Hi--I apologize for not getting a new newsletter out since returning from Christmas--it seems that I have had one incident after another, or unexpected meetings or...... well you name it. I am making myself sit down and get one done albeit quickly today. I hope that you all had a wonderful break and are reading for another long weekend! Martin Luther King holiday is next Monday, January 18.
Here are these week's (and well other weeks) happenings:
- SEP always sneaks up on me--it will be the first week in February (Feb. 1 - 5). School will get out at 2:30 everyday that week (including Wednesday). I will find the sign up sheet that we used in the fall and resend that out. I will plan on the same times and format (mostly ZOOM) that we had in the fall. When I send that out just let me know or change it on the doc if you cannot meet at that time. Honestly I was happy with how our ZOOM conferences went last time even though face to face conferences are preferred ZOOM was a nice alternative.
- Don't forget to send back take home books and library EVERY Thursday!!! Reading at home is our ONLY homework and research shows it's one of the best ways to help students improve in reading. I hope you are taking advantage of our leveled library and reading those books more than once. I'll discuss your child's reading progress during SEP conferences.
- Just a heads up about Valentine's Day--due to COVID issues we will NOT be able to hand out valentines and treats on that day this year. I will do some other Valentine activities in my classroom but we will not do the typical Valentine card exchange (or treats).
- Scholastic book orders will come home tomorrow. They will be "due" next Wednesday January 20. Order now over $25 can be sent directly to your home (please still use my online code). Orders can still be sent here to the school where I distribute them as soon as they arrive.
- Now for our learning..... Since returning from our Christmas break we have started a new unit in Reading. We have learned about the r-controlled vowel patterns or 'er', 'ar', and 'or'. We are learning about two-syllable words (syllables always have one vowel sound). We have learned about compound words and root words with endings (cupcake or fishing for example). We have started a new reading called "The Green Fern Zoo". We have met the narrator Vern in "Meet Vern" and have read about "Things that Swim" and "Chimps"
- In math we have turned out attention to subtraction. We have learned to "count back" to subtract using a number line and this week we are learning about the relationship of subtraction to addition by writing fact family number sentences (5 + 4 = 9, 4 + 5 = 9, 9 - 5 = 4, 9 - 4 = 5)
- In science/social studies (CKLA domain) we started learning about Animal Habitats. So far we have learned about the Arctic and Desert habitats. We will continue this through January and we will begin to write factual sentences and paragraphs using our knowledge from the Green Fern Zoo book and from our Animal Habitats unit.
- The 100th day of school is February 2. I will send home more information about our little celebration closer to that date. If your child wants to dress up like they are 100 years old they can do that on February 2. I will also send home a little "homework" project to be returned by that date.
- We've been better this week but please make sure you child has a mask everyday. The first couple of days back I had to scrounge up a couple of masks to give to students rather than send them to the office and then have to call home to get one. I literally do not have any more now :). Some students have an extra one already in their backpacks which is a great idea because sometimes they even get lost out at lunch break.
Happy Wednesday and Happy Reading,
Mrs. Armstrong
