Class News 5-18-2012

-This week sure was a busy one but it was a blast! Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our play. The kids did an excellent job and I am so proud of them. We worked really hard to get the words and movements down. They are super stars!

-Next week is the last week of school. Please make sure that your student brings a backpack to take home all of their goodies. There is no school on Friday the 25th.

-Next week we will be watching a couple of movies that are based on books we have read. Both are rated PG. If you onject to your child watching Ramona and Beezus or How to Train Your Dragon please let me know. These will provide an excellent opportunity to compare and contrast the books to the movies.

-Wednesday, May 23rd will be our park field trip. Please make sure that your student is prepared to be outside most of the day and that they have good shoes for walking. This will be a free dress day. Our class is responsible for bringing the main dish for all Montessori students. If you get a chance please email me with what you are planning on bringing. If you signed up to chaperone thank you so much. We can’t wait to have some fun in the sun and it’s exciting that so many parents will be attending.

-Thursday, May 24th is a our field day with an early dismissal. Please make sure your students are dressed for athletic activity and for being outside most of the morning. This day will be a free dress day. For third grade families we will do our moving up celebration following field day.

-Grades and test scores will be coming soon. I’m so proud of the growth that these students have accomplished! It was a very successful academic year and I can’t wait until next year! Thank you so much to all of the parents who have been so supportive of me in my first year here. Next year will be even better!

Class News 5-11-12

-It sure has been a busy week! This week we spent a good amount of time learning about the different body systems through Montessori presentations, mainpulative puzzles, and brain pop videos. We also wrote autobiographies and described a friend. The students have also been working very hard on learning their Montessori play.

-The Montessori play, “The Garden Show” will take place on Thursday, May 17th at 6:30 at BECS. The kids have been working really hard and would love for you to come.

-A few people still have not turned in permission slips for our trip to Donelson Park on May 23rd. Please turn them in as soon as possible. Also, our class is responsible for providing a main dish for our community lunch.

-May 24th will be our field day and there will be an early dismissal. Please make sure students are ready to have some fun in the sun with appropriate sunscreen and clothing. Following the early dismissal we will be having a moving up celebration for our third grade students only.

-We are looking for a family (or two) to take care of our gerbils this summer. If you’re interested please see me this week.

Class News 4-27-12

-It was a short week but it was a busy one. This week we focused on the types and properties of matter. The students also learned that everything is made up of molecules and we learned how they move in the different types of matter. The students also continued to work on borrowing, carrying, and learning about Europe.

-We are in need of a few more dry erase markers to finish off the year. If you happen to be out and about this weekend maybe you could grab a four pack for us.

-We will be planting our Montessori garden this Monday. If you have any extra gardening tools that you could donate to the school it would be greatly appreciated. Also, we are looking for seeds. We need 4-6″ alyssum seeds, 8-10″ marigold seeds, 12″ Oriental poppy seeds, and 18″ cosmos seeds. Let me know if you can help out in any way.

-Park day will be May 23rd. You should have received a permission slip. If you did not see one let me know and I can get one to you. It will take place at Donelson Park. The lunch will be potluck style and our class is in charge of the main dishes. Please let me know what dish you plan on bringing to share. Also, please make sure students are dressed appropriately for the day with sunscreen and decent shoes for walking to the park. We will leave the school at 8:30 and return by 2:30.

-Third grade parents keep an eye out for a letter about a special third grade event coming soon.

Class News 4-13-12

-This week we finished up and raced our sail boats. We also visited Mr. Albrecht to learn about the ancient Japanese art of fish rubbing. Additionally, we studied some basic geometry terms, learned about Europe and it’s animals, and wrote about our favorite place in the world.

-You should have received a confirmation letter for your testing time for the upcoming assessement day. If you have not returned your assessment day scheduling sheet you should have gotten another sheet in your Friday folder. Please sign up. Time slots are first come, first served. There will be no school the 26th and 27th because of the assessment days.

-I forgot to send home a reading log for April. Just keep reading at home and look for a new sheet in May.

Class News 4-6-12

-Wow! What a busy week we had. This week we had a real life author visit us for a nice assembly and an in class appearance. We also got to visit the Geodome where we got to learn more about constellations and planets in the night time sky. Ask your kids to show you where the Big Dipper, Orion, Leo, and Jupiter are in the night sky. Also, we worked on writing story summaries and the parts of a root. Finally, we spent a good amount of time learning about air and wind. We made helicopters, learned how airplane wings work, and started working on making sailboats that we will race on Tuesday afternoon.

-Look for a red sheet in your Friday folder. It needs to be returned next week so that we can schedule your student’s DRA2 testing for April 26th or 27th. This test is a required end of the year benchmark and it is important to schedule a time. There is no school either of those days so you will need to bring them in and wait for 30-60 minutes until they finish the test. Once you have returned the sign up sheet you will be given a confirmation for your date and time.

-Look for book fair info and boy scout info in your Friday folders as well.

-Also in your Friday folder is information on the Bromley Bolt fundraiser. We ask that each family donate what they can. Our baskets are dinner out for two and a girl’s basket. See me with any questions.

-There will be no school Friday, April 13th. There will also be no school on Thursday and Friday, April 26th & 27th. However, remember that you will need to bring in your student for an hour or so one of those days for DRA2 testing.

Class News 3-16

-The kids were AMAZING this week. TCAP time can always be trying because of the schedule change and all of the responsiblilities that go along with standarized testing. It didn’t phases the kids at all!!! That being said we didn’t get as much done as we normally do but there was still some good stuff going on. The kids learned the parts of a flower and the parts of a fruit. Additionally, we learned that both are necessary for plants to reproduce. The children also began studying Australia, learning about their animals and the countries that make up the continents. A few kids have gotten to complete the Australia pin map too. They also wrote wonderful story summaries at each grade level. To top it all off the first and second grade students were very well behaved during the time they spent with Mrs. Rollman and Mrs. Ayres while I administered TCAP testing.

-There are no new spelling words this week. The students spent a lot of their time outside of the classroom this week so I wanted to give them an extra week with their current words to make sure that they could get some quality time with the words. They will keep their same list and have a test on Friday before spring break.

-Report cards went out today with your Friday folders. Please keep an eye out for the manilla envelope. Please see me if you have any questions.

Class News 3-9-12

-I have been out sick a few days this week but we still got a lot of work done. The students got a presentation on the food chain to wrap up our animal studies before moving into the parts of a plant to begin our botany studies. Also, the students worked on perimeter and area this week. We also Everyone wrote a persuasive essay on chocolate vs. vanilla. We will be beginning our Australia studies soon so if anyone has anything educational relating to Australia we would love to see it.

-Please keep an eye out for a permission slip for an in house visit for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science if you have not already turned it in. Don’t let your kids miss out!

-Look for new reading logs, spelling words, and a fundraiser packet in this weeks Friday folder too.

-TCAP for 3rd grade students will take place this week. The 12th and 13th will be writing. The 14th and 15th will be math. Please make sure they are well rested with a good breakfast.

-I just wanted to share with you how much I enjoy teaching your children. Their positive attitudes and boisterous personalities make coming to work a true joy. It was so nice to read not one, but two letters from the substitutes saying what a great group they are. They are wonderful learners. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!!! Great job parents!!!