O is for Opposites!

Week of January 28-31

Sound of the Week - O

Book of the Week - The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge

Habit of the Month - Self-Control

Moms of the Month - Kelly Porter and Amberly Deavours

Important Reminders:

Class meeting - Tuesday, January 31 in our classroom at 6:15 and Campus meeting in Main Auditorium at 7:30.  

We are off and running with our reading readiness activities and many students are incredibly ready.  Please be sure to  let your child "read" the book that he/she brings home each week.  It contains all word families and sight words for the week.  They are thrilled to be able to read the books in class!  

Thank you Kelly Porter and Amberly Deavours for being our awesome moms of the month.  The library books were wonderful, supplies are great and the raw mussels, a hit with the students! Look forward to having you for special event this Thursaday. Thank you ahead of time for the hot dog octopi and mac-n-cheese!

Looking forward to meeting with you on Tuesday evening. 

Chapel, Letter T, and Harvesting mussels under the Sea

Week of January 21-24

Sound of the Week - T

Book of the Week - The Very Last First Time

Moms of the Month - Amberly Deavours and Kelly Porter

Habit of the Month - Self-Control

Please see photo to the right of Allie's Audubon picture study and drawing of the Great Horned Owl last week.  The children have grown much since our first study of the mallard in the fall!

Important Reminders - Elementary Chapel on Wednesday, January 23rd at 8:35 a.m. in the Day Chapel.  Chapel Dress required.  Please drop off your children as early as possible on this day.  We are to move down to line up for Chapel around 8:20.

Progress Reports were available on Tuesday, January 15th and should be picked up in the Elementary office.  Plan to pick up if you attend chapel.  

Parent Meeting next Tuesday evening, January 29th in our classroom 6:15.  Campus meeting following at 7:30.  


Our book of the week, The Very Last First Time is a book about a young Inuit girl, living in northern Canada, who climbs under the ice of the frozen sea  to gather mussels alone for the first time. The author, Jan Andrews, creates a very emotional story of this first time under the ice alone.  


If possible, please have pull up the following BBC documentary today before we read the story for the first time tomorrow. The documentary shows the Inuit people actually harvesting the mussels in the same way as described in the book.  Very interesting!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12241053

Thanks to our moms of the month who are providing real mussel shells for us to study this week.  
Please continue to pray as we move quickly into reading readiness activities.
Kay and Rhonda

M Week - Owl Moon and Homework!

Sound of the Week - M

Book of the Week - Owl Moon - by Jane Yolen

Habit of the Month - Self Control (different than post last week)

Moms of the Month - Kelly Porter and Amberly Deavours

This week:  Late Start/Jeans Day - Wednesday, 16th.  Jeans Day is in support of our Teacher Missions trips this year.  3.00 donation.  

This will be our first week of HOMEWORK.  The students seem excited!  Every night except Wednesday, your child will bring home a page or activity to be completed at home.  The first few weeks your child might need guidance, but most of the pages or activities have been done many times in class.  Yes, they should color and complete...always putting forth their best effort and return in their green folder the next day.   Please text us with questions.

Here is a small clip of Jane Yolen's  explanation of her her book Owl Moon, book from her website.
This gentle tone poem about a father taking his daughter (yes–it’s a girl!) out owling one cold wintry night is arguably my best book. Certainly it’s my best known book. The 1988 Caldecott Medal winner for John Schoenherr’s beautiful, frosty, tender, exacting pictures, the book has been translated into nine languages, been an ALA Notable Book, a Reading Rainbow book, a Junior Literary Guild selection, and on dozens of state award lists. Though I envisioned the book in the little woods near our house, Schoenherr used his own farm in New Jersey as the setting. The father is my husband David, the child our daughter Heidi. It’s not an exact story of David taking Heidi out owling, but an amalgam of many such trips he did with all of our children. I purposefully didn’t mention the child’s gender, though the flap copy gives the secret away. Heidi is now an adult with her own daughters, Maddison Jane and Glendon Alexandria.  

Also, as you saw from Mrs. Jernigan's email we will begin Super Server Show-n-Tell this week.   Our Super Servers this week are...Monday - Ryan, Tuesday - Michael, Wednesday - Landon, and Thursday - Jack. Please have them bring something that begins with the Letter of the Week (this week M).  This will take the place of bringing a special toy on Free Center Days. 

Please pray for our class this week and next as we now move on to many reading readiness activities.  We will create our first Word LIst book, create a book using "m" as ending sound, and talk about short a. We will introduce "sight" words as well.   It is a big week academically for these little ones.  They are ready and EXCITED!

Mrs. Susie Judge has joined our team for center time on Monday and Wednesday.  Susie is the overqualified para pro in Pre-1st and was willing to give an her last hour of the day to our class.   She taught many years in Fulton County as a PE teacher.  She will work primarily with large motor and midline activities.  We are thrilled to have her.  She really enjoyed her time in the classroom with us this week and the kids didn't want to move from her "kick box the alphabet" center last week!

2013! Poetry, Review and Painting Snowmen!

Week of January 7-10

Please send photos of the Christmas Pageant (especially the group photo) to Mrs. Lee.  
Sound of the Week - Review of Letters to Date
Book of the Week - Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening - Robert Frost
Habit of the Month - Responsibility
Moms of the Month - Amberly Deavours and Kelly Porter (Mom of Month letter coming soon!)

Happy New Year!  We hope that your holidays were special and somewhat restful.  We look forward to seeing your children on Monday morning (remember late start and Jeans Day). This week will be mostly review of letter  sounds that we have studied to date as well as number activities.  Our book of the week, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening is actually a poem with fantastic illustrations.  

As we continue in January, we will begin many learning activities that encourage reading readiness.  The students grow so much in January-May.  Please celebrate your child's growth and desire to learn.  

Please be aware of the following upcoming dates:

January 7th - First Day Back, Late Start, Jeans Day
January 11th - Father Daughter Dance 
January 15th - Report Cards Available.  Pick up in Elementary Office
January 16th - Late Start, Jeans Day
January 18th - Investigating Perimeter School
January 21st - MLK Day - No School
January 23rd - Lower Elementary Chapel - (chapel dress) Kelly Gordon and Kelly Porter - Chapel Moms
January 29th - Parent Meeting for Kindergarten 6:15-7:15 Classroom 
and Campus Meeting at 7:30 in Main Auditorium