Important Dates
●Oct. 10-14 —Minimum Days—Parent-Teacher Conferences (12:30pm release)
●Oct. 12 — Intro to 7 Habits Parent Training 8:30am AND 6:30pm
●Oct. 17 — SCOPE mtg 2:45pm rm 26
●Oct. 18 — Coffee with Dena 8:20am
●Oct. 21 — Picture Re-take Day
●Oct. 25 — Coffee with Dena 8:20am
●Nov. 18 — OCLM Fall Festival
Early Release This Week
This whole week (M-F) has MINIMUM DAYS- meaning the whole school (whole district actually) gets out EARLY, so make sure you come at 12:30pm to get your child from school!!! This is so the teachers can do the Parent-Teacher Conferences, which everyone has been scheduled for during this week.
Ms.Wendy Needs Supplies
Ms. Wendy is in need of CYLINDERS—lots of them!!! She needs 100 in total and 25-30 of them by this Friday (Oct. 14). The rest of the 100 can come in later. If you have any empty coffee cans or oatmeal boxes, or any other empty cylinders, please put them in the box by the door in her room. Thanks!!
Teacher News
Habitats
We are continuing to study our CRAYFISH and learn about their habitats, the adaptations that they make, and all about their different body parts. There is a NEW crayfish in Ms. Jennifer’s class which is WHITE, a color we haven’t seen before (the other ones have been black and red).
Keeping in line with learning about habitats, we will read the story Two Days in May, by Harriet Peck Taylor, which is based on the true story of a girl in Chicago who discovers 5 deer grazing in the small garden behind her apartment. That is not the deer’s “natural habitat” and the story tells how they are brought back safely into the wild.
In writing, we have been adding detail sentences to our paragraphs and expanding upon how to write using facts. We have learned to write a “power topic sentence,” which means including a “number” in the sentence. For example, instead of writing “There are a lot of things to know about crayfish,” we can write more specifically, “There are five things you need to know about crayfish.” Then we can continue explaining in the paragraph those five things.
The teachers look forward to talking with you about your child at Parent Teacher Conferences, held all this week (early release 12:30pm, every day).
Specialist Schedule
We have started our Specialists (Art, Computers, Music, etc). Here is the specialist schedules we have so far (they are different per classroom):
Ms. Wendy’s Class: Ms. Jennifer’s Class:
Mon. 12:30 - music Mon. 2:00 - computers
Tues 8:30 - art Tues. 12:30 – PE
(every other week) Tues.2:00 - music
Tues. 1:50 – computers Wed. 12:30 - library
Wed. 12:30 – PE Thurs. 8:30 – art
Thurs. 12:30 – library (every other week)
Save Paper Please
You may have noticed the MATH GAMES (previously printed in the newsletter) come home this week on colored cardstock, just as the Reading Response Ideas and Spelling Menu came home last week. Please keep and reuse these sheets every week at home—this will conserve paper and make copying not as necessary. Look for the teachers to be sending home other things on colored cardstock, and please know to keep anything sent home on colored cardstock in a safe place to use over and over.
ALSO, is anyone able to make copies for our classroom (either thru their work or at home)? We need to send home the spelling list sheets every week so that our children can work on their individualized spelling words, but we want to try to cut down on copying/paper use. If you think you might be able to help, please contact either one of Ms. Jennifer’s room parents:
Paula pmluvspooh@aol.com
Lisa lisa_huang@patagonia.com
Fall Fest Planning Has Started
Planning for the Fall Fest (Nov. 18) has begun! Our first meeting was this past Wed. and the theme is Music!! Look for more info to come about what Fall Fest is all about, why we do it, and upcoming planning meetings!
For more information, please contact Liz Beaven at lizzeus@yahoo.com
Cool Tools Box
“Cool Tools” are strategies to help children make good choices socially. This week’s Cool Tools Tip is:
“Closed Door Exit”= when we have tried compromise, put-ups and other things to try to work things out, and you just can’t seem to get anywhere with the person, do a “closed door exit”—meaning, just walk away, using NO put-downs, no words, no gestures—just walk away. It’s important not to use words/gestures to escalate the situation while keeping your cool and leaving.
Habits Family Training - Overview
This Wednesday, Oct. 12th, will be this school year’s FIRST “7 Habits Family Training” and this year, we will offer TWO TIMES/SAME DAY for you to attend! It will be held first from 8:30-9:30am in the Multipurpose Room, and then once again in the evening, from 6:30-7:30pm. This family training workshop will contain an overview of the 7 Habits to get us started off and ready for our other workshops, which will cover 1 habit per session. Come find out what your child is learning at school and how you can apply it and reinforce it at home. Childcare will be provided.