January Pep Rally

Congratulations to PK and TH for being our citizens of the month!

Norwalk Hospital

Two volunteers from Norwalk Hospital visited our class this morning. They taught us about the different sections of the hospital (X-rays, ER, pediatrics,etc). They also read a book about hospitals. They left goody bags for us to take home. It was a great visit!

Chinese New Year

Each of us got a fortune cookie after taking our spelling tests. Some of the fortunes were good, and some were hard to understand. We saw a short video about the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiak. 2014 is the year of the horse!  Miss Dineen was born in the year of the rat. The kids in our class were born in the year of the pigs and dogs. 

Super Bowl

Our class got into the Superbowl spirit. Thanks to VP's mom for bringing in a tasty treat!

Summer School 2014

We are in the middle of a very cold winter, but summer is coming!  I am teaching a fun class called "Fairy Tale Fun".  Please visit the link if you (or someone you know) are interested in some summer fun!

Mystery Reader

WK enjoyed having his mom be a Mystery Reader!

Peek at the Week of January 27-31

The last week of the month...wow!  There has been lots of sports talk in our classroom between the Superbowl and the upcoming winter Olympics.  So much fun to make some predictions.  Tuesday night's homework is on a sports theme, which I think the class will enjoy.


Sports Clothes Day:  This Friday, January 31 is Sports Day at Ox Ridge.  Your child can wear a shirt/hat/whatever of their favorite sports team.  This can be a team they have played on or a team they cheer for.  It doesn't need to be football, it can be anything!


Day 100 of school is next Wednesday, February 5th.  The first graders have the option to dress up as a 100 year old senior citizen on that day, just for fun!  A yellow flyer went home last week about this special day.


Homework and Specials
Monday 1/27
F Day:  Music
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Monthly Minutes filled in
3.  Winter Word Work

Tuesday 1/28
A Day:  Gym
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Monthly Minutes filled in
3.  Super Smart/Sports Word Work

Wednesday 1/29
B Day:  Art and Music
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Monthly Minutes filled in
3.  Persuasive Letter Writing to the principal

Thursday 1/30
C Day:  gym
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Monthly Minutes filled in
3.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test

Friday 1/31 Sports Day
D Day:  Library

Have a great week!

Game Day!

January 20-24

Writing Workshop:  We have had a lot of fun using the collections for our persuasive writing.  I will send the collections home by the end of the week.  Thank you for sending them in.

Reading Workshop:  We will be doing some comprehension work about characters.  This week we will be paying attentions to things our character does (character actions) and things our characters say.  Noticing our character actions and speech will help us to understand our character better, which should help us to understand the story better. 

Assessments:  I will continue to administer the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) this week.  I have been updating their reading levels for book shopping.  If your child's level has not changed yet, don't panic...it's just means it's coming soon. 

Game Day:  We will have Game Day this Thursday at 2:30.  Thank you in advance to the Orr, Kennedy, and Reid families for coming in to run a game.  It should be fun!


Homework and Specials
Tuesday 1/21
B Day:  Art and Music
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Record Monthly Minutes
3.  Winter Word Work

Wednesday 1/22
C Day:  Gym
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Record Monthly Minutes
3.  Persuasive Letter to the Cafeteria

Thursday 1/23
D Day:  Library
1. Read for at least 15 minutes
2. Record Monthly Minutes
3. Study for tomorrow's spelling test

Friday 1/24
E Day:  Spanish

Have a great week!

Highlights of the Week January 17

It's been a long time since we have done our weekly wrap-up.  Here are some of the highlights of our week at school:
In writing workshop we have been writing about our collections. 

In music we played a dancing game called Thorn Rosa. It is pretty funny. 

Third graders came to read their speeches. 

We learned about Martin Luther King and Rods Parks. They believed everyone should share buses, restaurants, water fountains, and schools. 

Today we did a big test called the Math Olympics. Some parts were hard. Some parts were super easy. And some parts were medium. 

Winter after school programs started on Monday. 

In gym we are doing basketball drills like dribbling and shooting. 

The new playground is almost done. There is a big pile of dirt that needs to be moved. The whole school uses the back playground. 

This afternoon we will celebrate PK's birthday. 

Third Grade Visitors

A class of third graders visited our class to read the speeches they wrote. They shared persuasive speeches in topics such as "Why Recycling Is Important" and "Being Respectful to Bus Drivers".  

Peek at the Week of January 13-17

Writing Workshop:  We will begin a new unit on persuasive writing.  This week we will be using our collections as a way to launch the unit.  Each person will be writing a "review" of items in our collections. Thank you for sending in the collections!

Reading Workshop:  We will begin a new unit on Characters this week.  I am also meeting with students to get updated reading levels.  Everyone is getting excited to get bumped up in their reading levels.  You will notice new levels coming home in their homework books.

Monthly Minutes: I sent home a blank calendar for January last Thursday.  I know I missed a few days, sorry! 

Math: We have been working hard on solving addition and subtraction math stories (aka word problems). 

Reminder:  There is no school this upcoming Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Day.


Homework and Specials
Monday 1/13
C Day:  gym
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Fill out Monthly Minutes
3.  Winter Word Work

Tuesday 1/14
D Day:   library
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Fill out Monthly Minutes
3.  Math Word Problems

Wednesday 1/15
E Day:  Spanish
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Fill out Monthly Minutes
3.  Blue Writing Journals

Thursday 1/16
F Day:  Music
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Fill out Monthly Minutes
3.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test

Friday 1/17
A Day:  Gym

Have a great weekend!

Peek at the Week of January 6-10

Monday 1/6
D Day:  library
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Fill in January Monthly Minutes (Look for the new calendar today)
3.  Winter Word Work


Tuesday 1/7
E Day:  Spanish
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Fill in January Monthly Minutes
3.  Math:  Tune Up (quick basic facts)


Wednesday 1/8
F Day:  Music
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Fill in January Monthly Minutes
3.  Blue Writing Journals


Thursday 1/9
A Day:  gym
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Fill in January Monthly Minutes
3.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test


Friday 1/10
B Day:  art and music
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Fill in January Monthly Minutes

Have a great weekend!