Holiday concert time!

To welcome in the holiday season we were treated to the Band, Orchestra, and Choir Concert!  These students have really practiced hard since the beginning of the year in order to perform for us already.  We can't wait to hear them again in the spring. 

 

The week before Winter Break was very exciting and fun.  PTA supplied every classroom with a Gingerbread House to decorate.  Each student helped in the designing and decorating.  These were on display for all to enjoy and then 1 lucky student's name was drawn to take it home!  New this year was a Santa's Workshop put on by PTA.  Each student could shop for gifts for their families.  We also had a classroom celebration with treats before the All School Bingo game.  We helped our reading buddies and enjoyed lots of fun and a few lucky winners also received cool prizes!

 

Winter MAP testing is complete!  Congratulate your child on a great effort.  Most students increased their reading and math fall score by quite a few points.  It proves all their hard work in class and doing their homework at night pays off. 

 

 

Door Decoration WINNERS!!!!

Room 214 won the door decoration contest!! 
We won the category of "Clever Connection to reading" and along with this honor we also won $40 to spend at the book fair.  We will be previewing the books on Monday with our buddy class.  The book fair will be open during the conference evenings and also on Saturday (Oct. 30) for the Grand Event. 

Conferences will be held Monday, Oct. 26 and Tuesday, Oct. 27.  It will be a great chance to hear about the progress your child is making this school year. 

Special Events

September & October Events
     Our first all-school PAWS challenge was devoted to practicing and mastering the Positive Behavior expectations.  Each week in September the focus was on practicing the expectations that went along with one letter of the PAWS PBIS model.  This was a good reminder of all the expected behaviors in every area of the school community.  The students have really shown wonderful respect and responsibility for themselves and others.  Our reward was an all-school read in the hallways with plenty of raffle prizes. 
     In October we began the Chit Chat Challenge!  This is a chance to earn 2 tickets each day if we are mindful of our quiet work time and don't talk when others are talking or working.  We can't wait to see what the all-school reward will be for this!!
     October is also Fire Prevention Month and the West Allis Fire Department came to remind us all about fire safety.  We were reminded about how to stay safe in our homes.  The best part of the assembly was the appearance of Sparky and getting to see the giant ladder truck on the playground.  We appreciate all they do to keep us safe in West Allis.   

The 2015-16 School Year!

The 2015-16 school year is under way!! 
     We have been working hard to develop our positive classroom community and establish strong friendships. 
     This year we are implementing a readers and writers workshop model for our literacy block.  This will entail a daily mini-lesson and then substantial time for reading and writing to practice the strategies discussed. During the reading time the children will also have the opportunity to confer with the teacher and meet in small groups.  Once again we have the pleasure to read with our 1st grade buddy class in Mrs. Isensee's room.  (Please see the pictures below) 
     In math this year we are challenging our students to think about math a bit differently.  We want everyone to work hard and persevere on problems even if they make mistakes or seem too hard and impossible.  Our goal is for each student to gain deeper understanding of number sense and math concepts, reason through problem solving, and explain their thinking.
    

Field Day!

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FIELD DAY!!

 

We had a blast participating in Field Day!  Most events involved balance, speed, and teamwork!  The best part was the good sportsmanship exhibited by everyone.  Please enjoy all the pictures.



 



Important Dates

We have 2 field trips scheduled for the end of the year which is fast approaching.  It would be wonderful to have as many parent volunteers as possible in order for these to run smoothly.  I hope you can arrange your schedules in order to join us.  Both of these will last most of the school day.  Here are the dates:

Milwaukee County Zoo -- June 4
La Follett Park -- June 10 (rain date June 11)

If you are able to join us for one or both of these please contact me.  You can email, leave a phone message, or jot a quick note in your child's assignment notebook. 

Thank you for helping to make this a wonderful and successful school year.

High Interest Day!

High Interest Day was a fantastic day!  The students participated in 3 fun-filled and interesting sessions in the morning. In the afternoon there was an assembly which was put on by Kohl's Theater teaching students about animals and recycling.  Most students would agree that High Interest Day is one of the best days in the school year.  Enjoy a few pictures of some of the activities that were offered.