Conference time is here again!

Conference time is here again!!  I have scheduled conferences on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week (15th - 17th).  I sent home your conference reminder a week ago. If you didn't receive it (many things can get lost between school and home) or can't remember your time, please send me a note and I will tell you your time. I am very excited to meet with you and discuss the wonderful progress that your child has made!!

P.S. - Conference time has led to many interesting discussions in our classroom. We have talked about what "putting forth best effort", "listens respectfully", and "uses time wisely" all mean and what I expect from each student.  See if your child can tell you the difference....

Guidance News

Mrs. McCleary comes in every Wednesday to help us with our problems! She has had some amazing discussions around bullying and problem solving!  Your child should be able to tell you the difference between a big problem and a small problem.  If it is a small problem, we have taught the students  to try two different strategies to solve it.  If it is a big problem (scary or dangerous), we have talked that students should get help from an adult that they trust and not try to solve it on their own.  The next topic Mrs. McCleary will cover is personal safety.  This is a good follow up to problem solving because problems with personal safety require adult help. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call Mrs. McCleary at 264-5951.

Valentine's Day Party

We will be having a low key Valentines party on Monday, February 14th from 2:15 - 2:45.  All parents are welcome to join the festivities.  All students are invited to hand out valentine cards, but they must provide one for every student in the classroom.  Students do not need to give valentines if they do not want to.  This is just a special day to be with our friends! Thank you in advance for all of your help!!

Writing 101

We've been working really hard the last few weeks on learning how to write a structured response.  We have talked about an opening sentence, a focusing sentence (this is what the entire writing piece will be about), 2 to 3 examples that support the focus, and a closing sentence. I have compared this form of writing to a hamburger (the top bun is the opening sentence and the focusing sentence, the meat which is the most important part of the burger is the examples, and the closing sentence is the bottom bun)  Very fun! Next time your child brings an example home, have them read it to you making sure they point out all of the important parts!  All of this hard work is preparing us for MBS!

No School

Hi Everyone! This is just a friendly reminder that there is no school this Monday, January 17th.  It is an inservice work day for educators in our district. I hope you enjoy the day doing some fun activities with your pumpkin! I'll see everyone on Tuesday!

Yearbooks

This is just a reminder that Monday, January 24th is the last day to order yearbooks for this school year.   After this date, it will not be possible to buy one and we do not order any extras.  If you have lost your order form, send me a note and I can send you another order form!  If you have your order form and haven't sent it in yet, just make sure you send it in by the 24th.   I am always so impressed with how amazing the yearbook is and I am sure that you will love it too!! 

Gingerbread Houses Without The Pictures

We had SO MUCH FUN with our gingerbread unit!  We read numerous gingerbread books and compared and contrasted them all!  As a final project, we each made our own foam gingerbread houses with extra candy to eat!  The students had a terrific time and these houses were much easier to carry home!  I took many great pictures during "construction time" however, my SD card is now saying I don't have any pictures.  Oh technology!  I am so sorry that I can't post pictures but each house was unique and inspired!

We also had a wonderful holiday celebration on Wednesday afternoon!  Thank you to every family who donated baked goods or paper products.  We had a really great day and we were all ready to start vacation! I hope you had a restful and fun vacation with your family.  I look forward to seeing your children tomorrow! 

PS - My New Year's resolution should be to become more "comfortable" with technology....I'll work on it! :)