NEWS FROM
MRS. SOPER'S CLASS
NOVEMBER 2009

 WHAT TO BRING TO SCHOOL

I realize there are some very fascinating extra school items available and every kid would like to have them.  However, they can be quite a distraction to your child and the other students.  I am requesting that the little handheld pencil sharpeners, mechanical pencils and three ring binder notebooks be left at home.  We have a electric pencil sharpener in the classroom and the notebooks take up a great deal of space in the desk.  Thank-you for your understanding and cooperation.

 Hello Everyone!

 Happy November!  I heard the Halloween party went well on Friday! Thank you to Dawn, Jessica, Sarah, Gloria, and everyone else for all of your help!  The next party will be the Christmas party and I have listed the volunteer assignments below. I also listed the assignments for the remainder of the school year. 

 If you are not on the list below and would like to contribute, please let me know. I will be contacting my Christmas party helpers in December with more details.  Thank you again for the extra effort you put forth for the kids!

 Christmas Party

Jennifer Horner

Maria Morita

Kathy Lanza

Chrissy Gambrill

Kim Miller

 Party #3….Valentine’s??

Gail Guy

Chris Southern

Denise Horner

Tam Huynh

Kim Nechay

 Party #4…..End of the Year???

Leigh Ann Taylor

Christy Binstead

Jill Harris

Maddy Perdue

Melissa Marcum

Sheila R. Loar

LANGUAGE ARTS

  The following weeks, we will be investigating the theme Nature Walk.  We will learn about camping in the woods, take a walk through a city park with a park ranger, and discover animals

that live in and around a pond. 

 Theme-Related Activities to Do Together

Animal Tracks: Help your child discover animal clues.  Help look for tracks, empty nests, or a hole in the ground where an animal may have burrowed. Ask, What animal may have been there?  What makes you think that?

Camp Out at Home: Set up camp with your child at home.  Use chairs and a blanket to construct a tent.  Pack a snack, head for the great indoors and tell stories around an imaginary camp fire.

What Lives There?: Ask your child what habitat he or she would like to learn more about.  Visit the library or go online to discover what the habitat is like.  Make a list of animals that live in that habitat.

Theme-Related Books

Secret Place by Eve Bunting

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Bring the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aatdema

 MATH

 We are working with counting and using money to $4.99.  Please continue to reinforce the math skills at home with the activities and games I send home.   After money  we will be working with telling time to the hour, half hour, quarter hours and 5 minute intervals.  Then we will move on to Data and graphs. 

 FIRST IN MATH

This year for the first time we have the program Math First available to the second grade students at Westside Intermediate School.  Your child has his own ID and password.  They will be bringing home a card with this information, this can stay at home.  Your child can do this program at school and at home.  They will earn virtual stickers for their efforts.

First In Math® is an easy-to-use, educational website that gets young people excited about math. Our specially-designed "games" develop and reinforce basic concepts, and are a great way for students to have fun while learning skills that will last a lifetime. Studies show that children who use the site on a regular basis experience significant improvement in math proficiency.

Content ranges from addition to algebra, and children proceed at their own pace—mastering problem-solving, computation, critical-thinking and pattern-recognition skills—as they advance through the levels of the program.

There is no software to install, games play on a PC or Mac, and updates are automatic. Each child receives his or her own, personal User ID and Password, and will be able to play the games 24/7 at school or at home. Explore the site with your child and discover a great learning experience!

HOMEWORK

This is just a reminder that all homework is due on Friday. Spelling and Math homework will be given on Monday each week. The spelling words can be from on my schoolnotes page www.schoolnotes.com.

Spelling Words for the week of November 2-6

awful, called, falling, mall, small, straw, drawing, strongest, longer, song, along, biught, brought, rough, tough, caution, taught, because, crawl, autumn

  SPELLING HOMEWORK FOR TERM 1

Monday: Select one activity

          A.  Write each spelling word 3 times

          B.  Write your words in ABC order

Tuesday: Select one activity

          A.  Write your spelling words and draw an orange circle around each vowel

          B.  Write your words from smallest to largest

Wednesday:  Select one activity

          A. Write 10 sentences using at least 10 spelling words

          B.  Write 10 asking sentences using at least 10 spelling words

Thursday: Study for your test

 BOOK ORDERS

These will be sent once a month, if you would like to order books for child please send the form and money back to me by the due date stamped on the form. You may pay with cash or check, please make the check out to the book club.

SPECIALS

PE         B D F days

Music      A C days

Art        E day

Media     A day

Computer  B D days

 
COMMUNICATION

At the end of each school week a folder will be sent home containing your child's work. Please initial the folder and send it back to school on Monday. I will post a class newsletter on my website at the beginning of the month outlining the month.

Agenda books will be used each day for homework assignments and special teacher notes. Please review this each night and initial. Most individual parent/teacher communication will be through your child's Agenda Book.

Please feel free to contact me anytime to talk about your child. I realize they are important to you and you want the best for them. So, I would like to thank-you for your support and cooperation. You can also contact me at my school e-mail address asoper@wcboe.org or at www.schoolnotes.com You can also visit the Westside webpage by going to www.wcboe.org and then go to the Westside site.

REMINDERS