Hello Families!

I sent home a Raz-Kids paper with your child’s login information.  Students logged into Raz-Kids today in class. We will be practicing using chromebooks weekly and Raz-Kids will be one of the websites we use.

If you would like me to put your email into the system so that you get Raz-Kids notifications on your child’s progress, please fill out the bottom portion of the paper I sent home and send it back.

Thank you!

Hello Families!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

• We started our Benchmark Unit 1, and it is VERY different from 1st grade.  There is a lot of note taking, we will be writing an essay, making connections within a text, and much, much more!  Please remind your child that they can do hard things 🙂 

The spelling words were sent home on Friday. There will be a spelling test this Friday along with a Reading Skills quiz on Main Idea.  Please have your child study their words at home.

• Reading Homework:

Monday – Thursday students will read the fluency passage that was sent home today.  Students are to read the passage three times out loud.  Then color or check the boxes at the bottom each time they read the passage.  When your child has finished reading the fluency passage, please sign in on the appropriate day of the week (below boxes at the bottom).

A fluency passage will go out each Monday moving forward.  It is due on Friday. 

This provides quick and easy practice with repetition to help your child develop fluency while practicing our phonics skill and words for the week.

• Math Homework:

A Review of our Module 1 was sent home tonight. There will be no Math Homework Tomorrow or Wednesday.  

• Math Test over Module 1 will be Wednesday 9/28/22.
• Students will complete a Study Guide for their MAth Test tomorrow in class and bring it home.
• With the changing weather please be sure your child is dressed appropriately each day. We will continue to go outside for recess everyday.
• Parents must sign their late students in when they arrive. The sign-in book is in the lobby. Parents CANNOT go to the classrooms.
• Students are marked late after 9:05 am.
• Last call to sign up for PTA! Our class is currently at 50% signed up. We only need 6 more families to sign-up to get our cider and donuts! Please sign up if you haven’t already 🙂 If you need another PTA Membership Form, please email me.
• In the chaos of the beginning of the year and starting this new position, I have misplaced my conference sign-up sheet.  Therefore, I will be sending out a sign-up genius later this week so that families can sign-up for a conference time.  I apologize for this inconvenience. I have literally looked through all of my room and files and cannot find it anywhere :/
• Tomorrow, I will not be in.  Mrs. Khatib will be subbing in my room.  During pick-up, please walk up to her so she knows who the students are going with.

Finally, Montessori students should learn to thrive in independence. We are really focusing on working independently and accomplishing our goals in a timely manner daily in our classroom. In order for each student to have the opportunity to work in a small group with me, I need the students to be working on their goal work independently in the classroom during the afternoon. We are going to continue practicing this but you can also reinforce this concept at home! Children thrive at being able to accomplish and learn things on their own– it is one of the core concepts of Montessori. Something simple like making their own lunches, packing backpacks, and choosing outfits for the day is so important for them and learning responsibility/independence. I encourage you to give your child more responsibilities at home to learn to be more independent. For example, they should be able to sit and do the review math worksheet page independently. If they need help they should ask… but remember to model, not just give the answer. I am looking forward to seeing all of the growth that will occur over the next few months in which they learn that being a 2nd grader might be a bit tougher than 1st grade, but the outcome will provide them with such pride, independence, and a very successful school year.

Have a great evening!

Mrs. Verrier

Hello Families!

Coming home today in your child’s folder is the Math that we reviewed and practiced.  Some students were unable to complete the practice pages, they can finish them if they would like for more practice at home.

This Week’s Focus: This is the focus phonic skill and spelling words that we will be working with next week in Benchmark.  We will begin Unit 1 on Monday.

Our Math Test will be on Wednesday, September 28th.  We will be reviewing more on Monday and Tuesday.

Have a great weekend!

Hello Families!

NO homework tonight! We need more practice over today’s lesson.

I will be moving our Math Test to next week.  I want to make sure that we practice well before I give an assessment.

I have had many questions about Zearn and Raz-Kids.  I have just received my login information.  I need to set up student accounts and will send home how to login next week.  Completing Zearn and Raz-Kids will also be something that students will be doing in the classroom also.  Please practice with your child logging into their accounts after I send home the login information so that they will be able to do it independently in class.  

Next week we will be starting our Benchmark Units and new handwriting program.

2nd Grade is much different than kindergarten and 1st Grade.  Students are expected to complete much work independently.  Our curriculum will also start to change from learning to read to reading to learn.  These changes also bring much more independence in the classroom. We have been practicing this week completing Must-Dos and May-Dos in Math, along with following multi-step directions.  Next week, I will be introducing our Daily Goal sheets.  Each student will receive a Daily Goal sheet for their Montessori Work Time.  These goals are specific to what each student needs to be practicing.  Please talk to your child at night about what they accomplished from their Daily Goals.  Talking with them about their successes will help motivate them and reinforce that they can do hard things 🙂  Doing hard things is something we have been discussing a lot in our room.  I want them to know, just because something is hard NOW, it will not always be that way.

I hope everyone has a wonderful night!

I am sending home last minute permission slips and ichat volunteer forms in yellow folders today. If you get one please return it to me by Friday or email and let me know you will not be attending the field trip. 

 
Field Trip Information:

This is an all day field trip on Tuesday, October 11th. We are supposed to be there at 9:50 am and classes start promptly at 10 am. We have a nature hike, animal adventure class, farm tour, and pumpkin program on that day! The three classes that are going (kindergarten/1st/2nd) will be split up evenly into four groups. More will come about that. We should finish at Kensington no later than 2:30 pm so everyone can make it back in time to pick up siblings. Please remember every child must have their own parent chaperone them! We are also NOT allowed to have younger siblings attend because this is a district paid field trip. More information will be coming in October…. but we wanted you to know some of the details so you can plan ahead.   

Thank you!

if you purchased a mum through our PTA, pickup will be today from 2:00 pm to dismissal in the back parking lot.

Thank you!

Just a few updates:

• This Wednesday the 21st is our first late start of the school year. School will start an hour later at 9:55.
• The PTA flower fundraiser comes in tomorrow. Keep an eye out for more info posted later today or tomorrow.
• If you have a Chromebook that was issued to you from Howe School you will need to bring the computer back to school to have it reactivated and checked out to your student. All computers that have not been checked out have been disabled at the district level and can no longer connect to the internet until we update them. Thank you!
• Field trip permission slips are due this Friday. The trip is free, you will only need $10 the day of for parking. Please send me a quick email if your child will not be attending the trip.
• We will be having our first Math Test this Friday.

Tomorrow afternoon I will not be dismissing your child.  Ms. Yassmine, our new school interventionist, will be dismissing them. 

Have a great night!

Hello Families!

I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend!

A few reminders and updates:

1. Wednesday, September 21st is our first Late Start.
2. No Homework on weekends 🙂
3. We are at 50% PTA membership! Let’s keep it up! We need 95% classroom membership to earn cider and donuts for our class!

This week we will finish NWEA and DRA testing (hopefully). I have quite a few students that need to make-up part of their NWEA test. Once all students are done testing, I will send home testing results.

Mrs. Fournier sent out our Birthday Guidelines through the school blog on Friday. Please click the link below to read:

Howe Montessori Birthday Guidelines

If you have any questions regarding our school’s Birthday Guidelines, please contact the school office.

Thank you!

Hello Families,

We have a 1/2 day tomorrow. Dismissal will be at 12:05 pm.

Tomorrow we will be doing make-up NWEA and DRA testing. My hope is that I can update families on your child’s testing results sometime next week.

Have a great evening!

1st choice is Halal Kung Pao Chicken

2nd choice is Sunbutter & Jelly Sandwiches