Apple Smiles :)

The kiddos had a blast making our very first Snazzy Snack!  The Apple Smiles were super cute and very tasty!!  BIG THANKS to the families of Hannah and Colin for being our September Snazzy Snack Shoppers!

The Weber Weekly

Happy Sunday!  To start off, I want to let all of you know that I will not be at school Monday or Tuesday.  I was lucky enough to be chosen to represent Grand Prairie on a district committee that will be focusing on the Language Arts Common Core.  Although I'm bummed that I will miss a couple of days with the kiddos, I'm beyond excited to work with other Plainfield teachers on this new endeavor.  I told the class on Friday that I would be out and that they could expect to see Miss Tsevas as well as a guest teacher on Monday and Tuesday.  I'm confident that everything will go well while I'm gone.  I will be checking email while I'm away, so please feel free to contact me.

Thank you to all who've signed up to lead, volunteer, and/or donate items for our three parties this school year.  We are currently looking for someone to lead the Valentine's Day party.  If you're interested, please shoot me an email or send a note to school.

The Watch DOG kick-off event is happening this WEDNESDAY at 6:00 pm!  I'm really excited about the number of fathers and father figures who have already RSVPed for this event!  It's not too late to express interest in the program.

Second Grade Parent University is right around the corner.  On Thursday, October 11th, the second grade teachers will be hosting this informational night in the Media Center.  Please join us from 6:00-6:45 pm where you can learn all about the technology resources that we have to offer.  We will offer light refreshments and free childcare.  If you haven't yet RSVPed, please send the blue form back this week.   

We are still looking for a few more community workers to come speak to our second grade class.  If you are interested, please contact me.  If you already returned the form, I will be touching base with you this week.

This week the children will be supporting blood disorders by participating in the Hemophilia Walk during their PE and Health classes.  If you are interested in raising money, a special envelope was sent home for collections.  The envelopes will be due back on October 5th.  Please make sure your child dresses appropriately for weather and wears his/her gym shoes this week.   

School Picture Day is next Wednesday, October 3rd.  If you're interested in ordering pictures, please return the order form on the day of pictures.  Even if you don't want to order, your child will still get his/her picture taken for the yearbook.

Amy's Organic Van will be visiting GP this Wednesday during lunch.  Amy will be selling organic apples to the students for 50 cents each.  

Did you know you can sign up to receive the GP Gazette via email directly from Mrs. Szurek?  What an easy, safe, and "green" way to stay up-to-date with all the happenings at Grand Prairie!  To sign up, go to http://psd202.org/gprairie and click on "Grand Prairie Mailing List".  You can also sign up to receive the District 202 newsletter as well.

Mystery Readers will be coming to our class on C Days beginning in October.  I hope to have the Mystery Reader schedule posted here this week.  If you'd like to sign up to read to our class, please contact me.  I will send a reminder letter home the week before your scheduled reading date.

Classroom volunteers will also start in October.  If you signed up to volunteer, be on the lookout for the October Volunteer Calendar coming home this week.

I hope all of you have a great week!  I can't wait to see all the kids on Wednesday!!  :)

 
 



    

The Weber Weekly

           

Wow!  Wow!  WOW!!  I am so happy to have such wonderful, caring students in my class this year.  They are truly a great bunch!  Thursday we had our first fire drill and the kiddos amazed me with their behavior.  We prepared for the drill by reading aloud two different books, Stop Drop, and Roll! and Miss Mingo and the Fire Drill.  We discussed the purpose and importance of fire drills and we even practiced lining up and walking with fast feet.  I couldn't believe when the entire school was outside how PERFECT my class was.  They were models of excellent behavior and I was so proud of all of them!!  :)

 

We celebrated 9/11 this week by reading a heart-warming book, September 12th: The Day We Knew Everything Would be Alright.  This book focuses on all the positives of our country and it's written from the perspective of first graders.  After reading, the children created posters about the herores of 9/11 and the symbols that represent America.  The kiddos were then challenged to go home and ask parents and family members to share their own personal experiences from 9/11. 


 

The kiddos have been working hard on building their stamina in Daily Five.  We've created bar graphs for each of the components of Daily 5 so that we can monitor our growth.  I am really proud of the progress the class has been making. 

Yesterday we began the Second Step program with our school social worker, Mrs. Dassinger.  Every A Day, the children will learn new social and academic skills that will encourage success at Grand Prairie as well as outside the school. 

Miss Tsevas has started taking over a few subjects.  She has been working hard on teaching the kids addition and subtraction tricks in math, cinquain poems in writing, and she started Charlotte's Web for read aloud.  Each week, Miss Tsevas will increase her teaching time while I'll observe her.  She will have complete take-over of all subjects and tasks for three weeks.  Of course, I will still be here supporting her and answering any questions you may have.  If you have any questions about this process, please feel free to contact me.

It was great seeing so many of you at the Ice Cream Social last Friday.  I always have such a fun time seeing the kids outside of the classroom.  Thanks to everyone who came out to support our school.  We have another opportunity to get together this weekend at the Plainfield River Days.  This exciting event is happening both Saturday and Sunday in downtown Plainfield.  Mr. Weber and I will be taking Keaton on Sunday after his afternoon nap.  I hope to see many of you there!

Keaton is already preparing for the Duck Race!!  :) :)

This week the kiddos also got to take a trip to the library to check out new books.  Each week your child will have an opportunity to check out two books, one "just-right" and one other book of their choice.  After check-out, Mrs. Starkman read aloud a fun book titled We're Going On A Book Hunt.  We will visit the library and check out new books every C Day.
 

Thanks to all of you that donated food for our Creekside Cares Food Drive.  We collected thousands of boxes and cans of food that will feed local families.  Your generosity means so much!

We celebrated many birthdays this week!  Happy Birthday to Ethan C., Ben, and Dylan!!  When your child has a birthday, we celebrate him/her with a song and birthday treat (Pixie Stix balloon).  Your child is also allowed to bring a non-edible birthday treat.  Some families choose to send goody bags filled with little toys while other families choose to send a classroom gift in honor of the birthday.  The birthday gift is usually a book or an indoor recess game, but it should be a surprise to your child.  Your child will unwrap the present in front of our class after we sing happy birthday.  The surprise gift is usually the class favorite!  :)


Calling all dads, grandpas, stepdads, uncles, and any other adult male father figures....we are holding our 2nd Annual Watch DOGS Kick Off on September 26th at 6:00 PM.  Miss Eskridge and Mrs. P will be presenting information about the program and we will have free hot dogs, chips, and drinks.  

On Monday we will be starting our Book Buddies Program!  Every child will receive a canvas tote filled with 10 books to read for the week.  These books range in reading levels and interests.  Some of the books your child will be successful reading independently and others will need to be read to your child.  Don't forget that all of these books can be read and recorded as part of the monthly reading log.  All Book Buddies will be due back to school on Thursday.  Have fun reading!!

Please take note of the following:

• Scholastic Book Orders and due on Thursday.  
• Parent University RSVP forms are also due on Thursday.  
• School Picture Day is October 3rd.  
• If you have not yet signed up for text message reminders, I highly recommend it.  Joining is easy; simply text the message @weber02 to the number (814) 201-5236.
• Your child will need an art shirt this year.  This is simply an old t-shirt that can be worn over regular clothes during art class.  The shirt can be left in your child's cubby for the year.
• We have PE on D and E Days.  Your child must have gym shoes in order to participate.  Again, the gym shoes can be left in your child's cubby if you so choose.   
• If you signed up to be a classroom volunteer, we will be needing your help soon.  At the start of each month, I will send home a volunteer calendar indicating the dates and times I would need you to come in.  Be on the lookout for the first calendar in the next couple of weeks.  
• As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns regarding your child and I will do the same.  I know it's going to be a GREAT school year!!  :) :)

Happy Weekend!  

 

 

Busy Week

We have a busy week ahead of us!  This week is Discovery Testing for second grade.  Your child will take an assessment in both reading and math to help determine the areas for instruction this year.  We took the reading test today and we'll be taking the math portion on Thursday.

Student Council and the PE Department are hosting a Food Drive through a program called "Creekside Cares".  If your family can spare any non-perishable food items, we would greatly appreciate it.  All of the food collected will be donated to other Grand Prairie families in need.  This food drive will run through next Friday, September 14th.  The class that collects the most food items, we be rewarded with an extra PE class!  This food drive is an excellent example of one of the many ways your child can show citizenship.  We've been learning all about being good citizens in social studies and now we have a real-life opportunity to act on it.  Encourage your child to be a good citizen by helping others in need. 

Today the class was introduced to another positive reward system, "Award-Winning Behavior".  Any time the whole class is being an excellent example of positive behavior, I will award them with a blue ribbon.  The ribbons will then be displayed on our white board for everyone to see.  When the class earns ten ribbons, they will be rewarded with a class celebration.  We've already earned TWO ribbons!!  Wow, our class is awesome!  :)

The sight words for this week are: other, which, children, their.  Remember that your child is expected to correctly read, spell, and write all second grade sight words.  We will have a quiz over these four words on Friday.  For homework tonight, your child needs to rainbow write his/her sight words in the spiral homework notebook.  In addition, he/she needs to choose a minimum of two choice activities to complete.

Last Friday your child brought home his/her September Homework Calendar.  The expectations are a minimum of 15 calendar activities and twenty minutes of nightly reading.  I will be collecting all reading logs and homework calendars at the end of the month.

Finally, I want to let you know that this Thursday, September 6th is Spirit Day.  The whole school will be participating in "Hawaiian Day"!  Bust out those grass skirts and leis for a day of fun.