Snow! I hope you are all getting outside and playing in this white fluffy stuff!
You may have heard the news, from your children, that we have a student teacher in 2BR! Mrs. Amani Soliman will be joining our classroom until the end of the school year. From now until March, Mrs. Soliman will be working with us part-time and then in mid-March she will be in our classroom full-time. Mrs. Soliman's enthusiasm about working with your children has already become evident during her first few days with us. I look forward to working alongside Mrs. Soliman as she completes the last part of her journey toward becoming a certified teacher!
A Note from Mrs. Soliman...
Hello! My name is Amani Soliman and I will be in your child’s classroom as Mrs. Brouch’s student teacher until the end of the year. I will be in the classroom twice a week for the next 6 weeks, then every day for the following 7 weeks. I am currently getting my certification and my Masters in Elementary Education from National Louis University. I have worked as a substitute teacher in district 204 for four years before I decided to change my career from business to education. I was also an active PTA member and a volunteer at my children’s school. As your child’s student teacher, it is my goal to help him/her become a confident learner and I will do my best to help make this a positive experience.
Hello! My name is Amani Soliman and I will be in your child’s classroom as Mrs. Brouch’s student teacher until the end of the year. I will be in the classroom twice a week for the next 6 weeks, then every day for the following 7 weeks. I am currently getting my certification and my Masters in Elementary Education from National Louis University. I have worked as a substitute teacher in district 204 for four years before I decided to change my career from business to education. I was also an active PTA member and a volunteer at my children’s school. As your child’s student teacher, it is my goal to help him/her become a confident learner and I will do my best to help make this a positive experience.
I am very excited to be part of the school community at May
watts for the next few months ,and looking forward to learn a great deal from
Mrs. Brouch. If you have any concerns or questions please contact Mrs. Brouch or
the school.
Have a great day!
Report Cards:
Your child brought home his/her 2nd Quarter Report Card today. Please review this important document with your child to help him/her understand the importance of working hard and learning at school. You may keep all of the items inside the report card envelope. Please return the empty envelope to school (with your signature) on Monday.
Open House:
Dear Parents and Students:
You and your family are cordially
invited to attend May Watts School’s Open House on Tuesday, January 31, 2012. We are holding only one Open House this
year. To alleviate being overcrowded, we
are asking families whose last name begins with “A thru L” attend from 6:30 to
7:30 p.m. Families whose last name
begins with “M thru Z” are requested to attend from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
This is an excellent
opportunity for you and your family to see your children's work, meet your
child's teacher and see your school. All
members of our support staff will also be available for you to visit. Please be sure to stop by and visit with
them. Due to the informal nature of the night, it will not be possible to conduct
parent/teacher conferences. Our next conference
date is Tuesday, February 21st, or you can call the teacher anytime to
schedule a meeting.
There will not be a Book Fair
during Open House this year. We will be
holding the Book Fair in March and more information will be forthcoming.
Please remember to check our
"Lost & Found" which will be on display in the Office hallway
during the evening. Any items not
claimed this evening will be donated to a charity.
We will open all outside
building doors in order for you to enter the building so that you may park in
the rear of the building. Come on
in. We are looking forward to your
visit.
Social Studies- Government
This week we will continue our unit on government. The essential questions that we are exploring are:
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Social Studies_Patriotic Symbols]
Reading:
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Reading Target Skills_Inferences 1, 2, riddles]
Writing:
Personal Narrative writing continues through our "Slice of Life" writing unit. Students are organizing, editing, revising and producing a published copy of this writing. Student narratives are generated from the photographs that they brought to school last month. Your child may enjoy the interactive site posted below.
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Writing_Personal Narravive]
Math
This week we have been continuing our work with whole-number operations and number stories. Students have been reviewing strategies for subtraction of 2-digit numbers. They have also begun to develop readiness for multiplication through the use of arrays.
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Math Practice Sites_Base-10 Block Subtraction Practice]
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Math Practice Sites_Multiplication Making Arrays]
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Math Practice Sites_Multiplication]
Social Studies- Government
This week we will continue our unit on government. The essential questions that we are exploring are:
- What is government?
- Why is our country's capital important?
- Why are our country's symbols and what do they represent?
- What does it mean to be a citizen?
- What symbol on a map key indicates a major or important city?
New this week: I have added several book to Pearson Social Studies for your child to read and/or listen to on-line. These books may be used toward your child's monthly reading minutes.
(Your child's username and password for this site is attached to the inside flap of the "Home" folder.)
[On-line books: Top Tab_Pearson]
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Social Studies_U.S. Government Ben's Guide][Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Social Studies_Patriotic Symbols]
Reading:
De
Your child is
reading Dear Mr.
Blueberry, by Simon
James. In this story, a little girl named Emily writes letters to Mr.
Blueberry, her teacher, telling him she has seen a whale in her backyard pond.
Mr. Blueberry writes back, giving her details about whales and plenty of
reasons why there can’t be a whale in her pond. Emily, however, continues to
write to him about the day she and the whale say good-bye at the beach. Please encourage your child to read Dear Mr.
Blueberry over the weekend. Vocabulary Power precedes the
story.
Focus Skill: Make Inferences
Vocabulary Power:
details-small
bits of information;
disappoint-to make someone sad because something
expected did not happen
forcibly-strongly, by force
information-facts about a person, place, or thing
oceans-large bodies of salt water where
whales and other animals live
stroke-to rub something gently
School-Home
Connection:
You and your
child might enjoy reading about other animals and surprising events: Dogs in Space, by Nancy Coffelt; The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Backyard, by B.G. Hennessy; Big Blue Whale, by Nicola Davies
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Reading Target Skills_Inferences 1, 2, riddles]
Writing:
Personal Narrative writing continues through our "Slice of Life" writing unit. Students are organizing, editing, revising and producing a published copy of this writing. Student narratives are generated from the photographs that they brought to school last month. Your child may enjoy the interactive site posted below.
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Writing_Personal Narravive]
Math
This week we have been continuing our work with whole-number operations and number stories. Students have been reviewing strategies for subtraction of 2-digit numbers. They have also begun to develop readiness for multiplication through the use of arrays.
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Math Practice Sites_Base-10 Block Subtraction Practice]
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Math Practice Sites_Multiplication Making Arrays]
[Interactive Link: Right-hand column_Math Practice Sites_Multiplication]
