Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to our Wonderful Families!

Thank you to all who helped out with the Christmas party. We appreciate all the donations, and the parents who came to help with the cookie decorating and hot chocolate bar.

The children had a blast!

We want to thank you for your generous donations to our 4th Annual Adopt a Family program.
Our classroom Giving Tree is overflowing with Christmas gifts.  Because of your kindness, our recipients received every gift on their wish lists!

We appreciate all the homemade treasures and treats sent in with the students. They are always so excited to watch us open the packages.  We are truly blessed to have so many kind and thoughtful parents. 

Finally, we both thank you from the bottom of hearts for the group gift of massage therapy.  We are looking forward to a luxurious relaxing massage.  You're the best!
 
Love,  Amy & Wanda
 

  Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.

~Author unknown

Adopt a Family!

Recently we have been reading books and learning about people who are less fortunate.  Again this year, in the spirit of giving, our class will be adopting a family in need from The Forgotten Children's Organization.  Our class Giving Tree is now in the classroom decorated with gift tags listing personal information about each child in the family.  There are 7 children, and one on the way.  If you would like to donate to the family, we invite you to come in and choose a tag from the tree.  You can also send a note in with your child, telling whether you would like to donate to a boy or girl.  Please wrap your gifts with the gift tag attached, and send them back to school by Wednesday, December 16th.  Thank you for your kind generosity.

    Hot Chocolate and Gingerbread Cookies!

Our Christmas party is on Friday, December 18th,

from 2:25 to 3:25. 

We will be having a hot chocolate bar and decorating

gingerbread cookies. 

Hope you can join the festivities!


~Small Moments Writing Celebration~

Please join us in celebrating our student writers on
Friday, December 11th at 10:00 a.m.
Manatee students have been writing narratives about small moments in time,
and will be proud to share them in an open mic forum.
Starbucks coffee on us!

Snacks!

  Our snack cubpoard is running low on choices.  We would appreciate any donations of crackers, granola bars, or other healthy food for our hungry manatees.  Thank you!

Soup Fest!

The Soup Fest time has been changed to

10:20 - 11:20 on Wednesday, November 25th.

We have been reading books about soup, soup kitchens,

and the homeless.  We're having a Soup Fest to celebrate our understanding of the homeless and less fortunate. 

Look for an email from Hayley to volunteer to help out. 

Thank you to all that are able to help out!

In addition to homemade soups, the class will be making a Stone Soup.

Students will be bringing in 1/2 Cup chopped ingredients to contribute to the soup. 

Please send the ingredients in on Tuesday, November 24th, so the soup can be cooked overnight.

If your child sits at the Crescent Table, or the Hexagon Table, please send in a yellow ingredient.

If your child sits at the Rhombus Table, or the Oval Table, please send in a red ingredient.

If your child sits at the Trapezoid Table, or the Triangle Table, please send in a green ingredient.

If your child sits at the Octagon Table or the Rectangle Table, please send in a white ingredient. 

Thank you for your contributions to this fun project!

Conference Reminder

Beginning tomorrow,

Thursday, November 19th, through Wednesday, November 25th,

school will be dismissed at 12:00.

Students will have the option of buying

a sack lunch to take home with them.

See you at conferences!

Veteran's Day

Yesterday we had a wonderful Veteran's Day assembly to honor the people that serve our country.  We hope you enjoy your Veteran's Day, and the time off with your children.  Since there is no school today, homework and bookbags will be due tomorrow, Thursday, November 12th. 

Conference Confirmation Forms

Thank you to everyone that returned their conference confirmation form (orange).  If you have not returned yours, please send it back to school by the end of this week.  Thank you.

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone that helped with our fantastic Halloween Party!

And thank you to all of our volunteers that come in

and give their valuable time to help out in the classroom.

  We are lucky to have so many wonderful parents! 

We appreciate you!

~Small Moments

Writing Celebration~

Please join us in celebrating our student writers on
Friday, December 11th at 10:00 a.m. 

Manatee students have been writing narratives about small moments in time,

and will be proud to share them in an open mic forum.    

Starbucks coffee on us!

Halloween Party!

Our Halloween celebration will be on Friday,
October 30th at 2:20. 

Hope you can be there to enjoy the festivities.

Self-Manager Badges

Today we introduced Self-Manager badges.  These badges are a way of acknowledging students that are consistently responsible, make good choices, follow the Golden Rule, and exhibit self control.  They also return their homework on time every week.  Manatees with Self-Manager badges have the priveledge of walking to lunch independently, using the restroom without asking, and being chosen for responsible tasks or excused first for special activities.  Students that lose badges from behavior checks or detentions have the opportunity to regain their badge after a two week period of good behavior.   Lost badges will not be replaced.  

We want to thank Chris Mayer of Staples for the kind donation of the Self-Manager badges and lanyards.  

Please return conference forms no later than October 30th.  Thanks!   

Knitting & Crocheting

Club

We are continuing to knit and crochet during the 2:05 recess

on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Thank you to those of you who have been sending in crochet hooks and yarn.  Children are still in need of size 10 knitting needles (short length), additional crochet hooks (K), and yarn.  Adults with crochet and knitting skills are invited to join us for the fun!

Responsibility!

Every month the whole school focuses on a character development theme. For the month of October, the theme is "Responsibility." To introduce the theme in the classroom, we have been starting our morning with the song "Responsibility" by Patti Kaylor. It has a fun calypso beat that the children really enjoy. They love singing along! The song can be downloaded from iTunes.

We've also read books about responsibility and shared examples of personal responsibilities. The Manatees created posters to show how they are responsible at home and school. The posters will be on display on the bulletin boards in the main hall. Please take a look next time you're in the building.

Let's Go to the Movies!

(Note the new day and time)

Sunday, October 18th at 1:30 

~Where the Wild Things Are~

We will be reading Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak this week in the classroom.  This is a well-loved classic that has been made into a movie.  The class is invited to meet Mrs. Perine and Mrs. Angus at the Galaxy Cinema Uptown Gig Harbor on this Sunday, October 18th at 1:30 to view the movie together.  You can tickets online at Fandango. Hope to see you there!

Wednesday Go-Home Folder Help Needed!

We are looking for one more parent to help file papers and fill Go-Home envelopes on Wednesday afternoons. Beth Creta has been doing an amazingly efficient job, but it would be nice to have some help.

                                                                                                                          

 Christian the Lion

  Class Read Aloud

We are reading a wonderful chapter book called Christian the Lion: Based on the Amazing and Heartwarming True Story, by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall. Two men in London adopt a lion cub for a pet. After a year together, they introduce him to the African wild. The short video can be viewed on YouTube. We will also be reading Christian the Lion picture book by the same authors as a follow-up to the chapter book. Both are enduring stories about the connection between man and animal.

Fall Festival

If you are attending Fall Festival next Friday, October 23rd, and interested in contributing, please send in a bag of treats (ahead of time).  Hayley Nichols (858-5764) or Hayley@allovus.com is the contact person for this event.  Admission is a donation of canned food. 

"Hooks and Needles"

We have a passionate knitting expert in our class, Somer Mayer.  She has been sharing her talents with other students, and it is becoming all the rage!
On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at the 2:05 recess we will be meeting to learn and practice knitting and crocheting.  If you are also a knitter or crocheter and are willing to share your skill with others, please join us for 20 minutes of "hooks and needles." 

If you have any yarn at home that you would like to contribute to the class, we welcome and appreciate the donation.

If your child is interested in learning to knit or crochet, please send in a crochet hook, or size 8-10 knitting needles, and yarn.

Daily Literacy Block

Last summer we (Amy and Wanda) were deeply engrossed in discovering what research says most benefits students as they become readers, writers and lifelong learners. As a result, the structure of our literacy block may look and sound a little different this year, and we are EXCITED!

It won’t be long until you hear your child talking about “The Daily Five.” The purpose of this blog is to fill you in on what The Daily Five is all about, so you don’t have to nod your head while wondering what in the world your child is referring to.

The Daily Five is a way of structuring the reading block so every student is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks. These research based tasks are ones that will have the biggest impact on student reading and writing achievement, as well as help foster children who love to read and write. Students receive explicit whole group instruction and then are given independent practice time to read and write independently while teachers provide focused, intense instruction to individuals and small groups of students.

When it is up and running smoothly, students will be engaged in the Daily Five, which are comprised of:

• Read to Self

• Work on Writing

• Read with a Partner

• Listen to Reading

• Word Work

There are very specific behavior expectations that go with each Daily 5 component. We have been spending our first weeks working intensely on building our reading and writing stamina, learning the behaviors of the Daily 5 and fostering our classroom community.

Last week, students worked their "Read to Self" stamina up to 30 minutes, and "Read with a Partner" successfully for 25 minutes!  This is great news!  This week we will introduce "Work on Writing", and then "Listen to Reading" and "Word Work."  The students are very excited and proud of their new skills. 

We have also been spending time learning about your child’s strengths and greatest needs as a reader in order to best plan for each student’s instruction. 

Students will be spending most of their time actually reading "Just Right Books", which research supports as the number one way to improve reading. We anticipate the motivation and enjoyment of reading will skyrocket when this gift of choosing their own books is accompanied by extended practice and specific reading instruction for each individual child.

As you can see, we are excited about giving your child the opportunity to be involved in a structure that will have a positive effect on their education.

Please think of our classroom as you visit garage sales or clean your own child’s bookcase. It is our goal to make our classroom library as appealing as your favorite bookstore for browsing.

*Homework will begin this week.  Look for it in the Go-Home Folder on Wednesday (9-30).

Let's Go to the Movies!

Friday, October 16
~Where the Wild Things Are~

Our class is invited to see Where the Wild Things Are (rated PG) at the Galaxy Uptown Gig Harbor on Friday, October 16th. Since we will be reading the book aloud to the class, it will be a very fun experience to see the movie together. The time for the showing is not yet posted on Fandango or the theater website.  When we learn the time, we will update this information.  Keep the date open for a fun time!

Upcoming Events:

October 9th, Friday                              No School (teacher work day)

October 23rd, Friday 6:00 - 8:00         PTA Fall Festival

October 30th, Friday 2:20 - 3:20         Class Halloween Party

The Golden Rule

Today we read The Golden Rule, by Ilene Cooper.  This is a very important book to the Manatee students, as the golden rule is one of our classroom rules.  "Treat others as you would want to be treated." We talk about it every day, and learn to think about others in our deeds and actions.  In addition to listening to the book, students also decided on their class rules today.  They verbalized five rules they all agreed would be the basis of expectations for the remainder of the school year: 

Class Rules

Follow the Golden Rule

Keep your hands and body to yourself.

Raise your hand to talk. Be a good listener.

Solve problems by talking to each other.

Always do your best.

Weekly Specialist Schedule/Daily Schedule

The Manatee's weekly specialist/daily schedule is beginning to take shape!   

Our specialists are from 12:40 - 1:20

Red Group (1st Grade)                  Blue Group (2nd Grade)
Monday - Art                                   Monday - Music
Tuesday - Science                           Tuesday - Art
Wednesday - P.E.                            Wednesday - Science
Thursday - Music                            Thursday - P.E.
Friday - P.E.                                      Friday - Music

Our library day is Monday.
2nd Grade (Blue Group) 1:30 - 2:00
1st Grade (Red Group) 2:25 - 2:55

Daily Schedule

9:00 - 9:30 Question of the Day/Writing Prompt
9:30 - 10:00 Read Aloud/Literacy Focus Lesson
10:00 - 11:20 Literacy Block
11:20 - 11:40 Lunch
11:40 - 12:10 Recess
12:10 - 12:40 Handwriting or Calendar
12:40 - 1:20 Specialist
1:20 - 1:55 Writer's Workshop
1:55 - 2:05 Snack
2:05 - 2:25 Recess
2:25 - 3:10 Math

This schedule will be very flexible for the next few weeks until our literacy block procedures are established.

The volunteer schedule and weekly homework will begin during the last week of September. Thanks for your patience.

Hope to see you this Thursday for Open House from 6:30 to 7:30

First Week of School

Book Garden Friends
Reading on the Grass!

Welcome Manatee Families!

The first week of school has been busy, busy, busy! Students have been meeting new friends, singing new songs, and learning every minute.

Our daily schedule, and specialist schedules continue to be in developmental stages. We have been learning about the word "flexible!"

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Let's Go to the Movies!

Friday, September 18th at 6:30

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Our class is invited to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (rated PG) at the Regal South Sound Cinema 10 in Port Orchard on Friday, September 18th at 6:30. Since we will be reading the book aloud to the class and discussing weather, it will be a very fun experience to see the movie together. You can buy tickets ahead of time at Fandango online.

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Check out the Book Orders that go home on Wednesday. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi Barrett is in the See Saw Catalog (#15). Children will love revisiting the book over and over again after they see the movie.

Take a look at our Shelfari books (side bar widget) to see what books we have read to the class. We add more every day.

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Open House is on Thursday, September 17th from 6:30 to 7:30. We look forward to seeing you!

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Thank you to those of you have returned the Student Information form. If you have not returned your form, a replacement will be coming home in the Wednesday Go-Home folder this week. It is helpful for us to have this vital data for communication and other important matters.

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We are creating a class directory to be distributed soon. If you do not want your phone number or email in the directory, please let us know.

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Photos will be posted on our website and blog thoughout the year (without names). If you do not want photos of your child posted, please let us know as soon as possible.

Remember . . . the first PTA Meeting is this Thursday, September 10, at 7:00 in the library.  There will be opportunities to sign up for committees.  Please come and join us in support of our great school!

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Thank you for your patience during the first few weeks of school. We will soon have our schedules complete and available for you. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or email us.