Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

We had a fabulous week and hope you did also!

Thank you to everyone who sent in supplies or helped with Colonial Day.  The kids were amazing and had a lot of fun!  Be sure to check out Twitter for pictures!

As a reminder, we will not be sending home Friday folders or a blog post next week.  This week's blog will cover next week and the week after break.  Be sure to check out Twitter for pictures from all our activities and learning.

Important Upcoming Events

• Grinch Day: Thursday, December 19
• We will have fun Grinch related activities for the kids to do during the day.
• Students can dress up as characters from the Grinch if they would like to.
• Holiday Party: Friday, December 20 from 1:45 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
• https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0c4fadac28a3fe3-winter
• No School: December 23-January 3
• Return to School: Monday, January 6
• January 14: Ross kids saying the Pledge of Allegiance on KOMU
• January 16: Mottaz kids saying the Pledge of Allegiance on KOMU

Our Learning
Reading

• Next week, we will wrap up our genre study of narrative nonfiction.  The students have learned that narrative nonfiction is a true story about someone's life.  The difference between expository and narrative nonfiction is that narrative nonfiction is written as a story and expository is more facts.
• After break, we will start our next genre study.  This genre study is over fiction.  The main characteristics of a fiction story are it has made-up characters, setting and events, has a beginning, middle and end and is sometimes told by a narrator instead of a character in the story.
• We will be discussing different types of fiction as well. 

Writing

• Next week and the week after break, we will be working on our personal narrative stories.  This week student's chose their topic and their three main events.  Next week, we will start adding details to the events and then after break, we will be editing and revising their writing.

Math

• Thank you to everyone who has sent back in your student's Unit 4 math test.  If you have not sent it in yet, please do so.  This allows us to know you have seen and reviewed the test with your student.
• Our next unit is over word problems and different strategies to solve word problems.  Please continue to practice basic facts with your student as it makes the word problems easier when they know the facts in a snap.  

Science

• Yesterday, we did an activity in science to identify how the sun affects the temperatures on earth.  We will continue to discuss this and then move into how the temperature and the sun change determine the temperature of water and if it is solid or liquid.
• We will then move into identifying where salt water and fresh water are located.

Fundations

• We have been learning about open syllable words and how the vowels make a long sound.
• Next week, we will be learning about the different sounds "y" makes at the end of a word based on the number of syllables.
• The trick words are city, every, family, eight, large and change.
• Our goal is to finish Unit 7 before break, if not, we will wrap it up after break.
• After break, we will start Unit 8 which includes r-controlled syllables.  

Have a fabulous weekend!

Kate and Elizabeth

Happy Friday

Happy Friday!

We have had a wonderful week back at school!  We can't believe that we only have 2 weeks until Winter Break!  Wow!  We will be very busy these next 2 weeks!

Friday Folder

• Six Flags Read to Succeed
• If students read and log (online this year) 6 hours of reading, they will receive one free ticket to Six Flags for the summer.
• The log is to be submitted online this year.  You do not need to send in the form.
• The due date April 17.
• The website is www.sixflags.com/books or click here
• Ross code: ZSHMG
• Mottaz code: 2XQXD
• Nothing like a free ticket to Six Flags for doing some reading.  
• Unit 7 Fundations Letter
• This is the family letter and optional practice for Unit 7 in Fundations.
• Students can use the activities for Homework Bingo, but do not need to return the sheets to school.
• Unit 5 Math Letter
• This is the family letter about Unit 5 in math.  This is an overview of the unit.  
• RBE Eat Out: Shakespeare's
• December 12 at all 3 locations, all day, RBE will get 15% of the sales when you present the flyer.
• RBE Giving Tree
• Information sheet in the Friday folder about the giving tree.
• If you would like to get an ornament to purchase a gift, you can return the bottom half of the sheet.
• Dental Screening
• If your student participated in the dental screening, there is a sheet coming home with information regarding the screening.
• Lots of fabulous work from your students

Colonial Day

• Colonial Day is next Thursday, December 12.  This is a celebration of all our learning about Colonial Times.  We will have different stations for students to participate.
• If your student would like to dress up in Colonial clothes, they can do so.  They can bring other clothing to change into if they would like.  We will be making hats for all the students.  
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• If you are able to help out at Colonial Day, here is the link to sign up.  Colonial Day is from 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.  
• https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c45aca62ca2fb6-colonial1

Important Upcoming Events

• Tuesday, December 10: Planetarium Field Trip
• We will be gone from about 9:15-10:45 a.m.
• Thursday, December 12: Colonial Day
• More information below.
• 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
• Thursday, December 12: RBE Eat Out at Shakespeare's
• All 3 locations
• All day!
• It's a great excuse to not cook dinner (and lunch if you so choose).
• RBE will get 15% of all purchases made.  
• Flyer is in the Friday folder.
• Friday, December 13: Dress as your favorite holiday spirit day
• Friday, December 20: Holiday Party from 1:45 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
• Monday, December 23-Friday, January 3: No School/Winter Break
• Monday, January 6: Return to school from Winter Break

Winter Party

• Our winter party in Friday, December 20 at 1:45 p.m.
• JaKhia's mom, Jalisa, is setting up our party again.  She has a craft, a game and cookie decorating planned.  Below is the Sign Up Genius if you are able to send in supplies or are able to help.
• https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0c4fadac28a3fe3-winter

Next Week's Learning
Reading

• We will continue learning about Narrative Nonfiction next week.  The students have learned that narrative nonfiction is a real story about a real person, it is often told as a story, it might have a beginning, middle and end and it may include photographs/text features.
• The students have been learning about identifying author's purpose and also asking questions while reading. 

Writing

• On Monday, we will do a Hershey's Kiss taste test on Monday and doing a quick opinion writing about their favorite Kiss.  Don't tell the kids, it is a surprise for Monday.  
• We will start our next piece of writing next week.  The students will be writing a personal narrative.  This is similar to a nonfiction narrative.  It is a story about their life.
• This personal narrative will be about a time they have helped someone.  This weekend, you can help your student brainstorm some ideas of times they have helped people.  This will help them plan their writing next week.

Math

• We will be testing over Unit 4 (time, place value and measurement) on Tuesday.  We will start Unit 5 on Friday.  This unit covers money and making change.
• We will be reviewing for our test on Monday and hitting on any areas where students still have misconceptions.  

Social Studies/Science

• We wrapped up our Colonial Unit today by finishing our journals.  They will come home next week.  Be sure to ask your student how Colonial life was different than their life.  
• We will celebrate all their learning with Colonial Day on Thursday.
• We will start our next science unit next week.  This unit is geographic features.  They will be identifying where water is located on earth.  They will be identifying where salt and fresh water is located, as well as where solid and liquid water is found.  They will also learn how water flows.  

Fundations

• We took our Unit 6 Fundations test yesterday.  Some students struggled with writing the long vowel patterns and then using them in words.  We will continue to practice these.
• Our next unit is over open syllables which also create the long vowel sound.  

Have a fabulous weekend!

Kate and Elizabeth

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

We have had a great week with a lot of visitors.  We have had people from Aslin as well as Marshall Public Schools come to see all the fabulous things our Team Moss kids are doing.  They all had such positive things to say about the students!

If your student will not be here next week due to traveling or Thanksgiving, please let us know so we can let the office know.

Friday Folders

• In your student's Friday folder is information about our next Fundations Unit.  
• There also is the HomeLinks for this unit in math.  We are only about half way through the unit, but since we aren't sending Friday folders next week, we decided to send it home this week.

Important Upcoming Events

• No Friday Folders or Blog next week.
• No School: Wednesday, November 27-29 (Thanksgiving Break)
• Planetarium Field Trip: Tuesday, December 10 (9:15-10:45 a.m.)
• No permission slip needed as the field trip is in town.
• Colonial Day: Thursday, December 12
• If you would like to help out at Colonial Day or send in supplies, please use the Sign Up Genius below.
• https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c45aca62ca2fb6-colonial1
• Winter Party: Friday, December 20 at 1:45 p.m.
• Winter Break: Monday, December 23-January 3
• We return to school on Monday, January 6, 2020

Learning Next Two Weeks
Reading

• Our next reading unit is Narrative Nonfiction.  This genre includes stories about a real person or people.  They include beginning, middle and end. It might include text features, such as photos and captions.  
• We will discuss the different between nonfiction and narrative nonfiction and how narrative nonfiction is written more as a story as opposed to strictly facts.  

Writing

• Next week, we will be publishing our poems.  The students have worked really hard on their poems.  
• Our next writing assignment will be personal narrative.  This will be a true story about something that has happened in their life.  

Math

• Next week, we will be wrapping up our study of place value, expanded form/notation and place value blocks.  We have learned to represent numbers with place value blocks and in expanded form.  You can give your student a 3 digit number and have them draw it in place value blocks and write it in expanded notation.
• The week after Thanksgiving, we will move into measurement.  We will learn to measure in inches and centimeters.  
• We plan to test the 2nd week of December.  

Fundations

• We will continue to learning about when a word ends with an "e" that the vowel is a long vowel sound.
• Our trick words are knew, know, animal, many, they, right, place, together.

Social Studies

• The students will continue to work on identify similarities and differences between our lives and those of colonial people.
• They started a Colonial Journal this week.  They are writing it from the point of view of a colonial child.  Be sure to ask them what their colonial name is and how they think life is different in colonial time.
• We will have Colonial Day on Thursday, December 12.  If you would like to sign up to help or send in supplies, please use the Sign Up Genius.
• https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c45aca62ca2fb6-colonial1

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Thursday!

Happy Thursday!

Thank you to everyone for coming in for conferences.  We really enjoy getting the opportunity to meet with everyone and discuss your student's progress!

Important Upcoming Events

• No School: Friday, November 15 
• TRYPS Field Trip: November 19
• We will leave around 8:45 a.m.
• We should return to school around 11:00 a.m.
• We will be eating lunch at 11:30 a.m. this day to make sure we are back in time to eat lunch.
• Pajama Day (RBE Spirit Day): November 22
• Library Check Out:  November 25 (including this because it's not our typical Friday checkout)
• Thanksgiving Break: Wednesday, November 27-29
• Early Dismiss: December 4 at 12:10 p.m.
• Planetarium: December 10
• We will be gone from approximately 9:15-10:45 a.m.
• Colonial Day: December 12 in the morning
• Holiday Dress Up Day (RBE Spirit Day): December 13
• Holiday Party: December 20 at 1:45 p.m.
• Winter Break: December 23-January 3 (Return to school January 6)

Next Week's Learning
Reading

• Next week, we will start our next genre study.  The genre study will be over poetry.
• We will be looking at the characteristics of poetry.
• Written in lines instead of paragraphs
• Expresses the poet’s thoughts or feelings using rich language
• May use rhymes or strong rhythm
• Often written in groups of lines called stanzas
• Poetry is a great way to practice fluency also.  It will be fun to see the student's expression come out as they are reading.

Math

• We started Unit 4 this week.  This unit covers time, measurement and place value.
• This week, we worked on telling time.  Please practice this with students.  We practiced telling time to the nearest 5 minutes and also using A.M. and P.M. when telling time.
• Next week, we will focus on place value and representing numbers using place value blocks.  We will also be learning about expanded notation which is representing a number as an addition sentence (54 = 50 + 4).  

Social Studies

• We will continue to study colonial times.  The students will be creating a Colonial Journal and pretending they are writing as a child during colonial times.  
• We will be having Colonial Day on December 12.  We will send home additional information closer to the date.  This will be in the morning and we will be asking for volunteers to help and some supplies to be donated.  Be on the look out for information in the coming weeks!

Grammar

• We will continue learning about nouns next week.  They will be learning about possessive nouns next week and how to use apostrophes.  
• A common misconception is that any time they add an "s" to a word, they put an apostrophe with it, so we will be discussing when and where to use apostrophes with words.  

Fundations

• We will be starting Unit 6 in Fundations next week.  This unit covers CVCe words so we will be introducing the long vowel sounds.  We will be discussing how you don't hear the "e," but that it makes the vowel a long vowel, so it says its name.  
• Our trick words will be only, house, move, who, how. 

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Food Filled Friday!

Wow!  We had a very food filled and fun filled day!  We had 2 birthdays and our pizza party!

A huge thank you to parents for donating the pizza money at the beginning of the year and for parents who send in sides and desserts.  The kids really enjoyed our pizza party!

Math Tests
The kids rocked their math review yesterday so we moved up our math test to today.  We will be copying some of their explanations from the review and then will send them home next week.  We will share the tests with you at conferences next week. If we already met with you, we will send it home on Monday.  If it is sent home, please let us know that you have seen it (either via email or signing and returning it).

Progress Reports
Progress reports are coming home today.   You do not need to sign and return them.  Please look over them with your student.  We tried to give very detailed comments about where your student is at right now.

Important Upcoming Events

• Veteran's Day Assembly: Monday, November 11
• Our assembly is at 8:30 a.m.
• Students are encouraged to wear red, white and blue.
• Book Fair
• The book fair is next week in the library.  
• The students will be making wish lists on Monday.  They will be available in the library at the book fair.
• Conferences
• We have enjoyed meeting with everyone we have met with so far and are excited to meet with more families next week.  
• Thank you for taking the time to meet with us to discuss your student's progress.  We truly feel that we are all a team for your student!
• Just a reminder, we will ask you to set a goal for your student when you come in for conferences.  This can be an academic or behavior goal.
• No School: Friday, November 15 (Parent Teacher Conferences)
• TRYPS Play: Tuesday, November 19
• We will be going to see Frozen, Jr. at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 19.
• Thank you to PTA for providing the funding for the tickets and the transportation to the play.
• We will be eating lunch a bit later than normal this day so we have time to get back from the play.  We will try to eat snack before we leave for the play.  
• Thanksgiving Break: Wednesday, November 27-Friday, November 29

Next Week's Learning
Math

• We will be setting goals and reflecting on goals on Monday.
• We will start Unit 4 on Tuesday.  This unit covers time, place value and measurement.
• Our lessons next week will focus on telling time to the nearest 5 minutes and also determining if something is A.M. or P.M.
• Time can be a difficult concept for students, especially since many clocks are digital these days.  Please practice telling time with your students at home.  

Reading

• We will continue our study of fables next week.  
• This week we learned the 3 main characteristics of a fable are they are made-up, often involve animals (who at times take on characteristics of a human) and teach a lesson.
• This week we read "Fox and Crane," "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," and "Wolf!  Wolf!"  The students also read fables on Epic.  They made some in depth connections between the different stories.  They were able to make text-to-text connections between all 3 stories that we read.  

Grammar

• We will continue learning about types of nouns next week.  Students will learn about irregular plural nouns.
• We will also review proper, common and collective nouns.  

Social Studies

• This week, we focused on identifying clothing, adult jobs and kid chores that we currently have.  Next week, we will compare and contrast our current lives to those of colonial times.  

Fundations

• We will continue working on suffixes and practicing these suffixes through dictation.
• We will also work on prefixes and identifying how prefixes and suffixes change the meaning.
• Our trick words are always, often, once, look, they're.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!  (It sounds so weird saying that in a blog post)

Thank you to all the wonderful parents who helped with the party or sent in supplies for the party.

Another thank you to all the parents who helped the students create their pumpkins.  They did an amazing job!  Check out Twitter to see all the amazing pumpkins!  If your student didn't bring home their pumpkin today, we will be at school from 8:00-10:00 a.m. tomorrow, please arrange to pick it up so they don't get funky over the long weekend.

We are looking forward to meeting with everyone over the next 2 weeks.  If you haven't confirmed your conference time, please do so.  Our goal is 100% attendance!

Costume Pictures

• We love to see the kids all dressed up!  If you want to send us pictures of the kids in their Halloween costume, we will print them and post them in the room.

Important Upcoming Events

• No School: October 31-November 1 (Teacher Work Day)
• Parent Teacher Conference: November 5-November 14
• 1st Trimester Pizza Party: November 8
• Your student may bring in a special drink from home.
• Each student will get 2 pieces of pizza, chips, healthy side and dessert.
• We will eat lunch at 11:45 a.m. this day, so please make sure they have a snack since they will be eating later.
• Veteran's Day Assembly: November 11 at 8:30 a.m.
• TRYPS Field Trip: November 19
• Pajama Day: November 22
• No Friday Folders this week or the week of November 25
• Early Dismiss: December 4 at 12:15 p.m.

Book Fair

• Here is the link to information about the Book Fair.  The flyer came home yesterday with some of the books that will be available for purchase.
• https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/homepage.do?method=homepage&url=rockbridgeelementary

Snacks

• Please help your student remember to bring a snack each day to school.  We are lucky enough to have parents who have donated snacks to the class, but we have already gone through them.  

RBE Shirt Order

• PTA is doing a second t-shirt order with a quick turnaround. 
• Below is a link to the order form if you would like to order.  All orders are due by Tuesday, November 5.  
• https://drive.google.com/a/cpsk12.org/file/d/1fnX_DqKJODThSvZZeEpZ5jCuQi8l4fXS/view?usp=sharing

Next Week's Learning
Reading

• We will be moving onto fables next week.  We will be focusing on characters, settings, plot, problem and solution.  We will also be discussing the definition of a fable and how to determine if a story is a fable or not. 

Writing

• We are finishing up our expository books about animals and which habitat fits them best.  The students have worked really hard on them and had to do some good thinking to identify reasons an animal couldn't survive in another habitat.  

Math

• We will be wrapping up Unit 3 and finish learning other subtraction strategies.  We will be testing over Unit 3 on Monday or Tuesday of the following week.  We will then do the pretest for Unit 4, set goals for Unit 4 and reflect on our goals from Unit 3.  

Fundations

• We will be learning about "ic vs. ick" at the end of multi syllabic words next week.  Then we will move on to learning other suffixes of ful, less, en, ment, ness, able and ish.  They are expected to be able to read and write words with these suffixes.
• Our trick words for this unit in Fundations are against, knew, know, always, often, once, about and went.  

Have a fabulous long weekend and stay warm!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

We hope you have had a wonderful week!  We had a great week of learning and fun!

Important Upcoming Events

• Fall Harvest Party: Wednesday, October 30 at 1:45 p.m.
• Here is the link if you want to sign up to send in items.
• https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0c4fadac28a3fe3-team
• Pumpkin Book Character Due: Tuesday, October 29
• Please send your student's completed pumpkin and their book report paper into school on Tuesday.  We will do a gallery walk on Wednesday to see all their fun characters.  We will post pictures on Twitter.
• Here is the information sheet 
• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VJFs4pJrdU9-FY6c4cs6jEbP_E1utNeF_zg8Xs-i90w/edit?usp=sharing
• No School: Thursday, October 31-Friday, November 1
• Parent Teacher Conferences: November 4-November 14
• Times will come home next Tuesday.
• Veteran's Day Assembly: November 11

Coats

• Please make sure your student has a light jacket and a winter coat with them at school.  It has been chilly at recess this week.  If the "feels like" temperature is below 44, students need a winter coat. If the "feels like" temperature is between 45-59, students need a light jacket or sweatshirt.
• Some students have asked about borrowing a coat from lost and found, but due to health reasons and all the illnesses going around, we can't allow students to borrow coats/jackets from lost and found.
• If you need assistance getting a winter coat for your student, please let us know.

Friday Folders

• Unit 3 HomeLinks: These are optional practice if students would like to do them at home.  They are not expected to be completed or need to be sent back to school if completed.  They can be used for Homework Bingo activities.
• Unit 5 Fundations Letter:  This gives you information about what students will be learning in Unit 5 of Fundations.  As with the HomeLinks, there are activities students can complete if they would like, but they are not required and do not need to be sent back to school.
• Service Club Food Drive: 2nd grade is collecting smooth peanut butter.  If students would like to donate smooth (please no chunky) peanut butter, they can put it on the tables outside the office or they can bring it to the classroom and we will send it down.

Restorative Practice

• Kate went to Restorative Practice training on Wednesday and Thursday.  Restorative Practice is a program used to help students identify and express their feelings to others and help them with conflict resolution.  The goal of Restorative Practice is to be 80% proactive and community building with 20% of them being reactive, problem solving and repairing harm.  
• The following definition is from the International Institute for Restorative Practice, "The aim of restorative practices is to develop community and to manage conflict and tensions by repairing harm and building relationships. This statement identifies both proactive (building relationships and developing community) and reactive (repairing harm and restoring relationships) approaches."
• A key part of Restorative Practice is Affective Statements and questions.  These states express feelings.  For example: I feel happy when you stand in line quietly.  These help students to identify their feelings in different situations and then share their feelings with others who have harmed them (emotionally or physically).  This is helpful because often students struggle to identify how their actions affected others.  There are also questions that can be used that help students to identify their feelings such as How were you feeling when _________ happened? or How have you been feeling since this situation occurred.  Affective statements can be used at home when talking with your students.
• A large part of restorative practice is holding circles.  Initially, these circles are used to help build community and will consist of low level risk questions.  For example: If you could eat any ice cream, what would it be? or If you won a free trip, would you to go the mountains or the beach?  Once a community has been established and students are more comfortable with circles, we will use them for conflict resolution or to solve problems occurring within our classroom. 
• Mrs. Neale, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Kimble are all trained in Restorative Practice and uses it when debriefing with students after situations occurred.  

Next Week's Learning
*Since next week is a short week, our schedule will be slightly off, but here is what we will be working on.*
Reading

• Our writing is taking longer than expected, so we didn't get a chance to take our reading test this week or start fables.
• Next week, we will do a practice test in groups to learn the format of the Wonders test.
• We will also be reading Halloween books and comparing/contrasting the different stories to look for similarities and differences.

Writing

• The students set writing goals this week.  Be sure to ask your student what his/her goal is and how they plan to meet the goal.  
• We started our expository writing this week.  The students are learning to include transition words as well as topic sentences.  
• We will continue working on this next week with the goal to hopefully get the writing finished.  If we don't get it finished, we will wrap it up the first week of November.

Math

• We are continuing to learn subtraction strategies next week.  We have talked with the kids about the purpose of learning so many strategies.  This allows them to pick the strategy that works best for them when solving a problem.
• Please continue practicing math facts as home.  The strategies are helpful, but as the numbers gets larger knowing the basic facts is helpful.

Science

• We are continuing to compare/contrast habitats.  The students will be doing this in their expository writing as well.  They have to identify the needs of the animal and how those needs are met by their habitat.

Fundations

• We will start Unit 5 next week in Fundations.  This unit covers multi-syllabic words.  The students will be working on syllable division as well as identifying the syllable types in the word.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

Chicken BBQ is TOMORROW!

• Chicken BBQ is tomorrow from 4:00-8:00 p.m.
• Chicken is delicious, games are fun and auction items are awesome!
• The auction list came home yesterday and you can purchase game tickets and meal tickets at the BBQ if needed.
• Come see us at the drive through from 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Coats

• Please make sure our student is dressed appropriately for the weather.
• Please make sure they have a jacket and/or coat (depending on the temperature) for recess. 
• If the temperature is below 44, students are expected to have a winter coat.  If the temperature is between 45-59, they need a light jacket/sweatshirt.

Fall Harvest Party

• A huge thank you to JaKhia's mom for organizing our parties this year.  
• Here is a link to sign up if you would like to send in items or help at the party.
• Our party is Wednesday, October 30 from 1:45-2:30 p.m.

Friday Folders (LOTS of information below)

• Book Orders
• We are sending home our first book order this Friday.  
• Please order online here.  The class code HD3JG.
• If you are ordering a gift for your student, please let us know and we will make sure to send it home secretly.  
• Ordering is completely optional.
• Pumpkin Book Project

• Students will choose a book character and use a pumpkin to create this character. 
• You can find examples by searching on Google "Pumpkin Book Characters."
• On Monday will be a paper coming home for students to tell us the name of the book as well as the character they will be creating and if they have a pumpkin or need a paper pumpkin.
• Book Character Pumpkins are due on October 29.
• We will have a gallery walk for pumpkins on October 30.
• Fundations Reflection Sheet
• We took a Fundations Check Up this week.  We had students look over their check up and allowed them to reflect and identify something they want work on as we continue through this unit in Fundations.
• Conference Time Request Form
• Conference Week is the week of November 11, in an effort to meet with all parents, we extend our conferences over two weeks (Weeks of November 4 and November 11).
• In your student's Friday folder is a form to request times for Parent Teacher Conferences.  Please rank (use 1, 2, 3) the top 3 times that work best for you.  
• Please let us know if you have other children at RBE.  We will do our best to schedule them back to back.  Please make sure that if you want back to back conferences, you request a time offered by all teachers you need to meet with.  
• Please send the form back by next Friday, October 25.  We will meet on Monday, October 28 to schedule conferences.
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Next Week's Learning
Reading

• Next week, we will wrap up our study of expository text.  We will be doing the assessment as a group to practice how the assessment is set up so the students are prepared for assessments in the future.
• Our next genre study is fables.  We will be looking for themes and lessons in the fables.  We will also be discussing what classifies as a fable and how to identify a story as a fable.

Writing

• We started our research for our next writing this week.
• Students are researching 2 animals that live in different habitats.  They will then create a book about the two animals and at the end, they will explain why the animal will only survive in their habitat as opposed to the habitat of the other animals.  This writing activity will be related to both writing and science.  
• Be sure to ask the students what 2 animals they are researching.  

Math

• We started Unit 3 this week in math.  This unit covers subtraction strategies.  Please continue practicing subtraction facts at home.  This will make the subtraction easier for them as we focus on different strategies for solving subtraction problems.

Fundations

• We are continuing working on suffixes next week.
• The students struggled on the check in with trick words. Please continue to practice them at home.
• Here is a list of trick words to practice for 2nd grade.
• Here is a list of trick words to practice from 1st grade.

Science

• We are going to continue to compare habitats.  Will are working on identifying plants and animals that are in both habitats and which ones are only found in one.  They will then discuss the reasons why animals could not survive in a different habitat.
• This week, we also started an experiment relating to plants.  Students will be learning how water travels through a plant.  This will relate to habitats because certain plants can only survive in certain habitats based on the amount of water available.  

Happy Frosty Friday!

Happy Friday!

Wow!  When did summer immediately turn into winter, we skipped fall!  Thankfully, next week is supposed to be a bit warmer again. 

Be sure to read the blog to learn about important information from our classroom as well as our learning for next week.

Important Upcoming Events

• Through Sunday, October 13: Jersey Mike's Fundraiser
• Each coupon that is used gets $2 for RBE.
• Here is the flyer.  
• Monday, October 14: Intervention Starts
• There is a note in your student's Friday folder about their group.  
• Friday, October 18: Western Day
• Saturday, October 19: Chicken BBQ from 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
• We will be at the drive thru from 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 30: Fall Harvest Party at 1:45 p.m.
• Thursday, October 31 and Friday, November 1: No School (Teacher Work Day)

Snack

• Just a reminder that we have snack each day in the morning.  If your child would like a snack for this time, please be sure to send them in.  If it is easier for you, you can put 5 snacks in on Sunday night and then they have a snack for each day.  

Winter Coats

• Please make sure your student has a jacket and/or coat with them next week.  We had some chilly kids at recess today.  
• When I picked them up at lunch recess, a lot of them were covering their ears because they were cold.  A hat or ear warmers might be helpful also.
• If you need assistance getting a winter coat, please let us know.  

Chicken BBQ

• One week from today is Chicken BBQ Eve.  We are so lucky to have such a supportive PTA and the Chicken BBQ is their HUGE fundraiser for the year.  
• Silent Auction/Gift Cards:  We have some amazing items in the silent auction.  This list will come home next Thursday.  Also, all the gift cards purchased with donations from parents (a huge thank you for that, we were able to purchase 5 gift cards!) will be available for sale as well.  Team Moss voted on Bonkers ($20), Chuck E. Cheese ($20), SkyZone ($20), McDonald's ($10) and Andy;s ($18).
• Games:  There are some fun games at the Chicken BBQ sponsored by local businesses.  Game tickets can be purchased in advance or at the Chicken BBQ.
• Chicken!:  In my opinion, the best part of the BBQ.  Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the BBQ itself.  We have adult, youth and child tickets.  We also have a very efficient drive thru if you're not able to hang around.  Team Moss will be working the drive thru from 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m., be sure to stop by and say hi!  

Our Learning Next Week
Reading

• We started Unit 2 this week and will continue working on it next week.  This unit is a more in depth look at expository texts.  The students are learning about how baby animals are similar and different from their parents.  We will also be writing an expository text comparing 2 animals and explaining how they get their needs met in their habitat.

Writing

• We will be using our first two pieces of writing to set writing goals next week.  We will then start researching two animals for our animal comparison book.

Math

• We took our Unit 2 test today.  It will be coming home next week.  We will be reflecting on our Unit 2 goals and setting Unit 3 goals.  
• Unit 3 covers subtraction strategies.  The students will learn a variety of strategies so they can decide which ones work best for them.  
• Please practice basic facts at home as this makes the subtraction much easier for the students.
• Also, ask your student about their progress on ST Math.  The students have been working really hard on ST Math and some students are already working on regrouping with addition and subtraction on ST Math.

Science

• We will be working on comparing habitats and identifying how animals get what they need from their habitats.  We will be using some of our science time to research for our animal comparison books.

Fundations

• Next week, we will look closer at the -ed suffix and the three different sounds it can make which are /d/, /t/ and /id/.
• Please continue practicing trick words at home.  We are still working on the trick words animal, again, please, sure, use, used, where, wear.

Happy Friday

Happy Friday!

We have had a great week with Team Moss!  Be sure to read the blog for a lot of important information about our learning and activities occurring in our classroom.

eReaders
Mrs. McKinzie came in this week to talk with us about eReader options. 

• Epic
• At school, students have access to Epic.  This is a free service for students at school as the subscription is funded by the district.  If you would like to subscribe at home, the cost is $8 per month, but there is currently a sale for 2 months for $5.
• https://www.getepic.com/pages/fallsale
• Sora
• Students can access Sora from school and from home through the Portal.  Books on Sora have to be "checked out."  They learned today how to know if the book is available.
• We talked with the students about only "checking out" books they plan to read.  They learned how to "Read a Sample" so they can preview a book before checking it out (borrow).  If they are interested, they can then check it out, if they are not interested, they can find another book. 

Jackets and Sweatshirts

• Please send your child to school with a light jacket or sweatshirt for recess.  It is definitely chilly in the morning.  We had kids in short sleeves this morning that were not enjoying recess as much as they could have because they were cold. 

Headphones

• Please check with your students if they need headphones.  Some students are saying they are broken or lost.  They need them in media, as well as when they are using laptops in the classroom.

Bird Day

• Bird Day is on Thursday, October 10.
• We will be outside all morning.  Please make sure they are dressed appropriately for the weather.  The current forecast is lows in the lower 50's and highs in the lower 70's.  More than likely it will be middle 50's so they will probably be most comfortable in pants with a sweatshirt or jacket.  They will also want comfortable shoes or boots for walking.
• If your student ordered a lunch from the cafeteria, we will send them down that morning to get their lunch.
• If your student is bringing a lunch from home, it needs to all be disposable as we will not be bringing anything back to school.
• We will try to have snack before we go to Bird Day, if not, we will have snack once we return.  

Chicken BBQ Auction Items

• We are collecting money to purchase a gift card to be sold at the Chicken BBQ Auction.  If you would like to donate a few dollars towards our gift card, please send it in by Wednesday, October 9.  This will give us time to vote on the gift card location and purchase it.
• Also, if you have a hidden talent or you're "famous" for baking/crafting and would like to donate items to the auction, please email RBEBBQAUCTION@gmail.com by next Wednesday to let them know what you would like to donate.  

Homework Bingo

• We got to eat with another group of kids today who got Homework Bingos.  We even have a few students who have already gotten more than one Bingo.  
• As a reminder, Homework Bingo is not required, it is just a fun way to practice skills from school and also be helpful and kind to others.  

Friday Folders

• RBE Eat Out at Jersey Mike's: October 7-13 using the coupons attached to the flyer
• RBE gets $2 for every coupon used.  
• Fundations Parent Letter
• We started Unit 4 this week in Fundations.  The parent letter is in the Friday folder.  Again, students are not expected or required to do these sheets.  If they choose to do for Homework Bingo, they can, but you do not have to send them back to school
• Unit 2 Math HomeLinks
• As with the Fundations sheets, the math HomeLinks are a resource.  If they want to use it for Homework Bingo or practice, they can, but they do not need to be sent back to school.
• Unit 3 Math Family Letter
• Our next math unit covers additional strategies for solving basic facts.  This is just an introduction letter for the unit.

Important Upcoming Events

October 10: Bird Day

• We will be going to Bird Day on Thursday.  
• Students need to bring a lunch (unless they ordered a lunch from school).  The lunch needs to be in all disposable containers as we will not be bringing anything back to school.
• The temperatures are going to be middle to upper 50's during our time outside.  Please make sure your student is dressed appropriately.  The park is shaded so it can be chilly.  Also, we will be walking around, please make sure they are wearing comfortable shoes.  If they want to wear boots for the field trip, they can do so.  
• October 7-13: RBE Eat Out at Jersey Mike's
• October 19: Chicken BBQ
• October 30: Fall Harvest Party at 1:45 p.m.

Next Week's Learning

Math

• We will be wrapping up Unit 2 next week.  This unit covers addition strategies.  In your student's Friday folder are some practice sheets if you want some additional practice.
• We will take our pretest for Unit 3 next Friday.  We will also be reflecting on our goals from Unit 2 and setting new goals for Unit 3 in math.  Unit 3 covers subtraction strategies and the relationship between addition and subtraction.

Reading

• We will be starting Unit 2 in reading next week.  The first 2 weeks of Unit 2 cover expository text.  The students will be learning about text features and how they help in expository text.  We will be also identifying the main idea and details from expository text also.  

Writing

• Students will have an opportunity next week to use iPads to create an electronic version of their published realistic fiction.  Once they have created their electronic version, we will send home QR codes.  

Science

• Next week, we will be setting away from plants for a week to prepare for Bird Day.  Students will be identifying the types of beak and how it determines what type of foods they eat.  
• We will be comparing the habitat of birds to other animals and how the habitat help the animals survive.  

Fundations

• We will continue working on adding suffixes to words next week.  We focus on how to spell with the suffixes as well as how the suffix changes the meaning of the word.
• Our trick words for next week are sure, use, used, where and wear.  Please practice these words at home with your students.  

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

We have had a fabulous week in Moss World!

Wonders Parent Night

• Monday, September 30 is the Parent Night at RBE.
• It is from 5:00-6:30 p.m. with presentations every 30 minutes.  Then, student resources will be available for parents to view in the classroom.
• A light meal will be provided at the Parent Night.  

PBIS

• At RBE, we use PBIS as our discipline system.  This program focuses on rewarding positive behaviors and having a process for behaviors that occur.  Students who do not follow expectations will be given a verbal reminder, then a think sheet (this may come home), then go to the buddy room (another classroom) and ultimately to the office if necessary.  Some behaviors will go straight to the office based on the severity of the action.
• Each month, we have two lessons that we will teach the students in regards to PBIS.
• In September, we talked about KAHFOOTY (keep all hands, feet and other objects to yourself) and also how to use words to express their feelings.  This ties in with restorative practice as well which we use at RBE.  This focuses on the actions and how the actions made others feel that were affected by the behavior.  
• In October, we will be practicing filling out a think sheet.  The think sheet has a spot for students to identify the problem, how they will respond differently next time and how they can fix the problem and those that were impacted by the choices made.  We will also talk with the students about being an active listener.  We will discuss listening to learn as opposed to listening to respond.
• Please discuss these topics with your students at home also.  

Friday Folders

• Bird Day Field Trip Form
• Bird Day is October 10 in the morning.  
• We will be going to Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary to go to different stations to learn about birds.
• We will be eating lunch at the park before heading back to RBE.  We will be doing the same thing that we did for the volleyball field trip.  All parts of the lunch need to be disposable as we won't be bringing anything back to school.  Please put them in a gallon size Ziploc bag with their name on it.  
• There will be the option to order a school lunch also.  
• Wonders Parent Night Flyer (we hope to see everyone there.)
• 5:00-6:30 p.m. at RBE with a light meal provided.
• Chicken BBQ Silent Auction Donations Request
• Each classroom is collecting money for the gift card section of the silent auction.  The letter gives more details.  If you would like to donate some money to go towards a gift card to be sold at the Chicken BBQ, you can send in money (cash only please) and then we will vote as a class where to get the gift card to be sold.  
• School Pictures
• If you would like your student to do a retake, please send back in the package and we will have them take a retake. 

Next Week's Learning

• Fundations
• We will wrap up Unit 3 next week.  This unit has taught students vowel teams such as ai, ay, ee, ea, ey, oi and oy.  The students have practiced reading words with these patterns.  They are not expected to be able to write with them yet.
• We will start Unit 4 next week.  This unit introduces suffixes.
• Our trick words for next week are again, please, animal, was and they.
• Reading
• We will continue working on expository (informational) text.  They will use the stories we have read as model pieces of writing for their writing.  
• Writing
• Students will finish publishing their writing and have an opportunity to share their writing.  Then, they will do a short writing about a job.  They will do some research and then write about what is needed to do the job.
• Science
• Next week, we will continue talking about plants and how they grow.  We will focus on seed dispersal and ways that seeds can spread besides how animals can help.
• Math
• Next week, we will be working on odds and evens and name collection boxes.  Name collection boxes are way to represent a number through tallies, pictures, numbers, coins, tallies, etc.  

Important Upcoming Events

• September 30: No School (teacher work day)
• September 30: Wonders Parent Night
• October 10: Bird Day field trip
• Need a sack lunch from home or school
• October 30: Fall Harvest Party at 1:45
• October 31-November 1: No School (teacher work days)

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

We have had a wonderful week with Team Moss!

KOMU Pledge of Allegiance

• On Monday, September 23, KOMU will be coming out to record Team Moss saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
• It would be great to have a lot of red, white and blue in the video.  If your student would like to wear red, white and blue on Monday, they may do so.  
• Once KOMU lets us know when the video will be aired, we will let you know.  

Friday Folders

• Chicken BBQ Ticket Packets
• Chicken BBQ is less than a month away!  In your student's Friday folder are the ticket packets.  You can presale tickets and game tickets if you would like.  
• The Chicken BBQ is our big fundraiser at RBE.  We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful PTA.  This is a great way to support our school. 
• Personal Growth Work Habits
• This is the first week we have assessed on personal growth for the Friday folders.  Please do not be alarmed to see a 2 under personal growth.  This focuses a lot on goal setting as well as reflecting on goals.  This is a hard concept for students to grasp at any age, but especially in 2nd grade.  We will be providing a lot of guidance in goal setting this year.  2nd grade is definitely a learning year for goal setting.  

Homework Bingo

• We are looking forward to our first Homework Bingo lunch on Monday!  Please encourage your student to do the activities.  They are completely optional and we enjoy eating lunch with the kids on Friday to celebrate their hard work.

Important Upcoming Events

• Monday, September 23: KOMU Pledge of Allegiance
• Monday, September 30: No School (teach work day)
• Monday, September 30: Wonders Parent Night at RBE (5:00-6:30 p.m.)
• Thursday, October 10: Bird Day Field Trip
• Information coming home next week
• Saturday, October 19: Chicken BBQ from 4:00-8:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 30: Fall Party at 1:45 p.m.

Next Week's Learning

• Reading
• We will be wrapping up our study of fantasy next week.  Then, we will start a short genre study of expository writing.  These will be nonfiction pieces focused on jobs and how families work in the home as well as working outside the home at jobs.
• Please continue to encourage your child to read nightly and/or read with your student nightly.  They enjoy the time with you and the benefits for them as a reader as amazing.
• Writing
• We will start publishing our first piece of writing next week.  It is their realistic fiction story.  There has been teacher guidance in the writing process of this piece and they have done editing and revising, but it is a representation of what they are capable of at this point in time.  We will be using this writing piece to set goals for our next piece.  These goals will include mechanics as well as ways to make the writing itself better.
• Be sure to ask your student about their realistic fiction story, as well as any stories they are writing in their free write notebook.
• Math
• If you haven't sent back your student's unit 1 math test, please do so next week.  This allows us to know you have seen and reviewed the test with your student.
• Unit 2 covers addition strategies.  Next week, students will work on near doubles facts (4 + 5, 3 + 2, etc) as well as the commutative property (turn-around rule, 2 + 3 = 3 + 2).
• They will also get a chance to prove that the commutative property (turn-around rule) doesn't work for subtraction.  Wait until next weekend to ask them about that.  :)
• A great time to practice basic math facts is in the car.  They have strategies to solve the facts, but knowing them quick and fast makes their math easier and will continue to make it easier the further they go in math.
• Science
• Next week, we will be learning about seed dispersal and how animals can help plants reproduce.  
• We are very lucky at RBE to have a great outdoor classroom for us to go out and see signs of so many science concepts.  We will be going out next week to observe trees and will make these observations throughout the year to see how trees change throughout the year. 
• Fundations
• Next week, we will learn about glued sound exceptions (-old, -ild, -ind, -olt, -ost).  They are exceptions because they make a long vowel sound as opposed to a short vowel sound.
• We will also start to learn about long a spelling patterns of -ai and -ay.
• Our trick words for next week are done, goes, pretty, where and does.
• Please continue to practice trick words at home.  They simply have to be memorized.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

What a fun day we had today!  We were so lucky to have the opportunity to go watch an MU Volleyball match today.  The kids all really seemed to enjoy themselves.  :)

Pictures from the Week

• We post a lot of pictures on Twitter throughout the week.  This week was no different.  Make sure to check it out to see the pictures.
• As a reminder, you can always check the blog because we have our Twitter feed on the blog also.

Dot Day

• A huge thank you to everyone who donated supplies for our Dot Day cookies.
• The kids really enjoyed our activities and getting to share the cookies with the firefighters.
• These kids are definitely going to find a lot of positive ways to "make their mark" on the world.

Headphones

• Some of the students are having trouble with their earbuds staying in their ears.  The students can have headphones or earbuds whichever work best for them.  Please check with your student to see if their headphones are working and fit properly.

Friday Folders

• Chipotle Eat Out Form
• September 17 from 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. at the Broadway Bluffs location
• This is a great excuse to not make dinner and support RBE.
• PTA Membership Form
• RBE is so lucky to have an AMAZING PTA.  
• This is the membership form if you would like to join.
• Literacy Night
• September 30 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at RBE
• Representatives from Wonders (the reading curriculum we are using this year) will be at RBE to talk with parents about the program.
• Programs will be given every 30 minutes and some classrooms will be open to look through resources.
• Junior Achievement Magnet
• We had our first Junior Achievement class with Ms. Dent this week.
• The magnet shows the "town" that they learn about during Junior Achievement. 

Next Week's Learning

• Reading
• We will continue working on our fantasy unit.
• Be sure to ask your students what the main characteristic of a fantasy is and how they know the stories we have been reading are fantasies.
• Writing
• We will start revising our realistic fiction stories.
• The students will be working on their opening to grab the reader's attention.
• Math
• We will start Unit 2 next week.
• This unit covers addition strategies.  These include making 10's, doubles facts, helper facts and counting up.  
• Fundations
• We did not get to as much Fundations as expected this week.  We will continue working on glued sounds unk, ung, ink, ing, ong, onk, am, an and all.
• Please continue practicing trick words at home.  These came home with the homework bingo.
• Science
• We will continue learning about the needs of a plant.
• During our observations yesterday, the kids (as well as teachers) were surprised by how much the plants kept in a closet grew.  They noticed that the stems were white and the leaves were much smaller and yellow.  Thanks to one of our Twitter followers (and parents), we learned that the stems are longer because the plant is trying to find light.  

Important Upcoming Events

• Tuesday, September 17: Curriculum Chat from 7:45-8:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, September 17: RBE Eat Out at Chipotle from 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
• Monday, September 23: KOMU Pledge
• Monday, September 30: No School
• Monday, September 30: Wonders Parent Night from 5:00-6:30
• Saturday, October 19: Chicken BBQ

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

We have had a great week!  We have a lot of fun activities coming up in the next few weeks.

Friday Folder Papers

• Flu Consent Forms
• The flu clinic is November 5.
• We must have the form back for students to receive the flu shot at school.
• Dental Clinic Consent Forms
• Our dental clinic is December 2.  If you would like to have your student participate, we need the consent form returned.
• MU Phase II Student Consent
• Ms. Gray and Ms. Rumero are Phase II students from University of Missouri.  They will be with us the rest of the semester on Tuesday.  They will be working with students.  For some assignments, they will be working one-on-one with students.  Please fill out the consent form so they know if they can collect work from your student.  
• Counselor Letter
• Mr. Smith has been teaching the students about bullying.  This letter explains the curriculum.
• Letter about Standard Referenced Grading
• This s a letter from the district explaining the new Friday folder checklist.

Dot Day Cookies and Activities

• Dot Day is next Friday, September 13.  This is a day to find a way to "make our mark" on the world.  We will be celebrating on Thursday, September 12 due to our field trip. 
• We will talk to ways about the kids can make their mark on the world.
• As a thank you to local firefighters for how much they help our community, we will be decorating cookies to give to them.  
• The firefighters are coming next Thursday and they also give a presentation to the kids about the fire truck and their jobs.  
• If you would like to donate items for us to decorate cookies for firefighters, you can sign up here.  

Important Upcoming Events

• Thursday, September 12: Dot Day Celebration
• If you are donating cookies or supplies, please send them in by Wednesday
• Friday, September 13: Volleyball field trip
• If your student is ordering a lunch, we will send them down that morning to get their lunch.
• If your student is bringing their lunch from home, please make sure all parts of the lunch can be thrown away.  We will not be bringing anything back to school with us. 
• Tuesday, September 17: Curriculum Chat from 7:45-8:15 a
• Come see all the wonderful things the students have been doing in class so far this year.  
• Monday, September 23: KOMU Pledge
• On September 23, KOMU will be coming out to record the students saying the Pledge of Allegiance.  
• If your student would like to wear red, white and blue this day, they can.  
• Monday, September 30: No School
• Saturday, October 19: Chicken BBQ

Our Learning Next Week

• Math
• Next week, we will wrap up Unit 1.  We will be testing over Unit 1 on Thursday.
• We will then be pretesting for Unit 2 which we will start the following week.
• If you would like to practice at home with your student, you can practice identifying coins, identifying numbers as odd or even, filling in a number grid (noticing patterns when counting by 1's and skip counting by 10's) and combinations of 10.
• Reading
• We will be starting our next genre study.  The next genre we will be working on is fantasy.  
• We will discuss characteristics of fantasy stories and making inferences about characters based on their actions.  
• Writing
• We will finish drafting our realistic fiction story.  
• The kids are also enjoying writing in their free write notebook. 
• Be sure to ask them about their realistic fiction story as well as any free write stories.  
• Science/Social Studies
• We will finish learning about National Symbols.  
• We will continue learning about needs of a plant through our experiment that we started last week by growing plants with different amounts of water and light. 
• Fundations
• Next week, we will be working on glued sounds of unk, ung, ink, ank, ang and ung.  These are sounds that are tapped out as one sound when used in a word.
• First and second grade trick words were sent home with the homework packet this week.  These are great words to practice in the card.  

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy College Colors Day!

Happy Friday!

It was so fun seeing everyone representing their favorite college today.  We have a lot of important information in our blog post this week.

Friday Folders

• MU Volleyball Permission Slip
• Please make sure to read over the permission slip and return it as soon as possible so we can let the cafeteria know how many lunches we will need.
• Here is the permission slip.
• Pizza Party Forms
• The first 2 trimesters, 2nd grade has pizza parties to celebrate all their hard work.  We ask for a one time donation of $5 (cash only) to cover the cost of pizza.  
• Each student will receive 2 pieces of a pizza, a healthy side, chips and dessert.
• We ask for volunteers to send in a healthy side, chips or dessert for each party (this is on the form).
• Here is the form.
• Fundations Unit 2 Parent Letter  
• Students are not required to do any of this packet.  It is information for you to know what we are doing at school.  If they would like to complete the activities they can.
• Wonders Information Letter
• This is a letter from the district about the new literacy program.
• Chicken BBQ Information Sheet
• If you would like to help out with the Chicken BBQ, there are a lot of opportunities.  

Picture Day

• Picture Day in Tuesday, September 3.  All students will have their picture taken.
• Order forms were sent home last Friday.
• You can order online at www.WagnerPortraitGroup.com and the password is BEARS.  If you order online, please send in the confirmation email with your students.  

Homework

• We will explain our homework to students next week.
• They will be bringing home a BINGO board on Tuesday.  The BINGO board and homework are all optional, but encouraged.
• Students may pick activities to do off the board.  They can do ONE activity per night (they can do them on the weekends also).  Once they get a BINGO, they will get to eat lunch in the classroom the following Friday.
• Math HomeLinks and Fundations packets will come home.  Students can use this for some of the BINGO items if they would like.  These activities are not required and do not need to be sent back to school.  They are information for parents to know what is happening at school.  
• We will go over our BINGO again at Curriculum Chat.

Next Week's Learning

• Math
• Next week, we will continue working our way through Unit 1.  We will introduce quarters.  This is a harder coin to skip count.  Please practice counting coins at home.
• We will also be working on identifying odds and evens next week as well as other patterns we noticed when skip counting.  
• Reading
• We will continue working on realistic fiction stories.  We will be comparing stories and identifying similarities among the stories.
• We will also be looking at identifying the author's purpose for writing a story.  
• Writing
• We will be starting our first writing piece.  In Wonders, they will write a piece, then set it aside for a week and then come back to edit and revise it.  Their writing piece is based on the genre that we have just studied which is realistic fiction.  Students will have an opportunity to brainstorm ideas and then start drafting their story. 
• Fundations
• We tested over Unit 1 today.  These tests will come home next week.  
• Our next unit introduces bonus letters (f, l, s at the end of words) and r-controlled vowels.  
• Social Studies
• 
  

Important Upcoming Events

• No School: Monday, September 2
• Picture Day: Tuesday, September 3
• Order form went home last Friday.
• You can order online, please send in a copy of the confirmation receipt.
• PTA: Tuesday, September 10 at 6:00 p.m.
• MU Volleyball Field Trip: September 13
• Permission Slip in Friday Folders
• No School: Monday, September 30
• Wonders Parent Night: Monday, September 30 from 5:00-6:30 p.m.at RBE. 
• Presentation given by the Wonders Staff will be given at 5:00, 5:30 and 6:00 p.m.  
• We will be here that evening also.
• This will be a great time to learn about the new reading materials.
•  

Have a fabulous weekend!

Kate and Elizabeth

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!We have had a wonderful first full week of school!  We are continuing to work extremely hard on establishing routines and reviewing expectations.

Friday Folders

• Your child is bringing home his/her Friday Folder today.  This is a way for us to communicate with you.  We will send these home almost every Friday.  Please return them on Monday (or the next school day).
• On the front cover, there is the CPS Success Ready Skills.  There are skills for Work Habits, Interactions with Peers, Interactions with Adults, and Personal Growth.  For the first few weeks of school, we will not be assessing Personal Growth.  
• In the left inside pocket you will find your child's Friday Folder Checklist.  There will be a score for each of the areas (1-4). We have been talking with the students that our goal is to be Proficient (3).
• On the back of the checklist are Teacher Comments.  We will be writing comments every other week.  This week, your child made a personal goal to help them grow in the area of Work Habits.  This goal is written in the comments.  We talked with the students to share their goal with you this weekend and talk about ways to reach their goal.
• Underneath the Friday Folder Checklist, there is a place for Parent/Guardian Comments.  Do not feel that you have to write comments each week or at all. If you do need to write a comment, please date your comment.
• Also, coming home in your child's Friday:
• Picture Order Form
• School pictures will be on Tuesday, September 3.  You can order online or fill out the order form.  Please send in the order form or a receipt for an online order before picture day.
• RBE Sports Apparel
• There are a variety of RBE shirts for sale.  If you would like order shirts, please return the order form and payment by Monday, September 16.  There will be only one order placed this year.  It is helpful to put the order form and check/cash in an envelope or attach the check/cash to the order form.
• Everyday Math Family Letter
• This week we started Unit 1 in math.  There is an introduction letter about this math in second grade and a few practice sheets coming home.  Please know that the Homelinks that we send home are not expected to be completed and returned as homework. We send these home so that you can see what your child is working on in math at school.  These are a great resource to reinforce what is being taught.
• Fundations Family Letters (Orientation & Unit 1)
• Last week we started Fundations (reading and spelling with phonics).  There is an introduction letter and a Unit 1 letter.  The family letters explains what your child will be working on in each unit.  There are also a few activities that your child can do to reinforce what we are learning.  These are just like the Homelinks, and not expected to be completed and returned.
• Counselor Letter
• Mr. Smith is our counselor at RBE.  There is a letter from him that explains what he will be teaching in second grade.

Parent Goals

• Earlier this week, we sent out an email with a link for you to be able to share with us about your goals for your child's second grade year.  
• The questions are:
• At the end of 2nd grade, what do you hope your child says about their experience in 2nd grade?
• What do you want me to know as I build a relationship with your child and with you?
• Thank you if you have already shared your goals.  If you have not already filled out the form you can click here.  These are helpful to us as work together!

Friday Take Homes

• On Fridays, we send home Star Student and stuffed book character.  
• Star Student
• Each week, we will have 2 Star Students.  When your child is Star Student s/he will bring home a few items.
• There will be an information sheet explaining more about Star Students.  
• There will be index cards for your child to answer questions about him/herself (these questions are on the information sheet.
• Your child can bring in 5-7 pictures to share with the class on Monday
• As a parent, you can write a letter to the class sharing a special story or about your child.
• Stuffed Book Characters
• We do not have a classroom pet, but we do have classroom stuffed animals.  Each student will get an opportunity to bring home a book character and notebook.
• Please have your child write about the book character's adventures that weekend.
• There is a place for your child to draw a picture or include a photograph of the book character and the student.
• If your child brings home either Star Student or a stuffed book character, please have your child complete and return on Monday (or the next school day).

Look What We Are Learning!

• Math
• We have been learning about number lines, skip counting by 2's, 5's and 10's, and we started working on counting money.  We will continue to reinforce these skills next week.
• Please practice coin identification and counting at home.  We are currently working on pennies, nickels and dimes.  
• Fundations
• This week, we have been talking about digraphs (two letters that make one sound, example: th or wh).  Next week, we will continue to work on spelling words with digraphs and also learning about CVC words (Consonant Vowel Consonant).  The rule is that when there is a CVC word that the vowel will be a short vowel.
• Reading
• We have a new reading/writing program called Wonders this year.  Today, the students had an opportunity to look through their Wonders book.  Ask your child what stories that they will be reading this year!  
• Next week, we will learn the characteristics of realistic fiction stories.  They will read multiple realistic fiction stories and then compare them.  They will also be working on identifying characters, setting, problem and solution. 
• Writing
• Our first unit of study will be realistic fiction.  

PE

• Ross kids will have PE on Wednesday next week.
• Mottaz kids will have PE on Thursday next week.

Library Check Out

• We had our first library checkout today! The students were excited to be able to check out 3 books!
• Please help your students remember to bring their books back on Friday mornings so they can get new books each Friday.

Important Upcoming Events

• College Colors Day: Friday, August 30
• No School: September 2
• Fall Pictures: September 3
• PTA Meeting: September 10 at 6:00 p.m.
• MU VB Field Trip: September 13
• More information to come closer to date
• Curriculum Chat: September 17 from 7:30-8:15 a.m.
• No School: September 30
• Chicken BBQ: October 19 from 4:00-8:00 p.m.
• TRYPS Field Tip: November 19
• Yes, this is 3 months out, but just letting you know.  

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend and please let us know if you have any questions!

Happy First Friday!

Happy First Friday!

We had a wonderful first two days with the students.  We worked hard on learning expectations and routines.  We will continue working on this for the next few weeks also.

Please read the blog post below for lots of information about what is happening with Team Moss.  Be sure to check out Twitter (the feed also on the side of the blog) for pictures of all the fun activities and learning that occurs throughout the week.

What We Are Learning Next Week
Math

• We will be starting Unit 1 next week in math.  This unit covers addition strategies.  We will be reviewing basic facts as well as coming up with different ways to make numbers.  This helps students to look at deconstructing numbers which can help with mental math in the future.  
• In second grade, we take pretests before the units so that we can focus more on concepts where students are struggling.  We talk with the students about the pretest and that it is for us (Mrs. Ross and Ms. Mottaz) and if they don't know something, it tells us just as much as if they do know how to do something.  

Reading

• Students picked out books for their cubby tubby today.  Next week, we will work on building stamina as a reader.  We will increase our time reading independently a small amount every few days.  
• We will also work on having discussions about books.  We will be starting stations next week and students will be discussing characters, setting, problem and solution in their books.  
• We will be practicing these skills with our read aloud books as well.

Social Studies

• We alternate between science and social studies.  We will start with social studies.  The first unit is related to being a good citizen.  This works out very well for the beginning of the year as we are reviewing expectations at RBE.
• Next week, we will look at the Pledge of Allegiance and the students will have an opportunity to illustrate the words to help them better understand the meaning.  

Writing

• We will be start our first writing piece in a few weeks.  It will be a personal narrative.  The first few weeks, we give the students fun writing pieces to get them excited about writing.
• Next week, they will get to write a creative story about what Mrs. Ross and Ms. Mottaz did over summer vacation.
• We are working on remember capital letters and punctuation in our writing as well as using what we know from Fundations in our writing.

Fundations

• Today we did the orientation in Fundations.  Students practiced finding letters based on their sounds and also writing them with correct formation.
• Next week, we will start Unit 1.  This unit covers digraphs (sh, wh, th, ch and ck).  We will also be starting a mini dictionary of trick words (words that cannot be tapped out) in their "Monster Book."

Friday Folders

• We will start sending home Friday folders next week.  Please look through the Friday folder and initial the checklist inside.
• There is often a lot of important information in the Friday folder, so please make sure to look through everything and you can return any forms to school on Monday in the folder.
• The Friday folder checklist will look a little different this year.  Columbia Public Schools has created a rubric to be used with all students (the wording and expectations are slightly different at different ages) to focus on work habits, interactions with peers, interactions with adults and personal growth.  Below are the specific categories with indicators.  Students will receive a score of 1-4 based on their level of mastery.  The chart below also has the scoring criteria for a 1-4.
• A letter will be coming home from Columbia Public Schools next week with more specific information.

PE

• Mottaz kids will have PE on Monday and Friday next week.
• Ross kids will have PE on Thursday next week.

Library Check Out

• We will have our first library checkout next Friday.  Students will be able to check out 3 books.
• Please help your students remember to bring their books back on Friday mornings so they can get new books each Friday.

Important Upcoming Events

• No School: September 2
• Fall Pictures: September 3
• PTA Meeting: September 10 at 6:00 p.m.
• MU VB Field Trip: September 13
• More information to come closer to date
• Curriculum Chat: September 17 from 7:30-8:15 a.m.
• No School: September 30
• Chicken BBQ: October 19 from 4:00-8:00 p.m.
• TRYPS Field Tip: November 19
• Yes, this is 3 months out, but just letting you know.  

Have a fabulous weekend!

Meet the Teacher Night Information!

We were super excited to meet everyone at Meet the Teacher Night!

Below are links to the information that we handed out at Meet the Teacher Night.
Classroom Information
Let's Get To Know Your Teachers
What Is Co-Teaching?
Flexible Seating
Classroom Schedule

Please let us know if you have any questions.  If you would like to reach us you can email Kate Ross and Elizabeth Mottaz.  We are looking forward to a wonderful school year!

Kate & Elizabeth