Crowded Parking Lot

As you know, our parking lot is very crowded in the mornings…leading to parent stress and student tardiness.   It may work better for you to drop off your children at an alternate entrance (off of Hunter or Blue Heron), or drop them on Chateau and have them follow the sidewalk onto school grounds. Thanks – we appreciate your support in making sure kids are on time for the start of school!

Red Ribbon Week

Chief Joseph Red Ribbon Week

October 28—November 1, 2013

Monday—“Life is a Work of Art, Color it Drug Free” Wear as many colors as possible 

Tuesday—“Believe, Achieve, Succeed Drug Free” Wear college shirts. Teachers will wear college shirts or colors and talk about our college experience with students.

Wednesday—Wear Red Day.

Thursday—“Good choices, good character, and bright future” This is career day. Students may dress in nice clothing, similar to what they would wear to a job interview.  NO ghosts, zombies, witches or other Halloween costumes!

Friday— “Our School Rocks” Wear school colors

Harvest Party and Pumpkin Lab

 

 

 

Families,

           

            Our Harvest Party will be on Thursday, October 31 from 3:00-3:45 pm. We will be eating snacks and watching “It’s A Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” If you would like to donate a treat, you may send it to school on the morning of October 31 with your child. This is a busy time of year and children will be getting more than enough sweet treats trick-or-treating, so if you would have time and would like to bring a snack, healthy snacks are encouraged. We have 23 students in our class.

            We will also have our pumpkin laboratory on October, 31. Students will be estimating and measuring with pumpkins. This activity will begin at 1:30 pm. If you are interested in helping during this time, please let me know (e-mail is best). It would be great to have 2-4 parents helping measure, weigh, and count pumpkin seeds.

 

            As a reminder, Chief Joseph students should not wear their Halloween costumes to school on October 31. They can, however, wear work attire (an outfit they might wear to a job interview or clothing that resembles their future career) to celebrate Red Ribbon Week.

A free parent lecture by Dr. Melillo, a leading expert in Learning Disorders, Autism, and ADHD, will be held on Tuesday, October 29 at 7:30 pm at the BSU Special Events Center. Dr. Melillo's years of research and clinical experience with neurobehavioral challenges in chldren led  him to develop The Brain Balance Program, a comprehensive, drug-free program to help kids overcome their behavioral and learning difficulties enabling them to reach their social and academic potential. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP 208-377-3559 or dbooth@BrainBalanceCenters.com

Spelling Homework for Words Their Way

Families,

Students brought home the new spelling homework on Wednesday, October 9. This homework should be completed each week. I will always send it home on Fridays so students can work on the choice activities over the weekend if they choose to do so. I will send home the words to sort on Monday in the SAFARI folder for students to use with their nightly sorts. We will also be sorting and writing our words each day in class.

Link to spelling homework document: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7-7x6zBf5FCZTFETXE4Zk1JdVE/edit?usp=sharing

Math strategies to help with addition and subtraction

Families,

Here are links to some YouTube videos that show strategies we are using in class to solve addition and subtraction problems. Please know that the traditional algorithm for addition and subtraction involving borrowing (regrouping) is NOT a 2nd grade skill. When students are prematurely introduced to the algorithm for addition and subtraction, this can cause confusion and difficulty in class. Please watch these videos below to see how we can solve addition and subtraction without the traditional algorithm. Thanks for your support!

 

 



Adding on a hundreds chart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNLP8JylBvY

Adding with place value blocks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65JFtGH8Jk

Adding on a number line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hst5gf7KAEY

Decomposing for addition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1todbzlcLpo

Bedtime Math

Families,

There's a fabulous website called Bedtime Math that is created by Laura Bilodeau Overdeck. She is a mother with a degree in astrophysics from Princeton University. You can sign up to receive daily math problems for your child and the best part is...it's absolutely free. To check it out, visit: http://bedtimemath.org/.

Happy problem solving,

Chief Joseph Book Fair

Families,

Chief Joseph's Book Fair is scheduled for October 28-31 in the Library. Be sure to check it out!

 

Picture Re-takes

Families,
Chief Jo will have individual student picture re-takes on Friday, October 18 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Please let me know if you plan on having your child's pictures re-taken.

No spelling for short week

We will not have spelling for the week of October 7-11. We will not have school on Thursday (10/10) and Friday (10/11). New words for the week of October 14-18 will come home on Wednesday (10/9). Here's a reminder about how to sort words:

Parent Teacher Conferences

Hi Families,

I will be meeting with parents next Wednesday (10/9) evening and all day Thursday (10/10) to discuss student achievement so far in 2nd grade. I sent home a yellow paper on Friday that stated the time I have scheduled for you. Please send the bottom half of the form back to school on Monday. If the time you have been scheduled does not work, I will do my best to reschedule a time that is more convenient. If you are unable to come to Chief Jo for a conference, I would be happy to have a phone conference. It is so important that we work together to ensure your child has a successful year in 2nd grade! I look forward to meeting with you all this week.