The results are in! Kind words make plants grow better and stronger.   To the plant on the left we spoke kind and encouraging words.  We didn’t speak at all to the plant on the right. They both had equal amounts of sun and water.  The only difference was the words. The students have seen for themselves that we all grow better when kind and encouraging words are used to lift us and those around us.

We are ready to start having reading volunteers come and help our students.  I am looking for volunteers who can come on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-2pm.  If you are interested in helping out with this please contact Patty Sweeney (PReidSweeney@aol.com) She will be setting up a schedule.

Thank you!

Ms. Krista

Dear Parents,

Our field trip is Thursday.  Students will come to school at the regular time.  We will leave from the school at 10:30 (all students need to have transportation there and back).  We will eat lunch at the Nature Center at 11am.  Please send a sack lunch and disposable water bottle.  Our activity will begin at 12pm and end at 2pm.  Please pick your child up at 2pm.

Thank you for supporting our field trip!  The kids are very excited!

Dear parents.

Thank you to those who have already returned their child’s field trip forms.  Please make sure to sign every page where your name is required.  We’ve had a few forms handed in that weren’t filled out entirely.  Also, please return the forms by this Monday, Oct. 27. They need to be submitted to the office 2 days before a field trip, or a student will not be permitted to go. Please let me know if your child will not be attending the field trip so I can make arrangements with another teacher.

Also, please make sure you have transportation arranged for your child to be taken to and from the Ogden Nature Center.

Thank you,

Ms. Krista

Dear Families,

I sent home the field trip information form and waiver packet today for our upcoming field trip to the Ogden Nature Center on Thursday, Oct. 30. Students will need to come to school at the regular time that day.  We will leave from here around 10:30, so we can be to the Nature Center by 11am. We will be leaving the Nature Center at 2pm.  Your child will need transportation there and back.   Please contact our room mother, Patty Sweeney, if you are interested in carpooling with other parents.   Her email address is: PReidSweeney@aol.com

We will be eating lunch at the Nature Center, so please pack your child a sack lunch and water bottle that can be thrown away. We are requesting a donation of $3 per child to cover the cost of the field trip. You can send a check or money order to the office. If you would like to pay online here is the link:

https://secureinstantpayments.com/sip/cart/event.php?EID=1138

Thank you,

Ms. Krista

Dear Families,

Parent Teacher Conferences are just around the corner. These conferences are for parents/guardians only. Please click on one of the links below to sign up.  We look forward to seeing you.

Monday, Oct. 13

Tuesday, Oct. 14

Wednesday, Oct. 15

Those dates will also be early-out days.  School will dismiss at 1pm.  Our fall break will go from Oct. 16-19.  School resumes on the 20th.

Check out the pics below from our study of Morocco today.  I had a couple of students model the clothing I own from Morocco.  Please let me know if you or anyone you know would like to do a presentation on a country from Africa.  So far we’ve studied Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya.  We love to have guests come and present places they’ve visited.

Have a great weekend!

Dear Families,

I’ve talked to our class about their first home project which will be due the week of Oct. 13.  Our cultural subject this quarter has been botany (the study of plants).  I’ve asked each child to choose a plant to research and present.  I’ve suggested  that they use the library and the internet, or any other available research options.  Some of the younger students or early readers will probably need help from an adult.

I want them to understand what their chosen plant looks like, where it grows, what it’s life cycle is like (they’ve been learning the difference between perennial, annuals, biennials), if it’s edible or poisonous, what is smells like, etc.  If they would like to prepare a written report that is great as long as they are able to read it themselves.  If not, they just need to be prepared to tell the class about their plant.  Please encourage them to practice presenting it at home with a parent or someone else.

I am asking each student to bring some sort of visual aid to accompany their presentation.  I love to see their creativity, but if you need some suggestion here are a few options: mobile, student-made booklet, drawing, power-point, poster, photos, actual plant, shadow box (shoe-box with drawings or arranged items inside), or any other creative visual aid.  Their presentations should be about 10-15 minutes.

If you are a parent of a second or third grader please make sure your child is bringing home their spelling words every Monday to practice for the spelling test on Thursday.  Most of the students have already been doing this, but a few haven’t.  They should be writing them on an index card or other paper and studying them at home every day.

Parents of third graders should have received a paper explaining the new IXL online math program available through the school.  I sent the paper with their username and password home on Friday. This is a great program that will help prepare them for the end of year SAGE test.  Please encourage them to use IXL often at home.  We only have 3 computers available in our class and those have to be shared among 28 students.  It is crucial that the third graders become comfortable typing and using a computer in preparation for the upcoming tests.

Below is a picture of our recent plant experiment involving stems and how they draw water and nutrients to the rest of the plant.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Ms. Krista

Dear Parents,

The kids have been so excited about using Raz Kids online reading program.  If you haven’t had a chance to check it out at home please do so.  This is an ideal program for your child to practice their 20 minutes of reading after school.  I’ve heard from several parents who have told me how much their child loves to read now since they starting using Raz-Kids.

Please go to http://www.raz-kids.com/main/Login.  Enter “mskristasclass”.  Then choose your child’s name from the list.  They will have access to hundreds of books on their reading level.