Highlights of the Week November 30

• (BO)  We put out new holiday books.
• (GP)  I got to be the Student of the Month.
• (DP)  We played hockey in gym.
• (MRS)  We have short days this week.
• (RS)  We played Sit in gym.
• (AS)  We had a card party this morning.
• (VS)  We did not have computer because it was a short week.
• (LS)  I played a lot of games at recess.
• (ES)  We had a spelling test today.
• (BT)  Congratulations to the new students of the month.
• (BV)  On December 13th we are going to have a very fun party.
• (WB)  We read "The Elf on the Shelf" book.  We are hoping that our classroom elf will visit us soon.
• (JB)  We made mittens in art.
• (WC)  We had indoor recess one day.
• (RC)  We had a Pep Rally.
• (MD)  We are not having a Mystery Reader today because it is a short day and we will be at home.
• (AD)  We are taking down the November decorations because on Monday it will be December.
• (WD)  We had a Pep Rally today.  The 2 new kids are GP and VS.
• (SD)  We are going to start reading book #2 of the Doll Series. It is called "The Meanest Doll in the World".
• (GG)  The mean doll's name is Mimi.
• (LM)  We are going to have a cookie party in December.
• (GM)  We had a spelling test.  Almost everyone got 10 out of 10!
• (CN)  We are almost done with November.

November Pep Rally

Congratulations to our new Students of the Month!

Peek at the Week of November 26-30

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving.

This is Conference Week.  Monday is a full day.  Tuesday through Friday will follow an early dismissal schedule.

Report cards will be sent home with your child on Monday.  Please sign and return the white report card envelope.  The report card is yours to keep.

We enjoyed our Pie Party before Thanksgiving.  I know the next 4 weeks between now and Christmas Vacation are busy, busy, busy.  With that in mind, I am listing the dates for our class holiday events just so you can mark your calendars now and plan accordingly.
-Thursday, December 13th will be our class cookie exchange.  (Specific details will be sent home on a separate memo in the next week). 
-Wednesday, December 19th will be our class Holiday Breakfast.  We will wear our holiday pjs and do a Grab Bag (I'll send home a memo with specific details).

Academic Update
-Reading Workshop:  We will begin a unit of study on characters.
-Writing Workshop:  We will continue with our Realistic Fiction unit.
-Math:  We will begin Topic 3 of the Growing with Math program.
-Word Study:  Groups will resume this week.


Homework
Monday 11/26
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fall Word Work

Tuesday 11/27
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Math 4 Today

Wednesday 11/28
1.  Read for at least 10 mintues
2.  Character Present

Thursday 11/29
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test

Have a great week!

Thankful Teacher

I am thankful for the 23 students in my class this year!

 

Happy Thanksgiving

to all my students (former & current) and their families!

Pie Party

Today was a delicious day!

Happy Birthday

We celebrated GG's birthday with his mom and brother!

Peek at the Week of November 19-23

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

We had a great time at last week's Cranberry and Pumpkin Tasting Event. 

This Tuesday 11./20 will be our class Thanksgiving Pie Party.  Thank you to the following families for 'sponsoring' this party:
            Martin:  2 pumpkin pies with knife
            Taylor:  2 apple pies with knife Cool Whip
             Piersol:  Cool Whip
             Brown:  Apple cider
             Li:  Forks, plates, napkins, cups (24)

This will be a short week.  Wednesday will be an Early Dismissal day.  There is no school on Thursday and Friday.  Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Homework
Monday 11/19
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Thanksgiving ABC Order

Tuesday 11/20
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Turkey Subtraction using a # line

Wednesday 11/21
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Have fun with your family!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Mystery Reader

BV was so happy to have his mom come in as our Mystery Reader!

Highlights of the Week November 16

• (GM)  I had fun being the captain.
• (CN)  We are working on our Realistic Fiction stories.
• (BO)  We went to the Book Fair.  We made Wish Lists of good books.
• (GP)  We had a cranberry party.
• (DP)  We played Sharks & Minnows in gym.
• (MRS)  We played Thorn Rosa in music.
• (RS)  We practiced retelling a story.
• (VS)  We learned about cranberry bogs.
• (LS)  I got really good books at the book fair. 
• (ES)  We are getting ready for Thanksgiving.
• (BT)  We have a new schedule.  Mrs. Axt comes to work with us early in the morning.
• (BV)  We are going to publish our realistic fiction books in hard-cover books. 
• (WB)  We did scratch art projects.
• (JB)  We are going to make hard-cover books.
• (WC)  At recess I played tag.
• (RC)  We have a Mystery Reader today.
• (MD)  We are going to have a Mystery Reader today.
• (AD)  We have a spelling test today.
• (WD)  We are having a visitor today.
• (SD)  We put out the Thanksgiving books.
• (GG)  The next chapter in The Doll People is called "The Attic".  I think the dolls might get trapped in the attic.
• (LM)  We had a super book fair.

Cranberry and Pumpkin Tasting

We learned about cranberry bogs. We watched a video made by a father and son team of cranberry farmers who live in Nantucket. Then we tasted pumpkin pie, bread, and seeds. We also tasted cranberry sauce, juice and Craisins.

Thank you to all the families who sponsored this event!

Peek at the Week of November 12-16

We managed to get back to business as usual in our classroom after all of the schedule and calendar changes.  The weather has been very dramatic this fall!

On Monday, try to wear red, white, and blue clothing to school in honor of our Veterans.

Our class will go to the Book Fair on Thursday morning from 11:20-11:45.  We will have the chance to look over the selection and create a Wish List.  Parents are welcome to come and help students with the wish lists.  We will meet you in the library!

Thursday we will have our Pumpkin & Cranberry Tasting at 2:30.  Thank you to the families who are supplying the goodies for us to sample.  Here is the list I copied and pasted from the class Google calendar:
-Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - Plourde
-Pumpkin Bread (cut into 24 "bite sized" pieces) - Popson
-Pumpkin Pie (cut into 24 "bite sized" pieces) - Nemec
-Dried Cranberries (aka Craisins) - Sarsen
-Cranberry Juice - Brown
-Cranberry Sauce - Struk
-24 cups, spoons and napkins - Stockdale
*The items can be sent in with your child, dropped off that day, or you can bring them in person and stay and help out at 2:30...whatever works for you and your schedule.

November Academics
Reading Workshop:  We are working on our comprehension by retelling story events in order.  We will be using a variety of graphic organizers to show our understanding.  The overall focus is that Reading=Thinking.  The goal of reading is to read, understand, and enjoy a book.  Retelling (eiter orally or in a written format) is a way for our beginning readers to 'show what they know'. 

Writing Workshop:  We will start our new unit on Realistic Fiction.  This week we will explore the genre and start brainstorming possible story ideas.  The retelling work we have done in reading workshop will be helpful when planning out the beginning, middle, and ending of our stories.  The highlight of this unit will be that the published piece will be done in a REAL hardcover book! 

Math:  We will be finishing the "Double Decker Bus" unit which involved making combinations of numbers. 


Homework
Monday 11/12
1.  Read for at least 10 mintues
2.  Fall Word Work

Tuesday 11/13
1.  Read for at least 10 mintues
2.  Math 4 Today (mixed review)

Wednesday 11/14
1.  Read for at least 10 mintues
2.  Retelling Report:  use a favorite book from home

Thursday 11/15
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Review words for tomorrow's spelling test

Have a great week!

Mystery Reader

AS's mom, dad, and little brother were surprised our class this afternoon. They read two great books.

Halloween Parade

We had a great time watching the K parade! Better late than never.

Highlights of the Week November 9

• (LM)  We had 2 birthday parties in a row.
• (GM)  We had a Pep Rally.
• (CN)  We had a Halloween movie party. 
• (BO)  We watched Alvin and the Chipmunks.
• (GP)  We learned about the 5 senses.
• (DP)  We played snowball in gym. 
• (MRS)  We went to art.  We made masks.
• (RS)  We played Double Decker bus in math.
• (AS)  We wore our costumes today.
• (VS)  We are going to have our spelling tests today.
• (LS)  Three people are wearing ninja costumes.
• (ES)  In Writing Worskshop we made fall season books.
• (BT)  It snowed this week.
• (BV)  We learned a song called "Turn it Around".  This song's message is about not letting yourself get too upset when things go wrong.
• (WB) We had an election to see who was going to be the president. 
• (JB)  We had 90-minute delays on three days this week.
• (WC)  We are reading "The Doll People" during snack time.  It is a good story.
• (RC)  We had a storm last week called Hurricane Sandy.
• (MD)  We didn't get to go trick or treating because of the storm.
• (AD)  We will have a Mystery Reader today.
• (WD)  We had a big snow storm.
• (SD)  In Reading Workshop we worked on retelling our stories.
• (GG)  We will go to library today.  It will be fun.

October Pep Rally

Congratulation to our October Students of the Month!

Pumpkin Patch Movie Party

We didn't let a hurricane or some snow stop our Halloween celebration.

AS was in charge of the ticket booth.

MD works at the Snack Bar with DP.

WB collects tickets at the door of the Pumpkin Patch Theater

GP and WD sell Gooey Chewies (fruit snacks).

Election Day

We held a mock election this morning in our classroom. After checking off a box on the ballot each child put their ballot in a box and got a sticker.

Class Results:
Obama/Biden had 13 votes
Romney/Ryan had 10 votes

It was a close call in our classroom!

We'll have to wait and see how our results compare to the rest of the country.

Voting Stickers and a Thumbs Up!

Carefully looking over the ballot

Voting in action

Veterans' Day

Update @ 5:15pm:  Veterans Day will be celebrated on Monday, November 12th.  So wear your red, white and blue next Monday.


Ox Ridge is saluting our Veterans this Thursday, November 8th by wearing red, white and blue.  Show your American spirit!