Twin Day

Our class earned all of our 500 points to have a Twin Day this Friday.  Students can dress like a twin (or triplet or quadruplet) with a friend(s) in our class.  I will be sure to take pictures of all of our twins and send them out to you.

Reading

We are really diving in to comprehension strategies.  Students are making a note to themselves at the end of every chapter.  They are asking themselves:

• Who is in this part?
• What just happened?
• What am I wondering or does this fit with something that has already happened?

This week, I sent home the October reading log that is required reading for our classroom.  Students should be reading 20-30 minutes/5 days a week for a minimum of 100 minutes per week.  I also sent the Book It calendar home.  This is strictly voluntary.  You do not have to keep track on this one too – only if you want the Pizza Hut coupon.

Math

We will have our first timed test on Friday.  Students will have 1:30 minutes to answer 30 multiplication problems.  We will start on 5s this week.  If students pass, they will move on to 2s for next week.  If they do not pass they will retake the 5s.

Halloween Parties

This year for our Fall Celebrations we are looking forward to having parties in our classrooms, much like years past.  This year will be slightly different, in a couple of ways.

1. Parents and volunteers will not be able to attend.  (We will miss you!)
2. Snacks can be sent in, but need to be store bought and individually packaged.
3. Games, crafts, and snacks need to be sent in 24 hours in advance (or more). 

Like previous years, we will be welcoming your children to wear costumes, if they wish.  One change this year is that children WILL be able to wear their costumes to school, and wear them the whole day.  The intent behind this is to limit children gathering in the restrooms to change, and limit the number of children needing assistance from teachers and staff to get into their costumes.  We invite you to send your children in a costume that includes no weapons or gore, and easily allows your child to participate in regular school routines and procedures.  Can they take it off themselves to use the bathroom?  Can they fit in their seat at their desk? Can they go down the slide or sit in the swings?  Can they wear a mask under their “mask”?  Please save bulky, or extravagant costumes for home use, and dress in a fun and simple costume for the school day.  Fall or pumpkin t-shirts are a great alternative as well. 

We are thrilled at the opportunity to celebrate with your children, and look forward to creating another fun and memorable school event for them. I will send a sign up sheet as we get closer to Halloween.

Writing

We are finishing our first narrative writing unit and from what I have read, I am very impressed with the students’ writing.  They are publishing them this week and we will have a small celebration in class over hard work.

Those are the big happenings in our classroom.  Overall we are off to a great year.  Many students are comfortable with each other from last year, so there is a lot of chatter in the classroom, they get sick of their masks, they want to be outside and play (indoor recess is no fun), and they just want to be next to each other.  But each day we are making it and encouraging each other and taking mask breaks as much as we can.  We definitely are not under perfect conditions but the class is handling everything the best they can and we will continue to learn and improve every day!

Have a wonderful weekend!  Right now as I’m typing the sun is out! YAY!!!