Week of 1/8

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

It's been a blast this past week here at Prairieview. Nothing gets you in the mood for the holiday season other than being surrounded by the joy and excitement of children. So fun! I wish you all a safe, fun, and festive winter break. The greatest gift is having a wonderful class like this! Thank you all for the wishes and gifts. I'm so lucky!


Thank you to our PTO for generously taking us to see the movie Wonder. The movie was very inspirational and the whole experience was so much fun. Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

No school: Fri. 12/22- Fri. 1/5. See you next year on Jan. 8th, 2018!!

Tues. 1/9: Matter Matters: In School science field trip

Fri. 1/12: Math: 6's multiplication fast fact test

Mon. 1/15: No School: MLK, Jr. Day

A LOOK AT THE WEEK WE RETURN: 

*Reading: We will focus on tradition and culture and we talk about New Year's Resolutions and our Tooth Fairy Traditions. We will read about other tooth fairy traditions in the book Throw Your Tooth on the Roof.  A new reading log was sent home today for January. Please hold onto it and begin filling it in January 1st. The January reading log will be due 2/1. The December reading log is due 1/8 when we return from break.

*English: We will finish up the last of our study of verbs. We will study adverbs.

*Spelling: We will begin with a new word sort. The homework (3 activities) and test will be on Fri. 1/19.

*Science: We will continue our Mystery Unit 2 as we study weather. As an extension to our studies. we will have scientists come in from High Touch, High Tech to do a Matter Matters in school field trip with us. They will do demonstrations and experiments with the students in our classroom on Tues. 1/9.

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We will continue Unit 4 as we focus on measurement, time, and fractions. We will also focus on 6's multiplication facts this week.

Happy New Year!
Mrs. Olsen

Some good winter weather rules for PV: With Winter almost upon us, here’s a quick note about recess: Children NEED boots to be in snow- snow pants are not required, but kids should know that if they get their clothes wet, they will be wet for the afternoon.... Snow/ice is not to be thrown for any reason at all.  They may roll it, or build with it, but not launch it, etc.

Winter break is almost here! We have a fun, exciting week planned for our students next week! 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Tues: Wonder movie field trip
PV Holiday Concert

*Wed: AM Bowling with PE class

*Fri. 12/22: Winter break begins: See you next year! 

A LOOK AHEAD: 

*Reading: We will continue to look at traditions and cultures. We will do a close reading of The Night Before Christmas as we analyze and interpret the language and words. 

Remember...you can turn in your December Reading logs in before break or they are due 1/8. January calendars will be sent home before break so you can start logging in any reading that the students do over break. 

*Spelling: No spelling this week. We will begin again after break. 

*English: We are working on writing personal narratives about some important family traditions. We will display and share these as a classroom quilt. 

*Science: We are working on a new Mystery Science unit on Weather. We will continue this next week and following break. 

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We will take a time checkpoint on Monday. They should be able to tell time to the minute and do an elapsed time problem.  We will continue to work on measurement and fractions next week. We will take a break from multiplication fast facts but start the week after break with 4's facts, then 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12. 

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 12/11

Odds and Ends:

Thank you for all of those who have turned in their permission slips for some really fun and exciting upcoming events of Wonder and bowling.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Tues. 12/12: Reading: Keeping Quilt Vocab quiz

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue to talk about traditions and cultures and we discuss The Keeping Quilt. A vocab list was sent home this week. The quiz covering these 10 words will be on Tues. 12/12. We will be working on discussing our own traditions and be making a classroom tradition quilt, showcasing each child's favorite traditions.

*Spelling: Happy Holidays! We will not have spelling these weeks before break!

* English: We will continue to practice verbs.

* Science: We will begin Mystery Science Unit 2: Weather.

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We began Unit 4 on Measurement and Time this week. We will focus on telling time to the minute using an analog clock and solving problems with elapsed time.  We will work on measurement problems with the metric system. Keep practicing those multiplication skills- they are having a blast playing around the world and are getting faster and more accurate each day! 

Stay warm and safe this weekend! Enjoy the snow (if it comes!)
Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 12/4

Odds and Ends: 

Welcome to December! The weather is starting to feel winter like, so please remember to have your child dress appropriately for the weather; we do go outside for recess. Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Tues. 12/5: Early Dismissal 

*Wed. 12/6: Math: Unit 3 Test 
Science: Power of Flowers Test 

*Fri. 12/8: Spelling Test and Homework due 

*Tues. 12/19: All School trip to the movies to see Wonder
*Wed. 12/20: Bowling field trip
*Thurs. 12/21: Last day before Winter Break 

A LOOK AHEAD: 

Reading: We will begin our next ELA unit on Cultures and Tradition. Our first story is Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco. It tells the story of a special quilt that started in Russia and made its way to the United States in the early 20th century. We will be making our own paper class quilt which will describe our own family traditions. 

A new December reading log was sent home yesterday. Your child can complete and turn this in before break on 12/21 or on the day we return from break 1/8. A January reading log will be sent home with your child before we go on Winter Break. 

*Spelling: The homework is due on Fri. 12/8 We will take our test on Fri. 12/8. Please check with your child to see what they have completed. 

*Science: We are finishing up our unit on the Power of Flowers. Check your child's binder for a study packet that includes a study guide, vocab list, and past worksheets and quizzes that they can use to study. Our next unit with be Mystery Science: Weather. 

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We are finishing up Unit 3.  A practice test was sent home with your child and is due Tues. 12/5. We will review in class and take the test on Wed. 12/6. We will begin Unit 4 later next week which focuses on Measurement and Fractions. 

Have a great weekend and enjoy the warmer weather and sunshine!
Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 11/20

Odds and Ends: 

Thank you to Mrs. Genovese, Mrs. Karchmar, and Mrs. Tomko for chaperoning our Downers Grove field trip. We enjoyed having you along as we explored Downers Grove's historic landmarks.

Today is the end of Trimester 1. What a wonderful first one-third of the year we’ve had!!  Grades will be finalized soon. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving break with your families. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Upcoming Events: 

* Tues. 11/21: Spelling Test and 2 activities due 

*Wed. 11/2-Fri. 11/24: Thanksgiving Break: Enjoy the time with your family

A Look at Next Week: 

*Reading: We are continuing to study myths and context clues and sequencing. We will work on fluency and expression with readers theatre. 

*English: We are working on informational writing as we write about how to disguise a turkey. We will also write persuasive paragraphs to convince the farmers not to eat our turkeys. We will also be working with verbs. 

*Spelling: We will take our test on Tues. 11/21. Students need to complete 2 activities from their menu to turn in on Tues. 

*Science: We are busy learning about plants during our Mystery Science unit on the Power of Flowers. We will continue to learn about vegetables, fruits, and plants as we explore this unit. 

*Social Studies: We had a great field trip exploring all of the places we talked about in class. The students loved seeing the lessons come to life as we visited the historic landmarks around Downers Grove. 

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We are learning many different, efficient strategies to add and subtract multi digit numbers. We will continue to focus on this skill next week. We will take a break from multiplication facts until after break, so please continue to practice all facts at home. Thank you!

I am thankful for all of you!

Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 11/13

Odds and Ends

This week have have our Downers Grove field trip on Thurs. 11/16. Please have your child dress in layers because we do get out and walk around and we will spend some time playing at a park (weather dependent).  Wear a warm coat, hat and mittens/gloves, and good, warm, walking shoes. 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Wed. 11/15: Disguised Turkeys due

*Thurs. 11/16: Downers Grove Field Trip

*Fri. 11/17: End of 1st trimester
Math: 11's multiplication fast fact 

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue our study of myths. We will also explore fluency and expression in readers theatre. We are working on sequencing, cause and effect, and context clues. 

*English: We will be learning more about verbs. We are also working on informational writing as we write "how-to" papers about our disguised turkeys. 

*Spelling: The students will be given a new word list on Mon. Due to the shortened holiday week the following week, 2 activities will be due 11/21. The test will be Tues. 11/21.

*Science: We began our first science unit using Mystery Science. This is very engaging and fun way to explore our science topics. We are doing the "Power of Flowers" and exploring the importance of bees and science fruits vs. science vegetables. 

* Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We will focus on double digit subtraction strategies and rounding to estimate. We are working on more efficient ways to subtract and use mental math. We will also focus on 11's multiplication facts. 

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 11/6

Odds and Ends: 

Thank you to the wonderful parents who helped make our Halloween Party a "spook"-tacular time for all! Thank you to Mrs. Karchmar, Mrs. Dimitriou, Mr. and Mrs. Wawro, Mrs. Tomko, Mrs. Mottl, Mrs. Corpora, and Mrs. Free for helping donate supplies, plan the party, and help supervise the activities. 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

Tues. 11/7: PE: Net Games Test

Fri. 11/10: Veteran's Day Assembly
Spelling: 2 activities due and test 
Math: 10's x facts 0-12 test 

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue our Tales as Old as Time unit as we focus on Myths. We will work on context clues to discover the meaning to new words and sequencing. We will also work on fluency and expression in reading as we do reader's theatre. 

*English: We will work on "how to" and informational writing as we write different Thanksgiving themed paragraphs. 

*Spelling: We are work on our 5th word list. Due to a short week last week and Halloween, the students only have to do 2 activities this list. Activities and test are due 11/10. 

* Science: We will begin our first Mystery Science unit: The Power of Flowers. We will study plants, fruits, and vegetables, and talk about how traits are passed down from generation to generation. 

*Social Studies: We will take a break from social studies for a bit. Our field trip to DG is 11/16, where students to visit many of the places discussed in class. 

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We are working in unit 3: multi digit addition and subtraction. We will continue to focus on different strategies to help make these problems easier and focus on mental math strategies. We will also focus on 10's multiplication next week. The fast fact test on 10's facts 0-12 will be on Fri. 11/10. 

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen