December Happenings

Important Dates

10-Character lunch & Character movie. Congratulations to Alyssa Gonzalez and Mason Smith.

15- Holiday Concert at Grace Church 9:00 am to 10:30 am

16-Report Cards: No lunch or after school

17-1/3- Holiday Break

18-Downtown Christmas Parade

Classroom News:

End of Quarter: I am completing the 3rd round of curriculum based measurements with the students in reading and writing. I have definitely seen some growth.

In order not to lose any of the skills students are learning, please encourage your child to do something academic each day over the holidays. I would like for them to continue to read over the holidays. Bookman’s has generously donated some books to our classroom. It is my hope that each child will be able to bring one book home over the break. Visiting the public library is another great way to motivate your child to read.

Students can also go onto to some of the math web sites I have suggested on my teacher blog to play math games and practice their math facts. If you google “math games”, a plethora of sites become available.

Reading/Writing: Students have been working hard on their state research project. The research for the ABC book should be completed by this Friday, and the rough draft of the ABC book should be completed by next Tuesday. The actual final copy of the book is not due until after vacation.

State Project: The first stage of the ABC state book was due Friday. All research should now be completed on at least 20 letters. Next week students will work on writing their rough draft and drawing their pictures.

After the holiday, students will begin putting together a portfolio of their writing over these past 2 quarters. You can look forward to conferencing with your child about his/her portfolio once this is completed.

Spelling/Vocabulary:
Students practiced words with suffixes this week.

The vocabulary words consisted of words related to sentences; such as declarative, imperative, fragment, exclamatory, run-on, and fragment.

Math: This week students learned mean, median, mode and range for a set of data. They also worked with fractional word problems, double line graphs and place value through the hundred millions.

Parent Notes:

Holiday Party: Just a reminder that we will be having a small holiday party next Friday, Dec. 17th. We will make a craft and have a voluntary book exchange. Your child may bring a new or used (in good condition) wrapped book to participate in the book exchange. It must be labeled “girl, boy or boy/girl” on the book.
The students have also volunteered to bring snacks for the party. If you could provide snacks such as chips, salsa, cheese, crackers, fruit, vegetables, drinks, cups etc., we would be very grateful.

Holiday Concert: In lieu of some curriculum lessons this week, we have spent a lot of time rehearsing our holiday song for the performance next Wednesday. Students are to wear jeans and a solid red shirt. Any western accessories will be appropriate as well. I hope you can join us for some holiday cheer.

Belts: The LPA dress code requires students to wear their shirts tucked in with a belt. Every day a few students come to school without a belt.
I had about 5-6 belts to lend to students so they would not have to call home for a belt. Unfortunately most of them are missing in action. I had a blue and white fabric belt, a maroon suede belt and several brown and black braided belts. Could you please check your inventory at home and send back to school any belt you know does not belong to your child? Thank you!

Markers/colored pencils needed: We in need of some classroom markers and colored pencils for our many projects we do in class. If you can provide us with a box or two, we would truly appreciate it.

End of Quarter: The last day of the quarter is Dec. 17th. Report cards will be coming home next Friday with your child.

Communicating: Please feel free to email me at any time with questions or concerns you have about your child. I usually check my email once per day. My email address can be found at the top of every newsletter, as well as on the LPA web site.

Canned Food Drive: LPA is having a can food drive for families in need. If you can send in any cans with your child it would be greatly appreciated.

I wish you all a peaceful, restful and happy holiday!