Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas! Have a very blessed New Year! :) Hope you get to enjoy time with family & friends and relax, laugh, and enjoy each day together!
Love, Mrs. Montes

Tuesday

Thank you so much for bringing in your donations for the holiday party tomorrow. We really appreciate your help and support.
There is no homework for the week. The only homework over break is to read every day. I know there are some families with a lot of down time over break and others are busy, busy, busy. Please go on Xtra Math as often as possible over break. Those of you who have it at home please try at least 3x a week. I will be checking over break to see that we are keeping up. We are growing so much in addition facts. Those who practice more are advancing more also. Keep it up!
Mrs. Montes

Xtra Math Update

We are showing lots of improvement from the beginning of the year. Congratulations to GS17 for being our FIRST student to complete all addition facts in under 3 seconds. He moved on to subtraction. Way to go!!!! Some are soooo close! We hope to have more join him soon!

Congratulations to our Students of the Week (Two Weeks)

 AM7

 ES6

 AS24

VS8

Congratulations to the Clydesdales Homework Senseis for the week!

Congratulations to the Appaloosas Homework Senseis for the week!

Happy Friday!

What a wonderful week we have had! We worked so hard this week on our MAP testing in the computer lab. I am so proud of the students for their hard work to focus with their best effort on each test. Some of them can get very difficult as they go on, but we hung in there til the end!
We are having fun implementing our GLAD strategies that I learned last week at the training. We focused on cooperation and teamwork this week. We earn team points for showing the "Personal Standards." I will give 5 horseshoes and a red ticket to any child who can tell you what the 3 personal standards are in order for Monday. Please write them down and bring it in on Monday for your red ticket and horseshoe. Students are loving being "Scouts" and earning team points. Some teams have over 100 points already! Good job!
We learned about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa this week. Next week we will finish each of these holidays and learn about Christmas too. It is so much fun watching and learning with the children as they respond to how other cultures and countries celebrate.
Today we celebrated with our November red ticket winners. The students had open computer time and played Twister. It was fun!
On Wednesday, we have a holiday read aloud (whole school) and sing along. After that, we will have a short holiday celebration in the classroom. We would like to tie in Snowmen at Night and Frosty the Snowman and make little snowmen cookies. To do this, we are asking for the following donations for the cookies.

_______ pretzel sticks (Snowmen arms)

_______ M&M's (eyes)

_______ chocolate chips (eyes)

______ sugar free vanilla frosting

______ juice boxes (12) and (12)

______ red rope licorice  (smile)

______ box of plastic knives

______ small bowls (12)

______ Christmas paper plates

Please "comment" below what you can donate. Thank you so much for your help.
Have a wonderful weekend!!!!
Mrs. Montes and Ms. Salas

This Week's Updates

It feels good to be back in the classroom after being gone 6 days for GLAD training. I have learned a lot that I cannot wait to use in the classroom with the children. Thank you for your patience with the sub. I hear she did a great job. I got a pretty good report from her and other teachers. So great job Clydesdales and Appaloosas!
Mustangs in Motion is Wednesday after school. We sent out reminders yesterday. Please be sure to pick up your child at 3:15.
This week we are MAP testing in the computer lab from 8:30-9:30 and 1:05-2:05. If you are a volunteer at that time I could still use your help, but it will just be outside of the classroom making books, making copies, or getting things ready for me. Thank you. There will be no spelling or vocab words to study this week or next week in English.
We will be studying Christmas Around the World with a focus on Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas. We hope to learn many new customs and traditions as we study these holidays and celebrations.
Congratulations to AM7 and ES6 for being our Students of the Week! Great job showing good character and responsibility all week! Keep it up!
Congratulations to GS17 for being our first Xtra Math Whiz to pass all addition facts in under 3 seconds! He moves on to subtraction! Woohoo!
Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Montes

Weekly Update

Our November red ticket winners for showing good character are BS20, BS22, JS1, ES6, MM11, MM24, MM23, & MM13. We will celebrate with these students the week of December 9. Way to go!

Mrs. Montes will be out of the building at a GLAD Training December 2-9. I will still be checking in with the sub and will be checking Xtra Math on Wednesday. Please continue with our normal routine. Helpers if you could come in for sure next week that would be fantastic for the sub. You can do sight words if she does not need you while she's teaching. Otherwise, a great way to help is in small groups at small group time. I really appreciate your help and commitment. Thank you.

December reading logs came home today. Please be sure to turn in your November log. Thank you again MM23's family for recording and writing certificates.

Please remember to do Xtra Math on Wednesdays. If your computer or the program is having problems, it will tell me. Your child gets a colored circle (green=mastered, did well, got most right    yellow=did ok    red=did not do too well, needs improvement throughout   blue=did not complete) each time they do the program. I am seeing some blue circles, which means they are not completing it or something has allowed them not to finish correctly. Please make sure they are doing the whole thing. We love to celebrate green circles with a 5 horseshoe! Woohoo! We had 6 of them this week! Way to go!!! If your child is consistently getting a red circle then they need to practice more often, and we need to encourage another way to improve their speed and accuracy of their facts. I think everyone is doing very well with the Xtra Math, and thank you for keeping up with it at home. Remember, you can do it 2 more times a week at home if you want to (besides Wednesdays).

Have a great weekend! I can't wait to hear good news from the sub when I return! :)
Mrs. Montes

Appaloosa's Homework Senseis

Congratulations to the Homework Senseis of the Appaloosas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

What are your plans for Thanksgiving?  I would love you to share your family traditions or your family plans for Thanksgiving. My family and I spend time with both families and share the day. It's a busy but fun day celebrating the many blessings we are thankful for. We have many American traditions with my family, and we celebrate Mexican traditions with my husband's family. Happy Thanksgiving!!! Enjoy the break and time with family and friends.

Homework Senseis

Congratulations to our first week of Homework Sensais for the Clydesdales. These students turned in their homework on time all week. Keep up the good work!

Early Dismissal Wednesday at 1:20

Sorry for the wrong time! Our dismissal is at 1:20 pm on Wednesday.
If you have $2 for skating money please send that in as soon as you can. Also, Mrs. Etnyre is looking for volunteers to come in and help assist putting on skates and tie laces. If you can volunteer please let us know. The time would be 12:05-1:05 Tuesday-Friday. Thanks so much!
Please try to do Xtra Math at least once over the Thanksgiving break. Thank you so much!
Mrs. Montes

Student of the Week Clydesdales

Congratulations!

Happy Friday

Student of the Week
Congratulations to HM3 and DS5 for being the first students of the week. These students show great character every day. They are excellent role models for the class, and they work hard with their best effort! Keep up the good work!

Next week is a short week. We dismiss on Wednesday at 1:20 pm for the Thanksgiving holiday.  We will be talking about WHO we spend Thanksgiving with, WHERE we spend Thanksgiving, WHAT we eat on Thanksgiving, and other Thanksgiving things. Please discuss this with your child over the weekend so when we create our feast to share with our families it will be accurate. Thanks!!! I can't wait for you to see them. We will not have any spelling or vocabulary tests in English. Enjoy the break and special time with your family and friends.
We are learning about nouns and verbs this week. We will continue this next week and add adjectives. We are working hard to notice make juicy sentences with details! We are also trying to improve our handwriting and capital letters where they should be in a sentence. We learned Proper Nouns get a capital letter!!!!
There's so much to be thankful for this time of the year and always. I'm thankful to spend my days with your children. Have a great weekend.
Mrs. Montes

Six Flags Great America Read to Succeed

Read to Succeed!!!

For the month of February we are participating in Six Flag’s Read to Succeed Program. We challenge each child to read 30 minutes a day ~every day to earn this free ticket. Each child who reads 6 hours or 360 minutes by March 1 will receive a FREE Six Flags Great America ticket. These minutes will also be transferred to our Book It Club. You do not have to read double, but please record the minutes on Book It each month and on Six Flags. Please keep this sheet and fill out the minutes read each night until you have 6 hours or February 10 they are due. You will get the ticket in May before school gets out. Remember, participating in Book-It and Read to Succeed are optional, but reading is NOT optional, it's expected! Thanks for reading, and good luck!!!  Mrs. Montes & Ms. Salas

Young Author's Booklets

Young Authors Book  

The Young Authors time of year has come yet again. This is an opportunity for your child to create his/her own story and get it published. If you choose to do this project, you will be given the opportunity to purchase your child’s hard covered book and the original one will be put in Olson’s library for all of the students to read. This is an optional activity; it is a large commitment for both you and your child. This project needs to be completed at home. Before returning the book, please make sure everything is filled out and ready to be published as is when returned. Your child will need help brainstorming ideas and editing his/ her work. Keep in mind it should be your child’s main ideas and work with some guidance. I have ordered enough book kits for each student so please discuss this project with your child and then return the slip below to get your book pages. The winter break will provide the perfect opportunity for your child to work on this project. If you decide you would like to participate in the Young Authors program, please MAKE A COMMENT FOR THIS POST TO TELL ME. Then, I will send your child’s Young Author’s packet home which has specific directions for you to follow. All books need to be written, illustrated, and returned to school by Monday, January 16^,  2012.  I hope to see many of the students in our class participate! Please remember if you commit to the project now, it will need to be completed and returned in January.   – Mrs. Montes

Updates

Thank you to those of you who have donated and participated in Operation Christmas Child. We have only a few things so far. Remember, this is an optional giving opportunity for collecting shoebox items to give to children around the world. Optional giving items are: toothbrush, toothpaste, crayons, coloring books, pencils, small action figures, bouncy balls, small balls, stamps, markers, yo-yos, small cars or dolls, etc. The boxes will be collected on Friday and set off over the weekend so please send in your items by Friday morning. Thanks for participating.
Our room has not had a functional heater for a few days now. They are still trying to fix it. It almost feels like the air conditioner is blowing. Please send your children dressed for 40 degree weather for the playground with hats and gloves. Please keep a sweater or sweatshirt in the locker for the classroom when it is chilly. Thank you.
Thank you so much to the volunteers that continually come into our classroom. I really could not do it without you. Thank you for your time and commitment to our classroom. I appreciate it more than you can imagine. I know how precious your time is, and we are so blessed that you give it to us!
I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving already. It snuck up on me. I'm trying to get my family healthy so we can enjoy the holidays. Of course siblings share, so my youngest son caught the fever bug over the weekend. I apologize for missing Monday, but I was home with him.
Have a great week.
Mrs. Montes

Operation Christmas Child

Dear Parents,

Your child has a unique opportunity to participate in a worldwide global service project.  It is called Operation Christmas Child.  What is so awesome about this project is that it’s kids helping kids!  I would like to invite you and your child to bring the joy of Christmas to a needy child this year by demonstrating love, hope, and joy through a gift filled shoe box.  Each year caring individuals, families, businesses, organizations, and schools fill shoe boxes with toys, school supplies, and other items and send them to collection centers.  From the collection centers, the boxes are delivered to millions of children worldwide affected by war, poverty, disease, and disaster.

This past year more than 9.4 million shoe boxes were collected in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and delivered to children in over 100 countries.  The 5.4 million shoe boxes collected in 2002, if stacked one on top of another would be more than 56 times taller than Mt. Everest.  An estimated 329,000 rolls of wrapping paper, or about 10.5 million square feet, were used to wrap shoe box gifts last year.  That’s enough to cover 219 football fields!!  Every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan has packed a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child.

Here’s how it works:

1. Our class has set a classroom goal of packing 2 gift filled shoe boxes, one for a girl and one for a boy the same age as us.
2. We carefully consider using our allowance money or money we have saved to help other kids who really need our help. (My children use 10% of their allowance money to create a shoebox for a child)
3. We bring appropriate items to school to pack in our shoe box (please see list)
4. We pack our box and send it to the collection site to be inspected and sent to a child in another country.
5. We feel AWESOME about ourselves, because we shared love, hope, and joy with a child who needed it!!

This is a totally voluntary project designed to raise the self-esteem of children.  When kids feel that they can make a difference in their world, the possibilities are endless.  What a great way to talk about and find out about people, their customs, geography,etc.  What is life like for a child in that country?  What would it be like to live in a war torn country? 

I ask you to carefully consider participating in this very worthy cause, and bring Christmas joy to children around the world!  We will be collecting the boxes and delivering them to a drop off center.  All items must be brought to school by Friday Nov. 18^th.

                                                                   Sincerely,

                                     

                                                         

Suggested Gifts

Toys:  small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, small Etch A Sketch, toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries) Slinky, etc.

School Supplies:  pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps, and ink pad sets, coloring books, chalk, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, etc.

Hygiene items:  toothbrush, toothpaste, bar soap, comb, washcloth, etc.

Other:  hard candy lollipops, mints, gum, sunglasses, flashlights with extra batteries, ball caps, socks, T-shirts, toy jewelry, hair clips, watches, small picture books, etc.

Do Not Include

Used items, toy guns, knives, or other war-related items, chocolate or perishable foods, liquids of any kind (shampoo, lotion bubbles, etc.), medicines of any kind (vitamins, cough drops, etc.), breakable items (china dolls, snow globes, etc.)

                                                          

November 7-10

Sorry for the lonely blog this week! My son has been sick since Thursday and I have been home with him. He still has a high fever and tonight broke out in a rash. We are hoping this fever will break soon. The Dr. did chest X-Rays and a Strep test and all are negative. I am hoping to be back on Wednesday. Thank you for your cooperation and patience with the subs. I hope all has gone well. Please remind your child of appropriate, respectful behavior when there is a sub in the classroom. Parents that come in to help -thank you! Please continue to help in small groups when students are working on their center work. I appreciate your consistency and commitment to our class.
Just a reminder Ms. Salas is eating lunch with the October red ticket winners on Wednesday. :) Congratulations!
No School on Friday to honor our Veteran's. The Veteran's Day Assembly will be Thursday at 12:30 p.m.
Thank you!
Mrs. Montes

Happy Friday!

Thank you so much for everything you sent in for the fall party. The party was great. We enjoyed watching Toy Story and making connections to Alexander and the Wind Up Mouse, a story we read during literacy. We will be writing about this next week. Thank you for your food donations! We had everything we needed.

Our specials schedule will change once a quarter. If you are unsure of what days your child has library for book return, and PE for gym shoes/TDPE please double check the schedule. A went to B. B went to C. C went to D. And D is now A. It will change again 3rd quarter. This is so we can allow each child to have computer lab once a quarter on Tuesdays. I have the schedule on my blog for you to click the link if you need to.

On Monday we will have a measurement test. Today we learned Perimeter and how to measure the distance around something. Please practice this with your child over the weekend. They will also be expected to make a triangle with 3 different lengths, label it, and find the perimeter.

Our Veteran's Day Assembly will be Thursday, November 10 at 12:30 pm. If you know a Veteran, are a Veteran, or are related to a Veteran please bring them. Please let us know ahead of time so we can honor that Veteran at the assembly with a card. Thanks! We are also collecting toothbrushes, toothpaste, small containers of mints, gum, chapstick, SPF 30+ Sunscreen, nuts, jerkey, and wipes. If you have any of these to donate please send them to school by Nov. 10. Thank you.

I know we have been experiencing some trouble with Xtra Math. If that happens on a Wed. homework night please just send a note the next day. We are having trouble here with the website too. Sorry for any troubles.

Report Cards are coming home today. Please sign the envelope and return for a horseshoe on Monday. Thanks!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Montes

Fall Party

Our Fall Harvest Celebration will be Friday, October 28. This will be a low-key celebration of fall from 1:30-2:00. We will not be dressing up in costumes. We will be looking for parent donations of food items for Friday, but do not need any volunteers at this time.  If you can send something in please respond and we will let you know (to avoid duplicates) before sending it in. Thank you!

_____ bag of green apples
_____ bag of red delicious apples
_____ container of caramel
_____ sticks for dipping
_____ caramels
_____ M & M's
_____ 2 small bags of cheddar goldfish
_____ 1 small bag of pretzel goldfish
_____ bag of white popcorn
_____ bag of cheddar or butter popcorn
_____ apple cider/cups or juice boxes (24)
_____ Fall plates (24)
_____ Fall napkins (24)
_____ spoons (24)

If you have any apple slicers and would like to send it in that would be great. Please label with your name so they can be returned to the right family. Thanks.

Those of you who are interested in helping out for a classroom party, we will need parents to coordinate a Holiday Party in December for both classes. This is best done with 1-2 parents from Clydesdales and 1-2 parents from Appaloosas that work together to organize and create "healthy" food choices and a holiday craft/game. Please contact your child's teacher if you are interested in helping with this.  Thank you! We appreciate your help with making these parties fun and entertaining for all the children.

Tuesday Night 4-7 pm is McDonald's Night-
Ms. Salas and I will be there from 4-5pm serving food in the lobby. Come order some food for the family and a %age will be donated back to Olson.

Literacy

Our literacy story for this week is called Helping Out. We are learning about ways we can help out at home. We will be writing a "how to" paragraph explaining the steps of how to do something. For example, how to brush your teeth, feed the dog, feed the fish, water the plants, plant flowers, make your bed, serve yourself cereal, etc. I was surprised to hear how many kids don't have chores at home! For Wednesday night, please talk with your child about what chores they are able to do at home and how they are helpful. We are learning about how chores at home not only help out the family, but also teach us how to be responsible. At my house we use a chore chart where my kids earn points for the chores they do. Each chore is worth 10 cents, 20 cents, or 25 cents. We add up the total at the end of the week, and they receive their payment. It works well for us. What works for you? What chores do your kids have at home and how are they rewarded? Each parent/child who comments will receive a horseshoe for participating!

Monday Reminders!

On Wednesday we will be walking to the Opera House to see a performance at 12:30. Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather. Please have comfortable walking shoes and a jacket on Wednesday. Thank you.
Thank you to all of you who brought in a ruler today! What a great response from those of you who shopped over the weekend. Thank you!
If you haven't sent in a photograph of your child yet please do so as soon as possible. We have already started our non fiction feature books.
Book-It sheets for October are due Tuesday, November 1. Please add up the minutes, sign, and return Tuesday.
Tomorrow is a half day. Students are dismissed at 11:10. There will not be breakfast or lunch served on half days. Students may still bring in a snack to eat at 8am in the classroom.
Olson will not be having a Storybook Parade this year. There will be more information to come on a Harvest Celebration soon.
Have a great week!!!

Measurement

Next week we start a unit on measuring. Please make sure your child has an inch/centimeter ruler at school for this unit. We will start measuring on Monday. Thank you.

Math Test

Our first math test will be on Friday 10/14. Please review basic addition & subtraction to 18, unknown partners (5+ __ = 12), story problems, math mountains, fact families, greater than, less than, and adding 3 digits.
Next week we have Red Ribbon Week at Olson!!!

Theme: “It’s up to me to be the best I can be!” (Celebrating making good choices)

Spirit Days:

Monday- “Being a person of good character is no sweat”-wear sweats/pajamas

Tuesday- “Be a pillar of character”- Grade levels wear pillar colors

1^st-blue (trustworthiness)

2^nd-purple (citizenship)

3^rd-yellow (respect)

4^th-orange (fairness)

5th- green (responsibility)

Wednesday- "Catch the wave of making good choices” - wear Hawaiian

Thursday- “Good character mixes well with me”- wear mismatched clothing

Friday- “Be of good spirit”- wear red/Olson shirts/spiritwear

Conferences and other Updates

Conferences begin tonight at 5pm. I hope to see you all here for your scheduled conference. Scholastic Book Fair is going on right now in the Olson Cafeteria. Check out some great books at great prices for your child. If you have any extra time to volunteer, our PTO is looking for parents who can help out in the Book Fair for 2 hours. Please come help out!
I assigned Xtra Math 2-3 times over the break. The children have 5 days off, so I hope they have access to a computer 2-3 times to do this. They seem excited about it. Thank you for your enthusiasm as well.
Say Cheese!!! Picture Day is October 13. Please send your forms in anytime before the 13th to order your child's pictures.
Some of the children are falling back on homework responsibilities saying, "I was really busy last night." I know we are all very busy. But we need to set an example for our children for what is important. Please encourage good homework habits. Start homework immediately when you get home. Do your homework in a quiet, comfortable place without distractions. Routines should always be doing homework before playing. Your award for doing your homework should be playtime after; not play first, work later. Quarter 2 we will be keeping students in at recess to complete work they have not completed. Also, no-name papers will be recycled with a 0. Please remember to put names on the paper FIRST. Next week we will begin student of the week and weekly Homework Senseis (Master students who turn in their homework everyday for the week). These pictures will be posted on the blog for all to enjoy and celebrate. Good luck. We hope to see a big group next week.
Have a happy long weekend with your family and friends. I'm excited for a trip with my family to Minnesota for my cousin's wedding.
Mrs. Montes

Xtra Math

This week I am assigning Xtramath for homework Monday and Wednesday.  Please only have your child do Xtramath at home on the days assigned. (With the exception of the weekend, and days off. Like this coming week, they may go on 2 more times after Wednesday for all the days off) This gives all children a fair advantage to have the same opportunities to go on the program. We will do it in the classroom on the days it is not assigned at home. They really should only go on once a day, unless they were absent and I put them on for makeup. Thank you. I appreciate your cooperation and enthusiasm for the program.

Posting Difficulties

I just wanted to let you know that some of you have mentioned you have been experiencing difficulties posting to the blog from home.  I tried from home and had the same problem.  After some extensive problem solving, we have learned that if you are using Firefox, Safari, or Chrome to view the blog, you are able to post.  However if you are using any version of Internet Explorer you will not be able to post.  I am hoping Blogger will resolve this issue soon.  I apologize for the inconvenience this is causing.

Happy Friday!

Character Counts
Students can earn red tickets throughout the school for showing good character. At the end of each month we will draw some students to do something with Ms. Salas and me or one of us alone. This month I will be having lunch with the students on Tuesday, October 4, whose tickets were drawn. Congratulations to JM15, MM9, VM8, and HM10 from the Clydesdales. Congratulations to SS13, JS1, GO17, and DS5 of the Appaloosas. These tickets from August and September will be put back in the bucket for a once a month special activity with the special area teachers.
We are learing about non-fiction text features. Non-fiction is a great way to learn real, factual information. On Monday we will be starting a book of non-fiction features. Please send in a photo of your child doing something. It can be from a sport, a birthday party, or anything with your child. Since these will be put in a book, you will not get them back until the end of the year. Monday we will learn about photographs and captions.
Next week we have conferences. I am looking forward to meeting with all of you. Wednesday is a half day and the children have off until Tuesday, October 11. Please try to be prompt for your conference out of respect for all of the other families and teachers hosting conferences. Thank you.

Xtra Math

We are cruising through Xtra Math and we are quickly becoming mathematicians! WOW! Good luck tonight on Xtra Math at home on the internet. I do have a link on our blog, but in case you cannot find it. www.xtramath.org will get you there! Have fun!!! I can't wait to hear how it went teaching your families at home. How did it go?

Math Updates

We had our first complete day of Xtra Math for all students. Everyone who was here today rotated through to practice their facts for a baseline of where they are starting. I am looking forward to seeing lots of growth this year in math facts. Look for Xtra Math to be coming home as a homework assignment 1-2 times a week for practice.
In math we are working on fact families. 3,7,10 are in the same family. We practice the two addition facts first and then the two subtraction facts.
Please practice these at home! It looks like this:
3+7=10
7+3=10
10-3=7
10-7=3

Book-It starting Oct. 1

The mission of the BOOK IT! Program is to encourage more reading inside and outside of the classroom.  The program is easy and fun!  Your child has the opportunity to earn Reading Award Certificates by meeting monthly reading goals that I will set.  The Reading Award Certificates can be redeemed at Pizza Hut® where your child will receive a BOOK IT! award and a free, one-topping Personal Pan Pizza®.

The BOOK IT! Program is sponsored by Pizza Hut and has been in elementary schools for more than 25 years.  You might have participated in the program when you were in school!   To learn more about BOOK IT!, please visit  bookitproqram.com/parents. Please record the minutes your child reads every night. Initial at the end of the month, add up the minutes, and return to school the first of the next month (or next school day). Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Williams for volunteering to write out the certificates each day!

I hope you will join us in our mission and encourage your child to read every day.

Clydesdales and Appaloosas

Mustang March Whole School Celebration

Thursday

Thank you to those parents who have returned your conference notes right away. We appreciate it. The students earned a red ticket for responsibility and a horseshoe if they returned it today. Thank you!!! We look forward to meeting with each of you in a couple of weeks.
JM4's Mom requested I put up the spelling words in Spanish each week. There will now be in a link on the right side of the Blog that has the Spanish words too. So you should see English vocab and spelling lists (Test Fridays) and Spanish vocab and spelling (Test Wednesdays). Hope this is helpful for all of you. Thank you for your attention to our class blog. Sometimes I will assign homework for you and your child to comment on the blog.
Next week we will be starting Xtra Math, an online math program that strengthens our speed and accuracy for addition and subtraction. We will do this in the classroom 2-3 times a week, but it will also be homework 2 nights a week also. Wednesdays and one other night (of your choice) a week. Sometimes I may assign it as homework. If you do not have Internet at home then I will send something else for your child to practice. I look forward to the growth we will make with our facts.
Sight words will also start coming home next week. Thank you to the wonderful parents who came in to help do a baseline assessment of where each child will start. Please practice the card of 10 words, read and spell. At school they will be tested by an adult to advance to the next color. They will have to read, spell, and write the word accurately and automatically to pass a level of 10 words. Again, thank you for your cooperation and assistance with practicing at home and helping out at school.
Mustang March is going well!! Remember to fill those water bottles at home please!
At the end of September Ms. Salas and I will draw 2 red tickets from each class to have lunch with these 4 students. Red tickets are earned when we show good character. Our bucket is pretty full! Do you think your name will be drawn!? Keep showing good character!
We will be taking a weekly photo of the students who completed their homework all week and posting it to our blog. I can't wait to see who will be in our first one tomorrow! Keep up the good work Clydesdales and Mustangs!
Have a great Thursday!!!
:) Mrs. Montes

Thank you!

Thanks to KM2's Mom for discovering the glitch on the homework link. Thank you for using the blog so I can find out what's not working! You get 5 stars! ;)

Mustang March Spirit Week

Monday-Crazy Hair Day
Tuesday-Favorite Sports Team Day
Wednesday-Drawkab Trihs Yad (Backward Shirt Day)
Thursday-Silly Hat Day
Friday-Wear Purple Day

Happy Friday!

Thank you to those parents who are viewing the blog. This is a great way for us to communicate! Once a month I will make it a homework assignment to respond with a comment on the blog with your child. Please be checking the blog so you know what is going on in our classroom. Next week we will start an internet math program called Xtra Math. Xtra Math will help us practice math facts and improve our speed and accuracy of the facts. Your child will do it 2-3 times a week in the classroom. One math homework nights, I will assign this at home sometimes. I will send home a login and password for you to do at home. Please keep it in a safe spot for the year. I will offer 5 horseshoes to any student/parent who posts on the blog over the weekend! :) Please comment on our blog!
Water Bottles are coming home today for the Mustang March next week. Please fill the water bottle up with water before school Monday and bring it every day to the March. Please have your child wear/bring tennis shoes every day next week. We will be marching every day next week from 12:05-1:05 if you would like to come volunteer.  Friday is from 1:15-1:45. Thank you to those of you who already volunteered to be here.
Thank you for coming in this week to volunteer. We have several beginning of the year tasks to be completed, and I appreciate your help with completing these in class projects. The volunteer schedule that I emailed will start next week. Please let me know if you have any questions. Next week we will continue with testing for the Appaloosas in the morning from 9:30-10:30. So we will be in the computer lab during this time.
This week we learned about the Golden Rule and what it means to us. We all had different ways of understanding this very important character tool. "Do unto others as you wish them to do to you." We talked about treating others the way you want to be treated. This is difficult for some to understand. We hope you can have a discussion with your child about what that means to your family. It is difficult to understand until we've had our feelings hurt, been left out, or been treated poorly by others. We learned from Sister Bear that including others is a very important piece of being a good friend and following the golden rule. Sometimes being real is a hard thing to be.
It was an exciting Friday today! We had our first Horseshoe Catching Day today! Children could cash in their horseshoes to "buy" treasures from the treasure boxes. Thank you to GM23's dad for being our "banker." It really helped us a lot! If your child was not able to participate this time, we encourage them to work extra hard to practice the pillars of good character and homework responsibilities to earn more. The treasures range from 5 horseshoes to 50 to purchase. Great job students!!!
Have a fantastic weekend!
:) Mrs. Montes

Mustang March Updates

The children will be walking during their regular scheduled PE times. Please ask your child what letter they are ABCD to know what days they walk. We will also walk as a class on Monday, September 19, from 12:35-1:05 and Friday, September 23 from 1:15-1:45. Parents are invited to come and help encourage and motivate our class to push themselves during this time to walk or run the best they can. Thank you for your participation!!! We appreciate your time.

Specials Schedule

Please wear appropriate gym shoes on gym/TDPE days and return library books on library day.

Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
A-Music/PE B-Art C-PE/Music D-Library/Computers	A-Art B-Music/PE C-Library/TDPE D-PE/Music	A-Music/PE B-Library/TDPE C-PE/Music D-Art	A-Library/TDPE B-Music/PE C-Art D-PE/Music

Happy Friday!

When your child brings home unfinished work you might see coded letters at the top. T=Out of time. For this time of the year, we do most everything together, and then the children break off into partners, small groups, or independently to complete their work. They should have enough time to complete everything that comes home. If your child is demonstrating good work habits, he/she should not come home with a T at the top. There will be times I keep them inside at recess to complete their work. F=Please finish at home and return. H=Done with help. The child could not complete the work independently and we did it together.

Parent Helpers-I would love for you to start coming in next week. Please come in any time that your schedule will allow. I have several jobs here in the classroom with students and without that I could use help with. In October, we will start the regular helper's schedule with a weekly or bi-monthly time to come in. Thank you so much for your help, cooperation, and time you committ to our classroom.

Mustang March will be from September 19-23. The children will be walking during their PE times. Please check with your child and be prepared with gym shoes. Pledge forms are going home today. Please read through them and begin getting pledges. All pledge money and forms are due October 4. Good luck, and happy marching!

Please remember to be reading 20 minutes a night in either language. Keep bringing those baggy books to school every day so we can read them in class.

Have a wonderful weekend.
:) Mrs. Montes

Sharing Bags!

Wow, what a great job the children have done on their sharing bag. Thank you so much for taking the scavenger hunt challenge. I enjoyed hearing each child share a little about themselves, their family, and their summer. My children at home did this for school and we really enjoyed it! Please post a comment. What did you like best about the sharing bag?

Have a great 3 day weekend!

This week we learned about some other characters who needed more self confidence to avoid worrying about what others think. I hope these past two weeks have helped the children feel more confident in who they are and recognize their special gifts.
The math timed tests that are coming home have been scored. We did these twice. The pink score is the first time we did it. The purple score is the second time we did it. If your child improved from one to the next, you will see a + at the top of addition or subtraction. Great job! We are working on showing growth in these facts to be speedy fast! Please work on these facts with flashcards at home to help improve your child's rate of answering the facts. Thanks.
We are still spending a lot of time during transitions getting the talking under control. Please remind your child to use good character and respectful behavior. We need reminders on following directions and good listening skills. I love rewarding those students who have mastered these skills. Let's encourage all of the children to do this.
Thank you for coming to Open House. We had nearly every parent here to represent each child's family. I was so glad to meet some of you for the first time and to see some of you again. Thank you for taking interest in your child's education and our classroom. I am always looking for more take home volunteers, so please let me know if you're interested. I need one other parent for Book Orders each month (Stapeling the packets together) and one for Book It recording. Thanks. I know there is a lot to remember and keep up with so please email me if you have any questions.
Baggy Books are off to a great start. I love seeing the excitement when they come in raving for a book exchange. Keep it up!!!
Have a lovely 3 day weekend. Enjoy the time with family and friends. My family and I will be camping all weekend!
Mrs. Montes

Open House

We hope to see you tonight as we kick off another great year at Olson! Come to our Open House and hear all the exciting things your child will be learning and experiencing as we grow in academics and good character.  Please join us from 6:00-6:30 in the classroom, 6:30-7:00 in the gym, and 7:00-7:30 in the classroom. (Choose one classroom visit) Hope to see you tonight!
Mrs. Montes

"Being Me"

This week we read several stories about "Being Me." We learned about the chameleon who wanted to be like others, the chameleon who wanted a color of his own, Ruby who copycats others, and Oscar who didn't like being ordinary. We learned green is a happy color for chameleons. What is your happy color? What makes you special to "Just Be You?" We talked about what makes each of us special and like no one else.

In math we are reviewing addition in story problems. Please practice these facts at home. We need a refresher after a refreshing summer!

Parents and students you are doing a great job getting the assignment notebook signed each night. Most of the classes have got it! Please remember to turn in your Highlights sheet with no or yes marked and sign. Thank you those of you who turned in the consumable fee.Have a wonderful weekend!

Monday Homework

Our story this week is The Mixed Up Chameleon. The spelling test and vocab test will be Friday. There will also be a vocabulary test on Friday from vocab words learned in Ruby the Copycat. Please complete both sides tonight and return tomorrow.

Weekly News

We are so excited to announce the launch of our class blog.  This will take the place of a class website and newsletter.  It will be updated as new information arises, giving you the most updated information in a timely manner.  Please check our blog to see the nightly homework, the current topics we are studying, our favorite links, as well as class announcements.  Our blog is an extension of our classroom, where we try to create a positive, respectful, caring environment. Please monitor your child’s posts to see that they are appropriate for school, using good character.  If you have any concerns, please e-mail me directly.  Our blog is definitely a work in progress, and I appreciate your patience as we explore the possibilities together. 

When using the blog, we would like each person to use a code. Their code is the classroom alphabetic order number (their mailbox number) that you will see in the upper corner of this paper, along with their first name initial, and homeroom teacher initial. So for example if your name is Sarah and your mailbox number is 4 and your homeroom teacher is Mrs. Montes you would be SM4. If your name is Jose in Ms. Salas’ room and your number is 15, you are JS15. Please use these code names when posting a comment.

Thank you to those of you who turned in your consumable supply fee. If you have not done that yet, please send $5 to school in an envelope marked Mrs. Montes or Ms. Salas. Thanks.

HOMEWORK: Please check homework nightly and sign the assignment notebook showing that you saw the homework is completed.

Just a reminder your child may bring a healthy snack for the morning. If you are celebrating a birthday we ask that if you celebrate at school it is a healthy store bought choice. We will not allow cupcakes or cookies for birthday treats. Fruit snacks, granola bars, popsicles, fruit roll ups, etc. will be accepted. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Specials Schedule

Please wear appropriate gym shoes on gym/TDPE days and return library books on library day.

Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
A-Music/PE B-Art C-PE/Music D-Library/Computers	A-Art B-Music/PE C-Library/TDPE D-PE/Music	A-Music/PE B-Library/TDPE C-PE/Music D-Art	A-Library/TDPE B-Music/PE C-Art D-PE/Music

Have a wonderful weekend!

First Day Success!

We had a wonderful first day! Welcome back!

Hello Parents and Students!

It was nice to meet you at supply drop off and meet the teacher. Let's try our first question! What will you miss most about summer break?

Dream It! Believe it! Achieve it! Celebrate it!

Second Grade Roundup!
Welcome Parents and Second Graders!

I am so excited to get to know all of you and work together this year.  I hope that this blog will provide a means of communication between all of us, and a chance for our students to learn to use the Internet safely and competently.  It is my hope to be able to post daily homework assignments on here and also to be able to share tidbits about what we are doing in class. I intend for this blog to replace a weekly newsletter.  Instead of having to wait until Friday to share information with you, I'm looking forward to being able to post information as it becomes available.  Please click on the box to the right of this post that allows you to "follow this blog by e-mail."  This feature will e-mail you when new posts are made to the blog.  I ask you to do this so that you stay as connected as possible with our class.  A nice feature is that blogger will only send the e-mail once daily (your inbox won't fill up with numerous e-mails each day.)

This blog will be designed to be secure for your child, so student names will never be posted.  We will use a code to identify each student and I ask that you, as parents identify yourselves in code as well.  For example, let's pretend that we have a student named Suzie and that she is the third student on our class list.  Her code would be S3.  Anytime she would post, that is how she would identify herself.  Likewise her parents could identify themselves using the code- S3's Mom, or Mr.S3. I may post pictures of what we are doing in class or of students from time to time, but again, students will never be identified or tagged.

Another "safety feature" of this blog is that all comments and posts have to be approved by me before they are posted for all to view.  This blog is an extension of our classroom on a screen instead of with 4 walls around us, so all comments and posts will need to be appropriate for discussion at school, and will also protect the anonymity of our students. 

I am looking forward to learning right along with your child and you this year.  Thank you in advance for keeping the lines of communication open with me!  I look forward to a wonderful second grade year with you!