Weekly Update

Hi Parents,

We had a fantastic day today!  Lieutenant Mettinger from Loudoun County Fire and Rescue came to talk with us about fire safety.  This afternoon, we conducted our pumpkin investigations.  We rotated through each 1st grade classroom, conducting experiments and observations along the way.  Please ask your child about our day!

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

Important Information About School Pictures:
Fall pictures will be taken Tuesday, October 29th.  I sent home information about pictures in last week's Thursday folder.  This will be a day for individual pictures only; a whole-class picture will be taken in the Spring.  Following are some guidelines to help facilitate your picture order / purchase:

• If possible, please order your child's pictures online.  It's the fastest, easiest, and most convenient way to order your child's pictures.  If you order online, you do not need to send anything to school with your child on Picture Day!
• If you are not ordering online, please fill out the payment envelope, enclose your payment, and send it to school on picture day.  Your payment envelope must include your child's name, my name, your "look" (or background) selection, your package selection, and your payment.
• Picture purchase is optional.

Fall Party:
I hope to see many of you at our Fall Party on Thursday.  It begins at 12:00 pm in our classroom, and ends at 1:05 so we are still able to go to our specials that day. I sent a food permission slip home in yesterday's Thursday folder.  Please sign and return it by Wednesday, October 30th so I know which party food your child may eat.   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.).

Turkey of the Year:
Turkey of the Year voting begins next week, 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 yesterday'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.  

50th Day Celebration:
We will celebrate the 50th day of school on Thursday, November 7th with some fun, 1950's themed activities.  (I sent a note home with all the details.) Students are invited to dress in 1950's-style attire that day.  We will learn fun dances, complete some crafts, and have root beer floats.  (Please note:  root beer is soda; there is NO alcohol in it!)  If you do NOT want your child to have a root beer float (made with root beer and vanilla ice cream), please let me know as soon as possible, and before November 7th.  

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

"Pinebrook Elementary students and staff would like to honor our Veterans during our annual Veterans Day Celebration that is being held on Monday, November 11, 2019. If you, a family member or neighbor are a Veteran please join us for this special celebration. All are welcome to attend!  This year, Veterans will not be asked to speak to a classroom of students. We invite you to come, relax, and allow us to honor you.
Schedule:
8:00-8:30 Breakfast in the library
8:30-9:15 Celebration in the gymnasium."

Please RSVP for our Veteran's Day celebration by clicking here.

PAWS for Knowing Your Student ID!
As we continue through the school year, the students will use their student id numbers (often called "lunch numbers") more often.  I have started giving 3 paws to any student who can memorize his/her id number for signing onto the computers and buying items in the cafeteria.  :)

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will learn how word detectives use snap words to read.
• Writing:  We will continue our How-to unit, in which we teach our readers "how-to" do something in our writing. 
• Math:  We will begin our geometry unit.  We will identify shapes in the environment, talk about the numbers of sides and vertices in circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles, and define a right angle. 
• Science:  We will finish our pumpkin investigations.  We will paint our pumpkins so they are festive and ready for Halloween! 

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.  Don't forget - no school on Monday due to Teacher Workday.  

Savey and Leo will head to the World Series Game 5 on Sunday - if it's needed. Go NATS!!  👍  We will carve our pumpkins and have a movie night with friends. 

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