October 27: Newsletter

IMPORTANT DATES:

October 31: Classroom Halloween Party 9:30-10:30

November 3: Early Release/Dismissal at 12:15

November 8 & 14: Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 28: Christmas Program

Halloween is right around the corner!   Our Halloween party will be on Tuesday, October 31 from 9:30-10:30.  All parents are welcome to join us for the fun!  Students may wear their costumes to school or change right before the party.  Please make sure all students have a change of clothes.  We will be costume free after our party. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held Wednesday, Nov. 8 and Tuesday, Nov. 14.  Please send back your confirmation paper by Monday if you haven't done so already.  

READING:

October Book-It forms are due next week.  If you would like your child to participate, please sign the calendar and return it to school.  I will then send the calendar back home with a Pizza Hut certificate for a free personal pan pizza for your child.  The coupon is good for pick up only and the child must be present, as well as one coupon per child a day.  Happy reading!

Next week we will learn that readers try to describe a character by naming that character's traits.  We can do this by mixing together all that we have learned about a character through their actions, thoughts, and feelings as they try to get what they want.  We will learn that readers don't just make guesses about a character's traits.  Instead, we name specific examples from the story to prove that the character is a certain way.  We will look for information about what kind of person a character is as we read, looking for places in the text that show off that information.  

WRITING:

This week students drafted the first page of their personal narratives.  They thoughtfully wrote a catchy lead to grab the reader's attention.  Next week we will develop the middle of our narratives by intentionally adding in the character's feelings, thoughts, and dialogue.   

MATH:

Next week we will take two days to review for our first math assessment.  This assessment will cover addition and subtraction within 20 and a variety of word problems.  We will plan to take the official assessment on Thursday.  Please look for a review coming home at the beginning of next week.  It will be helpful to look over the review with your child at home before the assessment in class.  

GROWTH MINDSET:

Next week we will begin to spend time self reflecting on our growth as mathematicians.  Students will share their new learning or thinking each day.  We will use the ideas below to guide our reflections...
*Describe a new strategy you learned.
*Tell a math word you learned and what it means.
*Describe a mistake you made and what you learned from it.
*Explain how you challenged yourself today.
*Tell about something you noticed today and how it helped you solve a math problem.