Newsletter Week 18 (Recap and NEW Info)!

Starting January 14th-January 28th, we will begin our NWEA MAP testing in both reading and math.  These are the standardized scores/goals we spoke about at Parent Teacher Conferences! Please make sure your child is going to bed at an appropriate time each night and also eating a healthy, brain-fueled breakfast to ensure their success on the tests!  We are anticipating some great gains for the middle of the year assessments from our Kindergarten students. I can’t wait for the students to show what they know! Once all testing is completed, I will send home the results of your child’s growth. Please expect the results to come home are the 1st week in February.  Thank you!

        

**Reminders: There will be a half day of school on Friday, January 18th.  NO SCHOOL on Monday, January 21st and a half day of school on Tuesday, January 22nd.  Please make sure to make a note of this on your calendars. Thank you:)

What we did during our week:

Language Arts: We have officially learned ALL the letters and sounds of the alphabet!  Now, we will use our sounds to help us with reading and writing new words:)  Spelling test List #5: for, up, look, hop, pop, top, cop, mop, stop. Bonus words to study at home: bop, chop.  Make sure to practice the bonus word (10th word) at home for homework.  Our 5th spelling test will be on Friday, January 18th.

Writing:  The month of January we will focus on informative writing by using the words, “can, have, are” in our writing.  Please practice this strategy at home as well:)

Math:  This week we completed Module 3 Lessons 16-20.  Next week we will focus on Lessons 21-24. Please make sure you are completing the Eureka homework lessons with your child at home as well!

Science: The month of January we will focus on polar climate.  The students will become experts on polar animals and climate:)  Here are some pictures of the students reading their non fiction book “Who lives in the Polar Habitat?”  

Social Studies:  The month of January we will focus on history/ our timeline.  A timeline project note will be coming home on January 14th. Be on the lookout:)

Scholastic Reading Club:

Class Code – RKYTJ   Order Due Date –  1/28/19

Dear Families,

This is a friendly reminder that your Book Clubs orders are due by 1/28/19. You can place your orders online at scholastic.com/bookclubs using my class activation code: RKYTJ

Happy Reading, Mrs. Fillmore

Other:

• I am excited to report that out of 23 students who took the test, 21 students received a 100%  Woo hoo! That is the MOST students we have had receive a 100%!  I am so proud of each student who worked so hard all week to ensure they were successful on their test!  If your child received a 100%, they will write with a “smart” pen all day Monday and also participate in “NO shoes afternoon” on Monday as well:)  On Monday, once your child comes in from recess, they will be able to take their shoes off and relax for the last part of the day. Please make sure your child knows how to independently take off and put on their shoes.  I appreciate your support in this matter!  Also, make sure to wash your child’s socks as soon as they come home on Monday, they may be a little darker than normal;)  
• Please consider buying something from our Scholastic Book Club at: https://clubs.scholastic.com/  Activation code: RKYTJ. The January date to order books will be Monday, January 28th.
• Please make sure you are reviewing your child’s classwork each night.  Monitoring your child’s classwork is a great indicator of how your child is doing in the class. If for some reason your child doesn’t finish his/her classwork in class, I will send it home for homework to be completed at home and returned the next day.  Thank you for your support!

• Please make sure you provide your child with a NUT FREE snack.   We are a NUT FREE classroom. Thank you for your cooperation!

Housekeeping items:

• The cold/winter season is upon us, which means cooler temperatures!  With cooler temperatures comes coats, boots, hats, scarves, gloves, etc.  It is important to teach your child how to properly put on a coat, zip up a coat, unzip the coat and take the coat off.  We have a handful of students who constantly need help putting on their coats etc, which means more time is taken away from recess because the teacher is zipping up 24 coats!  Also, please continue to practice tying shoes with your child. It is very hard to tie 2 pair of shoes X 24 students a day! That equals 48 shoes a day I would be tying, which would take up a lot of time during large and small group instruction.  We are encouraging students to become independent learners and with independence takes a lot of dedication and teaching your child at home. Thank you for your cooperation:)
• If your child is bringing a home lunch, it is OK to pack a juice for the lunchroom!  Remember to pack a water bottle each day for the classroom:)
• Please pack your child’s snack SEPARATELY from your child’s home lunch.  This will help your child become less confused about what is for lunch and what is for snack.  Thank you:)
• Great news!  The PTA has a blog for all sorts of fun information going on in the school.  I may not have a lot of opportunities for all families to volunteer in the classroom, but the PTA is ALWAYS looking for extra hands to help in the school.  Please take a look at their blog and sign up for the fun events they may need help with:)  https://parents.dearbornschools.org/haigh/

Upcoming Events:

January 14th- Timeline project note coming home!

January 14th- NWEA testing begins.  Encourage your child to take their time and do their best:)

January 17th- Field trip to the Marquis Theater to see “Tinkerbell Visits Story land”

January 18th- Little Caesars Pizza Kit order forms are due!

January 18th– Half Day.  Students dismiss at 11:40 a.m.

January 21st- NO SCHOOL

January 22nd- Half Day.  Students dismiss at 11:40 a.m.

January 23rd- Start Module 4.  NEW homework books coming home today!

January 24th- TIMELINE projects due!  These projects will count as a grade in Social Studies.

January 25th- Pizza Kit Delivery Day!

January 30th-  PBIS Solo Cup Challenge!

Reading Buddies: Today the groups worked together and learned how to problem solve by building with blocks or playing board games.  It was fun to see our buddies again and to ease our way into a new year with each other;)