News from Room 12

FALL CONFERENCES NOVEMBER 16th-18th

2010-10-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

Fall Conference Schedule

TUESDAY, November 16th

12:15-12:35 Ashton

12:40-1:00 Willliam

1:00-1:20 Kassidy

1:30-1:50 Thomas

2:00-2:20 Colten

2:30-2:50 Zabrina

3:00-3:20 Lauren

4:30-4:50

5:00-5:20 Jayden

5:30-5:50 Shayna

6:00-6:20 Dawson

6:30-6:50 Zachary

WEDNESDAY, Novermber 17th

12:15-12:35 Salvador

12:40-1:00 Aaliyah

1:00-1:20 Kaitlynn

1:30-1:50 Andee

2:00-2:20 Jesse

2:30-2:50 Raelynn

3:00-3:20 Trista

3:20-3:40 Sydney

THURSDAY, November 18th

12:15-12:35 Mason

12:40-1:00 Midori

1:00-1:20 Bryce

2:00-2:20

2:30-2:50 Nathan

3:00-3:20 Cole

Halloween Snack MIx

2010-10-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Please send in two cups of ingredients for our Halloween snack mix. This could include 2 cups of chocolate chips, M & M's, pretzels, small crackers, popcorn, raisins, Cheerios, Chex, or almost any other cereal. We will mix everything together and fill individual sandwich-size Ziplock bags for each child. We will munch on our Halloween mix while we watch two short, G-rated bat videos. PLEASE DO NOT SEND COOKIES, CUPCAKES, OR ANY OTHER FOOD ITEMS THAT CANNOT BE ADDED TO OUR SNACK MIX. If, however, you would like to provide 24 juice boxes or Capri Sun pouches, please let me know. I am looking forward to seeing the assortment of snack mix items we receive. This is a fun and inexpensive way for every child to participate in giving & sharing. Thank you in advance for your assistance in making this a really fun mix.

Getting Your Child to Love Reading

2010-10-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

From Reading Rocket Website

Helping your children to enjoy reading is one of the most important things you can do as a parent and well worth the investment of your time and energy. Kids will learn reading skills in school, but often they come to associate reading with work, not pleasure.

As a result, they lose their desire to read. And it is that desire-the curiosity and interest-that is the cornerstone to using reading and related skills successfully.

By far the most effective way to encourage your children to love books and reading is to read aloud to them, and the earlier you start, the better. Even a baby of a few months can see pictures, listen to your voice, and turn cardboard pages.

Make this time together a special time when you hold your kids and share the pleasure of a story without the distractions of TV or telephones. You may be surprised to find that a well-written children's book is often as big a delight to you as it is to the kids.

And don't stop taking the time to read aloud once your children have learned to read for themselves. At this stage, encourage them to read to you some of the time. This shared enjoyment will continue to strengthen your children's interest and appreciation.

Simply having books, magazines, and newspapers around your home will help children to view them as part of daily life. And your example of reading frequently and enjoying it will reinforce that view.

How you handle books will eventually influence how your kids treat them. Children imitate, so if they see that you enjoy reading and treat books gently and with respect, it is likely that they will do the same.

Next Week

2010-10-01T11:47:00.001-07:00

Next Friday there will be no school for students. Teachers, however, will be receiving training at the Tenino Elementary School from 8:00-4:00.

March of the Penguin Reading Skills Program begins on Monday. The students (& teachers) are very excited! We will be marching to our reading classrooms at precisely 8:30 so it is important for your child to arrive at school on time. In fact, the very best time to arrive at school is 8:00 a.m. If you are transporting your child to school, please try to get them here as close to 8:00 as possible.

Finally, book orders are being sent home with students' homework this week. The Scholastic Book Club is an ideal way to get your hands on quality, inexpensive book for your child. If you'd like, you can order online. Our classroom access code is GYC9B. If ordering online, you will have access to three different catalogs instead of just the one that is sent home. Also, for every parent that orders online, our class gets to pick a free book. All book orders are due next Thursday, Oct. 7.

Online Ordering Information
Web address: scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: GYC9B

Have a great three-day weekend!!

Great Site for Learning to Identify Letter Names

2010-09-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

If your son or daughter needs to learn or simply brush up on his or her letter recognition skills, here's a great kid-friendly site for kids to work on letter identification and alphabetical order while playing fun games like Whack-a-Mole and Fishing Pond. Go to: http://www.playkidsgames.com/ alphabetGames.htm. Have a blast!

Reminders, Info., and Requests

2010-09-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Sept. 21, all Parkside students will take part in a health screening under the supervision of Nurse Charla. Should vision, hearing or other potential problems be suspected, Nurse Charla will contact you personally by note or phone.

Wednesday, Sept. 22, is individual student picture day. If you wish to purchase pictures, you must send the money on that day. All students will be photographed even if they are not purchasing photos.

Please remember that all homework is due on Thursday. Also, library books should be returned on Thursday as well. Students who bring turn their books in on Friday morning will still be allowed to check out books on Friday afternoon.

With this typical Washington weather, I am asking that students wear or bring a jacket every day even if the weatherman calls for sun. The weather is just too unpredictable and students who are not dressed for the weather (for rain or cold temperatures, for example) will need to sit at the office during recess.

For those of you who ordered books through the Scholastic Book Club, they should arrive in about two weeks.

In health, we have been studying a unit that addresses various feelings children are likely to experience entitled "Good, Bad, and In-Between."

In art, we have completed our first project which involved shapes, drawing faces, and painting. The end products were some really cute school buses which will be displayed on our hallway bulletin board during conference week. Next we will explore different types of lines while drawing and decorating turtles.

Please continue to work with your child each evening in the completion of their homework and the strengthening of their academic skills. YOU ARE VITAL TO YOUR CHILD'S SUCCESS.

Thank you!

Why Can't I Skip My 20 Minutes of Reading Tonight?

2010-09-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

Let's figure it out -- mathematically!
Student A reads 20 minutes five nights of every week;
Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all!

Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week.
Student A reads 20 min. x 5 times a week = 100 mins./week
Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes

Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month.
Student A reads 400 minutes a month.
Student B reads 80 minutes a month.

Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year
Student A reads 3600 min. in a school year.
Student B reads 720 min. in a school year.

Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year. Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice.

By the end of 6th grade if Student A and Student B maintain
these same reading habits, Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days.
One would expect the gap of information retained will have widened considerably and so, undoubtedly, will school performance. How do you think Student B will feel about him/herself as a student?

Some questions to ponder:

Which student would you expect to read better?
Which student would you expect to know more?
Which student would you expect to write better?
Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?
Which student would you expect to be more successful in school....and in life?

Three Day Weekend

2010-09-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

There is no school on Monday due to the Labor Day holiday. Enjoy the last vacation day this summer.

Smart Listeners Become Successful Readers

2010-09-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

The other night I was surfing the web in search of some fun games and activities to help develop my students' phonemic awareness skills. I happened upon a great parent-oriented site & an interesting bit of research which I have quoted below.

"There are so many different ways to be smart, but to do well in school, children need to learn to be smart listeners....After more than 30 years of research...., we know that there is a set of listening skills, (known as) Phonemic Awareness, that predicts who will be successful in learning to read.

Children who have these skills do well in reading.

Children who lack these skills, struggle or fail.

Researchers found that ALL children benefit from practice in these important skills."

Parents, you can help your child develop these skills by playing 'sound games' with your child! And here's a great site where you can find many fun and easy games and activities to assist your child in developing those important listening skills known as Phonemic Awareness.

Check out http://aability.com/pagames.php

Have fun and insure that your child becomes a successful reader! You are vital to your child's success!

Thank you, in advance, for being an active participant in your child's education.

Welcome to 1st Grade

2010-08-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday, August 26, 2010
Welcome to 1st Grade
Ms. Pamela Backman - Room 12
Phone 264-3800
E-mail backmanp@tenino.k12.wa.us

Welcome to Parkside and Room 12. I am pleased to introduce myself to you and to welcome your child into my class. A good learning experience is built upon a cooperative effort among parent, child and teacher. I look forward to the work and growth we will accomplish this year. This letter will give you and your child some operational guidelines for our classroom. You may want to refer to the following schedules, guidelines, and procedures as the year progresses.

Each week, I will send your child home with a blue and white “Homework Folder.” In this folder you will receive news and announcements from Parkside’s office, news from Room 12 letting you know about what we are doing at school, book orders, completed work, etc. This folder will be sent home EVERY FRIDAY. Please look for this folder in your child’s backpack. Return the folder to school with your child on the following Thursday of each week with your child’s completed homework inside. By sending the folder and homework home on Friday (instead of Monday as we have done in the past), your child can get a jump start on mastering the week’s vocabulary and spelling words before they are introduced on Monday.

VOLUNTEERS:
In the past, I have had parents volunteer their time in the classroom, and I encourage this because it provides opportunities for more children to receive personal attention. If you are interested in volunteering (beginning in early to mid-October), please let me know. This can be done on a weekly, monthly, or occasional basis for class parties or field trips or to share a special skill or area of interest with the students. All volunteers will need to complete a new volunteer packet to be eligible to assist in the classroom. Volunteer packets can be obtained from the school office and must be completed every year.

AFTER SCHOOL:
It is my job to be sure that each child learns which bus to take and to see that everyone gets to the appropriate place after school each day. Each day, your child gains more confidence in his/her routine. If you plan for your child to do something out of the ordinary after school such as ride home with a friend or be picked up by Mom or Dad rather than ride the bus, you must send a note with your child regarding this change of plan, call the school, or come to the office to inform us.

SNACKS:
We will be having a snack time each morning in Room 12. Please consider sending your child with a HEALTHY snack each day as I will not have snacks available for those who forget. Fresh fruit, veggies, a sandwich, a bit of cold cereal in a plastic bag, string cheese, a few crackers or pretzels, or a granola bar are popular and healthy snack choices. Please do not send a beverage or high-sugar snacks such as donuts, cookies, candy or fruit roll-ups.

EXAMPLES OF HEALTHY SNACKS INCLUDE:
• Air-popped popcorn
• Beef jerky
• Breadsticks
• Celery stuffed with cream cheese
• Cereal and pretzel mix
• Cold pizza
• Fresh fruit
• Hardboiled eggs
• Mini-pitas stuffed with cheese
• Bagel with cream cheese
• Goldfish crackers
• Half a pb and j sandwich
• Sliced ham or turkey rolled around a cheese stick
• Vegetables with dip
• Yogurt

BIRTHDAYS:
Birthdays are special occasions and we enjoy celebrating them at school. Please know that you are welcome to send treats to the classroom on your child’s birthday, either of the edible or material kind. We will be sure to take a few minutes to honor your child with singing and a special birthday book created by your child’s classmates.

HOMEWORK:
Starting next week, your child will have homework which will be due each Thursday. This homework will come home in the Homework Folder each Friday. You can expect your child to have a math page to complete, a short list of vocabulary words to master, & a short book to read. There will also be a place for you to record your child’s reading minutes. A minimum of 100 minutes per week is expected. These minutes can include time spent mastering the weekly vocabulary words, time your child spends reading the Take-Home book or other books and time spent having an adult read to or with him/her. Later in the year, your child will have a spelling practice sheet to complete and spelling words to master. ALL HOMEWORK IS DUE ON THURSDAY unless your child is absent on Thursday. In which case, homework must be turned in on the day the child returns to school. HOMEWORK NOT TURNED IN ON THURSDAY WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT. This is an all-school policy.

Your assistance is vital if your child is to succeed in 1st grade. Your child will need your help to master weekly vocabulary words. Please don't wait until the last day or so to begin working on these words. Instead, spend just a few minutes once or twice a day reviewing the words until they are mastered. These words are reinforced in the weekly Take-Home book. Have your child read the Take-Home book until he/she can read it with confidence and fluency and study the vocabulary words until they are mastered (read quickly without hesitation or stopping to sound out). AGAIN, YOUR ASSISTANCE IS VITAL TO YOUR CHILD’S SUCCESS IN FIRST GRADE! I firmly believe that every child can master this first grade content given enough support at home and at school.

SPECIALIST SCHEDULE:
Monday: PE
Tuesday: Music
Wednesday: PE
Thursday: Music (Library books due today!)
Friday: Library and SHOW & SHARE

Please dress for PE on Mondays & Wednesdays including socks & shoes good for running & jumping. Girls may wear dresses but should also wear shorts beneath. Library books are due Thursday along with all weekly homework.