May 13th, 2012
Wonderful Families,
I wanted to thank you for all the thoughtful, creative, and yummy gifts you and your children shared with me this week. I did send Thank you notes which I hope made it to you. We finished the majority of testing and students worked very hard. We have a few things left which we should finish up on Monday. We had a speaker come from Metro transportation to discuss the Light Rail and the bus system. The students were great listeners.
On Monday, May 14th students will attend a School House Rock performance in the Gymfactorium at school. A reminder that our spring music concert is on Tuesday, May 15th. All of my students need to be at Gateway Redemption Church, in Mesa by 6:00 PM. The address is 8743 E Pecos Rd., Mesa, AZ . Casual dress.
We are very excited that our field trip to the Science Center is on Thursday May 17th. Buses will be boarding at 8:45 and leaving promptly at 9:00, no exceptions. Please remember to pack a non-perishable, generous lunch along with a disposable water.
Hope you enjoyed a great weekend.
Ms. Lee
May 5th, 2012
Wonderful Families,
The students did a great job on testing. We will continue testing this week, and finishing up projects. We are done with spelling but continue to work on math and language goals.
Please remeber that all library and SRC books must be returned by Friday, May 11th. I am still missing some field trip forms, please get them in as soon as possible. Also, I would like to remind you all that Wednesday, May 9th is a half day.
Have a great week!
Ms. Lee
April 30th, 2012
Wonderful Families,
I want to congratulate all of you on your amazing presentations. The students were very well prepared, and excited to share their information. I was very proud and impressed!
Only a few weeks left of school, can you believe it?! The next two weeks will be spent reviewing and assessing. Benchmarks began today, I will try to keep the pace slow and steady, but Tuesdays and Thursdays will be our big testing days as there are no specials on those days. Please ensure your child’s success by sending them to school on time, and well rested. I have been getting a few rumblin tummy reports, so please check with your child and add a little something extra to their lunch box if needed.
We have an in school transportation speaker coming in on May 10th. A field trip to the Arizona Science Center on May 17th(permission slips were sent home last week) and Learning Celebration on May 22nd. We are planning an invention convention with some of the older students but the date is yet to be determined. Spring concert dates wll be avalable soon.
Have a great week!
Ms. Lee
April 20th, 2012
Wonderful Families,
Testing went very well this week, I was very impressed with the students attitude and cooperation. When we weren’t testing we were reviewing math concepts, and learning about solid shapes. We have been discussing artists and inventors, and on Thursday we practiced our best Seurat and Van Gogh painting techniques.
The highlights this week have been candling out turkey; a visit from a rat; the donation of 4 sensory cushions for the class to share; (Thank you Acquilinos!) and the creation of Rocky the Robot. The class decided to create a robot for the recycling bin contest on Monday, Earth Day. We worked hard and had a lot of fun. We love Rocky so much we think we might even win the contest!
On April 2nd I posted information, and e-mailed every family regarding the research project that is due on Friday April 27th. The following week I discussed the assignment with the students and had them make a trifold model with headings for the project. I also gave each student a card with their inventor or invention along with some starter information that I had looked up on the internet or in a book. I reviewed the assignment again yesterday and sent another template home with each child. The headings are pretty straight forward regarding information needed.
My main objective is to familiarize the student with the research and presentation process. To become aware that inventions are usually generated by a need which becomes an idea, fed by imagination and hard work it blossoms into an invention which changes the world. I also am familiarizing them with time lines, and a basic understanding that inventions evolve over time and usually many people, and several attempts are involved in a successful invention or discovery.
I assigned a basic format, but please be as creative as you like. Information can be written or dictated and typed. Pictures, and drawings are encouraged. I would like to see the students utilize one book, and one internet resource for this project. Students may also dress up, or bring in models, or pictures, for their presentation on April 27th. I will try to record the presentations and will put those on individual DVDs, along with class pictures from the school year. Interested parents please donate $1.00 prior to Friday, April 27th.
A reminder that Wednesday,April 25th is a staff inservice half day.
Benchmarks and mapping begin April 30th
Enjoy your weekend!
Ms. Lee
April 15th, 2012
Wonderful Familes,
Stanford testing for second graders runs Tuesday through Thursday this week, and AIMS for third graders begins on Monday. Please make sure your children are well rested and have a healthy breakfast, snack, and, lunch. This will contribute to their focus and success.
Since we have had so much success bringing agendas in lately, I sent Math workbooks home this weekend with all the students. I am asking them to do at least one page per night, but return the book each day, especially this week as students will be working on them if they finish testing early. Your support helping your child remember the book is greatly appreciated.
Donations are still being accepted for the class basket and auction which is being held Saturday, April 21st. Please consider donating to the second grade theme- Fun in the City.
A reminder that there is no school on Friday April 20th.
Invention reports are due April 27th.
Have a great week!
Ms Lee
April 1oth, 2012
Wonderful Families,
I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend. It was fun to listen to all the weekend stories at our morning meeting today.
Thank you for all the shoe boxes, please keep bringing them in, we will be working on our special project on Friday this week.
Students have shown great enthusiasm for their research projects. You may keep the tri-folds at home as the majority of the project will be done as home work due to testing. Please let me know if you have any questions on this.
AIMS and Stanford testing begin next week, please ensure that your child is well rested and on time. I will work hard to make the testing as relaxed as possible, we will be discussing the process this week so that the students will feel comfortable and confident during testing week. However, these are standardized tests so there is a very specific protocol we must follow.
Thank you to Ms. Schaffer for keeping us informed about upcoming events such as the golf tournament and basket auction, along with Bounce U. Please donate and participate where you can. The students do love to help support their community.
We have the final approval for our field trip to the Arizona Science Museum on May 17th. We will need a minimum of 3 chaperone’s from our class. The approximate cost will be $20.00 per student. This will include busing, admission and science exhibits, a planetarium show, and a special interactive exhibit about Vincent Van Gough. This will be a great culmination of many of our units this year. We are all super excited about this trip.
Students did great for their first day back after a long break (and I suspect a fair amount of sugar). The students are in a great habit of bringing those agendas in daily, thank you for your support on that.
Have a great week!
Ms. Lee
April 2nd, 2012
Wonderful Families,
Our poetry unit is in full swing. We discussed different types of poetry and have tried writing our own shape poems, rhyming couplets, and acrostic poems. This week we will be working on alliteration and rebus poems.
The students continue to work on the concept, and practice of multiplication as a group. And their Math work books, and Math a Minute individually. Please continue to encourage your child to bring home their agendas and flash cards for both spelling, and Math in a Minute. Also remember to bring them to school each and every day.
We are enjoying discussing the evolution of inventions, and the imagination and determination shown by artists, inventors, and humanitarians and how this has shaped our world.
Students have chosen an invention, or artist to research over the next few weeks.The project will be due April 27th. I will initiate the research and format at school but the majority of the work will be done at home. I will send an outline and more details home on Thursday. The 40 by 20 tri fold science board will be used for this project. It is available at Walmart for approximately $3.00 in the school supply section near the poster board.
In class we will be time lining the history of transportation, we will be needing shoe boxes for this by next Thursday, April 12th. We have also begun discussing the Nobel Prize, and are reading about winners from various categories.
If you are interested in sharing inventions/equipment you utilize in your job please contact me so that we can establish a career day and relate it to our unit. We have been collecting recycled products in the lunch room and will have a invention convention sometime in May. Also, in May we are planning a field trip to the Arizona Science Center. We will be needing 3-5 chaperone’s so please consider this and look for more information coming soon.
The golf tournament and basket auction are coming up on August 21st, please consider donating items toward our theme. An e-mail was sent out last week with all the details, and Ms. Haughn has been highlighting this as well.
Thank you to our Art Masterpiece volunteers who were in with another fun project this week! We have some amazing artists in our class!
Also, thank you to families that have brought in supplies, and to the family that donated money for comfy sensory cushions! The students and I appreciate your support.
Please beaware of the days off in April as highlighted in last weeks update.
Have a great week!
Ms.Lee
March 25th, 2012
Wonderful Parents,
The students had an amazing week back after spring break! We had great success with students remembering their agendas. Thank you so much for your support with this. Please continue to encourage this, as the agenda and nothing book are very important tools everyday. I hope that by compiling information in the agenda, I have made the home- school connection more effective. This week we added the self evaluation piece so the student is a bit more aware of their goals and skills.
If you saw the kite that came home this week, that was our introduction to our poetry unit. Over the next few weeks we will be reading and writing different forms of poetry and creating a book.
Students were introduced to the age of exploration this week and will soon be asked to do a presentation on an artist or an inventor. This will require your help with the research portion. Also, I would like to have a small science board from each student for their presentation. This can be bought at Walmart for approximately $3.00, in the school supply section. I am no longer able to contine to spend my own money on classroom supplies. I do want every child to have the same opportunities to shine, so I appreciate your support on the few items I do ask you to donate.
We have made a few changes with Math a Minute and the students are moving ahead quickly, and we are all very excited! Please continue to practice the flashcards that should be coming home. As a group the students are picking up the multiplication principles quickly and I am pleased with their participation in Envision and our daily review sheets. They also continue to practice other skills individually in their workbooks.
Ms. Errington and I have been re-evaluating some of the spelling/reading groups in an effort to meet student needs more specifically. If you received a Title I letter this is in response to that. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this. Spelling groups will start up again this week.
We are off to a great start this quarter and I am seeing students maturity and motivation rising to the next level. I truly was so proud of them this week. Even the teachers of our reading buddies commented on the growth.
The teachers have been asked to be more vigilant regarding the snack policy, which I admit I have been lenient with. My students are very hungry caterpillars so please do not put me in the position of having to make them wait until lunch. I will accept, fruits and vegetables, cheese sticks, turkey, and snack bars that do not contain nuts. Fruit snacks and roll ups are not considered fruit. Please visit our website for the official policy.
Also, I have been getting multiple water bottles in for students, and have had a few complaints from students on the taste of the water bottles which I purchased in October.For these reasons I will be sending water bottles home and asking parents to be responsible for sending in your childs water bottle from now on.
Lastly, I would like to remind you that Wednesday, March 28th is early release. April 6th, 9th, and 20th there will be no school. April 25th will be early realease.
Our Golf Tournament and Auction are also coming up, please look for an e-mail with more informationon this.
Have a great week!
Thank you,
Ms. Lee
March 20th, 2012
Wonderful Families,
I hope you enjoyed the break. I am looking forward to seeing the students tomorrow and beginning our unit on Science and Technology.
If you have purchased any of the supplies requested please send those with your child tomorrow.
Have a great week!
Thank you,
Ms. Lee
March 4, 2012
Wonderful Families,
The field trip Friday was a success. Thanks to Ms. Sippel for writing the grant that paid for SanTan students, and to Ms. Ball for her efforts as well. Thank you to Ms. Goff and Ms. Aquilino for their help with our day.
This week we will be finishing up testing and final projects. Tuesday March 6th is San Tan’s Learning Celebration directly after school. Please pick your children up in the classroom. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are all early release due to teacher training and conferences. Book Fair will be held in the Gymfactorium Tuesday through Friday.
On Thursday, March 9th we will be having an indoor beach party to celebrate all the students hard work this quarter, and to kick off spring break. Students may wear a fun beach hat or outfit(no bathing suits please). Students can also bring a beach towel to sit on as we watch Dolphin Tale. I would appreciate a donation of Capri Suns for this event, if anyone is willing.
I look forward to seeing you all at the Learning Celebration on Tuesday and conferences this Thursday.
Have a great week!
Ms. Lee
February 26th
Wonderful Families,
A few dates to be aware of as we near the end of the quarter.
This week we start our benchmark testing. There will be some schedule changes but we will continue our study of planets and continents. Since last week was a four day week, and we will not have spelling this week students will be taking their spelling test for last weeks words on Tuesday of this week.
Friday, March 2nd is our all school field trip to Higley Performing Arts Center. Please remember to pack a generous snack and a sack lunch for this event. Thank you for getting those permission slips in so quickly!
Also on Friday, March 2nd their will be a family movie night, showing a documentary on San Tan Learning Center
Our Learning Celebration will be will be Tuesday, March 6th right after school.
Conferences will be 20 minutes long this quarter as we don’t have the MAP testing to discuss. A sign up will be coming out for Thursday March 8th from 1:00-7:00 PM.
I look forward to seeing you at the celebration and conferences.
Have a great week!
Ms. Lee
February 20th,
Wonderful Parents,
I hope you enjoyed your long weekend. It was exciting to get our books and see the students face light up as they found their work.
We have been working hard organizing our agendas and getting used to the new format. The majority of students have been doing a great job remembering to bring them back and forth. Please continue to encourage your child to take responsibility for bringing those everyday. This skill becomes increasingly important with each grade level. Also there is now an envelope in the agenda which holds both the math facts for the week and the spelling words on flashcards. These will be in their on Tuesday. On Monday we write both these in the agenda. Tomorrow the students will bring home a large envelope which they can keep their weekly facts in at the end of each week.
We continue to practice our three digit subtraction and will begin multiplication this week.
Our study of continents and planets continues. We had a great time celebrating Valentines Day and Arizona’s Centennial.
I sent notes home with students who have volunteered to help with morning announcements. I appreciate your help with sending them on time and prepared this week.
As we move toward the end of this quarter, a few items I would appreciate arents bringing in for next quarter are: two notebooks(our spelling and writing notebooks are on their last legs)and a red take home folder. These students love to draw and earn opportunities to draw and write. I would really appreciate if each student could have a sketch book for this as it is a great reward for them and also saves on paper. I would also appreciate donations of copy paper and glue sticks. We will be meeting in a few weeks for conferences feel free to bring these items then or send them with your child.
Thank you so much for your support!
Have a great week,
Ms. Lee
January 16th, 2012
Wonderful Parents,
I hope you enjoyed your long weekend. Last week we worked on getting back into the swing of things and discussing our new character trait of Fairness, along with Martin Luther King Jr. and his contribution to fairness and peace. The students were very sweet and insightful. We spent time reviewing some math, reading, and writing basics. We wrote some interesting letters home which you should be receiving soon. We also discussed the seven continents and some basic geography.
This week we will be back on schedule with our Words Their Way Spelling so please look for those words in your students agenda. I have made some changes with the agenda which will allow you to do a quick 15 minute review with your child each day. Also, the reading log will now be attached to the inside cover of the agenda for easier access. I will update the daily schedule on my website, so you will still have a general understanding of your child’s daily activities. I wanted to spend more time working on writing in our notebooks; and sharing more specific information with you in the agendas such as spelling words, sight words, and math facts.
This week we will be focusing on writing and illustrating our class books, please continue to send permission forms in.Everything is due to be sent in next Monday. We will be continuing our exploration of geography terms, and introducing our Earth, Moon, and Sun unit.
I understand that many of you have young children or work full time, and signing up to volunteer is difficult. Rather than continue to do a formal sign up I would like to encourage you to come in when you can, to read with students or help with projects. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 1:30-3:00 are times I could use some extra help with centers. Please just have the staff upfront let me know before you walk down to the classroom, so that I can prepare the students for your visit. This week I will be staying late on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in an effort to put some projects together if anyone is interested in stopping in and helping, or picking up items to work on at home.
I did pick up Math work books for all families that contacted me, please contact me if you are still interested. I will be introducing the students to these this week. Thank you again for our support on this.
Lastly, the tag board I requested is for Friday. Someone mentioned that the dollar store sells them for .50 each. Any color is fine, we are making portfolios with them. However, dark colors do seems to wear better.
This is going to be another fun and exciting unit.
Have a great week.
Ms. Lee
January 9th, 2012
Wonderful families,
Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed your break, and time with your family. I would like to thank everyone for your kindness and generosity in remembering me at such a busy time. Your children were so sweet, I think they enjoyed giving me the gifts almost as much as I enjoyed receiving them.. I am excited to see the students tomorrow as we ease back into our routines.These first few days we be reviewing expectations and some basic Math, and Reading concepts and skills.
As I discussed with many of you at conferences our specific focus this quarter will be on basic geography principles , including learning map skills and vocabulary. The overall focus will be on humans and our global interaction relating to our universe, continents, and planets. As you know this class LOVES to travel, so we will be dusting off our passport and taking a trip around the world. With a little help from Jules Verne author of Around the World in Eighty Days.
No worries we’ll write soon!
Items that we will need this week will be,
A large brown piece of poster board for your child. White if you cannot find brown.
Paper towel and toilet paper rolls
Cardboard pizza rounds
Thank you for your help on this!
Have a great week!
Ms. Lee
December 18th, 2011
Wonderful Parents,
Thank you for attending the Learning Celebration, the students are always very excited for you to see the projects they have been working on. We had hoped to be further along in our play process but a few other things took precedent. However, the students were really excited about the process of writing it and creating their own characters. I really enjoyed seeing them getting into character and reading with expression, as they added details from our animal unit.
The Zoo was a big success, the perfect day for animal veiwing, we saw a lot of animals that are normally hiding on warmer days The new Orangutan exhibit is incredible! A special thanks to Ms. Winters for all her work on that, and to our wonderful parent volunteers!
A special thanks to parents who have donated supplies. We could still use shoe boxes if you have them.
For future reference, my class is always grouped with the second graders for special events. I apologize for any confusion some of you felt regarding the concert event. Thanks to Ms. Ball for all her efforts organizing this fun event!
Thank you for signing up for conferences, I do have a few spots left on Wednesday evening, and quite a few on Thursday. I look forward to meeting with you and discussing your child’s progress. We will be going over report cards and several test results. Along with ILP review. My goal is to present all the data in an effort to give you a clear picture of where your child is, and where we are headed next semester. If you have something very specific you would like to discuss we may need to meet at another time as the conferences are 30 minutes, back to back. However, I will do my best to address any questions you may have once we have reviewed the information.
I would like to remind everyone that Monday -Thursday are half days.
Monday is the Spelling Bee, please have your child wear yellow and black.
Wednesday there will be a special wildlife presentation from Liberty Wildlife, along with a character assembly.There are some great home extension activities on theLiberty website. That link is http://libertywildlife.org/
I am already looking forward to next semester with your children.
Enjoy your holiday break!
Mrs. Lee
December 12th, 2011
Wonderful Parents,
Testing has gone very well this week , the students have been working hard. Students finished their endangered animal report as well. This week we will be finishing up testing, practicing for the winter concert, and rehearsing our play.
December 5th, 2011
Wonderful Parents,
This week we will be working on our Language and Math benchmark assessments, and our Map testing. Today we began our Math assessment and the students were right on track(pretty good for a chilly Monday!) In between testing we are working on finishing our Biome foldable, animal research reports, and playing review Math and Language review games. Also we are practicing our Jack and the Beanstalk play which we plan to present to our pre-school reading buddies. Don’t worry we plan to video tape it to show at Celebration
I hope everyone received a copy of the permission slip for our field trip to the Zoo. Each class will be participating in a guided tour learning about Arizona animals and adaptations. The students are really excited and hve been encouraged to again help with chores to earn money towards the trip, so I hope that helps with some of those extra holiday chores. Please have the permission slips in no later than Monday, December 12th.
I would like to ask parents to provide Model Magic for their chld’s anmal model. We will be creating these on Monday, December 12th. It can be found at Walmart, Michaels, or JoAnns in many colors. It makes a very nice and durable product that students can keep.
Items that would be great to have in the future are a bag of flour, two large jars of apple sauce and two large (Sam’s/Costco size) containers of cinnamon for a holiday project.
Several students still complain of being hungry even after lunch and snack, please be sure to ask your child if they feel they are getting enough in their lunch.
Thank you to Levi and his family for providing the snack for boy’s club these past few weeks. It is of course a big hit to have goodies at the end of the day!
I do keep pretzels and dried mangos for emergencies during snack time. I go through those quickly so any donation would be greatly appreciated. Snap peas and Cuties were big its as well.
Upcomming events to be aware of:
- December 5th- 16th 2nd Quarter Benchmark
& MAP testing - December 5th-9th Final Week of First Semester
Clubs - December 13th Kinder, First, & Second Grade Music Performance
Please check Ms. Balls website - December 14th Third, Fourth, Band, & Orchestra Music
Performance Please check Ms. Balls website - December 16th Learning Celebration
- December 19th School Spelling Bee
- December 19th- 22nd Half-Days of School K-7
Please check the school calendar frequently to stay up to date on these
events.
http://www.santanlearningcenter.com/calendar/
As we approach Parent/Teacher Conferences on December 21st and
22nd, please remember to have your child get a good night sleep and
eat a healthy breakfast to support them in performing their best on benchmark
testing. The results will be shared with parents during conferences and guide
writing 3rd quarter ILP goals. During conferences you will also
receive your child’s first report card of the school-year. San Tan report cards
are Standards Based, and I have prepared a Q & A
attachment for parents that are unfamiliar with standards based report cards.
Returning families will see some changes on the report cards as we continue to
make the transition to national standards.
Thanks for all you do,
Mrs. Lee
Parents,
There is a Lego program available for the week of December 19th, in case you are needing coverage for those half days.
Here are a few dates to be aware of this month.
- November 30th- Half-day of School K-7, PE Cup Fundraiser Due
- December 5th- 16th 2nd Quarter Benchmark
& MAP testing - December 5th-9th Final Week of First Semester
Clubs - December 13th Kinder, First, & Second Grade Music Performance
(Time TBA) - December 14th Third, Fourth, Band, & Orchestra Music
Performance (Time TBA) - December 16th Learning Celebration
- December 19th School Spelling Bee
- December 19th- 22nd Half-Days of School K-7
Please check the school calendar frequently to stay up to date on these
events.
http://www.santanlearningcenter.com/calendar/
As we approach Parent/Teacher Conferences on December 21st and
22nd, please remember to have your child get a good night sleep and
eat a healthy breakfast to support them in performing their best on benchmark
testing. The results will be shared with parents during conferences and guide
writing 3rd quarter ILP goals. During conferences you will also
receive your child’s first report card of the school-year. San Tan report cards
are Standards Based, and I have prepared a Q & A
attachment for parents that are unfamiliar with standards based report cards.
Returning families will see some changes on the report cards as we continue to
make the transition to national standards.
November 13, 2011
Wonderful Families,
This week we continue our Habitats unit and begin working on our endangered animal reports. We are finishing up our addition unit and will begin working on subtraction. I will be adding some updates to Math online tomorrow. Any fact practice or computation practice you do at home will only enhance your chld’s skills. The online Math and reading sites are a fun way to learn after school.
Our Reptile Adventure program is on Wednesday, please remember to send the permission slip and fee with your child on Monday.
Dates to remember in the next two weeks are:
November 18th- Paint and Pottery night
November 23rd- Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and 1/2 day
November 24th and 25th -Thanksgiving Break
Have a great week!
Mrs. Lee
November 6th, 2011
Wonderful Families,
This week we continued our habitat unit, and began learning about animal classification. We discussed the difference between arachnids and insects. We also began looking at different climate zones, and chose our animal for our upcoming partner research paper. I have a good deal of animal information in the classroom but it would be great if students could work on finding sources at home as well. We will continue to learn about the characteristics of each different animal type.
There some big animal events this week, one of which was a visit from Ms. Esposito’s Fire Belly Toads. There was also appearance on Friday by the Lee family’s Bearded Dragon and our 30 Lb Sulcutta Tortoise along with the Ramirez familiy’s snake. The students were very excited and should have some pictures to share in the near future. The Second/Third grade teachers are finalizing the plans for our in school field trip with Rich Ihsle from ReptileAdventures. Please look for an e-mail tomorrow.
In Math we continue our Addition unit, and will be starting subtraction next week. We are doing Math a Minute four days a week and students are advancing quickly in the quick fact recall. As they move to higher levels please encourage them to practice their facts at home.
In economics we are discussing the difference between wants and needs, and consumers and producers.
I do continue to have a few students that are complaining that they are still hungry after lunch, and I have encouraged them to let you know. A few of them are very hungry by snack time at 10:00 and try to eat their lunch then.
Reminder that Friday is Veterans Day and there is no school.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Lee
October 30th, 2011
Wonderful Families,
I hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed our beautiful Fall weather. This week in class we explored different types of plants, and parts of plants and their function. We watched our beans grow into shoots and some have even sprouted leaves. We also planted flower terrariums, and have started a small compost bin. Many students in the lunch room have been eagerly donating their banana peels and other scraps to our cause. So many in fact we will have to expand! We will be adding worms to this next bin to compare the differences.
This week we will begin exploring animal classifications. On Friday we will have a visit from a Tortoise and a Bearded Dragon. We are waiting for our turn to babysit Mrs. Esposito’s Frogs, and in first grade caterpillars are turning into cocoons. We are in the process of planning a visit from Reptile Adventures in the next week or two. This will be an in school field trip and we are asking families to donate $3.00 towards the cost. As soon as the date is finalized I will notify you and send you the link.
In Math we are practicing rounding and estimation using hundreds charts and number lines as guides. We are also starting to collect allowance for our class chores and record them in our check books which Mrs. Davis donated. We also earn money for being responsible with our agendas and other work. On Friday we weighed and measured our pumpkins to see if our estimates were right. We will find out on Monday.
There have been some difficulties with the copy machines, so I am trying to get caught up on some copies on my own and also to begin scanning more things onto the website and utilizing the wipeboard,s and sheet protectors to conserve ink and paper. Any donations of paper, sheet protectors, and thin expo markers would be greatly appreciated. Please look for new links for scanned materials. I will send a hard copy of the book log home on Monday but it has also been scanned for future need. I will also scan some letter formation pages and home work enrichment ideas.
I have started an after school reading club for the boys on Thursdays, if you didn’t get the flyer please e-mail me. The girls are asking for equal rights so I will set something up for them in the next week or two on Fridays. The idea is to spend a little extra time having fun with reading in smaller groups. We exercise a little, read a little, and play a little.
In PE we have been woring hard on our Physical assesments, and even got to help coach Tina assess a Kindergarten class. She is so good to us!!
In music the didgeridoos were quite a hit. I suspect you ma have heard them!
Ms. Errington and Ms. Windes continue to be of great help in our classroom.
Have a great week,
Mrs. Lee
October 23rd, 2011
Wonderful Parents,
What an exciting week we had getting back into the swing of things after Fall break. We started our Animals and Their Habitats unit off by making a Scientist notebook and observing a bean plant taking sprout. This week we’ll be learning about types of plants, and parts of plants.
We will be working hard on rounding up, and double digit addition, as well as our individual Math A Minute Goals. Also as part of our Social Studies Unit we will be studying economics and having some fun with classroom chores.
Grammar focus will be on the four types of sentences.
Spelling words will be in the agendas.
SRC and Library books went home on Friday, please return them by Wednesday in order to check out new ones on Friday.
I am getting several complaints of rumbling tummies. Maybe there is a Fall growth spurt in progress. Morning snack is one of the days highlights of the day so please be sure to pack something healthy for that, and maybe a little extra for lunch just in case.
Reading Logs will go home on Monday.
Explorer Highlights for the Week :
A guest speaker, a guest reader, a visit from the fire department, and the first day of our buddy reading program with the Pre-schoolers.
Thank you to Mr. Larkin for coming in and extending our knowledge about Korea!
Thank you to Mrs. Pawlowic for being a guest reader and helping us with our messy Friday project. Also,thank you for the supply contribution.
Thank you to Mrs Schaffer for manning the volunteer website, and to Mrs. Oetken for keeping the M.A.M. updated.
Your support is greatly appreciate!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Lee
October 16th, 2011
Wonderful Families,
Thank you so much for attending the learning celebration and conferences.
I enjoyed meeting all of you and learning more about each child and your goals for them. Thank you so much for sharing information that will allow me to understand and assist your child more specifically.
This quarter our focus will be on animals and their habitats. I am very excited about this as I know how many animal lovers their are in my class. There are a few centers I would like to suggest for some fun family learning extensions. These are: San Tan Regional Park, in San Tan Heights, the Riparian in Gilbert, and Veterans Oasis in Chandler. All have hiking and animal exposure along with some fun fall programs Veterans Oasis has the most animals at their indoor center and easy hiking with many birds and rabbits.
In Math we will be studying economics and practicing our individual facts. Look for flash coming home on Fridays.
Also on Fridays I will be sending home SRC books, Library books, and Nothing books. Please have these back to school by Wednesday.
Reading Logs will be coming home as well please encourage your child to bring them home every Monday with their Agendas. They are a monthly log for conservation purposes, but we will be using them every Monday.
This will be a great “hands on” unit” and some extra supplies may be needed. I will be sending a wish list home soon. The students will be studying an animal and then making a 3D model. Later in the unit I will ask that each student bring in some Model Magic for their project. JoAnn and Michaels coupons will be great to sae for this. As soon as the students have chosen their animal I will snd you more information.
If anyone has Orange trees please be on the look out for Orange Dogs, a catepillar that turns into a beautiful butterfly around Thanksgiving. This would be a great addition to our unit.
Thank you for sharing your children with me, I am very excited about all the fun we will have larning together this quarter.
Thank You,
Mrs. Lee
October 2nd, 2011
We continue to work on our Bench mark testing and completing our first quarter goals. Tomorrow is our Civics assembly and visit from the Mayor. Please remember to have your students dress in red, white and blue. Tuesday is our unit Celebration after school, the students are very excited!
Wednesday Scholastic book Fair and Picnic
Half Day Reminders- Wednesday October 5th, Thursday October 6th, and Friday October 7th. No after school care.
Please watch for conference sign up times for October 6th and 7th. I look forward to meeting with each family and discussing students needs and goals.
Fall Break begins Monday October 10th-Students return Tuesday October 17th.
September 26th, 2011
The week ahead:
This week the schedule will be a bit different as we will be reviewing material and doing our Bench mark testing. We will also be working on our Autobiographies. Family trees and any student pictures you would like to share for this are still welcome. The students are looking forward to sharing their treasure boxes and other work with you on Tuesday, October 4th for the Learning Celebration directly following regular school release. To add to the fun Scholastic Book Fair is also scheduled on Tuesday.
Half Day Reminders-Wednesday September 28th, Wednesday October 5th, Thursday October 6th, and Friday October 7th. No after school care.
Please watch for conference sign up times for October 6th and 7th. I look forward to meeting with each family and discussing students needs and goals.
Fall Break begins Monday October 10th-Students return Tuesday October 17th.