Reminders

During the first week of school many papers were sent home that needed to be signed by a parent/guardian and returned to school. I am extremely happy to report that many students have been returning these important papers in a timely manner. However, there are students who still need to return papers. Below is a list of forms that were sent home. Please take the time to ensure that you have signed and given them to your child to return to school.

• Snack Permission


• Classroom Management Letter


• Volunteer Information (optional)


• Mystery Reader (optional)


• Blog Permission Letter


• Gombert Student Handbook Form


• Curriculum Night Letter (only for parents who were not in attendance)
  

I would like to thank you all for turning in your transportation forms so quickly. I believe that 2F was one of the first classes that had them turned into the office. Also, I would like to thank the parents who have already filled out the form to visit our class as Mystery Readers. There are two parents who filled out this form and turned them in; however, I am unaware of who they are because there were no names on them. If you could contact me this week to tell me if you are one of the willing participants, that would be great. Please be sure that your name is printed on all of the documents that are being returned to school. It has been somewhat challenging identifying parent signatures.

First Week of School

2F had an eventful first week of school. The students learned about the classroom procedures and routines, created classroom rules and did an awesome job of organizing their desk, after viewing a photostory clip which helped each child to understand how to perform this task. Students also met some new faces at Gombert when Mr. Ricken, our school prinicpal, and Mr. McDermott, our student service coordinator, came into our classroom to introduce themselves.

In addition, students have begun to learn about how to choose good fit books and received a clear understanding of how to use the I-PICK strategy. This will continue to be reviewed throughout the year as we focus on the Daily 5 in our classroom. The students also got the opportunity to meet Mrs. Smith, our new LMC director, during their first visit to the LMC on Thursday. She has many great ideas and is a wonderful addition to the Gombert community. This year one of her many goals is to aide our Second Graders in the choosing of good fit books.

In Math, students reviewed sequencing numbers and money. Many students did an outstanding job of remembering these skills from first grade. In preparation for Otter Creek, we took some time to identify how fast each student could write their numbers. This activity determines what their 1 minute goal will be during their Otter Creek assessments. Students were also asked to complete four 15 second timings to determine what level they will begin on in Otter Creek. The children were consumed with excitement as they completed each timing. Next week, we will begin practicing partner routines and how to appropriately practice for their Otter Creek assessments. Please encourage students to practice their addition facts every night. You will begin to see their Otter Creek assessments soon. These assessments can be used to study their facts at home.

Science was the highlight of our week! Students learned about the scientific method and performed two experiments. The first experiment was to discover which brand of paper towel was the most absorbent. We soon concluded that, of course, Bounty was the most absorbent; after all, it is the quicker picker upper. During the second experiment, we were seeking to find out what would happen when an egg was dropped from a high elevation into a cardboard box. Students made wonderful hypotheses and the majority of them thought that it would break upon impact. Students became very excited when I climbed on top of a desk to perform the experiment. We all observed the egg break and were able to confirm our predictions.

Welcome to Our Classroom!

I am excited to share pictures of our classroom with you. My hope is that I have created an environment where students feel comfortable and enjoy coming each and every day. I believe that an inviting classroom setting will help to foster the learning that will occur during the year. Parents I invite you to come and see our classroom on Curriculum Night. This night will take place on Thursday, August 26th. This year, there will be three 25 minute sessions which will hopefully enable those of you with more than one child at Gombert to attend. I look forward to meeting you and sharing information about the learning experiences that your child will be having during the 2010-2011 school year. Information about specific times will be coming soon!