Ms. Kaley's Classroom Room 24

Hello Everyone!

Thank you to all of you for making our field trip a success.  Thank you to those parents who took time out of their day and came with us!  Having that much support made for a smooth trip.  I am happy that everything worked out.  Even though we had to get a different schedule, it really ran smoothly and all the kids had a great time.

Our last field trip will be to the Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum on April 21st.  We will be taking the Frontrunner and Trax again.

Past Week:

Due Date Reminders!

-MyOn assignment for Level 1s and 3s- Due tonight (Sunday)

-Favorite food opinion writing due Tuesday.  We had our weekly writing lesson this past Tuesday on opinions again.  The students are writing about their favorite foods and can CHOOSE (not required) to bring in their favorite food to share on Tuesday afternoon.  Some students are making a little paper craft of their food, some just want to bring in their food, and some want to do both.

-Science Fair, for just our class, was talked about on Friday!  We came up with a due date on March 24th.  It will be in our room from 1:00-2:15.  Science Fair topics are due this Friday, March 4th.  The following Friday will be their hypothesis.

3rd Grade Studio Plays!:

* My 3rd graders need to start bringing in costumes, props, etc. for our studio Theater plays!  Ask your 3rd grader what they might need for their theater plays.  We want to start collecting things now.  If you or someone you know is crafty or good at building, we need help making backdrops and scenery for our theater plays.  We know we need a fairly large puppet show stage and a dog house.  Let me know if you or someone would be willing to paint backdrops, help make costumes, props etc.

We are going to perform all 6 plays the last week in March for Literacy Week! Dates TBD.  All props, costumes, etc. should be ready to go by March 25th (Last day of studio).

Group Lessons:

Level 1s: 2D vs 3D for geometry

Level 2s: Grammar/word study story for weekly writing lesson, Drawing angles with protractor for geometry

Level 3s: Grammar/word study story for weekly writing lesson, Area and Perimeter house project

In cultural: Botany and some Geography

Level 1s: Stems of a plant, Scales and Tales

Level 2s: Tree introduction, Geyser experiment, Scales and Tales

Level 3s: Pollination of flowers, Honey Bees, Pollination activity, Scales and Tales

Upcoming Week:

Dr. Seuss week is this week!  March 2nd is the famous author’s birthday and our class will read a Dr. Seuss book every day this week and do an activity or two to go with it!

Our monthly health lesson, with Ms. Julia, will be on Thursday morning.

PE shoes for Monday!  With the weather starting to get warmer, more PE classes will be outside.

That should be everything coming up for this week!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Cheers!

Ms. K

Hello!

Important Planetarium Information!:

I have some important information regarding the field trip on Thursday 2/25th.  The Planetarium has made a huge error.  When Jalee scheduled our field trip back in August, we got an email that we were booked and everything was set; we would receive our official confirmation email 4-6 weeks before our field trip.  As we got closer, the confirmation was not showing up.  Melanie in our office and Jalee began emailing and calling.  We never heard back.  Jaleel and I called this past week and again, we still had to leave messages.  I said I would go on Saturday to talk to a real person.  Yesterday, I went up to the Planetarium to find out what was wrong, or if we needed to cancel.  I talked to the floor supervisor and she was appalled.  Our information was never book for our field trip the field trip coordinator.  She and I sat down and created a back up plan to try and save our field trip.  If this plan can be squeezed in, I will get a call on Monday telling me, “yes” we can still go, or “no” this unfortunately will not work out.

Things are going to be a little last minute this week.  Melanie has the payment link ready to go for the chaperone going, but we haven’t posted it yet, for both classes, because of this ridiculousness we have been dealing with.

The supervisor and I planned on this makeshift schedule:

9:00ish-9:30am: Check in

9:45am- Educational and interactive planet discussion

A little after 10:00am- Free to explore the Planetarium exhibits

10:50am- Gather in the front

11:00am- Lunch at The Gateway Food Court

11:50am- Need to be back for IMAX movie

12:45pm- Gift shop and more exhibit exploration

1:15pm- Gather for class count and to walk to Trax and then taken Frontrunner back to Wall Ave.

2:5ish/3:00pm- Arrive back to Ogden Station on Wall Ave.

If things don’t go well, The Planetarium owes and and will reschedule (we hope).  Please be on the look out for emails this week that say “yay” or “nay.”

If things are a go- here is important field trip information:

– Students need to be in dress code.  MMA, no collared, approved shirts are still welcomed

– Pack coat/hoodie to wear in the morning. Dress in layers, the morning are usually really chilly

– Bring a backpack to keep items safe

– Pack a lunch with no heatable items.  Water bottle included!

– Wear comfortable shoes!

– Money for the gift shop is up to you as the parents/guardians

– Please double check what your child wants to bring to entertain themselves on the train.  I told my class nothing expensive.  It is not my responsibility for any item lost or stolen.

I really hope things work out.  Even if we don’t go, they are doing a lot of work to recover what originally planned for us. However, things might be a little out of order from our original plan, so please be flexible with us.

Parents/guardians that are coming with us will have a small group of students to manage.  You are free to take your group wherever in the Planetarium, but please bring your group, on time, to when we need both classes to meet.  The chaperones I have are:

-Lori

-Kristie

– Linda

-Rachel

-Danny

– Enrique

– Alicia

– Michelle

– Chris

– Mandy

– Ashley

– Janai (I had a question mark next to your name.  Let me know if you can’t go)

* Ms. Emilee and I will have a group or two also.

Past Week:

We continued to work on organization and bettering the student’s grace and courtesy of the classroom.  While there is still improvement to be made, things are getting a bit better.  Emilee and I tried not having work checked off right after your child completes a work.  This has helped Emilee keep students more in task to their work and leave her time to help students.  We’ve made some work turn in areas and have students better utilizing their Math and Language binders.  We gathered our groups of 15 students each on Thursday afternoon and asked each student to prove what they did.  This worked out great.  It left us time to chat with those students about what they are accomplishing and what more they could do or new lessons they may need.

Reading groups have also improved.  We have every reading group reading on Wednesdays and Thursdays and just a few of the groups reading on Tuesdays with Emilee.

I have reorganized group lessons too.  Here is the schedule for when I need just levels

Mondays- All 3 levels of cultural and Level 1 Geometry

Tuesdays- Level 2 Geometry and Level 3 Language/Writing lesson.  Weekly afternoon Writing lesson after lunch with whole class.

Wednesdays- Level 3 Geometry and Level 2 Language/Writing lesson

Thursdays- Level 1 Language/Sentence Writing and Level 3 Fractions + open fractions help.

Upcoming Week:

Monday: We have PE and Music tomorrow, so please remember some PE shoes for your child

Tuesday: School wide drill in the morning

Wednesday: Scales and Tales in the afternoon

Thursday: Planetarium (hopefully)

* With the Planetarium field trip coming up, I am saving Spelling for next week.  We will try out the new Spelling Stars system next week and see how it goes.

Those who wanted reading/math homework will have those print offs/MyOn assignments tomorrow

MyOn assignments for Level 1s and 3s will be posted today!  Students will have a week to complete their at home assignment.

Have a great upcoming week!  Hopefully see a good group of you on Thursday.

Cheer!

Ms. K

Hello Everyone!

Hope your kiddo is enjoying the long weekend!  Our reset/back to basics of grace and courtesy went well for the short week.  Emilee and I will continue to focus on some basics and also help those students learn/regain Montessori independence.

Thank you to all of you who signed up and came to conferences!  It was so nice to see all of you again!

Online Spelling: I am working on having our students do their spelling online through www.spellingstars.com  I can upload all of our rainbow boxes for early readers and spellers.  I’ve been working on the first grade list since I didn’t like the preloaded 1st grade one.  I have made everyone a login and password and students can take their spelling tests through a computer (or still handwritten) on spelling test day (Thursdays).  the site has some fun little games such as: word search, fill in the blank, and catch the right word.  I know a lot of you wanted your child’s spelling to come home, but lists weren’t making it.  I am planning on having it up and fully running by next week.  I still have some tweaking to do.  If you want to poke around the site or save it now, it is www.spellingstars.com

Past Week:

Monday, on our only full day, we worked a lot on grace and courtesy in the classroom.  We skipped cultural for the week and focused on watching the students, wrote down notes, and discussed how we can better the rest of the year.

Our Valentine’s Day party was a great success!  The students did such a great job with the activities and keeping the crafting mess to a manageable situation.  Thank you so much to many of you who came to help out and for planning all the activities!

Mr. Will’s art project, on Thursday, was a great little activity that went great with our grace and courtesy mentions.  He talked about community and how our classroom is a community even though we have many differences, we still are one.  They made their names out of pipe cleaners and Mr. Will made a strong “castle” that they put their names in it to support it.

Upcoming Week:

We have a pretty uninterrupted week.  The following week has a few things going on.  Next week we have Scale and Tails visiting on the 24th and then the 25th is our field trip to the Planetarium.  I have the majority of the permission slips.  I will have those students who need to sign them to get those signed this coming week.

A couple of you requested to have reading/math work practice to come home.  I will start that the week of February 22nd.  This will be the same for the next round of MyOn assignments.  There’s a few new reading group/fluency groups I want to focus on this coming week and have a schedule work out for those groups and students.

If anyone wants to come in and help with reading, please email me and let me know!

Have a great upcoming week!

Cheers!

Ms. K

Hello!

There has been a SAGE test change date for our class.  The May 10th Math test has ben moved to May 5th.

Conferences

I have 5 families who still need to sign up for Parent Teacher Conferences.  I told your child on Friday too

I am missing:

– Nicholas

– Cael

– Lucy

– Sophia

– Anna

I understand things come up and some families can’t make it.  Let me know if you can’t make it this week and we can meet another time.

Upcoming Week:

I had scheduled the cart of computers for this coming Monday.  However, our class is at a very moody point of the year and they have forgotten even the basics of the classroom (pushing in their chair, putting works away, sitting together as a group quickly and quietly).  It is just time for a reset and going back to review basics (normalization).  I still will be making assignments through MyOn, since it is such a great tool to have students use and practice their reading and writing skills.

*Please remember that Level 2s and Level 3s have assignments have assignments due no later than Monday evening.

Wednesday is our Valentine’s Party!

I have quite a few of you coming in and have also emailed me asking what they are doing.  Here is what I have gotten emailed to me and who is coming:

Helpers: Jamie, Alicia, Janai, Michelle, Enrique, Jaida (If I missed you, I apologize.  Just email me and remind me).

We will have:

– Valentine’s box decorating (thanks Elene!)

– Card making (decorating supplies from Michelle)

– Colored paper plate hats (activity from Janai)

– I *heart* you this much paper craft (activity from Janai)

– Pin the lips game (activity from Alicia)

– Heart hop (activity from Alicia)

– Funny Valentine’s Game (activity from Alicia)

*I will have some little paper crafts to do as well

* If you are coming in to help out, we will begin our activities at 9:00am.  You are welcome to come in at 8:30am to help set up anything that is needed.  If you want to take your child with you after the Valentine’s Day activities (if you are there to help), please just let me know before you check them out.

* Clean up will begin at 11:15am (possibly sooner)

* Recess will be at 11:30am

* Lunch will be at 12:00pm

Thursday- Mr. Will, Anna’s grandpa, who comes in once a month, will be doing an art activity with the students on Thursday morning.

Field Trip to the Planetarium!

I have the permission slips ready to go!  The public transportation information is attached for you to rip off and keep.  The permission slips will be signed during PTC.  Since the Planetarium has strict field trip rules, they do not pay for parents, so if you are wanting to come with us, there will be a link posted soon, that will have you pay $6.00.  This fee is regarding the IMAX movie fee since they reserve the seating for our group.  They said they let 1 parent for the IMAX in free, so that will be reserved for our room mother’s family, should one of them go.

Here is who is going (if I missed you, please email me and remind me):

– Alicia

– Lori

– Kristie

– Linda

– Melissa

Past Week:

In leveled group lessons this week:

Level 1s: winter sentence writing, time practice

Level 2s: worked on winter poem, MyOn assignment

Level 3s: worked on fractions on a number line, area and perimeter problems, MyOn assignment

In cultural this week: History

Level 1s: time to the half hour

Level 2s: Venus and Earth + MyOn planets assignment

Level 3s: Jurassic period + MyOn Mesozoic comparison and contrast assignment

I think that is everything!  Have a great week and I’ll see you soon!

Cheers!

Ms. K.

3rd grade parents,

Here are the 3 SAGE dates posted.  All 3 tests are to begin at 12:00pm and the students go until 3:00pm. 3rd graders will have an early lunch and recess that day.

Language test- March 31st

Writing test-  April 19th

Math test-  May 10th

Hi Everyone!

Level 2 and Level 3 parents!  Your child has an assignment that they started this morning that is due on February 8th.  It would be even better if I had all of them submitted by Sunday evening.

Level 2s read 3 books on Mercury, Venus, and Earth.  They have 25 questions to answer based on those 3 books.  Most students are typing out their answers by copying the questions into the writing section and then writing their answers.  PLEASE REMEMBER TO PUSH THE SAVE BUTTON!!!  The save button is at the top of the page.  If your student chooses to handwrite their response, that is fine too.

Level 3s read 2 books on The Mesozoic Era.  They are writing a 3 paragraph essay on the comparisons and contrasts between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods. They need to discuss the similarities and differences between dinosaurs, how the earth was, plants, events etc.  It may be helpful for them to do their 2nd paragraph 1st to help them set up their beginning, 1st paragraph, and their closing paragraph-the 3rd one.  All of their expectations and clues to the set up are on their instruction page.  I have no problem if you sit your child down and go over it with them.  This piece of writing is going to be printed for our conferences next week and their 3rd grade file that gets passed along to upper el.

Happy reading and writing!

Level 1s will have their turn on the computers with an assignment next week.  3rd graders will get another assignment and Level 2s will do regular work cycle off their work charts like the Level 1s did today.