We had a very exciting week, and a particularly exciting Friday! A great big thank you to our PTO for giving us a wonderful pizza and ice cream party. We won the prize for "most participants" in the magazine drive. Thank you, too, to Taylor's mom who came in and served and scooped the delicious food!

And, coming up this week:

Spelling: In lieu of a spelling lesson, we will be having fun with Halloween words. There will be no spelling menu this week; instead, a few fun activities that will go along with the words.

Reading: This week we continue our study of India. The students outlined the first chapter of the book and soon will write a paragraph from those notes. We will also be decorating our Indian elephants, a symbol of good luck in India!

English: We will continue Chapter 2 on Nouns, focusing on common/proper nouns and plural nouns.

Social Studies: Cities, Towns, and Farms is the title of Lesson 2, Chapter 6. We will continue to take notes on that lesson this week. The Trade Fair will take place on November 2. Students have begun discussing their trading items and it should be fun! The students will certainly learn about supply and demand.

Science: We'll continue Flight & Rocketry, specifically The Bernoulli Principle.

Math: We will start on Chapter 4 which covers multiplication. A letter went home regarding multiplication facts and timed tests. Please discuss it with your child, sign it, and send it back. We will have a timed multiplication facts test every day. A good website to practice facts is http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/cathymath.html

Other Notes: There is a Teacher Institute Day on Monday, October 29, and no school for our students. Picture Retakes will be on October 30. Please send the entire packet of pictures with your child if you want retakes. Our Halloween Party will take place on Wednesday at 1:30. The Parade will kick off at 1:15. Please make sure no weapons come to school as part of your child's costume. Also, costumes should be simple since students will be changing into their costumes in designated boys only/girls only classrooms. Also, please follow our wellness rules when it comes to sending in treats. Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of October 22, 2007

We had a very busy week trying to complete and perfect our 13 Colonies' Travel Brochures and I hope the students enjoyed making them as much as I am enjoying reading them! I trust you all saw my short note about changing the Social Studies test from Friday (today) to Monday (10/22). I hope the students will feel better prepared now that they have the weekend to study! And, coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 8 -- Test Friday. If your child receives the "spelling menu" as his or her challenge activity for the week, make sure they only do enough to equal 20 points.

Reading: This week we begin our study of the fascinating country of India. While reading about India, we will learn how to effectively take notes and put our notes into outline form. From the outlines, the students will develop their own paragraphs about India.

English: We will begin Chapter 2 this week which covers Nouns. Before that, however, we will do some creative writing.

Social Studies: After our Chapter 5 test on Monday, we will start Chapter 6 titled Life in the English Colonies. Lesson 1 is specifically about Working and Trading. Watch out for a letter regarding our classroom's very own Trade Fair. This letter and description should be coming home on Friday. The Trade Fair will take place on November 2.


Science: We will discuss the parts of a plane and learn about darts and sliders. Ask your child about it!

Math: We will have our review day for Chapter 3 on Tuesday and the test will be on Wednesday. My plan is to start Chapter 4 on Friday. Chapter 4 covers multiplication. A letter will be coming home toward the end of the week regarding multiplication facts and timed tests. A good website is http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/cathymath.html


Other Notes: We have our Magazine Drive pizza party on Friday, 10/26. Students will not need a lunch that day. The next Spirit Day will be on Friday and will be Slipper Day. There is a Teacher Institute Day on Monday, October 29 and no school for our students. Picture Retakes will be on October 30. Please send the entire packet of pictures with your child if you want retakes. I also have a very important announcement regarding Halloween treats: because of our commitment to wellness, we ask parents to resist buying candy for the children to distribute at school. Some ideas for alternative treats would be goldfish crackers, pretzels, popcorn, granola bars, stickers, etc. Have a wonderful week! Mrs. Klacza

Week of October 15, 2007

We had a short, but very busy, week. Some good news came our way... Our classroom won a pizza party for having the most participants in the magazine drive! Our classmate Jonathan also won us a "special treat" by spinning the prize wheel. Sooo, we will be enjoying pizza, pop, AND ice cream with chocolate sauce (courtesy of Jon) on Friday, 10/26. No lunches will be needed that day. What a wonderful treat from our fabulous PTO. And, coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 7 -- Test Friday. If your child receives the "spelling menu" as his or her challenge activity for the week, make sure they only do enough to equal 20 points.

Reading: On Monday, I will be collecting the final "story pyramid" project from The Kid in the Red Jacket. We will then use the rest of the week to reinforce reading skills like main idea and word meanings.

English: We will conclude Chapter 5 this week. It focused on punctuation, abbreviations, and titles. Look for a "How to Study" sheet which will be coming home on Tuesday. The Chapter 5 test will be on Thursday, 10/18.

Social Studies: This will be the week the students will work on their travel brochures for the 13 colonies. I hope you will be seeing these coming home. Please urge your child to do his or her best. They will be due on Friday, 10/19. However, students are aware that the pink "notetaking sheets" are due Monday, 10/15. Please remind your child that the rubric on the back is a very important tool! And, the brochures are a wonderful study tool. Therefore, the Chapter 5 Social Studies test will also be on 10/19. Look for "How to Study" sheet on Wednesday.

Science: I plan to start our study of kites this week. The students will be making their own kites and, if the weather cooperates, flying them outside.

Math: We continue Chapter 3 on graphing. I will be giving the math students a checkpoint quiz on Wednesday, 10/17.

Other Notes: If you haven't already sent in your money and permission slip for The Nutcracker, please do so as soon as possible. Also, Wednesday, 10/17, is a School Improvement Day. Dismissal from Prairieview will be at 11:00. The Book Fair will take place on Thursday, October 18, here in the gym. The next Spirit Day will be on Friday and will be Crazy Hat Day. Have a wonderful week! Mrs. Klacza

Week of October 8, 2007

We have had quite a full first week of October. Probably the highlight of the week was meeting Miss Amy from McDonald's Corporation. She is our Junior Achievement representative and will be joining us every Wednesday afternoon for about five weeks. We also concluded the magazine sale this week. Next week will be short and, hopefully, sweet!

Spelling: Lesson 6 -- Test Friday. If your child receives the "spelling menu" as his or her challenge activity for the week, make sure they only do enough to equal 20 points.

Reading: We have finished reading and summarizing The Kid in the Red Jacket. There will be a vocabulary quiz on Tuesday. On Wednesday we will be starting a project that will be completed both here at school and at home. Look for it and please make sure your child is giving this activity his or her best effort!

English: We have begun Chapter 5 on Capitalization and Punctuation. Quotations and Abbreviations will be studied this week. Our special activity will be "Comic Strip Quotations." The students will rewrite a comic strip using quotation marks, as if the characters were having a conversation. I will ask the students to bring in a comic strip (with about 4-5 cells) to school on Wednesday.

Social Studies: We continue studying Chapter 5 and the English colonies. We will be starting a large project toward the end of the week that will involve the early colonies. Some of this activity will need to be completed at home. Tentative test date for Chapter 5 is 10/19.

Science: Hot Air Balloons will be studied this week. Quiz on the first three activities in Flight and Rocketry will occur on Friday, 10/12.

Math: We begin Chapter 3 on graphing and the various types of graphs.

Other Notes: Monday is Columbus Day and a school holiday. We will start having "spirit days" on Fridays. Friday, October 12, will be Prairieview spirit day. Students should wear their Prairieview gear or green/gold. Also, please remind your child to KEEP READING! Some students haven't completed a book or book report yet for the Dig In! reading program. They still have lots of time, so just a friendly nudge would be appreciated. Have a wonderful, 3-day weekend!! Mrs. Klacza