Happy Thursday!

 Happy Thursday!

Thank you to everyone for meeting with me (and looking forward to the few I have left)!  I really enjoyed getting a chance to sit down (even over Zoom) and share how your student is doing.  This year is crazy and I am so proud of the kids so I enjoy getting to brag on them!  

Virtual Learning

• Here is our virtual schedule
• Our virtual schedule is different from the schedule in the fall.  We tried to keep it as similar to our in person schedule as possible.
• We set timers on the student's iPads yesterday to help them remember when to get on Zoom.  It is important that they are on Zoom on time because otherwise they will be missing instruction.
• Please help your student to find a quiet work space that they can use for school.  I recommend keeping all their materials in the bag that was sent home on Tuesday.  This way they always know where to find their materials.
• If your student will be absent, even when virtual, please let me know.

Book Fair!!!!

• It's BOOK FAIR TIME!!
• Here is the link to shop for books at the book fair.  
• Even though you can't come to school to shop, the website is still set up for shopping and it looks similar to the normal book fair set up.  Plus, the books will be shipped to your house.  You can shop from the comfort of your house!
• The book fair is open until November 22.  This is a great way to get some early holiday shopping done, while supporting RBE.  A percentage of the sales come back to RBE in Scholastic Dollars to buy books.  

Intervention

• We started intervention this week.  We will continue this when we go virtual on Monday.
• Your students can access what they need for intervention through Seesaw. They are working on different activities.  They will be working on these activities independently, I will put them in breakout rooms on Zoom and then will check in with them throughout our intervention time.

Library Checkout

• On certain Wednesdays (dates listed below), our fabulous library staff will be hosting an outdoor library checkout from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• November 18
• December 2
• December 9
• December 16
• You will come up to the Parent Pick Up doors and there will be charts of books to look through and checkout.  You can also return books on these days.
• If you have books on hold, they can also be picked up on Wednesday.
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Next Week's Learning

Math

• We will continue learning subtraction strategies next week.
• Students will be learning about fact families and making cute fact family turkeys.  We can't hang them in the hallways since we will be at home, so you can find a fun spot to display them at home.  We will also learn a game called Salute and learn to count up and back to solve subtraction number stories.

Reading

• We will start Unit 3 in reading next week.
• We will focus on nonfiction pieces and will be identifying the main idea and details in the passages.  

Writing

• We will start another informational piece of writing next week.  It will be about a job.  Students will do some research on PebbleGo and then we will organize the facts into paragraphs.
• I think it's always fun to see which jobs interest the students.

Fundations

• We will wrap up Unit 5 next week and learn about additional suffixes. 
• The students have done a nice job this week identifying the syllables and marking them in words.  
• Our trick words for next week are always, once, often.

Social Studies

• We will be starting social studies next week.  
• We will be learning about laws, how they are formed and why they are needed.  We will also be learning about rights that we have as citizens.

Thank you for your continued support at home!  The students and I are lucky to have such supportive families!

Happy Fall Friday!

 Happy Friday!

I hope you have had a wonderful week!  It seemed like a short week since we had work days, but the kids worked so hard the 3 days I saw them this week!

Friday Folders

• Please look over your student's checklist, initial it and return it in the Friday folder on Monday.  
• In the Friday Folder this week is information about fluoride treatment, book fair flyer and your student's progress report.
• The progress report does not have actual grades on it for this trimester.  There are comments about how your student is doing in each subject area.  You do not need to sign and return it.

Book Fair

• Our book fair is virtual this year and goes live on Monday morning.  Below is a link to a video about how to access the book fair.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35S9x_QH4js&feature=youtu.be
• Below is a link to the promo video we watched today about the book fair (we only watched the first half, the second half is for grades 4-6)
• https://bcove.video/2zoSgmB
• As a school, we get Scholastic dollars to purchase additional books for the school based on the profits that we make.
• If you would like, please take some time to do book some shopping from the comfort of your own home.
• The link to the book fair will be on the RBE website starting Monday morning.  

Important Upcoming Events

• Friday, November 13-No School 
• Wednesday, November 25-Friday, November 27: Thanksgiving Break (No School)

Intervention

• We will start our Reading Intervention on Monday.
• Students are placed in groups based on their area of need.
• Students do have activities in Seesaw with links or other activities, these activities are only to be done during our Read Intervention time.  They are not expected to work on them at home.
• Some of the activities that are links will always be in their activity feed as they need to access the link, but again, they are not expected to work on this at home.

Birthday Snacks

• If your student would like to celebrate their birthday at school, we would love to celebrate with them.  They can bring in prepackaged, individually wrapped snacks to share with the class. Please email me if you plan to send in birthday snacks so I can make sure we have time in our day to celebrate.  :)

Pumpkin Book Characters

• I was so impressed by the pumpkin book characters.  Thank you for helping your student get the pumpkin and get it completed.
• We got to do a gallery walk today and Ms. Mottaz (my co-teacher most years who is teaching virtually this year) and her class tried to Zoom in and see our pumpkins as well, but technology didn't work so they saw the pictures on Twitter.
• Be sure to check out Twitter for pictures!

Wednesday Work

• Just a reminder that Wednesdays are still school days (not this week, but most weeks) and students do have work to be completed on those days.
• They will have a trick word packet to complete and return and then are expected to do some reading and math as well.
• They will receive their November choice board next Tuesday.  These are activities they can do in addition to their trick word packet, reading and math practice.
• We will also have our normal Wednesday Zooms at 8:00 a.m. for Second Step and also a Fundations lesson.

Conferences

• Your conference time is listed in your student's Friday folder.  I did my best to fit everyone in at one of the times they requested.
• We will be using our class Zoom link for all conferences.  There will be a waiting room set up and I will let you in at your scheduled time.
• Please understand I have 15 minutes scheduled for each conference and I will have to stick to our schedule.  If we hit the end of our conference time and there are still things you would like to discuss, we can set up another time.
• I'm looking forward to meeting with everyone and sharing how your student is doing in school.

Next Week's Learning

Reading

• We will be wrapping up Unit 2 next week.
• Students will be making inferences about characters and also identifying the central message or theme in the story.
• We have been working hard to identify evidence from the story that supports our answers.
• Inferences are something fun to practice at home.  It's kind of like a guessing game.  You could give your student clues to what you will be having for dinner and see if they can guess and ask them how the clues help them.  
• Please continue to have your student read at home. 

Writing

• We will continue writing our opinion writing about the character Yeh-Shen.  The students wrote their introduction and first paragraph this week.
• We will also be publishing this piece next week.

Math

• We took our Unit 2 math test today.  It will be coming home next week.  Please look over the test with your student and then sign it and return it.  This allows me to know you have reviewed the test.
• We will start Unit 3 on Monday.  It continues to work on addition strategies and also starts moving into subtraction strategies.

Science

• We will wrap up our study of plants and animals next week.  We will be learning about bees and how they help to pollinate flowers.

Fundations

• We will continue working on multisyllabic words next week.  We will also learn about the suffixes of -ful, -less, -ness, -ment, -able,  -en and -ish.
• Our trick words are against, knew, know, always, often, once.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday!

 Happy Friday!

Wow!  What a great turn out at the RBE Literacy Trunk or Treat last night!  I loved seeing everyone dressed up and getting to see families back at RBE!  Thank you so much for being such amazing families and supporting RBE and all the kids.

Wednesday Work

• The students and I talked on Thursday about the importance of still doing school related activities on Wednesdays.  These are still school days even though they are learning from home.  Each Wednesday, they will have a trick word packet to complete and are expected to do some math (ST Math or EM games) and reading (Sora, Epic, Capstone, books).  They are also expected to attend our Zoom at 8:00 a.m.  
• Here is our November Choice Board and I will be sending it home with students on Tuesday, November 10 (next Wednesday, November 3 is a teacher work day so students aren't expected to do school work since it is a No School day, I know it can be a bit confusing). 

Important Upcoming Events

• No School: Tuesday, November 3 and Wednesday, November 4: Election Day and Teacher Work Days
• Book Character Pumpkins Due: Thursday, November 5

Parent Teacher Conferences

• Thank you to everyone who has filled out the Parent Teacher Conference time request form.  If you haven't filled it out yet, please do so this week.  I will be sending out your scheduled time via email early next week.
• Our goal at RBE is 100% attendance.  I look forward to getting a chance to Zoom with everyone and share about your student's progress so far this year.
• Please let me know if there is anything specific you would like to discuss at conferences.

Friday Folders

• Friday folder checklists and comments are filled out this week.  Please read over these and initial below the checklist or in the comment section.  
• There are Fundations and math activities in the Friday folder.  There are optional practice for your student.  They are from our current math unit and our next Fundations unit.  
• These can be used on Wednesdays for additional practice if you would like.

Next Week's Learning

• Reading
• We will continue learning about making inferences next week.
• We will also continue talking about identifying the central message or theme in a story.  Fairy tales and fables are great ways to practice identifying the central message or theme.  This is what lesson the author wants the reader to learn from the story.
• Writing
• We will continue working on opinion writing next week.  We will be forming an opinion about a book character and using details from the story to support our opinion.
• Math
• We will be wrapping up Unit 2 next week and will test on Friday.
• We will be working on different ways to make numbers and also applying "rules" to numbers and seeing what patterns we notice.
• Science
• We will be identifying if plants can live in a specific habitat based on their needs.  We will be discussing why a plant can live in one ecosystem, but not another.
• We will also be identifying the different ways that seeds move.  My goal is to get outside and take some pictures of some seeds if possible.  
• Fundations
• We will start Unit 5 on Monday.  This unit covers multi-syllabic words.  We will be discussing the different syllable types that will be present in different words.
• Our trick words for next week are against, knew, know.  Please continue practicing these words at home.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy First Face to Face Friday!

 Happy Friday!

The students have worked so hard this week.  They immediately got into the routine of face to face school!  They have done really well keeping their masks on and staying in their spots.  

Important Upcoming Events

• RBE Trunk or Treat: Thursday, October 29 from 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
• No School: November 3-4 (Election Day and Teacher Work Day)
• Parent Teacher Conferences: Week of November 9 (More information to come)
• These will be done over Zoom.
• Thanksgiving Break: November 25-27 (No School)

Friday Folders

• Our first Friday folder will come home this week.  In the Friday folder will be a checklist showing how your student scored in Work Habits, Interactions with Adults and Interactions with Peers.  Students are scored from 1-4 with 3 being the goal.  A 4 means that the student repeatedly went above and beyond in an area.  Scores can also fluctuate each week as the scores is based on the specific week.
• I will also write comments every other week.
• Starting the week of November 2, there will be a place for parents to initial.  This lets me know you have seen the folders.
• Please return the folders on Monday.  This allows me to let them folders sit for a few days before I handle and repack them for the week.  
• This week there is a flu clinic form.  If you would like your student to receive the flu vaccine at school, the form must be returned by November 9.

Sticker Charts

• The students started earning stickers this week for being safe, respectful learners at school.
• We converted our Class Dojo points to stickers this week also.  I have cleared all their Class Dojo points and given them a sticker chart with the number of stickers earned.  2 Dojo points is worth 1 sticker.
• Once students fill a sticker chart (20 stickers), they can turn it in and choose their rewards.  
• Some students have already turned in their sticker charts for rewards.  When a student turns in a sticker chart, I will write their reward choice on the back so they can bring it home to show their parents.  
• I'm proud of all their hard work to earn stickers.  We will continue to use Class Dojo on Wednesdays when we are virtual since I can't give stickers over Zoom.  :)

Next Week's Learning

Math

• Students will explain why the turn around rule doesn't work for subtraction.  We will be working hard on their explanations when telling why it doesn't work.
• Students will be working on representing a number in multiple ways (money, number models, pictures, tally marks)

Reading

• We will be starting Unit 2 next week.  We will be learning about making inferences in reading.
• Students will have to identify clues the author gives and then determine an inference about the characters in the story.

Writing

• Our writing for unit 2 is opinion.  We will be doing a Hershey's Kiss taste test next week to determine our favorite and then identify reasons why we liked a certain flavor.  It's a secret, don't tell the kids.  :)
• We will then start an opinion piece about a character in one of the stories we are reading.  

Social Studies

• We will switch from science to social studies next week.  We will start by learning about the election process.  This will be an introduction to our unit on being a good citizen and US symbols.  

Fundations

• Our trick words are again, animal, please, sure, use, used.
• We will learn about new vowel teams of -ou, oo, ew and ue.  The students are learning these to read at the moment, not spelling with them.  We will also be learning the different sounds made by the suffix -ed.

I really enjoyed our first week together face to face and I'm so excited to see the kids again next week!

Happy Friday!

 Happy Friday!

I am so excited to see the students on Monday.  This is a long post and has a lot of important information!

Drop Off

• Students will be dropped off in the Parent Pick Up area or in the bus lane.  Please have your student get out of the car quickly once you have pulled up to the drop off location as our parking lot will be more congested this year due to construction.  

Snack

• We will have a daily snack in the morning.  Please send a snack with your child each day. 
• If you need assistance providing snacks, please let me know.

Lunch

• We will be eating lunch in the classroom.  We will walk to the cafeteria to get school lunches for those purchasing lunch and then will return to the classroom to eat.
• Please make sure your student is able to open any containers they bring so they will be the only ones touching their containers to avoid unnecessary germs.

Breakfast

• If students are eating breakfast at school, they will go to the cafeteria, pick up their breakfast and return to the classroom to eat.

Masks

• Columbia Public Schools is expecting students to wear masks.  We will have lanyards at schools for students to attach to their masks.  This will help students to keep track of their masks during mask breaks.
• Students will be allowed to take off their masks when we are eating lunch and snack.
• When we are outside and students are at least 6 feet apart, they will be able to take off their masks.

Dismissal

• Students will dismiss in a staggered fashion as we have in the past.
• Announcements will be made for Apple School, Adventure Club (starting 10/26), daycare van and buses over the intercom.  
• Parent Pick Up will be called after buses have left.  Please have your Parent Pick Up card clearly displayed in the window of your car.  You will be directed to a cone and your student will meet you at the cone.
• If your student is going home a different way than normal, please email myself (kross@cpsk12.org) as well as Shawna and Angela in the office (shschulte@cpsk12.org; akorschgen@cpsk12.org).  This ensures we get the message and your student gets home safely.

Wednesdays

• Students will Zoom at 8:00 a.m. (same link they have used) for our Second Steps lesson and a fun activity together.
• The rest of the day will be an independent work day.  Students can work on ST Math, EM games, read (online or in books) and I will send home a choice board for the month.  

Not Feeling Well?

• If your student is sick, please keep them home so they can recover and also to not spread the sickness to others.
• Your student needs to be fever free and no vomiting without medication for at least 24 hours before returning to school.
• Please refer to this document for specific information regarding illnesses from the CPS website.  

Book Character Pumpkins

• Each October, I do a project where students decorate a pumpkin at home to look like book character.  I introduced the idea to students today and the information sheet will be coming home on Monday.
• Students will decorate a pie size pumpkin (small pumpkin, slightly larger than a softball) using pant, glue (hot glue works best), markers or other supplies to make it look like a book character.  
• The decorating will occur at home and please no carving as that allows pumpkins to rot faster.
• Students will then fill out a sheet describing their character (attached to the form).
• Wednesdays and weekends are great times to work on this project.  
• Pumpkins need to be at school by November 5 so we can do a pumpkin gallery walk on November 6.
• If you need help getting a pumpkin, please let me know.
• Here is the information sheet.  There are examples on here, you can also Google Pumpkin Book Characters to get ideas. 

Next Week's Learning

• Reading
• We will be responding to a fiction story this week and focusing on why characters made specific decisions.
• Writing
• We will start writing our information writing about grasslands next week.
• We will be writing a paragraph each day.
• Fundations
• We will be learning about suffixes next week.
• Math
• We will continue to work on addition strategies next week.  These strategies help students to solve addition problems faster as they learn their basic facts.
• Science
• We will be focusing on how animals help plants next week and also the needs of a plant.  I am hoping to set up an experiment to see how plants react when their needs are not met.

Important Upcoming Events

• No School: November 3-4 (Election Day and Teacher Work Day)
• Pumpkin Book Characters Due (November 5)

Have a fabulous weekend and I can't wait to see the kids on Monday!

Kate

Happy Friday!

 Happy Friday!

Last week I was talking about the fall temperature and this week I'm loving the warmer weather.  It is true what they say about Missouri weather, if you don't like it, wait a few hours.  :)

Thank you to everyone that participated in our Non-Chicken BBQ this year whether through the Family Eat Outs or through the auction.  It wasn't our normal, amazing Chicken BBQ and we still appreciate all the support.  If you are new to RBE, just wait until next year when our Chicken BBQ is back to normal.  You will be amazed.

October 29: RBE Literacy Trunk or Treat from 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

• Here is more information and I will be there!

Next Week's Learning

Reading

• We will continue working on informational text.  We will practice asking questions, identifying main idea and how text feature help us as a reader.
• Students will also have an opportunity to compare information from two text to draw a conclusion about habitats.
• Please encourage students to be doing some independent reading at home whether in a book or on one of our online reading options.  

Writing

• We will practice taking notes again next week.  Students will be learning more about the grasslands habitat.
• Note taking can be a difficult skill and I have it set up differently for next week so the students still get the practice and don't get stressed out about keeping up.
• We will then start planning our first piece of writing.  It will be very scaffolded and we will work through every step together.

Math

• We took our math test today.  I will finish grading them this weekend, the ones I have graded are fabulous.  You will be able to see them in Seesaw and I will let you know of any areas students still need some extra practice.  I will incorporate any skills that need reviewing into our lessons over the coming weeks.
• We will start Unit 2 next week.  This unit looks at addition strategies.  We will look at skip counting patterns as well as start learning about different strategies to help us quickly solve addition facts.
• As with reading, please encourage your students to do some math practice on Wednesdays as well.  ST Math and EM Games both are great resources for the students to practice.

Science

• We will be learning about the basic needs of a plant next week.  Students will have an opportunity to identify their favorite tree and share it with the class as we learn about what they need to survive.

Fundations

• We will start Unit 3 next week.  This unit introduces closed syllable exceptions (-old, -ost, -olt, -ild, -ind) and vowel teams.
• Our trick words for next week are done, goes, pretty.  Students can still be practicing past trick words of shall, pull, full, talk, walk, both, they.

Have a fabulous weekend and as always, thank you so much for the wonderful support at home!

Happy Friday!

 Happy Friday!

Wow!  Fall is definitely here!  The temperatures have definitely dropped.  

Class Dojo

• We started Class Dojo this week.  If you would like to connect with your student, the link is in the email I send today.
• This will be similar to stickers that are used in the classroom.  Students can earn Dojo points for being safe, respectful learners on Zoom.

Seesaw

• In my email is the link to connect to your student's Seesaw account if you would like.  This allows you to view and comment on student's work.

Friday Feedback

• While virtual, we will not be doing Friday Folders.  Starting this week, I will individually email parents bi-weekly to update them on their student's behavior, work completion and overall how things are going with school.  You will receive your first email today.  :)

Important Upcoming Events

• Non-Chicken BBQ Week
• Tuesday, October 6: Slim Chickens Fundraiser (20% of sales come back to RBE with flyer)
• Wednesday, October 7: Andy's Frozen Custard (all locations)Fundraiser ($1 for each treat sold comes back to RBE with flyer)
• Thursday, October 8: Angelo's Pizza and Steakhouse Fundraiser (10% of sales come back to RBE with flyer)
• Silent Auction: Here is the link for all the items available at the online silent auction

Reminders for Virtual Learning

• First reminder, as always is a huge thank you to everyone who is helping students get on Zoom, get their work completed and helping them to stay focused!
• Please try to get your student on Zoom on time.  I know it can be hard with school at home, but it is important for students to attend Zooms and to be on time, just as if we were in the building.
• Some students have been creating a virtual background.  As long as the virtual background isn't distracting and stays the same, I am fine with it.  Sometimes the students "disappear" into the background and it makes it hard to see them.  Please reinforce the with your students.
• It is helpful when students have their supplies near them for Zoom.  These supplies include Monster Book, Fundations whiteboard, plain whiteboard, dry erase marker, Math Journal, Reading Notebook (yellow), writing notebook (white) and science notebook (green).  Next week, they will also need their Plants and Animals "magazine" for reading.  I have a tub that sits on my desk and it's great because I know everything I need is in there.  :)
• Again, ending with this because I cannot say it enough times.  Thank you so much for all your support!  I know this is a difficult time, you are truly making easier for all of us with your support!

Next Week's Learning

• Reading
• Students will need their "Plants and Animals in Their Habitats" magazine that came home in the first supply pick up.  Here is a picture.
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• We will start learning about main idea and detail in a nonfiction piece of writing.
• Writing
• We will focus on informational writing for our first unit.
• We will focus on note taking next week.  Students will learn to read articles and take notes as well as watch short videos and take notes.
• Our first piece will be over penguins.
• Math
• We will wrap up Unit 1 next week.
• We will be looking at skip counting and patterns and then will test on Friday.  
• The students have been working super hard in math, I am so excited for them to get to "show off" on Friday.  
• Science
• We will continue studying habitats next week.  We will be identifying which animals live in which habitats.  
• We will also be looking at maps and identifying where the habitats are located around the world.
• Fundations
• We will learned all the glued/welded sounds next week and discuss how when tapping out a word, a glued sound only gets one tap because it is one sound.
• Our trick words for next week are both, talk, walk.  They can also practice this week's trick words of shall, pull, full.  Trick words are tricky since you can't tap them out. 

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Fall Friday!

 Happy First Friday of Fall!

I hope you had a fabulous week!  We had another wonderful week!  The kids are working so hard, participating and staying focused!  

If your student is participating in a sport, I would love to try my best to come see them play.  Please send me their schedule and I will try my best to come out and support them!

On Sunday early evening, I would love to have a whole class read aloud.  I have a book that I feel fits perfectly with how every one is working together to support our students and would like to share it with your student and your family.  If you would like to join us, please login to our Zoom link (same Zoom link students use for class) at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday and we will share the book together.  This is completely optional and I understand if you are not able to come, I just wanted to invite everyone. 

Important Upcoming Events

• Family Read Aloud: Sunday, September 27 at 5:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 6: Slim Chickens Fundraiser (20% of sales come back to RBE with flyer)
• Wednesday, October 7: Andy's Frozen Custard (all locations)Fundraiser ($1 for each treat sold comes back to RBE with flyer)
• Thursday, October 8: Angelo's Pizza and Steakhouse Fundraiser (10% of sales come back to RBE with flyer)

Non-Chicken BBQ 

• Our Chicken BBQ will look a different this year, but our wonderful PTA has been working hard to still have some parts of the Chicken BBQ happen.  :)
• We will have a silent auction and more information will be coming soon about it.  I have a fun ice cream outing available in the Teacher Town section.
• We will still have a raffle for a $250 Hyvee Gift Card.  You can sell raffle tickets to your family and friends for $1 a chance.  Simply collect the money for the tickets you sell. Turn in the money you collected for the tickets (checks payable to RBE PTA, or Venmo the RBE -PTA account with your student’s name, teacher’s name and number of tickets purchased) and the completed raffle tickets to the white drop box outside the office by Wednesday, October 7^th.  The winner will be drawn and announced on Thursday, October 8^th.  Here is the form.

We have 3 Family Eat Out fundraisers planned the week of October 5.  They are listed under Important Upcoming Events.  

Next Week's Learning

Reading

• We will be reading a nonfiction book and discussing how we know it is non-fiction as opposed to fiction.
• We will also be working on visualizing and making a picture in our head while reading/listening to a book.
• We will learn about story elements and making connections in books. 

Writing

• We will start writing a narrative next week.  We will discuss the characteristics of narrative writing.
• We are still working on complete sentences with capital letters and punctuation.
• The first narrative will be about a time they experienced a storm.  

Fundations

• We will be starting unit 2 next week.  
• This unit introduces r-controlled vowels.  During this unit, we will focus on reading words with r-controlled vowels, but not yet writing them.  
• Our trick words for next week are full, pull, shall.  Last week's words were you, your, was, said, one, they.  You can still practice these words also.

Math

• We will be learning a new game called Fishing for 10 and being able to quickly identify combinations of 10.
• We will introduce the quarter.  Please practice skip counting by 25's with your student.  This can be tricky for them at first.
• We will also be learning how to determine if the number is even or odd.

Science

• We will be comparing habitats and ecosystems next week.  Students will get to go on PebbleGo and learn about 2 different ecosystems and then compare them. 

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday!

 Happy Friday!

We are finding a routine and I am so proud of the students!  I am so excited to get to read their dream pet writing and also see their self-portraits.  I am going to print off their portraits and hang them around my work area so I get to be surrounded by them!  If you are not linked to your student in Seesaw and would like to be, please let me know and I will get you the link.

Thank you to everyone who picked up the supply bags yesterday!  I hope these supplies make learning from home a bit easier.  

Another HUGE thank you to all the families, friends and day cares for helping get the students on Zoom and making sure they have the materials they need to be successful during our school day.  I know a virtual school day seems longer than a "normal" school day.  I also know I really enjoying getting to know the students more and more each day and seeing their personalities come out and couldn't be more proud of how hard they are working!

Just a reminder, Wednesday is a teacher work day, so students will not have class on Wednesday.

Mrs. McKinzie has set up a plan for library check out while we are virtual.  Here is a link to the video.  I shared this video with the students on Monday and I think some have already requested some books.  Please make a plan to pick up books once you receive an email stating your books are ready.  Once your students have finished reading their books, there is a red book return by the parent pick up doors.

Next Week's Learning

Math

• We will be looking at the number grid and identifying patterns that we see and discussing how we can use those patterns to help as when we use the number grid as a tool.
• We will be creating multiple number sentences for the same number (example: 1+4, 2+3, 5+0 all equal 5).  

Reading

• We will be working on identifying the author's purpose (to inform, entertain or persuade).
• We will be discussing the difference between fiction and non-fiction.
• We will be identifying the characteristics of a poem.

Writing

• We are going to continue building our stamina for writing next week.  We are also making sure we have capital letters, punctuation and complete sentences.
• We will also be working on rhyming words as we look at poetry.

Fundations

• We will be learning the rule for when to use c, k or ck when making the /k/ sound.
• We will start identifying how many syllables are in a word and then labeling our closed syllables.
• Our trick words for next week are they, said, one, you, your, was.  These are words that cannot be tapped out and need to be memorized.

Science

• Next week, we will be learning about birds and their beaks.  We will learn about how birds eat different foods based on their beaks.  

Please reach out if you have any questions.  I will do my best to answer them!  

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy First Friday!

 Happy Friday!

I hope you have had a wonderful week! I am really enjoyed getting to spend my days with your students.  

I know learning over a screen is not ideal and can be difficult, but the kids are doing amazing!  The participation is awesome!  A huge thank you to everyone who is helping students get on zooms!

Next Week-More Content

Next week, we will start with teaching content.  We will be spend about 20-25 minutes teaching a lesson and then students will then have independent practice based on our lesson.  It can be tempting to start a break a little early or have an extra break when they sign off Zoom, but it is important for students to use the rest of the allotted time to do the assigned activity whether it is in Seesaw, Benchmark Universe or St Math.  I will stay on Zoom for the rest of time (for example if I sent them off to do math at 10:05, I will stay on Zoom until 10:25 when our break starts) so students can log back in if they have questions.  

Electronic Library Options

Mrs. McKinzie taught the students about our electronic library options today.  There are multiple options under the Electronic Library folder on ClassLink.  Students can also access Epic Monday-Friday from 7:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. for free using our class code, wek7430.

Next Week's Learning

Math

• We will start our first unit in math on Monday.  This first unit is more of a review of different concepts.  Next week, we will focus on number lines and counting coins.
• Students will have assignments to complete in Seesaw for math.  They will also be completing some pages in their math journal and then taking pictures to upload to Seesaw.

Science

• Our first unit of science is Plants and Animals.  Next week, students will complete an activity that focused on classifying animals by similar characteristics.  

Fundations

• We will be using the students letter tiles they cut out this week and their page protector/cardstock whiteboard.  If students are missing something from their Fundations kit, please let me know and I will make sure it gets in their bag at supply pick up next week.
• The first unit of Fundations focuses on spelling with digraphs and blends.  We will practice building and writing words. 
• Trick words are words that can't be "tapped out" or sounded out.  They just need to be memorized.  Our trick words for next week are have, come and from.  

Reading

• The first few weeks of reading will focus on learning routines as a reader. Next week, we will start writing reading responses to books that are read aloud.  Your students will receive a reading response journal at supply pick up.  For Monday and Tuesday, students will simply need a piece of paper and a pencil to write their response.   

Writing

• Next week, students will just get some practice getting back in the routine of writing.  They will receive a writer's notebook at supply pick up on Thursday.
• We will focus on capital letters, punctuation and spelling words following Fundations rules.  

Important Upcoming Events

• Tuesday, September 15: PTA Meeting via Zoom
• Thursday, September 17: Supply Pick Up from 2:30-5:30 p.m.
• Students will be receiving their school supply kit (if ordered, if you didn't order, you can bring $27 check or cash to purchase one), Stylus, reading notebook and writing notebook.

I have thoroughly enjoyed spending my week with your student and I am very excited to get to spend the year with them!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

I hope you have had a wonderful week! We are down to 6 more days which is absolutely crazy!  The end of the school year is always bittersweet.  We know the students are ready for 3rd grade and we want to continue to see them grow, but it's also sad to see them go.  This year has been amazing!

Thank yo to everyone who attended our Lunch Bunch and Writing Celebration.  Wow!  We had such a great turn out.  These kids are lucky to have such supportive family and friends!  Be sure to check out Twitter to see pictures from the event.  We will be sending their book home next week.

Rock Bridge State Park Hike

• We will be walking to Rock Bridge State Park on Wednesday, May 22.  
• Please make sure your student wear tennis shoes.  
• If you would like to apply bug spray before they come to school, you may, but we can't apply bug spray at school.
• If you would like to walk with us or meet us at the park, please let me know.

Variety Show

• The Variety Show is Thursday, May 23.
• We will be attending the Variety Show at 9:30.
• Parents, guardians, family and friends are welcome to attend.

Memory Books/Yearbooks

• We will be creating Memory Books at school next week.
• It is always fun to see what memories stand out the most to the students.  
• If your student ordered a yearbook, it will come home on Tuesday or Wednesday (depending on the day they get delivered).  Please have them bring them back on Friday so they can sign them.  
• We will sign yearbooks and memory book on Friday, May 24.  

Last Day of School

• The last day of school is Tuesday, May 28.
• We will dismiss at 12:10 p.m.  Please let me know if your child is going home a different way than normal.
• If your student will not be at school this day, please let me know.  
• We will me watching the movie Matilda this day.  It is rated PG.  We will be comparing it to the book which we are reading right now. 

Our Learning Next Week

• Reading
• We will be working on reading non-fiction text as we learn about different body systems.
• Writing
• We will be reflecting on our school year as we create our memory books.  It's so fun to see what they choose to write about and also how much they have grown this year as writers!
• Math
• We will be reviewing concepts next week.  We will work on time, money, addition and subtraction.
• Health
• We will be learning about body systems next week.  We will learn about a different body system each day.  Be sure to ask your student what system they learned about each day.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Mrs. Ross

Happy Friday!

What an amazing field trip that we had today!  Thank you to parent chaperones and donations of water and ice cream money.  The kiddos had a blast!!  Check out Twitter for pictures.

On Thursday, we met as a grade level, with administration, to look at our reading and math data.  The students have grown SO incredibly much!!!!  The growth that we have seen has been AMAZING and we hope that you are able to see this growth when reading and talking with your child at home!

Important Upcoming Events

• Field Day: May 15
• Lunch Bunch and Writing Celebration: May 17
• All Library Books Due: May 17
• Crazy Hair Day: May 17
• Variety Show: May 23
• Last Day of School: May 28, dismiss at 12:10

Field Day is May 15. 

• 2nd grade will participate in the afternoon session.
• Please send in a FULL change of clothes (including underwear and socks) for your student as they may get wet during Field Day.
• Here is the link for supplies if you would like to donate anything for Field Day.
• Ms. Moore would like all supplies by Monday.  
• Below is a list of supplies still needed:
• water balloons, small watermelons, Cheetos puffed, whipped cream in a can, baby shampoo and gummy worms
• Field Day is always fun and students always remember all the fabulous activities.
• If you would like to volunteer for Field Day, here is the link. 

Which is Better Project

• The students have worked extremely hard to publish their Which is Better writing.  All writing should be completed on Thursday - check in with your child on how s/he is doing.
• On Monday, the students will be writing their Which is Better presentation and practicing.
• On Tuesday, the students who are finished with publishing their book and presentation will start their projects.  We will continue to work on these Wednesday and Thursday.
• We will be sharing this writing at our writing celebration on May 17.
• Students will get to create a project to accompany their book.  The projects will be created at school.
• If students would like to bring in supplies from home, they are welcome to do so, but IT IS NOT REQUIRED.  We will have tissue paper and construction paper for students to use at school.
• Here is the information sheet sent home with some ideas of the projects they can create.

Lunch Bunch/Writing Celebration

• We will be celebrating all the students and their hard work on Friday, May 17 during a Lunch Bunch/Writing Celebration.
• Parents or special guests are welcome!! :)
• We will be eating lunch in the pavilion on Friday from 11:00-11:30.
• You are more than welcome to go with your child to recess 11:30-11:45.
• 11:45-12:15 we will have an open house style of our Which is Better books and projects.
• An information sheet came home last week but if you need additional information - please ask!

Library Checkout

• Our final library check out of the year was yesterday.  All library books are due on May 17.  As soon as your child is finished with his/her library book, we will start turning them in.  We will appreciate any help that you can give us in getting 100% of the books returned by next Friday!

Next Week's Learning
Math

• We are finishing up our last math unit.  This is a review from year, and introducing subtraction with stacking (borrowing) and multiplication.  We will be taking our last end of the unit math test next week, and then we will focus on areas that we feel the students need a little extra reinforcement.

Writing

• This week, we finished publishing our Which is Better book
• Next week, we will be writing our presentation and then making our Which is Better projects.

Fundations

• Next week, we continued to work on the /ou/ sound with the vowel teams "ow" and "ou".  The students have a good understanding of this concept and we will test over the long o and the /ou/ sound. 

Reading

• This week, we talked about author's purpose for writing.  An author might choose to write to persuade, inform or entertain (PIE).  The students have a great understanding of this!!  It is important for the students to be able to explain why they chose whether the book is to persuade, inform or entertain using evidence from text.

Science

• This week, we talked about how plants and animals protect themselves and then reviewed food chains/webs.  The students are doing great with this concepts and were able to show off at Runge today!
• Next week, we will review at erosion and how to set up experiments.  

Wow!  I was so spoiled with all the Teacher Appreciation gifts!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  I can't believe the school year is almost over.  It has been amazing watching the students grow this year!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

We have had a wonderful week in Moss World!  It is crazy to think we only have 3 more Friday blog posts this year.  There is a lot of important information in this post, so please make sure to read it.  :)

We have been working on end of the year assessments and to say we are blown away by the progress the students have made would be an understatement.  We are so proud of how hard they have worked and how much the students have grown this year!

Important Upcoming Events

• Final Library Check Out: May 9
• Runge Field Trip: May 10
• Field Day: May 15
• Lunch Bunch and Writing Celebration: May 17
• All Library Books Due: May 17
• Crazy Hair Day: May 17
• Variety Show: May 23
• Last Day of School: May 28, dismiss at 12:10

Final Library Check Out

• Our final library check out of the year is next Thursday.  Note the day change due to our field trip.  Please help remind students to bring in their library books on May 9 so they can get new ones.  All library books are due on May 17.

Runge Field Trip

• Our Runge Field trip is next Friday!  We will send home a reminder next week, but below is important information to remember.  
• Your student will need to bring a lunch from home, if they didn't sign up to get one from the cafeteria.
• All lunches need to be in all disposable containers.  We will not be bringing anything back to school, so please pack their lunch accordingly.  
• We will be providing a snack for your student, so they do not need to bring a snack for the field trip.
• Please check the weather and have your student dress appropriately.  Currently the forecast is for temperatures between 50-60.  We will be outside for the majority of the day, so they will probably want a light jacket.  Also, there is more rain in the forecast (not on Friday, thankfully), so it may be muddy at Runge.  Your student may wear boots or tennis shoes. Please make sure they wear shoes that can get dirty.
• We will leave school around 8:30, please make sure your student is on time so they do not miss the field trip.
• If you are chaperoning and would like to take your student home, you will need to sign them out with Ms. Mottaz or Mrs. Ross. We ask that you stay with us until your group gets to look through the museum/exhibits.

Field Day

• Field Day is May 15.  
• 2nd grade will participate in the afternoon session.
• Please send in a FULL change of clothes (including underwear and socks) for your student as they may get wet during Field Day.
• Here is the link for supplies if you would like to donate anything for Field Day.
• If you would like to volunteer for Field Day, here is the link.

Which is Better Project

• The students are working hard to publish their Which is Better writing.
• We will be sharing this writing at our writing celebration on May 17.
• Students will get to create a project to accompany their book.  The projects will be created at school.
• If students would like to bring in supplies from home, they are welcome to do so, but IT IS NOT REQUIRED.  We will have tissue paper and construction paper for students to use at school.
• Here is the information sheet sent home with some ideas of the projects they can create.

Next Week's Learning

• Math
• This week, we started to review 3-digit subtraction.  We used place value blocks to show how to exchange a ten for 10 ones, or a hundred for 10 tens.  After students understood the reason for borrowing, we also taught students how to stack and borrow.  This is a hard concept.
• Next week, we will
• Writing
• This week, we started publishing our Which is Better writing.  We looked a text feature examples of strong and weak work.  The students developed a list of what text features should have and they worked EXTREMELY hard on publishing their text features.
• Next week, we will publish the words in our book.
• Fundations
• This week, we focused on the /ou/ sound using "ow" and "ou".  We learned that the vowel team of "ou" only comes in the middle of a word.  The vowel team of "ow" comes at the end of a word and sometimes in the middle.
• Next week, we will do a mixed review of /ow/ and long o sound.
• Reading
• This week, we identified the main idea of a book or section of a book and the supporting details in a nonfiction book.  We compared the main idea and supporting details to a table.  The main idea is the table top and the supporting details are the legs.  A table top without legs would not have a purpose and vice versa.
• Next week, we be talking about author's purpose for writing.  An author might choose to write to persuade, inform or entertain (PIE).
• Science
• This week, we continued to learn about food chains and introduced food webs.  We also made conclusions on our marigold experiment.  Ask your kiddo what s/he learned about what a plant needs and what is most important!
• Next week, we will continue to focus on living organism.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday!

We hope that you had a wonderful week!  Continue to be checking out Twitter or the sidebar on the blog page for pictures of what happened this week.

Upcoming Events

·         May 10: Runge Field Trip 

o    Sack lunch needed

o    We will get ice cream at the end of the field trip.

·         May 15: Field Day

o    Please send clothes for your child to change into after Field Day.

• Here is the link for field day donations:  ttps://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0548AFA922A13-field1
• Here is the link for field day volunteers: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0548afa922a13-field

·         May 17: Family Lunch Bunch

o    11:00 - eat lunch with child in pavilion

o    11:30 - recess with child on playground

o    11:45 - writing celebration in the classroom

·         May 17: Crazy Hair Day

·         May 23: Variety Show

·         May 27: No School- Memorial Day

·         May 28: Last day of school

o    Dismissal at 12:10

Lots of Learning!

Math

• Your child brought home his/her geometry test on Monday.  If you have not already reviewed, signed and returned this test please do so.  We have you sign and return to make sure that you are aware of how your child is doing in math.
• This week, we started our last math unit - I can't believe how quickly this year is coming to an end.  We talked more in depth with fractions.  Your child is expected to be able to partition a shape into halves, thirds and fourths, and be able to identify what a shape is partitioned into.
• Next week, we will continue to reinforce fractions, learning about subtracting multiple digit numbers, and reviewing counting coins.

Writing

• This week, the students worked EXTREMELY hard on editing and revising their Which is Better writing.  We worked on adding voice to our writing - this is something that we are going to continue to work on for the rest of the school year.
• Next week, we will start publishing our 10 page book!!!!  This is typically is our students favorite piece of writing and they will be super excited to share it with you at the Lunch Bunch/Writing Celebration on May 17.

Reading

• This week, students were introduced to dramas (no no the drama that sometimes happens in second grade but reading plays).  Students are expected to be able to identify the setting and characters in a drama, and how the dialogue advances the plot of the story.  We also talked about what an Act is versus a Scene.  We discussed the idea if math is the act then stations are like the scenes.  We started with a drama that is familiar ("The Three Little Pigs").
• Next week, we will be continue to reading dramas but in a less familiar story.  We will then move into identifying the main idea and supporting details of a nonfiction text.

Fundations

• We started talking about long o vowel team of oa, oe, and ow.  We learned that "oa" comes when the long o sound is in the middle of a word and the "oe" & "ow" comes at the end of a word.  We also discovered that "ow" also can be in the middle of a word like grown or thrown.  Today, the students made a up a rule about when "ow" can be found in the middle of the word - ask your child about it!!
• Next week, we will continue to talk about the long o vowel teams and have our end of the unit test.  We took a checkup today to see how the students are doing with this skill and they made goals based on what they need to work on.  Ask your child what they need to focus on for the test (some students got a 100% on this checkup and did not make a goal).

Science

• We continued to work on food chains.  We know that all food chains start with the sun and then a producer (plant, nut or seed).  Then, comes the primary and secondary consumers.  This week, we added decomposers and scavengers to our food chains.  Mrs. Ross taught the students a fancy word for decomposer - ask your child what it is!! 
• Next week, students are making their very own food chain based on an ecosystem and then moving into learning about food webs.

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and please let me know if you have any questions! :)

Happy Friday

We have had an an amazing week!  Make sure to checkout Twitter or the sidebar on the blog for pictures from the week!

Art Walk & Museum Field Trip

What an amazing field trip that we had on Tuesday!  This field trip was planned by Mrs. Clark (RBE's art teacher) and paid for by CPS's Fine Art Department-we are so lucky that the arts are so supported by CPS!!  The morning started off at the Court House and then we traveled down 8th Street looking at the art work.  If you haven't had a chance to look at all the art work - take this walk with your child and have him/her be the travel guide!  We ended on MU campus and took in some iconic sites and art.  We ate lunch on the Quad and then we sketched what we saw.  Our last stop was the Museum of Art and Archaeology at MU North. 

Runge Field Trip

Our next field trip is to Runge on May 10.  Funding for this field trip is through Missouri Department of Conservation grant that RBE writes each year.  We are preparing for this field trip by our final science unit on plants and animals. 

There is permission slip coming home in your child's Friday Folder today.  Please review, fill out and return this permission slip by Monday, April 29.  We are also going to have a new addition of enjoying Central Dairy ice cream at the end of the field trip!  A small ice cream cost $2.00 and we are asking for this money when you return your child's permission slip.  Here is a copy of permission slip.  

RBE Eat Out at Panera

Don't have a plan for dinner on Tuesday?  Let us help you out!  Come eat at Panera from 4:00-8:00 pm!  If you are eating at Panera make sure to show the flyer below.  You can also order online for rapid pickup, but make sure that you use the code "PRFUND".  Come and enjoy dinner at Panera!

 

Upcoming Events

• April 23: RBE Family Eat-Out Fundraiser at Panera
• May 10: Runge Field Trip (Permission Slip coming home today)
• Sack lunch needed
• We will get ice cream at the end of the field trip, so $2 will be needed. We will ask for this to be sent in with the permission slip that will come home in a few weeks.
• May 15: Field Day
• May 17: Family Lunch Bunch
• 11:00 - eat lunch with child in pavilion
• 11:30 - recess with child on playground
• 11:45 - writing celebration in the classroom
• May 17: Crazy Hair Day
• May 23: Variety Dhow
• May 27: No school- Memorial Day
• May 28: Last day of school
• Dismissal at 12:10

Lots of Learning!

Math

• We finished up our geometry unit yesterday and took our post-test.  We learned about 2-D shape characteristics (triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon and octagon) and also 3-D shapes.  Your child should know how to draw arrays and write a number model that represents the array.  This test will be coming home on Monday after your child has a chance to look over it.  Please review with your child, sign and return next week.
• Today, we started Unit 9.  This unit is a review of many math concepts that we have taught throughout the year and going more in depth with partitioning shapes.  Coming home in your child's Friday Folder is the Parent Letter and HomeLinks for this unit.  
• We had a conversation today about halves, thirds, and fourths.  We learned that when partitioning the parts must be equal.

Writing

• This week we went back to our Which is Better writing.  On Monday, we wrote our conclusion paragraph that included our opinion on which of the researched items we thought was better, we would want to meet or which would win in a battle.  Then, we came up with creative headings for all of our paragraphs, and decided which text feature is best for each paragraph.
• Next week, we will edit our Which is Better writing and then start publishing!!

Reading

• This week, we worked on making connections.  Connections are important to make as readers.  By making connections we are able to understand more of how the character feels or what the character is going through.  We can make text-to-self connections, text-to-text connections and text-to-world connections. 
• Next week, we will be discussing dramas.  Students will need to be able to identify the characters, setting, acts and scenes in plays.  We will also be discussing the dialogue in drama and what the purpose of it is.

Fundations

• This week, we learned about when to use "oi" versus "oy".  The students took an end of the unit Fundations test today and these will be coming home with your child next week.  We talked about the importance of using our resources (Monster book - spelling options & trick word section) to make sure that words are spelled correctly.
• Next week, we will be learning about the vowel teams that make up the long o sound (oa, oe & ow).  

Science

• Our last science unit of the year is organism needs.  We will be talking about what animals and plants need.  We will be learning about how animals help plants reproduce.  
• We started an experiment last week on putting marigolds in different conditions to see what happens to the plants.  Today, we observed the plants and discovered that water is more important to plants that are in the sun than plants that have no light.  We will continue to be observing our plants for 2 more weeks.
• We have been learning about food chains.  All food chains start with the sun because the sun gives energy to the producers (plants), a primary consumer eats the plants and then a secondary consumer eats the primary consumer.  We will also be learning about decomposers and scavengers next week.

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend and please let me know if you have any questions! :)