Week of February 20, 2008
Dear Parents, 
WHAT A GREAT VALENTINE'S CELEBRATION WE HAD!!!! It started with wonderful center activities last Wednesday with Stephanie Daniels, Shari Eggart, and Dawn Corner bringing them into the classroom. We, of course, had a cookie decorating center with bits of everything to put on their cookie; a money center where each child had "real" money to use and buy items at a store; and then there was a HEART center with nouns, verbs, and adjectives on them along with "a, the, an, very, etc." where each child had to make a GOOD sentence using these words. Everyone had a great time at each center and I thank each of these ladies for doing a wonderful job!! Then, Thursday came---February 14th---and EVERYONE was SO excited to deliver their Valentine's to their friends' boxes!!! The hardest part of the day for the children was waiting to get their boxes and see what Valentine's they had received!!!!! Finally, it came towards the end of the day and WOW---what fun they had!!!! I'd like to thank each of you for the delightful treats that I got from the children!!!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!
Here are so important dates to put on your calendar:
***Wednesday, Feb. 20th - Six Flags Reading Club forms are due to me. They will be turned in for your child to receive a free pass to Six Flags for this coming summer.
***Thursday, Feb. 21st - 5pm is Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night
***Monday, Feb. 25th - AR Reading NIght from 6 - 8 pm @ Garrison Mill Media Center
***Tuesday, Feb. 26th - Class Picture Day
***Friday, Feb. 29th - Feb. Reading Log is due and GM Talent Show @ 6:30pm where the TEACHERS will perform to open up the Talent Show.....should be fun!!!!
UPCOMING DATES FOR MARCH --- Tuesday, March 4th is an Early Release Day @ 12:20pm; Thursday, March 6th is a PTA meeting @ 6:30 AND Curriculum Night; Friday, March 7th is Spirit Day so wear your GM t-shirt, and that entire week, March 3 - 7th is Book Fair/Read Across America Week. I've just received an email from our principal talking about "Read Across America on March 3rd----there will be a school-wide Pajama Day on that Monday, the 3rd, students will take a "reading oath" that morning on the annoucements, and I would welcome GUEST READERS anytime during that day to read to the class. Please let me know if you are interested....I will probably ask either Mrs. Wilson or Mrs. Huffman to read to my class that day, too.
By now most of you have seen the President's Project I have sent home last Friday. They are due on or before Thursday, Feb. 28th. Your child may choose any president that they like and must fill out the 2nd page attached to the letter I sent home. The cover letter gives you many examples of the other part of the project---writing a story, dressing up as a president, etc. and, as the paper says, you may come up with your own original ideas and present it. Your children have learned many interesting facts about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. You can view in the hallway each child's choice between the two above mentioned presidents that they are writing about in detail. We also did a Venn diagram before they started the writing to give them a focus for what they wanted to say. Please stop by and take a look!! It's a work in progress at the moment.
Curriculum News:
Reading -Over the next 5 - 6 days, I will be assessing each child using the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment). To be on grade level reading for the third nine weeks grading period, your child needs to be reading a level G (12) to be considered "on level" for the report card in reading. Please continue to read nightly to and with your child and record it on the monthly reading log. *****DON'T FORGET TO TURN IN THE 6 HOURS SIX FLAGS READING TO ME ASAP. I have to turn it in this week on Wednesday.
Math - 
We are starting the chapter on money and it is MOST important for you to send in the baggy of money (and quantities of each) that I requested early this month. Please don't forget to put your child's name of the baggy. We will use it often during this chapter and it will be returned to you later in the year......thank you. As a fun game at home, let your child count your pocket change each night to get in the habit of adding on....please start with the biggest value of a coin from your pocket and add on using the next largest coin, and so on. This nightly reinforcement will help your child greatly. Also, please don't forget to keep practicing on addition and subtraction facts to 18.
Phonics - We continue to work on pattern in phonics. For example, we have just reviewed the "ow and ou" spellings as in cow and round....please encourage your child to use these in their writing that is done at home. We will review compound words, "er and est" works as in fast, faster, fastest, "aw and au" as in saw/law and author/fault. We'll continue with the "oo" spelled ue, and u + e as in true/glue and rude/flute. Also, "ew" spelling as in flew, grew, and stew---then, we will add the "oo" spelled oo as in look, Snook, and took. Lots to work with, but hopefully we will continue to see improvement in each child's spelling/writing as they begin to use these sounds/spellings we've studied in phonics.
Social Studies - Our study of Washington and Lincoln will be a major part of this six week's grade along with the projects that they do on a president of their choice. We also will continue our writing on the presidents using a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Washington and Lincoln.
Health - February is Dental Health month and we are learning about our primary teeth and our permanent teeth - incisors, molars, and canines. We will have a Wellstar presentation on "Smile Power" on Wednesday, February 20th. We will also learn about the importance of brushing at least twice daily and using floss.
Attendance - We teachers have been reminded that we must call parents if your child has had 5, 10, or 15 absences even if they were due to illnesses. It is a county policy and we must document that we have spoken with a parent to make them aware of the number of absences for their child. I will be making phone calls this week to those of you that fall into the above category. Thank you for understanding.
So, as you can see, we are very busy this month. Thanks again for all that you do at home with your child.....keep it up, read nightly to or with your child, and enjoy each day with them. They are our "treasures"!!
Sincerely, Peggy Snook
