Monday, December 12, 2011

Important Reminder—Elementary Christmas Program

Tonight is the Elementary Christmas Program. Please meet in the Middle School Multi-Purpose Room no later than 6:40. Children with speaking parts should be in costume. Children that are singing should be dressed nicely. Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing you all this evening!

~Mrs. Freeland

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Mrs. Freeland’s Weekly Newsletter


Mrs. Freeland's Weekly Note
December 5-9
Happy Birthday:
We celebrated Hunter's birthday on Dec. 8th and Karlene's birthday on Dec. 9th. We hope you both had a great day!

Santa's Workshop Reminder:
Each student will need to bring in $1.00 by Thursday, December 15th to help purchase supplies needed for "Santa's Workshop". Santa's Workshop will be held on the morning of Monday, December 19th. If you would like to volunteer to help please return the volunteer slip or send a note. We really appreciate your help!

Christmas Program Reminder:
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade Christmas Program is Monday, December 12th in the High School Gymnasium at 7:00. Students need to be in the High School Multi-Use room at 6:40.


They had two practices this week and sounded great! I hope you are able to attend this special event.
 
Mrs. Wieferich's Return:
Mrs. Wieferich is eager to return to the classroom on Thursday, December 15th! She and I are also thrilled to announce that I will continue to work in the classroom for the rest of the school year. I will be staying in the classroom through Christmas break. Starting January 3rd I will begin student teaching and continue doing so through the end of the school year. We are both very excited to be team teaching together this year!

Math:

We finished Unit 3 today. Your child has completed and brought home a study guide. Please be sure to study with them this weekend. The Unit 3 Test will be given on Monday, December 12th. Thank you for your help and cooperation!

Student of the Week:

Our Student of the Week was Sayge Strickland. Nice work!


Looking Ahead:
Monday, December 12th-Delayed Start- School begins at 10:00 am

Monday, December 12th-Christmas Program in High School Gymnasium
at 7:00. Students need to be in the High School Multi-Use room at 6:40.
  
Thursday, December 15th-
Mrs. Wieferich returns!

Monday, December 19th-Santa's Workshop in the morning. Each student will need to bring in $1.00 to help cover the cost of supplies.
Tuesday, December 20th-
Classroom Christmas Party in the afternoon. Each child will need a small gift for every boy and girl in the class.
   
Wednesday, December 21st- Christmas Sing-Along in the morning and school-wide movie in the afternoon.

Santa's Workshop:
The 2nd grade classes will be participating in "Santa's Workshop" on Monday, December 19. Each classroom will host either a craft or Christmas activity. The children will be rotating though each room during the afternoon. We are in need of CDs for a craft in Mrs. VanderVelde's room. Do you have any old CDs that you no longer listen to and would be willing to donate? We need one per child. The children are really excited to be "elves" for the afternoon and to make all of the fun Christmas presents for their families!

 Christmas Party Supplies:
Your child is bringing home a paper regarding donating an item for our Christmas party. Please return the slip on Monday, December 12th. That way, I can plan accordingly to make sure we will have enough for each student. You can bring any items that do not need to be refrigerated to school at your convenience. I really appreciate your help in providing the children with some special snacks and treats. Thank you!

Science:
This week we learned about the three types of matter. We also talked about examples of the properties of each stage of matter.

STAND Strength Assembly:
We attended the "STAND up to Bullying" assembly provided by the STAND Strength Team this morning. Many teachers have donated their time this week to the high school Challenge day and the anti-bullying message. The STAND Strength Team did an excellent job of bringing the message about anti-bullying to our elementary students. Ask your child what they learned from the assembly today.

White Christmas:
The children have been hard at work on their "White" Christmas trees. It's beginning to look like this is the only snow we'll see! Look for these projects on display above your child's locker.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Mrs. Freeland's Weekly Newsletter


Mrs. Freeland's Weekly Note
November 28-December 2

Student of the Week:
Our Student of the Week was Tyler Bonham.  Nice work!

Santa’s Workshop:
The 2nd grade classes will be participating in “Santa’s Workshop” on Monday, December 19.  Each classroom will host either a craft or Christmas activity.  The children will be rotating though each room during the morning.  We are asking that each child bring in $1.00 by December 15th to help cover the expenses of the craft/gift materials.  We are also in need of CDs for a craft in Mrs. VanderVelde’s room.  Do you have any old CDs that you no longer listen to and would be willing to donate?  We need one per child.  The children are really excited to be “elves” for the morning and to make all of the fun Christmas presents for their families! 

Book Orders:
December Book Orders are due Wednesday Dec. 7th so that they may be back before Christmas break. If you would like your order to be a gift, please let me know and I’ll contact you when it arrives.  

Looking Ahead:
Monday, December 12th-
Delayed Start- School begins at 10:00 am
Monday, December 12th-
Christmas Program in High School Gymnasium
at 7:00.  Students need to be in the High School Multi-Use room at 6:40. 
Monday, December 19th-
Santa’s Workshop in the morning
Tuesday, December 20th-
Classroom Christmas Party in the afternoon.  Each child will need a small gift for every boy and girl in the class. 
Wednesday, December 22nd-
Christmas Sing-Along in the morning and school-wide movie in the afternoon.

Reading Unit 2 Test:
We took our Unit 2 Reading Test this week.  The children were assessed on comprehension and phonetic skills that we have been learning and practicing over the last several weeks.  Many of the children did very well!  Please look for it in your child’s Friday Folder and discuss the results them.  

Math:
In math we have been learning about telling time, exchanging money, and using the Two-Rule Frames-and-Arrow grid problems. The vocabulary for the lessons we have been working on is:
·         Analog Clock: A clock that has both an hour and minute hand
·         Clock Face: The part of an analog clock that contains the numbers, hour and minute hands
·         Digital Clock: A clock that shows the time in number : minute format
·         Predict: To make an educated guess/estimate
·         Range: The span between the lowest and highest data points/numbers
·         Middle Number: The number in the middle of a range of numbers
·         Picture Graph: A graph in which pictures represent data gathered
·         Bar Graph: A graph in which a bar represents data gathered
·         Make Change by Counting Up: To make change between two values by counting up from the smallest to the largest.
      ·         Two Rule Frames-and-Arrow Problems: A diagram that consists of frames 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. These frames-and-arrow diagrams use two rules indicated by solid and dashed arrows.

Christmas Information:
For those of you who like to plan ahead with your Christmas shopping, I would like to share with you the plans for our Christmas Class Party.  If you’re not ready to think about Christmas shopping yet, just save this information for a later date! 
We will be celebrating Christmas in our classroom on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 20th.  At this party we will be exchanging gifts.  Every child will need to bring in a small item for each classmate.  These gifts should all be the same item.  The only exception would be getting something different for the girls than the boys.  We currently have 26 children in our class who will be celebrating Christmas, 14 girls and 12 boys.   You might want to look for low-cost packaged items that can be divided among the students.  Dollar stores usually have a large selection of these types of items, along with the birthday party section at Wal-Mart, Meijer, etc. Some suggestions are pencils, erasers, a marker, ruler, glue stick, pad of paper, coloring book, fun pad, magnet, stamp, bookmark, tape, stickers, bouncy ball, sticky notes, mini-can of play-dough, chap stick, hair tie/barrette/jewelry for girls, small toy car for boys, etc.  Each student will deliver the gifts during our Christmas party into bags that we will decorate at school.  These gifts do not have to be wrapped, but you can if you would like to.  I know the children will enjoy opening their Christmas bags!  If you have any questions, please call or write.  Thanks for your help!

NOTE: Christmas Party
Last newsletter I made a mistake in listing the day of the class party, the number of children in our class, and the number of boys and girls. To reiterate, we have 26 children—14 girls and 12 boys. The Christmas party will be the afternoon of December 20th. I apologize for the error and any inconvenience it may have caused. 

Science:
We have started our unit on Properties of Matter.  This week we focused on describing objects and substances according to their properties (color, size, shape, texture, hardness, liquid or solid, sinking or floating).