Sept. 3-7

We had a great first week and I am really looking forward to the rest of the year!  The students have such an excitement about their learning that is very contagious.

READING
We will be starting Daily 5 this week. Daily 5 is our reading program that has five different components. We are beginning the first component this week called Read to Self. After lots of practice, the goal is for students to be able to sit and read for 20 uninterrupted minutes. We will be introducing the other Daily 5 components in the coming weeks. This week, we will also focus on the comprehension strategy of checking for understanding.

WRITING
In writing, we will be discussing what makes a complete sentence. We will also be discussing the different types of sentences (interrogative, declaratory, and exclamatory) and how we use and recognize them in writing.
MATH
This week in math we will be focusing on time. We will review how to read an analog clock and will be telling time to the 5's (12:00, 12:05, 12:10, etc.) Homework is a worksheet called "Draw the Hands," and will come home on Tuesday. Homework is always due on Wednesday.

SOCIAL STUDIES
This week we will be discussing different cultural elements. We will discuss holidays and why we celebrate them. In addition we will discuss cultural celebrations unique to Austin, such as Pioneer Days and the Hairy Man Festival. We will wrap up the week with a discussion about monuments around the United States and Austin and why they are important.

LUNCH
We will have lunch every day at 11:20. Your child can bring a lunch or eat from the cafeteria. If you plan to join your child for lunch, please let me know so I can mark down your lunch choice. Adult lunches cannot be put onto student accounts, and need to be ordered in the morning since our lunch is delivered to the school. There are extra sides your child can purchase (ice cream, snacks, etc), in addition to their lunch. Your child will need permission to purchase these extras. Please send me an email and let me know.
REMINDERS
Parent Orientation Night is scheduled for Monday, September 10th. Second grade's time is at 6:30pm, followed by a PTA meeting at 7pm. Grades 3-5 are at 7:30 after the PTA meeting.

If you haven't returned the forms that were sent home in the Tuesday folders, please do so as soon as possible!

Please make sure you are recording your child's reading minutes in the yellow communication log as well as signing in the box each night! We appreciate your help from home!