Hanukkah Pictures

Here are some pictures of the students enjoying today's Hanukkah festivities.  After they sequenced the recipe for making latkes and helped mix everything together, they broke into groups to play the dreidel game with M&M's.  Shayden even bought in real chocolate gelt for us to play with!  They kids were very excited about this. 

While they played our awesome parent helpers were busy cooking our latkes.  Once they were ready everyone sat down and tasted their latkes.  We had about a 99% satisfaction rate!

Such a great way to end our holiday studies!  Another big thank you to everyone who donated supplies to make the last three weeks happen.  And another big thank you to all the parent helpers over the last three weeks.  I truly cannot pull off our Friday celebrations without all the help from my parent helpers!  You are all very appreciated!  I hope all my families have a very happy holiday's and a safe vacation!  Enjoy your time with your kiddos, I will see everyone on January 2, 2018.   -Ms. Shaw

Happy Hanukkah Week!

Happy Hanukah!  Welcome to our final week before break.  It may be only 5 days, but it is a very full 5 days.  Read on to hear all about our very busy and very festive week ahead.

Math:  More of making 10.  We will make 10 using the commutative property, with one addend being an eight (which means we will have to borrow 2 from the other addend), and solving problems with parts of 7, 8 and 9.  Really, it's all about teaching children how to add by turning an addend into 10.

Language Arts:  We did not get to spend a lot of time on last weeks story "Did You See Chip."  The children kept asking, but our schedule was super busy.  Therefore, this week we will stay with the story and the spelling that goes with it.  We will probably take our spelling test on Thursday.  We will also read books about Hanukkah.

Social Studies:  Hanukkah is our third and final holiday of study.  We will once again be focusing on who celebrates this holiday, why, and how.  On Friday we will celebrate what we learned about this Jewish holiday by playing the dreidel game and making latkes.  

Please remember, if you have signed up for any items for Friday you can bring them in anytime this week!  Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Christmas Craft morning!  Your donations make this morning possible.  Thank you to all the parent volunteers who came in on Friday morning and helped us with our crafts and our gingerbreadhouses!  Your help in immeasurable and I appreciate you so much!  Pictures of our morning are below.

Canned Food Drive:  A total success!  Our class brought in 65 (around there, may have been 63 but at the time of this writing I cannot remember which it is so I'm going with 65 😀) cans of food!  The children were so excited to put their items in the cart and at the end they had a surprise from a very special guest....Santa.  The looks on their faces were priceless.  Check out the pictures below.  Altogether Marshall gathered nearly 2,000 cans a food, and that is a huge holiday win!  Thank you room 9 families for your contributions!

Save the Dates:

• Wednesday, December 13th - PTO Craft Night - Students can show up in their holiday pajamas, enjoy cocoa and cookies, make some crafts (great for presents for grandparents!) and enjoy some free family fun. 

• December 15th - Hanukkah Celebration

• Winter Break December 16th - January 1st.  School resumes on Tuesday, January 2nd.

As promised, here are our Christmas Craft Morning pictures.  Enjoy these cute little faces!  -Ms. Shaw

  

Christmas Week Dec 4th-8th

Happy Holiday's!  This week we begin our study on Christmas!  More information about this below, along with some cute picture from our Kwanzaa feast, and info about everything happening this week in class.  Here's the scoop...

Math:  We will wrap up three addend addition and move into making tens when one addend is 7, 8, or 9.  This constitutes borrowing some from the other addend to make the 7, 8, or 9 a ten - which is easier to work with.  I love this math unit, and every year the kids make some neat connections when they begin exploring adding in this manner.  Neat stuff!

Language Arts:  Our next story in Hartcourt will be "Did You See Chip?"  The kids love this because it is written in a play format, and we read it in class as such.  It also has a fun pattern to the story.  In Daily 5 we will work on the reading strategies of use the beginning and ending sounds and skip the word and come back.  

Social Studies:  This week we will begin our unit on Christmas.  We will focus on who celebrates Christmas, why, and how.  Friday will be our big Christmas Craft Morning!  This will be the day our students make their parent gifts, and decorate their gingerbread houses!  If you signed up for any supplies, please send them in by Friday morning!!  We still need graham crackers and frosting to make our gingerbread houses.  If you are a girl, please send in a box of graham crackers!  If you are a boy please send in a can of white frosting!  If you have already sent in your donation - THANK YOU!   THANK YOU to everyone who has signed up and sent in their supplies/donations so far!!  These three weeks could not happen without your help and they truly are so educational and just plain fun and exciting!  

Extra Scoop:

• Canned Food Drive is in full swing!  We are collecting for the rest of this week, when they will be picked up on Friday during our annual canned food parade.  The class who collects the most can wins a pizza party.  Our total so far is...zero!  Woomp Woomp.  I'm not aiming for the pizza party, but it would be nice if the kids had a can or two each to add to the cart during the parade!  Come on families!  Let's bring in those cans for those in need!  

• Thursday is extra special early release for report card prep.  12:25 is our release time, please plan accordingly. 

• Wednesday, December 13th is the PTO holiday craft night.  Students can wear their holiday pajamas, make some crafts, drink cocoa and eat cookies.  I hear they will also have a chance to take their picture with Elsa!  A free night of holiday family fun! 

Cherry on Top:

Here are some fun picture of our Kwanzaa feast on Friday!  The students learned so much about this holiday, and it was fun to wrap the week with our own "harvest" celebration.  A few of them even decided to "cheers" each other.  So adorable!

Habari Gani!  What a feast.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Can't wait for week two of our holiday studies. -Ms. Shaw

Kwanzaa Holiday Kick Off

Welcome back from break!  Hope everyone had a restful and happy Thanksgiving!  Only 3 weeks left of the semester.  This truly is my most favorite time of the year.  We will continue to go strong with the academics, but we also get to hit the standards while teaching all about the holidays celebrated during this time of the year.  More of that below.  This blog is going to be full of good information, so read on...

Math:  We will begin Module 2, more operations and algebraic thinking, but fun new concepts this week like three addend addition.  Students will also be looking for ways to make a ten within those three addends.  

Language Arts:  We will be sticking with stories from our Hartcourt series for the next three weeks.  This week our story is "How to Make a Butterfly."  I will also be concentrating on teaching the children some of the CAFE strategies from Daily 5.  These are strategies they can use when reading independently to help them become better readers.  This week we will work on back up and reread and cross checking.

Science:  We will wrap up science for the semester with a lesson and test on the inquiry process.  We will continue science after we return from our winter break.

Social Studies:  I will be keeping our kids for the next three weeks to teach them all about the holidays celebrated at this time of year.  Each week we will learn about a different holiday, who celebrates it, how they celebrate, when they celebrate, and why - the importance behind that particular holiday.  I absolutely love this unit!  Each Friday we will wrap up our studies with a celebration.  I will be sending home a paper sign up sheet on Monday for supplies/items we will need to make these celebrations possible.  Please return to me by Wednesday, and I will send out a final sign up by Thursday.   Our first holiday is KWANZAA!  Please do not tell your child any information about this holiday, because I love when we sit down and do our KWL (what do you know/want to know/what did you learn) chart and they realize they really do not know a thing about Kwanzaa, and by the end of the week they are just brimming with all kinds of knowledge about this holiday!  The following week will be Christmas, followed by Hanukkah.  

Other Happenings:

• Canned Food Drive - Don't have all the details, but pretty sure it has officially started.  Please bring in your cans of food to help stock Marshall's own Parenting Arizona Coordinator's Peggy Murray's shelves.  As always, there is a contest for the class that collects the most cans.  I think it is a great way to teach the kids a small way of giving back to others.  Food will be collected during our canned food parade on Friday, December 8th.  More details to come. 

• Special Early Release - Thursday, December 7th at 12:25.  Please make plans for childcare.   

Don't Forget:

•  Thursday December  7^th – Special Early Release @ 12:25
•  Friday December 1^st – Kwanzaa Feast
•  Friday December 8^th - Christmas Craft Morning
•  Friday December 8^th – Holiday Canned Food Drive
•  Friday December 15^th – Hanukkah Celebration

That's everything for this holiday kick off week!  Habari Gani... your kiddos will know what this means by the end of the week.  Ask them to teach it to you.  - Ms. Shaw

Thanksgiving Week Updates

Happy Thanksgiving Week!  Although it is a short one I wanted to give you a quick update anyway.  First things first, NO HOMEWORK!  Whoo hoo!  Only two days of school, so there is no need.  Here is what our short week will look like academically...

Math:  We will take our final test in Module 1.  When we return from break we will begin Module 2.

Language Arts:  We will finish our last 2 Frog and Toad stories, which our students have just loved!  I wish you could hear their laughter as we have read these stories out loud!  We will also be reading about turkeys and working on concepts such as main idea and details, and finding information in our text, and using text to answer questions.

Science:  We will end our body unit with labeling our body parts on our bags.  Then we will review and test on the scientific process one more time.

Social Studies:  Our last switch for the semester.  The kids will have a final Thanksgiving lesson with Ms. Reger.  

Thank you to the families who attended Parent University!  It is always such a great night to work together, go over data, and learn new ways to help your child at home to ensure continued success at school.  To those of you who could not make it, your folders will be going home on Monday.  These folders include our data graphs (Oral Reading Fluency, High Frequency Words, and Math Computation) that show our goals for winter and end of year.  Your child's folder will have an assigned number for your child, so you can see where they fall in these areas compared to where we want them to be on our goal lines.  There are also activities to do at home.  If you have any questions, please feel free to stop in before or after school.

Don't Forget - No School, Wednesday, November 22nd - Friday,  November 24th

Happy Thanksgiving! 

This year I am thankful for this amazing bunch of students who make me laugh and love my job.  I am thankful for such a supportive group of families who work hard helping to make sure our kiddos reach their full potential!  I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving! 

Updates for Week of November 13th-17th

Happy week before Thanksgiving.  Our last full week before the break.  As always we are going to pack in as much as we can during the next five days.  Here's the scoop...

Math:  We are going to finally wrap up Module One with relating subtraction facts from 10 and 9 to corresponding decompositions (ex: 10-2=8 so 10-8=2), and looking at the addition facts to solve subtraction and relate addition and subtraction facts.  

Language Arts:  Our Hartcourt story for the week will be "Fun with Fish."  Poor Hasel and Gretel, we had so much to do last week we simply did not have enough time to get to them again.  We will find time for them at some point this year.  Instead last week I decided to begin our "Frog and Toad Are Friends" stories, and the on to "Frog and Toad All Year."  We are focusing on comprehension with these stories, and building reading skills.  

Science:  We will be putting the final organs on our body bags and labeling them to test what we have learned, wrapping up our unit on the human body.

Social Studies:   The students will also be wrapping up their unit on Thanksgiving as they end their story with Jack and Annie in Plymouth.  They will be finishing their work in their Thanksgiving workbooks, and will probably have a comprehension exam to follow.

Extra Scoop:

Parent University:  Parent University is this Wednesday, November 15th.  Again, I would really love to see every family in attendance Wednesday night.  We will be reviewing reading and math data and talking about what we can do to partner to help your child reach our end of the year goals.  Don't forget we will be meeting at 5 in the gym for dinner, with the 1st grade break out session beginning at 5:35.  It would be awesome to see every family there!

No homework until Tuesday!  It will still be due on Friday.

Cherry on Top:

Wednesday, November 22-Friday November 24 School Closed (Thanksgiving)

Thursday, December 7 -  Special Elementary Early Release @ 12:25 

In the Pipeline Pictures

The Children's Museum of Phoenix has an exhibit called "In The Pipeline."  As a part of their exhibit they sent over pipes, connectors, and banners for our students to imagine, engineer, and construct whatever they chose to create.  Our class had a chance today to go into our Science Lab and do just this.  We broke into four teams and the kids discussed what they wanted to build, how to build it, and then they got busy constructing.  It was fun watching them work together, figure out why connectors were not working, discuss how to fix it and then solve their problems.  At the end each team had some very cool designs.  Check out the pictures below.

 The first team originally wanted to build a pyramid, but quickly learned there wasn't any connectors that would let them make 4 triangular sides that would meet at a point at the top.

They opted for a hotel with a television set instead.

 This team built a house, you can't see it but there are stools inside for them to sit on.

 The third team built a castle house.

The final team went big.  A really tall shower!  LOL!  

 Everyone pitched in for clean up time.

We even had amazing banner folders!

What a blast!  Lots of engineering brains for sure!

First Week of November

Happy November!  I don't know about you but I am beginning to catch the holiday bug that comes with this time of year!  Crisper air, growing first graders, and lots of excitement!  Here's what is in store for our short Veteran's holiday week...

Math:  This week we will look at subtraction and relating facts to fives, tens and doubles.  We love working with numbers like fives and tens!

Language Arts:  In Hartcourt we will continue to read our story "Where Do Frogs Come From?" which teaches us the lifecycle of a frog.  Last week we had so much fun reading many Anansi stories.  He is a very tricky spider with many funny stories.  We also decided to read "Enemy Pie" and make friendship pies for our bulletin board.  They turned out really cute, feel free to stop by and check them out!  This week we will get to Hansel and Gretel, since we ran out of space in our busy days to tend to them last week.  Then it will be on to Frog and Toad.

Science:  We did not get to do as much science as we wanted last week, with halloween and a bit of switching with our schedule.  However, the students did have a lot of fun learning about the digestive system.  This week we will add the digestive system to our body bags. 

Social Studies:  Learning about the first Thanksgiving continues.  The students will be studying about the contributions of the Wampanoag people and the struggles of the Pilgrims.

Don't Forget...

Monday is our Thanksgiving family luncheon.  Lunch is at 11:35 but I suggest showing up a few minutes early to park and pay.  Please do not send money with your child, the cafeteria will not be taking prepayments.  

There is NO SCHOOL this Friday, November 10th in honor of Veterans Day.  Thank you to all who have served!  

Parent University:  I want to take the time to personally invite and encourage all my families to attend this very important and informative night.  The teachers here at Marshall really feel that of all nights, Parent University is one of the most beneficial nights you can attend to build a partnership with us here at school to promote your child's learning.  Every parent that has ever attended has only said positive things about their evening spent with us here at school, about how much they learned to help their children at home, and how much they better understand what is happening here at school!  This is our goal, and I want you to be a part of it.  Please make plans to join us on Wednesday, November 15th from 5:00-7:15.  The best part of the night is you do not have to worry about cooking or what to do with your kiddos because we provide dinner and child care!  It's almost like date night, or a night off!  Woo hoo!  Dinner will be held in the gym from 5-5:30, followed by break out sessions that you can sign up for.  This flyer went home with your child last week.  If you need another, please write me a note in the agenda communication log and I will get it to you immediately.  If you are planning on attending please fill out your form and send it in to me ASAP.  I look forward to seeing each and every family there!

Save the Dates:

• Wednesday, November 15th - Parent University 5-7:15
• Wednesday, November 22nd - Friday November 24th                                   School Closed (Thanksgiving Holiday)
• Thursday, December 7th - Elementary Early Release @ 12:25

 Hope you all are ready for our short week ahead!  - Ms. Shaw

Halloween Week Updates

Happy Halloween Week.  Please remember, no costumes on Tuesday.  However, we will be wearing our pajamas!  Remember to wear shoes and jackets for outdoors as well.  Also, if you would like to send your child with a healthy snack for our "party," feel free.  Do keep in mind we have a friend with a peanut allergy, so please check labels!  We could also use some paper plates as well.  Thank you parents and grandparents! Here's the scoop on what is happening for the rest of the week:

Math:  Our students are really grasping subtraction using pictures to find the difference.  They have learned how to label their number bonds, which helps them understand what the numbers in their number sentences stand for, and to really think about which part they are solving for.  They have learned the importance of making math drawings in neat rows.  Now we will move on to subtracting one and zero, a and subtracting a number from itself, while using 5 group rows.  It sounds simple, but these are concepts that take some thinking for our first graders on why and how it makes sense.

Science:  The kids are doing an amazing job making learning about their bodies and making the bodies, and having fun making their bodies on a bag.  Next week we will continue learning about our stomach, esophagus, and intestines before heading into our bones.

Social Studies:  Ms. Reger is teaching our kids all about the first Thanksgiving with the return of the Magic Tree House series.  She is actually reading two texts to teach them, the fictional text with our beloved Jack and Annie, and the accompanying nonfiction text that supplements their learning. 

Language Arts:  Next week, in addition to our Hartcourt story we will read Anansi the Spider, and spend a few days on Hansel and Gretel.  I thought it would be fun to read these stories for the holiday and focus on some fictional story elements along the way.

Extra Scoop:

• There will be no homework assigned for Tuesday.  This is not a trick, my treat for you!  

• We are in need of snacks!  We currently have 21 kiddos in our class.  Morning snacks are important fuel to keep our little ones ready to learn throughout the long morning.  Thank you for taking your turn in providing snacks for your child's class.  It is appreciated!

• Family Thanksgiving Lunch will be on Monday, November 6th.  The RSVP form will be attached to your child's agenda communication log.  If you plan to attend please fill out the log and return it in the agenda folder.  Please do not send money, payment is made on the day you eat lunch.  

Halloween Cherry on Top:

Save the Dates-

Tuesday, October 31st - Halloween Pajama Party

Monday, November 6th - Family Thanksgiving Lunch @11:35

Friday, November 10th - School Closed (Veteran's Day)

Wednesday, November 15th - Parent University @ 4:30 (Look for Flyers soon)

Wednesday, November 22nd - Friday, November 24th - School Closed (Thanksgiving)

October 23-27 Updates

We have an unusually quiet week this week.  Sounds almost too easy!  Here's what is happening:

Math:  Subtraction, subtraction, subtraction.  Relating it to addition.  Drawing pictures to solve problems, and drawing it in regular and picture number bonds.

Language Arts:  This week will be concentrating on our Hartcourt story "Space Pup."  I have added the story to the homework packets.  Please make sure to read the story once every night with your child.  This is good practice, giving them an opportunity to read a story they are familiar with will help build success!

Science:  We have started our bodies unit.  We learned about our heart and ribcage last week, this week we will learn about our lungs and begin to build our bodies on a bag.

Social Studies:  Ms. Reger will be doing an Ancient Egypt wrap up and then head into a new unit all about THANKSGIVING!  

Halloween Reminder - NO COSTUMES - However, as a sort of compromise my class will be having a pajama day instead!  The kids are really excited about this.  Please remember to have them wear their shoes for recess, and a jacket if the weather calls for it.  Also, we will have a "fall/harvest" party.  No sign up, we will eat what the students bring in.  Again, please limit sweets, they will get plenty if they go trick-or-treating that evening.  Fruit, cheese, crackers, veggies, dip, etc...will be perfect.  Thank you in advance.   

Mark you Calendars:

• Wednesday, November 1st - PTO Meeting @6:30 in Library (childcare is provided)
• Monday, November 6th - Family Thanksgiving Lunch @ School (details to come)
• Friday, November 10th - School Closed - Veteran's Day
• Wednesday, November 15th - Parent University (more info to come...mark your calendars now!)
• Wednesday, November 22-Friday, November 24th - School Closed - Thanksgiving Holiday

That's it for this week, relatively quiet.  Enjoy 😃 Ms. Shaw

October 16th-20th Updates

Happy beginning of the second quarter.  😀   Thank you to all the families who came in for parent teacher conferences.  It's always great to touch base about your child's education, set goals, and work together to ensure educational success for each student.  I appreciate everyone taking time out of their busy schedules to come in and meet with me.  I also appreciate everyone taking the time to read our blog every week to catch up on what is happening in our class and at Marshall.  Here is this weeks scoop...

Math:  The moment we've all been waiting for...subtraction!  We will be working on our subtraction for a while, beginning with learning how to subtract on a number line, relating subtraction to addition, and writing corresponding number sentences.  

Language Arts:  We did not quite finish our Mummies in the Morning book last week, so we will finish it this week.  The students are learning so much from this story, and have had so much fun with this unit!  I can't wait for them to take home their packets and share everything they have learned with you at home.  Also, we will be reading "Boots for Beth" from our Hartcourt series.

Homework:  Please notice I have added the weekly story to the weekly homework packet.  Please have your child read this out loud to you once every night!

Science:  We will finish Ancient Egypt with the students working in teams to build their pyramids, which they did not get to because our mummies took a little longer than expected.  After that the next couple of weeks we will work on a human bodies unit.

Social Studies:  The students will get to continue learning about mummies and tombs, and design their own sarcophagus.  

Extra Scoop:

• Gallop Money Due This Wednesday, October 18th!  All money you have so graciously worked hard collecting for this important fundraiser is due this Wednesday.  Thank you for you support of our school!  We appreciate your time and efforts!

• Box Tops are also due on Wednesday October 18th!  You get to send everything in on one day!  Whoo hoo!  

• Fall Harvest Party - On Tuesday October 31st we will have a "fall harvest" party.  If you wish to send in treats, you may.  I will not send a sign up sheet, we will enjoy what we get.  I ask that you refrain from brining in sugary treats, the students will be getting plenty on this night.  Some ideas are fruit trays, cheese and crackers, veggies and dips, string cheese, applesauce, etc.  Trust me, the kids LOVE these, and devour them like you wouldn't believe!  Also NO COSTUMES!!!  I will make any child who shows up in costume change into regular clothing from the nurse, sorry. 

Save the Dates:

• Tuesday, Oct. 17th - Site Council @ 4:30 in Library - Looking for some parents to join!
• Wednesday, Oct/ 18th - Gallop Money Due/Box Tops Due
• Wednesday, Nov. 1st - PTO meeting @ 6:30 in Library
• Monday, Nov. 6th  - Family Thanksgiving Lunch @ School (more info to come)
• Friday, Nov. 10th - School Closed - Veteran's Day

Hope everyone had a relaxing and rejuvenating four day weekend!  -Ms. Shaw

Conference Week and Post Gallop Updates

Hello Families.  I want to begin this blog by thanking our amazing PTO for putting together another amazing Mustang Gallop!  Our class had the best time racing around the track, and they looked so adorable while they did it!  Below you will find a bunch of pictures of Shaw's Shooting Stars zooming around, making as many laps as the could to earn pledges for this fundraiser.  I have to say, this class loved making their cute little headbands more than any class in recent memory, and they enjoyed race day to the max!  PTO gave each child a free Harkins cup and Marshall pencil just for participating, and at the end of the race they provided our runners with water and grapes and bananas.  It was one of the best Gallops ever!  Please read on for more info about when money is due and how prizes will work, and thank you to every family who is collecting pledges for our school!  With that being said, here is the scoop on what is going on this week in our class...

• Math - We will practice to build fluency with math facts to ten, and finish our short week with an assessment.  When we return from break we will begin subtraction and working with number lines.

• Language Arts - This short week we will wrap up our adventures with Jack and Annie in our Magic Tree House Mummies in the Morning book.  The students have loved this story, and it has taught us new things about Ancient Egypt, while reinforcing concepts we have learned in social studies and science.  We will take our spelling test on Wednesday.  This is when homework will be due as well.

• Science - This week we will "unwrap" our mummies.  The students asked what would happen if we covered an apple in natron mix and made their hypotheses last week.  This week we will collect our data and draw our conclusions. 

• Social Studies -  Our kids made some amazing King Tut illustrations to add to their Ancient Egypt pockets last week.  This week they will learn more about King Tut and his influence on Ancient Egypt.

Extra Scoop:

• More Gallop Info! - Now that the running is over, it is time to collect those pledges!  As always, there are some pretty nifty prizes attached to our collections.  The class that brings in the most money wins a field trip to Lowell Observatory-how cool!  There is also a prize for the class with the highest percentage of pledge participation (that means if each child brings in at least one pledge our class could win for highest participation, which would be really cool).  Individually, each child will be entered in the gift raffle just for collecting at least  $5 in pledges.  After that, they will earn a ticket for every $25 in pledges they earn, with a prize for the top individual earner in the whole school!  Remember, this is our biggest fundraiser of the year, with all proceeds going directly back into Marshall!  This years proceeds will go into STEAM material for our students.  Gallop money is due on October 18th. 

• Parent/Teacher Conferences - Most of you have signed up for a conference next week.  I did send home a final paper copy informing you of your day and time.  Please fill free to email me if your child did not hand this back to you.  If you did not sign up for a conference, email me and we will set up a time for you.  Please remember, early release Monday and Tuesday at 12:25, Wednesday at 11:10!

• Clothing Exchange - The clothing exchange will be taking place all next week as well.  This is a great time to come in and do some free shopping!  Come check it out!

• Save the Dates -Box Tops are due Wednesday, October 18th!

           No School Thursday, October 12th and Friday October 13th

Cherry on Top:

As promised, here are some great Gallop pictures.  Our class even got to kick off the festivities, being first at the starting gate.  All I saw was smiles all morning long! Enjoy! -Ms. Shaw

Pre Conference and Gallop Week Updates

October is here.  And with it brings the cooler weather.  Parents, please start dressing your children appropriately for the weather.  This may mean a small jacket and closed toed shoes.  Our heaters are not on, and oddly enough our class is sometimes colder than it is outside!  The kids often wear a small jacket in the morning, until it warms up.  Please make sure to write their names inside their jackets, sweatshirts, and any other winter gear they may need.
Here is what is happening academically in our class:

• Math - Whew.  We have worked so hard on our math concepts!  We have finally wrapped up our unit on the commutative property of addition and finding true number sentences, and fixing false number sentences.  These were difficult concepts that we took a few days extra to understand. We will continue to revisit these concepts throughout the year.  This week we will finish our doubles and doubles plus one. 

• Language Arts - Along with our story from Hartcourt, we will continue reading from the Magic Treehouse series, "Mummies in the Morning."  This is a part of our cross curricular Ancient Egypt unit of study.  Again, if your child would like to bring in their own copy of the book to follow along as we read, they may.  

• Science - As part of our Ancient Egypt unit we will be learning about the mummification process and then mummifying and apple, all while using the inquiry process.  After that, the student will read and learn about pyramids, and then break into teams to try to complete a STEM challenge of building a pyramid with certain materials and guidelines.  

• Social Studies - It's all about the Nile!  Ms. Reger has been teaching them all about this region, and now they are moving on to learning about hieroglyphs.  The kids will also get a chance to practice scribing.  I love the way Ms. Reger always make social studies so hands on for our students.  After this, the kids will learn about the famous Pharaoh, King Tut.

Non-academically we have a lot going on as well!  Here are our two biggies....

1.   Marshall Mustang Gallop  -  I hope everyone has been busy helping our little ones collect pledges from friends, family, and neighbors!  Remember, we run this Friday, the 6th at 9:30!  This year we are going with a space/galaxy theme.  I was thinking our name could be "Shaw's Shooting Stars"  and our colors could be purple and yellow.  This means everyone wears purple and yellow clothing, and absolutely anything with stars on it!!  This is our biggest, and only, fundraiser of the year.  Please, please, please, get out there and collect those pledges.  Every dollar counts!  If you need a pledge packet, let me know and I will get you one.  We have already had a few parents volunteer to help on Gallop day.  If you would like to come see your star shoot across the finish line, your are more than welcome to join us!  Just meet us in our room at 9:15.

1.   Parent/Teacher Conferences - I have had a good amount of parents already sign up for conferences.  Monday I will send home the list with your final conference time filled in.  If you have not signed up for a conference, you may pick 2 choices from the remaining spots, and return the slip to me by Wednesday.  At that time I will make a final conference schedule and hand that out by the end of the week.  

Please note, I will not send homework home until Tuesday of this week.  We will not have our spelling test until the week of conferences.  

The Clothing Exchange will be taking place in the science lab during conferences.  This is a great opportunity to stop in before or after your conference and go shopping for free.  There is clothes for the whole family, as well as household items.  Come check it out!

Mark Your Calendars:

Wednesday, October 4th - Walk to School Day - permission slips for busers will be in blue folders, attached to conference schedule.

Monday, October 10th and Tuesday, October 11th 12:25 Early Release for Conferences
Wednesday, October 12th 11:10 Special Early Release for Conferences

Thursday, October 12th and Friday, October 13th - School Closed Fall Holiday

This is October at Marshall!  Can't wait to see our little ones run on Friday, and I can't wait to see all the parents at conferences! 

-Ms. Shaw