Week of January 11, 2010- GOLD Math Book

Happy New Year!

Just a reminder from my previous blog entries:

• Math homework is assigned every evening. A specific goal may be written in the student's assignment notebook or 30 minutes of math homework may be indicated. IF an entry is not assigned or if there is any confusion about your nightly assignment, please complete the 30 minutes of math homework requirement. If a section is too difficult or challenging, please feel free to complete review exercises in the back of the book or print out review sheets from a math website. The bottom line is that math homework is always required unless otherwise noted!
• In addition to completing the assignment, the work/calculations and answers must always be written in the math graph notebook. Although you may provide the answers in the Gold math book, the actual calculations are equally important and must be clearly identifiable in the notebook with the date, page numbers, problem numbers, a work column and an answer column.
• Lastly, if for some reason you are unable to complete an assignment, please inform me prior to class via e-mail or visit me before class begins (before 8:30am) and provide me with this information.

Thank you!

Regards,

LouAnn

Week of November 16

It was a very short week but we managed to accomplish alot!

'Tis the season to be thankful and I am VERY thankful for my wonderful Group 2 students!

We are looking forward to our Thanksgiving Extravaganza on this Friday. Thank you for your very generous contributions!

We had the pleasure of a guest student on Thursday and thoroughly enjoyed Peter's visit.

We accomplished the following learning activities this week:

• Progressed in our Phonics packet.
• Reviewed the Northeastern States.
• Conferenced on Book Reports.
• Implemented the writing process as we wrote in our Writing Journals.
• Completed another section of our Reading Comprehension books.
• Reviewed for our Historical Figures quiz on Sharon Clark and the founding of Clark School and scored successfully on our quizzes!
• Completed Word List 6 and performed well on the weekly Wordly Wise test.
• Continued reading Charlotte's' Web.
• Received a Flat Stanley back from the west coast, Hollywood, California, with great photos of the Walk of Fame, Universal Studios and the Hollywood Hills sign! Thanks to friends of the Cirones!
• Received "Take-Home-Hootie" reports and learned more about "owls" such as the Snowy Owl and the Elf Owl.

Monday 11/16/09

• Reading: 20 minutes/Book Reports/Reading Journal Responses
• Geography: Globe Puzzle Handout
• WW: please review and plan the completion of the spelling exercises. WW words: cavity, defeat, destroy, fade, false, guest, hive, honest, paddle, plentiful, salary, stoop. Dolch words: tell, their, these, those, upon.
• A.M. work ( from last week): please complete!

Tuesday 11/17/09

• Reading: 20 minutes/reports/responses

Wednesday 11/18/09

• Library Visit
• Button Day
• Reading: Reading Comprehension Books, next section is due

Thursday 11/19/09

• Reading: 20 minutes
• WW: Pre-test
• WW: List 7, exercises on pages 28 - 31

Friday 11/20/09

• WW: Test
• Thanksgiving Extravaganza: Please wear your finest holiday attire and bring your best manners and a BIG appetite!
• Enjoy your Thanksgiving break- gobble, gobble gobble!

Week of November 9 - Homework

This is a short week and Thanksgiving is right around the corner...


Monday 11/09/09

• Read 20 - 30 minutes/Reading Journal Response/Book Report
• WW Words: acre, converse,damage, decorate, delay, direct, escape, expensive, hint, humid, rescue, resemble, stunt, wrinkle
• Dolch Words: read, right, sing, sit, sleep
• Vocabulary Packet: Page 19, Homonyms, Synonyms, Antonyms
• "A.M./Morning Work": Complete any unfinished papers from last week.

Tuesday 11/10/09

• DAY-OFF: ENJOY!
• However, plan ahead for end- of- the- week due dates!

Wednesday 11/11/09

• DAY-OFF: ENJOY!

Thursday 11/12/09

• Reading Comprehension books- next section, check your books for comments.
• WW: Pre-test
• Historic Figures: Quiz on Sharon Clark and the founding of Clark School- see Study Guide.

Friday 11/13/09

• A very LUCKY day!
• Read 20 - minutes/Reading Journals/Book Reports
• WW: Test
• WW: Word List 6 exercises pages 22- 26

Week of 11/02/09- GOLD Book Math

Welcome Max T!
Max joined our GOLD Book math group this week and is moving along in his new math book (and doing very well!)

Since each student is working on different material, please read the assignment notebook for daily assignments. As customary, each student needs to complete at least 30 minutes in their math books nightly. Their work for each problem must be clearly identified and outlined in their graph notebooks.

The proper format should include the following information:

Date, page number

WORK Column ANSWER Column

Problem #1



Several times a week the class will be given "review quizzes" which will include a general overview of basic math operations to continually reenforce the foundations of math. Some evening assignments may include a worksheet if a student needs additional support in a certain area. Also, I may give certain pages in the book that appear to be repetitive, but it is based on your student's earlier performance in that area.

Unit Reviews, quizzes, homework and class participation are factored together to determine the student's final grade in class.

Lunch Bunch/Study will be assigned if a homework assignment or class goal is not met.

I will provide daily assignment entries in my blog if they vary from the "30 minutes" a night requirement.

Regards,
LouAnn

Week of November 2, 2009 - Homework

Is it November already?

Yet another successful week under our belts...

What great Halloween costumes we donned! We had witches, a gypsy, a very authentic mummy, a Clone Trooper from Star Wars and an Angel/Devil...all were very creative and interesting! Thank you to all parents for assisting with the Halloween party and your contributions. What a fun time!

Reading: We are moving along in Charlotte's Web and the story is becoming very interesting as the plot unfolds! The small reading group (Joseph, Grace, Taylor and Sam) is also making progress in reasing Rent a Third Grader and completing sections of their book reports.

Writing: We reviewed the steps in the Writing Process and published a story on Halloween in our writing journals after pre-writing, drafting and editing/proofreading. Our artistic abilities shone as we were not only authors but illustrators as well!

Geography and Social Studies: We are becoming very familiar with reading maps: grids, legends and indexes. We can identify capitals, cities and boundaries and provide directions to various destinations using the Compass Rose.

Library: We visited the library and students chose a chapter book and a"fun" book for their personal reading.


Homework Schedule:

PLEASE NOTE: Students are expected to read at least 20 - 30 minutes each evening and respond in their Reading Journals a couple of times a week to communicate their thoughts on their reading. This assignment is not always written down each night unless something specific is required.

Spelling Words: Word List 5
assist, avoid, depart, exile, expert, harvest, haul, inn, mar, mate, navigate, protect, vat

Dolch words:
made, many, off, or, pull

Monday 11/02/09

• ELA (English LanguageArts):

1. Read 20 - 30 minutes/journal entries or book report pages
2. For the students reading Rent a Third Grader: please prepare the Venn diagram page in the book report.

• Social Studies: Complete "Picturing the US" handout.
• WW: Review List 5 spelling words and properly plan to complete each exercise in the section. All sections need to be completed by 11/5, but it is helpful to prepare at least one section a night to become more comfortable with the words and definitions.
• "Hootie" The Take Home Owl Project will be completed and brought back to school by Joseph and Taylor Cirone and another student will take it home and complete the assignment. Have fun and whooooooooo will be next to take home Hootie......

Tuesday 11/3/09

• ELA:

1. Vocabulary Packet: Complete pp 15 - 18. Please read directions carefully and do not go beyond the assigned pages.
2. Reading Comprehension: Please complete your next assigned section and make sure to prepare the "Write about it" questions if you have them. Please DO NOT go ahead until I correct your current section!:)

Wednesday 11/4/09

Thursday11/5/09

• WW: please complete the List 5 section exercises, pp18 -21
• WW: Pre-test

Friday 11/6/09

• WW: Test, spelling and definitions.

Week of October 26, 2009-Homework

Happy Halloween Week-BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Group 2 had a busy, interesting and fun week.

Historic Figures: Sharon Clark, founder of Clark School, visited Group 2. She enlightened and entertained the students on the founding and history of Clark School. We learned the following interesting facts:

• Sharon has three children (Jeff, our headmaster, is her youngest) and 5 grandchildren. All her children are entrepreneurs!
• Sharon grew up in Washington,D.C. and played in her high school band at the inauguration for President Dwight Eisenhower!
• Sharon has her Master's degree and attended Wheelock College in Boston.
• Ron Clark, her husband, was a minister and started the Clark School with her.
• The Clark School "antique", built in 1665, was home to her family as well as the initial school classrooms. The upstairs administration office was the master bedroom and Jeff's bedroom was the attic! The 1st floor front rooms were classrooms.
• Sharon's educational philosophy was centered on the belief that classrooms of small sizes with mixed grade levels provide more educational opportunities for learners.
• The Clark School barn/garage is ranked as one of the oldest barns in the country.
• Clark School was founded 30 years ago.
• The Clark School antique building played a role in the historic "underground railroad" movement providing a safe house for escaping slaves. There is a "hollow" area between the 2 fireplaces in the Goup 5 rooms where slaves were secretly hidden.
• Sharon is very proud of her children (especially her grandchildren) and everything about Clark School!

Science: Brody, our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel visited to continue our lesson on the life cycle of dogs. Our log books were updated as he was weighed and measured and the students made observations of changes in his appearance and behavior.

Language Arts: Students continued with the reading of Charlotte's Web, wrote book reports, friendly letters, reading response journal entries and poems.

WW: Students did a great job on their Wordly Wise spelling tests.

A.M./Morning Work: A great job in completing these early morning handouts on A-B-C order, dictionary skills, plurals and money$.

Activities: Pumpkin picking was fun and chilly. We will utilize the pumpkins for a math lesson on Monday.

**************************************************************

Please Note: We may not record "reading" in the Assignment Notebook each day, however, reading is expected each night for at least 20 minutes. The more the better! If students are reading other subject material, this may be counted as "reading". Students are always working on different reading activities. Some nights, writing exercises such as book reports or reading responses may be worked on in lieu of reading. Please continue to read to your child as much as possible! This provides great modeling and bonding!

Monday 10/26/09

• Reading: 20 - 30 minutes, reading journal responses, book reports
• WW: Please make flashcards ONLY IF you find they are helpful to learn the spelling and definitions of your WW words. (Some students feel that flashcards are not necessary to aid their learning process.) We will continue to make Dolch Word flashcards and put them on our "rings". Please study all of your words! (AND make a plan to complete the WW List 4 Exercises, pages 15 - 18- due 10/29/09.)
• WW Words: assemble, cloak, entire, even, gay, irrigate, nibble, omit, ram, reduce, ruin, vast.
• Dolch Words: found, gave, goes, green, it's

Tuesday 10/27/09

• Reading: 20 minutes
• SS: complete pages 8 -13 in Workbook

Wednesday 10/28/09

• LIBRARY VISIT: Please bring in library books and reconcile any fees or missing books!
• Reading: 20 minutes
• Reading Comprehension: Read next section and complete questions.

Thursday 10/29/09

• Reading: 20 minutes
• WW: Pre-test
• WW: Complete Wordly Wise List 4 Exercises: pp 15 - 18

Friday 10/30/09

• Halloween Party: If appropriate, students may wear costumes to school or bring the costume and change after lunch. Please leave all weapons home! The party starts at 2:00PM. All are invited!
• WW: Spelling/Defintion test

Week of October 19- Homework

Is this fall or winter?

The students had a very good week.

We visited the Danvers Public Library and chose 2 books each. We will be visiting the library every other week on Wednesdays. Our next visit will be on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 around 11:00AM. If your son/daughter has any overdue books or fines, please reconcile this with the library prior to our next visit.

Pajama Day was fun and we had some very interesting attire!

We are progressing in our group reading book, Charlotte's Web, completed the first 3 chapters and performed very well on our 1st story quiz!

A special thank you to Sam Kirby's mom, Jeanne Argento for bringing in their new puppy, Lulu, a Westie, last week. This was a special treat and the newest member of Sam's family is adorable, but not as cute as his sister Kate!

Also, another "thank you" to Sam's mom for printing very "cool"name labels for Group 2's notebooks and workbooks and supplying us with 3-ring binders! We are very appreciative of her generosity.

A very special guest, Sharon Clark, will visit Group 2 on Thursday to educate the students on the founding of the Clark School!

In true Fall fashion, we are planning to go "pumpkin picking" this coming Friday, 10/23, at Connors Farm. (However, our day may change if the weather fails to cooperate!)

Monday 10/19/09

• Reading: 20 - 30 minutes /journal entries or work on book reports if your independent reading book is completed.
• Wordly Wise Book 1: Finish flashcards with definitions, review WW words and Dolch words and complete Exercise 3A.
• WW: All students are now in the Wordly Wise Book 1. For those who may have completed this section last year, this will be a good review. Review the exercises and make sure your answers are correct. Our WW words include the following: absorb, bridle, ewe, fragrant, gallop, glide, limp, narrow, odd, outlaw, refresh, ship, tithe, trample. Our Dolch words: does, don't, fast, first, five.
• A.M. Work: Last week's A.M. worksheets are due if you did not complete them in class:)!

Tuesday 10/20/09

• Reading: 20 - 30 minutes/journal entries/book reports.
• Reading Comprehension: Read next chapter story, answer questions and complete "Write about it" activity (Attach lined paper if necessary).

Wednesday 10/21/09

• Reading: 20 - 30 minutes/journal entries/book reports.

Thursday 10/22/09

• Historic Figures: Our special guest will be "Sharon Clark" who will discuss the founding of the Clark School.
• Reading: 20 - 30 minutes/journal entries/book reports.
• WW: Pre-test and complete Section 3 A, B, C and D exercises.

Friday 10/23/09

• Pumpkin Picking at Connors Farm.
• Reading: 20 -30 minutes/journal entries/book reports
• WW: Spelling/Definition test.

Week of October 12- Homework

The Hulbert attendees are back! This will be a short week since Monday is ColumbusDay!

Monday 10/12/09

• Day off- sleep late!

Tuesday 10/13/09

• Library: Visit to the Danvers Public Library.
• Reading: 20 minutes/journal response
• Reading: AND Bring in Flat Stanley project!
• Handwriting: See individual books for pages assigned.
• Wordly Wise Book 1: Complete flashcards and definitions - ally, breeze, conceal, cub, dreary, dusk, furious, hollow, splendid, turf, uniform, weapon.
• Blue Vocabulary Book- Lesson 4: Complete flashcards and definitions - elegant, emerge, contribute, nestled, assemble, weary, nutritious.
• Dolch Words for both groups: best, both, buy, call, cold.

Wednesday 10/14/09

• PAJAMA DAY!
• Reading: 20 minutes/journal response.
• Reading Comprehension Book: (All books) Read next chapter story, answer questions and complete the "write about" activity.
• Money Quiz $$$$.

Thursday 10/15/09

• Reading: 20 minutes/journal response
• WW/Spelling: Pre-test
• WW/Spelling: Word List 2, pages 2 - 8
• Blue Vocabulary Book, pages 14 -17
• Science: What Am I? handout.

Friday 10/16/09

• Reading: 20 minutes/journal response AND Charlotte's Web Quiz- Chapters 1 - 3
• WW/Spelling: Test

Week of October 5 - Homework Schedule

Since the majority of the school is at Hulbert, we will be the faithful ones to remain behind to work!

We will follow a very similar schedule with some minor changes since some of our teachers are away.

Monday 10/5/09

• Martial Arts with Jason.
• Wordly Wise: Finish making flashcards (white ones) with the vocabulary word on one side and the definition on the back. This week's words are: alight, archer, cathedral, crew, hoof, instruct, linger, miser, observe, swarm, weary and wily.

***Last week's words are on the ring. All cards should be kept in the plastic bag to keep all words together. Please review the spelling and definitions of the WW words. Dolch Words (most commonly used words) need to be reviewed for spelling only.***

• Vocabulary Blue Book (Zoe, Joe, Grace): Please do as above. Your new words are as follows: tremble, giddy, boast, resourceful, consequence and rescue.
• Reading: 20 minutes/journal. If you took home a Book Report, please complete. If you have a copy of Charlotte's Web, please bring it in for this week's group reading.

Tuesday 10/6/09

• Cheese pizza lunch and picnic (if your child does not want pizza please pack a lunch).
• Art with Jodi.
• Reading: 20 minutes/ respond in Reading Journal.
• Flat Stanley Project: Please finish coloring Flat Stanley. Address the envelopes and return with their contents so that we may mail them out this week!
• Social Studies: Quiz on the US Military/Lt. Piatelli's presentation (see study guide).
• Geography: Complete Mapping Handout

Wednesday 10/7/09

• Apple picking at Connors Farm: We will walk to the farm after lunch with Group.
• Reading: 20 minutes/Journal Entry
• Movie Snacks: Please bring in your contribution to the movie snack- see flier that went home on Friday- thank you! (Movie to be determined!)

Thursday 10/8/09

• Group Snack and Movie!
• No early dismissal: pick-up at 2:45.
• Reading: 20 minutes/Journal Entry
• WW: Spelling Pre-Test
• WW: complete Section 1 pp 1 -3 (in WW book), complete Lesson 3 pp 10 -13 (in Vocabulary Blue Book).
• Historical Figures: Quiz on Benjamin Franklin (see study guide)

Friday 10/9/09

• Corn Maze at Connors Farm with High School and Group 1.
• Reading: 20 minutes/Journal
• WW: Spelling/Definition test
• Geography: Fantastic Seats handout

Week of September 26: Highlights

Group 2 had an exciting week.

1. We finished reading Flat Stanley!

• We will be sending home the project on Monday and will need to have you address the envelope to your family or friends who will be "hosting" Flat Stanley's vacation! A letter of explanation and the contents of the mailing will be available for you to review.
• We look forward to receiving some interesting letters and photos back from Flat Stanley's trip!
• The students took a quiz on Flat Stanley to measure their comprehension and vocabulary skills. Great Job!

2. A special guest, 2nd Lt. Enrico Piatelli, visited with Group 2!

We had a very interesting and informative visit with 2nd Lt. Piatelli from the U.S. Army. As part of our social studies and historical figures lessons on "How People Make a Difference" in our commnity, we learned a great deal about the United States military.

Lt. Piatelli is a resident of Danvers, MA and attended St. John's Prep in Danvers. He recently graduated from the Military School at Norwich University in Northfield, VT as a 2nd lieutenant with a degree in business. He has been undergoing various training and "boot camp" sessions throughout his 4 years at Norwich and played on their varsity hockey team since his freshman year. He is being sent to Oklahoma and then Georgia for additional training and then he is being deployed to Afghanistan. His goal is to become an Army Ranger, the most elite level of the U.S. Army. He met with Group 2, gave a brief presentation, answered their questions and took photos with the class. The students learned the following facts:

• There are 5 divisions of the U.S. Military: the Army, the Marines, the Coast Guard, the Navy and the Air Force.
• In order to be in the Army, a soldier must possess the following characteristics (which is defined in an acrostic poem for the abbreviation of the word "LEADERSHIP"): Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Self-less Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage.
• Members of the Armed Forces are committed to their country and protect people at any expense.
• The Army chooses their lieutenants according to their G.P.A, mental and physical strength and experience. (Good grades are important in all aspects of life!!)
• A soldier's backpack can weigh over 100 pounds!.
• Once a soldier is deployed overseas, they cannot come home for a very long time.
• When soldiers are in combat they carry food called "MRE'S" which are vacuum-packed and can last up to 4 years! (The students did not want to try any of these samples!)
• The success of the army is based on team work and good listening skills- just like the students of Clark!

3. We reviewed capitalization, punctuation, wrote a friendly letter to Lt. Piatelli and a "I Am" biography poem, reviewed our lesson on Benjamin Franklin and constructed educational kites, moved along in our Wordly Wise books, started to review Dolch Words and progressed in our Reading Comprehension books.

Group 2: Take Home Folders

Hi Parents,

Please see the work papers that your child has completed to bring home. We have reviewed them and these papers can now stay at home!

Please check this folder daily to see some of the work that we have done and keep them for your records!!!

Thank you,
LouAnn:)

Group 2: September 28 - Homework Schedule

Tuesday 9/29/09

• Morning Work: Please complete pages 8 and 9 in your "grammar packet" if you did not finish in class.
• Reading: 20 minutes and journal entries
• Worldly Wise Book C: Complete page 58 in WW book AND flashcards need to be complete (accurate spelling and definition on reverse side).
• Vocabulary Book (Grace, Joe, Zoe): Pages 8 & 9 AND flashcards need to be complete (accurate spelling and definitions on reverse side).
• Geography: Complete a mappping exercise- Hannah's New House. Please complete questions 1 - 9.

Wednesday 9/30/09

• Reading: 20 minutes and journal entries
• Wordly Wise Book C: Complete page 59
• "Grammar Packet": if you did not finsih in class please attempt to work on as many pages as possible to reach page 9

Thursday 10/1/09

• Reading: 20 minute/journal entries
• Wordly Wise: spelling/defintion pre-test

Friday 10/2/09

• Reading: 20 minutes/journal entries
• Wordly Wise: spelling/definition test
• Reading Comprehension: Please see Assignment Notebook for your individual pages in the Reading Comprehension Book that need to be completed (it will be the next story and questions). Some may have already completed this assignment in class.

Math: Gold Book- October 1

• 30 minutes (see individual goal written in math book)
• H/W problems must be done in Graph Notebook- answers only on worksheet and math book!
• Please use format that we have discussed in class: Divide the graph page in 2 columns (work and answer), place the date and page number at the top of the page and indicate the problem number that you are working on.
• Please study and review if you are taking a Unit Review tomorrow. We need to achieve an 80% or above.

Math: Gold Book Students

Homework due on Monday-September 28:

• Complete the "Cumulative Review Worksheet"- page 40.
• If 30 minutes is not met after you have completed the worksheet, please meet the 30 minute requirement and work in your math book.
• If time allows and you are ambitious, please review multiplication flashcards:)
• All work must be placed in your graph notebook to receive credit (please use the format that we have outlined in class: divide the page into 2 columns (a work column and an answer column), place the date and page number at the top and number the problem that you are working on.
• Students who took a Unit Review will re-do their math problems on Monday.

I was hoping to meet all of the Gold Book parents at the Back-to-School Parents Night. Since I did not get the pleasure to see all of you, I will send home my "information handout" with your son on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

LouAnn

Week of September 28, 2009- Happy Yom Kippur!

Group 2 had a very productive week!

Please check the assignment notebook for upcoming assignments. As we discussed at Back-to-School Night, the assignment notebooks have beeen working well to provide you with accurate assignment information.

The blog will provide you with an overview of this past week's progress and highlights of the upcoming week. If there is any confusion or concerns, please e-mail or contact me via my cell. The students have been very good in completing assignments and producing quality work.

It was a pleasure meeting with you at Back-to-School Night and discussing your child's curriculum, homework, grading, schedule and miscellaneous items.

We successfully completed the following:

• Science: Created a "Dog Life Cycle" Journal for science to record observations, measurements and behavior as we met with "Brody", a 16 week old King Charles Spaniel. Students observed Brody as he played with them in the playground, weighed him on a scale, measured his body length and ear length. We plan to meet with Brody every 2 weeks to observe his physical and behavioral changes as he transitions from puppy to adulthood through his life cycle.


• Reading/Writing: Added additional books to our Reading Logs, produced more advanced book reports to improve our writing and wrote interesting entries in our Reading Journals.


• Grammar: Learned the importance of capitalization and punctuation in our writing.


• Geography: Since we had such beautiful weather and we are studying mapping skills, we gathered our clipboards and wandered the grounds to develop a "Clark School Campus" Map. We also gathered items related to Fall and wrote about signs of Fall. We worked in our Geography books and identified the home continent for specific animals i.e. the platypus, the Koala bear, the kangaroo.


• Letter Writing: We wrote letters to Brody and his owner to thank them for their visit and comment on our thoughts about Brody. We utilized proper letter writng format and the final product was very professional!


• Reading Comprehension: We moved along in our reading comp books and completed another lesson.


• Social Studies: A Community and its components were discussed.


• Historical Figures: We read "Benjamin Franklin and the Magic Squares" and learned amazing facts about Ben Franklin! (Please ask your children about his many inventions!)We completed a biographical summary on Ben and will complets an educational kite on Monday.

Some highlights for this upcoming week:

• A Group Reading on Flat Stanley and writing project- instructions to follow!


• A science lesson on Owls (to follow through with our summer reading of "Hoot") and a take home activity to extend the lesson.


• To combine a Social Studies and Historic Figures lesson, a very special visitor, 1st Lieutenant Enrico Piatelli from the U.S. Army, will speak with the students on "how people make a difference" in our community and how the armed services help and protect not only our community but our country.
  

If possible, a few "wish list" items that would be greatly appreciated:

• A 1" -2" 3 ring soft-binder to create a historical figures journal
• 4" x 6" colored flash cards for spelling
• A copy of the books: Flat Stanley and Charlotte's Web

Also, thank you very much for sending in sturdy "pencil boxes" for writing supplies, a water bottle for our thirsty learners and napkins with lunch!

Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Have a great week-

LouAnn

Week of September 21- Happy Fall!

We had a very successful week and we are taking off!

Please check the assignment notebook for upcoming assignments. Assignments are written in on the day that they are due. The students have been very diligent in completing the notebook and hopefully the assignments are clear.

This week flew by!

We successfully accomplished the following:

• Presented the paper bag book reports for summer reading. (Outstanding job!)


• Created a Reading Log.


• Started writing in our Reading Journals (very good writing and summaries).


• Progressed in our independent reading books (some students finished their 1st book and started working on a new book report!)


• Excelled on our 1st geography quiz on the 7 continents, 4 oceans and parts of a map.


• Excelled on our 1st science quiz on vertebrates.


• Visited our spelling/vocabulary words and made flashcards.


• Worked in our reading comprehension and handwriting books.


• Reviewed punctuation.

I look forward to seeing you at the Back-to-School Information Night on Tuesday- September 22 at 6:15PM.

Have a great week!

Week of September 14- Down to Business!

The Fun Has Just Begun!
This Week we will explore interesting places in our country as we master mapping skills in geography class. Our community will be explored in Social Studies, heroes will be met in our Historical Figures class, Wordly Wise/Spelling words will be introduced and handwriting will be improved as we practice in our handwriting books and daily writing. Animal Science will continue as we discusse vertebrates and their different categories.
We look forward to a quiz in both science and Wordly Wise this week.

I will communicate weekly to keep you informed on assignments and progress.
At Parents' Information Night (September 22, 2009), additional information will be provided and any of your questions and concerns will be adddressed.

I look forward to seeing you at the Family Picnic this Sunday!
Warmest regards,
LouAnn

Week One- A Success!

Group One experienced a very successsful week.
What great students!
They are very bright, enthusiastic, positive, eager to learn and respectful.

We discussed class rules, behavior and manners. A job chart was created and classroom responsibilities were assigned. The students decided that they did not like "homework" and wanted to rename it "Fun Work". As a result, our "Take Home" folders are labeled as "Fun Work" folders.

The students experienced an introduction to reading, writing, math, science, art, spanish, music and martial arts.

We started an "All About Me" project for their portfolios, wrote acrostic poems, wrote a book report on summer reading in the form of a paper bag report and created an Animal Science journal. We also welcomed Zoe Blazzard's new baby brother, Aubrey. Congratulations!

Welcome to Group 2!

I'm sure we'll have a great year! Check out the Clark School Website for more info!

:) LouAnn