SHAPE Woodstock

WELCOME TO SHAPE WOODSTOCK! – PARENTS INVITED TO JANUARY EVENT 

Research shows that students who participate in physical activity before they begin their academic classes have a longer attention span, have higher reading comprehension scores, and perform better on standardized tests than students who do not exercise.

Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 has been awarded a grant to enhance physical activity and healthy lifestyles for our students and their families that we are calling SHAPE Woodstock.  Through SHAPE Woodstock we are hosting a series of seminars that will inform parents about the positive impact physical activity and good nutrition have on the academic lives of children.

We would like to invite you to our first workshop on January 8, featuring Paul Zientarski, founder of the Learning Readiness Program for Naperville School District 203.  Paul will discuss how he and other educators have made a difference in the lives of students through exercise. 

All participants will have a chance to win prizes such as: pedometers, basketballs, footballs, snowshoes and much more!

We look forward to seeing you there!

SHAPE Woodstock Workshop
Thursday, January 8, 2015
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Woodstock North High School Auditorium, 3000 Raffle Road, Woodstock

For more information about SHAPE Woodstock, including upcoming events, programs, links and photos, please click here to visit the SHAPE Woodstock webpages.

Math Arrays

Hello Parents!
In math we are learning about arrays: A set that shows equal groups in rows and columns. Arrays in rectangles or squares help us gain the foundations for multiplication as repeated addition. Look for arrays in your world and in your home and share them with the class. Please take pictures and email them to me so we can share them with the class. Tmontes@wcusd200.org  Thanks!
Here is a link to some of the videos we have watched in class on YouTube. I encourage you to visit these sites with your child. One of them is a Minecraft example that shows arrays. Now I know most of the children are all about Minecraft, so I thought this would be a fun activity to connect to their virtual world. Please watch the video (Only needed up to about 1:30 to get the example) and take a picture of an array you created in Minecraft and email it to me. We will post

these images on the blog and share them at school. Please include the equation for repeated addition and multiplication with the answer! Thank you for participating! I can't wait to see what we get!

Samples of Arrays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks-q6gKoQKs

Minecraft Arrays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAhsRE57tqE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Thank you, Collin for sending in your array!


We are winding down our last couple days before break. We are enjoying our culture unit with the literacy component Cinderella stories from around the world. Our focus is on the lesson we can learn from these stories and comparing and contrasting the different events and characters. Even the boys are enjoying these stories. :) Our Opinion writing response will be to convince me which princess is most deserving of marrying the prince. Some have already formed their opinions, but we will see how convincing the children are!

Spelling and vocabulary test is Friday. Please review the spelling and culture words here on the blog. A list has also gone home.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Montes

This is It!

What a great performance by our second graders today! They did a fantastic job! Thank you for those of you who made it out to see our star performers today. This key reminds us to "Let it Go" and focus on the present moment. Forget about the past, forget about the future. Focus on the NOW!
Presentations begin next week for our culture unit on Wednesday. Some of you have already received the schedule. The rest will be scheduled and sent home on Monday. Please be practicing the fluency of the presentation, and keep it under 5 minutes. Thank you! Remember to use those key vocabulary words in the presentation!  I can't wait to begin!
Book Orders are due Tuesday if you would like to order. Every order earns us a free book for our classroom. You can order easily online or send the order to me. If you would like them to be Christmas presents, please let me know and I can wrap them up in a bag and keep them for you or send them with your child.
Enjoy these photos from our presentation today. Sorry, I can't get them to flip! :(

December News

Welcome to December!
Today the Madrigals came and performed for us from WNHS. It really helps get into the spirit of the holiday hearing them come and sing! WHS performs here on Friday.
We have a very busy 3 weeks ahead of us. We finish up our frogs and toads and non fiction today with our test on the diagram/life cycle of the frog. So far, they're going well! Thank you for spending the time at home practicing each of the stages with the captions to go with it. Our next unit is Culture. Ms. Salas will study the content words and we will focus on literature from different cultures. We will also study Germany, United States, and Mexico.We are anxious to hear the culture presentations when they start! This is one of our favorite times of the year when we get to hear about your family's heritage and culture. Please assist your child with any of the research and history, but allow them to complete the actual project independently. We appreciate your input and guidance along the way.
Measurement test is next week. We move on to place value and two digit addition next. Keep practicing those facts!
Also, we are roller skating for the month of December in PE class. We will be skating Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Please send skates and helmets on these days, or you may send them to keep at school on these days. Thanks. Feel free to volunteer during the 12-1:00 hour with our classes too! We can always use more lacers and tiers!
On Friday, the second grade classes will be presenting "This is It," the December Character Key of the month. Focus on the present moment and forget about the past of future. We have prepared a skit for each class that will be performed in front of the whole school. Some of the children came home with reading and speaking parts. Please help them prepare their lines at home. They do not have to memorize their lines, but some have chosen to memorize them. They can use notecards or the sheet I gave them to practice and they can be used during the actual performance. We will be practicing all week. Students may also dress in Disney's Frozen attire: princess gowns, dresses, shirts, pajamas, etc. can be brought to school and changed into before the performance. Please do not wear the gowns, dresses, or pajamas to school on Friday, but bring them in a bag to change into later. Thanks! Parents, you may join us at 1:30 on Friday if you like!
Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Montes

Frog and Toad

FRIDAY we will have a test on the venn diagram comparing and contrasting frogs and toads. We will need at least 5 facts for each section of the diagram. The study sheet is going home today. Test is moved to Friday!

Please remember to send warm clothes for recess. Please send winter coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. The classroom gets chilly sometimes too, so please keep a hoodie or sweater at school in the locker. 

Thank you! 

Thank you for your Operation Christmas Child donations!

Thanks to your generosity, Olson collected over 90 boxes for Operation Christmas Child to send to children in other countries. Thank you for your kindness for others!

                                 Clydesdales with their donations today!

Please help!

Parents- We will be doing centers rotations tomorrow from 8:10-9:00 and from 1:10-2:00. If you are available to help out please let me know! We could use some extra hands. Thanks!

Happy Friday

We are finishing up our study of comparing frogs and toads. We are learning this through a comparison input chart. Next week we will have a test on these facts. After that, we focus on the life cycle of the frog. We will spend all next week on this and have a test on creating our own diagram of a frog life at the end.
In math we continue working on measurement. We are measuring using centimeters and inches. Please practice measuring some things for fun around your house! Kids love their measuring tools!
Monday is our last day to accept items for Operation Christmas Child. Please send in any of those items if you would like to participate. Thank you so much for what we have already been given. We are looking for a parent to come in Monday and go through the boxes and get them ready to be shipped. If anyone can come in and spend an hour or so doing this for us that would be great.
Late Start next Wednesday.
Just to give you a heads up: Our next social studies unit is Culture. Children will need to interview someone from their heritage that came to America from another country. We would like this to be a family member. Please be thinking of someone your child can interview that could share their culture and background.
I accidentally sent home some lunch ticket cards. The office would like to keep them as a back up. Please return them if you get a lunch card home! Thanks!!!
Keep working hard on homework! Thank you for encouraging the children to take ownership of their responsibilities.
Have a great weekend.
Mrs. Montes

Happy FALL Fest!

Happy Friday!
Next week we finish up graphing and will take a pretest on measurement. If your child does not have a ruler here at school please get one this weekend! Thanks.
Next week in literacy we will be reading the Frog and Toad story and being learning about the frog life cycle. Also, we are learning about why the leaves change colors.
We had a wonderful fall fest today celebrating all things fall here at Olson. Wishing you and your family a wonderful fall weekend!
Mrs. Montes

What a Monday!?

Hello!!
Our Monday has been a bit crazy! Our students are showing great understanding of failure leads to success with our day! Our  PODER testing did not go as well as planned, so our time in the lab was extended to complete the tests. We had bus evacuation drills and some excitement with the fire alarm. I am not sending homework home today! Enjoy the break!
Parents!! If you are coming on the field trip tomorrow can you please respond on the blog on the comments? I need to know how many parents we will have joining us to walk to the Square tomorrow. Please bring a backpack if you  have one to help carry water bottles and snacks. Thank you!
See you tomorrow!
Mrs. Montes

Happy Friday!

It was a very exciting day here at Olson! We witnessed Mr. Pintado getting water dumped on his head from the many donations for The Mustang March!
We have a very busy week next week: 
Monday- PODER testing in Spanish, Culinary Visit 1-2 pm
Tuesday-8:30-10:15 (roughly) Walking Field Trip to Farmer's Market-Dress WARM! (Weather permitting!)
Wednesday-Late Start
Thursday-Erin's Law & PODER testing

Because next week we will be missing some classroom time, I am moving the spelling and vocab test to the following week, October 30. Note, this is a Thursday! If you would like to study these vocabulary words on Quizlet, here is the link, quizlet.com/subject/Tonya_Montes8.  If you type in this or go to www.quizlet.com and search for Tonya_Montes8 you will find our vocabulary words for each week. You can play matching games on the ipad or any tablet, or the computer. We use these at school to practice before our tests.

If you are planning on coming in for the field trip on Tuesday please be here by 8:15. Thank you again for our volunteers and snack donations!

We began our non fiction study with labels, charts, keywords, diagrams, and charts. Next week we will learn about captions. We will learn about diagrams through life cycles with most of our focus on the frog life cycle.

We are off to a good start in math learning about picture graphs, tables, charts, and tallies!

We had a visit from the health department today with a lesson on hand washing and germs. Enjoy these fun pictures!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Montes

Welcome to a New Week!

Field Trip Update
Due to the rainy weather today, we have postponed the field trip to next Tuesday, October 21. We will plan to leave school around 8:15-8:30 and return around 10:00-10:30. Thank you for all of the snacks that were sent in. If you still want to send something in we could use more small water bottles (12). If you plan on attending please let me know! We appreciate your donations and help! Remember to dress warm next Tuesday!  Thank you!

Happy LOOOONG Weekend!

Conferences have been a pleasure! I really enjoy getting to spend this time with each of your families and get to know the other side of these children. They are so precious, and I am thankful I get to spend the day with them. Thank you for taking the time to come in this week and meet with Ms. Salas and me. We really enjoy sharing the growth your child has made already in second grade and can't wait to celebrate their many successes this year!
Our math test on Unit 1 went well. We took out pretest for graphing yesterday, and will begin a new unit of graphing next week.
Just a reminder that our Farmer's Market Walking Field Trip is Tuesday, October 14, when we return from the Columbus Day and conferences break. Please remember to dress your child in warm clothes because we will spend about 2 hours outside walking for this trip. If the weather is bad, we will postpone the trip one week and go on the 21st. We will have a snack on the square and come back in time for lunch. We still need small water bottles, goldfish, pretzels, and popcorn if anyone would like to send in these donations! Thank you. Parents, if you are meeting us for the trip please be here at 8:15. Thank you. We really appreciate your help and participation on this trip. In class, we will write a narrative based on our experience at the market and make a class book. In addition, we will study non fiction features of labeling and captions and use the food for part of graphing.
I hope you and your family enjoy the long weekend.
Mrs. Montes

Enjoy these pictures from our math lesson on greater than/less than and number order before/after/between.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY

Happy October!!
I can't believe how fast time is going this year. We are moving quickly through our daily routines. Parent volunteers are coming in, and we are working hard! Thank you for your time!
We will finish up our first unit for math and take a test on Tuesday. Please practice doubles, greater than less than, math mountains, fact families, odd/even, and skip counting. A review will go home on Monday for you to practice at home. Our next unit is on graphing.
Our second graders worked very hard during the Mustang March! We will soon see if the Clydesdales will keep the trophy or pass it on to another deserving second grade class.
Thank you to Mrs. Roush and Mrs. Heidtke for coming in last week for our first horseshoe trading day. If you have any small toys and prizes you would like to donate for this, we would love it. Stickers, stamps, writing pads, etc. are always big favorites too. Thanks.
Culver's Night is Octoer 27th. 15% of the profit will be donated back to Olson.
Our next literacy unit is non fiction features and fiction with "Making this World a Better Place."
Our next key to focus on for October is "Failure Leads to Success." I'm sure we all have lots of stories to share where we just didn't do something right the first time. Share those learning stories with your child and celebrate sweet success!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Montes

Happy WEEKEND!

We had our first doubles test today! Thank you so much for studying those doubles facts! Congratulations to the 16 students who completed their doubles facts today! They will move on to doubles + 1 in 2 minutes. Thank you for working hard and practicing your facts at home. Good luck! Keep practicing!
Picture day is September 22. Please return your photo orders before or on Monday the 22nd. Thanks. You can also order online.
Mustang March is our Fall Fundraiser at Olson. Please go out and get those pledges! This is a great week for us to show our school spirit, encourage physical fitness, and show our support for Olson!
We continue to practice integrity, respect, being a good citizen, and responsibility in 2nd grade. Please keep working hard to complete the homework. Required reading in 2nd grade is 20 minutes a night. Please be reading to your child or have your child be reading at least 20 minutes. Once I have read with your child in class, he/she will be assigned a good fit reading level to check out classroom books for at-home and in-class reading.
Some topics of discussion for the weekend for earning 5 horseshoes: Please ask your child about Sam. What is schema? Name an appropriate and an inappropriate behavior at school. Please write your comments on the blog for 5 horseshoes on Monday! We will share the ideas on Monday.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Go out and show integrity wherever you go!
Mrs. Montes

Happy Wednesday!

The spelling and vocabulary test will be next week on Friday. There are 20 words but the students are only tested on 15 of them. Please practice these spelling patterns and chunks nightly!
Poetry binders will be going home on Friday with a poem about being responsible. It is a funny rhyming poem. Hopefully, you and your child can talk about the ways they help out at home and create some new chores or ways they can help out to show responsibility at home. I learned a lot about the children through this poem. There are some who have lots of chores and some who have none!
Doing a great job with homework responsibilities. Keep up the good work!
There will be a sign language club offered for 2nd-3rd graders on Tuesdays after school at Olson. There is only room for 20 children so if you're interested please return the sheet tomorrow!
The Character Key we are working on for the month of September is "Integrity." We are challenged with showing integrity everywhere we go. We have several opportunities throughout the day to show integrity. No matter where, no matter what, and no matter who is watching! Show integrity!
Thank you for the volunteers who have been coming in to help. I appreciate your time and commitment to our classroom! Next week we will be MAP testing from 8-10:30 Wednesday, 8-9:30 Thursday, and 8-9:30 Friday. If this is your regularly scheduled volunteer time, Ms. Salas will gladly have you help her during this time with reading with the kids!
In math we are working on even and odd numbers, adding doubles, and doubles plus one. Please practice these at home!!
Have a great rest of the week!
Mrs. Montes

Happy Thursday!

We are moving quickly in second grade!
Thank you to those of you who came to Back to School Night to hear about our routines and curriculum in second grade. I hope it was a great night for you.
This week we are learning about "Being Me." We are learning about citizens who cooperate and make good decisions in their community and at home and school. The chameleon learned he wasn't happy when he wasn't himself. We are learning how we are special in the skin we are in and we need to celebrate "being me!"
Just a reminder that the family journals come home on Thursday and you have until Monday to return them. This gives you a chance to read and respond to your child. Last week we did really well with returning them on time.

Xtra Math homework is every Wednesday, but please feel free to do it as often as you like. It will only make you better! Other alternatives in addition to Xtra Math is flashcards and math games or math apps on your tablet. We are learning about math mountains, fact families, skip counting by 2, 5, and 10, and even and odd numbers. Here are some pictures of us getting up and moving to some YouTube songs/videos on skip counting.
So far we are doing well with completing homework assignments on time. If you ever need help please send a note with the homework and we can explain it better!

Good job on the healthy snacks! Thank you!
Have a great night!
Mrs. Montes

Welcome to Second Grade!

Dear Second Grade Families!
I am so excited to begin this new adventure in second grade with you! What a wonderful first day we had!
Please use this blog as our way of communicating with us.  I will not be sending home a weekly newsletter. I will update the blog at least once a week, sometimes daily. You can post comments on here or email me anytime. I have to preview your comments before they are posted for everyone to see.

Today we talked about "jitters" and what makes us nervous. I learned a lot of new things about the children. I think they got rid of the first day jitters by the end of the day.

Our Back to School Night will be next Thursday, August 21 at 6:00 p.m.. I hope you are able to attend this special night to learn about our curriculum and routines of the classroom. I look forward to meeting you. If you need to bring your child(ren), childcare will be provided in the gym.

Thank you for allowing me to spend this year with your child. What  a great first day we had!
Mrs. Montes

Summer Reading

Parents,
I just wanted to share this great recourse with you for summer reading. It really helps stay up with our current reading level that we leave with in second grade. We want to come in as strong leaders like we left second grade. I will be doing it with my boys at home! Let me know if it doesn't work. Here is the link: http://www.bookitprogram.com/summer/parenttools.asp  There are a lot of great activities to do to motivate and keep your child reading over the summer.
Good luck!
Mrs. Montes

Happy Wednesday!

Hello!
Just a few updates to share with you about these last couple weeks of school. 

• Field Day is Friday, May 23. If you can help Mrs. Etnyre at a station please let her know! The Clydesdales will participate in the afternoon and the Appaloosas will participate in the morning. Please wear green or your field day shirt. Bring a cold lunch or order from two menu options: A Sub Sandwith or B PBJ). Be sure to send a water bottle, sunscreen, and a hat!
• Dismissal is at 12:20 on the last day of school. They may bring a cold lunch or order hot lunch. 
• Report cards go home on the last day of school. If your child earned a Magic Waters or Six Flags ticket they will be in the report card.
• All library books should have been returned to school. Please look for any books labeled "Montes" around your house and car. Please return my personal class library books by Friday. Thanks.

Have a great week!
Mrs. Montes

Thursday Updates

I just wanted to remind you that the Scholastic Book Fair will be open next week at Olson. This is our Spring Buy One Get One Free Sale. If you send money to school with your child, please do the following:

• Send money in an envelope or baggie with your child's name and teacher on it. 
• Please write the amount that is inside 
• Please make a good choice about how much money you send to school with your child. Also, please talk about your child's use of the money and good choices on what they can/cannot purchase. Sometimes kids want to share their money with others, so please discuss if this is allowed for your child. I would prefer each student just uses their own money. 

Along that note, I'm sad to say we won't be having any more Horseshoe Trading Days this year. Unfortunately, we have had several students with missing horseshoes (and other things) and several students with a lot more  horseshoes. We have talked with the classes about all of the pillars of good character: respect other people's property, responsibility, caring for others, trustworthiness, honesty, and fairness. It is difficult for Ms. Salas and I to be stuck in the middle of several horseshoe stories, and it is difficult to tell who is telling the truth. So for the remainder of the year, we will use only the clips for positive reinforcement and consequences in the classroom. Please have a discussion with your child around this topic. Some of the students are very disappointed, as we are also. I don't want all of the students to be punished or suffer for the actions of others, so we are certainly looking for more ways to reward those students in the classroom. Thank you for helping with this.

Field Day is Friday, May 23. Field Day T-Shirt Orders are due tomorrow. Please contact Mrs. Etnyre if you are able to volunteer that day.  Thank you. 

Have a great week. Maybe we'll actually see the sun?

Mrs. Montes

Happy Monday

What a wet way to start the week! :( I hope you enjoyed your weekend.
We will not have a new spelling list until Wednesday. This means no homework tonight, but Wednesday will be Xtra Math and spelling.
We have our final CPAA Testing in the computer lab today and tomorrow. Thank you for practicing those facts this weekend!
Remember: Yearbook Orders are due soon and Field Day T-shirt orders are due Thursday. If your green shirt from last year still fits you can wear it! This is just for those of you who need a new one.
Have a great week.
Mrs. Montes

Happy WEEKEND!!

Happy Friday!
We had a busy week! We continue to practice non fiction features and are learning about different geographic landmarks around our country. We are also beginning our mind maps on the computer for our natural disaster to study. This project will be completely done on the computer, but will have a diorama project to create at home that illustrates your natural disaster of study. More information will come home later about this project.
We begin our last week of CPAA testing next week, Monday and Tuesday. This is a chance to show what you know from second grade! Please talk to your child about the importance of reading through each question carefully and select the best answer. We have talked about process of elimination and reading through all of your choices to find the best answer. Please practice anything math over the weekend! We have covered a lot this year in math-so feel free to practice anything this weekend. I did send home some math for practice. It would be helpful to practice time, money, place value to the thousands with base ten, and two and three digit addition and subtraction. Thank you for taking this time to review and give your child extra practice at home. This week we continued with fractions and reviewed time, money, and addition and subtraction with 2 and 3 digits.
I hope you and your family get a chance to get outside and enjoy the weather today and tomorrow! Have a great weekend!
Enjoy the photos of our recent work!
Mrs. Montes

Wednesday News

Wow, do we have some talent here or what? Congratulations to our students who participated in the Variety Show today. What an amazing group of children! What a variety we had, too! We had magic and dancers! Thank you parents for your support and practice to prepare for this wonderful day.

April is flying by. We are finishing up our learning about natural disasters in our geography unit. In the next few weeks we will do some research and present it to the class. Most of the work will be done in class, but there will be a diorama project to be done at home. The research will be done at school, and the students will create a mind map on the computer and will type their report on the computer also. Any extra hands would always be appreciated during this time. If you are available please let me know!

Our geography unit test is tomorrow. The vocabulary words will be covered. They will also compare/contrast 2 different hurricanes, and create a table of contents based on natural disasters to tie in our non fiction features. We were busy practicing for the test today and yesterday to help prepare for tomorrow.

We are also writing an expository paper on Hurricanes and will turn these facts into our own non fiction book.

In math, we are finishing up fractions. Next week, we will spend some time reviewing time, money, two & three digit addition, and will move into two digit subtraction. Please practice those addition subtraction facts at home.

We are starting a BLURT ALERT in our classroom. We have several students who are having a difficult time with self-control and talking at appropriate times. It is important for the children to understand this is unacceptable behavior to blurt out their thoughts anytime they want to speak. This sets an example for others to do the same and interrupts our learning. We tally the blurts during the week. If your child has more than 3, on Friday they will write a note to you. Please sign it and return Monday or they will need to accompany me at recess.

Upcoming Dates:

• Yearbook Orders are $16.00 and should be returned quickly to guarantee a yearbook. 
• Friday, April 25: Mustang Big Give-A market of 4th graders are selling items for the students to purchase. The money raised goes to a charity of choice by each of the 4th graders. This is a great opportunity to buy special crafts and food for a good cause. Please send in money in a baggie if you would like to buy something. (Up to $5)
• Field Day is May 23-Let's hope for sunshine!!! T-shirt orders are due Thurs. May 1 and are $5 if you would like to order a t-shirt for your child. Otherwise, you can wear your shirt from 1st grade if it fits!

We will not have a new spelling and vocab list for next week. 

Have a great night!!

Mrs. Montes

Welcome Back!

Well I'd like to say welcome back to a beautiful spring day and beautiful weather, but that hasn't happened yet! At least we got a glimpse of spring yesterday. Hope you and your families had a wonderful spring break!
We continue to work on our geography unit and move into oceans, continents, and natural disasters the next few weeks.
In geometry, we will finish up 2-D shapes and are moving on to 3-D shapes this week. After that, we will be learning about fractions. Please continue to practice basic addition and subtraction facts at home. I encourage Xtra Math at least 3 times a week. Everyone should be on subtraction by now!
Late Start on Wednesday.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Montes

Spelling Test

Our spelling test over the "eigh" words will be Tuesday, March 11. A new list of words will come home Monday, but they will be over the next two weeks cycle. That test will be right before spring break, March 21.  Some of the students felt the words were a little harder to practice in one week.
Thank you!

Happy March

Happy March!
This week in literacy we will finish up our weather and seasons unit with an opinion writing piece telling about what the best season is and why. There won't be a test for the unit because the written piece is the assessment of their learning.
Spelling test on "eigh" words and there, their, and they're will be Friday.
Next week we will begin a new unit on geography.
In math we finished up place value and are moving on to geometry. So to make it super confusing we are learning geometry and geography at the same time!
I hope everyone got the note about the Fun Friday rewards for good behavior and being responsible. Our first fun activity will be this Friday. I made an error in the note. It should say if you are on anything above "Teacher Choice" you may attend. Students are allowed to move down to "Make Better Decisions" with no consequence. The purpose is to reward the students who are doing what they're suppose to be doing and motivate others to do what's right.
If anyone can come in this week (or next week) and do Horseshoe Trading day that would be great. Thanks!
Have a great week....... Hopefully, without more snow!
Mrs. Montes

Wednesday News

Thank you for taking time to meet with me over conferences. It is always a pleasure getting to chat with you and celebrate all the wonderful things your children are doing in class. I am blessed to be their teacher. Thank you again for your time and efforts you put into making this a meaningful experience for them.

Thank you to those of you who sent in something for our Valentine's Day breakfast! We appreciate all the muffins, juice, plates, grapes, napkins, pretzels, carrots, and Ranch that were brought in. Thanks again!

Tomorrow & Friday morning the PTO is hosting Donuts with a Dude.  Students and their special male guest will join us for donuts in the cafeteria before school from 6:45-7:30. 

This week we continue to learn about seasons and weather and we read a book about children who live in cold, cold, Alaska. We will have a vocabulary test and spelling test next week, Friday.

Please help your child remember their homework each day. Poetry binders come home on Friday and Family Journals come home on Thursday. Each missing assignment pays 5 horseshoes. 

Have a great week.
Mrs. Montes

Happy Friday

Our Reading Challenge is moving along very well! Congratulations to the Appaloosas for making 80% or better all 3 weeks! Congratulations to the Clydesdales for making it 2/3 weeks. Last week the Clydesdales name was drawn for the class that gets to spend 30 minutes of physical activity with Mrs. Frisbie! Congratulations! We are hoping next week will be the Appaloosas! Next week we finish on Feb. 7. Please return Six Flags and the reading log on this day. Final dress up day is "Rock Star." Thanks!
Conferences are approaching in two weeks. We are doing our best to accommodate all of the requests. The notes should go home Tuesday to confirm your times. Thank you for your cooperation!
With all of the snow days, late starts, Martin Luther King Jr., and ACCESS testing we finally started our weather and seasons unit in literacy this week.This connects to Ms. Salas' science unit with the sun, moon, and stars.  I apologize for sending home the spelling and vocabulary words so long ago. These words will all pick up next week. This week we have been busy writing about why we honor Martin Luther King Jr. Next week we really dive into the reasons for the seasons and typical weather patterns in each season. We will be doing several writing activities with this unit.
In math we are learning about place value. I am impressed at how quickly the classes have caught on to counting hundreds, tens, ones, and using base ten blocks. We are getting into adding two digit numbers next week. This week we learned to add two digit plus one digit and make a trade. Keep practicing those facts! This makes adding two digit numbers much more fluent when we can add quickly.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Montes

Happy Thursday!

Dear Parents,
Tomorrow is the first day of our reading challenge turn in. Please add up your child's reading minutes for this week (total at least 175 minutes), initial it, and turn it in tomorrow!!! We hope to have 100% participation!!!! Reminder it is Wacky Dress day also for participating in the reading challenge.
We have two days of ACCESS testing this week and next week. This is testing for the bilingual students to see how they are acquiring English. Because of this, we will be taking our spelling and vocab test the week after. Our new unit is weather and seasons. We will be learning about the holidays and weather patterns during each season.
Have a great day!
Mrs. Montes

Happy New Year 2014!

Hello! Welcome back to 2014!!! I apologize for that other post last night. I had been trying to post some updates over break but had a difficult time getting the blog to cooperate. That was as far as it would let me go was to wish you a Happy New Year! :-)

Olson's Reading Challenge begins this Friday!!!

2013-2014 Olson Reading Challenge Presents:

Reading Gives you Super Powers to “Be Incredible!”

Week Number/Dates	Prize Awarded	Spirit Day Events on Friday-Every Friday is turn-in day
January 10 Kickoff Friday!	Culver’s bookmark	“Super Hero” Dress Day Character “Trustworthiness” DEAR
Week 1: January 13-17	Super cape, pencil, Culver’s scoop	“Super Wacky” Dress Day (Backwards, glitter, neon, etc.) Character “Respect” DEAR
Week 2: January 20-24	Nick’s Pizza, Extreme Wheels	“Super Fan” Dress Day- Dress like a crazy fan Character “Fairness” DEAR
Week 3: January 27-31	Magic Waters Scholastic Book Fair $5 coupon	“Super Comfy”  Dress Day Character “Caring & Citizenship” DEAR
Week 4: February 3-7	Rockford Icehogs Red Robin Kid’s Meal Six Flags	“Super Rock Star” Dress Day Character “Responsibility” DEAR

•          Kickoff- Jan. 10:  Dress up as Super Heroes! Students are encouraged to dress up in their most "super suit!"

•          Second Grade Required Reading Minutes- 25 a night/175 minutes a week.

•          Fill out the Book-It reading calendar and return it each week on Friday. Log the minutes in each box. Add them up for the week. We will send it back home. If you are absent, return it on Monday. Students will still earn their Pizza Hut coupon during this time.

•          Six Flags and Magic Waters are given out in May. A certificate will go home saying you will receive the tickets later in the year. You must record the Magic Waters and Six Flags with title and signature and turn it in for weeks 3 and 4. All the minutes read go toward Magic Waters and Six Flags, even from week 1 and 2.

•          PLEASE FILL OUT THE BOOK-IT FORM AND RETURN IT EVERY FRIDAY IN JANUARY!

Super Prizes:

•          The classes that have 80% or better for that week will be put in a drawing. Class earns 30 minutes of activity time with Mrs. Frisbie.

•          The individual students who make the challenge will be rewarded for their Super Reading too! All of the students who make the challenge all 4 weeks will be invited to attend the viewing of The Incredibles on February 12, in the gym with pajamas and a blanket/towel.

Good luck! Remember to Be Super!!!

Please remember to send appropriate winter gear for outdoor recess: hats, gloves, boots, snowpants, and winter jacket. 

Our Spelling Bee will be this Friday for our school. We will be cheering on Sofia as she competes against the top two winners in each grade level. Good luck Sofia!

Have a great week! Stay warm!

Mrs. Montes

Happy New Year!