Week of October 19, 2009

This is our special Parent-Child-Teacher Conference week! Remember, school is dismissed at 11 on Thurs. & Fri! Please be on time for you conferences, as they are scheduled very closely together. Mrs. Taylor, in the office, has a copy of my schedule, in case you need to check the time of our conference. If possible, please bring your child with you, as s/he is an important part of our review & goal-setting. Let me know at the beginning of our time if you’d like adult time at the end; I can set your child up with headphones, listening to a story on tape. After the conference, you can see some of our fun Halloween Poems on display outside the classroom.
Also during Conference week is the Scholastic Book Fair, a worthwhile PTO fund-raiser, and a chance for you to encourage your child’s reading by buying good books! It’s a great theme: Reading around the World. In case there are books you’d like which aren’t for sale at the Book Fair, I’ve enclosed some book flyers. These optional orders will be due next week on Tuesday, 10/27, paper forms or on-line.

This week’s kindness story is non-fiction: “The Story of the Three Whales”. Kindness spreads and becomes an international cooperative effort! The vocabulary to know for Friday’s test is: lurk, trudged, plight, invincible, ordeal & surface. (The verb “surface” means “come to the top of a liquid). In our Spelling workbooks, we are working on “multiple meaning” words.

In math we’re doing some Algebra, actually pre-algebra! We’re continuing to work with these algebraic concepts that were introduced in 1^st grade: frames & arrows, What’s my Rule?, Name-Collection Boxes. (Parents, see the Home Links coming home this week for more info.)

We do not have a Tasting this week; instead we will use the time to organize & finish up our writing for our Tasting Book.

Our study of Rocks, Minerals & Soil is getting us into many other areas of science. We are seeing how when some things decompose to become soil, they go through a chemical reaction, producing gasses that expand the Ziploc bag! For the little “Mini-worlds” we created last week with the 2-liter bottles, we see “condensation” as evidence of the water cycle! Thank you so much to all who sent in kitchen & yard plant matter, and 2-liter bottles! This week’s science lessons are on weathering & erosion.

Homework
Daily: Read aloud for 20 minutes and fill in your October Book It Calendar; practice your spelling words & math facts (Every day do a Mad Minute worksheet and use your triangle flash cards.) See how many vocabulary words you can use in your conversation!
Due Wednesday: bring your library book if you want to check out a new one! Spelling workbook, pages 34-37; those doing challenge words, write a meaningful sentence with 5 of the challenge words instead of doing pages 36 & 37. Leave your sentences in the spelling workbook, at this week’s lesson.
For Thursday: Note early spelling test on short /o/ or words that have the /aw/ sound as in hawk For Friday: reading & vocabulary tests
For next Monday: Mad Minute B2, gym shoes.
For next Tuesday: optional book orders due
For next week, Mon – Thurs: Give an oral book report (see guidelines… attached) Note: This is a new routine! The attached Book Report information is also linked on-line, just to the right of the current class newsletter.

Next week on “Halloween” 10/30… we will have an extended morning (8 – 12 noon), so I suggest bringing a healthy snack to eat mid-morning. Lunch will be from 12- 12:55. Students who bring a costume for the afternoon will have time to change after lunch. All families are invited to come watch our Parade at 1:10.

Volunteers are needed to help with our party! Please contact Lori Bradford, (ldemain@sbcglobal.net; 708-763-0452) if you can help in any of the following ways:
* to come at 11:55, to help students with their costumes,
* to supervise a station at our party, about 1:50, following the parade.
* If you’re a “crafty” person, who could head-up a crafts station?
* If you play the guitar, or can help lead singing of UNICEF’s “Halloween Carols”.

Thanks in advance to Joseph & his mom who will make cookies for our party.