December Events

We are entering into an exciting and busy month. I would like to keep you updated on the following events.

• The OCS Winter Concert will be held at 6:00 on December 9. Our students have been practicing in their music classes and look forward to participating in the concert.
• The PTO Santa's Workshop will be held next week. Students in 5K will be going from 11:18-11:48 on Tuesday, December 8. Students from 4M will be going on the same day from 11:53-12:25. Students in 7L will be going from 9:26-10:19 on Wednesday, December 9. There will be a make-up-time from 10-1 on Thursday, December 10.
• School will be dismissed early on Wednesday, December 23. We will be on Winter Break until January 4, 2010.

We will be learning about different holidays celebrated in the month of December. We will also learn about how Christmas is celebrated in different countries. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, students in my life skills class will be making some holiday decorations. They will be focusing on following directions, measuring, counting, adding and subtracting, and other skills. We will also be working on speaking appropriately on the telephone by using a tape recorder to help the students to evaluate their telephone skills.

This week

My mother-in-law passed away on Thursday. I will not be in school on Monday, November 9. I will be back on Tuesday and 1/2 of Wednesday. Then I will be absent until Monday, November 16. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I will be conducting an APA (Alternative Portfolio Assesment) for students that need this as part of their assessment in their IEP. Thank you for your consideration in this difficult time.

Mrs. P.

Report Cards

Report cards will go home with you when we meet at conference time. If you are not meeting with me for a conference, it will be sent home with your child. All conference request forms should be in school by now. You will know your conference time by October 28. The 5-8th grade teachers will be meeting on Tuesday afternoon to plan conference times. Please check your child's agenda book for more information.

Conferences

Well, time is flying and conference time in fast approaching. You should have received a form from the homeroom teacher about conferences. They will be held on Monday, November 2 from 4:30-7:45; Tuesday and Wednesday, November 3-4, from 1:00-4. The teachers in grades 5-8 typically meet together with the parents to discuss the student. We have been working hard and all the student's in room 214 are eager to share their successes with their parents!

Back to School Night

Back to school night will be on September 15 at 6:00 for students in grades PS - 4. It will be on September 22 at 6:00 for students in grades 5-8. I will be there both nights due to the fact that I teach students in grades 4-7. Please note, I will only be at the school until 7:00 on September 15.
I am always available for questions and concerns during the school day. I am usually at the school until 3:30 pm (often later). I can be reached at (908) 453-4101 x 1215 or by e-mail - spettinelli@oxford central.org. I can only make local calls from my classroom phone. Therefore, if you would like me to call you back to a cell phone, I am limited in the times I can leave the room to make such a call. Typically, I am available from 9:30-10:15 on Monday, Thursday, and Friday. I am available from 1:00-1:45 on Tuesday and Wednesday. I am also available after school. I will do my best to make every effort to call you back as soon as possible. If there is an issue that needs my immediate attention, I can arrange for coverage to contact you immediately.

Again, please note that I will be available for both Back to School nights. However, I will only be in the school until 7:00 on September 15.

Thank you for your continued support in your child's education!

Getting Ready For Next Week

We are moving into a new room this year. Our classroom will be across from the faculty room and the teacher and student bathrooms. Our class will have access to our own bathroom across the hall. there we will be working on activities of daily living skills (ADLS). We will be working on brushing our teeth and hair, washing our hands and face appropriately, and washing items from the classroom that need to be cleaned. Our room was not ready for me to set anything up last week. We have a new floor, paint on the walls, and a new door! I will be in Thursday and Friday working on our room and getting it ready for us to learn all the great things we will be learning this year.
Our theme in our room will be Independence! We are going to work on trying things ourselves before seeking help. This is a tough habit to break, but I know it can be done. Think of all the things that can be accomplished it we try first before waiting for help. This being said, there will be some things that we HAVE to wait for an adult for. We will go over this the first week of school.
I have one more bit of news to report. We will have a new student join us this year. His name is Justin, he is in 7th grade, and he comes to OCS from Mansfield Twp. We are very happy to welcome him to our class!

See you all next week!

New student!!

Hello,
We will be getting a new student in our class starting on St. Patrick's Day! We are all very excited to welcome Sheldon into our class. We will also be re-arranging the classroom, adding room dividers, and changing the schedules. It will be exciting to have things moved around and it will provide a good learning experience for those students that have some trouble with change.

We are also hoping to get some class fish. We were going to try a hampster, but will start out taking care of fish to get used to the responsibility.

Also, please note that summer school will be held at the Brass Castle School rather than the Port Cauldon School. We will have some students that will join us from that school. I do not want to get a hampster that will not be able to join us this summer.

Till next time...
Mrs. P.

A busy week

Today, teachers were in school while the kids got to enjoy some time at home doing what they like. We dicaussed the upcoming building projects and the plans for the summer program. As of today, the plan appears to be that the ESY students will attend the Washington School District's Port Colden school while our school gets it's much needed repairs. This will be an adventure for us all, but many of our students that attend the ESY program will need their parents and teachers to help them with the transition to a new school building. I will keep you and your child up to date with the latest information. When we get closer to the end of the school year, we will work on some social stories and ways to cope with the change of moving to a new school building for the summer.

This week at a glance:
Reading/Language Arts-
Tuesday: Review new spelling words; Use the correct pronouns to replace subject words; Poetry reading; Edmark reading lessons; Writing for meaning
Wednesday: Wilson Reading program; Poetry reading; Edmark lessons; Quick Reads
Thursday: Spelling review; Practice with pronouns; predicate expanders; Quick Reads
Friday: Spelling test; Wilson reading; Writing for Meaning

Math:
Tuesday: Rounding whole numbers to the nearest ten and hundred.
Wednesday: Rounding whole numbers to the nearest thousand.
Thursday: More practice with rounding.
Friday: Test on rounding and place value.

Science:
Tuesday: Construct water cycle headgear
Wednesday: Make a water cycle in a bag
Thursday: Begin to write "If I were a raindrop..." story books
Friday: Edit first draft of book.

Social Studies:
3rd/4th
Tuesday: Put together a timeline of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life.
Wednesday: Finish Lenapae Posters
Thursday: Watch a movie on Lenae Lenape. Decide which part of village each student will focus on. Begin to plan consrtuction of the village.
Friday: Work on Lenape village

6th
Wednesday: Review homework. Answer remaining questions in class.
Thursday: Begin study of Ancient Egypt. Read and answer questions for homework.
Friday: Watch movie on Ancient Egypt.

Trying Something New

It's a new year, so it seems like a good time to start something new. When I started college, the Internet was just becoming popular. Now, I can hardly remember what I ever did without it. Technology is changing so much so quickly.

Blogging has been around for several years. Over the last couple of years, it seems to be becoming increasingly popular and more user friendly. Mr. Maguson has been doing it awhile, and wants the staff at OCS to try this new way of communicating with the world. So here is my shot at beginning to blog.

I am excited to try this out. I will be blogging about the interesting things we are doing in the classroom and any events coming up that will affect the MD class. I look forward to what the new year will bring. See you next blog.

Mrs. P.