Classroom Newsletter January 2, 2014

Happy New Year!  I hope you are all enjoying the extended vacation and are having fun in the snow.  I wanted to let you know what is coming up during the weeks ahead.

Language Arts

Journal Writing – The words “he” and “she” will be introduced next week.  I will send home the updated list of sight words the children will be working with for the remainder of the year.  We will be getting back into our writing routine after vacation, and I look forward to seeing the children grow in independence during the stretch between now and February vacation.

Guided Reading – We continue to review the sight words and will read a book each week which focuses on the new sight word.  Next week we will read a book focusing on the word “he”.  Some children will choose to keep this book in their book bag at school for continued practice, others will bring it home.  All children are asked to choose one of the paper books from their book bag to bring home.    Please keep these books at home for continued review.  We frequently discuss the fact that rereading helps to make you a more fluent reader.  Please return the word rings by Tuesday so that we may add to them each week.

I will also begin reading with the children in small groups at their own individual reading levels.  I will be letting them take these books home to share with their families and only ask that they please be returned to school within a couple of days as they are needed in the classroom.  If your child would like to take the book home again at another time, that will be possible.

Fundations – We have completed Unit 1, and all letters are now part of our daily drill and practice.  We have done activities with letters in the initial sound position as well as the final sound position.  The focus of handwriting in Unit 1 is on the lower case letters.  In Unit 2, which takes less time than Unit 1, we will review the formation of upper case letters.  The “tapping out” and segmenting of each sound in a CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) word has been introduced, and the children enjoy being given challenge words to read and spell.

Math 

We finished Chapter 5 right before vacation.  The children reviewed the concept of size comparisons and explored the idea that only a few big objects fit into a space that would fit many small objects.  We also used positional language to describe and compare where objects are in space.
In Chapter 6 we will focus on mastering knowledge of number sense up to 20.  We will work on reading and writing numerals 0 – 20.  We will be comparing and ordering groups of up to 20 objects.  The children are developing a solid understanding of the terms more, fewer, greater than, and less than.

Science and Health

In Science we will work on activities to help the children understand the differences between Living and Non-living things.  We will soon begin our unit on Properties of Materials.  We will discuss and explore the properties of solids, liquids, and gases.

As part of the implementation of the Olweus bullying prevention program, our weekly class meetings have focused on discussions and activities to help the children understand, discuss, and practice different strategies to help them during challenging social interactions.   We will spend some time reviewing what we have covered so far this year.  The following rules are posted in our classroom.

Rule #1 We will not bully others.

Rule #2 We will try to help students who are bullied.

Rule #3 We will try to include students who are left out.

Rule #4 If we know that somebody is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home.

Students understand that bullying is being mean or hurtful on purpose, it happens over and over again, and it involves an imbalance of power.  Students enjoy participating in class meetings, and we have had many interesting discussions.

Reminders

The winter weather is here.  The children are doing well with getting themselves ready.  Please continue to practice getting sleeves and pant legs right side out, zipping, snapping, and tying.  The children need to be able to get themselves ready when going outside and coming back inside.  Thank you in advance for helping them become more independent.  We do try to get out twice a day even during the winter months.  If the temperature is too cold, we have indoor recess.  If there is snow on the ground, the children will need boots and snowpants in order to play on the playground.  Otherwise, they stay on the hottop around the playground.  The children really enjoy playing together in the snow.  It may be helpful to put an extra pair of socks and/or mittens in your child’s backpack as things don’t always dry out in between recesses.  

Important Dates

No School, Monday, January 20th – Martin Luther King Day
No School, Monday, January 27th – Professional Development Day

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who helped and contributed to our holiday party and post-sing-a-long gathering.  It was wonderful to see so many families.  A special thank you to Mrs. Anvari and Mrs. Nelson for coordinating the festivities.  It was a very nice way to celebrate the holiday season.

Welcome

We welcome a new student, Drew, and his family to our classroom and to the community of Topsfield.  We are so happy to have them join us at Steward School.