with everyone on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of this week for Parent-Teacher Conferences.  If you are not sure of your conference time, please let me know or call the school office.  If your scheduled time will not work, let me know or call the school office to reschedule. 
                                                    

Scholastic Book Orders are due.  During conferences, the book fair in the library will be running.  This time it is an Usborne Books fair instead of a Scholastic book fair.  Funds raised in the book fair in the library will help us buy new books for the library. 

Important dates

We have several important dates coming up.

No school on Friday, January 15.  It is a no-student contact day.

No school on Monday, January 18.  It is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Students will come to school ALL DAY on Friday, January 22 to make up for the holiday.

Please put these dates on your calendar.

More of The Mitten

Last week we read and studied The Mitten by Jan Brett.  This week we continue studying The Mitten.  Two groups are reading a version of The Mitten during small group reading instruction (other groups are focused on alphabet recognition, letter sounds, and writing simple words).  After lunch, we read The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt.  After reading the book, we talked about how the two versions of the story are similar and different.  We made a Double Bubble Map to help us organize our thinking as we compared and contrasted the stories.  

Mrs. Finally, our counselor, came in and taught a lesson about Accepting Responsibility.  This behavior is a focus for our school this month.  

Snowy Friday

After centers, we decided it was too cold and snowy to go outside for recess.  Instead, we had free time in the classroom.  The children played with blocks, large Legos, magnet plates, and fun pages of dot-to-dots, mazes, and hidden pictures.  The kids had a great time!  

The Mitten

This week we have been studying The Mitten by Jan Brett.  This is a wonderful story about a little boy who convinces his grandmother to knit snow white mittens for him.  When he goes outside, he drops one mitten.  A series of animals finds the mitten and decides to use it as shelter from the cold.  Ultimately, the boy finds his mitten in the snow and returns home to show his grandmother that one mitten is stretched out and much larger than the other.  It is an excellent story!  

On Monday, after reading the story, we created a Brace Map and listed all the characters in the story.

Today, we reviewed the story and created a modified Multi-Flow Map which helps us think about cause and effect.  

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone is enjoying time with family and friends. I'm looking forward to seeing the children on Monday.  In the meantime spend some time playing games and reading books with those close to you.