May 14-May 22
Room 12
End of the Year Fun Days
I can’t believe the school year is almost over. The students have all
worked hard this year. Now it’s time to have some fun! I have the following
fun days planned for the class. (Sunscreen needs to be applied at home.
School policy does not allow students to bring it to school.)
** Please make sure your child brings their backpack all week. We will be
cleaning out desks etc.
Monday May 14th Staff vs. 5th grade softball game
Bring a hat and bottled water and wear sunscreen. We will be sitting outside
and watching the softball game from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Tuesday May 15th: Game Day
Bring one or two games to share in class(no electronic games or video games
please). Students may keep them here to play again on Thursday and Monday.
Please put their name on them.
Wednesday May 16th: Field Trip to McDermott Park
We will be walking to McDermott Park and having a field day. Please wear
sunscreen and bring a bottle of water. Wear closed toed shoes, and dress
comfortably. We will be back to school to eat lunch as usual. Please make
sure you have turned in a permission slip. We will be back at school for our
regular lunch schedule.
Thursday May 17th: A.R party
Friday May 18th:Slumber party/Movie day Today is also 2nd gr. Trimester
awards (1:15 p.m.)
Bring your favorite stuffed animal, a movie (rated G only), a book and a
small blanket/beach towel/ pillow.
Monday May 21st: Game Day/ Ice cream sundae party and summer birthdays
Bring your favorite game (no video games) and favorite topping for an ice
cream sundae. We will recognize any summer birthdays (June& July)
Tuesday May 22th
Last day of school. We will dismiss at 1:15. Have a great summer!
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May 7-11
This morning (Mon. May 7) Mr. L was turned into an ice cream sundae. We had
a special assembly. This was for the students who raised $100 or more for
the school through the read-a-thon. They were able to decorate Mr. L with
various toppings. i.e. syrup, sprinkles, whipped cream, ice cream. He
looked quite hilarious.
--Lots of events coming up with the end of the school year quickly
approaching. A special event list will go out at the end of this week
spelling out the events daily until our last day. Please post this and refer
to it so your child will know what to bring on which days. It is meant to be
a fun filled week…the last 7 days of school.
--My gradebook will close this Friday. The last chance for A.R is this
Thursday and then all points will be tallied and sent into the team that is
in charge of coordinating the A.R. party for the students. Students MUST
have 30 or more points to qualify.
--I will send out the notices for students who will be receiving an award
next Monday May 14th, since my gradebook remains open for grades until this
Friday. The awards assembly will be May18th at 1:15 p.m.
--Please make sure that your child brings in their library book tomorrow,
Tuesday May 8th. They will receive a treat from the librarian if they do.
We’d love to have 100%. Students will not be checking out books this week so
if they need more points for A.R, you will need to take them to the public
library.
Have a good week!
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April 30-May 4
Thank you to all who helped as a chaperone on our field trip to the museum on
Friday. I think the students had a lot of fun and learned interesting facts
about birds and mammals. Thank you to all parents for allowing your children
to go on this field trip and donating the money to make it possible.
--Tomorrow May 1st is the pancake breakfast in the MPR starting at 7 a.m and
ending at 8. If you haven’t bought tickets, they can be bought at the door.
--May 3rd (Thursday) is the schoolwide BBQ for achieving the honor of
Distinguished school. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be served to all students
who would like to eat that. It is free.
--Friday May 4th is the volunteer recognition assembly as well as the last
day for the Language Lab for ELL students.
--A.R reports will be sent home this week. I am hoping to run the reports
tonight(Monday) and pass them out to students tomorrow. This will provide
any student some time to get to the required 30 points for the AR party
coming up in a couple of weeks.
--Weekly folders will also go home this week, probably Wed. or Thurs. Due to
state testing a couple of weeks ago, we got a little bit behind.
--Grade cut off is coming up, so please remind your child the importance of
the next couple of weeks. It could help them raise their grades.
Have a great week!
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April 23-27
Thank you for having your child at school on time and ready to go all of last
week for State testing. We were able to finish all of the tests by Thursday
with no make ups because all students were here all week. Thank you also to
all of the parents who volunteered snacks for testing. Students had lots of
great, nutritious food for testing. They still are eating the snacks!
--Field trip this Friday to the San Bernardino Museum. Please make sure your
child brings their lunch….either in a lunch pail or paper bag. If your child
has not turned in their permission slips and $5 donation, please do so as
soon as you can. Currently I have enough parent volunteers for this field
trip: Ms. Miller, Mrs. Zambrano, Mrs. Payan Garcia, & Mrs. Tapia. Space is
limited on the bus so if more parents would like to come, you will have to
drive your own car and follow us.
--May 1 is the pancake breakfast for the school. More info coming on this.
--May 17th is the AR celebration for all students meeting their goals. For
2nd grade this means for all students who have a total of 30 A.R. points.
The cut off will be Thurs. May 10th. That gives students almost 3 full weeks
to meet their goals.
--My gradebook will be closed approximately 1 week before school is out.
--Homework packets went home today Monday April 23rd. Please make sure your
child is completing the nightly homework and is putting their names on every
paper.
Have a great week!
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April 16-20
State testing is all this week. Please make sure your child has a nutritious
and healthy breakfast each morning. In addition, please make sure your child
is here by 8 a.m. to ensure that they will be on time and in their seats to
start testing after the bell rings. Any late students will be sent to the
library until recess time and will miss that section of the test for that
day.
--Thank you to all of the parents that donated snacks and/or drinks for
students this week. They really look forward to those after the first part
of the test each day.
--I want to apologize for any confusion over the weekend about the practice
test booklet the math portion. Apparently I wasn’t the only teacher who
didn’t realize the math portion didn’t have the questions to go along with
the problems.
--If your child has not turned in their field trip permission slip and
donation of $5, please do so this week. If you need another permission slip,
just write me a note and I will give one to your child.
--No homework this week due to state testing. However, this would be a great
week to have your child get caught up on some AR reading for tests. We go to
the computer lab on Thursdays and on that day we focus on taking AR tests.
Have a great week!
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April 9-13
--Progress reports went home on Friday. Please return the envelope signed
and any paperwork inside that requires a signature. Please do so as soon as
you can. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s
grades, please, please set up an appointment whereby we can go over
everything. There are truly not that many weeks of grades left.
--State testing is next week. There is homework this week but not next.
Please go on the website for CST test release questions and type in the
standard that your child was having trouble with on the benchmark tests(sent
home with the progress report) and practice some of those test release
questions. It will really help your child.
--Our field trip is coming up the end of the month. I will need the
permission slips and $5 as soon as you can get those in. Currently I have
only 1 parent that has volunteered to be a chaperone. I will need 3 more.
Please let me know if you can attend.
--Homework is being turned in without names. Your child needs to put their
name on EVERY assignment. Please check your child’s work nightly.
Have a great week!
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March 26-30
Welcome Back! I hope each of you had a great Spring Break and were able to
have fun as well as get some rest. Now we are on the last 8 weeks of
school. Approximately 7 before my gradebook closes for the year. Then in
mid April we have state testing for a week. (April 16- 20) So it is all
coming VERY quickly. Please work very closely with your child so that these
next weeks are successful for them since there truly aren’t very many weeks
of grades left.
--During these next few weeks before the state test, we will be doing lots of
test prep with the students so that there are few surprises on the test for
them. Please discuss the importance of this test with your child and doing
their best work. This test not only is important for your child and
placement in third grade,but also for the school and the district.
--We are beginning Chapter 13 in math—Three digit addition and Chapter 14
will be Three digit subtraction. I will be giving students a lot of Excel
math to supplement so that they do not forget other concepts learned in
previous chapters.
--Yearbooks are on sale. A flyer went home with the information. Pre-orders
are being taken now.
--A field trip to the San Bernardino County Museum will be coming up in
April. A permission slip will be going home next week. A donation of $5 is
being requested to cover costs.
--If you are interested in buying the DVD of Room 12 that was on during Open
house, please send me an email and $5 to cover the cost. If I don’t get any
requests by the end of the week, I will erase it. I just heard several
students say they wanted one and thought I’d offer this as an option.
****************************************************************************
March 5-8
Thank you for having your child do a great job on the Biography reports.
Students seemed to learn more about the Famous Americans. This week there
will be another home project. This is a fun project and it will be due March
14th. Directions will be coming home tomorrow. It is for Open House. If
students need construction paper for this project, please plan ahead and have
them ask. I will always provide paper. More to come on this tomorrow,
Tuesday March 6th.
--No school this Friday March 9th.
--We will begin our Flat Stanley book this week and continue next week. So
no story from our Reading book for this week and next. There are no spelling
words for this week since there are 10 vocabulary words and those are a bit
more difficult.
--Yearbook orders are being taken. An order form (orange) went home today
with information on it. There is a discount if it is ordered and paid for
before April 2nd ($15) (tax included. Please make a check out to West
Heritage PTA so that your order can be tracked) After April 2nd the yearbooks
will be $18 and cash only
--Chapter 12 in math has begun. Please take advantage of going online to the
math textbook to practice what has been taught in class.
--Open House is Thursday March 15th.
--Minimum day Friday March 16th.
Have a great week!
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Feb. 27-March 2
--Last week A.R. reports went home for your information so you know how many
points your child has. Please remember as we begin the last trimester of 2nd
grade the goal is 30 points MINIMUM for a grade of S.
--Friday Feb. 24th 2nd trimester report cards went home. If you have not
signed and returned the envelope where is says 2nd trimester, please do so as
soon as possible. If your child is on an IRP we will be meeting again soon.
If you have questions and concerns about any of your childs’ grades, please
contact me to set up a day/time to discuss this.
-2nd trimester awards will be this Thursday, March 1st.. If your child is
receiving one, a notice will go home on Tuesday(Feb. 28th). I apologize for
the late notice, however this is the earliest I could send it home.
--This week is Literature week. Lots of activities going on daily. A
schedule went home last week.
--A special homework assignment will go home tomorrow. I will give students
until Monday March 5th to complete it. It is about biographies. Next week
another special homework assignment will be going home as well on Monday
March 5th and due the following week.. This one will be more of a family
project for Open house. Your child will be given a little over a week to
complete that assignment as well. These are additional homework
assignments. Your child will still be expected to complete the homework from
the packet.
--Chapter 11 test in math this week on Geometry.—Thursday or Friday. So
please review vertices, edges and faces with your child!
Have a great week!
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Feb. 20-24
--Report cards go home this Friday Feb. 24th for the 2nd trimester. Please
sign and return the envelope. If you have any questions and/or concerns,
please do not hesitate to email and we can set up a time/day to talk about
goals for your child the third trimester.
--Tomorrow Wed. Feb. 22nd the committee for the Calif. Distinguished school
will be around our school all day in and out of classrooms. This is a huge
honor that our school is up for. Please, please make sure your child is on
time and out on the playground tomorrow by 8 a.m. No tardies!
--Weekly folders will go home this week.
--A.R. reports will also go home Thurs. or Friday so look for them attached
to your child’s day note.
--Biographies are this week in Reading so no story per se in our book. We
will be reading and focusing on various important Americans.
--We are continuing our chapter in Geometry.(Ch. 11). Please make sure you
are going over review pages online. Edges, vertices, faces are difficult
concepts.
--Next week is Literature week. A schedule of events went home last week.
Bookfair is also next week.
Have a great week!
****************************************************
Feb. 13-17
Please check your child's behavior day note.
****************************************************
Feb. 6-10
Congratulations to all of the students who participated in our Talent Show---
ROCK THE TALENT. They did an incredible job as well as the PTA for
organizing this popular event and decorating. It looked like a professional
stage.
--My gradebook for the 2nd trimester will close the week of Feb. 14-17th.
Report cards will be sent home on Feb. 24th. Listening grades this trimester
went way down, so prepare yourselves! Math and Language arts was also
obviously more difficult since it was 2nd trimester. Please monitor your
child’s grades and progress closely this last trimester. It is a fast one
with spring break in March and state testing in April. Anytime you would
like to discuss your child and their progress, please feel free to contact me
for an appointment and we can sit uninterrupted and discuss it. During
school hours it is not possible.
--Valentine grams on sale for $1 before school and at lunchtime. Student
council will deliver them on Feb. 14th.
--Your child should be bringing home their glossary detectives on Thursdays
to study the meanings of the vocabulary words every week from the story.
Please remind them Thursday mornings.
Have a great week!
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Jan. 30-February 3
Last week A.R reports went home as well as a report regarding listening grades
(if your child currently has an N or a U). My last day for inputting grades
for this trimester will be Feb. 17th. Report cards go home Feb. 24th. The
awards assembly will be sometime after the 24th. I’m sure you will get an
automated message from Mr. L on your phone.
--For Valentine’s Day students will be exchanging valentines. I will send
home a list of student names in our class. If your child is making out
valentine’s, please make sure they have a card for every student in our
class. We don’t want any hurt feelings.
Student council is also selling valentine grams for any student in the school
for a minimal fee. A flyer went home last week.
--Please, please make sure your child is putting their name on their
homework. They get upset when I have to have them sit out for this. We are
2/3 of the way through 2nd grade, I think they should KNOW to put their name
and number on their papers by now.
--In math we started Chapter 10 --Numbers to 1000. Please review previous
chapters with your child…esp. the double digit subtraction with re-grouping.
Some students are still struggling with this when addition and subtraction is
all mixed up on a page. This and word problems are all over the state test
in April.
--We are moving much faster in all subjects at this point in the school
year. Your child is now truly a second grader and as such the expectations
are greater. If you would like a conference to discuss any matters that are
of a concern to you, please contact me and we can set up an appointment to
talk after school or in the early morning before class starts. Even if it is
a 10 minute conference to clarify something, please do not hesitate to call
or write a note for an appointment. If you call the school and would like to
talk to me, please do that after 2:45p.m. or before 7:45 a.m.
Have a good week!
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Jan. 23-27
--Good job last week on the new homework. Please remember to have your child
put their name on EVERY paper.
--We are about halfway through chapter 9 (fractions) in math. This is a
fairly easy chapter so we are moving quickly. We have to have at least
introduced all the concepts in the book by our state test in April. And
there are 14 chapters in our book.
--Last week your child brought home a practice book from the reading series…
volume 1. You can save this book as well as the 1st volume of the math
workbook to do during summer vacation. We completed all of the concepts,
just not every page which is virtually impossible for a full curriculum. By
the end of the year they will also have volume 2 in math and in language arts
that can be used for practice during the summer. It will be important to
keep the skills that they learned in 2nd grade since 3rd grade will move
quickly through those concepts so that new ones can be taught and built upon
prior knowledge learned in 2nd grade. Otherwise your child will fall behind
quickly in third grade.
--AR reports will go home sometime this week. I will attach them to the
behavior/day note. This is for you to keep and your information.
--Weekly folders will also go home this week. I’m not sure at this point if
it will be Tuesday or Wednesday. It depends upon how much I am able to
complete today after school. (Monday Jan. 23)
Have a good week!
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Jan. 17-20
-On Thursday Jan. 12th 2nd trimester progress reports went home. Please sign
and return the bottom portion as soon as possible. If your child received
two forms, please sign and return both of them. Please also sign and return
the envelope. The first part of this trimester went quickly and there were
less grades due to almost 4 weeks off with Thanksgiving and Christmas. There
will be more grades the second half of the trimester. Please watch carefully
your child’s progress. This is crunch time for 2nd grade!
--The homework has changed. Please look and read the homework packet
carefully. As 2nd grade teachers we decided to align the homework better
towards the standards that are taught. It is more skill based and thought
provoking rather than rote learning.There are spelling choices. To save
paper we have included on the same paper Monday/Tuesday and then Wed./Thurs.
So Monday nights spelling is due on Tuesday but will be given back to
students so they can use the backside for Tues. Wed. homework due Thurs. but
will be given back so that Thurs. night they can use the backside of the
paper. The items that are on the homework are also on the state test.
Please go over the homework nightly with your children and make sure they are
completing it.
--I have noticed on the homework assignments that students are not taking
their time and doing their best work. They also are not putting their names
on the papers. From today on if a student turns in homework without their
name, it will be counted as no homework. They should know to put their name
on their papers.
--I completely forgot to give the spelling test on Thursday(I must have still
been on vacation mode) so I gave it today Tues. Jan. 17th along with the
comprehension, vocabulary and timed basic math fact test.
--This week we will be studying about Martin Luther King Jr. so there will
not be a story from the reading book.
--Weekly folders will go home on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.
Have a good week!
**We are all out of Kleenex for our class. Donations would greatly be
appreciated. Paper towels can be a bit rough on our noses.
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Jan. 9-13, 2012
Welcome back and Happy New Year! I hope that each of you had a wonderful
Christmas and that your New Year is filled with happiness, good health and
good fortune!
This will be a short week for your child and yet a long one since we will
jump right back into routines and academics. We will have our comprehension
test and vocabulary test next Tuesday Jan. 17th instead of this week due to
the non student attendance day on Friday. This Friday Jan. 13th is a non
student attendance day. Teachers will be at school analyzing district
testing data and planning the second half of the school year.
Monday Jan. 16th is a holiday and no school. This is a day to remember Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. We will spend the week of Jan. 17th-20th learning
about Dr. Martin Luther King. Beginning this week the homework routines will
also change, so please read the homework packet carefully next week and be
prepared to help your child with the new assignments.
This Thursday, ready or not, students will be taking their Chapter 8 test on
Multiplication (intro) and division (intro). Please go online and review
this chapter with your child.
Progress reports go home this Thursday. We are officially halfway through
the second trimester!
Have a great week!
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Dec. 19-21
--This will be a short week. Minimum days on Monday and Wednesday. The
office will be closing early Wednesday Dec. 21st, so please pick up your
child on time!
--Parent gifts went home today Monday Dec. 19th. Your children worked really
hard on them and did a great job. They are proud of their work so please
recognize that.
--Over the Christmas break, please have your child read. In addition to
reading, please go online to the math textbook (access # is A740B464B0) and
work on concepts that we have covered….esp. double digit addition and
subtraction. Mix up the problems on a page so that they can really look for
the + or – sign. Review money as well.
No homework this week!
Have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your children at this age. Take it from
a parent whose children are grown, and whose granddaughter is already 4 years
old,
it sure does go by quickly!
Merry Christmas and a Happy, healthy 2012!!
*******************************************************************
Nov. 14-18
--A.R. reports will go home I promise this week! There were computer issues
last week.
--Tuesday Dec. 6th is the 2nd grade Christmas performance in the MPR. Your
child brought home their speaking parts to memorize last Wed. Please have
your child working on this. If for some reason you are not able to bring
your child, or you have a previous engagement, please let me know as soon as
possible so that I can re-assign their part to another child. More
information will be sent home about times etc. at a later date, but I wanted
you to reserve that evening and put it on your calendars now.
--Field trip is this Thursday. Every child must have a bag lunch since we
will be eating in a park in Claremont before the performance. If you have
not returned the permission slip and $7 please do so ASAP!
--The TURKEY IN DISGUISE assignment is due this week on Thurs. Nov. 17th.
This was assigned on Nov. 7th, so I have high expectations for this. On the
last page is the rubric that will be used to grade this assignment with the
point value for each category.
--We started Chapter 7 in math last Thursday. Your child has been taught the
value of the coins and the corresponding “touch points” so that it is easier
for them to count.
--Early dismissal this Friday at 1:15 p.m.
--Thanksgiving vacation/break will be next week, returning to school on Nov.
28th.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING to each of you. Have a wonderful vacation!
**********************************************************************
Nov. 7-10
Thank you to all attending the conferences last week! If in the future, you
would like an additional conference, please feel free to contact me to set up
an appointment.
--We will be finishing up Chapter 6 this week on double digit subtraction
with re-grouping. This is a very tough concept for students of this age. I
highly encourage you to go online and do some practice pages from the book or
your child might struggle during the test as well as after. There is also
High Stakes math online.
Password-West Heritage
899-1199
--A.R. reports will be going home sometime this week.
--No Tuesday folder this week.
--Pancake breakfast Nov. 8th 7 a.m.-8a.m
--Bookfair is all week. Our day to go is Tues. Nov. 8 at 10:30 a.m.
--Please remember your field trip permission slips and $7 donation. The
field trip is next week!
--A special homework assignment about a turkey in disguise was assigned today
Monday Nov. 7th. Please work on this with your child and check the flyer for
due dates etc. This is due BEFORE THANKSGIVING vacation. Since this is a
long term assignment, I am expecting work that shows a lot of effort and
work that reflects 2 weeks.
--Remember to save BOX TOPS!
Have a good week!
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Nov. 1-4
Thank you for all of your help last Friday with classroom donations for our
party as well as the donations for Harvest night. Both were a big success
and the students seemed to enjoy the day and the evening. By the looks of
things during Harvest night, it looked to me like the largest attendance
since we’ve started it! Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it
was the first Harvest night where we didn’t have the Santa Ana winds!
--This week is Parent/teacher conferences. The conferences are only 15
minutes long so please check your schedule for the time. I send home
reminders the day before. Report cards will be passed out during that time
and discussed. If you are running late or unable to make it, please let me
know so that we can re-schedule it. You can call or email. If you have not
scheduled an appointment and would like to, please notify me by email and I
will check the schedule to find an opening this week. If not we can always
schedule one the following week.
--Due to conferences all week is early dismissal. Please be on time to pick
up your children. It is tough on the office staff when students are left in
the office and parents are late to pick up.
--Field trip permission slips were passed out last Friday. Please return as
soon as possible with the $7 donation.
--Keep saving box tops! In 3 weeks our classroom saved $439.70. That is
incredible! This is a free way for our school to do a fundraiser. Thank you!
--Nov. 11th there is no school due to Veteran’s day.
Thanksgiving break is the week of Nov. 21-25th with early dismissal on Friday
Nov. 18th.
Have a great week and I will see you at conferences.
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Oct. 24-28
Last Friday Parent/Teacher confirmations were sent out. My schedule during
that week is fairly tight with one conference after another, so if you need
to re-schedule please let me know. We might have to re-schedule for the 2nd
week in November.
--This is a very busy week. This Friday Oct. 28th is our schoolwide
Halloween parade at 8:15 a.m. in the center court area of the quad. Please
have your child wear their costume over their clothes, so that after the
parade they can make a quick change in our classroom rather than 26 students
having to leave to change in the bathroom. Also on Friday we will have a
craft/art project celebration in our classroom at 10:30 a.m. Our room
parents sent out notifications last week for supplies that your child
volunteered for. Please bring those in as soon as possible so that I can
prep the various projects before Friday. If you would like to come and “man
a station”, your help would be greatly appreciated. Just let Mr. Garcia , Ms.
Payan (our room parents) or myself know that you will be volunteering your
time on that day so that we can make appropriate preparations.
--Friday is also the school’s Harvest night. 2nd grade is asking for store
bought cakes/cupcakes/cookies for the cake walk. If you could bring those in
on Thursday, that would be a tremendous help for this fundraiser. With all
of the budget cuts in the state of California, it makes these type of
classroom fundraisers so helpful. Whatever we make is divided schoolwide and
used to supplement field trips, classroom parties, educational supplies.
Have a great week, and hopefully I will see you all Friday evening at our
Harvest night.
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Oct. 17-21
Red Ribbon is this week so please make sure you check the schedule that was
sent home last Friday with the various activities for this week that are
planned.
--Our first field trip of the year to the Lewis family playhouse went well.
I think the students really enjoyed the experience of seeing a “live”
performance and it being in such a nice venue. Plus the fact that Mr. & Mrs.
Payan were able to get us free admission. Thank you!!! Next month in Nov.
we will be going to Bridges auditorium in Claremont to see THE WIZARD OF OZ.
This field trip was planned weeks ago, before the Lewis family playhouse.
The cost of it will be $7 since we have to pay for the tickets and the
busses.
--Harvest night will be Oct. 28th and 2nd grade will have 2 booths. One is
the traditional cake walk that we do yearly and the other is a crazy hair
booth. We are asking for donations of the crazy colored hairspray that you
can get at Michael’s, Party city etc. as well as store bought baked goods.
The store bought baked goods we would need on Wed. Oct. 26-Fri. Oct. 28th.
The hair spray can be brought in at any time. A flyer went home today Monday
Oct. 17th.
--On Friday Oct. 28th we will also have a schoolwide Halloween parade at 8:15
a.m. in the center court/quad area by the flagpole. Students will be able to
dress up. We are asking that their costumes be worn over their regular
clothes so that after the parade they can be put in their backpacks. Later
on that day at 10:40 a.m. we will have our classroom craft celebration. Our
room parents will be writing a letter this week with what item your child
will be volunteering for you to bring for this event. So look out for it in
your child’s homework folder!!
--Parent/Teacher conferences are Nov. 1-4. I will be confirming appointments
this week and will send home a notification. I will do my best to give you
one of your three choices but sometimes I am not able to do so if several
parents request the same day/time. If you have not returned your form,
please do so by this Wed. Conferences will only be 15-20 min long. If you
feel you need longer than this, we will have to re-schedule for a different
day/week.
--Don’t forget to save box tops and send them in! A free way to earn our
class/school money!
Have a good week!
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Oct. 10-14
Our field trip is this Thursday to Victoria Garden Lewis Playhouse. We will
be leaving around 10:30 a.m. and returning around 12:45. Since this will be
during our lunchtime, please make sure you pack your child a lunch for that
day. The cafeteria will be finished serving lunch by the time we return.
Also pack your child a substantial snack that they will eat before we leave
for the play so that your child won’t be hungry and can enjoy the play.
Since this field trip was free to us (we just had to pay for the bus), we are
limited as a class as to volunteers. I currently have one volunteer that
will be going on this field trip and won’t be able to take any others. Nor
will you be able to meet us there. Space is limited since these tickets were
a gift.
--50’s day is this Friday. Students can show their spirit by dressing up as
people in the 1950’s. There will be activities as a school at lunchtime for
the students to enjoy.
--Next week is Red Ribbon week and a schedule of events/activities for that
week should be going home on Friday.
--No Tuesday folders this week since yesterday was a non student day, and I
spent the day analyzing benchmark data.
--Please save box tops and bring them in. Each class will receive funds back
to use for our class. . We will get 10 cents per box top. That is a great
return on something you were just going to put in the recycle bin.
--Forms for Harvest night tickets were sent home. If you pre-order, you get
a little more for your money. Harvest night is Friday Oct. 28th. 2nd grade
has 2 booths. One booth is the cake walk and the other is crazy hair
painting. We will be sending flyers home soon asking for donations for our
cake walk(store bought cakes/cupcakes/cookies) and for crazy hair spray. So
if you see any crazy hair spray in different colors for a cheap price, please
pick up a can or two and bring it in.
--A.R. reports were sent home last Friday. If you have any questions, please
email or stop by for a quick question. We will go over this and many things
in detail during conferences the first week in Nov.
Have a great week!
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Oct. 3-7
-- Last Friday permission slips were sent home for our upcoming field trip on
Oct. 13th. The field trip is on a Thursday, not a Wed. as it says on the
permission slip/note. This field trip was donated to us and all we have to
pay for is the bus so that is why we are only requesting $2 for this trip ----
to cover the cost of the bus. Please return the permission slip and $2
donation as soon as possible.
--Monday Oct. 10th is a non student attendance day. Teachers will be at
school analyzing data, but students will not be here.
--Tuesday and Wednesday of this week we will be completing our first district
benchmark tests. Please make sure that your child has a good breakfast and
lots of sleep. These tests are given 3 times throughout the year in
preparation for our state test in April.
--Chapter 4 math test will hopefully be given on Wed. or Thursday and then
our next Chapter in math will be Chapter 5 Two digit addition.
--A.R. reports were not sent home last week, but will be sent home this
week. I was out last Thursday and I got a little behind. Look for them
Thursday or Friday of this week.
--This week and next week we will be on the story EXPLORING PARKS WITH RANGER
DOCKETT. Next week we will also go over Fairy Tales which is not in the
students books. These will be a combination of read alouds and some that
will be printed out for students with various activities.
Have a great week!
***************************************************************************
Sept. 26th-30th
--Progress Reports went home on Friday Sept. 23rd. We are a little more than
halfway through the first trimester. If you have any questions or concerns,
please feel free to contact me to make an appointment to discuss your child’s
progress. Official Parent/teacher conferences are in Nov. but we can meet
anytime in-between provided you make an appointment. Please sign and return
all forms as well as the envelope that the progress report went home in(6week
progress report trimester 1).
--A.R. reports will go home this week.
--Tuesday folders will also go home tomorrow.
--On Tuesday Sept. 27th a student will be bringing in pizza and a drink for
her birthday so lunch will be provided for all students unless they choose
not to have the pizza and brought their own lunch or would prefer to buy
their lunch.
--We start a new chapter in math…Chapter 4 Please review online chapters 1-3.
--Picture day is tomorrow, Tuesday Sept. 27th for any student who received a
notice that their picture needed to be re-taken.
--Please make sure that your child is putting their name on every homework
paper. Beginning this week if their name is not on their papers it will go
in the “black hole” and not be counted. I am receiving too many papers that
are sloppy copies and no names on them.
Have a great week!
*********************************************************************
Sept. 19-23
As a district we had a disaster drill today Monday Sept. 19th. The students
did an excellent job. If your child still has not brought in their disaster
bag, please do so immediately. In the event of a real disaster, children
will need the non perishable items to eat in that bag.
--Please check the webpage a few times a week for important messages and the
nightly math homework.
--In Reading this week our story is HENRY AND MUDGE and the Starry Night.
Next week we will be reading read alouds of other Henry and Mudge stories.
The weekly tests for comprehension and vocabulary may or may not happen on
Friday depending upon how far we get week l.
--In math we are finishing up Chapter l this week and will be moving fast to
do so. We are a little behind on our year long plan. After chapter l we
will move forward to Ch. 4 since we have already completed chapters 2 and 3.
--A.R reports will go home at the beginning of next week.
--The 6 week progress reports will go home on Friday. Please review those
with your child and if they received a deficiency notice, sign and return
the bottom portion. If you have questions/concerns about the contents of
this report, please feel free to contact me for an appointment whereby we can
sit down and discuss it.
Have a great week!
***************************************************
Sept. 12-16
--Grade cut off for the 6 week progress report is Sept. 16th. Progress
reports go home on Sept. 23rd. This means we are already halfway through our
first trimester! Wow!
--If you have not sent in a disaster bag for your child, please do so ASAP.
--A.R. reports were sent home last Thursday Sept. 8th and another one will be
sent home the week of Sept. 26th.
--Library day is every Tuesday.
--Please make sure that you are helping your child with organization skills
by having them rip off the nightly homework and putting it in their homework
folder. It helps tremendously if they are ready to file it in the morning.
Otherwise they are confused as to what is due and when.
--Chapter 1 in math will begin Tuesday or Wednesday. And after chapter 1 we
will go on to chapter 4.
Have a great week and if you have any questions/concerns please feel free to
contact me!
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Sept. 5-9, 2011
I hope everyone had a fantastic 3 day weekend with lots of family fun time!
--This week there is no story from our Language arts reading book. I will be
doing a “read aloud” in class with activities. The book is called Imogene’s
Antlers. Encourage your child to listen to the story as it is read to them.
--Tuesdays are library days. Students have been checking out 2 books per
week. While in the library Mrs. MacKnight reads the students an AR book.
The students take an AR test in the computer lab on this story immediately
after library. You will see this on their AR reports highlighted when I send
them home. This also counts as a listening grade. Students must listen to
the story that is read outloud in order for them to pass the test on the
computer. The same is true for an introductory story from their Reading
books. They are read a story before introducing the story from their reading
books and then they take a test on this read aloud.
--AR reports will be sent home next week. Please keep in mind that the magic
# for the first trimester for a Satisfactory grade in AR comprehension is 5
points.
--Interim 6 week progress reports will be sent home on Sept. 23rd.
--In math we are more than halfway through the 3rd chapter. After chapter 3
we will go backwards to chapter 1. And from that point on we will go in
succession with the chapters from the book (i.e. Chapter 4, 5, 6 etc.)
--Thursday Sept. 8 is School picture day. Flyers/order forms were sent home
last week. If you do not have one stop by the office and ask for another form
before Thursday or call Studio 1 1-877-420-4400 for more information.
Have a great week!
*************************************************************************
August 29-Sept. 2
--Our fundraiser has ended as of today Aug. 29th. Please return any orders
with the money in an envelope as soon as possible.
--If you haven’t joined PTA as yet, please do so. We are currently in the
lead for having the most members and I promised the students an ice cream
sundae party with all of the toppings if we get 100%.
--We started chapter 3 in math….subtraction. Please practice counting
backwards from 20 with your child. We do touch math and they really need to
know how to count backwards.
--Julius is our story this week in our reading book. We will be taking a
vocabulary and a comprehension test on this story this Friday. The
vocabulary test will be the first one. Look for your child’s glossary
detective in their homework folder. They should have the meanings of the
words listed on this straight from their reading book. They will have to
know the meaning of the words and how to use it in context.
--This coming Monday is a holiday and there is no school for Labor day.
--If you have any questions/concerns regarding homework or classwork, please
write me a note and/or email.’
Have a great week
**********************************************************************
August 22-29
--This week we will finish up Dragon Gets By in our Reading book and will
take our comprehension test Tuesday or Wednesday. Then we will begin a new
story called Julius in our Reading book. This story will carry through til
the following week (Aug. 29-Sept. 2).
Homework is due daily even though the packet is given on Mondays. It helps
tremendously with the morning routine, if you rip off that nights homework
and put it in your child’s blue folder ready for them to turn in the next day
instead of having the whole packet in their homework folder.
--Please put together an emergency packet for your child in a ziploc bag and
return it to school as soon as possible. Make sure your child’s name is on
it. A paper was sent home last week with suggestions as to what to put in it.
(it was a blue flyer).
--Please return any fundraiser forms for any item your child may have sold.
In todays world of budget cuts, fundraisers are even more important to our
school than ever!!
--Please check my webpage for more detailed information regarding the weekly
homework. It will include the spelling and vocabulary words as well as
nightly homework for math. It is usually posted after school between 3-4 p.m.
--Thursday evening is Back To School Night. This is an informal time to
receive some important information about our classroom and not a time for a
conference about your child’s progress thus far. I pass out a handbook that
has pertinent information and go over it briefly. I will also be asking for
parent volunteers, a room parent and an assistant room parent for the year.
There are two sessions, each session is 30 minutes. The sessions contain the
same information, but it provides parents an opportunity if they have more
than one child at West Heritage to attend the other child’s Back To School
night presentation by that teacher. There is also ample time to ask questions
to clarify procedures etc.
--Library is on Tuesdays. I believe Mrs. MacKnight will allow the students
to check out 2 books this week.
Have a great week and I will see you this Thursday at Back To School Night.
*************************************************************************
Aug. 15-19
Well our first week of school was a success and now we will begin to
introduce more of our regular schedule. This week homework begins (Monday
Aug. 15th). Homework packets are sent home on Monday primarily for your
convenience as a family and to schedule your week. Please look at the weeks
worth of work and schedule how you will complete the homework. Homework is
due daily and not as a packet. Therefore Monday night's homework is due
first thing Tuesday, Tuesday nights homework is due first thing Wed. and so
on. Rarely will there be homework over the weekend unless a student does
not finish classwork and/or there is a project. Either way you will receive
ample notice to adjust your schedules appropriately.
I know that homework can be a challenging time for some families and that
there is an adjustment phase with the new system for your child. Please
communicate with me so that I am aware of any problems that the homework may
cause. In second grade the teachers work very well as a team and do all of
the yearlong planning and scheduling together. We also take turns putting
the homework together so some of the times I will not know completely what is
scheduled for the homework in advance if I am not in charge of it that
particular week. Mistakes sometimes are also made in the assemblance of the
packet. Please know that when it is brought to our attention, we will make
accomodations for that.
Next week we will start the daily behavior note of your child. This
lets you know individually how your child's day went. A :) means that your
child had a great day. Otherwise I will try to write a brief note as to what
happened that day. Please initial daily and return daily. This will begin
the week of Aug. 22nd.
Please mark on your calendars Back To School Night date of Thursday August
25th. Have a great week. Remember to register for the Newsflash (weekly
news) on my wesite and I will alert you per your request, of any important
dates and/or announcements. We will discuss this more at Back to School
Night. You can email me at the district website with any questions. The
Newsflash page will eventually be for me to remind you of important events or
announcements. i.e. Field trip on a specific date; etc.
Have a great week.