Miss McArthur's Mateys

Week of January 30th

The LEADERS of Pickett's Mill Elementary really shined on Friday and put a BIG SMILE on all of our faces.  I hope you all got to see the artice in the Marietta Daily Journal on Saturday.  If you didn't I've attached the link so you can check it out.

Leadership Day 2012

This week our goal is to get back into the swing of some normal routine.  YEAH!!!  Mystery Word:  routines.

Curriculum Corner....

• Math - we are wrapping up our study of fractions and moving into units of measurement. 
• Social Studies - Jackie Robinson
• English / Grammar - Complete Sentences & Correct Punctuation
• Reading - Sequencing of events

Beginning with the End in Mind....

• February 10th - Midterm for 3rd nine weeks
• February 15th - Jump Rope for Heart
• February 20th - No School - President's Day
• February 22nd - Nana Nature in school field trip- Space
• February 22nd - K-2 Science Fair Projects Due
• February 24th - Bingo Night

BINGO NIGHT

PICKETT'S MILL FAMILIES

BINGO NIGHT ON FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2012

6:00 - 8:00 PM

Come and join us for a fun filled night with your family.  Concessions will be available upon preorders.  Information will come home in Tuesday's PTA folder.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Our annual Science Fair is approaching.......please mark your calendars and BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND!  Let's see how many Second Grade projects that we can have participate this year.  I will be offering extra incentives in the classroom for those Mateys who participate.  More details to come about that later....

Feb 22nd - Kindergarten-2nd Grade
Feb 24th - 3rd-5th Grade 

LEADERSHIP DAY IS FRIDAY

Remember ... Leadership Day is Friday. Be sure to "Dress for Success" and show our visitors how special Pickett's Mill Elementary really is.

Random Acts of Kindness - Sponsored by Student Council

Please support Pickett's Mill Student Council as they participate in

Random Acts of Kindness

They will be collecting boxes of Valentine cards to donate to students at other Cobb County Schools who otherwise would not be able to "share the love" with their classmates this Valentine's Day!

What:  Boxes of Valentine's Day Cards
When:  January 25th - February 3rd
Where:  Collection Boxes located in the front entry and near the bus port

Six Flags Reading Program

The 2012 Six Flags reading program is about to kick off at PMES!  Please look for the Parent Letter and Reading Log on Tues Jan. 24 in the red PTA folders.  All Forms should be turned in to the Media Center NO LATER than Friday Feb. 24!  Sadly, no late entries will be accepted.

Menu Changes this Week

Please Note the Following Menu Changes for Thursday & Friday:

 

(1)   Thursday:  01-26-12      

 

       MAIN ENTREE(S)

 *       Cheese or Pepperoni Pizza with Breadstick

 *       Baked Potatoes with Beef, Cheese & a Breadstick

       SALAD ENTREE(S)

 *       Taco Salad - Child      

 *       Taco Salad - Adult

       SANDWICH ENTREE

 *       Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich with Cheese Stick

       VEGETABLE(S)

 *       Broccoli (with or without cheese)

 *       Cucumbers & Friends

       CAN FRUIT

 *       Sliced Peaches

 *    FRESH FRUIT(S)

          TBD day of - this allows for freshness

 *    DESSERT(S)

           Frozen Fruit Fiesta (Blueberry or Strawberry)

 

(2)    Friday:  01-27-12

 

 *     SACK LUNCHES ONLY

 

ONE MORE SUGGESTION:  Many of our children at Pickett's Mill are only allowed to purchase one extra (ala carte) item per week -- usually on Friday.  They look forward to this ALL WEEK LONG and will be devastated if we don't at least make an effort to honor their treat times.  Because we will be unable to sell ala carte items on Friday this week, I'd like to see if the following solution is acceptable:
 

Dear Parents,

 

Your child's cafeteria at Pickett's Mill will be serving a SACK LUNCH this Friday, 1-27-12, to accommodate our Leadership Day, and we will NOT be able to sell any ala carte items (extras) to your children on this day. Therefore, I would like to propose that the "Friday only" students be allowed to purchase the previously mentioned item(s) this Thursday, 1-26-12 instead.  If you are okay with this, then no further action is necessary.  If there is one who does not wish to allow this one-time only change, then please let me know at:  lisa.connolly@cobbk12.org   and I will take care of it.  Thank You for your continued patronage.   :)

                                               Sincerely,

                                               Lisa Connolly, Cafeteria Mgr.

Science Fair Information

WOW!  Wasn't science night so much FUN?! There were cool hands-on experiments for all to do and I loved all the amazing AIR experiments.  So now it’s time to Be Proactive and Begin With the End in Mind as you start brainstorming some ideas.  We hope ALL our second graders will enter Pickett’s Mill Science Fair.  Start thinking of a topic and a title this weekend.  

When:      February 22^nd for K-2  

            February 24^th for 3-5

Where:        Pickett's Mill Media Center 

How: Think of a title for your science project.  All titles must be phrased as a question. Here are a few examples:  Which kind of gum holds its flavor the longest? Is the 5 day weather forecast accurate? The question should then be answered by the experiment.  The internet is a great resource for science fair project ideas! 

More information will be coming home in your child's RED PTA folder next Tuesday.  Here are some links with great Science Fair ideas. Beware...these links take you outside of CCSD and may contain advertisements. Science Fair Ideas and More Science Fair Ideas

Science Fair Project Examples & Ideas

Also, more information coming soon to our PTA website. 

Week of January 23rd

Whew! Last week was a whirlwind of a week. We were busy, busy, busy. The Mateys recently applied for new classroom jobs and their new duties will begin this week. In addition, we reflected on 2011 and used what we had accomplished last year to help us BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND as we set goals for 2012.  Miss Bagwell helped us create an amazing hall display to really WOW our guests with our goals.   In math we wrapped up our geometry unit. Mystery Word:  shape.  We will begin this week interviewing classmates for a biography we are working on. We are practicing writing a non-fiction piece that can hold a reader's interest. The students are also working to SEEK 1st TO UNDERSTAND AND THEN BE UNDERSTOOD during the times they are interviewing partners for this writing assignment. The final product is going to be a beautiful hard cover book we will share with you later in the year at our Author's Breakfast. 

Curriculum Corner... Language Arts – We are continuing learning to write a non-fiction piece that holds our readers interest. Also, we will begin new guided reading books this week and work on correctly using ending punctuation. Math – We will begin learning about fractions this week. We will also continue reviewing addition and subtraction of larger numbers. Handwriting – Just a reminder, with the new year, we are emphasizing giving our best effort when writing. When working with your child at home please make sure that they are forming their letters correctly and also writing on the lines using appropriate spacing. Spelling – We will be working on "oi" and "oy" spelling patterns. 

Upcoming Events...

January 27 - Pickett's Mill's 1st annual LEADERSHIP DAY!!

February 15 - Jump Rope for Heart

February 20 - President's Day Holiday

February 23 - Nature in a Nutshell in-school field trip (Science- Space)

FRIDAY IS THE BIG DAY!!!!!

Can you believe that our 1st annual Leadership Day

 is almost here?

This Friday is the BIG EVENT! So mark your calendars.

Don't forget to Dress For Success on this speecial day too.

After all, leaders set the standards in fashion too.

 The Mateys ALL have special leadership roles for this day.

* We have 3 special greeters who have been working on their firm handshakes and making eye contact.

* The fabulous setup crew has been working hard on any changes they feel are needed to make The Pirate Pad clean as a whistle and presentable for our guests.

* Our hall display crew has been busy updating the Market Day and MUST Ministry display as well as putting out our Famous Leaders and New Years goals we worked on recently.

*We also have our 2 data notebook experts who are going to tell our guests all about PIRATE Binders and how we use them daily.

* Speakers have worked to create and memorize speaking parts to tell all about Market Day and The MUST Ministries project that all 2nd grade leaders participate in.

* Several performance leaders in The Pirate Pad are participating in musical numbers as well.

* Finally every Matey has been diligently doing their classroom job to keep The Pirate Pad running smoothly in anticipation of Leadership Day 2012.

Whew- I can't believe how busy we have been!!!

Leadership Day 2012 is sure to be a Fabulously Fun Event!