Weekly News

We have one more week before winter break, and it is going to be a busy one!

Winter Break

Winter break is from December 20-January 4.  We will return to school on Monday, January 5.

Gingerbread Houses

For the last couple of weeks, we have read several versions of the Gingerbread Man.  As a class, we have discussed how the various stories are similar and different.  The culminating activity for this unit is decorating Gingerbread houses.  We will do this on Friday, December 19.  I need a little help.

     -If you are available early in the week to come in and help construct the gingerbread houses.

     -We need jars of frosting in various colors.  

     - Last call for leftover Halloween candy!

     - We will need Marshmallows, waffle pretzels, M&Ms, etc.

     -Popsicle sticks for spreading frosting.

     -Volunteers to come in and help!

If you can help with any if these, please let me know.  

Thank you!

Pajama Day!

In addition to decorating gingerbread houses on Friday, we will also have pajama day!  Everyone is invited to wear their favorite pajamas to school for a fun, comfy-cozy day!  

Exercise Balls

A HUGE Thank You to our PTO!  Our classroom was selected for grant money.  With our money, I purchased exercise balls to replace chairs in the classroom.  We have 6 balls in the classroom.  I put them at one center so everyone has a chance to sit on them.  The children seem to enjoy them.  If things continue to go well with the exercise balls, I would ultimately be interested in replacing all chairs with exercise balls.  

Assessments

Next week we will be administering the district literacy assessment.  

Gingerbread Man

On Monday, we read The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone.  After the story, we created a Brace Map which helps us think and talk about the parts of the Gingerbread Boy.  As always, the children eagerly participated in the discussion and remembered some very important details!

Mitten Tree

Legacy Elementary Student Coucil has put up a Mitten Tree.  Students are encouraged to bring in new mittens, scarves, gloves or hats to hang on the mitten tree.  The items collected will be donated to a support organization that can supply families with the items they need to stay warm this winter.

Weekly News

Book Orders

The deadline for book orders has been extended to Monday, December 8.  I will place the order that night and the order will be here before winter break.  When you purchase $10 of books, you can select a book valued at up to $5 for free!  If you order online, use coupon code CVC97JW.

Report Cards

Report cards for the first trimester are available on Infinite Campus (https://ic.svvsd.org/campus/portal/stvrain.jsp). The report card indicators can be found at https://drive.google.com/a/svvsd.org/file/d/0B_M8gCx2vvngTXh6QjZESHplWWc/edit.  The indicators describe specifically which skills were considered when the children were graded.  

Let me know if you have any questions.

Winter Assessments

We will be administering the winter assessments the week before winter break.  Please remember to practice letter recognition, letter sounds, and sight words with your student to help them prepare and read with them every night.  This will help students work through the assessment with less anxiety.

Gingerbread Man

Today we read The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth and The Gingerbread Cowboy by Janet Squires.  After reading the stories, we made a Double Bubble Map comparing the two stories.  The kids listened carefully and were eager to share their ideas about the stories!  

Book Orders

The deadline for book orders has been extended!  I can accept book orders through Monday, December 8 and the books will be delivered before break.  These books make terrific (and inexpensive) stocking stuffers and gifts.  If the books you order are a gift, please let me know and we will make arrangements for delivery.

BONUS:  When you spend $10 or more on a book order, you get a free book worth up to $5!  If you order online, the coupon code is CVC97JW.