Busy Week!

I am SO HAPPY to be with the kids all 5 days this week!  Yay!  We have a busy, fun week planned! I thought instead of going through each subject it might be nice to give you a glimpse of what we will be doing this week. 

Monday:  Today kids illustrated a poem in their poetry journals.  We wrote the poem together and learned about punctuation and re-reading to make sure things make sense!  We had so much fun choosing what the penguin would wear! 

Tuesday:  In library Ms. Noonan will read us a book about bridges.  We will be working on building bridges in our STEM bins this month.  The kids will build bridges with different materials and decide which material would be the best to build a bridge.  Stay tuned!

Wednesday:  On Wednesday we will spend extra time writing our How To books.  We are learning that we can add details to our steps by adding a list of things needed, bold words, or tips!

Thursday:  We are so excited to see the author Peter Reynolds!  He is pretty famous and a favorite author. This is a big deal!  We will also get a presentation from Green Team about composting in the lunch room.  If you want to volunteer to help with this project, click here! Irving launched the Zero Waste lunch initiative in December. We reduced the amount of materials being sent to the landfill from 84% (or 109 lbs.) at the baseline to just 13% (20 lbs.) on Launch Day! We went from 5 bags of landfill per day, to just 1 bag. Ninety-one pounds were collected for composting! Our continued success in this program will rely heavily on parent volunteers that can oversee the sorting of all lunch materials. Thanks!

Friday:  Friday has two big events.  The first is the Opera for the Young.  This annual event is a school favorite.  Kids have been preparing for it in Music Classes.  This year the Opera will be The Little Mermaid.  It is a great production.  

We are also excited to celebrate 100 days of school!  Thank you to all the families that are contributing to the party by sending in supplies or volunteering.  It is a fun way to celebrate 100 days of friendship!

Not all of our weeks are this exciting, but Irving School is a fun place to learn!

January 15

Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day to all of you!  I hope you enjoy the day and the opportunity for you to talk with your child about the power of choosing to be kind!

Reading:  We are learning about how to read longer books now!  The students are still using all of their SUPER POWERS to read.  Check out Laila.  She is using pointing power to read each word!

Asa is using his REREAD power!

As we learn to read longer books and bigger words we use our SOUND power more and more.  

Writing:

Students are writing HOW TO stories now.  It is my favorite unit to teach because I learn so much about the kids and all the things they know how to do!  The writing forces them to think about sequencing events and using describing words.  

Walk to get in line.  It is blue.

How to Load a Chewy Nerf Gun:  Pull the string back and put the bullet (in)

How to get ready for School.  Get your clothes on.

Math:  We have started Module 4 in Math.  This unit is all about adding and subtracting within 10.  We learned how to use number bonds to help us visualize taking numbers apart and putting them back together.

Business:

• We have lice in the classroom again.  Please be sure to check your child's head.  Your child can come to school with lice, but please do your best to treat it at home and remind your child to not share hats, scarves, etc.
• Kids go outside every day for recess if it is more than 20 degrees.  Please send your child ready for snow on the playground.  Your child will get wet without appropriate snow gear!  
• SUB SUB SUB:  I will have a sub on Thursday in order to complete Reading Assessments.  I will share these assessments with you at conferences.  Next week I will also have a sub on Tuesday to complete mandatory EDI training and assessment.  (You should have received a letter about this from Mr. Hodge.)  Next Thursday I will be at DePaul doing another day of Inclusion training. 
• I'm sure you've heard the flu is bad this year.  There is also a nasty cough going around.  Please do not send your child to school with a fever.  School policy says your child should be 24 hours fever free before returning to school.  
• If you haven't already signed up for a conference please do so this week.  The sign up is here.

Dates: 

January 26:  No school institute day

February 2:  100th day of school.  Please be on the lookout for another email asking for help with this fun day in Kindergarten.  It is a special day for the kids and we celebrate all things 100!

February 8 and 9:  Half day (dismissal at 11:00) for parent teacher conferences

February 19:  No School- Presidents Day