Upcoming Events:

• Parents Night Out is this Saturday, September 27th!

• Author Board- An Author Wall has been placed in the office. Each month, one or more students will be chosen to post their published writing on the Author Wall. Each chosen student will present their publication during a recognition ceremony planned for them and their parents.
  Back to School Night is on October 8th at 6:30. One parent per family please.

• Columbus Day is recognized on October 13th. School IS in session!

• Students may begin to bring in a pumpkin for classroom activities starting on October 13th. Each student must have a pumpkin by October 19th.

• Maintenance Day is from 9:00-1:00 on Saturday, October 18th. Everyone is invited to join.

Hola Las Familias,

We hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the remainder of the summer weather!

A goal that we have added to our class curriculum is implementing Spanish into our lessons. Please encourage your students to use this language at home! Some words they have already learned include: their numerals 1-10, their 5 senses, and the body parts they use with their 5 senses.

1 - uno
2 - dos
3 - tres
4 - cuatro
5 - cinco
6 - seis
7 - seite
8 - ocho
9 - nueve
10 - diez

The Five Senses - Los Cinco Sentidos
sight - la vista
taste - el gusto
touch - el tacto
smell - el olfato
hearing - el oido

mouth - la boca
ear - la oreja
hands - los manos
nose - la nariz
eyes - los ojos

Thank you for returning your homework folders on time! Please remember that the homework assigned is a review of current skills, and it is not to challenge the students or take them to the next level. We encourage doing one assignment a night, along with their nightly reading. The picture find is to aid their visual discrimination, assist with reading skills, and encourage higher level thinking.

This upcoming school year promises a very exciting and stimulating curriculum for our Sharks and Roadrunners. We have kicked off in Math with various activities using the students' stuffed bears from home. One activity including measuring the length of our bears and recording the data in a bar graph format in order compare/contrast the lengths with the rest of the class.

In Science, the students have been "getting in touch" with their 5 Senses by doing various activities including a nature walk while paying close attention to various sounds, smells, and visual images. The students also utilized their sense of touch by experimenting with different textures.

The Science lessons led into exciting Writing lessons where the students were encouraged to expand their vocabularies using words to describe their 5 Senses. The students have also had a wonderful time sharing their "Me Bags" with the class. This has provided a great opportunity to get to know each other on a more personal level and explore our hobbies and interests outside of the class room.

Keep up the good work and we'll post more soon!

September 3, 2008

Dear Roadrunner and Shark Families,

Welcome! We are excited to start a new school year and begin our journey through non-stop hands on knowledge! A copy of this year’s school curriculum and class schedule will be sent home tomorrow Thursday (Sept. 4) in your student’s homework folder.
Reading homework will be sent home this week. The reading assignment must be done aside an adult who can assist with vocabulary/pronunciation and question for comprehension, parts of speech, characters, etc. Please sign the post-it on the inside of the book stating your child read to you. Their reading books need to be returned each day and remain in the Ziploc throughout travel. (Thank you for helping keep our materials new!)
A few quick reminders: Roadrunners and Sharks start their day at 8:30. It is extremely important they arrive on time in order to participate during Calendar. Calendar is an essential review of the Math skills and the vocabulary being taught each day. Be sure to pack a nutritious lunch for your student; include an item of protein, fruits and vegetables and a non-sugar drink. Synapses in your child’s brain depend on this…and learning! (We’ll handle the learning, you handle the nutrition. We’re already working as a team, looks like it’s going to be a great year!)
For the first month of school, the Roadrunners and Sharks will be combined into one classroom. Ms. Crispen will be teaching Calendar, Reading, Phonics and Math throughout this month. Ms. Swimeley will be implementing Writing/Theme and Ms. Pranke will be exploring Science with the students.

We are looking forward to a healthy and stimulating school year!

Ms. Crispen, Ms. Swimeley and Ms. Pranke