Weeks of 11/23-12/4

Odds and Ends

* Thanksgiving Break: We will enjoy friends, family, and good food for the Thanksgiving break Wed. 11/25-11/27. Classes will resume on Mon. 11/30. Happy Turkey Day!

*Conferences: Parent teacher conferences will be held Mon 11/30, Tues. 12/1, and Wed. 12/2. An email was sent to confirm your date and time. If you have not responded to the email, please do so! Thank you!

Also, sent home today was a green note for you to fill out as a pre-conference form. Please look for it in your child's binder. Please send it back before your scheduled conference date. This will help to address the areas you would like to discuss during your 15 minute conference. Thanks!

*White envelopes: Please don't forget to send in the special note if you have not already! Email me if you have any questions about this! Thanks!

*Tivoli Movie: We will be going to see a special holiday movie on Fri. 12/18 at the Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove. The cost is $3. Please send in $3 and the signed permission slip next week if you have not already. Thank you!

*Character Counts Gives Back! The Prairiview staff and students have a yearly tradition of giving back to the community at this time of year when we have so much to be thankful for. A note was sent home this week about our service project (on green paper). As a class, we have "adopted" a family who has a child with cancer. Due to financial struggles and spending the holidays at the hospital, we are going to help to make their holidays special. Here are the ages of our family:

4 year old boy (cancer patient)
11 year old girl
Mom
Dad

Grandmother

Please send any new, wrapped items (labeled with a sticky note with the name or age of person the gift is for and what it is). We will then collect the items in the classroom and it will be delivered to the family before the holidays. I will keep items we receive posted so we can see what family member needs what and to avoid doubles. Please have your items in by Tuesday, December 8th. Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS

*Tues. 11/24: English: DOL Quiz #5
Science: Chapter 10 Lesson 3 Open Book Review

*Wed. 11/25-Fri. 11/27: No School: Happy Thanksgiving!

*Tues. 12/1: Report Cards Sent Home

Social Studies: Downers Grove/Chapter 12 Test

*Thurs. 12/3: Spelling: List 13 Test

*Fri. 12/4: No School

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

*Reading: We will focus on point of view and author's purpose as we look at fairy tales and "fractured fairy tales" (familiar stories with twists). We will work on writing familiar fairy tales from a different point of view.

*English: We will work on point of view stories as we write creative stories about Thanksgiving from the turkeys point of view. We will begin chapter 3 on verbs on Mon. 11/30.

*Spelling: There will be no spelling next week due to the holiday. We will begin list 13 on Mon. 11/30 and test on Thurs. 12/3.

*Science: We are working on finishing our space chapter. We will finish learning about planets and constellations. A study guide will be sent home on Mon. 11/30. The final test will be on Tues. 12/8. Our next unit will be weather.

*Social Studies: We are almost done with our Downers Grove/Ch 12 unit. Below is a picture of our visit with Dr. Tiede. He talked to the students about his job as a superintendent. We learned so much-Thanks, Dr.Tiede!

A study guide was sent home today. The final test will be on Tues. 12/1. We will reviewing for the test in class. Our next unit will be ch. 3: immigration and culture.

*Math: We are done with problem solving and t-charts for the moment! The students did a great job on this concept! Way to go! We will begin chapter 5 on Mon. 11/23. We will work on money and then time.

We will also begin multiplication timed tests, starting with 2's. A packet outlining our schedule will be sent home. We will focus on a times tables each week, working up to 12 and then mixed facts tests. Every Friday will be a timed test for a grade (10 points) . If your child does not pass, retakes will be offered the following week (1 point deducted each day of retake).

Gobble, Gobble!
We are so thankful for each and every student.

You make our days special and bright!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving break!

Mrs. Olsen and Miss Millbrandt

Yearbook Update

Yearbook:

Now's the time to place your orders. Yearbooks are $10.00 and the deadline for your orders is Tuesday, December 1, 2009. Please make checks payable to Lifetouch. Please make sure your student's name, teacher's name and grade level are marked on the order form. If you have multiple students, please fill out one for each child. Yearbook order forms went home with your child on November 12th and there are a few extra envelopes available; please try not to lose them. If your child loses it, you can send an envelope with the following information on it: student's name, teacher's name and grade level along with a check made payable to Lifetouch for $10.00. It is very important that you put the information on the envelope; Lifetouch does not know who your child's teacher is.

Prairieview Yearbook orders are not paid for at registration!

Week of 11/16- 11/20

Odds and Ends

*YEARBOOK: Now’s the time to place your orders. Yearbooks are $10.00 and the deadline for your orders is Tuesday, December 1, 2009. No orders will be accepted after that date. Please make checks payable to Lifetouch. Please make sure your student’s name, teacher’s name and grade level are marked on the order form. If you have multiply students, please fill out one for each child. Yearbook order forms went home with your child on November 12th and there a few extra envelopes available; please try not to lose them. If your child loses it, you can send an envelope with the following information on it: student’s name, teacher’s name and grade level along with a check made payable to Lifetouch for $10.00. It is very important that you put the information on the envelope; Lifetouch does not know who your child’s teacher is.

Prairieview Yearbook orders are not paid at registration!

*Scholastic: November Book order is due Fri. 11/20. Please order online so our classroom can earn free books!

*Special White envelopes: Please remember to have your child complete the activity and return the white envelope by Fri. 11/20. Please email me if you have any questions!

UPCOMING EVENTS

*Tues. 11/17: English: Ch 2 Nouns Test

*Wed. 11/18: Reading: The Keeping Quilt Comprehension and Vocabulary Quiz

*Thurs. 11/19: Picture Retakes

*Fri. 11/20: Spelling: List 12 Test

Math: Problem Solving: Make A Table and t-chart Quiz

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

*Reading: We will continue working on our new strategy: self-questioning. We will read The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco and talk about author's viewpoint and how point of view can change the story. There will be a comprehension and vocabulary quiz on this story on Wed. 11/18. Please study the 10 vocabulary words given to your child this week.

*English: We are finishing up ch 2 on nouns. There will be a cumulative graded test on Tuesday, 11/17. We will do some Thanksgiving poetry writing and point of view writing for the next few days. Your child will write a creative story about how Thanksgiving feels from the turkey's point of view!

*Spelling: We will be on list 12 this week. This week's rule is adding ed to make past tense verbs.

There will be a test on Friday.

*Science: We are busy working on planets. Ask your child about the special way remembering the order of the planets: My Very Special Mother Just Served Us Nachos! The end of the unit test is scheduled for Tues. 12/8. This is a lengthy unit, so we will continue to review the topics we talked about earlier in the chapter: moon phases, seasons, etc.

*Social Studies: We had a great trip on our field trip to Downers Grove! It was awesome for the students to see their lessons come alive as we visited the places we talked about in class. We will continue to discuss modern day Downers Grove and talk about local government using chapter 12 in the textbook. The end of the unit test is scheduled for Tues. 12/1.

*Math: The students are busy learning about writing t-charts and solving word problems. This is a tricky concept that we will revisit throughout the year. Please use the in class samples when completing homework each night. The problems and sample t-charts are very similar to the problems sent home for homework and will help out tremendously when working on these at home. The quiz on this unit is on Fri. 11/20. They will have to solve 3 problems (one problem for each type of table discussed in class) and then choose one problem to write a t-chart on. They will be able to use some of their samples done in class to help them.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Olsen and Miss Millbrandt

Week of 11/9-11/13

Odds and Ends

*Downers Grove Field Trip: We will take our Downers Grove Field trip on Tuesday, 11/10. Please have your child dress appropriately for walking outside. We will take a bus tour that makes stops where we get off of the bus and walk. We will also be walking around downtown Downers Grove. Please wear gym shoes, long pants, and layers on top in case they get warm/cold. If your child did not want pizza, please remember to send them with a sack lunch! Also, if you would like to send your child to school with $5-8 to buy something downtown, please do so on Tuesday.

Thank you to the following parents for volunteering to join us: Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Burne, Mrs. Crandell, Mrs. Lukacik, Mrs. Hougaard, and Mrs. Burisek. Please be at school by 9:00 am. We will board the buses at 9:15. Thanks!

Any parents would would like to meet us for lunch can meet us at Giordano's Pizza on Main Street in Downers Grove at 11:45.

*Scholastic Book Order: November book order is due Fri. 11/20. If you would like to save any books as gifts, please email me and I won't send the book home. I will keep it for you to pick up in the office. Thanks!

*Special White Envelopes: Please remember to have those turned in by 11/20. Email me if you have any questions!

UPCOMING EVENTS

*Mon. 11/9: English : DOL 4 Quiz

* Tues. 11/10: Downers Grove Field Trip

*Wed. 11/11: NO SCHOOL: Veteran's Day

*Thurs. 11/12: Lakeview Character Counts Assembly

*Thurs. 11/19: Picture Retakes (have a check/order or your photo packet for retakes)

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

*Reading: We will begin a new strategy, self-questioning. This skill teaches students the importance of asking "thin" (literal) and "thick" (inferential) questions as they read to monitor their understanding and connect with the text. We will combine this skill with visualizing, clarifying, and predicting-all things great readers do! We will begin with the story The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco

*English: Next week in English, we will be continuing our study on nouns. We will do many activities with proper nouns, and common nouns. Monday we will have a D.O.L quiz. The quiz will test the students on abbreviations of Months and titles of names (Mr., Miss, Mrs.). They will also be tested on putting commas where appropriate in a series.

Mrs. Cuzzone says thank you for helping your students with their Proper/Common Nouns picture assignment this week. They turned out great, and really helped the children recognize the difference between proper and common nouns.

*Spelling: Due to the field trip and shortened week, there will be no spelling this week. We will use that time to catch up in science and social studies.

*Science: We are on our last lesson for space! Next week we will be learning about the planets, and what order they are in. We will also learn about the inner and outer planets. Students will be exploring similarities and differences between the planets.

*Social Studies: We are finished learning about the history of Downers Grove, and now we will start looking at modern day Downers Grove and the local government. On Tuesday we will be going to Downers Grove to to see all the fun things we have been learning about!

*Math: We are finished with subtraction! Next week we will begin working on problem solving and T-charts. A pink packet will be sent home on Monday explaining what T-charts are and what we use them for. Each day in class your child will receive worksheets on how to do the problems; they will be stapled to the child's homework for guidance.