Monthly Email Updates
FEBRUAR UPDATES
Happy February 2nd Grade Families!!
February always feels like a fast month and there is so much going on. Read on for important updates!
🏆March Book Madness – Thank you SO much to those of you who have purchased a book for our class for our upcoming March Madness competition! The students love signing the books their families donated and taking ownership of the event. If you are interested in donating a book the amazon wish list can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3A6MP6O957UE1?ref_=wl_share. I’ll be reaching out after the first round to invite family members to come be surprise readers to keep the competition exciting. Thank you for your consideration!!
🐺Wolf Paw Store – This Friday we are having Wolf Paw Store in our class and one of our regular volunteers is unavailable. If you happen to have time on Friday between 12:20 and 1:10pm, we’d love an extra hand to help the kids shop. Let me know!!
💘Sweetheart Gram Sales – The PTA is sponsoring Sweetheart Gram sales for Valentine’s day. Preorder of the website at https://mtspta.givebacks.com/shop or buy in person during lunch on Wednesday February 4th and after school Thursday February 5th. Grams are $.25 and $.50. Lunch sales are for students only. Grams will be delivered on Friday, Feb. 13th.
🛍️ Shopping Bag Drive – MTS is collecting plastic bags for the Thurston County Food Bank (see flyer). If you have bags cluttering up your space, please send them in between Jan. 26th and Feb. 13th.
📆 Conferences – We have one scheduled week of conferences this year. February 9-12th is our scheduled week with half day release at 11:40am each day. Conferences have been scheduled Monday through Thursday (no Friday conferences so that we are able to stay late for evening conferences on Wednesday). Thank you for getting those scheduled – if you were unable to schedule a conference, your student will bring home a slip of paper with a scheduled conference day and time today. Please be sure to check back packs. Please bring your student to the conference with you so they can show off all that they’ve accomplished 😊.
📚 Scholastic Book Fair – Our book fair will be held during conference week, February 9th – 12th. All proceeds from the fair directly support our MTS Library!
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
Student shopping 8:30-8:40, during library specialist, recess
Family shopping 11:40-3:30 (Friday until 1:00)
Wednesday 2/11
Student shopping 8:30-8:40, during library specialist, recess
Family Shopping 11:40-6:00
Don’t want to send cash to school with your student? You can put money on an eWallet—your child’s digital payment account. Before the Fair, set up eWallet for worry-free, cash-free purchases. Any unused eWallet funds will be issued as a gift card and can be applied to the next fair. www.scholastic.com/bf/michaeltsimmonselemschool2
🍘Snacks – Community snack is getting low once again. I have so appreciated everyone’s support keeping our supply stocked. Any contributions would be very appreciated. 😊
💘Valentine’s Day – Also coming home in backpacks is our class list for Valentines. We will hold some type of celebration on Friday, February 13th and have an opportunity for students to hand out Valentines if they wish. If you student does opt to bring in Valentines, please make sure they are able to bring enough for each student.
📆 Calendar Reminders – Monday, February 16th is President’s Day - NO SCHOOL.
📸 Class Photo Day – Class photos are scheduled for Thursday, February 19th. Please try and have your students present that day if at all possible so they can be part of our class photo.
🎞️ Movie Night – Our next movie night is scheduled for Thursday, February 26th (permission form attached). We’ll be showing the film Richie Rich. Pick up will be at 5:05pm. Please return permission forms by Monday, February 23rd.
🎭 Olympia Junior Programs – Save the date! 2nd grade is going to OJP on Wednesday, March 18th to see “Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly Stupid Tales.” We will take buses to the Washington Performing Arts center to see this live performance. More information including permission form and fee information to come soon.
👕Kids Closet Clothing Bank Give-Away – Saturday, March 21st from 12-3pm MTS is hosting the Kids Closet Give-Away. If you, or a family you know, are in need of clothing, please come. Please bring your own bags. The event will be held in the gym (flyer attached).
📚 Academics
Math: Our class has begun a series of lessons on place value, focusing on 3-digit numbers, in preparation for 3-digit addition and subtraction that will be coming soon!
Reading: We are jumping in to one of our favorite units – Greek Myths! We focus on reading comprehension strategies and vocabulary in these units. We also are continuing our grammar, phonics, decoding and encoding work as well.
Writing: Our next genre unit will be focused on opinion pieces. We will begin that shortly and take our time working through those pieces.
Science/Social Studies: We are finishing our work in our Material Magic science unit and then will shift into our Learning from the Past social studies lessons. That unit helps to expand our skills using timelines, considering primary and secondary sources and exploring how change happens over time in our communities.
Thanks as always for sharing your kids with me. Have a wonderful week!!
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Reminder Movie Night (and other updates)
Hello Again!
Just a couple of quick things to note – first, tomorrow is Movie Night and pick up is at 4:45pm. If you are unsure if your student has turned in their permission form, please reply to this email and I will double check for you.
Attached you will find the Character Matters flyer. This second grade performance is scheduled for March 5th both during the school day (2pm for students only) and again that evening (7pm for families). Please save the date!
And finally our class snack is low again. We have enough to get through the week but will then have a depleted supply. If you’re able to donate it would be much appreciated.
Thanks and have a great week!
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JANUARY UPDATES
I hope you all had a fun and restful break. I’m excited to have your students back in the classroom to start 2026! Lots going on this month so here are some updates to keep in mind.
🪙 Upcoming Levy - While the PTA fills gaps in needed funds for the school, the majority of your school’s funding is provided by levies. The district has requested a time to speak to interested families about the upcoming levy. The Michael T Simmons PTA will be hosting representatives from Tumwater School District on Tuesday, January 13th at Michael T Simmons from 5:30 to 6:30 in the TK room (A-13) for information and to answer your questions. We will also have hot chocolate. Seating will be first come, first served.
🎶2nd Grade Performance – The 2nd grade musical play, Character Matters, has been scheduled for March 5. The student performance will be at school at 2:00 PM (for students only) but will be followed by a family performance at 7:00 PM — you are warmly invited to attend. Mrs. McMakin is currently assigning parts and needs to confirm which students can attend the evening 7:00 PM performance. If a student cannot attend the evening show, they may not be chosen for an individual part; however, all students will be involved in the play as chorus singers. Parts are small and may include movement-only roles, brief speaking parts, or a few singing parts. Please confirm your student’s availability ASAP by filling out and returning the paper form attached (copy sent home), or complete the digital form here: https://forms.gle/BhZBuYxWTcB7p7b68.
🏆March Book Madness – The second grade teachers are eagerly preparing for our annual March Book Madness event which is right around the corner. It’s an activity put together through Weebly, and we participate in the Picture Book category. Each second grade classroom will make our own classroom bracket using the books that are on the list for 2026. Throughout the month we will read the stories to your children and then they will complete their own personal bracket, as well as place votes for the classroom bracket. At the end of the month they will have a Book Champion! After round one I like to invite family members to come be surprise readers to keep the competition exciting. It’s so fun to compare the winners in each bracket against the other teachers, as well as the national bracket, and their own individual brackets. The students LOVE this activity each year.
This year, the 2026 list has come out and in order to prepare for March we’re thinking ahead. I will be purchasing a few of these books for our class but have also created an Amazon Wishlist with the remaining books on there. If you can and would like to purchase one of the books to donate to this event (and our classroom library) it would be greatly appreciated!! Our amazon wish list can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3A6MP6O957UE1?ref_=wl_share.
I’ll be reaching out after the first round to invite family members to come be surprise readers to keep the competition exciting. Thank you for your consideration!!
📢 Assessment Season – iReady and DIBELS assessments will be given this month in preparation for the end of the semester. Ensuring students are getting plenty of rest at night and breakfast in the morning will help them do their best. We’re planning on testing between January 8-17th.
🎞️ Movie Night – Our next movie night is scheduled for Tuesday, January 13th – permission slips are coming home today (and it is also attached). This month’s movie will be The Emperor’s New Groove. Pick up is scheduled for 4:45pm. Please return permission forms by the end of the week, thank you!
📆 Calendar Reminders – There is NO SCHOOL on January 19th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Also, January 23rd is a half day – school will release at 11:40am.
📈 End of Semester One – The end of the semester will be January 23rd, which means report cards will be coming home shortly thereafter. Included with report cards will be an assessment information sheet with your student's winter DIBELs and iReady scores.
📚 Academics
Math: We are all excited to start of the year with our money unit – kids always seem to enjoy these lessons. We will be working with counting like coins and coin combinations, some practice with dollars and cents, giving change and solving word problems. This is a great time to practice counting coins at home!
Reading: While we will continue our reading foundations work including decoding, encoding and irregular words we are also continuing our comprehension unit on Ancient Greece which is followed by the Greek Gods and Goddesses Unit. Kids love hearing these stories and it is a lot of fun!
Writing: Students will take a final assessment on the informative writing unit we completed before break and we will soon begin work on opinion writing.
STREAM: This week we will be celebrating the New Year and discussing the Chinese New Year as well. Then our class will continue our work in Material Magic. In this unit students will explore the properties of materials. They will describe and classify different types of materials and then determine which materials have properties best suited for certain types of clothing, cooking and buildings.
I feel like I always end up forgetting something in these emails so expect another in the near future! As usual, let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks!
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DECEMBER UPDATES
I hope you all had a relaxing, long, Thanksgiving weekend and were able to enjoy time with family and friends. We’re returning in a new month – it’s December already! Only three weeks before we leave for Winter Break. This month will go quickly. There are some updates to keep in mind below but again, I think there will likely be another update email before we wrap up the month.
🥫 Food Drive Opportunity – I’m still happy to collect any non-perishable items for my daughter’s food drive through Dec. 19th. She works at Peak Credit Union in the Lacey Credit Union Center (4540 6th Avenue in Lacey) and her location is putting on a food drive and it is a competition between branches. If anyone is interested in donating to a food drive this holiday season, feel free to send in items, and I would be happy to deliver them to her location. You are also welcome to drop them there if that is more convenient. Thank you!!
🎥 Movie Night – Our next movie night is scheduled for Tuesday, December 9th. Permission slips are coming home today (also attached to this email). This month’s movie is Home Alone 2. Pick up time will be at 5:25pm. Please return permission forms by Monday, December 8th.
✨ Lane of Lights – Our annual Lane of Lights event is this Friday! This is a drive-thru event scheduled from 6:30pm to 8pm. Walk through visitors can enjoy Lane of Lights from 6-6:30pm. Flyer attached.
💰PTA Budget Committee – The MTS PTA is currently recruiting 2–3 parent/guardian volunteers to serve on their Budget Committee for the remainder of the year. Budget Committee responsibilities include:
Reviewing this year’s financial activity
Helping draft next year’s PTA budget
Providing input on program and event funding needs
Participating in 2–4 meetings throughout the year
If you are interested or know of anyone who would be a great fit—organized, collaborative, and supportive of our school—please reach out to the PTA. They need their committee formed no later than Wednesday, December 3rd and we need to have a quick overview meeting by Monday, December 8th. They understand this is a tight deadline and appreciate any help! Please email michaeltsimmonspta25@gmail.com if you have anyone in mind who would like to participate.
❄️ Winter Break – There will be no school from Monday, December 22nd through Friday, January 2nd. Our first day back will be Monday, January 5th, 2026. I hope you all have a restful and festive break!
📚 Academics
Math: Over the next two weeks we will be refining our strategies with two-digit addition and subtraction. Following winter break, we will get to jump into our unit on money which is always fun!
Reading: Students have been working hard on our weekly grammar focus, phonics/sound spellings and practice with our heart words. We are just beginning our work in our Early Asian Civilizations knowledge unit and it will continue into January.
Writing: We are nearing completion with our Informational Writing unit and won’t begin another unit until after the new year.
Social Studies: This month we are exploring holidays around the world, making crafts and testing out tastes of other cultures!
Science: We are introducing our next science unit – Material Magic. In this unit students will explore the properties of materials. They will describe and classify different types of materials and then determine which materials have properties best suited for certain types of clothing, cooking and buildings. This unit will carry into January as well.
SEL: Our class is wrapping up our work on our Self-Management unit and will soon move to our Social Awareness lessons.
💙 As always, don’t forget to check the MTS WEBSITE often for up-to-date information https://www.tumwater.k12.wa.us/Domain/17.
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ADDITIONAL NOVEMBER UPDATES
Hello again families,
Here are a couple of additional updates to wrap up our busy month!
📝Progress Reports – Today progress reports came home in backpacks in large envelopes. Please read through all of the included materials. Because MTS is a Title 1 school compacts have been included with your students’ progress report. The compact shares grade-level skills and concepts taught, student behaviors that will support learning, and a list of activities families can do at home. Please sign and return one to the office or classroom teacher, and retain the other for family reference.
Food Drive Opportunity – My daughter happens to work at Peak Credit Union in the Lacey Credit Union Center (4540 6th Avenue in Lacey) and her location is putting on a food drive (flyer attached). It happens to be a competition and she does take after her mom a bit – so she’s really hoping her location wins! If anyone is interested in donating to a food drive this holiday season, feel free to send in non-perishable items and I would be happy to deliver them to her location. You are also welcome to drop them there if that is more convenient. Thank you!!
🦃Disguise a Turkey – Also coming home today is our OPTIONAL Disguise a Turkey Project. If you’re family wishes to participate, use any items found around the house to disguise the included turkey in order to save him from a Thanksgiving fate! Small awards will be given in different categories for participants. Please have disguised turkeys back by next Tuesday, Nov. 25th for official judging! 😊
🥧Thanksgiving Week – Next week we have some schedule changes. Wednesday, Nov. 26th is a half day with release at 11:40am. Thursday and Friday are NO SCHOOL days in celebration of Thanksgiving. I hope you all enjoy this time with friends and family!
🛍️Fundraiser Item Pick Up – Items from our fundraiser that weren’t shipped directly to homes are arriving soon! Please pick up in-person on Monday, November 24th and Tuesday November 25th from 3:20 pm to 5:30 pm. Please park in the main school lot and check in with a PTA member in the office to direct you to your items. If you will not be able to pick your items, please email the PTA at michaeltsimmonspta25@gmail.com.
🌟Lane of Lights – Please see the attached flyer regarding our annual Lane of Lights event. If you have any extra outdoor holiday décor that you may not be using, we would be grateful for donations. And save the date for this extra special event – Friday, December 5th from 6-8pm.
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NOVEMBER UPDATES
Hello 2nd Grade Families!
Our class had such a great time learning about and celebrating Halloween and Day of the Dead last week – thank you to all of you who contributed to our party! November is a busy month that seems to fly by with all of the various holidays and schedule changes. Please take note of some important dates coming soon. Also note that there is likely to be another email this month as more gets added to the calendar.
🦃 Thanksgiving Food Boxes - There is a local non-profit organization, the 4 the Love Foundation, that will be providing Thanksgiving boxes for families in need. The boxes will include a frozen turkey, sides, rolls, and a pumpkin pie. If you prefer, you may select to receive a bag of groceries that includes: fresh fruit, bread, peanut butter, jelly, pasta, rice, beans, and cereal. The meals will be delivered to Michael T Simmons on Monday, November 24th. If you would like to sign up for a meal box, please fill out this google form: MTS Thanksgiving Box Form or you can email claire.state@tumwater.k12.wa.us with the following information:
Student(s) name
Number of people the meal will feed
Name and best contact number for the family
Do you prefer a turkey box or grocery bag?
You may also contact Mrs. State if you are interested in donating to the 4 the Love Foundation.
📷 Picture Retake Day – Picture retakes are scheduled for Thursday, November 6th. If you plan on getting retakes please send your student with their original picture package to exchange with the photographer. If you are getting pictures for the first time you can order at O'Connor's Website. If you would like retakes for any reason, plan on having your student ready for pictures on the 6th.
🎼 Veterans Day Assembly – Our Veterans Day Assembly will be held on Monday, November 10th @ 2:00pm. This program is being presented by our 5th grade class. Parents of 5th grade students and all Veterans are welcome to attend. Flyer attached.
📆 Veterans Day – On Tuesday, November 11th we will observe Veterans Day and there will be NO SCHOOL.
📄Progress Reports – Progress reports will be sent home on Friday, November 14th. This year our district conference schedule has been adjusted, and we will now hold only one formal conference period rather than one in fall and another in spring. Conferences will now take place in early February, following the end of the semester and the release of semester report cards.
👂Vison & Hearing Screening - MTS will be having our State Mandated Hearing and Vision Screening Thursday, November 20th. Our students pop over to another room briefly during the day to complete this screening. These screenings are conducted by schools to identify potential vision or hearing issues that could impact a child's learning. Parents are notified if their child does not pass the screening and a referral for further evaluation is recommended.
🍂 Thanksgiving Holiday – Quick reminder that Wednesday, November 26th is a half day – we will release at 11:40am. There is no school on Thursday and Friday, November 27h-28th – wishing you all a joyful Thanksgiving with your families!
📚 Academics
Math: The kids are jumping into 2-digit addition this month! We are excited to become experts at all the new strategies we are learning.
Reading: Students finished our unit on Early Asian Civilizations and will soon begin the very exciting unit on Ancient Greek Civilizations. That is quickly followed by our Greek Myths unit which is a big favorite! We are trucking through our weekly grammar and phonics instruction, practicing encoding and decoding and building our reading fluency skills.
Writing: Students have begun work on their first genre writing unit – Informational Writing! So far we’re having lots of fun and I can’t wait to see their finished work!
Science: Our first science unit was so much fun! We learned all about Animal Diversity and Habitats and just took our unit assessment today. We will focus the next two weeks on Indigenous Peoples of the NW as part of our recognition of Native American Heritage month. I love exploring this unit with kids and creating some fun projects along the way.
SEL: After lots of discussions and reflections on regulating our emotions and behaviors we are now focusing more on goal setting and achieving.
💙 As always, don’t forget to check the MTS WEBSITE often for up-to-date information https://www.tumwater.k12.wa.us/Domain/17.
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OCTOBER UPDATES
This week we began our second month of second grade – time flies so fast at school! There are some important updates in this email. Please read through and let me know if you have any questions.
🧥Coats for Kids – Once again, our very generous Firefighters Community Foundation is providing coats for all kids at MTS who would like one. Forms came home last week and I’ve attached a copy here as well. If you’d like another copy sent home, let me know. Please send completed forms back in folders and I’ll get them to the office.
🎬 Mr. & Mrs. Alnes Movie Night – Our first movie night of the year was a great success! Thank you for letting your kids join us for that. This month we will be showing the movie Hocus Pocus on Wednesday, October 15th. The parent guide to the PG rated movie can be found here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107120/parentalguide. The permission slip is attached and a paper copy came home today. Please return by Monday, October 13th so we can get an accurate headcount for snacks and to share our attendee list with the office.
🎃 Pumpkin Character Project – The library is hosting the annual Pumpkin Character Project – flyers came home last week (and the digital copy is attached) Students can choose to decorate (no carving) a small pumpkin as their favorite book character. This optional project can be turned in the week of Oct. 6-10 and students will vote on their favorite. Pumpkins must go home by Oct. 17th.
🎭 Apple Tree Productions Theater Classes – Our wonderful PTA is bringing free, one-hour theater classes to MTS after school in the music room. For Grades K-2 it is scheduled for Friday, October 17th from 2-3pm. Pick up is at 3pm from the music room. Here is the link for sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945A9AE22A3FBC70-58848531-drama#/
📚 Book Fair – Book fair will be held the week of October 20th through the 24th. We will have a late night during Fall Festival for families to shop. Flyers should be coming home in the near future. All proceeds from the fair directly support our MTS Library!
🍂 Harvest Fest is scheduled for Friday, October 24th time TBD. Please join the Michael T. Simmons PTA for a night of family fun! There will be games, prizes, dancing, popcorn, a costume contest, everyone’s favorite - a cake walk, and so much more! We encourage all students and families to come in costume, but don’t forget, costumes must be school safe and appropriate! Please leave weapons, masks, fake blood, controversial and revealing costumes at home. More info to come soon!!
🍁Wolf Country Craft Fair – Please see attached flyer. Saturday, October 25th from 9-4 at BHHS – craft and small business vendors & food trucks!
🎃 Halloween Celebration – We will have a small Halloween celebration in class on Friday, October 31st where we will watch a movie, have snacks and enjoy some fun art activities. Attached is the flyer that will come home in backpacks. We appreciate any support you can offer! 😊
📚 Academics
Math: Our students have been reviewing mental math strategies for addition and subtraction, are beginning a lesson on one-step word problems and will soon enter into a fun lesson on graphing. We will hop back into word problems shortly after and will continue to work on our fact fluency throughout. Math groups will begin soon!
Reading: We just wrapped up our unit on Fairy Tales and Tall Tales and are beginning our next unit on Early Asian Civilizations. We work on vocabulary, comprehension, genres and more. Our class also works daily on explicit reading/phonics instruction (decoding and encoding) in a whole group setting. Reading intervention groups began this week and students travel to their reading group teachers for targeted small group instruction each day as well.
Writing: We have been reviewing sentence and paragraph structure in our introductory unit and once complete, will move into our first genre unit – Informative Writing.
Social Studies: We are wrapping up our Government and Civics unit and will take our summative assessment soon. I’m very impressed with how well they’ve grasped these big concepts and we’ve had some great class conversations.
Science: Following our social studies unit we will jump into our first science of the year – Animal Biodiversity & Habitats!!
SEL: We are still working on our Self-Awareness unit (identifying emotions, thoughts and behaviors) before we move on to Self-Management.
💙 As always, don’t forget to check the MTS WEBSITE often for up-to-date information https://www.tumwater.k12.wa.us/Domain/17.
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SEPTEMBER UPDATES
Hello Second Grade Families –
Our first week of school has been super busy and lots of fun! We spent time getting to know each other and learning about the expectations in our classroom and school. This next week of school we will be diving into more curriculum and really solidifying our daily schedule. I’ve attached our daily schedule with our learning blocks for your reference. There could be minor changes as we learn what works best for our kids this year.
Below you’ll find some important dates to keep in mind and reminders of things to come. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns. Please remember, this update and all the ones to follow are able to be found on my class website here: https://sites.google.com/tumwater.k12.wa.us/mrs-alnes/home. I try and make this a one stop shop for all the information you may be trying to find.
📷 Picture Day is fast approaching!!! Students will be photographed by O'Connor Photography Studio for their school record this week on Tuesday, 9/16/2025. If you would like to purchase your student's portraits, click here to pre-order their portraits today! You can also purchase by visiting their website at: www.oconnorphotographystudio.com. If you have any questions or need assistance please give their studio a call at 1-800-993-4929.
🎨 Friday After-School Art Classes – a flyer that recently came home referred to after-school art classes being offered by Art For Kids. If you need more information on that, please contact the office.
🎬 Mr. & Mrs. Alnes Movie Night - My husband teaches 5th grade here at MTS, and he and I are again planning regular (about monthly) movie nights for our kids. The flyer for September is attached and also came home with you at Strong Start Conferences. This month, on Thursday, September 18th, we will be showing Beethoven. The parent guide to the PG rated movie can be found here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103786/parentalguide/. This is completely optional and happens right after school. Transportation home will need to be arranged by your families. Please let me know if you have any questions. Permission slips must be returned for this by next Monday the 15th in order to get an accurate headcount for snacks. Thank you to those of you who have already turned in permission forms – if you’re unsure if I’ve received your child’s form, please email me.
🍌Food Bags - Thanks to the Thurston County Food Bank, we’re able to offer weekend food bags for families who would benefit from a little extra support. These bags usually contain items like granola bars, cereal, soup or ramen, fruit cups, and shelf-stable milk. To receive a bag each week, please complete the form linked below—or feel free to reach out to Mrs. State directly via email if that’s easier (claire.state@tumwater.k12.wa.us). Deliveries will go home with students on Thursdays or Fridays.
🏫 PTA – Please join us at the upcoming PTA meeting, Wednesday, Sept. 17th from 3:30-4:45pm. There will be a sandwich board out front of the school directing you to the appropriate location. There are lots of open positions and different opportunities to make a difference at MTS!
📖Scholastic Book Orders – Thank you to those of you who have already placed scholastic orders for this month. Orders will be accepted through September 26th. I will submit the final order that afternoon.
Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/XCZ7J
Shop Flyers: https://clubs.scholastic.com/all-flyers
📚 Academics
Math: We are starting the year reviewing mental math strategies for addition and subtraction which should cover much of what they learned toward the end of their first grade year. We will move at the pace that works for them and will advance to two-digit strategies when they are ready. Math groups should start in the next couple of weeks.
Reading: We learning/practicing our structured literacy program methods and assessing students this first week to ensure we are designing instruction at their level. We have also begun our comprehension unit which is all about Fairy Tales and Tall Tales – a true favorite!
Social Studies: We will begin our Government & Civics Unit in social studies covering important topics like citizenship, rights & responsibilities, government levels & services and more next week!
Science: Our first unit of science will come soon (following social studies)….stay tuned!
SEL: SEL stands for Social Emotional Learning and we carve out about 15 minutes a day for this material. Our first unit covers Self-Awareness - identifying emotions, thoughts and behavior and learning different strategies to help manage these things. We also work daily in our Growth Mindset journals.
💙 Don’t forget to check the MTS WEBSITE often for up-to-date information https://www.tumwater.k12.wa.us/Domain/17.
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