Mrs. Freeland's Weekly Newsletter
October 24-28
Halloween: Halloween is coming soon! We will be celebrating in the afternoon on Monday, October 31st. Parents and friends are welcome to come and watch us parade through downtown starting around 1:00. After the parade we will tour the 4th grade Wax Museum, have a snack, and watch a Halloween video. On this day the children will need to bring their entire costume in a bag labeled with their name. We will change into our costumes right before the parade. It should be a fun-filled afternoon!
Please be sure that your child’s contribution to the Halloween Party snack comes to school Monday morning if it has not already. If you are not able to purchase the item, please contact me. Thanks for your help in making our afternoon fun-filled!
Klackle Orchards:
We had a wonderful day at Klackle Orchards last Friday. Thank you to all of our volunteers who helped to make the trip successful. The kids enjoy picking their pumpkins and selecting apples to bring home. They are still talking about all of the fun play equipment they had the opportunity to use. What a wonderful 2nd grade memory!
Social Studies:
We wrapped up our unit on Communities this week. We wrote about “Our Favorite Places” in our community. Your child is bringing home a sheet titled “What Makes Our Community Special?” Please have them ask two different adults what is special about our community and return the sheet to class.
Special Surprise Visitors:
We welcomed two special visitors Tuesday afternoon this week. Mrs. Wieferich and Baby Brooklyn came to spend the last part of the afternoon with our class. She read a story to the children and the children made a picture of their costumes for her. It was a great surprise for the children!Math:
The vocabulary we have covered in our Everyday Math Series this week is:
· Doubles facts: The sum of a 1-digit number added to or multiplied by itself, such as 4 + 4 = 8. A doubles fact does not have a turn-around fact partner.
· Doubles-plus-1 facts: double the smaller number in the number model and then add 1. 4 + 4 = 8, 4 + 5 = 9.
· Doubles-plus-2 facts: double the smaller number in the number model and then add 2. 4 + 4 = 8, 4 + 6 = 10.
· Subtraction number story: A story that involves numbers and one or more question that can be solved by a subtraction number model. Ex.: I have 7 crayons. I gave 5 to Joe. How many do I have left?
· -0 shortcut: If 0 is subtracted from any number, that number does not change.
· -1 shortcut: If 1 is subtracted from any number, that number is the next smaller number.
· Fact Triangle: A triangular flash card labeled with the numbers of a fact family that students can use to practice addition/subtraction facts. The two 1-digit numbers and their sum (marked with a dot) appear in the corners of each triangle.
· Fact Family: A set of related arithmetic facts linking two inverse operations. For example, 5 + 6 = 11, 6 + 5 = 11, 11 – 5 = 6, 11 – 6 = 5. Same as a number family.
· Name-collection box: A diagram that is used for collecting equivalent names for a number.
· Frames-and-Arrows diagrams: Diagrams consisting of frames (boxes) connected by arrows used to represent number sequences. Each frame contains a number, and each arrow represents a rule that determines which number goes in the next frame. Also called chains.
· Arrow Rule: An operation that determines the number that goes into the next frame in a Frames-and-Arrows diagram. There may be more than one arrow rule per diagram.
Looking Ahead:
Tuesday, November 1-
No School/Professional Development for Teachers
Friday, November 4-
End of the First Marking Period
Wednesday, November 9-
Report Cards come home
Thursday, November 10-
Conferences/No school for students
Monday, November 14- Delayed Start
Tuesday, November 15- No School (Deer Day)
Thursday and Friday, November 24 &25-
No School, Thanksgiving Break
Book-It:
Many of the children are close to earning Pizza Hut coupons for the month of October! They are so excited to be close to their goals. In order for your child to earn a certificate for the month of October, they need to read at least five nights a week throughout the month. Please be sure that you are marking your child’s calendar on the nights that they are reading. Keep up the good work & happy reading!
“FEED THE TROOPS” CHALLENGE:
Kabul, Afghanistan
A McBain graduate, Sarah Barber, is currently home on leave due to a medical issue. She will be returning to Kabul and her company in the near future.
The army base is extremely remote. It does not have running water and there isn’t even a “cafeteria” for eating. All food is “dropped” in by chopper. The company has 1 microwave for approximately 50 – 75 soldiers and they eat a lot of frozen pizza. Our troops need a variety of food for their meals and we can help make that happen!
The McBain Elementary Staff would like to challenge our students to collect canned and nonperishable items that will be sent to the 527th MP Company in Kabul. The “FEED THE TROOPS” challenge will begin on Monday, October 31 and will run through Friday, November 18. Sarah’s father works at AAR Mobility in Cadillac. His company has agreed to donate all shipping to Afghanistan. All food items can be brought down and placed in the boxes located by the elementary office.
If McBain Elementary can collect at least 3000 food items, all students will receive a special treat from Mr. Smith, Mrs. Huttenga, and Mrs. Hill. The students will also earn an extra recess!
Class T-Shirt Day:
Thank you for sending your child to school in their class t-shirt! We enjoyed wearing them in support of our football team’s bout in the playoffs. The game is Saturday AT McBain at 1 PM.
Pumpkin Art:
Thanks to Makayela and her mom, Mrs. Raymond, for bringing in the pumpkins today for us to color. Every child received a pumpkin. We had a great time working on our “Pumpkin Art”! If you are interested in having a few of these small pumpkins please let me know ASAP. Mrs. Raymond is willing to bring some to school on Monday for anyone who wants a few.