Grubbs

Summer 2009

Hello again,

It's summer, the weather is nice today. It's supposed to be in the 80's. What a refreshing summer this has been. I hope you're able to get out and enjoy these wonderful days.

I also hope you're having your child read every day, do a little writing about his/her summer adventures, and doing some math reviews.  We all tend to forget important information if we don't keep our minds busy and creating.  Reading is the best way to keep your mind active and enjoy the adventures in the books.

Well, that's all I wanted to say so far. Just visit the public libraries and keep  your child reading/writing daily. You'll see what a difference it will make in August when he/she is far ahead of the others because of the reading/writing/math reviews.

May 9th and just 10 more days

Well, the year is almost over and I can't believe how fast it went...it seems like just a couple of months ago we were getting ready for "Sneak a Peak". Time is passing so quickly. The children have really progressed greatly this year, though. That's how I know the whole year went by. Thanks to your help at home working diligently to get them to drill and practice every evening they could. Their academic progress is incredible.

I still must repeat and stress the early to bed time schedules must be kept. Some of the children are laying down, putting their head down on the desk, crying even for the slightest infraction done to them. This comes about with lack of sleep and poor eating habits. Please help your child understand the need for Sunday night-Thursday night must be early bedtimes and good wholesome breakfasts. I'm still doing the end-of-the-year testing for their progress reports and they need to keep reading, writing, and practicing math skills.

Thank you again and again for the nice Teacher Appreciation gifts you sent. I try to send thank you cards, but sometimes forget. The gifts were wonderful and you're very thoughtful to think of me. Thanks, too, for coming to the Mother's Day Breakfast. I hope you enjoyed the brief time with us in the room. I know the children enjoyed it immensely.

Our caterpillars changed into butterflies and we had to let them go. The children enjoyed watching the life cycle changes and I know they enjoyed watching them fly away to lay more eggs and start the cycle over again. Now we're studying the life cycle of plants. That's always fun to study, although they don't change quite as fast as our caterpillars did.

We're also studying about good nutrition and general health issues. A great fun site for your child to visit is www.nutritionexplorations.org It has fun activities for the kids to do.

Well, have a good summer. Remember to visit the library weekly if possible and keep your child reading and thinking. Continue doing less and less for your child and having him/her doing more and more for themselves. This creates good independence and responsibility in character.

Just a reminder, I need one more stamp from those of you who did not send in three stamps yet. The envelope to go home with the progress report is filling up fast with documents from the front office.

Where's Spring

 Springtime at Kennesaw University. What a beautiful picture. But with the snow last week, the tornadoes yesterday, we're wondering where's the wonderful warm weather of spring. The holidays are almost over. I hope your holidays were relaxing and restful.

Reminder, we have only one week before the CRCT. Lots of reading, writing, math drill and practice will insure your child feels more confident and does very well.

Download my News Letter:Download Newsie notes I put some good sites to practice in the newsletter for you. Reading and thinking are heightened as the children work through the drills and reviews and feel more confident as they see they know the answers.

Hang in there. Spring is here and the weather has to get better, soon...haha...it's good to see the birds returning and having babies, the flowers ever blooming.  We're watching a nest of bluebird babies getting ready to take flight. They're sticking their heads out of the bird house and getting the strength and confidence to come out. This is a great time of year. Testing will be over soon and we can all relax... and then, start our preview of skills for 3rd grade. 

Where's Spring

 Springtime at Kennesaw University. What a beautiful picture. But with the snow last week, the tornadoes yesterday, we're wondering where's the wonderful warm weather of spring. The holidays are almost over. I hope your holidays were relaxing and restful.

Reminder, we have only one week before the CRCT. Lots of reading, writing, math drill and practice will insure your child feels more confident and does very well.

Download my News Letter:Download Newsie notes I put some good sites to practice in the newsletter for you. Reading and thinking are heightened as the children work through the drills and reviews and feel more confident as they see they know the answers.

Hang in there. Spring is here and the weather has to get better, soon...haha...it's good to see the birds returning and having babies, the flowers ever blooming.  We're watching a nest of bluebird babies getting ready to take flight. They're sticking their heads out of the bird house and getting the strength and confidence to come out. This is a great time of year. Testing will be over soon and we can all relax... and then, start our preview of skills for 3rd grade. 

April Spring Break Thoughts

  Spring Break is here and I'm hoping you are all enjoying your time off and vacations.   I hope you can have your child continue to practice for the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) at home as we will continue to practice/drill at school each day after our much needed break.  We will only have the one week after we return from Spring Break to be confident and prepared.  The children have worked hard to prepare for the tests, and I'm sure they'll do well.

Just a reminder, we all need early bedtime schedules, early rising schedules, and good breakfasts during the 3 days of testing for all First and Second Graders. Please do not schedule any appointments for the testing days, April 21-23. If your child comes in after 7:50 he/she will be late and might not be admitted into the classroom. Then he/she will have to take the test in another room with another teacher at a later date. So, if your child will be a car rider during these days, maybe leave early and help your child get here early and unhurried.   I'm hoping for these critical days, you'll help your child know the importance of early bed, early rise, and good healthy breakfasts which include some protein, fruit, juices, bread, and milk products. These are all crucial for brain health and focusing abilities.

Enjoy your much deserved break these last lovely days, and help your child return healthy and ready to show us all his/her ability.

Thanks again for all your support.

March 23rd

  Welcome Spring!!!  We're getting busy this week preparing for our 2 field trips.  Wednesday we go to Kennesaw Mtn. High School (9:00-11:00) for a stage play by the H.S. students. It is a play about the classic Charlotte's Web. It should be great fun.  Then on Friday this week we go to the Cobb Civic Center (11:00-1:00) for a musical and learning skills presentation by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.  We're looking forward to a great week. 

Please check out my newsletter:Download Newsie notes  It has more information and great sites to go to for learning and for practicing reading, language arts, and math as well. 

Well, spring is here with it's long days and lots of sunshine. I realize it's hard to go to bed at regular times, but it is important for the children to keep to routines and 7:30-8:00 bed times. They are much happier and healthier when they get their needed sleep. I have articles about this if you didn't get them with the newsletters. Let me know, I'll be glad to send them to you.  Remember, the best way to reach me is by email.  connie.grubbs@cobbk12.org  I am not always able to check phone messages daily, but I do check my email every day, all day long.

We will be doing another research project this quarter, but I'm not assigning it until after the CRCT testing April 20-24. Please mark these dates on your calendar and make no outside-of-school plans for these days.

We are having our Breakfast with the Principal soon for those who have remembered to write down the books and minutes they are reading. Since the children are reading their 20 minutes daily, the only extra work is to write the name of the book and minutes read. We only had 4 students respond to Mrs. Crommett's invitation this quarter, and they read 5,000+ minutes. Just imagine what the total would be if all the class read and recorded their times. We could meet our goal of 10,000 minutes and beat Mrs. Wingo's challenge of 10,000 minutes.

We're working hard to get ready for our CRCT testing in April. The children have made great improvements in their reading and writing and math skills. I just hope they continue to practice at home over the Spring Break to keep these skills sharp. The CRCT practice site is now written in their planners. Another great new site is the Skills Tutor. This can be found on the www.cobbk12.org site on the right hand side under skills tutor. The children know how to get to it and what to do.

Happy practicing!!! and Happy Spring!!!

March 8

There are a few reminders of activities coming up in the next two weeks. First, Wednesday, 3/11, is class picture day.  I sent envelopes home for you to use for payment if you wish to buy a copy. You may also want your child to have his/her picture taken individually. That is available as well. We're getting ready for Breakfast with the Principal in a couple of weeks. I hope your child is reading and recording the minutes. Remember he/she must record 900 minutes to enjoy this fun event with the Principal.

Just a reminder, we have two field trips coming up at the end of this month. On March 25th we go to Kennesaw Mountain H.S. for a stage play they are preparing for us, and on March 27th, we go to Cobb Civic Center for a lesson prepared for children as well.

We're doing a lot of teaching/learning/reviewing for our CRCT the third week in April.  We are reading, writing, solving math word problems daily to keep our memories fresh. Please help your child at home prepare as well. The more they practice on line or at home with practice reviews from work sent home, the better prepared they will be. Please check the work they bring home and see what kinds of material they are learning and reviewing. Reading daily at home and at school is crucial for them to keep the words fresh in their memories.

Go to www.georgiaoas.org  -  then click on  -online assessment system. This  will get you to the site. I sent home the individual ID #s for the "User Name" and the password is "education" for all children.  If you don't have it, let me know, I'll be glad to send it to you again. The practice will really help your child become familiar with the format of the test. Remember, I can read the entire test to your child, so you can feel free to read it to him/her...except for the stories. We may not read them for the children. But we do read the answers and the choices in Second Grade.

There's lots for the children to remember. Your help and encouragement will prove to be invaluable to them. They are coming to school and telling me about the help they are getting from home and they are proud of you all for being there with them.

We're also studying about good nutrition. A great site for activities in this area is: www.nutritionexplorations.org  There are lots of fun games to play and learn about the food groups and healthy choices for food.

These are just some reminders of upcoming activities and review opportunities you have to choose from for great "quality time" with your child.

Check out the newsletter for more information and upcoming events:Download Newsie notes

March 2 (Corrections and additions)

After checking out my calendar, I see report cards are coming home March 19th instead of the 13th. The end of the quarter is the 13th.

I just wanted to add a reminder to have the children practice the CRCT online tests to be prepared for the test coming up in April. The test will be the week of April 21-23.  If you don't have the User Number and Password, let me know. I'll send them home. This is a great way to practice so the children will know what to expect.

In Social Studies we are studying Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson, and Jimmy Carter. These are men who made a great difference in American culture and life. I have little paperback readers the children may bring home to read and then return.

Please continue to encourage your child to take AR tests weekly. This helps comprehension so much and we have so many books in our library on their specific level. Thanks for all your help. We couldn't do this without your support.

March 2

Download Newsie notes This is the Newsletter for this week, March 2-6. I'm sending it in hard copy as well. I have some paper and I will soon have to use it only for those who can't get this blog. Please check it out. I have some important information and upcoming events you need to know.

We're still needing parent volunteers to listen to the children read Mondays-Thursdays, from 9:30 to 10:30. It's not hard, and the children really enjoy you coming. Staying for lunch is a great reward, too, for your child.

The research project/presentations are great! The children are enjoying learning f rom each other and asking questions about their topics. Thanks for all your help with this. We will do one more research project the next/last quarter. I'll have more information soon.

Breakfast with the Principal is March 23. I hope you and your child are recording the books and minutes being read. Remember, we have been challenged by Mrs. Wingo's class to read 10,000 minutes. They read and recorded 9,000 minutes last time. We can surely beat that with our 20 minutes daily and on weekends, too.   Let's Beat Them This Time!!!

We have two field trips coming soon. On Wednesday, March 25, we go to Kennesaw H.S. to see the H.S. students do a stage play for us. Then, that same week, March 27, we go to the Cobb Civic Center for another stage play and musical study. You have all paid for these, so don't worry about more money being due...     :)

Report cards are coming home in two weeks. The children are working hard to bring their "2s" up to "3s". I'm seeing nice improvement. With your help and support, the children are on level and some are working above grade level. Math word problems still seem to be the most difficult for them.  Go to the www.cobbk12.org website for the Georgia Standards they are responsible for learning. Remember our 3-legged stool. We need all of us working together to help them show what they have learned.

And now, Calling All Artists! National School Breakfast Week is here!  "DESIGN A BREAKFAST HERO!"   Varner will select one top winner on March 6, 2009.  The top three winners will be sent to SNA for National Entry.  Hand in all artwork to Mrs. Mallam in the Cafeteria.  Have fun!

Here are some new educational websites for you to check out:

Opposites or Antonyms- http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/squanky/squanky.html

Synonyms- http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/squanky2/squanky2.html

Making sentences-This is on the CRCT  http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/monkey/monkey.html

March updates

Well, as some of you know by now, we're having a paper shortage and are asked to use the blog instead of using paper for our newsletters. So, keep this in mind each Monday when newsletters need to come home...you'll want to check out our blog.

So, for March, I'm still needing volunteers to come Mondays-Thursdays :30-10:30, listen to children read and work with making words. Let me know if you can come and what day. I'll have work for you to do...  :) Also, to find out what specials your child is going to go to each day, you'll need to go to s www.cobbk12.org  and check out the calendar section. It's also a good place to check out the breakfast and lunch schedule and the curriculum standards as well.

The presentations are coming along great. The children are able to explain what they've researched and  are learning a lot from their reports. Thanks for your help with this.