February 26-March 2

It is hard to believe that the second trimester ends this week!  Your children have come so far this year!  SO FAR!!!  I am incredibly proud of the progress they have made and can't wait to see what they do in the third trimester!

Reading:
We are learning about making inferences in reading this week.  Last week, in addition to practicing our sound powers, we did a lot of whole group reading.  We learned to compare and contrast characters and events in books.  We learned that Martin Luther King and Ruby Bridges have a lot in common.  We also learned about Harriet Tubman and enjoyed the PTO sponsored play about Harriet Tubman.

Writing:
Students learned that writers re-read as they go.  We practiced this all week in order to get more efficient with our writing time.  "Write a word. Re-read the sentence. Write the next word." We are practicing that as we finish our How To unit in writing.  This week we will do our "on demand" writing.  Kids will have two days to write book explaining how to do something.  Then we will move on to our next writing unit in Trimester 2!

Trimester 3 will also bring extra time to practice handwriting and clean up some letter formation confusions.

Math:
We are working on ways to solve number stories.  Students are expected to be able to write number sentences and draw pictures or diagrams to show they understand how to solve number stories if they don't know the answer right away.

Science:
We are continuing to work with different materials to solve a problem.  This time we are building a "dream house" using the different materials. Students were asked to make a design first and then choose which part of their design they could make with the materials given.

Conference Week

I have really enjoyed meeting with all the families this week.   If you have any questions about what we discussed do not hesitate to reach out!  The 20 minutes goes by so fast!

Reading:  This week we are working on looking at words carefully as we read.  We are learning about blends (two consonants together) and digraphs (ch, sh, th, wh).  Students are learning to check their reading to make sure it looks right, sounds right, and makes sense!  We loved our visit from Peter Reynolds. 

Writing:  We are using Mentor Texts to help us write How To books.  We got another checklist to help us with our writing.

Math:  We continue to celebrate the number 100 during math bins.  We are also working on drawing a picture to help us solve an addition story. 

Science: This week we built bridges out of different materials.  We predicted which materials would work and talked about our designs to build them.  We tested our ideas.  The bridges had to hold two little people and two people had to fit underneath the bridge as well. 

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

Hi Families,

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the holiday season.

I wanted to make sure you were aware of a few things.  

Concerts:

Concerts are Wednesday at 8:15 and 9:45.  Both concerts are the same.  If you do not plan on being at either one, please let me know.  The winter celebration has been planned by our wonderful room parent, Laura Young.  There are a few crafts and some simple snacks.  Please stop by after the second concert for this party.

Lice:

Please read this letter about lice in our classroom.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7t0DQLJkq7xYWtMMGo1VW1sRDNtUkNGSENMaGYwcktNakFR/view?usp=sharing

National Boards

As many of you know, I am in the second year of working towards my National Board Certification. This weekend I received my scores from last year. I passed my first 2 portfolios!  Yay!  Now I am preparing my last portfolio and studying for my exam.  I need a SIGNED WAIVER FROM EACH STUDENT that allows me to submit student work or short video clips to the National Board for assessment.  My name is not attached to the video, nor is our school district.  I have an identification number that is used to submit the work.  I mention this in case you have any privacy concerns.  I am putting the waivers in your child's folders today.  I would love to have these all returned by Friday.  Thank you so much for helping me achieve this goal!

Report Cards
Report cards go home Friday, December 8th.  You will get the report card in a white envelope.  The report card and all the brochures from the district are yours to keep.  The envelope needs to be signed and returned.  Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

Winter Concerts and Party

• There will be two shows the morning of December 20.  The first show is 8:15.  The second show is 9:45.  The Kindergarteners will sing for about 15 minutes.  The first graders sing after Kindergarten.  The whole show lasts about 30 minutes.  
• After the second show we will have our Winter Party.  Everyone is invited to attend this party.
• You will get an email from our room parents with details about the party.
• If you are NOT able to make it to either of the shows, PLEASE TELL ME as soon as possible.  If we can prepare your child ahead of time for the fact that you will not be there it is much easier for them to relax and enjoy the show and party. We can arrange to send pictures and videos.  

Reading

We continue to read Fairy Tales.  This week we read The Three Little Pigs, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and Cinderella.  We talked about what they have in common.  We are also working on our Book Talk Power!  Students have been reading with partners this week and have enjoyed talking about the books and the parts they really like.  

We learned how to read rhyming words this week!  If it looks alike, it probably sounds alike.  If it sounds alike, it probably looks alike!  

Most exciting of all, we finally got past 10 minutes in our Read to Self Stamina!!!   We will celebrate with a pajama day on Friday!

Writing

Our writing this week focused on strong beginnings.  

Math

We are practicing adding 1 more and comparing sets in Math.  We learned about number sentences during calendar.  

STEMWe are enjoying working in our STEM and Sensory Bins.  Students are exploring ways to build with different materials. We will continue using these bins to build, problem solve, and learn about our world.  

Winter

Lexia:  Please continue to do Lexia at home as often as you can!  The program individualizes lessons for each child.  Just 20-30 minutes of Lexia at home each week makes a huge difference!  Please let me know if you are having any difficulty getting your child logged in at home.

Winter Concerts and Party

• There will be two shows the morning of December 20.  The first show is 8:15.  The second show is 9:45.  The Kindergarteners will sing for about 15 minutes.  The first graders sing after Kindergarten.  The whole show lasts about 30 minutes.  
• After the second show we will have our Winter Party.  Everyone is invited to attend this party.
• You will get an email from our room parents with details about the party.
• If you are NOT able to make it to either of the shows, PLEASE TELL ME as soon as possible.  If we can prepare your child ahead of time for the fact that you will not be there it is much easier for them to relax and enjoy the show and party. We can arrange to send pictures and videos.  

Reading:

We are learning about different fairy tales this month!  This week we read many versions of Jack and the Beanstalk.  We also re-read Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  Next week we will read Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel.  We will end the month reading different versions of the Gingerbread stories.  Our Winter Party will be a Fairy Tale Theme to celebrate all our hard work!
Math: We have been working on more than and less than.  Kids have been comparing numbers and comparing sets of objects.  We practice during math bins with our friends.