Dates to Remember:

Tuesday, February 26 – Informational Literacy session for parents of students K-5 will be held in the cafeteria at 8:45 am. The session will offer tips, discussion and games you can use at home to help your child succeed in reading and writing.

Friday, March 1 – March is Literacy Month. Parents will receive information on March is Reading Month. Learn about events for the month of March and how your child can participate in reading for the month of March.

On Friday there will be a PBIS assembly for the month of February. Students will attend the Howard Talent Show that were on green or had 0-6 yellows and no blues for the month of February.

Peek at the Week:

Spelling words for the Week: “am” word family – jam, ham, bam, ram. Sight words – he, she, you

Daily Five/Literacy – learning L blends – cl, fl, bl. (clown, fly, blow) Reading comprehension – understanding supporting details in informational text.

Writing – starting a new informational text unit on Penguins.

Math – Decomposing, composing numbers, making arrays and number bonds with numbers.

Social Studies – Geography – learning about maps and their features such as; water, land, symbols, keys and a compass rose.

Science – we had fun working on a STEM unit- building a structure designed to protect from harsh weather last week. Students were very engaged and can’t wait to start another project.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Monday, February 18 – Winter Break – No school

Tuesday, February 19 – Students return to school. New math packet and spelling Tic-Tac-Toe sheet will go home.

Friday, February 22 – We will celebrate 100 days in school. To celebrate we would love to have the kids dress up like they are 100 years old.

Here are some ideas for the girls: wear a printed skirt, pearls, eyeglasses, sweater, wig or curled hairstyle, gray hair spray, knee high stockings, scarf. Ideas for the boys: button down shirt, flannel shirt, suspenders, tie, eyeglasses, drawn on mustache or beard, gray hairspray.

Peek at the Week:

Spelling words for the week: “ad” word family – had, mad, sad   Sight words – we, go, look, in

Daily Five/Literacy – Rhyming words review, CVC short vowel review. Comprehension – supporting details with informational text. Making predictions in fiction stories.

Writing – We will finish up on our informational writing on Polar Bears by publishing our writing.

Math – Composing and decomposing numbers 6-8. Learning what the missing addend is in a number sentence.

Science – We will work on a STEM project and build/create a structure that will protect living things from harsh weather. Students will plan and create structures with given materials.

I want to thank you all for remembering me with Valentine cards, candy and kind thoughts. The class was very excited!We had fun playing games and exchanging Valentine’s.

As soon as I find out about the date for the zoo picture’s/materials I will let you know. The weather that day set everything back. Hopefully, we are through with snow days/ice days!

Have a Great Winter Break!!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Monday, February 11 – Math homework packets will go home. There will not be a spelling test this week due to the short week of school. We will do a practice spelling test with the “ap” word family.

On Monday, in your child’s folder you will receive a permission slip/order form for your child to attend the Barn Hill Preserve traveling zoo assembly on Tuesday, February 12. You must have the permission slip signed and returned by Tuesday morning of the event. If there is no permission slip your child will not be able to attend the event. If you would like your child to have their picture taken with an animal please fill out the purchase order, please send money/check in an envelope along with order form/permission slip. During the week, I sent an attachment copy of the permission slip on Class Dojo. If you were able to print and sign this document go ahead and send the permission slip/order form on Monday. Thank you.

Tuesday, February 12 – Assembly – Barn Hill Preserve traveling zoo. Permission slips/purchase orders are due. This is a free event for students.

Wednesday, February 13 – PBIS Assembly in morning. January students of the month – Manisa Sobh and Kassem Hammoud. Don’t forget to turn in Valentine mail-boxes with Valentine cards enclosed for party on Thursday.

Thursday, February 14 – Half day of school. Dismissal is at 11:45 am. We will celebrate Valentine’s in our classroom at 10:00 am. There will be no tutoring after school on Thursday since it is a half day.

Friday, February 15 – Winter Break No school.

Monday, February 18 – Winter Break No school. 

Peek at the Week:

Spelling words for practice test – “ap” word family – cap, map, tap  Sight words for week – to, for, love

Literacy/Daily Five – Long vowels a,e,i,o,u review. Review digraphs – ch, sh, ph, wh th.  Comprehension – making predictions. What do you think the story will be about? Was your prediction right?

Science – We will continue to study the weather. Last week we learned how to be a weather watcher and forecasted and compared the weather for the week.

Writing – Informational text writing – we will continue to add facts to our Polar Bear writing planners. Writing interesting facts we have learned about Polar Bears and learning to edit our rough drafts in writing.

Math – We continue to work with number bonds – decomposing numbers 6-8.

Have a wonderful bright weekend!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Monday, February 4 – A new spelling list and Tic-Tac-Toe activity sheet will go home on Monday. No math packet will go home this week. A math packet was sent home last week that covered lessons we will be working on this week in math. We will catch up in math with the three days we had off.

Thursday, February 7 – Spelling test on “an” word family. Spelling homework will be due also. (Tic-Tac-Toe sheet)

Friday, February 8 – No school for kindergarten students only. Kindergarten teachers will be attending professional development conference.

Thursday, February 14 – Students have a half day of school. Dismissal is at 11:45 am.

We will have our Valentine’s Day party from 10-11 am. Students can bring in a decorated shoe-box or container to hold their Valentine cards. Students will be passing out Valentine cards to their friends in class. Please have students write their name to whom it is FROM on the card only. This will make it easier to distribute cards. We have 23 students in our classroom. I only need a few volunteers for the party to help students distribute cards. Since the party is in the morning, I will have donuts and juice. For further details, check your child’s folder for information sent last week.

Winter Break – No school Friday, February 15 and Monday, February 18. 

Peek at the Week:

Spelling Words – “an” word family words – fan, man, pan  Sight words – a, like

Long vowel “u” – making and reading long vowel “u” words (tube, mule)

Digraph – review of beginning digraphs th, sh, ch, wh. Learning about digraphs “ph” (phone).

Writing – We will continue with informational writing on Polar Bears.

Daily Five/Literacy – Comprehension – Informational text – recalling supporting details about a topic. Word work – working on spelling words, sight words. Writing – sentence fluency.

Science – weather forecasting. Identifying and predicting weather each day.

Social Studies – learning about how things change over time. Using artifacts (journals, photos, toys, clothing).

Math – Composing and Decomposing numbers 2-5 and making number bonds. Drawing/writing story problems using number bonds.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to remember:

Monday, January 28 – We will start spelling tests next week on Friday, February 1. The spelling test will be on the “at” word family. (at, bat, cat, hat). The test will also include sight words; I, see, can. Information on the spelling test along with spelling homework will be in your child’s take home folder on Monday.

Friday, February 1 – Library check-in and check-out. Students will take spelling test and spelling homework will be due.

Wednesday, February 6 – Late start. School starts one hour later.

Friday, February 8 – No school for Kindergarten. Teachers attend professional development workshop.

Peek at the Week:

Spelling words – “at” word family – bat, cat, hat  Sight words – I, see, can.  

Daily Five/Literacy – Learning beginning and ending words with digraph “wh” (whip, when). Long vowel “e” words.

Reading comprehension – Understanding and recognizing informational text features. Finding/important key details in text. Reviewing rhyming words – recognizing rhyming words and producing rhyming words.

Writing – Informational writing – Arctic animals. Learning about Polar Bears and writing about interesting facts about Polar Bears.

Math – Beginning module 4 –  Number Pairs, Adding and Subtracting. Composition/Decomposition of 2,3,4,5. Students will model with drawings, use linking cubes, number bonds and use story problems to show a given number in different ways.

Science – We will continue to chart/predict the weather and look for weather patterns on monthly weather graph.

Social Studies – learning about history and exploring the past with artifacts (journals, photographs, things of the past; toys, clothing).

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Monday, January 21 – No school. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Tuesday, January 22 – Half day of school. School is dismissed 11:45 am.

Thursday, January 24 – Kindergarten will take NWEA Math assessment.

Peek at the Week:

Sight Words of the Week – she, did 

Literacy/Daily Five – Learning long vowel sounds – long “i”  Learning words that begin and end with digraph “ch”

(church, cheetah, chimes, cheat, rich) Reviewing rhyming words – identifying and producing rhyming words.

Comprehension – understanding narrative stories along with transitional words like; first, next, last.

Writing – Informational unit on arctic animals. We will begin studying Polar Bears. Students will study information/facts on Polar Bears and write facts about Polar Bears that they found interesting.

Math – Comparison of Numerals – visualizing quantities to compare two numerals. Clarification of Measurable Attributes – observing equal volume, equal weights, comparing rectangles of different lengths to create structure, describing measurable attributes of single objects.

Science – Identifying and charting daily weather conditions and looking for patterns to aid in forecasting the weather. Predicting and following weather patterns.

Social Studies – Learning about historical narratives. Understanding important events in history with historical figures.

Reading groups and book bags will go home on Wednesday. Please continue to review weekly sight words. Your child should be able to spell and read weekly sight words given.

Report cards and NWEA reports will be distributed some time next week.

I am very pleased with the growth in reading as I have been working on assessments over the last two weeks. Also, my class met their goals/RIT score on the NWEA reading assessment for the middle of the year. This is quite an accomplishment! Thank you parents for your continued support at home.

We will continue to focus on reading strategies; comprehension, fluency and word to help build skills in reading. As your child becomes more confident with word strategies, decoding words and knowing their sight words their writing will improve too!

Have a great weekend! Stay warm – Winter is finally here!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Wednesday, January 16 – we will take the NWEA reading test in the afternoon.

Friday, January 18 -Half day. Dismissal is at 11:45 am.

Monday, January 21 – No school. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Tuesday, January 22 – Half day. Teacher Professional Development. Dismissal 11:45 am.

Peek at the Week:

Sight words of the Week – this   little         Digraph – “sh” (shark, show, ship, shout)   Vowel – long “o”  boat, tow.

Writing – opinion writing. Continue with writing piece – Do you like snow? and writing reason why.

Daily Five/Literacy – Reading comprehension – retelling with main events in stories. Sequencing and identifying key details in stories.

Science – continuing with severe weather such as; flood, drought and thunderstorms.

Social Studies – Daily timeline- understanding events through the week. Understanding terms today, tomorrow, yesterday, past, present and future. Sequencing a daily timeline.

Math – Working on comparing amounts in sets that have 1 less. Understanding terms more than, less than, fewer, same and equal.

I am hoping to finish up on individual reading assessments early next week. Once reading assessments are completed  reading groups and book bags will resume. Thank you for your patience during assessments.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Polgar

Happy New Year! Happy 2019!

Dates to Remember:

Monday, January 7 – Return to school. Winter homework packets due along with Social Studies Timelines. Return book-bags.

Friday January 11 – Library books check-in and check-out.

Peek at the Week:

Review letters of the alphabet. Focus on long vowel “a”  words.

Sight words – here, you    Study digraph – “th” words that begin with “th” – (Thursday, thumb, think) words that end with “th” (teeth, width, with)

Science – learn about different severe weather conditions (tornadoes, storms, hurricanes).

Social Studies – Timeline projects – students will present their timelines by identifying four parts in their life with photos or pictures.

Writing – we will start a new unit on opinion writing. Focus on weather – Do you like Winter? Do you like snow? Learning to end writing piece with a reason for opinion. Learning to give examples with details.

Literacy/Daily Five – Identifying character traits, reviewing sight words and building words with digraph – “th”.

Math – Continuing with Module 3/Measurement – comparing amounts of two sets of groups using fewer or same as. Comparing amounts of objects in groups of same amounts and adding one more.

Happy New Year! Looking forward to a New Year of Learning and Growth.

I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday.

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Thursday, December 20 – Mrs. Polgar’s classroom Holiday Party from 2-3 pm. I now have enough volunteers to help with the event. Thank you to the mom’s who volunteered to help at the party.

Friday, December 21 – last day of school before Winter Break.

Next week we will have no math homework packets. I will be passing out a homework packet with a Social Studies Timeline project that will be due when we return from Winter Break.

Peek at the Week:

Letter of the week: Jj (jump, joy, juice)

Sight words of the week: said, for (Sara said, “Let’s go for a walk.”) (This gift is for you.)

Math: Measurement – we will compare amounts of objects that fill up amounts of space. Learning about volume and area along with other concepts of capacity.

Literacy/Daily Five – retelling different versions of the “Gingerbread Man.” Learning CVC words with short vowel “o”

Writing – Writing and stating opinion – What your favorite Gingerbread story is and why?

Last week our classroom theme was All about Reindeer and the class did a great job writing interesting facts about Reindeer. Our class work is hanging outside the classroom. Parents please continue reading at home with your child. Also, have your child read and write their sight words from their ring card in their book bags. The additional support at home shows in their reading and writing at school.

Have a great weekend!!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Holiday Boutique – December 11-13 sponsored by PTA. Students can purchase holiday gifts. A shopping list was placed in your child’s folder on Friday. Please fill out if you would like your child to purchase gifts along with cash or check (made out to Howard PTA) and return by Tuesday, December 11. Gifts are $2.00 each with tax included.

Wednesday, December 12 – Late Start. School begins an hour later.

Friday, December 14 – No school for Kindergarten only.

Thursday, December 20 – Classroom Holiday party. Could use a few volunteers in the afternoon for our party. If you are able to help out, please let me know.

Monday, December 24 – January 7 – Holiday break. Students return to school on Monday, January 7.

Peek at the Week:

Letters of the Week: Yy  Zz   Sight words – my, he  

Writing – Continuing informational unit on reindeer. Writing about interesting facts we learn about reindeer.

Literacy/Daily Five – Retelling stories with a beginning, middle and end. Understanding main idea and stating key details in a non-fiction text. Looking at CVC words with short vowel “e”  (pet, set, pen, ten)

Math – Continuing unit on measurement/weight. We will observe conservation of weight on balance scale. Compare weights of objects with sets of different objects on balance scale, compare volume using more than, less than or same by pouring and understanding conversation of volume by pouring.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Polgar