Conferences Are Around The Corner

Students have been working hard in room 214. The math class put their knowledge of polygons to the test to decorate the room for Halloween. The students made pumpkins and monsters by cutting paper into polygons and gluing it together to make their decorations.

In Reading and Language Arts, the students are busy editing their stories for our Halloween bulletin board: What's Brewing in 214? We continue to work with phomemes and sight words to improve pur reading skills. Also, students are reading independently and working on activities based on their independent reading. Two students are using the Tumbleweed Online Books through the Warren County Library. Others have selected novels they are interested in reading. All students are reading fictional books at this time.

Our science class is finishing up our unit on Erosion and Weathering. Soon we will be blasting off to study the moon and space.

Finally, I will be meeting with parents for conferences on Monday, November 7th at night and Tuesday, November 8th in the afternoon. Starting November 9th, I will be on maternity leave until April 1. Miss Megan Lynch will be filling in for me. She is currently the classroom aide for 6th grade here at OCS. She is very knowledgeable about current advances in special education and I know she will do a wonderful job teaching your children!

A few things

The end of the first month of school is upon us. Grade progress reports will be going home on Friday, October 7. Next week, some of the students will be working on independent reading packets at home. Others have reading homework packets that address the particular reading skills that need extra practice.

Students continue to learn more about geometry in math class. We are moving on from quadrelaterals to learn more about circles and circumference.

My science students are learning more about earth science. We explored the dirt around us to and will be exploring the effects of erosion and weathering on our planet.

Back to School

Hello,

We are busy getting used to our schedules and the activities in each class. I will do my best to post the homework on my blog. As you are all aware, my class has many ability and skill levels. The homework will also be leveled and geared to meet each student's needs. There will usually be spelling homework each night. As we move into October, some students will have some independent reading projects he/she will need to work on at home. Others may need to bring home a book at his/her independent reading level and read it to someone at home. Please check your child's agenda book each night to see that what he/she needs to do for the night. I will do my best to check it and sign it each day before the students leave my classroom.

In addition, I have some 7th grade social studies students for ICR. I will be re-wording and typing up much of the homework activities. You child is expected to complete the paper that is sent home each night. Remember, a current event is due EVERY Friday!

If you have any questions, please call, e-mail, or speak to me during back-to school night (Tuesday, September 20)!

Summer School

Hello!

Summer school will begin on June 27 at 8:30 and go through 11:30. We will be focusing on reading, writing, and math during this time. This is a review time to maintain previously learned skills. This is not the time to learn new skills. Please call or e-mail me with questions.

Winding Down

As we approach the final weeks of school students should still remember to complete homework assignments. All MARE reports and posters will be completed and up for display for Ocean Night. Please be sure to come to school on Thursday evening between 6:00 and 8:00 to explore the various ocean themed activities on display.

This week...

we will be visiting the Scholastic Book Fair. The books are buy one get one free.

We are studying more words with the long o sound for spelling. We are also working on our MARE reports and posters. They will be displayed in the hall when the students have completed their final drafts.

In math we are studying fractions. We will learn how to find equivilant fractions and how to add, subtract, and multiply fractions. Then we will move on to decimals.

Testing is FINISHED!!!

Now that testing is finished, we can finally return to an almost normal school week. We will have some disruptions to the day due to concert practice. There will be homework during the week. There will be NO homework on the night of the concert.

Testing...

This week begins the 6-8th grade portion of the NJASK testing. Students will not have homework in my class, but should take the time after school to review previously learned material to refresh their minds for the testing. I hope they go to bed at a nice hour and eat a healthy breakfast each morning. Keep in mind the high pollen count outside. If your child goes outside to play after school, please have him or her shower before bed to help clear the pollen from them and prevent an interrupted night of sleep.

Practice over the break!

Math class - make sure to practice your multiplication and division facts over the break!!! Don't lose the facts you've spent time learning! Writers - practice writing about your vacation. Make sure to write in a sequential way by using transition words and keeping on topic! Readers - Read over the break! Your brain will thank you for it! Have a fabulous break!!!

April Fools!

Yes, we didn't get all of that snow that was predicted on all the forecasts! I know we are all happy about that. There are only a few weeks left until state testing and we need all of our days to prepare. I will be sending home work packets for the Spring break to help students practice the skills they learned so far. This week, we continue to work on reading fluency, vocabulary development, sight word recognition, and making inferences while reading. In math, the class is working on multiplication and division. We will be using the calculator to work with larger numbers. Next week, we will be focusing on using our fact skills to assist with geometry.

Getting down to business

Students finished their novels and constructed a poster response to the novel he/she read. They will be displayed in the hall. For the next month, we will be fervently working on polishing our reading and writing skills to prepare for the NJASK testing. We finished up learning about writing checks in math class. We'll be working on a variety of skills over the next few weeks. These include multiplication and division; fractions; measurement; geometry; and probability. We have missed several math classes due to the inclement weather and assemblies held during math time. We know we can work hard to get all of the knowledge into our brains! Hopefully we have seen our last snow day until next winter! As a result of the last two snow days, there are calendar changes that will go into effect. We will be going a few days longer in June. We will be getting out of school on June 22. The ESY program will start on June 27. Remember, the program is 1 hour shorter this year. It runs from 8:30-11:30. See you there!

Middle of March Madness

March is flying by!
Language Arts 1:We are almost finished with our novel Island Book One: Shipwreck. We've been learning a lot about boats, tenacity, and relying on your strengths to get through tough situations.
Language Arts 2: We are almost done with Sweet Valley Twins Book 2. We're building vocabulary and working on reading fluency.
Math: We are learning more about the record keeping of check writing. Students are applying their skills with adding and subtracting decimals to manage a checkbook register.
Science: We are learing about forms of energy.

Reminder

Friday, March 11 and Monday, March 14, will be 1/2 days. The students will be dismissed at 12:30. There will be no lunch served either day. The teachers will remain at school for professional development.

Come on Spring!

We were teased last week with our two warm days in a row. As a result, the students in room 214 are really anxious to change the decorations to present a more Spring-like atmosphere. We will be working on these decorations, but will make decorations in a way that correspond to NJCCCS and IEP goals. We look forward to any visitors who might like to partake in our warm atmosphere!

Finally a full week!

We are so happy to finally be without a snow day here at OCS!!!

The next few weeks will find us working on improving our writing skills. This is an important form of communication and a vital life skill.

We will continue to work on phonemic awareness and applying learned strategies while reading new or difficult words. Students will be reading novels over the next few weeks. Some will read The Island Book One: Shipwreck.

In math class, we are working toward multiplication and division for some and more advance addition and subraction for others. Also, there are some students working to understand what it means to add and subtract numbers.

Back to school!

We are back! The students are doing a wonderful job getting back into the school routine. We are working hard with new challenging spelling words in class. Expect to see spelling homework each night.

We are studying money in math class. Each student is working at his or her own level. Some students are making change, working on percentages, and budgeting. Others are working on counting all coins. While others are working on identifying coin values and adding pennies and nickels.

In science class, students are learing about designing structures. They are already experts at building with Legos. Now we will use other building materials and decide how to design a building that is sturdy.