Newsletter 4-24-18

ELA

We read Horace, Morris, but mostly Dolores and talked about being responsible friends and neighbors.  We practiced using pronouns and worked on character and setting.

We talked a lot about being responsible citizens and taking care of the earth.  We used our reading books and Scholastic News to do research for our Earth Day writing.  Our books turned out great!

Math

Last week we reviewed everything we've learned this year and took a district assessment.  This week we started topic 13, using measurement in word problems.  

Ugly Duckling

We're so excited to perform the Ugly Duckling for you tomorrow at 2:00!  Please remind your child to wear the color that matches their animal in the play (cows- black or white, ducks- yellow or orange, pigs- pink, swans- white, etc.)  Please just use the best of what you already have for costumes.  Try to do a plain shirt, without writing, and plain pants, jeans, or a skirt.  Contact me if you have any questions.    

Book Orders
Book orders were sent home yesterday.  You can order books from these or from the many choices online.  Please turn in your order by Friday, May 4.  Here is the website for parents who don't have an account: https://clubs.scholastic.com/newparent.  Here is the website if you do have an account: https://clubs.scholastic.com.  You can also send in an order with your child. 

Fun Run
It was great seeing so many families at the Fun Run.  Thanks for supporting our school!  Driggs got the silver medal in the running race.  Way to go!









 
















The Sunrise Singers performed for us last week.  They sounded wonderful.  Nice job Lucy, Madelyn, and Elise! 

Today we had a guest speaker teach us about caring for dogs and being safe around them.  We loved petting her German Shepherd.

Congratulations to Amer for earning the citizenship award for forgiveness!

We had several students return the 20-Book Challenge and earn their prizes from the PTA.  Awesome job Driggs, Connell, and Treyton!







Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you for all your support!

Newsletter 4-16-18

We read Bad Dog Dodger and learned how to be responsible pet owners.  We worked on the pronouns "I" and "me" and practiced finding the theme of a story.

Driggs finished his 20-Book Challenge.  Way to go!



We finished our measurement unit and took the topic 12 test. 



We moved up in Reflex Math!  Please continue to encourage your child to use it regularly, especially if he or she hasn't reached 100% yet.

We are very excited for our Fun Run this week.  It is the only PTA fundraiser of the year. If children make a donation of $5 or more by Wednesday, they will receive their free Fun Run t-shirt Thursday morning and won’t have to wait in the long line Thursday evening.  We had five students already do that today!  The event will be held this Thursday at Sunrise from 5:30 to 8:00. It will go on, rain or shine.  We have been known to run inside during wet and cold weather.  You may purchase dinner and/or snacks. I hope to see you there!

Because of all the donations we got today, we earned crazy hair day tomorrow!  We're halfway to the bronze level.

We have been practicing our Ugly Duckling musical, and our students are doing really well.  We can't wait for you to see it on April 25 at 2:00!

Please remind your child to bring a snack every day.  A water bottle is very helpful, too.

Many students are forgetting their planners every day.  This is an important communication tool, and it should be filled out and signed every day.  Thank you for helping.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Have a great week!  

Newsletter 4-3-18

ELA
We read Carl the Complainer last week.  It teaches students how to write a petition and goes with our big idea: How can we be responsible community members.  We are also working on prefixes and cause and effect. 

Math
We are continuing our unit on measurement.  We have been using rulers and tape measures to explore inches, feet and yards.  We also started learning the metric system with centimeters and meters.   

Activities
The fire department came to our school to teach us about fire safety.





We had an awesome college week, and the PTA made it even more exciting with a Harry Potter theme.  Each grade got to make up a name for their college, and we picked Seeker University.  Our mascot was a golden snitch, and we sang our school song at the assembly.  Second grade won the blackout contest, so thanks to all of you who helped your child find the information!

We had great presenters for career day.  Kayli's grandpa talked to us about being an author.



We also learned about what it's like to be an auto mechanic and own your own shop.






We learned about what it's like to be a dance instructor and own your own studio.  We got to try doing the worm, and we had some amazing dance battles!







We learned about being a resident services coordinator.



Congratulations to Brody for completing the 20 Book Challenge!

Congratulations to Santi for earning 100% fluency in Reflex Math!

  






        

















Thank you to Mrs. Tosh for teaching us Junior Achievement.  We had fun, and we learned a lot!



I hope you and your child enjoy spring break.  If they have time, students can do these activities:

• Read books for the 20-Book Challenge
• Do Reflex Math, at least to the green light
• Go on Prodigy (only for students who have 100% in Reflex Math)
• Complete activities in Reading Plus (log in through Clever  with csddocs account)  
• Read stories on RazKids 

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Newsletter 3-19-18

ELA
It was review week in language arts.  We practiced reading fluency, comprehension, and phonics.  We wrapped up the week with the unit four test.    

Math We finished topic 12 in math, three-digit subtraction.  We reviewed today and will take the test on tomorrow.  Students brought home a review sheet today.  Please make sure they complete it and get a parent signature to show that you reviewed it together.  It helps so much for the test.  Students who return it tomorrow with a signature will get a something to celebrate and a small prize.


We made it to 91%! Hooray!  Please makes sure your child keeps working on Reflex Math.  We would like everyone to achieve 100% fluency.



Congratulations to Kayli for earning 100% fluency!



Madelyn earned 100% fluency.  Fantastic!

Other News

We had an assembly to learn about Jump Rope for Heart.  The tricks the kids did were amazing!  Some of our students have already brought in donations for the American Heart Association and earned prizes.

We filled all 100 squares on our behavior chart and earned a Saint Patrick's Day party.  We wore green, made Lucky Charms bar graphs and learned how rainbows are made.

Please make sure your child has a signed planner each day. Children should also have a snack each day, and a water bottle is very helpful.  

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Newsletter 3-10-18

It was so nice meeting with all of you last week.  Your children are wonderful!

ELA
We read The First Tortilla, a legend about a young girl who is a hero and saves her village.  We continued to work on adverbs and the comprehension skills this week, plot and theme.

Math
We finished our unit on three-digit addition and took the test on Wednesday.  Thank you for having your children do the review page.  It really helped them be prepared for the test.  We started our unit on three-digit subtraction.

1.  Many of you expressed interest in knowing how to monitor your child’s progress in Reflex math.  I am including the information again for how to create a parent account.  If you are missing some of the login information check with your child first, and then email me if that doesn’t work.

Creating a parent account

Parents can easily monitor their child’s math fluency progress on Reflex with a Reflex Parent Reporting Account.

To set up an account, you will need your child’s Reflex sign in information (their teacher’s Reflex Username, the name of the Reflex Class, 

and your child’s Reflex Password). Your child should have this information if they’re logging on to Reflex regularly.

1. Go to https://www.reflexmath.com 
2. Near the bottom of the screen, click Sign up for a free Reflex Parent Account today!
3. Enter a valid email address as your Username and click Sign Me Up.
4. Click the Activation Link in the email you receive, and create a Password when prompted. 
5. Click Register when done.

Once registered, launch Reflex at https://www.reflexmath.com Log into your new account. Enter your Username (your email address) and Password

and click Submit.

If you do not receive the activation email, please check your junk or spam folder.

 Adding students to a parent account:

If you have other children that are using Reflex, you can add them to your Parent Reporting account to follow their progress.

1. On a PC or Mac, go to https://www.reflexmath.com and log in to Reflex. Enter the Username and Password you created. 
2. Choose Add Student in the lower left corner. After you’ve read the information on the screen, click Continue.
3. Enter your child’s Teacher Username and click Submit.  My teacher Username is 2kadamscsd
4. Select your child’s class from the list.
5. Select your child’s name from the list.
6. Enter your child’s password for Student Password and click Submit.  This is their student ID 

Now when you select your child’s name on the screen, you can look at the reports on your child’s progress in Reflex.

Other News
We got our parts and started practicing for the Ugly Duckling musical. The performance will be April 25 at 2:00.

We had an opera assembly, where we saw a performance of Little Red Riding Hood.  Connell and Harper got to be part of the performance as trees!

We had a wonderful piano assembly.

Santi earned our citizenship award for friendship.  Congratulations!

Harper is 100% fluent in Reflex Math.  Fantastic!

Iris completed her twenty-book challenge.  Great job!

Report cards went home on Friday.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  As we progress through the year, there is more required to meet each standard and show mastery.  

Please give the school at least a week's notice before you leave for a vacation.  You can fill out the form in the office, or you can print it at home and send it with your child.

Please help your child remember to bring her or his signed planner and a snack each day.  A water bottle is also helpful.

Next week is a review week, so there is no homework packet or spelling test.  Please have your child use the extra time to do Reflex Math and Reading Plus. 

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 

Newsletter 2-20-18

ELA
We read Life Cycle of a Pumpkin and continued to work on adjectives.  Our comprehension skill was sequence, and we used a graphic organizer to show the plant life cycle. 

Congratulations to Eli for completing his 20-Book Challenge!

Math
We are wrapping up our topic on place value.  We will review today and have the test tomorrow.  I am sending home a review page today so that students can practice for the test.  Please go over it with your child, sign the page, and have her or him return it tomorrow for a Something to Celebrate. 

 

We're so close to reaching our goal of 90%!  Please encourage your child to practice their math facts each day, and have them show you that they're getting the green light.

Special Events
We had a nice time on our field trip to Capitol Theater.  The ballet was beautiful, and it was a great cultural experience.

We had a fabulous Valentine's Day party.  There were games, crafts, stories and snacks. Thank you so much to our room moms for helping.  

Thank you for all the nice Valentine's Day gifts.  I love the stuffed animals, mugs, flowers, office supplies, and delicious chocolates!

We were so lucky that our school was invited to test Google Expeditions.  Through augmented reality, we were able to see inside a tornado, go under the sea, and look for camouflaged animals.  What an awesome experience!
















Reminders
If you haven't signed up for parent teacher conferences, please do so as soon as possible.  I look forward to meeting with you and your child.

Thank you for all of your support.  Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.