It was great to see so many of you last week during our Goal Setting Conferences! I appreciate all the work you did with your kiddos to help them prepare. They did a great job of helping to set some goals for themselves. It will be very helpful for families to keep reminding students about their goals at home, and to check in on how the children think they are doing.

 

Language Arts

The past few weeks have seen a lot of activities and growth in literacy for the students. We have been focusing on the idea of characters, setting, and the problem/solution of the stories we’ve been reading. We have begun reading and writing the sight words see, I, like, a, to. The class has focused on the letter sounds of a, s, m, t, f, g, c, k, d, and we have also been practicing our handwriting of these letters. Children have begun writing about the pictures they draw and reading/writing predictable sentences with the sight words. Also, our student interviews are almost complete! Make sure to come check them out, they are posted in class.

Math

Math continues to be about numbers to 30. We have been playing math games, writing numbers, and making repeating patterns. We use the calendar to help understand the passing of time, patterns, weather, and the concept of more, less, or equal. We are starting to look at how to count groups of 10.

Character

Our crew continues to spend a lot of time discussing how to be a good member of our school community, with the focus on our classroom. We use lots of great stories to help us understand our SIERRA norms. At this point, I have introduced integrity, empathy, responsibility, and adventure. Over the next few weeks the crew will focus on respect and strength.

Expedition News

Our expedition is called We Are Sierra! The main focus is about how to be part of the SELS community, both in the classroom and as part of the larger school. We work on this every day as we get to know each other, the SIERRA norms, the routine and expectations of class, and how to problem solve. I will post a more detailed description later this week.

Important Dates

October 24– Minimum day, 1:00 release for all students

October 31– Bear Walk- this is a fundraiser for the classroom. Information went home last week in the green folders, please let me know if you have an questions about the process.

November 8– Lulu Washington Dance Performance through Arts for the Schools

Volunteer Needed

I am looking for someone to help organize our trip to see the Lulu Washington Performance. Mostly this means making sure we have enough drivers. Let me know if you can help with this, we need to start organizing this week. Thanks!

Snow Information

Once the snow hits, students will need to bring a pair of slippers or inside shoes that they wear in the classroom (they cannot stay in their snow boots all day). This extra pair stays in the class throughout the snow season. The shoes/slippers MUST have a waterproof bottom since children wear them to get to and from the bathroom.

 

Also, students must have snow clothes EVERY DAY. We have recess outside even when it’s snowing! This includes snow pants, jacket, boots, gloves/mittens, and hat. Everything except the hat needs to be waterproof.

 

Parents, please have your child practice getting into and out of their snow clothes at home. I help with zippers and mittens, but your child needs to be able to get their pants, jackets, and boots on by themselves.