Mrs. O'Connell's Classroom Connection

Today your child brought home their first set of high frequency "shoebox words." They can be stored in their newly-decorated shoebox and taken out frequently for practice. We are working on spelling these words and using them to make sentences together.

Homework for Tuesday
Reading/Phonics: Read I See! I See! aloud to an adult. Find and circle all the words that begin with the /m/ sound.
Math: Workbook pg. 3 Picture Graphs

Please remember to send a dish towel to be used as a mat during snack and lunchtime. I ask the children to store them in their backpack in case they need to be washed or replaced during the week. Some of them have gone home and not come back.

See you on Wednesday evening, 7 p.m., in Church, then in our classroom.

Have a great day!

For those who were unable to attend Parent Orientation on Wednesday evening, you will find some classroom information in your child's home folder today. I spoke with those were there about our class discipline plan. You may have heard about it already from your child, but if not, here it is in a nutshell...

Everyday starts out sunny in our classroom. All students' clothespins are on a big yellow sun near our door. If a student breaks one of our class rules, which have all been discussed many times, they are reminded of the rule they broke and told to move their clothespin to the cloud. Another rule broken that day results in a move to the raindrop, and as a consequence, the student and I have a serious conference in private at my desk. In the unlikely event of a third infraction, the student moves their clothespin to the lightning bolt and Mom or Dad will receive a phone call. At the end of each day, students circle the sun, cloud, raindrop or lightning on their daily behavior chart, which makes them accountable to you, who needs to sign their chart to indicate you're aware of their behavior. If your child occasionally comes home with the cloud circled, there is no need for concern. If it happens regularly, we may need to conference.

If you have not already signed up for our published class phone list and would like to do so, please send me an email with parents' first/last names and the best phone number other parents can reach you to arrange after school playdates, carpools, etc. I won't include anyone on this list that hasn't asked to be on it, for privacy reasons.

That's all for today. Please remember lunch/snack towels!

Have a great evening!

Your child came home today with their first Math "test." We did this work together, in our "offices."

This past week's high frequency words, which were sent home clipped to their folders on Tuesday, should have been put in their shoebox for occasional home study and review. Some are still in their folders.

Next week's high frequency words will be: can, at, and, look, the my

Remember:

Individual school pictures are scheduled for Wednesday.

Scholastic Book Order forms need to be turned in Wednesday, if you are interested. I'll send order forms home about once a month.

Enjoy the great weather this weekend!

Hope you had a wonderful and restful Labor Day weekend.

Today your child is bringing home their second set of high frequency "shoebox" words that should be practiced occasionally at home and stored in their decorated shoebox. These words are: can, at, and, look, the, my

Also in the Home folder is the take home reader Look, Pat and Nan!. Children need to read the story aloud to you, then locate and circle the words that begin with n /n/ or c /k/ sounds. The readers should be returned on Wednesday so we can review work together.

Remember, individual school pictures will be taken tomorrow. Please send forms/$$ if you are ordering pictures of your child. No uniforms needed -- wear something cute!

Tomorrow is also the deadline for Scholastic book orders, if you are interested. I'll send home another batch of order forms in a few weeks.

Have a great week!

Homework tonight is Math workbook page 7. Students brought the book home. Please make sure they remember to return it tomorrow.

Reminder: Dish towels!

We're zipping through our reading/phonics review unit. Another set of high frequency words was introduced today, and is coming home for the shoebox: big, have, it, is, in, little

Homework for tonight is simply to reread Can It Fit?. It does not need to come back to school tomorrow.

Congratulations to the Hynes Family! Maggie has a new baby brother, Connor. I hope I used the correct spelling.

Have a great evening.

Today we introduced the following high frequency words that should be in your child's folder: do, like, not, that, to, you
Please make sure your child stores them in their shoebox for occasional word study at home.

Homework for Monday:
Reading: Read I Like to do That! aloud to an adult. Circle words with the beginning /d/ sound as in duck. Return booklet to school on Tuesday.
Math: Workbook page 9

We begin Science and Social Studies this week. Science will be taught in our class on Mondays and Wednesdays. Social Studies will be taught in Mrs. Lehnerer's room on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Today we will create covers for our Science Journals. Ask your child what they believe it means to be a scientist!

We went to Mass together this morning for the first time as a class. I was proud of many of the students' church behavior. We are working on being reverent during Mass, singing, staying quiet when we need to, and keeping our bottoms off the seats when we should be kneeling.

Don't forget that Wednesday is Ice Cream Day! Send $1 if you'd like your child to be able to purchase ice cream following lunch.

Have a great week!

Reminders: Lunch towels and overdue library books!

BOOK COVERS!
A number of students did not bring in the 2 jumbo, stretchy book covers specified on the school supply list. We are beginning to use our hardcover textbooks this week and really need to get all the books covered. If you didn't already send in book covers, please look for the ones advertised as "jumbo" because some of the others just do not cover our large social studies and reading texts. If you could pick these up and send them with your child before the end of this week it would be greatly appreciated! If you can no longer find them in the stores, send a note and I'll have the books sent home to be covered the old-fashioned way, with paper grocery store bags. Thanks!

Homework for Tuesday:
Math Workbook, p. 10 Compare Numbers (Lego stacks are great for reinforcing this lesson at home!)

Reminder:
Ice Cream day is tomorrow. Send $1 if you'd like your child to purchase ice cream after lunch.

More high frequency words for the shoebox: get, what, we, one, two, three

Today's Homework
Reading: Read take home reader Wet! aloud to an adult 2 times and then circle the words that rhyme with wet and Jen. Return book to school on Thursday.
Math: Workbook page 11.

Still missing a few signed parent letters, but I'll address those with questions noted here on the blog...

I was asked if we will be using timed math tests. Yes, I will be introducing 5-minute drills for addition and subtraction facts very soon. In fact, we will likely take a beginning assessment by the end of this week. The kids will move at their own pace. As they master each set of facts, beginning with +1, then +2, and so on, with at least 85% correct out of 50 problems, they will move up to the next set of facts. I try not to put too much pressure on the kids, but those who are working at home with flashcards or games actually seem to enjoy this weekly "quiz."
If I notice that your child is struggling with the drill format, I'll use an alternative form of assessment. If you are looking for fact mastery websites, check out the suggestions/links on the St. Linus website!

I was also asked about the music curriculum. This year, we will be learning about music in our own classroom. We have already spent some time watching and discussing Peter and the Wolf with music by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. We talked about how each character was represented with a different instrument and listened carefully to try and predict which character would be appearing next. We also use music in our classroom on a daily basis; sometimes to accompany our stretching and moving when we need a break, and often when I can work it into our curriculum. We have songs that help us with phonics and counting skills.
I hope to be able to bring in some small instruments that the children can use to make our own "music." If you have items at home you'd like to lend the class for this purpose, please send me a note or email.

The letter said that library books should be returned to our classroom on Wednesdays. That was an error. Library books should be returned on Friday mornings, as we visit the library each Friday afternoon.

I'll be sending out a revision to the published class phone list soon -- a few more parents have asked to be added. Let me know if you aren't on it and would like to be!

Thanks for your responses/questions. Always feel free to contact me.

As part of the St. Linus Homecoming festivities, our class will work together on a poster celebrating our Hawks football team. If you have any sparkly glitter, streamers, curling ribbon or other creative materials lying around the house that your child would like to donate to help decorate our poster week, feel free to send them in. The winning posters will be announced at our Pep Assembly next Friday, 9/25!

Homework
Math: workbook p. 12

This week we begin celebrating our Student of the Week. When your child's name is picked, they will come home on a Friday with a special Me, Myself, and I poster to be completed over the weekend. There will be a note attached with a list of all the special things they will be able to do during their week, including show and tell each day, lunch with a parent (or other special adult) one day in our room (11:30), and more. Please don't send a treat when your child is chosen -- we reserve that just for birthdays. Our first lucky Student of the Week for Sept. 21-Sept. 25 is Jack McCarthy!

Here are the high frequency shoebox words that will come home this week: up, but, go, where, here, am. Soon we will begin weekly spelling tests; these will occur on Fridays. You will always be informed of the weekly spelling words by Monday or Tuesday so they can be practiced at home. We will include practice in class with fun games like Sparkle and Bean Bag spelling.

The children are adjusting well to the addition of science and social studies in their afternoons. Next week in Science, we will explore how water moves through plants.

This coming week, students will take their Unit One reading skills test. As I mentioned before, this unit was a review of kindergarten and they should do very well. Beginning Sept. 28, you will begin to see their Reader coming home twice a week as we start Unit 2. Your child will be asked to re-read to you the stories we've read together during class. Generally, this will happen on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Thursdays, they will take a Vocabulary and Comprehension Test based on Wednesday's story. The scores on these tests will be a part of their quarterly reading grade, but don't carry as much weight as individual fluency and end of unit skills assessments.

A note about grades...
I had a question about the online Engrade system from a parent. If you have a child in 3rd grade or higher, you have access to this system. We don't use it in the primary grades at this time. If there is an issue with your child's progress, you will see it right away on the work that come home weekly and will hear from me personally if I believe we need to take measures to help your child. Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any concerns!

A final note about Jumbo book covers...
I'm sorry that the need for book covers was news to some. Apparently, they weren't noted on the St. Linus website's supply list and I wasn't aware of it. Please send them at your earliest convenience. The kids need two. Let me know if you have no luck finding them, because I have a few on hand that I can sell for $1.

Happy Monday!

No homework today!

Last call to get on the Room 16 published phone list. I'll be updating and sending it home for the last time at the end of this week. If you are not on it and would like to be, please send me an email at loconnell@stlinusschool.org.

On Friday, your child's first Progress Report came home in their folder, as well as their scored Unit Reading Test. As I mentioned earlier, this first test was a review of skills taught in kindergarten and most of our students did very well.

This week, we begin our second reading unit. Your child will be bringing home their hardcover reader twice weekly, usually on Mondays and Wednesdays, to read the day's phonics story or main selection to you. On most Tuesdays, they will have a mini take-home phonics reader that needs to be read and possibly have some words circled or underlined. Your child will write specific directions on the cover of these mini readers, and they should be sent back to school the next day.

Along with our new reading unit, each week there will be 10 spelling words to be mastered. We will work on these words all week, and the kids will be tested on Fridays. I'll list these words early in the week on this blog.

This week's spelling words are: at, ran, cat, an, sat, man, will, no, dad, mom

High frequency (word wall) words are: come, down, away, no, will

I have hung up a special Scholastic Books poster in our classroom. We are participating in Scholastic's Classroom Care program. When we read 100 books, Scholastic Books will donate books to schools in need. When your child reads a book at home, you can jot a note with the book title, send it to school, and your child will color in a book on our class poster.

We are working on addition and subtraction sentences in Math. Some of the students are already gaining mastery of many addition facts without using their fingers to count and that is great! This week we will make bead counters that will be used as needed to help with addition and subtraction in a concrete way. As your child comes to grips with their basic facts, their bead counter will actually slow them down and they will no longer need to use it -- that's what I hope to see happen quickly! We are playing math games in school as well - I hope that your child shares them with you at home.

Please keep your eye on the school website for possible school schedule changes due to the decline in Monsignor Cardiff's health.

Reminders:
If you haven't already, please send completed permission forms and $ for Mother Goose Field Trip by October 2.
A few students are still without their 2 stretchy fabric bookcovers needed for their hardcover textbooks. If you can't find jumbo size in the store, I still have a few for $1.
Scholastic Book Orders, if interested, should be returned by October 5th.

Today in Math we created our own bead counters to assist us in solving addition and subtraction problems, as well as practice counting by 2s, 3s, 4s, and so on. Math homework tonight is to show moms and dads how our bead counters work and practice using them.

Readers came home for the first time tonight. Your child is to read the first story, The Nap aloud to you. You may notice that the story contains the words we are working to master this week. We are working with the short a sound as in cat.

Reminders: Mother Goose permission slips and $3.50 due Friday.
Scholastic book orders due Friday.

If your child didn't receive a sticker on the Chapter 4 Religion Review that is in their folder today, they have an opportunity to improve their score by correcting their mistakes and returning their papers to me on Wednesday. They may use their books and will likely need you for reading help on this.

Today, your child brings home the take-home phonics reader My Cat. They have been instructed to read this story aloud to you, then locate and circle all the words that have the short /a/ sound as in cat. They may also write the sign for short a, which looks like a smiling mouth, above the a in these words.

We are working on writing correct sentences in grammar. Today, we had fun writing sentences in our green notebooks and correcting Mrs. O'Connell's errors on the board. They love telling me when I'm wrong!

There are two pages in the workbook to be completed for homework tonight. Page 17 is a review of Subtraction sentences from last Friday's lesson. Page 18 is reinforcement for today's lesson on the strategy of drawing a picture to solve a problem. There will be a Math test on Wednesday.

Can you believe that September is OVER?!

Today the children bring home their Reader to re-read Oh, Cats! Tomorrow they will take their first reading selection test which assesses vocabulary knowledge and comprehension of the story. We have read the story twice in class. They need to read and discuss what happens in this story with you for homework. Ask them to retell the story in their own words.