Monica Ros School

November 4, 2008

Greetings from Second Grade!

It’s hard to believe we are in the month of November! The days have been chock full of learning and singing and acting (our class play is next Friday, Nov. 14th) The second graders are an incredible group of children, and it is so much fun to see their individual, special talents shine through during our various activities. As teachers, we have enjoyed and look forward to spending time with you, the parents to discuss your children’s progress. School dismissal will continue to be at noon this week. *We do not have homework this week.

Although it seems ages ago, we are still flying high from our Theme Week festivities. Thank you parents for all of your assistance with carpooling to our field trip and your help during the Theme Week. It was a wonderful experience for all of us! Did we forget to thank you for helping with our wonderful Fiesta this year too? Thank you!

As you know, we began this year’s Language Arts program with a unit study on “Me Myself and I” and in Science we completed our unit on “Plants and Flowers” with labs, research, art and writing projects. We have a field trip scheduled to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden on December 2nd. This will prove to be a wonderful culmination of our plant study. We have a native plant lab scheduled and the beautiful grounds are worth every mile of the drive!

In October, Flat Stanley and Geography were our focus. We enjoyed adventures at home and at school with our Stanleys and look forward to hearing about their experiences around the world. But, while we’re waiting we have focused on our Ancestory. We loved hearing how you came to Ojai. The posters that the students completed for this project are on display in Meyer Hall until Monday. Please stop by and take a look.

We also put a Halloween twist on our community unit of study. We had fun creating our ghoulish town, “Shiverville”, complete with laws, town name and of course the Halloween community workers to help it run smoothly. (Thank you for your contribution of milk cartons and boxes). We will explore our own school community in language arts through the Black Lagoon book series. The children enjoy the “Black Lagoon’s” tall tales format to explain each person’s role. We may even compose our own book, “The Director from the Black Lagoon”. We’ll keep you posted.

We continue our weekly visits with the Kindergarten for “Reading Buddies” on Wednesdays. The 2nd graders are paired with a Kindergarten buddy who is their reading buddy for the remainder of the year. The children from both grades look forward to this chance to read and spend time with their little buddy. We’ll also be spending time with our friends in the Red & Blue Room.

In Math, we’ve continued to review concepts from last year (math facts one thru 20, tens and ones place value, skip counting, identifying odd and even numbers, and interpreting graphs and tally marks). Most recently, the second graders created their own word problems based on the story, “The Doorbell Rang.” They enjoyed baking cookies for the project and acting out story problems. Isn’t great when math involves food? Our next focus for Math will be on “Money”.

And in Language Arts, we are meeting in reading groups and continuing to make progress in our phonics and spelling studies. Creative writing continues to be a highlight in the second grade. They have wonderfully creative ideas and enjoy putting pencil to paper.

And, finally don’t forget to mark your calendars for our Second Grade musical, “Turkeys Go On Strike” on Friday, November 14th!

Well, this just about covers most of the highlights from the last few weeks and gives you a glimpse of what’s to come. As always, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mrs._Roe Mrs._Ricasata

  Our Teachers are role models for language and literacy learning.  Along with vocabulary development, phonological awareness, knowledge of print, letter and word formation and comprehension, we also see literacy as a source of enjoyment.  This concept was evident during the course of Theme Week, when the students heard the stories and tales of Mr.  Gipford, The Cowboy Poet.  They listened and formed their own questions regarding his daily life.  Here is an example of the questions of our preschoolers and the answers forwarded back to the class by our very own Pony Express carrier.  Read on and enjoy.  This is a sampling of the works currently on display at Monica Ros School. 

BLUE ROOM LETTER TO THE MR. GIPFORD, THE COWBOY POET

 Dear Cowboy Poet,

 We have some questions for you.

 Do you ever get lonely out on the ranch?

 Do you feed your horses hay at the ranch?

 How do you feed your horse?

 Where do your horses stay when it is raining?

 Where do your horses sleep?

 We liked your poems!

 The Blue Room.

 MR. GIPFORD’S RESPONSE VIA THE PONY EXPRESS:

 Dear Blue Room Cowpokes,

 Very rarely do I get lonely on the ranch.  The animals are my friends and after all these years together we understand and care for each other.  It’s a lot like being at Monica Ros School where you understand and care for each other.

 My horses, “Sweet Pea’ & “Partner” eat hay and grass and the occasional carrot.  They stay in their corral when it’s raining, or to sleep at night.  When it gets cold, they wear blankets to keep warm.

 Fondly, The Cowboy Poet

 P.S. Tyler – I use my hands to hitch up the horses to the wagon!

Carolyn Fox provided a watercolor workshop to First through Third Graders.  Their work was inspired by Theme Week and is currently on display in the Library and outside Meyer Hall.

Hello Everyone,   

Life is good and busy in the third grade! The kids have begun sifting through their state research.   Thankfully, our snails all survived our afternoon of Snart, and art, Spanish and PE are all in full swing.  The adults on campus have noticed how nicely your children have embraced their leadership roles at school; by warmly welcoming the first and second graders into their lineage groups.  The gradeschoolers will meet in their lineage groups to eat and chat at recess and lunch throughout the year. 
We will travel to the Wolves-n-Wildlife facility in Santa Paula on Thursday morning September 18 to learn about the adaptations of the wolves, Bengal tiger and black bear there.  Let us know if you are interested in joining us, and if you are able to transport kids.

Language Arts

Our class has begun to warm up those ‘ole writing muscles!  We have practiced the steps of the writing process; brainstorming a topic, organizing our thoughts, writing, revising and producing a final draft.  Our first writing piece “ My favorite summer adventure” will be posted on the publishing wall in the next few days.
It is my goal that the third graders will fall in love with many good books or a book series this year, and I see some of the children already doing just that.  As you all know, the love of reading often stems from the sense of accomplishment of completing a book from cover to cover.  With that, I want the children to start and complete one book at a time, Miss Carlson and I will meet with the children from time to time to discuss the book they have chosen with them, and monitor their progress.  Let me know if you would like me to help your child find a good book at school.
The book logs on the backside of the Homework Schedule sheet are due each Monday.  Please check to make sure your child is filling it out, and initial it before your child turns it in.  We will keep a tally of the total amount of reading time for the class. We will have an all-day reading day, complete with pillows, books and food, once all the children have reached a total of 300 hours of reading.

Math

There are many math lovers in this bunch! We will continue to compare and order numbers up to the 10,000’s place this week.  We will also practice using “greater than” and “less than” math symbols.  We will begin to review adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers next week.  The children love the Flashmasters in class; using them to review their math facts every chance they get Spanish I thoroughly enjoy watching the kids sing, talk, play games and count en Espanol!  Miss Carlson is meeting with the children 3 days a week, and is warming up their brains with Spanish on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  We are all learning the names of various items around the classroom.

Science

The Third Graders continue to study the behavior and anatomy of their snails in preparation for our Snail Olympics on Monday, September 8, after lunch.  Please join us to watch the snails compete in the hurdles, mountain climbing and sprinting events.  (Snails will do a lot, I hope, for a head of Romaine lettuce!)
We will also learn about the chaparral habitat that surrounds us here in Ojai, as well as the other habitats found around the United States. Do you still have that shoebox from last week?  Well, here’s the chance to put it to use!  Look for the habitat diorama assignment on Thursday.
 
Social Studies

Social Studies is all about geography and state research at the moment!  We will be taking our second state quiz this Thursday, and each Thursday for the next few months.  Please encourage your child to study a little bit each day.  In fact, keeping a state map in the car may come in handy.  Learning 10 new states a week is a good goal.  We will study in class as well.  We will take care of most of our state research for our state booklets in class.

Other Information

We will have weekly spelling quizzes on Friday.  The spelling list will come home each Monday.  Please review the graded work that will come home each Monday in your child’s home folder with your child.  Help your child to keep his or her home folder organized and cleaned out.

Fiesta is right around the corner! Please stop by the classroom and sign up to help out at this fun event!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Have a wonderful week!
  Sincerely, Mrs. Buddhu

 ^{You have formally been introduced to the wonderment of Monica Ros School…We hope you enjoyed Fiesta, and now Theme Week.  Friday Nights Western BBQ was a wonderful way to wrap up all the excitement of the week.  But hang on, this week promises to be just as full and energetic.
 
For the remainder of October we welcome Fall into the classroom.  We be exploring the change of season, fall colors, gourds, pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins…
 
October is Fire Prevention Month.  We will discuss fire safety through books and projects this week and experience our first fire drill.  On Wednesday, after morning singing we will have a special guest, Wyatt’s Dad.  He is a fire fighter and will be reading a story to the children and bringing in his gear for the children to try on.  What a great three dimensional experience for our class!
 
This Friday we will be going on our first fieldtrip.  We have been given a special invitation to Faulkner Farm’s Pumpkin Patch.  They will be opening the farm just for us!!!!  That’s right JUST US!!!!  Thanks to Blake’s mom, Carla!  The Blue and Red Room will be joining us.  Siblings are welcome.  The cost is $5 per child, siblings need to pay too.  Parents are free.  We will pass out permission slips this week.  We will leave Monica Ros at 8:50 and return about 12:15.  Our time at the farm is 9:30-11:30.  Pack lunch in a disposable bag, PLEASE!  Snack will be served.  If you are unable to attend the fieldtrip please leave your child’s car seat.  Tuesday and Thursday children are invited, too, but a parent needs to attend with them.  If you plan to meet us at Faulkner Farm, please let us know by Thursday so we do not leave without you and your child.  We will be leaving precisely at 8:50!!  Please give your permission slip and $5 to Mrs. Drury or Mrs. Winbury.}

Dear Parents,

Thank you for such a beautiful Fiesta. I know that many of you contributed to this happy event. Special thanks are sent to Shea_Davis and Donna_Pope for their leadership. It was a lovely afternoon for all families.  

This letter will be a synopsis of a very busy month. Specific notes will be sent home in the weeks ahead.

Before I enumerate the “ruffles and flourishes” I want you to know that the academic program in Grade One is the priority at all times.

We are off to a great beginning. The children adapted easily to the classroom routine. In language arts we work daily on decoding, word attack skills, spelling, reading comprehension and fluency. Punctuation is emphasized in writing. In math, the emphasis will be on the application of addition and subtraction concepts to story problems. In science, we begin a study of the fascinating life style of arachnids. Pioneer life, the voyage of Christopher Columbus and Veteran’s Day will be the focus in social studies.

This week, your child will bring home a bag of Math Jewels. We begin our memorization of math facts. Your child will show you how to play the game. We will have weekly math sprints to see how we are progressing. As a set is mastered, your child will move on to the next number. All children progress at a personal rate. Enjoy these early facts. They get dicey very soon!

Tomorrow will be a cupcake sale sponsored by the Student Council. Proceeds will be used to make bouquets for the elderly who receive Meals on Wheels. Our class representatives, Adam and Audrey are helping to spear-head this event. Last week Adam was the chairman of the meeting. He introduced himself and then said,” I recognize me and I have $1000 in the bank.” With his credibility established he continued to lead the meeting. During the cupcake discussion Audrey also announced that she had money in the bank and wasn’t sure she would want to spend it on cupcakes. In these dire economic times it is comforting to know that the younger generation is developing financial savvy and restraint!

Remember that there is no school next Monday. It is an in-service, teacher day. Here at Monica Ros we will be preparing for Theme Week. Our theme, “Little School on the Prairie,” will be enjoyed all week in a multitude of ways. Specifics will be sent home via the office. We do encourage the children to wear “old fashioned” clothes, if possible. Dig around in drawers and closets to see if you can find some vintage duds.

An apron, bonnet, shawl, cowboy hat, etc. will add to the fun. Teachers will be wearing pioneer outfits.

Have a happy week and look for more October news in the days ahead! Mrs. K.