Week of December 14 – December 22, 2015

December 14, 2015

Happy Holidays!

I hope this finds all of you in the spirit of the holiday season fast approaching. The best part of the holidays, for me, is time spent with family and friends. May your holiday be delightful! Travel safely.

We are on the count down to the end of the year! The kids are remarkably focused on the tasks at hand. They are as busy as elves getting their gifts in order. It is fun to watch their faces when they are making gifts for you.

Please make sure your child is getting plenty of sleep and in a good handwashing routine. There is some type of bug going around, everywhere! I continue to be quite impressed with our wonderful attendance, in spite of whatever is going around and then coming back again.

Please note that we did not work on fluency, specifically the first trimester so the children received and S or N. We will work more on that in the next trimester. If you have any other questions, please contact me. Thank you to the parents who have done so already.

Conferences are coming up at the end of January. I will look forward to meeting with all of you. If you need to reschedule, please check out the schedule on my blog and let me know a time and date that will work for you.

In math the kids have started to add two and three digit numbers using the partial sums method. Essentially they add from left to right. We will also teach the other way, but not quite yet. Please understand that it is very different than the way we learned it. The good news is that this method facilitates mental math!

Have a wonderful week. I will update you as needed and then send out another newsletter in the New Year!

Sincerely,

Toni

Quote for the week:

MATH / Unit 4
Addition and subtraction number stories are used as a vehicle for developing mental arithmetic skills. The unit ends with work on pencil-and-paper strategies.
Unit 4 has three main areas of focus:
·  To solve number stories
·  To read and show temperatures and
·  To develop different strategies for adding and subtracting 2 and 3-digit numbers.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Anthology
Jellies
AR #:2901 3.4
Genre:
Informational Text
Click, Clack, Moo Cows that Type
AR # 45430 2.3
Genre: Humorous Fiction / Vocabulary
Target Vocabulary: decide, disgusting, drift, millions, simple, wrapped, choices, weaker
Strategies: Base words and suffixes –er, -est
Comprehension
Target Skill: fact and Opinion
Target Strategy: Monitor/Clarify
Author’s Craft: Word Choice: Comparison
Listening, Speaking, Viewing: Computer Dictionary
Fluency: Stress
Phonics:
Contractions
Writing:
Writing to Mode: Write to inform
Writing Form: Instructions
Focus Trait: Word Choice
High Frequency Words: really, you, because, right, go, they, was, me old, better
Vocabulary
Target Vocabulary: problem, impossible, understand, impatient, furious, demand, gathered, believe
Strategies: Prefixes pre-and mis-
Comprehension:
Skill: Conclusions
Strategy: Infer/Predict
Author’s Craft: Onomatopoeia
Listening, Speaking, Viewing: Computer: Encyclopedia
Fluency: Expression
Phonics: Base Words and Endings –s -es
Writing Mode: Write to Persuade
Writing Form: Persuasive Letter
Focus Trait: Ideas
High Frequency Words: another, heard, some, kind, light, hard, more, grow, far, to
SCIENCE
Switch / Ms Anderson, Day 4
Art
Switch / Ms Clifton with Ms Anderson’s class
TECHNOLOGY
SPELLING
www.spellingcity.com/tclifton / Monday, December 14, 2015
Christmas Words list:
Monday, January 4: List 3.11
Pretest Monday: if a student is able to spell the Basic List with 90% accuracy they will practice the Challenge list for the final test on Friday. Check the Assignment Sheet to determine which list they are supposed to study for the week.
We have a Premium Membership with Spelling City. If your child would like to practice the words, using that program they may. If your child is stressed before the pre-test they may practice the words prior to the first test.
Logging into Spelling City:
Click the link in the box to the left. Once you get to Spelling City your child will need to log in to the student log-in. The user name is their first name.last name with no spaces or uppercase letters (For example, my user name would be toni.clifton. The password is their lunch number. Good luck! Let me know if you need assistance.
HOMEWORK / Reading Log Assignment: Students are required to read a minimum of
20 minutes per day, outside of school. Please jot down the number of minutes read daily and write the total minutes per week when you send the folder back on Monday.
Reading practice sheets: Please practice daily and return on Friday (or the end of the week)
Think Central
User Name: first name and last name (no spaces) Example: toniclifton
Password: First name and lunch number (Upper case letter on first name and no spaces) Toni4173 Please do not use my name and number because it will not work!
Math homework: at this time the students will receive three to four Home links a week. They are due back the following week. IXL and other sites will be available online as an alternate to Home Links (predetermined by me).
IXL user names and passwords were emailed to you on September 14. Please
find a safe place to store that important information.
Moby Max
User name: first name and lunch number, no spaces, no upper case letter
Example:
UN: toni4173
PW: 4173
Password: lunch number
(Again, please do not use mine; it will not work)
Spelling City is an excellent online program to study spelling words. It is interactive and provides definitions of the words, too.
www.spellingcity.com/tclifton
Please note it is okay to practice the words prior to taking the pretest.
IMPORTANT DATES
3.18.16
Field Trip to MN History Center
4.15.16
Clifton’s parent lunch
5.25.16
Field Trip to Three Rivers
5.26.16
Track and Field
9:30 – 2:40 /
·  Wednesday, December 16: DQ Night 5:00 – 8:00
·  Friday, December 18: Grinch Day in 2nd grade
·  Monday, December 21: Polar Express Day in 2nd grade
·  Tuesday, December 22: Read-a-thon; Holiday Party
·  Wednesday, December 23: Winter Break Begins

·  Monday, January 4: School Resumes
·  Tuesday, January 12: P.I.E. Meeting 7:00 pm Elementary Media Center
·  Wednesday, January 13: DQ Night 5:00 – 8:00
·  Monday, January 25: Conferences and Book Fair 12:00 – 8:00
·  Wednesday, January 27: DQ Night 5:00 – 8:00
·  Thursday, January 28: Conferences and Book Fair 4:00 – 8:00
All About Me

Star Student / January / February / March / April / May
Connor 11 / Brynn 1 / Lauren 7 / Ella 4 / Avery 2
Wyatt 25 / Olyvia 8 / Caleb 14 / Aidan 11 / Emery 9
Owen 22 / Dylan 28 / Ruby 23
Ian 29
Day / Digital Day Special / Things to Note / President/ Vice President
Monday
12.14 / Day 4
Music / Spelling Pretest
Christmas Words / Brady
Ben
Tuesday
12.15 / Day 5
PE / Aidan
Jaidyn
Wednesday
12.16 / Day 1
Media / Olyvia
Nate
Thursday
12.17 / Day 2
Music / Wyatt
Logan
Friday
12.18 / Day 3
PE / Final Spelling Test / Lauren
Ariana
Monday
12.21 / Day 4
Music / Ben
Hailey
Tuesday
12.22 / Day 5
PE / Ian
Brady
Pet Visits / If you would like to share your child’s pet with the class please contact me to set up a mutually agreed upon date and time. The class will meet you in the front entry for sharing.
Planners (also know as Assignment Sheets)
* Located inside the Homework folder
/ Please initial the planner after you have seen it each day. Ask your child to write the total number of reading minutes each day. Please encourage your children to be responsible for showing you the folder and then returning it to their backpack. If you have not done so already, please try pick up a folder that has clasps in the middle to secure the assignment sheet.
Birthday Treats and Celebrations / Sending a treat to school to celebrate birthdays is optional. All treats must be store bought and individually wrapped. If your child has a summer birthday we will celebrate their day during All About Me or any other agreed upon date! There are 24 students, and one teacher in our classroom.
Healthy Snacks
/ Snacks: Please send a healthy, non-messy snack to school for your child each day.Children are invited to bring a water bottle to school if desired, but soda, juices (pouches are okay), and other beverages are not allowed in our classroom. Thanks for your help!
Shoes, layering for varied room temperature
/ Shoes, etc.: Please help your child remember to have appropriate shoes. It is also a good idea to either send a sweater or a sweatshirt with your child each day, or have him/her keep one at school.Even during the cold weather, our classroom can be very chilly. I encourage layers of clothing!
Please send warm clothes for the weather outside.