Thank you for attending our Back to School Night last week!  We hope you found the information covered helpful.

Highlights:

-Please make sure your child is in class ready to start the day by 8:15 am.

-Please look over the detailed AR note and keep it for future reference.

-Please check the blog as often as possible!

-Please sign up for a conference on November 11th. The sign up sheet is located on top of the cubbies near our classroom door.

-It’s official–we are visiting NAS JAX to visit a helicopter squadron on November 3rd. We will be given a personal tour, visit with pilots, and even climb into the seat of the helo.  We may even be able to visit with the Blue Angels!  We need volunteers to make this event as successful as possible.  Please e-mail Mrs. O’Neill if you are able to attend.

This week we will…

-Read the story, Get the Egg!, and discuss animals that we can find in our neighborhood.

-Work with words with short e and initial blends.

-Explore realism and fantasy.

-Continue our AR program.  Please send in your child’s book on Tuesday or Wednesday (depending on your child’s assigned date.)

-Practice our spelling words and bonus word: ( jet, sled, leg, ten, saw, your, helping.)

-Focus on telling sentences in our writing.

-Continue our unit in math focusing on  number bonds and addition.  Please start working with your child DAILY on number bonds.  Your child should begin to start recalling number bonds automatically. While working on math homework, please help challenge your child to explain WHY and HOW they are solving the problems.

-Create an E-Butterfly Book with the use of i-pads, so we can share what we learned during our butterfly study with others.

Reminders:

-Our first Marlin’s home game is this Tuesday.  Please support the team by wearing a Marlin’s shirt or our team color, green.

-Homework packets went home on Friday.  This week they are due on Wednesday.

-Don’t forget to continue completing the September Reading Log. Your child should read around 10-15 minutes a day. These are due on Monday, October 3rd.

-We have noon dismissal on Wednesday, September 28th.  L’Shana Tova!

Our class will be visiting the library on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings to have a special reading time with Mrs. Leonard.  She will hold a mini-book group and then assist your child in selecting a book for his/her individual reading level (Accelerated Reader.) Your child should read their chosen book and bring it back to school the following Tuesday or Wednesday. Mrs. Leonard will then help your child learn how to take AR tests to check comprehension of the books he/she is reading. It is our goal to help your child continue to maximize his/her reading potential by adding this special reading time to the weekly schedule.

Important Highlights:

-Books will be checked out in addition to a library book picked on Fridays.

-Books should not be returned until the following Tuesday or Wednesday (depending on your child’s assigned date) since they are needed for AR testing.

-Your child is responsible for reading the story on her/her own.

-AR books, and special reading time with Mrs. Leonard, are in addition to our reading group conducted in class during reading centers.

Today you will find a math test in your child’s folder. We are so proud of the class and their accomplishments and hard work. Please review the test with your child and help your child correct any incorrect questions.  We ask that you reinforce what we told the students today in class–we learn from our mistakes and we’ll keep working on the skills. All tests should be signed, corrected and returned to school tomorrow.  Thank you for your support.

Welcome Fall and cooler weather!  Can you believe the first day of fall is this week? We hope to see all of you at Back to School Night on Thursday.

This week we will…

- Read the story, A Fox and a Kit, and discuss what people can learn by observing animals.

-Work with words with inflected endings -s and -ing.

-Explore main idea and details.

-Continue our reading groups and centers. (Please keep in mind that the reading selections start off a bit slow allowing the children to gain confidence in fluency. The selections will become more difficult as the year progresses–this is planned!  The goal of reading groups is to have children reading text at a level where he/she is able to apply reading skills and gain comprehension without losing fluency rate.)

-Begin our AR program.  More information will be sent home soon.

-Practice our spelling words (nap, naps, sit, sits, win, wins, fit, fits, hit, hits, her, too.)

-Focus on word choice and word order in our writing.

-Begin a new unit in math focusing on using number bonds to understand addition.  Please start working with your child DAILY on number bonds.  Your child should begin to start recalling number bonds automatically. While working on math homework, please help challenge your child to explain WHY and HOW they are solving the problems.

-Begin wrapping up our butterfly life cycle unit by creating a class book to share our discoveries and observations with you.

Reminders:

-Vision screening is on Monday, 9/19.

-MJGDS will hold Back to School Night on Thursday, 9/22.

-SMILE! Picture day is this Friday, 9/23.

-Homework packets go home on Friday and are due back by the next Friday. In addition to the homework packet, your child will also bring home a leveled reader to read to you this week. The reader is due back the next day so we can continue to use it during reading groups. Please make sure to set aside time each evening to help spread out the homework over the course of the week.

-Don’t forget to continue completing the September Reading Log. Your child should read around 10-15 minutes a day.

It’s hard to believe we are already starting our fourth week of school!

This week we will…

- Read the story, The Big Blue Ox, and discuss how animals can help people.

-Work with short o words.

-Explore characters and setting.

-Continue our reading groups and centers. (Please keep in mind that the reading selections start off a bit slow allowing the children to gain confidence in fluency. The selections will become more difficult as the year progresses–this is planned!  The goal of reading groups is to have children reading text at a level where he/she is able to apply reading skills and gain comprehension without losing fluency rate.)

-Practice our spelling words (mom, hot, hop, pot, pop, ox, lock, mop, got, rock, help, use.)

-Identify the action parts of sentences.

-Continue learning about and creating number stories and number bonds.

-Continue observing the butterfly life cycle!  Please feel free to stop into our classroom to visit our caterpillar friends. We also have many chrysalises and we will have butterflies shortly!

Reminders:

-We hope you attend the Singapore Math Night tomorrow, September 12th at 7 pm.

-Check the blog as often as possible.

-Our online book ordering site is still in the process of being fixed.  Thank you for your patience.  September book orders offer the most bonus points of the year, so we truly hope you consider ordering. We will let you know as soon as the site is back up and running.  Thank you so much for supporting reading at home and in our classroom!

-Homework packets go home on Friday and are due back by the next Friday. In addition to the homework packet, your child will also bring home a leveled reader to read to you this week. The reader is due back the next day so we can continue to use it during reading groups. Please make sure to set aside time each evening to help spread out the homework over the course of the week.

-Don’t forget to continue completing the September Reading Log. Your child should read around 10-15 minutes a day.