Word Study Homework

Hello all!

I hope everyone watched Penn State's domination over Ohio State this Saturday night... WE ARE! I was representing my Penn State clothing today at school :) WHAT a way to win the game! I also got to spend some time with friends from out of town and did all of the "tourist" things in Washington D.C.! I hope you enjoyed the pictures on the Remind app. I had a wonderful weekend! However, I was VERY jealous that my parents and brother were at the Penn State game!

Word Study Homework
I had some questions about the Word Study homework from several students, so I thought I'd better put it on here tonight. EACH night, they should be sorting their word cards for practice. They do NOT need to write their sort every night! That is only for homework on Monday!

Monday - Sort cards AND Write in NB

Tuesday - Sort cards, Write ABC order in NB

Wednesday - Sort cards, Write Rainbow Words (10) in NB, or make a word cloud with ALL words, print it, and glue in NB
- You can find the link to ABCYA's kid-friendly word cloud creator here.

Thurday - Speed sort cards 3x - write those TIMES in NB, Write practice test in NB
 - Practice test means set up the notebook page with your headers, have a partner say words and student puts it in the correct sort and spells it.

Friday - Quiz day


Please let me know if you have further questions!

 

Weekly Update and Information

Hello all!

Pictures
You should have seen today in your child's Thursday Folder their envelope of school pictures! If you are purchasing pictures, please see the information inside concerning how to pay. If you are NOT keeping the pictures, please RETURN THEM TO SCHOOL.


Fall Party Food Permission
I have received almost all permission slips for the food at our fall party - yay! If you have not yet turned this in, please do! Otherwise, your child will not be permitted to eat any of the snacks provided. Please make sure to sign up on the Sign-Up Genius that our room parents sent out today if you would like to help with the party! It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun!


Upcoming dates
Tomorrow - Word Study Quiz
Friday, Oct. 28th - Science Test in the AM, Fall Party in the PM!
Monday, Oct. 31st - Halloween!
Nov. 7 & 8 - Conference Days, No School for students
Nov. 11th - Veteran's Day celebration at Pinebrook
Nov. 23rd - 25th - Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 8th - Field Trip! - More information coming soon

FOR TOMORROW...

Hello!
I hope everyone enjoyed a great weekend!

If possible, could you please send in your student with a pair of headphones tomorrow for class? They will be returned home at the end of the day, not remain in school. A simple pair of earbuds are fine. We have a few headphones in our classroom provided by the school, but not enough for every student.

We are experimenting with a program called Nearpod - the students get to interact with our class presentation on their own computer/devices. Because it is interactive and they can do it at their own pace, students will need headphones to hear video clips at different times than others.

We would love to use this more when we roll out "BYOT" this year! It is a great way for the kids to get their notes and other information right in front of them rather than copying from the board, and allows them to go through the pages at their own pace. I can also input questions to check their understanding and adjust teaching as we move along through the lesson.

Dates/Reminders:
- Wednesday, Social Studies Test (Famous Americans & Holidays)
- Friday, Word Study quizzes
- Fall Party Food Forms due back ASAP!


Please let me know if you have any questions!



 

Fall Party Food Items

Hello All!

 

On Friday, Oct. 28th, we will have our fall party! Our room parents are coming up with some creative and fun activities for our kiddos to do that day! Thanks!

 

We plan on having food at this party. The items we are thinking of having include:

 

1) Popcorn

2) Pretzel sticks

3) Assorted chocolate candies

4) Smartie candies

5) Whipped Cream (canned)

6) Candy corn

7) Oreo Cookies

8) Fanta - Orange falvored

I am aware that there are several students with allergies in the class. I am sending home a paper in Thursday Folders with this information today asking for your signature and OK of all food items. Please return this paper as soon as possible so our room parents can adjust the food list as needed.

Just a few reminders:
- Word Study quizzes will be NEXT Friday - no quiz tomorrow!
- Social Studies Test is next Wednesday, Oct. 19th

Homework This Week & Upcoming Dates

Hello All!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! The weather was great - I hope you got outside!

A few notes about word study this week:

Word Study
Since we have a shortened week, we will not have our normal word study quiz this Friday. The kiddos got new words today, but the quiz will be NEXT Friday, Oct. 21st.

Homework for each night was written in their notebooks today:
Tuesday - ABC Order (all words)
Wednesday - Rainbow Words (10 words) - write each word in different colors, or each letter in different colors
Thursday - Your Choice of: Write out your sort, Speed Sort 5x (write times in NB), or Sentences (10).

Next week we will continue with the SAME words. Please let me know if you have questions.

Social Studies
From the looks of our last test (Science - Matter) everyone did very well! Yay!
We are now back into Social Studies. Our unit is Famous Americans and Holidays. As always, the study guide is available in the students' notebooks, and also is available here on my blog on the sidebar. The test will be Wednesday, Oct. 19th (this is a relatively short unit).

Math
Since we did not have school Monday, and I asked everyone to try to get on Reflex over the weekend, today should be a "normal" Tuesday homework day. Remember, even if your student can not get on Reflex Math on Mondays & Wednesdays, please do get on 2x per week on other days - let your teacher know if this is a problem!

Veteran's Day
We have Veteran's Day coming up on Nov. 11th! Please see Mr. Theissen's Pinebrook Message for more details about our celebration that day. If you know any past or current military members, please let them know and ask if they would be interested in attending or speaking to a class!

Class Party
Our Fall party for the class is being planned by our amazing room parents! It will be on Friday, Oct. 28th in the afternoon. Please let them know if you would like to help organize, purchase items, or volunteer on the day of! All parents, please be on the look out for a list coming home from the room parents about food that will be served that day. We need your "OK" for your student to eat these items at our party!

Enjoy the rest of your week and this GORGEOUS weather!

Smiles,
Ms. Strong :)

Important Disucssion

Hello Families,

I wanted to let you know about a conversation that happened in school today. Throughout the school - particularly in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades - there has been a lot of talk about the "clown issues" happening in various areas. The students have been very scared and concerned about these stories, and some started saying that they heard the clowns were coming for Pinebook, Mercer, John Champe, etc. Many students have mentioned they were afraid at recess because the woods/trees are there and that there might be clowns that come out of the trees and get them... and so on.

Mr. Thiessen had a grade-level conversation with each of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades (separately) today to address this concern and growing rumor amongst the students. He emphasized that students are very safe at school, and that if they feel unsafe or see something they are uncomfortable with to tell an adult immediately. He also asked that the 3rd-5th graders act as leaders if they hear other students, especially younger grades, talking about this. We want to ensure that facts are shared as much as possible, rather than rumors or stories that encourage fear. At the meeting, Mr. Thiessen assured the classes that thus far there is no reason for them to feel unsafe, and reminded everyone about the possible confusion or rumors that can be heard online, in the news, and so on.

After the whole-group meeting, we came back to our room and shared some of the fears the students had. Many were sharing things that, typically, kids their age are afraid of - being in the dark alone, something jumping out at them, etc. (ie: things that are normally seen in movies or other scary stories). Several also mentioned being a bit afraid to go out for Trick-or-Treating on Halloween this year. We discussed how these things, while scary and possible, are very rarely going to happen, and that we take many precautions here at school to keep them safe.

Many students left today letting me know they felt better about this issue, but many also said they did not feel any less worried. Please make sure to discuss this at home if your student brings it up.

I wanted to keep you informed in case you heard anything about this tonight! If you have any questions or concerns about this, please feel free to email me.

Thanks for your continued support! (And, sorry for such a long message) 
Ms. Strong :)   

Word Study Homework

Hello All!

As I mentioned in my email earlier this week, I wanted to explain Wednesday's and Thursday's Word Study homework in case it caused any confusion. I did explain this in class, but I know how things can get lost in translation between school and home!

Just a reminder that they should be doing word study each night. I saw several "blank" homework pages today!

Wednesday: "Pick Your Own Sort"
- Students should COME UP WITH a new way to sort their words - NOT the way they are already sorted.

For example, if I had words such as the list last week (long e, short e, long a, short a), instead of sorting them into vowel sounds I might sort them into spelling patterns. I.e.:

                        "ea" words                                "not ea words"
                            break                                         playground
                            read                                           believe

And so on. Another way could be to sort them by word type. I.e.:

                        compound words                        non-compound words
                           playground                                   basket
                           backpack                                      math

Etc. They could sort them by category (words that go together), rhyming... anything they can think of that makes sense with their words.


Thursday: "Pyramid Words" (only 8 of them!) 
(Preferably 8 words OTHER than the ones they did sentences for already!)

I had the class write an example of this in their notebook already. Pick 8 of their words, and write them in a pyramid shape like so:

                                   basket
                                       b
                                     b  a
                                    b a s
                                 b  a  s  k
                               b   a  s  k  e
                             b   a   s  k  e  t



Please let me know if you have further questions about this!


Reminders: 
- Science Test on Friday (Matter)
          *If you like to study ahead, our next unit will be SS - Famous Americans
- Columbus Day Monday - No School
- MONDAY school schedule on Tuesday, Oct. 11th
- October 17th PTA Meeting @ 6:30

Enjoy the rest of your week!
Hopefully FALL(ish) weather is here to stay...???

 

 

Happy Monday! Book Fair, Walk to School, and Updates

Hello All!

Last week was busy with Ellie's Hats, picture day, evening events, and the fall festival! This week we also have a few things going on at Pinebrook!

In Class:

1. Word Study - This week will start our first week of Word Study groups. Your student will have word study homework each night - similar to what they have already had in previous weeks - and will be quizzed on Friday. The quizzes will be both sorting the words AND spelling them. Please be sure to complete the nightly homework to get in a bit of practice every day!
*Word Study Volunteers - This week I'll NOT have you come in, just since this is the first week of word study and I'd like to make sure the students know how to take the tests/what to expect, etc.

2. Science Test - is on Friday, Oct. 7th. The test is on Matter. Please see your student's notebook each night for completed notes and the study guide. You can also find the study guide on the sidebar to the right ---->

3. Interims - will be sent home this Wednesday.

4. Volunteers - Thanks for signing up! We still have room for lots of mystery readers! The kiddos really love having their parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, etc. surprise them for reading time! I will work with you to set up a time that works with both of our schedules. Also, I would love for a few Fluency helpers! Even if you can't come every Monday/Friday, we could work out a rotation or schedule with a few parents.
*I'll be emailing volunteers this week in the groups of things you signed up for. If you'd like to go ahead and contact other parents you see listed to work out a schedule or rotation, feel free!


Pinebrook News/Dates:

1. Scholastic Book Fair - will be open throughout the week. You're welcome to send in money for your student, or come shopping with them at the Family Book Fair night on Tuesday, Oct. 4th. Parents are also welcome to stop by and go book shopping during the school day. If you send in money with your student, please put the money in an envelope with their name on it and, if possible, the names of the books or items they are allowed to buy. There are no returns allowed at the book fair, so whatever they purchase is final.

2. Walk to School Day - is this Wednesday, Oct. 5th


Other Dates to note:

Monday, Oct. 10th - No School, Columbus Day
Tuesday, Oct. 11th - MONDAY schedule during school, "normal" Tuesday AFTER school (ie: Clubs)
Monday, Oct. 17th - PTA Meeting @ 6:30pm


This Steeler game is looking good! Sadly, I might have to miss the ending since it's getting late...

I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Happy Monday!