Halloween Details

Due to the weather forecast, we will be parading through the school tomorrow, instead of downtown. Parent volunteers should plan to arrive at 12:15.  We will be coming back from lunch and will need lots of help with our costumes.  The parade begins @ 1:00 and will go throughout the Middle School and High School.  Parents/families are welcome to gather in the Middle School Gym to catch the parade as we go through.  We will be towards the end of the parade, so you could watch the parade and then join us as we go through.

Just a couple of reminders:
*Please send your child's costume to school in a bag, labeled with their name.
*Please do not send any toy weapons with your child.

Looking forward to a fun afternoon!

Mrs. Brinks

Newsletter Updates for the Week of October 27th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Thursday, October 28th—Family Night 5:30-7:00

-Monday, November 3rd—No School

-Thurs., Nov. 6th—Parent Teacher Conferences

-Tues., Nov. 4th—Report Cards Home

HALLOWEEN PARTY: 

*Please send your child’s costume to school in a bag (labeled with their name). Students will change into their costumes after lunch.

**Please DO NOT send any make-up or toy weapons (guns, swords, knives, etc.) to school.

***Parent volunteers—please plan to arrive by 12:15 to help students get into their costumes.

SCHEDULE:

12:15-12:45—Change into Costumes

12:45-1:00—Photos

1:00-1:40—Parade Downtown (K-4)

*K will NOT be visiting the 4th grade wax museum.

1:40-2:00—Halloween Activities & Change

2:00-2:20—Halloween Snack

2:25—Recess

READING:

This week our class will be focusing on the shapes they see in nature and in our neighborhood. Children will also be reading about the shapes they see around them.

Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing.

Word Workout

· Vocabulary: materials, nature Invite your child to hunt for shapes found in nature or on materials. Then invite your child to draw pictures of each item.

· My Words to Know

High-Frequency Word: like Write the word like on paper and have your child trace it. Then say sentences and have your child write like each time you say the word.

Category Words: shapes Say simple riddles that include different shape words. Have your child guess each object.

Phonics: t Invite your child to play a game of “I Spy.” Say sentences and have your child find objects whose names begin or end with the letter t, such as I spy a table. I spy a pot.

Comprehension: key details

Invite your child to point out details in the park scene, such as a square sign. Then use different colored crayons to color each shape.

At literacy stations, student will continue to work on rhyming, retelling, syllables, sightwords, letters, & sounds.  Students will also begin using Successmaker on the computer this week.  Last week they enjoyed reenacting The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything; we will practice retelling the story a few more times, so that they students will have a chance to play all of the roles.  We will introduce 2 new Beanie Baby Strategies this week: Stretchy Snake helps us to stretch out unknown words by saying all of the sounds and then blending them together to make the word; Picturing Penguin helps us with comprehension as we practice visualizing (making a picture in our heads) while we read.

MATH:  

This week we will incorporate several Halloween activities into our math stations as we focus on sequencing by size, number ID, & counting.  We will work on identifying Tricky Teen numbers and play several games related to the teens.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:   

This week we will read several stories related to Halloween and Pumpkins. Today we carved our jack-o-lantern. With elections just around the corner, we exercised our ‘democratic right to vote,’ as we voted on what kind of mouth to give our jack-o-lantern.

WRITING:  This week we will finish up our October Journals with entries about what we will be for Halloween and the shapes that we see around us.  I will save their October Journals to share with you at conferences.

Newsletter Updates for the Week of October 20th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Wednesday, October 22nd—Picture Retakes

-Thursday, October 28th—Family Night 5:30-7:00

-Monday, November 3rd—No School

-Thurs., Nov. 6th—Parent Teacher Conferences

STUDENT OF THE WEEK:  

Our student of the week is Chance Southwick. Chance enjoys driving tractors, taking things apart, building, & creating with his hands. His favorite place to go is to Anderson & Girls Orchard, and when he grows up, Chance aspires to be a Cement Truck Driver. Congratulations to Chance on being Student of the Week!

FAMILY NIGHT:  

Our annual Title 1 Family Night will be Tuesday, October 28th from 5:30-7:00. We are asking families to RSVP, so that we can plan for food—PIZZA! In addition to dinner being served, each teacher will have specific learning activities set up in their classrooms, as well as handouts and materials for you to take with you to practice important skills at home. Please be sure to RSVP by this Friday. Hope to see you there!

READING:

This week our class will be focusing on the tools people use every day to help them work, play, cook, and do their chores. Children will also be reading about tools such as utensils to eat, a calculator to add, and a shovel to dig holes.

Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing.

Word Workout

· Vocabulary: tool, discover Invite your child to hunt for different kinds of tools and tell what each one is used for. Make a list of the tools and read it together when you’re done.

· My Words to Know

High-Frequency Word: a Write simple sentences and leave a blank in each sentence to represent the word a. Have your child write the word a in the blanks. Then read each sentence together.

Category Words: colors Draw simple pictures of tools on paper. Have your child color each tool.

Phonics: p Invite your child to hunt for household objects that begin or end with the letter p. Write each word on a sticky note and have your child circle the p.

WRITING:  

This week the students will work in teams to draw monsters, as they listen for rhyming words & nouns; we will then compare our monsters as we discuss their details. We will also complete a couple of class books related to some classic Mercer Mayer Books: There’s a Monster in My Closet & There’s an Alligator Under My Bed.  We have created several class books so far this year that you will be able to check out at conferences in a couple of weeks. :)

MATH:  

This week we will work on oral counting; at this point in the school year, students should be able to count to 25 on their own.  We will also continue to practice writing our numbers and conduct some sequencing and measuring activities with pumpkins & monster feet.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:   

This week we will continue our study on PUMPKINS. We will also read several fun, narrative texts related to MONSTERS; which will lead us to discuss the characteristics & purpose of fiction/narrative texts—make-believe stories, characters, & events that are written just for fun!

Parent Update from McBain Elementary

Just a few quick notes from McBain Elementary:

ABSENCES:  Many of you are already aware that there are various viruses affecting students in our area (strep, hand-foot-mouth, impetigo) .  If your child has a fever, PLEASE do not send them to school.  Children MUST be fever-free without medication for 24 hours before returning to school.  Please call the school to excuse your child EACH day they are absent.

DELAYED START: This Monday, October 20th, is our Delayed Start Monday.  Class begins at 10am, so students should arrive before 9:55am, but students should not be dropped off before 9:45am because there is no supervision for them before 9:45am. 

NORMAL SCHOOL DAY/BREAKFAST:  On our normal school days, class begins at 8:05am, but breakfast in the classroom begins at 7:55am.  If students arrive after 8:10am, they will not receive breakfast.

PICTURE RETAKES: Wednesday, October 22nd - if you need to have your child's picture retaken, send your current package to school with your child on that day.

LABELS: Keep sending those labels!  Box Tops, Campbell's, Tyson, Spartan UPC's and School Spirit labels from Soft-'N-Good Bread are what is collected.  For every 20 sent in, your child gets his/her name in a drawing for prizes! And be sure to turn in the print-outs that come from Meijer, with extra bonus points.

SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS FROM HOLTON'S LP! - If you purchase propane through Holton's, please turn your receipt in to the school office because the PTO is now participating in their "School Days" Program. The PTO can earn 2 cents for every gallon shown on those receipts!  Let other family members know too.

MOBILE DENTIST - scheduled for December 5th.

CRAFT SHOW - The PTO's annual Holiday Craft Market is Saturday, November 29th from 9am-3pm.  It is EXPANDED to THREE GYMS this year, and SANTA will also be making an appearance for photo opportunities!  More details coming soon.

UPCOMING DATES:  

Monday, November 3rd, NO SCHOOL due to Professional Development for staff.

Thursday, November 6th,  NO SCHOOL due to Parent-Teacher Conferences

Monday, November 17th, DELAYED START MONDAY

Thurs/Fri, November 27/28 - NO SCHOOL, Thanksgiving Break

Classroom Illnesses

Just an FYI, I've sent more kids home today with fevers and I have 2 confirmed cases of Hand, Foot, & Mouth Disease, which is VERY contagious!  Please be sure to watch your children for symptoms!!! I will be sanitizing tonight in the classroom!!!

Newsletter Updates for the Week of October 13th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Tues, Oct. 14th—Hearing & Vision Screening

-Friday, Oct. 17th—Book Orders Due

-Monday, Oct. 20th—Delayed Start

-Wednesday, Oct 22nd—Picture Retakes

PICTURES: 

School pictures are in!  I prefer NOT to send them home in backpacks.  If you ordered pictures and can stop in sometime this week to pick them up in person, that would be ideal!  Otherwise, I’ll wait until Friday and send home whatever picture packages I have left, as safely as I can. Retakes are Wednesday, October 22nd. 

TIS THE SEASON: 

Just a heads up—we’ve had several bugs going around our classroom.  Some students are experiencing fevers and sore throats, while others have had a stomach bug that causes diarrhea.  Please be on the lookout for these symptoms :( Mrs. Brinks has been ‘the hand-washing drill sergeant' lately! :)

GYM CHANGE FOR THIS WEEK: 

We will have gym on Tuesday & Wednesday this week:)

READING:

This week our class will be focusing on ways in which we use our five senses to hear, taste, touch, see, and smell. Children will read about how they can explore the world around them by using their senses.

Here are some activities you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we’ll be practicing.

Word Workout

· Vocabulary: senses, explore Write terms for each of the five senses on index cards. Invite your child to explore your home by identifying things they see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. Record their findings on the cards.

· My Words to Know

High-Frequency Word: see Write the word see on paper and have your child trace the word. Then play a game of “I See.”

Category Words: senses Ask questions about the senses. For example: What sense tells you that dinner is cooking? (smell)

Phonics: s Form an s with a piece of string. Then have your child form the letter. Look at a newspaper or magazine and ask your child to circle words that begin with the letter s. Make a list of those words and help your child read them.

WRITING: 

This week we be completing an I See book about pumpkins.  We will also be using our senses to investigate items from nature and practice drawing using details and labeling by writing the sounds that we hear.  The students will also work with partners to create rhyming spiders and later in the week we will write a class book about The Itsy Bitsy Spider.

MATH: 

This week we will focus on identifying patterns in our environment, oral counting, ordering numbers, and spatial relationships (above, beside, between, under, etc).

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will be reading several informational texts related to SPIDERS & PUMPKINS and we will research some interesting facts related to SPIDERS.

Here's a short video clip of our class in Music with Mrs. Wiggins