News From Mrs. Denny’s Class
August 28, 2009
denny@lpatucson.org
Newsworthy Notes
8/24-9/9 Entertainment book sales. All profits will be used for new computers!
8/31 Picture Day
9/2 Dress Down Day for $1.00
9/4 Movie Night
9/7 Labor Day. No School
9/11 Hero Night at Lakeside
Homework: Most students are bringing back their homework each day…Yeah! Some are still having trouble getting their independent reading calendar signed. Once your child has read for the evening, please sign their calendar indicating they have read. Any adult can verify their reading calendar. Thank you for your help in this matter.
VIP: One student will be selected every other week to be our classroom VIP. They will be chosen on Friday and must fill out the VIP sheet to share with the class the following Friday. They should also bring pictures depicting their life such as special events, trips, family, pets etc. sometime during the week of their VIP. They can display the pictures on poster board, bring them in a photo album or find another creative way to show off the pictures. This is a fun time to learn more about each other.
Curriculum News:
Students are working hard in math. We have completed up through lesson 8. Students took their first test on lessons 1-5 on Thursday. They should be studying their multiplication facts 0-12s at home.
Next week students will be tested on the multiplication facts. We will also focus on subtraction facts with a test the following week.
Spelling words will be introduced on most Mondays with a test to follow on Friday. Students receive their spelling homework packet on Mondays and have the option of pacing themselves throughout the week or completing it all in one evening. I did suggest, however, it is probably better to do one page each night so they are practicing the new words a little each day. We also work with the words during class.
Students took their first vocabulary quiz this week. The words we focused on were miscellaneous, dismissal, sequence, pluralism, immigrant, and descendant.
We continue to read The City of Ember. We are also doing some writing related to the book.
In Social Studies we have been learning about pluralism. Our nation is made up of many different ethnic, religious, and social groups. We are truly a melting pot.
Our Character Counts lesson this week focused on trustworthiness and honesty.
Mr. Baker and I have been assessing students’ reading and writing abilities all week. This has taken a lot of class time, therefore, we have not delved into our science text as of yet. We will begin learning about the scientific method next week.
Parent Notes:
Thank you for attending Open House. We had a great turn out. The students were very proud to show their guests around!
If you were unable to attend, would you please send me your email address so I may communicate with you about your child if necessary. You can send me a note via email (see address above), or you may jot down your email address and send it in with your child.
Thank you for helping your child get to school on time each day. It truly makes a difference in how their day goes!
Absent Students: Students have been notified that it is their responsibility to make up work when absent. I will not continually ask them to turn in specific assignments that were assigned while they were out. Students are given one day to make up work for every day that they are absent. Upon their return, students receive a list of assignments that they missed while they were absent. Students MUST be responsible for completing the assignments on their own.
If assignments are not turned in to me in a timely manner, they will not receive any credit for those assignments. Please ask your child about his/her make-up work and encourage them to be responsible.
Volunteers: Don’t forget to sign up to be fingerprinted if you wish to volunteer in the classroom, on fieldtrips, or around the school. You can pick up the paperwork at the front office.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
8/21 class newsletter
News From Mrs. Denny’s Class
August 21, 2009
denny@lpatucson.org
Newsworthy Notes
8/24-9/9: Entertainment Book Sale Begins. Our class can win great prizes if we are the first class to turn in our orders.
8/24-8/28: The Book Fair will be set up in the cafeteria all next week. It will be open after school from 3:15-4:30 Tuesday through Thursday.
The book fair will also be open during open house.
8/26: 6-8 p.m - Open House.
8/31: Picture Day. Please come dressed in the school uniform.
9/2: 1st Dress down day. Your choice if you bring one dollar. (Remember…no spaghetti straps, short skirts or flip flops.)
9/7: Labor Day. No School!
Homework: Your child will have independent reading, math and spelling every night. On some nights, students may have unfinished work or a study guide for an upcoming test.
I have asked the students to get their reading calendar signed off each night after they have read 20+ minutes. They know that any adult who sees them read may sign their calendar. We will do this for at least the 1st and 2nd quarter until the students have developed a nightly reading habit.
Please help your child complete their homework by providing a quiet place to work each night and a reminder to bring their work to school each day.
Curriculum Notes:
Students have been taking beginning of the year assessments. It has been noted that many are still weak in their math facts (especially subtraction, multiplication and division).
I have asked students to make it a goal to practice on their own. Once they know a fact, they should be able to answer it in under 3 seconds. We discussed some fun web sites that offer excellent ways to practice. Please encourage your child to practice:
www.funbrain.com
www.playkidsgame.com
www.freerice.com
www.math.com
We kicked off our Saxon Math program this week. We completed lessons 2 & 3 which focus on numbers and numeration.
We have started our Character Counts lessons. We reviewed the 6 pillars of character and will be working on a separate pillar each month. We will begin with Trustworthiness and move on to Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.
We have begun to read The City of Ember. What a great story to start the year. Students are learning “good reader” strategies, and we are integrating writing into our story time.
If your child still does not have his/her copy of the book, please try Borders, Barnes & Noble, Bookman’s or the public library to secure a copy.
We will take our 1st spelling test this Friday. Unit one included 2 spelling dictation sentences; however, I will not be testing the students on dictation until later in the year. We will continue to practice dictation with each new unit introduced.
Students will also be responsible for knowing the definitions of 5 vocabulary words every 2 weeks. We are in the process of learning: miscellaneous, dismissal, sequence, expanded form, and pluralism.
We began Social Studies this week with an expository text scavenger hunt. Students will be learning strategies that will help them read expository text with greater ease this year.
Parent Information:
I wanted to let you know what a joy your children are to work with. They each have their own talents and special personalities.
A little about me…
I have been involved in education for over 20 years. I have my master’s degree in education and am currently working on my reading endorsement.
I have a husband, Steve, as well as two boys in Jr. High and High School. We spend a lot of time at football fields and in basketball gyms.
If you need to contact me for any reason, please email me at denny@lpatucson.org or call the school office at 721-4205. I will check my email once a day, so I may not get back to you until the next day. Thank you.
PLEASE help your child to arrive at school on time. When he/she is late, it impacts their entire day. They miss out on the morning routine and instructions for the day and feel flustered about trying to catch up. I am hoping you will make it a top priority.
IMPORTANT
Volunteers: Please note that in order to volunteer at school (including field trips), you need to fill out a form and be finger-printed. You can pick up the paperwork at the front desk. Dates to be fingerprinted will be posted at the front office. Once you are cleared, you can begin to volunteer. I’ll let you know when we can begin.
For those who mentioned they would like to help with some fine arts resources, we now have a music and art teacher this year who will be taking over that role. The students are very excited about this!
August 21, 2009
denny@lpatucson.org
Newsworthy Notes
8/24-9/9: Entertainment Book Sale Begins. Our class can win great prizes if we are the first class to turn in our orders.
8/24-8/28: The Book Fair will be set up in the cafeteria all next week. It will be open after school from 3:15-4:30 Tuesday through Thursday.
The book fair will also be open during open house.
8/26: 6-8 p.m - Open House.
8/31: Picture Day. Please come dressed in the school uniform.
9/2: 1st Dress down day. Your choice if you bring one dollar. (Remember…no spaghetti straps, short skirts or flip flops.)
9/7: Labor Day. No School!
Homework: Your child will have independent reading, math and spelling every night. On some nights, students may have unfinished work or a study guide for an upcoming test.
I have asked the students to get their reading calendar signed off each night after they have read 20+ minutes. They know that any adult who sees them read may sign their calendar. We will do this for at least the 1st and 2nd quarter until the students have developed a nightly reading habit.
Please help your child complete their homework by providing a quiet place to work each night and a reminder to bring their work to school each day.
Curriculum Notes:
Students have been taking beginning of the year assessments. It has been noted that many are still weak in their math facts (especially subtraction, multiplication and division).
I have asked students to make it a goal to practice on their own. Once they know a fact, they should be able to answer it in under 3 seconds. We discussed some fun web sites that offer excellent ways to practice. Please encourage your child to practice:
www.funbrain.com
www.playkidsgame.com
www.freerice.com
www.math.com
We kicked off our Saxon Math program this week. We completed lessons 2 & 3 which focus on numbers and numeration.
We have started our Character Counts lessons. We reviewed the 6 pillars of character and will be working on a separate pillar each month. We will begin with Trustworthiness and move on to Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.
We have begun to read The City of Ember. What a great story to start the year. Students are learning “good reader” strategies, and we are integrating writing into our story time.
If your child still does not have his/her copy of the book, please try Borders, Barnes & Noble, Bookman’s or the public library to secure a copy.
We will take our 1st spelling test this Friday. Unit one included 2 spelling dictation sentences; however, I will not be testing the students on dictation until later in the year. We will continue to practice dictation with each new unit introduced.
Students will also be responsible for knowing the definitions of 5 vocabulary words every 2 weeks. We are in the process of learning: miscellaneous, dismissal, sequence, expanded form, and pluralism.
We began Social Studies this week with an expository text scavenger hunt. Students will be learning strategies that will help them read expository text with greater ease this year.
Parent Information:
I wanted to let you know what a joy your children are to work with. They each have their own talents and special personalities.
A little about me…
I have been involved in education for over 20 years. I have my master’s degree in education and am currently working on my reading endorsement.
I have a husband, Steve, as well as two boys in Jr. High and High School. We spend a lot of time at football fields and in basketball gyms.
If you need to contact me for any reason, please email me at denny@lpatucson.org or call the school office at 721-4205. I will check my email once a day, so I may not get back to you until the next day. Thank you.
PLEASE help your child to arrive at school on time. When he/she is late, it impacts their entire day. They miss out on the morning routine and instructions for the day and feel flustered about trying to catch up. I am hoping you will make it a top priority.
IMPORTANT
Volunteers: Please note that in order to volunteer at school (including field trips), you need to fill out a form and be finger-printed. You can pick up the paperwork at the front desk. Dates to be fingerprinted will be posted at the front office. Once you are cleared, you can begin to volunteer. I’ll let you know when we can begin.
For those who mentioned they would like to help with some fine arts resources, we now have a music and art teacher this year who will be taking over that role. The students are very excited about this!
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