Weekly Update

Hi Parents,

It's the time of year when the calendar begins to fill up quickly, both at home and at school!  I have many upcoming events to tell you about.  

Fall Party:
I hope to see some of you at our Fall Party on Tuesday.  It begins at 1:00 in our classroom.  Please sign in at the office and get a visitor pass before coming to our classroom.  Since no costumes are allowed that day, please help your child contribute to our festive atmosphere by dressing in something orange or Halloween themed (a Halloween shirt, hair ribbon, etc.).  

Field Trip:
Our field trip to Claude Moore Park and the Heritage Farm Museum will be next Friday, November 3rd.  We'll enjoy a nature walk through the park while we observe seasonal changes and learn how animals prepare for winter.  We'll attend the apples program at the Museum to learn about different types of apples, play some apple games, and press some apple cider.  Your child should bring a disposable lunch on the field trip.  Watch the weather to decide what to wear; layers are best as the temperature fluctuates while we move in and out of the sun in the park.  Children should wear sneakers; no sandals please.  I'll send home a few more reminders next week.

Turkey of the Year:
Turkey of the Year voting began today, and will continue for the next few Fridays! Your child must read to vote for the staff member he/she would like to see come to school dressed in a turkey suit.  One hour of reading equals one vote.  Each Friday, please sign and return that week's voting slip, which came home in last week's Thursday folder.  If you lost the voting slips, please write a note to indicate how many hours your child read during the previous week, sign it, and send it to school on Friday. 

Parent Teacher Conferences:
Conferences have begun!  If your conference is in the morning before school, I will meet you at the front door of the school to let you in since our office staff may not yet be here.  You will not need to sign in.  If your conference is after school, please ring the school visitor bell, be prepared to show your photo id to our office staff, and sign in at the office.  You may walk to our classroom after you sign in.  

American Education Week:
Please mark your calendar for our American Education Week celebration on Thursday, November 16th from 10:45 - 11:30 am in our classroom.  Students will present the ABC's of Thanksgiving.  Our lunch is immediately following the ABC's of Thanksgiving; you may stay to have lunch with your child after our event.  More details to follow!

Pinebrook Veteran's Day Program:
Please read the following message from the Pinebrook office regarding our Veteran's Day Program:

Calling All Veterans!

You are invited to participate in Pinebrook's Veteran's Day Celebration

At Pinebrook Elementary, we love to celebrate and honor our families, especially those who have served or are currently active in the military. We would be honored to have you join us and share your stories with two classrooms of students (parents and extended family military members welcome) for our Veteran's Day Celebration to be held on Friday, November 10^th from 8:00am-10:15am.

Schedule of events:

8:00 – 8:25 Veterans check in at the front desk and proceed to the library

8:30 – 9:10 Program Begins / Veteran's share their story with two different groups of students

8:30 – 8:50 First Session

8:50 – 9:10 Second Session

9:15 – 9:30 Photos of Veterans with their students

9:30 – 9:45 Pinebrook Veterans Day Parade

9:45 - 10:15 Juice, Coffee, Bagels for Veterans

Please RSVP through Google Forms at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeqCiNfjx6aXv_q4WjfRByUFiPoHjSvdiT40rKpP8KQuSPdag/viewform   

Electronic Learning Resources:
Please check the inside front cover of your child's agenda for the log-on information for RAZ-Kids, Dreambox Learning, and Reflex Math.  Many of you have asked me to send this information home again.  Instead, I placed it in the inside pocket of the students' agendas for you to reference all year.  

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will explore cause and effect, prediction, problem and solution, and story retelling with one of my Halloween favorites...Room on the Broom.
• Writing:  We will compare apples and pumpkins and outline the life cycle of a pumpkin.
• Math:  We will finish our patterns unit and begin our addition unit.  We will learn strategies for quickly solving addition facts.
• Social Studies:  We will learn about Veteran's Day, and make a banner to thank all veterans during our annual Veteran's Day event.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

We are down a kid this weekend!  Savey is off on a weekend retreat, so no soccer tomorrow.  I love watching him play, but I love a free Saturday too.  Jonah will get some extra attention, we will carve pumpkins, and sit by the fire.  

I hope you have a fun weekend making final preparations for Halloween!  I couldn't resist this meme because I just may kinda be this parent...although I usually hide in the pantry closet to eat their candy....