Week 26

March 2nd-6th

School & Classroom Tidbits...

• Tuesday, March 17th we will be taking a field trip to Gilbert House from 10am-1:30pm. Please fill out the permission form using the link below. If you are interested in chaperoning please mark that box on the permission form. I only have room to take 4 chaperones so I will let you know if you are going -- I will choose by first come, first serve.

  • Gilbert House Field Trip Permission Form

• There is NO SCHOOL March 23rd-27th for Spring Break.

• I sent the March Scholastic Book Order home in the red folders -- if you are interested.

  • March Flyers

  • Class Code: WFTZ2

  • Due Date: March 31, 2020

• The March homework calendar has been added to the kids' red folders, so feel free to do some fun activities at home to help support what they are learning in school!

• Please make sure you are having your child check their red folders each night, even if it is empty. It is good practice for them to be taking responsibility of that because in first grade they will be having homework every night, so it will be important to check folders each night. The Returning to MITCH Next Year form was sent home early this week. Make sure to fill that out and get it sent back!

What we are learning...

• Codebreaker: We have moved onto List 5, those will be on their folders this coming week. We are practicing phonograms sh, th, qu, ng, ee, ar, ou, wh, ck -- we learned the phonogram ea this week. Help your kids practice these and how to spell sight words at home!

• Math: We practiced matching quantities to numbers, counting by 5's, switching out pennies for nickels, "some, some more" and "some, some went away" story problems, and estimating the capacity of containers.

• Listening & Learning (Big Book): We finished Domain 8: Seasons and Weather and started the next Domain: Columbus and the Pilgrims on Friday.

Week 25

February 24th-28th

School & Classroom Tidbits...

• We will be taking a field trip to Gilbert House on Tuesday, March 17th from 10-1:30. I will be sending out a digital permission slip soon. I will only be allowed a few parent chaperones so if you are interested let me know by marking that on the permission slip.

• There is NO SCHOOL March 23rd-27th for Spring Break.

• FYI: Since there are no birthdays in April in our class we will be celebrating all summer birthdays throughout that month. Your child's birthday will be celebrated on the same number day in April that it does in one of the months of summer. For example if Bobby's birthday is July 6th then we will celebrate it April 6th or if Billy's birthday is August 19th we will celebrate it April 19th! There is nothing you need to do for this, I just wanted to let you know!

• If you did not get this message from Keri Butler on Monday, here is some important information about the Coronavirus and school:

Hello Families-

Following this email is the content of communication that was sent out to TTSD families by school district administration on Friday evening. As a parent of a child in a TTSD middle school, I do feel good about their current communication and look to guidance from them. Additionally, though, we will take the following measures at MITCH:

• I will be meeting with our nightly cleaning service on Monday to increase their time and effort at the school with an extra effort on building wide sanitization.

• I will be asking teachers to wipe down surfaces after kids leave each day.

• Classroom teachers will be reviewing bathroom procedures to include an emphasis on correct hand washing techniques.

There may be additional measures we take as needed. I will send a weekly update about this throughout the remainder of the cold, flu and virus season. What is important to me is that we become more vigilant without adding unnecessary fear into our kids. It is my understanding from what I have been reading that the best measures to take should look like good precautions against regular cold and flu. I know we should do a better job on this in general, aside from this new coronavirus outbreak.

Please remember to err on the side of caution if your child is showing signs of a fever or respiratory illness, and report this to Heather so the absence can be recorded. A child should be kept home for 24 hours beyond the presence of symptoms. Also, please keep us informed if you are leaving the country.

Keeping on top of this will be my daily priority along with communication to you.

Mrs. Butler

Here is the communication sent out by TTSD:

Following yesterday’s urging by federal health officials for communities to prepare for the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States, we recognize there are a lot of questions about the virus itself as well as our plans for managing the situation with our students and staff.

Superintendent Rieke-Smith is working in collaboration with superintendents throughout the NW ESDDistrict to make sure our staff and schools have the resources and partners needed and are ready to address any threat immediately and efficiently. Our district nursing team has been working closely with Washington County Public Health to ensure there is accurate and up-to-date information available to people about the virus. They are also working alongside our administrators in each of our schools to implement specific preventative and response plans should the virus emerge in our area.

Here are some things to know right now:

• We are keeping our website updated with information about COVID-19 as we receive it. You can find information on the Diseases and Conditions here CDC.gov pages.

• The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has activated a statewide 2-1-1 call center where people can call to receive current information about COVID-19.

• COVID-19 fact sheets are available in English, Spanish and Chinese.

• The OHA’s Communicable Disease Team has initiated an incident command structure to ensure we are prepared to manage this situation. At this time, their priorities are:

  • Managing the flow of incoming and changing information

  • Public communication

  • Health care readiness and communication

• Each Tuesday, OHA will post data on persons under monitoring (PUM) and persons under investigation (PUI) on its website http://healthoregon.org/coronavirus.

In addition, the CDC recommends taking the following precautions to stay healthy:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. (If soap is unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.)

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

• Stay home when you’re sick to avoid infecting others.

• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a cleaning spray or wipe.

We are also working with our staff to keep our schools clean and students healthy. We have encouraged any staff with respiratory illnesses to stay home.

The novel coronavirus started spreading in Wuhan, China, and there have been some media reports about discrimination. We ask that you and your family be mindful that bullying of students based on race, color, national origin, or disability is unacceptable in our school district.

We will share additional information with you as soon as it becomes available.

If you have any immediate questions, please contact the school.

Regards,

TTSD Administration

What we are learning...

• Codebreaker: We have finished all the words on List 4 and will be moving onto List 5. I will be adding those to the kids' red folders. We are practicing phonograms sh, th, qu, ng, ee, ar, ou, wh, and ck. Help your kids practice these and how to spell sight words at home!

• Math: We practiced graphing information, measuring the length of something using cubes, making shapes on the geoboards, and ABC patterns. We also wrote out all the days for the month of February on our own calendars and then discussed what Leap Year is and why we have it.

• Listening & Learning (Big Book): We continued Domain 8: Seasons and Weather. We learned more specific characteristics of each season, how to be safe on storms, we learned what meteorology is and what meteorologists do. We also read the story "The Grasshopper and the Ants" and discussed the moral of the story as well as what that story had to do with weather and seasons.

Week 24

February 17th-21st

School & Classroom Tidbits...

• We will be taking a field trip to Gilbert House on Tuesday, March 17th from 10-1:30. I will be sending out a digital permission slip soon. I will only be allowed a few parent chaperones so if you are interested let me know by marking that on the permission slip.

• Scholastic Book Order: Online or bring money and order form filled out in an envelope.

  • Link to this months flyer: https://editions.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=644292

  • Class Code: WFTZ2

  • Due Date: February 29, 2020

What we are learning...

• Codebreaker: We are chugging along learning to spell the words on List 4. We are also practicing phonograms sh, th, qu, ng, ee, ar, ou and wh -- we will learn phonogram 'ck' next week. Help your kids practice these and how to spell sight words at home!

• Math: We focused on counting by 10's, comparing things by length, and making pictographs.

• Listening & Learning (Big Book): We started Domain 8: Seasons and Weather. We focused on the seasons winter, spring, and summer so far. We have also discussed how the seasons work as a cycle, and how different parts of the world experience different types of weather throughout the seasons.

Week 23

February 10th-14th

• NO SCHOOL Monday, February 17th for President's Day.

• The class filled their jar with fuzzies! They voted and we will be having a Pajama Day/Dance Party on Tuesday, February 18th.

• There is a Scholastic Book Order in their take home folders. If you would like to order any books, feel free! Online or bring money and order form filled out in an envelope.

  • Link to this months flyer: https://editions.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=644292

  • Class Code: WFTZ2

  • Due Date: February 29, 2020

• I added Spelling List #4 to the back of the kids take home folders. We are working on these words in class, so we have not finished the whole list yet.

Week 22

February 3rd-7th

Classroom & School Tidbits...

• 100th day of school is Tuesday! February 11th - make sure your child has brought their 100 things baggy back to school by then. It should be 100 of the same thing that can fit in the baggy i. e. 100 pennies, 100 buttons, 100 mini marshmallows, 100 puzzle pieces, etc. They will be sharing with the class what they brought and then recounting the items they brought themselves. They will then be bringing their bag of things home that day.

• NO SCHOOL Monday, February 17th for President's Day.

• Thank you for those of you who donated Fruit Loops and Candy Hearts! The kids will have enjoy using them for some fun activities this week!

What we are learning...

• Codebreaker: We will be finishing Spelling List 3 this week and starting onto List 4. We are also practicing phonograms sh, th, qu, ng, ee, ar, ou and wh. Quiz them on what sounds those letters together make!

• Math: We focused on before, after, and between, subtraction practice, and following a recipe.

• Listening & Learning (Big Book): We started Domain 7: Kings & Queens and heard the story King Midas and the Golden Touch and sang the nursery rhyme "Old King Cole".

Week 21

January 27th-31st

Classroom & School Tidbits...

• Thank you for coming to conferences! It is always great to see you and chat about you child's progress in school!

• The Native American Event was a big hit! I hope your children came home excited about the event and with a lot of things to share with you. Look at some of the photos I took during the event below.

• I submitted the Scholastic Book Order for January. I will send home the February flyer as soon as I get it. If you would like to order books, go for it! I should be sending home a flyer monthly. This is not a fundraiser, just something extra if you'd like.

• NO SCHOOL Monday, February 17th for President's Day.

• Tuesday, February 11th is the 100th day of school! Monday I will be sending home a little something I would like for you to work on with your child and bring back to school to share with the class on the 100th day of school!

What we are learning....

• Codebreaker: We are still working on Spelling List 3 which is on your child's red folder. We are also practicing phonograms sh, th, qu, ng, ee, ar, ou and added wh this last week. Quiz them on what sounds those letters together make!

• Math: We focused on counting dots on 2 dice and adding the numbers together, ABB patterns, counting by 10's, and subtraction math facts.

• Listening & Learning (Big Book): We finished our Domain 6: Native Americans, so this week we will be starting Domain 7: Kings & Queens where we will learn about the real King and Queens that lived around the world in the past as well as modern day kings and queens.

Week 20

January 20th-24th

Classroom & School Tidbits

• This Thursday, January 30th at 12pm is our Native American Core Knowledge Event! If you would like to volunteer during the event or sign up to help in anyway click on the link below to check out the sign up sheet.

  • https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N4Q6zzJLmAuAsyh03tfRb-jdIpE2hcTUNuVvHvZUO20/edit?usp=sharing

• Parent/Teacher conferences are this Friday, January 31st. If you have not already, please click the link below to sign up for a time to visit! I look forward to seeing you all next week!

  • https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eu-tGRdpMCIAk7ik7R6WPh7B9bOhkWtbsdEaQptQjTU/edit?usp=sharing

• Don't forget about the Scholastic Book order! You can order straight from the flyer and send it back with the order form and money or you can follow the link below and order online. Make sure to connect your order with our class by using the class code that I have listed below the link. Let me know if you have any questions.

  • Link: https://orders.scholastic.com/WFTZ2

  • Class Code: WFTZ2

  • Due Date: January 31, 2020

• Tuesday, February 11th is the 100th day of school! Can you believe it?! Your child has been in Kindergarten for 100 days already! Next week I will be sending home a little something I would like for you to work on with your child and bring back to school to share with the class on the 100th day of school!

Week 19

January 13th-17th

Classroom & School Tidbits...

• NO SCHOOL Monday, January 20th for MLK Day and Friday, January 24th for end of the semester report cards and Friday, January 31st for parent teacher conferences.

• Since the January Homework Calendar has not been put on the red folders, I put some handwriting worksheets in their folders if they would like to practice. This is not required but I thought some might like to practice their letters on the same paper we use in school.

• If you would be willing to help prep activities and items for our Native American Core Knowledge Event that is happening during the school day on Thursday, January 30th can you please email me personally so I can get a feel for who to reach out to when I need help. Thank you in advance!

• Since next week is only a 3 day school week I decided to hold off on assigning a VIP for that week. I will send home a poster with a child on Tuesday and then it would be due back Monday, January 27th! Check out the example below.

• Please make sure to be checking HelpCounter for volunteer opportunities coming up in the next few weeks. I will be needing help with math assessments in the coming weeks, but not sure exactly when just yet! Thank you for your patience!

What we are learning...

• Codebreaker: We finished the spelling List 2 and will be moving onto List 3 - that will be put on the back of their folders next week. They also have learned the phonograms - sh, th, qu, ng, ee, are, ou.

• Math: This week we practiced ABB patterns, the dime, counting by 10's and movement patterns.

• Listening & Learning (Big Book): We continued to learn about Native Americans. Specifically the Lakota Sioux, Lenape, and Wampanoag tribes. They should be able to tell you where the tribes lived, the type of houses they lived in, and what food they ate.

Week 18

January 6th-10th

Classroom & School Tidbits...

• Welcome back from break! I hope everyone had a great break and that you feel well rested and ready to be back to school!

• There a few days off school this month, those include:

  • Monday, January 20th for MLK Day

  • Friday, January 24th for the end of the semester and report cards

  • Friday, January 31 for parent/teacher conferences (a sign up will be sent out in the next week or so)

• I am sending home a Scholastic Book order. You can order straight from the flyer and send it back with the order form and money or you can follow the link below and order online. Make sure to connect your order with our class by using the class code that I have listed below the link. Let me know if you have any questions.

  • Link: https://orders.scholastic.com/WFTZ2

  • Class Code: WFTZ2

  • Due Date: January 31, 2020

• To ring in the new year 2020 next week we will be starting to have a weekly VIP student! This is where each week one student is chosen and they get to take home, fill out, and decorate a poster all about them. Which they will then bring back and share with the class. They will also get to bring their favorite book to school for me to read to the class, have a book made for them by the class, and some other special duties throughout the week. I will send the poster a week before it is due back so hopefully that will be enough time to complete and return it. I look forward to seeing the completed posters and learn more about each student in class!

• Thursday, January 30th will be our first Core Knowledge event. This will take place during the school day and the domain we are covering is Native Americans. I will be looking for help prepping materials for the event, as well as volunteers to help with the event at school. Please keep your eyes out for the sign up sheet to volunteer for this event.

What we are learning...

• Codebreaker: I hope your students have been practicing the spelling words we are learning in school. We are almost done with all the words on List 2. I have been very impressed with how well everyone is catching onto blending sounds to read and spell words. I will be putting the January homework calendar on their red take home folders as soon as I have it. Thank you for your patience!

• Math: Here are some of the math skills we have covering the past month or so: we have really been focusing on writing numbers correctly (not backwards), ABB patterns, acting out story problems, one to one correspondence, and vertically and horizontally written math facts.

• Listening & Learning (Big Book): We finished Domain 5: Farms before break. Every single student did awesome on the assessment, so I know they picked up a lot of knowledge about farms! Ask them questions and see what they can remember! We have started Domain 6: Native Americans. This will be a very fun and informational domain. It will include our first Core Knowledge event! Yay!

• Here are some photos of our "Marshmallow Fight" the class earned before the break. The class has already almost filled the jar again! This time they are trying to earn a dance party!

Week 13

November 18th-22nd

School & Classroom Tidbits...

• This coming week will be a short one! No school Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th - Happy Thanksgiving!

• Please keep checking HelpCounter for volunteer opportunities for our classroom as well as the rest of the school - specials, carline, office, etc.

• I hope you all got to enjoy the Usborne Book Fair last week! Thank you to those of you who donated books to our classroom. That was so nice of you and I really appreciate it. I cannot wait for the kids to enjoy the books as much as I do!

• Thanks for sending plastic silverware for the class to use at lunch. It will be great to have them when kids forget to bring their own. I will let you know when we run out again! Thank you!

What we are learning...

• This week we started spelling cvc (consonant, vowel, consonant) words such as hop, mad, hot, sad, big, sat and words I, a, and am. If you would like to know what words they will be spelling in class the spelling list is on the back of your child's red folder.

• We have continued into Domain 4: Plants. This week we learned about deciduous and evergreen trees and how useful plants are to people.

• Look for the turkeys we made last week coming home this week. They are super cute and might be fun to show friends and family on Thanksgiving!

Week 12

November 11th - 15th

Week 9

October 21st-25th

September 30th-October 4th

School & Classroom Tidbits...

• The class had so much fun with their popsicle party on Friday! They are now working towards a popcorn party! Ask your child what they can do to be earning class fuzzies, PAWs, and Gold PAWs!

• Field Trip to Lee Farms - Thursday, October 17th

  • Here is the electronic permission form to fill out: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfodAeUoNJeeNkqcppAaRFM0H3YXTBuEZ5hRy4NvRmOG5Va5A/viewform

  • Note: Students need to bring a lunch (preferably in a brown paper sack labeled with name) and dress for the weather. We will put on our Ag boots before we leave.

  • Also, we can only accommodate 2 chaperones per class. Please wait to hear from me if you are a chaperone and then sign up for it on HelpCounter.

• Don't forget to check HelpCounter for any upcoming volunteer jobs! You can also check to see if any of the Specials teachers have jobs, they need help too!

• MITCH Marathon is Friday, October 18th!

What we are learning...

• This week we practiced letters u, k, e, j, and o. On their Take Home Folders I changed the homework calendar for October, so feel free to be doing some of those activities at home to help them practice what we are learning in school. There is also a guide on the back for the kids to use to remember where to start when they are writing their letters. It is important to be writing them at home like we do in school.

• We finished Domain 2: Stories and have moved into Domain 3: The 5 Senses. We will be learning about all of the 5 senses and what body parts we use for each sense.

Week 5 Cont.

September 23rd-28th

School & Classroom Tidbits...

• No School - Friday, September 27th for Teacher Professional Development

• School Pictures are Monday, September 30th - bring your picture packet or order online and make sure your kids are ready for their pictures to be taken!

• Field Trip to Lee Farms - Thursday, October 17th

  • Here is the electronic permission form to fill out: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfodAeUoNJeeNkqcppAaRFM0H3YXTBuEZ5hRy4NvRmOG5Va5A/viewform

  • Note: Students need to bring a lunch (preferably in a brown paper sack labeled with name) and dress for the weather. We will put on our Ag boots before we leave.

  • Also, we can only accommodate 2 chaperones per class. Please wait to hear from me if you are a chaperone and then sign up for it on HelpCounter.

• Don't forget to check HelpCounter for any upcoming volunteer jobs! You can also check to see if any of the Specials teachers have jobs, they need help too!

• MITCH Marathon is Friday, October 18th!

• Kindergarten is collecting brown paper grocery shopping bags for a project we will be doing in class in a couple weeks. If you have any of these brown paper bags you are not using, you can send them to school with your child and I will collect them!

What we are learning...

• We have practiced letters i, l, t, h, b, r, n, m, and p. Have your child practice writing these letters at home! (As well as numbers 0-9)

• We started the year off with Domain 1: Nursery Rhymes for Listening and Learning. We have now moved into Domain 2: Stories. The kids have loved hearing several stories/folktales so far - "Chicken Little", "The Three Little Pigs", "The Three Billy Goats Gruff", "The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids", "The Bremen Town Musicians", "Momotaro, Peach Boy", and "The Story of the Jumping Mouse".

• The class voted on what celebration we will have when we fill the jar with fuzzies again. This time we are working for a Popsicle party!

Classroom Tidbits...

• I have added volunteer jobs to HelpCounter, so please take a look and see if there is anything you would be interested in helping with this week.

• There is no school this Friday, September 27th for Teacher Professional Development.

• We will have our first field trip of the year next month! We will be visiting Lee Farms on Thursday, October 17th from 10am-1pm. Be on the lookout for an electronic permission slip being sent out soon!

• Kindergarten is collecting brown paper grocery shopping bags for a project we will be doing in class in a few weeks. If you have any of these brown paper bags you are not using, you can send them to school with your child and I will collect them!

• Remember to send your child to school with the proper coat each day. It would be great to have a water proof, hooded coat on those days that it is raining!

What we are learning...

• In class we have started our "Letter Safari" where we are introducing a new letter each day. We learn all the sounds that letter makes, come up with words that begin with that sound, and learn how to properly write the letter. Make sure to ask your child what letter we do each day! That is a great way to help them review and support what they are learning in school.