Arriving at Smith Ranch

Arriving at Smith Ranch
Arriving at Smith Ranch!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

The Holiday Season is Upon Us!

Good Morning Families,

I hope you all had a restful Thanksgiving. For myself, I have spent time enjoying my family and making sure to take this time to reflect on the many blessings that exist in my life. Of course, my own children are my biggest blessing, but when I think of each and every child in my class an additional smile comes to my face. I hope all of you will be ready to come back to school committed to learning and making our class run like the strong team I know we can be. We only have a brief period of time (14 days) of school before we are out again for Christmas vacation, so let's make them count!
Please remember that Monday the 30th of November is a Professional Day for the teachers at IA, thus there is no school! We will be looking at curriculum, daily schedules, discussing positive discipline, and delving into our current and upcoming projects.
Speaking of projects, when we return to school, we will be continuing to study California's history through finishing "Patty Reed's Doll" and starting on "By The Great Horn Spoon", a story about California's gold rush. Within the reading of each book, students will actively engage in writing, math, science, and history activities. Letters written by students pretending they are pioneers should be posted outside our classroom shortly after returning from Thanksgiving break.
Also, shortly after we return, your children are invited to perform the poems and monologues they have chosen at the parent meeting at Barnes and Nobles at 6:30pm on December 10th. Students will have time to practice memorizing their poems in class. I would also like to see them take them home and practice. If you have any questions, please contact me via email or in the classroom.
I am looking for a donation of fabric to make bookbags for the back of each students chair. I like the tables to be free of books and folders during the day, so there is plently of room to work. Is anyone willing to help me calculate the amount of fabric, purchase it, and help to make them? Please let me know.
As soon as I have information about progress report dates, I will let you all know. Until then, take care and I will be updating my BLOG weekly by each Monday for the remainder of the year.
Sincerely,
Kim

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Weekly Update from Kim's Room

Dear families,

Our class is busily working every day and having fun! On occasion we can't complete work in class. Most of the time, we just finish it the next day, but on a rare occasion I may send something home. When that happens, it would be great if students could finish the work and return it the next day. I'm writing this because I recently did send work home from our "Wordly Wise" program as I want all students to have and an opportunity to increase their vocabulary and working with this program is just one of the ways we can achieve this. I would love to see more of it returned!
For our Fun Fair on Sunday, the 15th we need canopies! For instance, parents have volunteered to "man" the used book sale and I want them to have shade from the sun. I also have some students who want to have a make-over booth. If you have a canopy and it could be available, please contact me ASAP!
Don't forget that we will be visiting the San Diego Mission next Tuesday for a field trip. I need drivers and for students to bring $2.00 to school to pay for the docent tour. All of these field trips enrich your students learning and school enjoyment. Let Michelle or I know if you can drive. I know it will be both educational and fun!
On December 10th, the parent meeting will be at the Barnes and Nobles bookstore at Hazard Center near the school. Your children are memorizing Shel Silverstein poems to recite that night for your enjoyment! Please put it on your calendar as an event not to miss. Students will be reciting them in class as well, but I know they would love to recite them in front of their families. I hope you can make it!
I also hope to see you all this Thursday night, the 12th for the parent meeting! Our classroom will be displaying your child's "All About Me" scrapbook. It's also a great way to stay current on other school events.

Sincerely,
Kim

P.S. Some of you missed conferences. If you were too busy and would like to reschedule, please contact me.

Monday, November 2, 2009

It's Almost Thanksgiving!!

Dear Families,

I want to thank all of the families that brought treats and supplies for our Halloween party on Friday. The students had lots of fun, probably ate a bit too much sugar, and wrapped each other in toilet paper like mummies. They also had fun visiting the 1st grade haunted classroom!

I also want to thank those parent drivers that volunteered for our Mission Trails Regional Park field trip. Students enjoyed being out in nature and gaining knowledge about ecosystems by looking, touching, and smelling various plants. Our guide was informative with a great sense of humor and shared fascinating stories to maintain interest and attention! All-in-all, a great learning experience.

Upcoming events include the following for the month of November:

Wednesday, November 4th, 1:30-6:30pm are student-led conferences. Please email me or drop by to sign up for your conference time. Right now, I only have six parents signed up and I know you are all interested in knowing how your children are doing!

Thursday, November 12th, 5:00-8:00pm is our monthly parent meeting. This will also be a time for you to see your children's work from their "All About Me" project.

Sunday, November 15th, 10:00am-4:00pm is the Fall Festival, hosted by IA parents. I need volunteers to "man" the booksale booth. Hours to volunteer will be broken into two-hour shifts. In other words, from 10am-12pm, from 12-2pm, and from 2-4pm. Please email me if you can help at this important fundraising event.

Tuesday, November 17th our fourth grade needs volunteer drivers for a field trip to the San Diego Mission. Fourth grade standards cover learning about the California mission system. Kids love to learn by doing! Please let me know if you will be able to help.

Thanksgiving break - November 23rd-27th.

I hope you can make any or all of the events listed above. If you have questions, let me know!

Out daily learning consists of the following this week:

Morning Meeting - Highway 3/Full Responsibility
Wordly Wise - 15 new high level words and activities to learn the words in various parts of speech
Grammar - Punctuation, capitalization, and thank you letters
Writing - Final drafts for autobiographical narratives and introduction to the fictional narrative
Math - Number uses
Reading and Comprehension - Patty Reed's Doll
Social Science - Patty Reed's Doll This book helps students to understand the western migration that was taking place in the United States in the mid-1800's
Science - Ecosystems and introduction to food chains within the ecosytem.

I think that's it for now! Please contact me with any concerns or questions that come to mind.

Sincerely,
Kim