Reading:
Just For You - Theme 2: Helping Hands

In the second reading theme of the year, children see how people work together to accomplish their goals. They learn that teamwork is not only helpful but can also be fun. For the next five weeks, you may want review the importance of “Helping Hands” with your child after each week’s story.

Your child is reading The Enormous Turnip by Alexei Tolstoy. In this Russian folktale, a man plants a turnip that grows so large he can’t pull it out of the ground. He calls on other people and animals to pull up the turnip.

Please encourage your child to read The Enormous Turnip over the weekend. Vocabulary Power preceeds the story.

Focus Skill: Sequence

Vocabulary Power:
enormous-very large
granddaughter-a daughter of one’s son or daughter grew-became larger
planted-put in the ground to grow
strong-powerful
turnip-a kind of root vegetable

School-Home Connection: You might enjoy reading these folktales with your child: Peter and the Wolf retold by Michele Lemieux; The Baker’s Dozen by Heather Forest; The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton

Guided Reading:

Students have been working with me in a small group reading setting. We have been reading books at your child's instructional reading level. During this time, I have an opportunity to work on reading strategies including: fluency, decoding and defining words. These flexible groups will continue throughout the year. As your child's reading needs change throughout the year, he/she will change groups, hence the word "flexible" grouping.

This week, I will email your child's instructional level of reading also known as Guided Reading Level (GRL). With this information you may visit the Scholastic Website that I have added to the right hand column of this blog. Enter the GRL for your child and you will see a list of books that are "just right" for your child. Once you have the list, you may want to check your local library for books to check out.

Citizenship:  Conflict Resolution - Bullying
Over the next two weeks, we will be teaching your child about bullies and victims. Your child will learn about our schoolwide Stop-Walk-Talk program.

Computer Lab:
This week we spent a little extra time in the computer lab to learn how to access sites from the classroom blog. Your child knows how to find books to read on-line by clicking on the Tumblebooks link on the right hand column of this blog. Your child also knows how to access science and social studies books that follow our curriculum on the Pearson link which is also on the right hand side of this blog. One more site we visited together is the A+ math link. Through this link, students practiced addition and subtraction math facts. These sites can be accessed from home by just clicking on the links.

Halloween:

Dear Parents,

                On Friday, October 29, May Watts School will celebrate a Fall Festival and Halloween Parade.  Various activities integrating curriculum will be occurring throughout the day in all Kindergarten through Grade 5 classrooms.  The parade will proceed from the north gym doors and finish up at the south gym doors, weather permitting.  We will walk around the building on the sidewalk areas.  Please keep this area clear of people, dogs, strollers, etc.  The parade will occur at 2:00 p.m. The parade will need to continuously move forward so please do not stop the parade to take photos or talk to your child.  In case of inclement weather (i.e. threat of rain), the parade will be cancelled.  We will follow the same criteria for any outdoor recess.

                The PTA will sponsor room parties for the children.  The parties will run from:

Kindergarten - 5                   2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

                Please refer to the guidelines regarding student absences and attendance at classroom parties listed on the May Watts web page in the May Watts Parent Handbook under "STUDENT ABSENCES."

                Children will be permitted to wear costumes and clothing to school that does not interfere with physical education, lunch, and outdoor recess.  Accessories (props, masks, etc.) need to be carried to school in a bag and will be permitted to be used and/or worn for the parade only.  Since it will be the responsibility of your child to dress himself/herself, please consider this when choosing his/her costume.

                If your child will require make-up or colored hair spray for his/her costume, please apply the make-up or spray at home prior to sending him/her to school.  No make-up or spray should be brought to school.  Costumes should be appropriate in taste for elementary school children with no adult or violent themes, and not so big as to cause problems walking in halls or through doors.  Children should be able to see adequately so as not to have an accident.  Anything resembling a weapon (gun, sword, knife, sticks, etc.) should be left at home. 

                 The PTA will be providing the students with cupcakes and a Capri Sun during the party.  The cupcakes are from the Jewel.  The ingredients are as follows for the cupcakes and frosting:  bleached enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, monoitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, egg whites, whole eggs, leavening (sodium aluminum phosphate, baking sodA, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate) wheat starch, nonfat milk, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, propylene glycol mono and diesters, propylene glycol monoesters, salt, mono & digylcerides modified food starch, cellulose, egg yolk, soy lecithin, dextrose, polysorbate 60, xanthan gum, cornstarch, guar gum, carob bean gum, cocoa powder dutch process (if black decorating icing is used on cake), wheat starch, phosphoric acid, polysorbate 60, preservatives (potassium sorbate & sodium benzoate) dextrin, confectioner’s glaze, carnauba wax, natural and artificial flavor, propylene glycol, citric acid, titanium dioxide, may contain FD&C colors: red 3 & 40, yellow 5&6, blue 1&2, lakes 3 & 40 red, lakes 5 & 6 yellow, lakes 1 & 23 blue.  Manufactured in a facility that uses peanuts and/or tree nuts.  Contains wheat, soy, egg and milk products.

If your child is unable to have the treat provided because of allergies, please send us a note informing us of this and we will work with you to make sure your child has a treat he/she can have.  Please do not send in any other treats for the classrooms because of possible food allergies.  Treats brought to school will be sent home.

With the excitement of Halloween, please emphasize the need for safety to and from school.            

The May Watts Staff