Miss McArthur's Mateys

Week of September 5th

 
I hope that you have all enjoyed this long weekend for Labor Day.  I know I did.  I got to relax, clean my house, read on my Kindle, and have a sleepover with my niece at my house.  Good times!  I can't wait to hear all about the kids adventures tomorrow during check-in. 

Here's the scoop for this week.....

• In Science, we will be wrapping up our unit on Matter.  Look for a Study Guide to come home on Tuesday.  We will have a quiz on Friday to show what we know.  Target kids can either take the quiz on Thursday or Friday morning before they head out to go to Target.
• In Math, we will continue to review odds/evens and learn some more fun games to do with Place Value.  Learning a digits place is an important base to the rest of their math career.  We will do some work with expanding numbers also.
• In English/Writing/Spelling, we are continuing to introduce new parts of our writing resource journals that will help us throughout the year.  We will talk about editing marks and word choices this week specifically.  Our spelling pattern for the week is short e words.  I introduced the on-line program "Spelling City" last week that they can use at home or on the computers at school to practice their weekly words also.
• In Reading, we are introducing the last of our Literacy Centers.  Our reading focus of the week is Sequencing story events.

A special CONGRATULATIONS goes out to our very own, Conner and Katelyn who had fish picked off the 7 Habits Seas to have a special breakfast in The Pirate Cove with Ms. Chesser on Friday.  The children can earn special fish to hang on the seas in the classroom and from others around the building when they are caught showing one of the habits at school.  Every so many weeks, the fish are collected and Ms. Chesser pulls out two from each grade level and then two from  the white fish bag (Specialist awards).  All then go into an extra bag and there will be a big drawing at the end of the school year.  Next Habits Breakfast is Sept. 16th.  Mystery Word:  habits

Upcoming Events.....

• Sept. 6th - Stevi B's Pizza Night - Come be served by Ms. Chesser and others.
• Sept. 7th - PICTURE DAY - Bring your smile!
• Sept. 8th - WatchDOGS' Dads and Kids Pizza Night 6-7 in the Cafeteria
• Sept 14th - 4 1/2 week mark for grading period.

Until next time........HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

 

First Week of School

 

Here is a sneak peek of what we did last week:

On Monday we started our day by sorting and organizing our supplies. Then we followed some fun activities to get to know each other. We read some funny stories that helped us come up with some  new classroom rules and expectations. Finally we set up our P.I.R.A.T.E. Binders. It was a busy first day in The Pirate Pad!  

In Math this week reviewed addition facts from first grade and took our 1st Mad Minute Math Test. We will be taking these timed fact tests each Monday in math. I hope your child shared his/her data chart where we will keep track of his/her progress with these facts this year. This math data will remain in your child's P.I.R.A.T.E. binder all year long along with any personal math goals your child may set. I have already spoken to some of you that wanted copies to practice at home.  I love how we are already working as a team.  Later in the week, we worked on reviewing graphs We made a bar graph all about ourselves. For some hands on math fun, we learned to play an addition card game called Top-It.

In Reading we worked on reading and following directions.   We also started reading The World According to Humphrey as a class read aloud.  This is a book series about a classroom pet that we will read as the year progresses.  Be sure to ask your child about Humphrey's adventures throughout the year.  We brainstormed what good readers do, set personal reading goals for ourselves, and started our R.A.H charts that will be kept in our P.I.R.A.T.E. binders to track our nightly reading at home. (Good leaders & readers always have a goal in mind after all)

Speaking of leaders, this year The 7 Habits is again an integral part of Pickett's Mill.  We spent time this week reading about habit 5, "Seek 1st to understand, then to be understood", in the 7 Habits of Healthy Kids. Then, we interviewed a friend as we practiced good listening skills. We also practiced good presentation skills as we introduced our friend using loud, clear voices and making eye contact. We will continue to read and learn about the characters and how the habits are a daily part of our lives.  You will hear lots about The 7 Habits throughout the year.  In January, we are having a Leadership Day to showcase our Habits as a school.

In Writing, we worked together to write out class mission statement. Your children amazed me with their insightfulness as we brainstormed ideas regarding what kind of a classroom community we want The Pad to be. The 1st draft was already amazing, but we decided to revisit it Friday and made a few changes.  We will look at it again this coming week and decide if it is everything we want it to be. 

I sent home a newsletter in their weekly folder (the black folder that will go home every Thursday and return to school on Friday) that had some important information about what is going on at school.  I will do a paper newsletter each month with the BIG stuff.  Any other information will be shared on here or through weekly emails once I get a distribution list set up.

This coming week, your child will be bringing home information about Scholastic Book Club Orders and two computer programs (Study Island & First in Math) that have been purchased for your child by our amazing PTA.  I encourage you all to take advantage of these resources as they will only help your child become all that they were meant to be. 

Each week, I will hide a "Mystery Word" somewhere within a post.  If your child comes to school on Monday morning and whispers the word to me, they will earn some extra classroom cash.  They were told about this Friday and were very excited.  Just another way to ensure you are getting the important information that is shared on the blog each week.  Mystery Word: pirate. 

TARGET STUDENTS:  You will meet with Mrs. Llewallyn this Friday from 8:15 - 9:45 and then full time every Friday after that unless otherwise noted by her.

Finally, here are some important dates for your calendar:

August 30th is Open House

Sept. 5th   NO SCHOOL - Labor Day

Sept. 7th is Picture Day & In-School fieldtrip (more info. coming)

Sept. 8th is Dad and Kids Pizza Night for Watch D.O.G.s

Sept. 16th is Braves night for Watch DOGS and families!

Wow!  We definitely had a busy first week. I hope your child had some fun and interesting things to share with you this past week. I look forward to working with your child and your family!  Don't hesitate to call or email with any questions or concerns!