Welcome to Miss Montesarchio

On January 4th Miss Mary Montesarchio will join our class as our Student-Teacher.  Miss M. is at Ox Ridge School this year as our school intern.  She will be completing her student-teaching with our class for about 12 weeks.  It will be great to have another teacher in our class!

Peek at the (Short) Week of December 21-23

This is one of the busiest and most fun weeks of the year!  We will have our class breakfast party on Monday.  At this party we will do our Grab Bag.  The class has been eyeing and trying to guess what wonderful gift awaits them. 

Wednesday will be an Early Dismissal day. We will attend the all-school Holiday Singalong in the morning.  I'm encouraging everyone to try to wear red on the day before our break.  Youn might also want to wear a Santa/elf/reindeer hat to really get into the spirit.  It's up to you!

Homework
Monday 12/21
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Write a Thank You letter for your Grab Bag gift 

Have a wonderful Christmas break. 

I will see all of you after the
New Year on Monday, January 4th!

Mystery Reader #9

JMN's mom surprised us by being a Mystery Reader.  She brought in a great pop-up books and donated a special book to our holiday book collection. 

Highlights of Week #15

I received an amazing gift from my students and their parents...a Flip video camera.  We have to start thinking of some good movie-making ideas.  (Miss D.)

PR was a very good captain.  (MA)

We had our spelling test on long i words that end with a sneaky/silent e.  (CN and EB)

We had a really, really good cookie exchange.  At the cookie party we had hot cocoa with marshmallows and we got to eat one star-shaped cookie.  We passed out cookies and everybody got to bring home a big tray of cookies.  (KG and AD and RP)

Today we had our December Pep Rally.  EB and AD were chosen because they follow the Ox Ridge Kids' Code.  (EB)

We had Game Day.  It was fun.  We played Sorry, Yahtzee, Candyland and Jenga.  Three moms came in to play with us.  CVI and OS and CN's mom came in. (OS and PR)

Our Grab Gifts all came to school today.  On Monday the girls and boys will come to the rug and listen to music.  When the music stops, whoever is holding the bag picks 1 gift.  (DS)

We made cards and a present for our parents.  It is a secret surprise.  (FH)

Today is the last day of Hanukkah so we gave Mrs. Satter a gift card present so she can buy stuff for her new kitchen.  (CP and class)

December Citizens of the Month

AD and EB were chosen to be our class Citizens of the month.  They are both excellent listeners and have been working really hard at their reading and handwriting.  Congratulations to both of them!

Mystery Reader #8

PR's mom came in to be a mystery reader.  She read a funny book called "One Potato Two Potato".  She donated a book called "Dogs Don't Brush Their Teeth".

Holiday Hats

If your child has a holiday hat, remind them to wear (or bring) it to school this Friday 12/18.  The hats can be worn during our December Citizen Pep Rally.

Also, your child may want to wear it on Wednesday 12/23 for the All School Singalong. 

It's a great way to get into the holiday spirit!

Grab Bags

Grab bag gifts should be sent into school by this Friday, December 18th.  The presents should be wrapped and marked "To a Boy from ____" or "To a Girl from _____". 

Boys are buying for the boys and girls are buying for the girls.  There is a $10 spending limit.  The actual grab bag will take place at our Class Holiday Breakfast on Monday, December 21st.

Cookie Exchange

Our class Cookie Exchange will take place on Thursday, December 17th.  It should be a fun-filled afternoon with sharing, sipping and tasting.  We will have so many treats to share with our families.  Each person should bring in 21 cookies to share with your classmates and teachers (Miss D. and Mrs. S.). 

Peek at the Week of December 14-18

We are very excited for our special Cookie Party which will be this Thursday.  Your 21 cookies can be sent in with your child or you can drop them off before 2:30 on Thursday. 

Please try to have your Grab Bag gift to school by this Friday, December 18th. 


We will continue to celebrate this special holiday season by reading and writing about the holidays.  Also, we will be making a special surprise gift for our families. 

Homework
Monday 12/14
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Purple Spelling Sheet

Tuesday 12/15
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Math:  Holiday Cookie Time

Wednesday 12/16
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Make your cookies for tomorrow


Thursday 12/17
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Share some of your cookies with your family
3.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test

Have a great week!

Highlights of Week #14

KR was a very good captain.  She did a great job reading the morning checklist each day.  (Miss D.)

We went on a trip to the Maritime Center.  We saw shark, seals and eels. (MA)

At the Maritime Center we put people in different groups so we could walk around and see other animals.  Outside of the building we saw African Penguins.  (EB)

The IMAX movie was cancelled because there was a power outage.  (CN)

We saw the big sea turtle.  We got to see him eat.  (KG)

We saw some electric eels and we saw tons of fish swimming around in the tank.  (JMN)

We wrote books about the North Pole.  Each page had an interesting verb to describe what the elves do in the North Pole.  (CP, EB, class)

We went to http://www.elfontheshelf.com/ to help us with ideas for our stories, like making cookies.  (AD)

PR's mom came in to be today's Mystery Reader.  (CM)

We finished the movie "Babe" in indoor recess.  It was really good.  (OS)

We didn't have gym because we were on a trip.  (TB)

Our elf, Jingle, came to our classroom late last night.  He was on the red sign for bad behavior.  He was there to make sure nobody got moved to red today.  (FH and JMN)

Today we are going to play Winter Bingo for Fun Friday.  (KR)

We wrote to our elf, Jingle.  (RP)

In Reading Workshop we are working on a booklet called "The Twelve Books of December". (PR)

We had a spelling test today.  It was very hard.  Some kids learned that they need to practice more next week.  (CVI)

Field Trip Recap and Refund

We got back from our trip safe and sound.  The stormy winter weather was not very cooperative.  Fortunately we were able to see many animals like sharks, penguins, fish, sea turtles, otters and seals.  Unfortunately, due to a power outage in South Norwalk, we were not able to see the Imax movie.  The Maritime Center will be refunding the cost of the Imax tickets which we will use towards another program.

North Pole Website

Today in Writing Workshop we started writing our North Pole books.  We visited a special website called www.elfontheshelf.com to inspire us.  The website has amazing 3-D graphics and plenty of games.  Maybe an elf will visit our classroom soon!

Hootie's Travel Continues

OS had a great time with Hootie.  Hootie is now moving on to MA's house for a couple of weeks. Hootie will begin celebrating the December holidays with MA's family.  I wonder if Hootie will be allowed to light any candles?

"Stocking" up on School Supplies

After the December break is a great time to restock your child's school supplies. 

Ask your child what items need replenishing and send them in for the New Year.  I know many children are running low on pencils, pencil cap erasers and crayons (not the super deluxe pack...it's the basic colors that seem to have disappeared...maybe the box of 8 or 16). 

These items make great stocking stuffers!

Peek at the Week of December 7-11

Thank you for meeting with me last week during conferences.  It is helpful to me to hear form you about what is and is not working...thank you for all of your comments.

Social Studies:  Hanukkah begins this Friday.  During our library classes in December, Mrs. Blake will be teaching some lessons about how the winter holidays are celebrated around the world.  We will also read and learn about these holidays in class too.

Science:  This Wednesday we have our field trip.  Thank you to CD and KG's moms for chaperoning on this trip.  Please remember to pack a fully disposable lunch.  It is going to be a great way to launch our science unit on animal movement. 

Spelling/Phonics:  We will be focusing on the many ways the sound of a long e can be spelled.  The word lists are getting tricky:  street, key, each, please, dear

Reading Workshop: We will be doing an extra special project in Reading Workshop called "The Twelve Books of December".  Starting this week until the 23rd we will read a holiday/winter themed book and do a fun follow-up assignment.

Writing Workshop:  This week we will be focusing on action words (verbs).  Each day we will focus on a part of the North Pole and brainstorm the actions that would be happening there.  For example, in the Toy Workshop some actions you might see are:  cutting, drilling, painting and gluing. 

Homework
Monday 12/7
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Long e purple spelling sheet

Tuesday 12/8
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Writing:  Snowman Story
3.  Pack a lunch for tomorrow's field trip

Wednesday 12/9
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Math:  Yummy Sums

Thursday 12/10
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test on street, key, each, please, dear

Have a great week!

Highlights of Week #13

CP was a very good captain.  RP subbed for her while she was sick.  (PR)

All the days except for Monday were early dismissal day.  (MA)

We did our math warm-up. (AD)

We switched seats for December.  (CD)

We are going to have a field trip soon.  (CM)

We had free choice instead of art.  (TB)

Our cookie party is coming up.  We also have a grab bag coming up.  It is going to be fun.  (EB)

We read a sad book called "The Christmas Cobwebs".  It's a story about a family whose house caught fire and they had to sell their precious ornaments so they could have money again.  (OS and JMN) 

We took surprise pictures for a top-secret project.  (KG)

We did not have a Mystery Reader this week.  (CVI)

We took a spelling test on long a words.  (CN)

We voted to have a gingerbread tablecloth on our gift table. (DS)  There is also a small tree and a menorah on the gift table.  (EB)

In gym we played floor hockey.  (TM)

We read a book called "What Does Mrs. Claus Do?" and a funny book called "Gingerbread Pirates".  (RP and JMN)

Hootie's Next Stop

Hootie has been passed on to spend time at OS's house after his visit at CD's house.  Hootie spent Thanksgiving with OS's family and new puppy.

Hootie Update

Hootie had a nice time visiting RP's house.  He moved on to CD's house.  Hootie has been enjoying all of these playdates!

November Citizens of the Month

Congratulations to TB and TG for being such great friends and role models to the rest of our class!   

December Reading Newsletter

This month's edition of the "Reading Connection" is available.  Please visit the link below.

http://dpsk-5parents.wikispaces.com/file/view/Dec09RdgNewsBeginning.pdf