Week of October 24th

Exciting events in our classroom: Our ITBS testing has been going well so far.  We are nearing the end.  We will be finished by Tuesday of this week! Our Liturgy and Grandparent's Day celebration went well last week.  It was so nice to see so many special visitors there.  The students did such a good job with their readings and jobs.  I was very proud of them! I will try to put up some pictures as soon as I can. Please continue to send any non-perishable foods or toiletry items to donate to our Stuff the Truck collection.  All donations will be going to help those in need through The BRICK.  Mr. Bell has also given us further encouragement by offering a pizza party to the class with the heaviest weight of donated items! Our Halloween Party is coming up on the morning of October 31st.  Students should wait to put their costumes on until they get to school.  You are welcome to send a treat for your child to share with the class on that day.  It is an early release day so all students will change out of costumes and leave at 12:00.

Focus areas for the week: Religion – Prayers and the Liturgical Year Language Arts - We will begin Guided Reading groups later this week. Math – Addition/Subtraction facts Social Studies - 5 Regions of WI Art -  Halloween decorating activity Science – Plant life cycle and parts Music - The students are preparing for the Veteran's Day Program on November 11th.  They will be performing the program with the 3rd grade.  Last years program was extremely enjoyable and this year's looks like it will be great too!  Some of the the students have lines they have to memorize.  Please ask your student if they do and help them with their memorization.  It is okay if the lines are not word for word, but they need to get the main idea across.  Some students are nervous about this so they need our support!  Thank you!

Dates to Remember: Mon. Oct. 31 - 12:00 Release for Students Fri. Nov. 4 - End of 1st Quarter Wed. Nov. 9 - Picture Retakes Fri. Nov. 11 - Veteran's Day Program (3rd and 4th graders are leading this!)

I will be sending home a paper on Tuesday listing any missing work that your child has.  I want to give them the chance to turn it in before the end of 1st quarter.  Please check their folders for this paper and encourage them to complete this work. Thanks so much to Mrs. Sunie who has been helping us with ITBS testing.  Thanks also to Mrs. Wolf for the special pizza treat during our Friday movie last week. Have a great week! Mrs. Worrall J

Week of October 17th

Exciting events in our classroom: Today begins our ITBS standardized testing.  Please make sure your child gets a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast this week.  We want them to do their very best!  If anyone is able to send a healthy snack for any days this week (such as fruits or vegetables, etc.), that is another way we can help keep the student's brains happy!  On Wednesday we will be celebrating Grandparent's Day.  It begins with a special breakfast together when the students arrive at school.  Then we have mass at 9, which we get to lead.  This is followed by time for the students to bring their grandparents (or grandfriends, special aunts or uncles, etc.) to the classroom where we will participate in an activity together, and they can give them a tour.  Our annual Stuff the Truck collection has begun.  Please send any non-perishable foods or toiletry items to donate.  All donations will be going to help those in need through The BRICK.

Focus areas for the week: Religion – We are the leaders for this week's Liturgy, so we are busy preparing for that.  It is also Grandparent's Day.  We are excited to prepare such a special mass! Language Arts - We will watch the movie of Mr. Popper's Penguins on Friday and compare it to the book. Math – ITBS testing Social Studies - ITBS Testing Art/Science – ITBS Testing Music - The students are preparing for the Veteran's Day Program on November 7th.  They will be performing the program with the 3rd grade.  Last years program was extremely enjoyable and this year's looks like it will be great too!  Some of the the students have lines they have to memorize.  Please ask your student if they do and help them with their memorization.  It is okay if the lines are not word for word, but they need to get the main idea across.  Some students are nervous about this so they need our support!  Thank you!

Dates to Remember: Wed. Oct. 19 - Grandparent's Day      8:00-8:45 - Breakfast with grandparents      9:00-10:00 - 4th grade leads mass     10:00-11:00 - Activities with grandparents Wed. Nov. 9 - Picture Retakes

Please try to make it to our mass on Wednesday at 9 if at all possible.  I know the students would love to see you there as they lead the mass! Have a great week! Mrs. Worrall J

Week of October 10th

Exciting events in our classroom: Our first class store went great last week.  The students were excited to get to shop with their well earned Starbucks.  It was fun to hear their strategies for saving up for some of the items that they couldn't yet afford.  It was also nice to see them helping each other out with "loans."  They are now working to earn more Starbucks (and hopefully not get too many debits) so they can enjoy the store again at the end of this month.  Thanks to Keely (from 6th grade) for being our store cashier! Next week begins our ITBS standardized testing.  There will be a note coming home soon regarding things you can do to help your student do their best on the testing.  This includes things such as a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast.  If anyone is able to send a healthy snack for any days next week (such as fruits or vegetables, etc.), that is another way we can help keep the student's brains happy!  Next week we will also be having Grandparent's Day on Wednesday.  It begins with a special breakfast together when the students arrive at school.  Then we have mass at 9, which we get to lead.  This is followed by time for the students to bring their grandparents (or grandfriends, special aunts or uncles, etc.) to the classroom where we will participate in an activity together, and they can give them a tour.

Focus areas for the week: Religion – We are the leaders for next week's Liturgy, so we are busy preparing for that.  It is also Grandparent's Day.  We are excited to prepare such a special mass! Language Arts - Mr. Popper's Penguins; Poem for the month of October Math – Math facts practice Social Studies - 5 Regions of WI Art/Science – Art and Science are combined this week because we are working hard on our land conservation posters for the poster contest.  The theme this year is, "Forests for People."

Dates to Remember: Sun. Oct. 16 - All School Mass (10:00) and KC Pancake Breakfast (8:00-12:00)               Wed. Oct. 19 - Grandparent's Day      8:00-8:45 - Breakfast with grandparents      9:00-10:00 - 4th grade leads mass     10:00-11:00 - Activities with grandparents

We have an all school mass coming up this Sunday at 10:00.  Our goal is to have as many students as we can there to participate.  The KCs will also be putting on a pancake breakfast before and after mass, which will raise money for our school.  I encourage all of you to attend! Have a great week! Mrs. Worrall J

Week of October 3rd

Exciting events last week in our classroom: Last week we wrapped up our Cell Unit in Science by making edible plant and animal cells out of jello and candy.  The students enjoyed eating their gobstopper nuclei, Nerd's chloroplasts, and Mike n Ike mitochondria and vacuoles. Last Friday the 2nd graders visited our classroom for art class.  Mrs. Newago brought us rocks to paint, and we all worked together to turn them into different animals and objects with paints.  It was so wonderful to see all the students helping each other out with their painting.  They turned out really nice!  We are slowly adding the different parts of the Daily 5 to our Language Arts time.  We are now regularly building our stamina with Read to Self and Read to Someone.  Please ask your child more about these activities! On Friday John brought his hermit crabs to visit our classroom.  It was interesting to learn about their eating habits and to notice the different personalities of each one.  Thanks for sharing John!

Focus areas for the week: Religion – We will continue talking about faithfulness.  We will also be learning more about St. Francis.  On Wednesday at Liturgy we will be celebrating the Feast Day of St. Francis.  In honor of St. Francis we will also be having a blessing of the animals at 2:30 on Wednesday in the OLL parking lot.  Parents may bring pets to be blessed no earlier than 2:15 on that day. Language Arts - Mr. Popper's Penguins; Poem for the month of October Math – Number comparisons **If you have anything (such as a gently used book, toy, etc.) that you could donate to our classroom store, I would greatly appreciate it.  We will produce our "starbuck" money in our classroom mint this week in math and have our first trip to the classroom store! Social Studies - 5 Regions of WI Art – Poster contest Science – On Monday we will be heading to Kreher Park with our 1st grade buddies.  We will be making tree field guides by writing down facts about specific trees there and making bark and leaf rubbings.  It should be a fun time!

Dates to Remember: Mon., Oct. 3 - Field trip to Kreher Park Wed., Oct. 5 - Blessing of the Animals at 2:30 Thursday, Oct. 6 - Picture Day Mon., Oct. 10 - NO SCHOOL Wed., Oct. 12  – NO SCHOOL

I sent out links to my online grades last week.  I saw that some of you have already registered for the site.  That is great!  It is another way for us to work together to provide the best education possible for your child. Have a great week! Mrs. Worrall J