November 3-7

Odds and Ends

*Thank you to all of the parents who helped to make our Halloween Party a blast! A special thanks to Mrs. Scheiblein, Mrs. Veverka, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Duza, Ms. Schulthrope, Mrs. Zowaski, and Mrs. David. Thank you for making this a great day for the kids!

*Book Worm Angels: We are collecting gently used books for our Character Counts activity this season. If you have any gently used children's books (k-8th grade), please send them into school next week. We will collect them and they will be distributed to children in schools that need books. Thank you for your generosity and kindness.

* Science Book Online: We will be starting a new science curriculum soon and the new textbook will be available online for your child to read and study. This convenient tool will allow you and your child to have the textbook at home without every carrying it! Information about signing on and passwords was sent via email today, Friday, 10/31. Thank you!

*The Social Studies committee is looking for two parents who have an education or history background to be involved in the adoption of new Social Studies textbooks. You would have to meet with the committee and provide input choosing our textbook for the coming years. The Social Studies committee will be meeting once every other month for the next two years. Please email mpellin@ccsd66.org if you would be interested in joining the Social Studies committee. Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 11/3: Spelling: List 10 Pretest

English: DOL #3 Quiz

*Tues. 11/4: No School: Teacher Institute: Happy Election Day!

*Fri. 11/7: Spelling Test: List 10

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

Mrs.Olsen's Language Arts Class:

*Reading: We finished up compare and contrast and will now begin our next strategy, cause and effect. We will begin our new story, Cliffhanger. This is a story that involves rock climbing. Are you a rock climber or do you know someone who could come in and show us all of the equipment and items that are used for rock climbing? Let me know and we will invite them to talk to our class next week. It would be cool to see these items in person.

*English: We are busy putting all we learned about descriptive writing into action. The students are finishing their descriptive papers about a haunted house. We will continue to work with descriptive writing as well as nouns. We will also continue to work on grammar and punctuation in our daily DOL activities. DOL quiz #3 will be on Mon. 11/3. This will cover commas in a series, month abbreviations, and titles such as Mrs., Miss, Dr. etc.

*Spelling: We will be on list 10 next week. There will be a pretest on Monday and a final test on Friday. A packet will be sent home on Monday and will be due on Friday.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies:

*Science: We are working on lesson 3 in our textbook. The lesson focuses on: *prescription medicine, over the counter medicine, alcohol, nicotine, and illegal drugs. We will be finishing this unit soon. Expect a study guide next week. The test is scheduled for Wed. 11/ 12.

*Social Studies: The students are learning a lot about the government and election, just in time for November 4th. We will continue to discuss the election, local government, and Downers Grove. We will participate in a school wide election on Mon. 11/3 and see who Prairieview students would choose as president!

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:

*Math: The students began Chapter 4 this week, which focuses on subtraction. Items discussed: Fact Families

Estimating Differences

Coming up next...subtracting greater numbers and subtracting across zeroes.

Have a safe and SPOOK-tacular Halloween weekend!

~Mrs. Olsen

October 27-31

Odds and Ends

*HALLOWEEN is on Friday. We will be going to Robert Crown in the morning. We will miss our lunch period, so we'll be eating lunch in our classrooms. Please send your child a lunch that day. Students should bring their costumes to school in a bag with their name labeled on it. Try to have them dress so that their costume can go over their clothes and little makeup. We will be changing in our classrooms. Boys and girls will be in different classrooms. They will not be allowed to go to the bathroom to change. Please save guns, swords, knives, and other weapons for trick-or-treating at home. They are not appropriate for school. Parents who are running the party can come by 1:15. Our school parade begins at 1:15. The party will begin at 1:30 and end at 2:15. Students will be sent home in their costumes.

*Classroom Donations: We are still in need of the following items:

-healthy snacks (goldfish crackers, pretzels, NUT free snacks please!)

-disposable cameras and film

Thank you to those of you who have donated to our classroom. It is very appreciated!

UPCOMING EVENTS

*Tues. 10/28: Math: Chapter 3 Test

*Thurs. 10/29: Reading: Seal Surfer Vocab Quiz

Spelling: List 8 Test and Spelling workbook pages due

*Fri. 10/31: Happy Halloween AM: Robert Crown Field Trip

PM: Halloween Party

*FOR THE FUTURE: Picture Retakes: Nov. 6th

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class

*Reading: We are working on comparing and constrasting different characers, settings, and parts of a story as we read Seal Surfer. We will have our vocab quiz on Thurs. 10/30. The next story is Cliffhanger, which will guide us as we learn about cause and effect. The first book project is due Wed. 10/29...fiction: advertise-a-book poster.

*English: We are working on descriptive writing. So far we have covered:

*similes

*vivid details

Next UP:

*color words

*sensory details

*SUPER sentence starters

*Spelling: This week we will work on list 8, a review week. A review week is when we revisit all of the spelling rules from the previous 7 weeks. There will be no pretest and no spelling list sent home to study from. The students should study the spelling rules from list 1-7 to prepare.

Workbook pages will be assigned to the students on Monday and will be due on THURSDAY. The final test will be THURSDAY due to the field trip and party on Friday.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

*Science: We are continuing to work on our health unit. We have talked about:

* the food pyramid

*ways to keep our body healthy

*germs
*diseases

*vaccines

*ways to prevent spreading germs

Next up:

*drugs, alcohol, and tobacco use

*Social Studies:

We began to talk about the modern day aspects of Downers Grove. We will now focus on DG government, as well as local government. This week your child learned that these 4 services are provided by the local government:

Recreation, Education, Transportation, and Safety/Security.

We will continue with this next week, learning about the different officials in a local government.

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class

*Math: We are busy working on addition with greater numbers and estimating sums. I am so proud of all of the students for passing addition fast facts! Way to go! We will begin practicing subtraction facts next week. We are finishing chap 3 early next week.

The test is on Tues. 10/28. The following will be covered on the test:

* adding 2, 3, 4. and 5 digit numbers

*estimating sums

*finding missing addends

* adding 3 or more numbers

*addition problem solving using PAL

Next up...chapter 4 subtraction!

Thank you for checking in this week. Together, we can make this a successful year for all!

~Mrs. Olsen

October 20-24

Odds and Ends

*A BIG Thank you to our Downers Grove field trip chaperones: Mrs. Veverka, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs.Silva, Mrs.Smead, Mrs. Klamer, and Mrs. David. Thank you for your help! We had a wonderful time seeing our history lessons come to life as we traveled to many historic landmarks around Downers Grove.

*Robert Crown Field Trip: We will be going to Robert Crown Center on the morning of Friday, 10/31. This will be an extension of our health unit in science. If you have not already, please send in a signed permission slip. There is no cost to this trip. Also, due to the nature of the trip. no chaperones are needed.

*Halloween Party: We will be having a classroom party during the afternoon on Friday, 10/31. If your child wants to dress up for our school parade, they may bring a costume to school. We will change into it after lunch. It is best to send a costume that your child can get into by themselves. More info. coming soon!

Upcoming Events

*Wed. 10/22: Early Dismissal 11 am

*Fri. 10/24: Spelling: Test List 7

Spelling Packet Due

A Look At Next Week

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class

*Reading: The students enjoyed learning about puffins as we reviewed fact and opinion. We will continue to work on our extended response to the story,

where we combine the author ideas with our own ideas to answer a question.
Our next focus will be on compare and contrast.

Also...don't forget....fiction book projects due 10/29!

Please let your child ask me for paper supplies if they need them!

*English: We finished up our first short writing unit, focusing on the 5 paragraph essay.

The students wrote great papers on their 3 favorite things.

Our next unit will be descriptive writing!

*Spelling: This week we are on list 7. There will be a pretest on Monday and a spelling packet will be sent home Monday with the week's activities.

The packet will be due on Friday.

We also have our final test on Friday.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

*Science: We are studying health. So far we have covered ways to stay healthy

and the food pyramid. Next up...

* germs

* safe medicine use

*drugs and alcohol

*Social Studies: We will move onto modern day Downers Grove and

local government (ch 12 in our textbook).

We will discuss our nation's upcoming election!

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:

*Math: We will continue to review 2 and 3 digit addition as well as estimating sums.

We practice rounding every day....try this out at home =)

Tell your child a 2-4 digit number and have them round the number out loud or on paper.

They are getting really great at this skill.

We will also continue to practice addition math facts.

Thank you for checking in. Have a wonderful weekend!

~Mrs. Olsen

October 13-17

Odds and Ends

*Downers Grove Field Trip: We will be taking our Downers Grove field trip on Thursday, 10/16. We will leave school around 9:15 am and return around 2:00 pm. Remember to send in a lunch with your child that day if you DID NOT send in $7 for Giordano's pizza. Also, if you would like to send in some spending money ($5-7) for shopping in downtown Downers Grove, please send it with your child on Thursday. They will be responsible for their own money. Thank you to the following parents who will be joining us on our trip:

Mrs. Veverka

Mrs. Klamer

Mrs. Wilson

Mrs. Smead

Mrs. David

Mrs. Silva

Those parents should arrive to Prairieview School at 9:05 on Thursday. Thanks for your help!

If you would still like to join us on part of our field trip, you can meet us for lunch at Giordano's pizza in downtown Downers Grove on Main Street. We will be arriving there between 11:35-11:45 am. You can also join your child's group for shopping afterwards.

*Donations Needed: We are in need of the following items for our classroom:

*Healthy snacks (pretzels, cheese crackers, goldfish)-bag or individually wrapped (this is used when students forget snack)

*Film or disposable cameras

Thank you for your help!

*Box Tops: The first turn in date was today. We will continue to collect box tops for the next turn in date (TBD), so please keep sending those box tops in!

*Upcoming Events*

*Mon. 10/13: No School: Christopher Columbus Day!

*Thurs. 10/16: Downers Grove Field Trip

*Fri. 10/17: Social Studies: Downers Grove History Quiz

* A Look At Next Week*

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class

*If you have not already done this, please send a 1 inch or bigger binder to school with your child next week. It can be any color or design. This can be old or new....we will use it as a portfolio to collect samples of your child's work. Thank you!

*Reading: We will continue to work on monitoring and clarifying this week. We are working on fact and opinion as we read non-fiction text. Don't forget..the first monthly reading project is due on October 29th...fiction: "advertise-a- book" poster.

*English: We are working on our 5 paragraph essays. We will conference and edit our rough drafts next week and "publish" our final copies. Next up...descriptive writing!

*Spelling: Due to the shortened week and field trips in some of the classrooms, we will not have a spelling test this week. We will pick up with list 7 the following week. How did the spelling packets go this week? Please let me know if your child was unsure about the expectations. Thanks!

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

*Science: The students have started a new unit all about health! So far we have talked about ways to stay healthy and the food pyramid. We will focus on the food pyramid next week. A note was sent home about another upcoming field trip to the Robert Crown Center on the morning of Fri. 10/31. There is no cost to this trip...please send in the signed permission slip ASAP. Thanks!

*Social Studies: We are busy getting background knowledge for our Downers Grove field trip. We have learned a lot about the important people and places of Downers Grove. We will review next week and take a short quiz on Friday, 10/17. A study guide was sent home. Please review the yellow packet as you study.

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:

*Math: The students showed a lot of improvement on the chapter 2 test...I was so proud of each of them! We started ch. 3, which focuses on addition. The first lesson introduced the students to 3 addition properties (commutative, identity, and associative). I will leave that as only a brief introduction to the students. They will NOT be responsible for knowing how to identify or label those properties on a test. We will continue to reinforce rounding and place value as we add numbers.

Thank you for reading my blog this week. I hope it helps to keep you informed of our classroom happenings. As always, any questions or comments...please email or call me!

Thanks and enjoy the LONG, warm weekend!

~Mrs. Olsen

October 6-10

Odds and Ends

*Downers Grove Field Trip: We will be going on a Downers Grove field trip on Thursday, October 16th. This all day field trip will take us to many historic landmarks, which your child will be learning about in class. We will also have pizza for lunch at Giordano's in downtown Downers Grove. I will be contacting chaperones next week. A permission slip was sent home today. Please sign and return to school by Friday, 10/10. Thank you!

*Goo, Glob, and Guts: We had a great time learning all about the human body and seeing real organs! Here are some pictures of the class!

*Classroom Prize Box: Thank you to those of you who have donated items to our classroom prize box! The kids love the variety of choices and I appreciate the help! Donations accepted any time. Thank you!

*Upcoming Events*

*Tues. 10/7: Math: Chapter 2 Test

*Fri. 10/10: Reading: Night of the Pufflings: Vocabulary Quiz

Spelling: List 6 Test

*A Look at Next Week*

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Classes

*Reading: Next week in class we will start a new strategy, clarifying. We will focus on fact and opinion as we read the story The Night of the Pufflings.

*English: We finished our first unit on the sentence. We will take a break from our textbooks and do a mini writing unit on 5 paragraph essays and descriptive writing. We will also have the 2nd DOL quiz Wednesday, 10/8 on capitializing proper nouns.

*Spelling: This week the students will be on list 6. I will be handing out the list and a packet of assignments on Monday, after the pretest. I am starting a new system for spelling. We will do word work in class and all written work will be sent home Monday and due on the Friday of that week. The written work will be listed on an assignment sheet attached to the list. It will include the workbook pages for the lesson and other practice sheets. Your child may turn the work in early, but it must be in by Friday when they take their test. Any questions? Please email me! Thank you in advance for your cooperation =)

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

* Science: Our body system unit has come to an end. We enjoyed learning all about the different, fascinating systems! Our next unit is health, where we focus on the food pyramid, excercise, and how to keep our bodies healthy and safe.

*Social Studies: The students finished their map skill unit and our next unit is Downers Grove. We will begin with the history of DG and learn about important people and famous landmarks of DG. This will give the students the background knowledge for our upcoming field trip.

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:

*Math: A rounding we will go! We are working on rounding a lot in class. Students need to know how to round to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000. Please continue to practice this at home. I put some rounding game links below for your child to play at home. We will have our chapter 2 test on Tuesday, 10/7. Our next unit will be on addition. Also, please continue to practice addition facts 0-18 at home. We will keep practicing fast facts in class each day.

Your partner in education,
Mrs. Olsen