Weekly Update 02-28-14

Important Announcements:

*This week we welcomed a new student to our class.  Welcome, Calab! 

*Congratulations to Isaac!  Isaac is the first child to fill up his reading chart two times!  He has earned an invite to a pizza party with me, and he is still reading away!  Keep up the good work, Isaac!  I would love to have more kids come to the pizza party so encourage your child to keep on reading those books and taking reading counts quizzes during stations! 

*Today I am sending home information about the second grade penny war to raise money for Kids against Hunger.  This organization is a valuable organization that benefits families all around the world and even right here in the United States.  Did you know that it just takes $0.25 to make one of the packs of food?  One of those packs will feed six people!  Next week second grade is having a penny war in order to raise money to purchase the supplies necessary to host a food pack.  We are having a friendly competition with the class that has the most points getting a special treat, but we do not want to lose sight of why we are doing this.  We want to help others!  Last year our food pack was sent to children and families in Haiti.  We will know closer to time what part of the world will benefit from our generosity.  The food pack is scheduled to take place on Friday, March 21^st.  I will need parent volunteers for our food pack so let me know if you are interested! 

*Our next All-Pro Dad’s event will take place on Friday, March 7^th at 7:45 a.m.  Check out the attached flyer for more information. 

*Spring Fling will take place on Friday, March 7^th.  The Spring Fling will also take donations of: bags of candy, 2-liters of soda, and baked goods.  The Spring Fling also needs volunteers!  If you would like to volunteer, you can contact Krista Tschaenn at kristatschaenn@gmail.com. 

*Our next school-wide goal for behavior tickets is 25,000.

*Track and Field has been moved to Friday, May 30^th.  Mark your calendar! 

*I believe in building relationships with the children both inside my classroom and outside the classroom.  If your child participates in any extracurricular activities (sports, dance, theater, etc.), or has any other events that he/she would like to invite me to, please let me know, and I will do my best to come! 

*The blog will also be updated with this information as well so if you need to see it again visit http://misswhisman.blogspot.com .

A Look at Next Week:

Science/ Health

Forces of Motion

Spelling

Words with prefixes un-, re-, pre-, dis-

Reading

Story: Carl the Complainer

Skill: cause and effect

Math

Unit 8 review, Unit 8 Test, Using Measurement, Linear Measurements

Social Studies

Economics

English/Writing

Planet reports

Weekly Update 02-21-14

Important Announcements:

*Read Across America week will be celebrated next week at DT with some special spirit days:

Monday 2/25: Book: My Many Colored Days: wear your favorite color

             

Tuesday 2/26: Book: Fox in Socks: wear crazy socks

 

Wednesday 2/27: Book: Wacky Wednesday: wear wacky, mismatched clothes

      

Thursday 2/28: Book: I am Not Going to Get Up Today!: wear pajamas  

 

Friday 3/1: Book: Cat in the Hat: wear a hat

 

*Our class is scheduled to take the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) reading comprehension test on Wednesday, February 26^th, 2014.  This test will assign a lexile for your child’s reading level.  A second grader should be in the 300 – 600 range.  I will send a report home with your child’s updated lexile after we take the test! 

*Volunteers needed!  Sometimes reading aloud to an adult will help a child slow down and think about what he/she is reading.  I am looking for some volunteers who would come in on Wednesday, February 26^th from 9:30 – 10:00 (ish) to listen to students read aloud their Reading Counts test.  If you would be willing to do this, please contact me!  Thanks! 

*Now that the great melt has been going on and the weather has warmed up, we are trying to go outside during recess as much as possible.  Your child should make sure to wear his/her winter coat, hats, gloves, and anything else he/she may need to play outside.   

*Come Play with Me will take place on Monday, February 24^th 2:10 – 2:55.  It is a time where parents are invited to come to gym class with your child.  A criminal history check must be on file and no siblings are allowed to attend.  Hope you can make it!

*Spring Fling will take place on Friday, March 7^th.  Our class will be collecting school supplies to make into a basket that will be part of the silent auction.  If you would like to donate items such as: pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils, notebooks, folders, dry erase markers, or any other school supplies, we would love to have them!  If your child donates, he/she will get tickets to spend at the Spring Fling.  The Spring Fling will also take donations of: bags of candy, 2-liters of soda, and baked goods.  The Spring Fling also needs volunteers!  If you would like to volunteer, you can contact Krista Tschaenn at kristatschaenn@gmail.com. 

*Our reading competition is well on its way!  If your child reads or listens to a book (either at school or at home), and it has a reading counts quiz on it, he/she can take the quiz during reading stations.  The books that are in the database (and many books are) have assigned point values.  If your child passes the test, he/she will get a sticker for every point the book has to put on his/her sticker chart.  When your child fills one sticker chart, he / she will earn a token.  When your child fills the second sticker chart, he/she will be invited to a special pizza party with Miss Whisman.  Your child will have until Spring Break to complete this reading challenge!

*Our next school-wide goal for behavior tickets is 25,000.

*Yearbook and Class Composite orders and money are due on Friday, February 28^th.  An envelope went home with your child for the order. 

*Track and Field has been moved to Friday, May 30^th.  Mark your calendar! 

*I believe in building relationships with the children both inside my classroom and outside the classroom.  If your child participates in any extracurricular activities (sports, dance, theater, etc.), or has any other events that he/she would like to invite me to, please let me know, and I will do my best to come! 

*The blog will also be updated with this information as well so if you need to see it again visit http://misswhisman.blogspot.com .

A Look at Next Week:

Science/ Health

Forces of Motion

Spelling

Words from Dr. Seuss books

Reading

Stories by Dr. Seuss

Skill: review of skills taught

Math

Shading Fractional Parts; Fractions of Regions; More or Less than ½; Fractions

Social Studies

Economics

English/Writing

Dr. Seuss writing

Weekly Update 02/15/14

Important Announcements:

*I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Valentine’s Day!  I enjoyed spending my day with 24 of the most fun and sweet Valentines!  Our Valentine’s Day party was a lot of fun!  A special thanks to our room mom, Mrs. Fought, for organizing a wonderful party!  I would also like to thank all of the parents that were able to donate and attend the party!  It always means so much to the kids, and each of you helped to make their day special.  Thanks so much!

*Come Play with Me will take place on Monday, February 24^th 2:10 – 2:55.  It is a time where parents are invited to come to gym class with your child.  A criminal history check must be on file and no siblings are allowed to attend.  Hope you can make it!

*Spring Fling will take place on Friday, March 7^th.  Our class will be collecting school supplies to make into a basket that will be part of the silent auction.  If you would like to donate items such as: pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils, notebooks, folders, dry erase markers, or any other school supplies, we would love to have them!  If your child donates, he/she will get tickets to spend at the Spring Fling.  The Spring Fling will also take donations of: bags of candy, 2-liters of soda, and baked goods.  The Spring Fling also needs volunteers!  If you would like to volunteer, you can contact Krista Tschaenn at kristatschaenn@gmail.com. 

*Mrs. Kraus, our wonderful counselor, is scheduled to teach a character education lesson to the class on Friday, February 21^st.  The lesson will take place from 9:00 – 9:30. 

*Our reading competition is well on its way!  If your child reads or listens to a book (either at school or at home), and it has a reading counts quiz on it, he/she can take the quiz during reading stations.  The books that are in the database (and many books are) have assigned point values.  If your child passes the test, he/she will get a sticker for every point the book has to put on his/her sticker chart.  When your child fills one sticker chart, he / she will earn a token.  When your child fills the second sticker chart, he/she will be invited to a special pizza party with Miss Whisman.  Your child will have until Spring Break to complete this reading challenge!

*Our next school-wide goal for behavior tickets is 25,000.

*February 17th: NO SCHOOL President’s Day/ Orange Leaf Fundraiser

*February 20th: PTSG Meeting @ 6:30 p.m.

*February 24th-28th: Read across America Week

*Yearbook and Class Composite orders and money are due on Friday, February 28^th.  An envelope went home with your child for the order. 

*Track and Field has been moved to Friday, May 30^th.  Mark your calendar! 

*I believe in building relationships with the children both inside my classroom and outside the classroom.  If your child participates in any extracurricular activities (sports, dance, theater, etc.), or has any other events that he/she would like to invite me to, please let me know, and I will do my best to come! 

*The blog will also be updated with this information as well so if you need to see it again visit http://misswhisman.blogspot.com .

A Look at Next Week:

Science/ Health

Forces of Motion

Spelling

Suffixes –ly, -ful, -er, -or, -ish

Reading

Story: Fire Fighter!

Skill: Fact and Opinion

Math

Equal Parts; Fractions of Shapes; Fractions of Collections

Social Studies

Finish tracking Olympic medals and President’s Day activities

English/Writing

Review of skills taught

Weekly Update 02-07-14

Important Announcements:

*Our reading competition started this week, and I already have students that have earned stickers!  If your child reads or listens to a book (either at school or at home), and it has a reading counts quiz on it, he/she can take the quiz during reading stations.  The books that are in the database (and many books are) have assigned point values.  If your child passes the test, he/she will get a sticker for every point the book has to put on his/her sticker chart.  When your child fills one sticker chart, he / she will earn a token.  When your child fills the second sticker chart, he/she will be invited to a special pizza party with Miss Whisman.  Your child will have until Spring Break to complete this reading challenge!

*I am starting to transition the class into taking their weekly reading tests on the computer.  Everyone took the reading test on the computer today.  In third grade your child will be taking high stakes standardized testing on the computer.  I am hoping that by getting them used to testing on the computer this year, it will not be such a difficult transition on them at the beginning of third grade. 

*I am sending home a class list today so that your child can make Valentine’s cards if he/she wants.  Please make sure your child makes a card for all of his/her classmates and that they are school appropriate.  Thanks! 

*We have a book fair at school next week.  We will be able to shop on Tuesday, February 11^th during our specials time of 2:10 – 2:55.  This will be the ONLY time your child will be able to shop. 

*Next week we are having a food drive to benefit Gleaner’s Food Bank.  Gleaner’s benefits many Brownsburg and DT families.  Second grade will be collecting canned fruits and vegetables.  As an added incentive, if DT collects 550 items by Friday, February 14^th, we will earn an 80’s Spirit Day (neon colors and crimped hair rule!) AND Mrs. Greene will get a pie in the face in front of the entire school!  Let’s start collecting! 

*Just a reminder that if we have a two-hour delay on a Wednesday that it will NOT be an early release day.  Students would be released at the normal time of 3:40. 

*Our next school-wide goal for behavior tickets by the end of the 3^rd nine weeks is 25,000.

*February 17th: NO SCHOOL President’s Day/ Orange Leaf Fundraiser

*February 20th: PTSG Meeting @ 6:30 p.m.

*February 24th-28th: Read across America Week

*Yearbook and Class Composite orders and money are due on Friday, February 28^th.  An envelope went home with your child for the order. 

*March 7th: Spring Fling 6-9 p.m.

*Track and Field has been moved to Friday, May 30^th.  Mark your calendar! 

*I believe in building relationships with the children both inside my classroom and outside the classroom.  If your child participates in any extracurricular activities (sports, dance, theater, etc.), or has any other events that he/she would like to invite me to, please let me know, and I will do my best to come! 

*The blog will also be updated with this information as well so if you need to see it again visit http://misswhisman.blogspot.com .

A Look at Next Week:

Science/ Health

Forces of Motion

Spelling

Vowel digraphs oo, ue, ew, ui

Reading

Story: The First Tortilla

Skill: plot and theme

Math

Find the Middle Value; Interpreting Data; Review; Unit 7 Test is scheduled for Thursday, February 13th

Social Studies

Olympics

English/Writing

Olympic Writing (persuasive writing)