Happy Spring Break

Happy Friday!

Wow!  What a great week we have had!  We wrapped it up with an ice cream party this afternoon.  We always have an ice cream party as a treat for the students when they finish their ice cream opinion writing which they did earlier this week.  Be sure to check out Twitter for pictures!

There are no Friday folders coming home this week.  Friday folders sometimes get lost over long breaks, so we decided not to send them home.  They will come home the Friday after Spring Break.

Important Info

• Runge Field Trip Chaperones
• Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to chaperone our Runge Field Trip and filled out the background check and volunteer application.  If you are still interested in chaperoning, please return the background check form and volunteer application the week we return from Spring Break so we have time to get it processed.  If needed, we can send home a copy of the forms as well.
• Loren Long comes to RBE
• Award winning author, Loren Long, is coming to RBE on April 12.  In Friday folders last week was an order form for books.  All books purchased will be signed by Loren Long.  If your student would like to order a book, please complete the form and return it to school.  There are limited quantities of each title, so sooner is better if you're planning to order.  If you need an additional order form, you can print one here, or let me know and I can get you one.
• Warmer Weather
• Hopefully after Spring Break, spring will officially be here to stay.  Please remember our first recess is at 9:55 a.m. and it is still often chilly at that time.  Please make sure your student has a jacket (or coat if winter decides to come back) with them daily.  

  

Important Upcoming Events

• Wednesday, April 3: Lunch is at 11:30, not 11:00
• Thursday, April 4: Field trip to see TRYPS play (9:00-11:00; we will eat lunch at 11:30 on April 4)
• Wednesday, April 10: Full Day of School (change from original calendar)
• Friday, April 12: Loren Long comes to RBE
• Tuesday, April 16: Field trip to MU Art and Archaeology Museum (more info after Spring Break)
• Friday, May 10: Runge Field Trip
• Wednesday, May 15: Variety Show (schedule will come closer to date)
• Friday, May 17: Lunch Bunch and Share Fair of Which is Better Project
• We invite parents/grandparents/special friends/etc. to come eat lunch with the students at 11:00 and then stay after lunch to enjoy their Which is Better Project
• Our plan is to eat from 11:00-11:45 (recess is from 11:25-11:45 if your student wants to go) and then a writing celebration starts at 11:45.
• More information will come out closer to this date, we just wanted to give you time in case 
• Thursday, May 23: Field Day (schedule will come closer to date)
• Tuesday, May 28: Updated Last Day of School (half day)

Our Learning After Spring Break

• Reading
• Students will wrap up their unit on asking questions.  The students have been asking some specific questions before, during and after reading.  They are also understanding how asking questions when reading can help you to understand what you have read.
• Please encourage your students to read just a bit over Spring Break.  😊
• Writing
• We will continue working on our opinion writing unit after Spring Break.  Students will learn to form an opinion and base it on facts supported through research.  The next opinion writing will be about whether to use a reusable water bottle or disposable water bottles.  
• Math
• We will continue working on Unit 8 in math.  This unit covers both 2-D and 3-D shapes in geometry (LOTS of vocabulary) and also introduces students to partitioning (evenly dividing) of shapes.  
• Students have learned about sides, vertices (or vertex), angles, right angles, parallel lines, polygons as well as specific names of polygons such as quadrilateral, triangle, pentagon and hexagon.  
• Science
• Students learned this week why elevation causes the temperatures to be cooler.  After Spring Break, students will learn how to differentiate between salt and fresh water.  Then they will learn
• Fundations
• We will finish up Unit 11 after Spring Break.  This unit covers the 3 vowel teams that make the long e sounds.  They are ee, ea, and ey.  The students are learning to check their monster book (mini dictionary) to identify the correct spelling option.  
• Please continue to practice trick words at home with your students.  Our goal is for the students to learn the words and then use them in their writing. 

I hope that you have a wonderful Spring Break!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!  I hope that this week has been a good one.

Runge Field Trip Chaperones-Background Checks

• We took over all chaperone forms that were turned into us so far to Aslin today.  We will be making another trip over to drop off forms before Spring Break as well.
• If you would like to chaperone and haven't filled out the forms, please do so soon.  If you need the forms, please let us know.
• The cost of the background check is paid for by Columbia Public Schools.
• You will receive an email once your background check has been completed and cleared.  Please forward this email to me.

Playground Expectations

• We reviewed our playground expectations this week as well as our recognize, refuse, report skills.  Some students have struggled with KAHFOOTY (keep all hands, feet and other objects to yourself) lately.  We discussed that touching (whether in a kind way such as a hug or in a hurtful way such as hitting) is allowed at RBE.  We also discussed with students that games such as chase and tag are not allowed and this can often lead to hitting or kicking.
• Mr. Smith has taught the 3 R's of recognize the problem, refuse the action they don't like, and report the incident to an adult.  We discussed with the students the importance of reporting the incident to the supervising adult (teacher or classroom aide) and giving all the information to the adult.  It is important that we know everything that happened during the situation so we know all sides of the story.
• Please review our playground explectations at hom and the importance of using KAHFOOTY.

Otis Come to RBE!!

• Award winning author, Loren Long, is coming to Rock Bridge on April 12!
• In the Friday folder is an order form if you would like to purchase Loren Long books.  
• These books will be signed by Loren Long when he comes to RBE!

There will be No Friday Folders Next Friday due to Spring Break the week of March 25-29.

Class Placement

• As second grade is coming to a close and third grade is right around the corner, you might be thinking about next.  As teachers, we truly try to make the best decision for each child when placing students with classroom teachers.  We take into consideration personality, classroom structure, teaching style and what students need to help them succeed.
• If you would like to provide input regarding specific teacher characteristics you feel that would be beneficial for your student, you may request a class placement form from the RBE office.  These forms are for characteristics and not specific teacher requests.  All forms are due by April 15 to the RBE office.

This Week's Learning

• Reading
• This week students worked on asking questions before, during and after reading.
• This skill helps them to think deeper about their book.  It also helps to make connections throughout the book.
• Writing
• This week the students are working on a "delicious" writing activity.  They are writing an opinion piece about their favorite type of ice cream.  They not only have to support their opinion with 2 valid reasons (we discussed that "yummy" isn't a valid reason), but also include at least 1 counter argument about a different flavor of ice cream.  
• Math
• Your student brought home their Unit 7 test on Wednesday.  Thank you to those who have signed and returned it, if you haven't had a chance to do that yet, please do so on Monday.  
• We started Unit 8 this week in math.  This unit covers geometry and has a lot of vocabulary.  Students have learned about sides, angles, vertices, parallel lines and right angles so far.  Please review this vocabulary with your students.
• Science/Social Studies
• We continued to learn about water temperature at different locations on Earth.  The students also learned this week that there is no land at the North Pole, but it is actually a large ice cap.  Even though there is no land at the North Pole, it is actually colder at the South Pole.
• Fundations
• We wrapped up Unit 10 this week.  We continue to practice the different spelling options for words in our Monster Book.  

Next Week's Learning

• Reading
• We will continue working on asking questions while we are reading.  The students are learning this skill with Ms. Easter.  They are then practicing this skill through either an independent reading book or a guided reading group.  When your student is reading at home, be sure to ask them if they had any questions while they were reading.  
• Writing
• We will be publishing our ice cream opinion next week.  We have a sweet surprise for the students when they finish the writing.
• Math
• We will continue working in Unit 8 next week.  The students will learn the definition of a polygon and then have the opportunity to determine if a shape is or is not a polygon and explain their reasoning.  
• Science/Social Studies
• We will discuss how water temperatures based on the elevation of the land.  We will also learn to identify if water is fresh or salt water.
• Fundations
• We will start Unit 11 next week.  This unit continues to work on vowel teams (or double vowels).  We will focus on vowel teams that make the long e sound.  These are "ee", "ea" and "ey."  Please continue practicing the trick words at home also.  

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!  Please let me know if you have any questions. :)

Ms. Mottaz

Happy Read Week!

Read week is always a great week filled with family and friends that show us how funny, inspiring, and important all books can be. Thank you to everyone who came to read to our class! They loved every read aloud and very much enjoyed seeing everyone during the school day.

Pizza Party- Thursday, March 14

On March 14, we will be having our class pizza party. Each student will be provided 2 pieces of pizza, a healthy side of either a fruit or vegetable, chips, and a dessert. They can bring a 20 oz or smaller drink to have while they eat (no glass please!). Also, we will be eating lunch later than normal for our pizza party. We're very excited to each lunch with all of our students and celebrate them with the pizza party!

Runge Field Trip Chaperones

In your student's Friday Folder, you will find a sheet that you can fill out to volunteer to be a chaperone for our field trip to Runge Nature Center in Jefferson City on May 10, 2019. This field trip is all day, and it is a ton of fun! We need parent chaperones to join us on the field trip :) In order to be a chaperone, CPS policy states that each chaperone must have a background check before the field trip. These background checks take a while to process which is why we are asking for chaperones to complete those now. For more information, the sheet to turn in to let us know if you can chaperone, and for information on how to complete the background check, check out your student's Friday Folder!

Doodle for Google

Also in your student's Friday Folder, you will find a "Doodle for Google" that students have worked on in art class. If you would like your student to participate in the contest for "Doodle for Google" complete the form in their Friday folder.

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who made a banner for our students! This helps each student feel celebrated as an individual in our classroom community, so thank you for taking the time to make the banners. We will post pictures on our Twitter when those have been hung up :)

Upcoming Events...

• Match 15- Parents and Principals Forum (noon)
• March 22- RBE Spirit Day- Sports Day
• Spring Break- March 25-29 (School not in session)

Look at All This Learning!

• Math
• This week, we've used what we've learned about measurement to create line plots of our class arm-span and our class long jump. We also worked on adding more than 2 numbers together. Next week, we will continue take our unit test on Tuesday and start a unit on shapes.
• Writing
• As we continue to work on our "Which is Better" informational books, this week we focused on our body paragraphs. The students worked on their goals they made in their last informational book and had the chance to read their writing to other students. Next week, we are starting to work on our opinion writing.
• Fundations
• In our spelling program, we continue to learn about different long vowel patterns. The students are working hard at looking in their Monster Book (mini dictionary) for their spelling options in both the Fundations time and in their own writing.
• Reading
• For Read Week, we learned about the importance of reading for enjoyment, reading to learn, and reading for inspiration in our everyday lives. The students (and teachers) loved being able to celebrate reading through our different dress up days and through the many special people who gave us the opportunity to read 44 different books! Thank you again to everyone who participated!
• Next week, we will continue to work on asking and answering questions in nonfiction and fiction texts.