Week of October 24, 2011

Dear Parents:

I got so many hugs this morning from the children and they felt so good! The wedding was absolutely beautiful, emotional, and so much fun! It was a wonderful weekend with family and friends and I got to be with my little Owen. I was more than a little worried about him being the ring bearer at 18 months old, but he did a fantastic job! He walked down the aisle all by himself perfectly, twirling the pillow, and with a huge smile on his face. When he got to the altar, he climbed the steps and, going down the line, "gave five" to all the groomsmen and bridesmaids. That was his own special touch! So cute! It was a perfect weekend and I could not be happier!

A special thank you to Mrs. Densa for taking the pictures at the Athletic Center grand opening for me! I'm sorry I had to miss it. I heard it was amazing! I can't wait to go see it.

Now it's back to business in room 1-4. Here's what we will be doing this week:

Reading/Language Arts: Due to the Fall Festival on Friday, we will be having this week's spelling test on Thursday. This week we are focusing on words with the dipthong /ng/ as in sing. Our wall words are arms, every, feet, head, school, use, way, and your. The robust vocabulary introduced through literature are ashamed, mused, soared, athletic, awkward, and superb. In reading, we are talking about the "plot" (the events that make up the main story of a text) and working on recognizing story structure. During workshop time we are practicing using chunks and analogies (word families) to help read new or tricky words. While we have learned many strategies for figuring out those tricky words, we want to learn how to use the most efficient strategy.

Writing Workshop: Today we began to talk about the way writers can write not only the outside story (what happens) but also the inside story (how we feel about what happens - our thoughts, reactions, observations, feelings). This week we will also work on writing story endings. Children often end their writing "and then I went home" or "I went to bed." So, we will talk about, share, and practice writing more effective story endings that stay closer to the heart of the story.

Math: This week we are practicing counting with a calculator, working with dimes, dollars-and-cents notation, and counting and exchanging dimes, nickels, and pennies.

Science: This week we are learning about the lungs and respiratory system, the digestive system, and our muscles. We will finish up this fantastic study of the human body next week. Thank you to all the parents that have come in and helped us learn so much more about our marvelous bodies!

Things to remember:

• The Halloween Parade and Fall Festival take place this Friday! The parade begins at 8:30. Please send your child to school in his or her costume. They will change after the parade into play clothes. If you are accompanying your child to the festival, please be at the classroom no later than 10:00. Otherwise, they will be dismissed to the festival at 10:00.
  
• Our field trip the SPCA is on November 3. Please keep sending in your donations for the animals! The bins need filling! Blankets, towels, treats, food, chew toys are just a few of the items you might consider sending in.
  
• The Book Fair will take place the week of November 8 in the Janet Root Theater Lobby and the Student Center. Our class will be browsing on Tuesday morning. Details will be coming soon about when you can take your child shopping.
• Poetry in the Park will be on Friday, November 11 at 8:30 a.m. Our class voted to recite the poem, "Sick" by Shel Silverstein. The poem was sent home last week. Please keep working with your child on memorizing this poem at home.
• New York is coming to Shorecrest! "Seussical the Musical" will be performed in the Janet Root Theater on Saturday, November 12. Don't miss this opportunity to see this! Tickets are being sold now for $10 each.
  
• The Holiday Gift Drive will take place November 28 through December 9.

Volunteers this week:

• Tuesday - Art - (12:05) - Eva D'Agostino
• Wednesday - Math Game (1:00) - Kimberly Burke
• Thursday - Library Checkout (12:00) - Kimberly Burke and Mai Nguyen
• Friday - NO PARENT READER DUE TO FALL FESTIVAL

Have a great week!
Susan