Holiday fun!

Happy Holidays!

Thank you to everyone for the generous gifts! The gift cards are wonderful and much appreciated! 

The students are so excited to play with the classroom games and usually the winter brings many indoor recesses, so they will get a lot of use. 

I am so lucky to have such caring, thoughtful students and parents. My wish for you is to have a safe, relaxing, and fun winter break! See you in 2013!!!

Enjoy the pictures of some of our holiday activities below! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sharing our Holidays Around the World Posters

Look at the mess our Elves made! They are ready for Winter Break: ) 

Thank you our board members (and student's parents!) Mr. Motuelle and Mrs. Murphy for visiting our classroom as community leaders. The students loved learning about your important jobs and many responsibilities as board members! 

See you in 2013!!!

Mrs. Olsen 

Bowling fun!

Students had a great time bowling on Monday! STRIKE!

Week of 12/17-12/21

I wish you all a happy, healthy, and magical holiday season! 
I can't wait to spend it with this little fellow!
 Enjoy your time spent with your family and friends. 
From our home to yours, Happy Holidays!


Odds and Ends: 

* Paper Recycling: Remember to recycle your paper in our districts yellow and green Paper Retriever bin and help us raise money and help the environment at the same time! This includes all of the wrapping paper that will be used during the holiday season!

* Help Our Furry Friends: We will continue to collect items for local pet shelters through the end of next week. Thank you for your donations!

* PBIS: Please check out our new PBIS website : http://prairieviewpbis.blogspot.com/ to learn more about our PBIS program at school. Thanks!

 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 12/17: Bowling 9-11 (Please send in a sack lunch that day)

*Tues. 12/18: Social Studies: DG and Ch. 12 test

*Fri. 12/21: Don't Forget: December Reading Calendars are due TODAY!
Spelling: Winter Word Test
Math: 4's multiplication test
 Tivoli Movie: The Polar Express
Winter Break Begins!!!

AFTER  BREAK EVENTS: 

*Mon. 1/7: Happy New Year! School begins in 2013

* Tues. 1/8: MAPS Testing: Reading

*Thurs. 1/10: AIMSWeb Reading Benchmarking Tests

*Fri. 1/11: MAPS Testing Math

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will be finishing up our inference character bags. We will also focus on authors message, purpose, and theme. We will work on inferring vocabulary by using context clues. We will continue to work on our reading blogs. Students will also read about Holidays Around the World and share their findings in cooperative groups.

Also, December Reading calendars are due 12/21. I will also hand our January calendars on Thurs. 12/20 so students can record any reading they do over break on the calendar. This calendar will not be due until the end of Jan.

*English: We will begin Verbs after break. I will be pretesting the students next week to assess their prior knowledge about verbs, which will help me plan our activities.

*Spelling: Next week we will work with a shortened list of winter words. There will be no pretest. The final test will be on Fri. 12/21. Homework will be sent home on Monday and due Thursday.

*Social Studies: We are wrapping up our study of Downers Grove and ch. 12 local governments. We have been so honored to invite the mayor of Downers Grove into our school to talk to his about his job, as well as our very own superintendent, Mr. Arnold, into our classroom. We loved talking to our community leaders. Thank you! Our next unit will begin after break. We will study ch. 3: Culture and Immigration.

Mr. Arnold visits our classroom to teach us more about his job as our wonderful superintendent! 

Thank you for visiting our classroom! 

*Science: We started ch. 11: Matter. We will continue to work on matter next week. We will also work on this unit the 2 weeks following break.

*Math: The students have been busy making their own graphs. They created a question, surveyed their classmates, made a pictograph, and spent time in the computer lab learning about to make a bar graph on the computer. They did a great job applying their learning to this project. We will begin ch. 20 on customary  measurement next week. We will also focus on 4's multiplication tables. The test on 4's will be on Fri. 12/21.

Downers Grove Mayor Tully Visits

Week of 12/10-12/14

Odds and Ends: 

*Book Order: If anyone would like to make an online order to Scholastic books, I can still submit an order before the holidays. Please let me know if you make an order so I can submit it and get the books on their way. If you want to order any books as gifts, I can hold onto them for you to pick up in the office.
Thanks!

*Bowling: We will go bowling on Mon. 12/17. We go in the morning and students often get snacks at the bowling alley. When we arrive back at school, it is time for lunch and often the hot lunches go to waste since students just ate at the bowling alley. On this day, please send your child with a sack lunch. Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Tues. 12/11: Math: Ch. 6 Data and Graphing Test

*Fri. 12/14: Math: 3's Multiplication timed test
Spelling: List 12 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will focus on character inferences and cause and effect as we finish up our book buddy projects. We will also work on making visualizations while we read and story elements (character, setting, plot) and how they are used in stories. We will begin guided reading books with the theme of winter as well.

* English: We finished up our unit on nouns. We will begin ch. 3 on verbs before we leave for break, as well as work on some writing activities. DOL is also completed. DOL is aligned with ch. 5 of our English textbook, so I will be doing some review of these concepts before and after break as we prepare to take a cumulative review of all concepts covered in DOL (ch 5).

*Spelling: We will work on list 12: a pretest will be given Monday. Homework will be due Thurs. The final test will be on Friday.

*Social Studies: We will begin to look at ch. 12: local government as we connect the lessons to our study of Downers Grove. We will be completing this unit of study before break. Look for test information coming home next week.

*Science: We completed ch. 4 ecosystems. We will begin ch 11 Matter. We will focus on this unit before and after break.

*Math: We are working on data and graphs. We will take our test on Tues. 12/11. We will work on making graphs with cooperative groups. We will begin ch. 20: Customary Measurement following our graph making. We will also focus on week 4 of multiplication which is 3's facts. Please see the green note your child received on Friday to see what facts they need to know next week. The test will be on Fri. 12/14.

Learning about bar graphs as we graph our shoes in math class. 

Check our our shoe bar graph! 

REST

We are busy learning about local governments and what they provide for their communities. The students created skits to show recreation, education, safety/security, and transportation - R.E.S.T. What fun!!!

Transportation Group

Safety Group

Education Group

Recreation Group

Week of 12/3-12/7

Odds and Ends: 

*Thank you to the coat and winter accessories donation. We filled several boxes and bags full of coats that will help keep kids warm this winter! Thanks! 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 12/3: November Reading Calendars are Due

*Wed. 12/5: Science: Ch 4 Test

*Fri. 12/6: Spelling: List 11 Test
English: Ch 2 Nouns Test
Math: 5's multiplication Timed Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue to work on reading strategies as we read our book buddy books and work in guided reading groups. We will also work on our blogging skills. We will learn blogging safety and spend some time in the computer lab working on our blog. December calendars were given to students today. They are due 12/21, so students need to read EVERY day before break to get all 20 days in! Thanks for your help with this!

*English: We are wrapping up our nouns unit. We are practicing singular and plural possessive nouns. The test will be Fri. 12/7. Our next unit will be ch. 3 verbs. We will also be finishing up DOL #5 ( our last DOL unit) which focuses on quotations and use of quotation marks. A quiz will be announced soon.

*Spelling: We will work on list 11. Pretest Monday, homework due Thursday and test on Friday.

*Social Studies: We will continue to study modern day Downers Grove. We will also look at ch 12 in the textbook as we learn about local governments.

*Science: We are wrapping up our unit on ecosystems. We will have the test on Wed. 12/5. A study guide was sent home. Remember, you can access the textbook online! We will work on ch. 11 : matter next.

*Math: We began ch. 6 this week. This chapter focuses on data and graphing. We will also work on 5's multiplication facts, with a test on Fri. 12/7. Look for a note with the facts on it coming home this weekend.

Enjoy the warm December weather this weekend!
Mrs.Olsen

Real Life Connection to The Keeping Quilt

We were so lucky to welcome Mrs. Vanni to our school as she shared with us the history and art of quilting. She provided us with so much schema (background knowledge) about quilting that will help us understand the story and quilting better. Thank you, Mrs. Vanni!!

Week of 11/26-11/30

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving full of good food, family, friends, and laughter. 

 I am thankful for all of you!

*Winter Wear Drive has been extended until Fri. 11/30. Keep those warm coats and accessories coming in! 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Wed-Fri: No School: Happy Turkey Day: Gobble Gobble!

* Wed. 11/28: Math: Ch 5 Time Quiz (moved from Tues. 11/27)

*Thurs. 11/29: Rockin' Science Assembly 9:00-9:50

 Picture Retakes

*Fri. 11/30:  Spelling: List 10 Test

Math: 2's multiplication timed test

Reading; Keeping Quilt vocab test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue to work on our book buddy books and working on summarizing, predicting, making inferences, and cause and effect. We will also be reading the story The Keeping Quilt. The students will get vocabulary words that go with the story this week. The vocab quiz will be on Fri. 11/30.  Also, your child can visit our classroom blog to post about their reading over break. There is a link to the website on the blog and I showed them how to use this appropriately in class. Please email if you have any questions. We will work on this more next week. 

*English: We will continue to work on ch 2 nouns. The test is scheduled for Mon. 12/3, but it may be moved back. Look in your child's assignment notebook for more information. 

*Spelling: We will work on list 10 this week. There will be a pretest on Monday and the final test on Friday. The homework will be given on Monday and due on Thursday. 

*Science: We will be working on ch 4: Ecosystems. We will be taking the final test on Wed. 12/5. A study guide will be sent home. 

*Social Studies: We will work on modern day Downers Grove and local government (ch 12 in our social studies textbook).  The test is tentatively set for Thurs. 12/13. More details coming soon!

*Math: We are working on elapsed time. This is a tricky concept for most students. Please work on this over break and have your child figure out how long things take based on start and end time and what time something will end if it starts at a certain time. For example, if the parade begins at 12:15 and is 1 hour and 10  minutes long, when will it end? If we put the turkey into the oven at 4:17 and took it out at 7:23, how long did it cook? These real world applications will help your child grasp this tricky concept. I moved the quiz on time to Wed. 11/28 rather than Tues. 11/27 to give us some more time in class to practice. We will also work on 2's multiplication (a note was sent home this week) and we will test on these facts on Fri. 11/30. 

Have a great break!

Mrs. Olsen       
 

Week of 11/19-11/20

Odds and Ends

* A special THANK YOU to Mr. Qualizza, Mrs. Patera, Mrs. Rosignal, Mr. Gibbons, Mrs. Topp, Mrs. Falotico, and Mrs. O'Connor for chaperoning our Downers Grove field trip. We had a great time !

* HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I am so blessed and thankful for a wonderful, hard working class, a generous, helpful group of parents, and amazing coworkers and district to work for. I have a beautiful baby boy, a loving husband, and an incredible family and awesome friends. We all have so much to be thankful for this holiday season and always! Enjoy your break and time spent together!

*Winter Wear Drive: Monday is the last day to send in any gently used or new coats or new mittens, scarves, gloves, and hats to be donated to students in Harvey, IL and Chicago. Let's help keep others warm this winter season!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Tues. 11/20: Spelling: Synonym and Antonym Test

*Wed-Fri. No School:  Happy Thanksgiving!

*Tues. 11/27: Math: Ch 5 Time quiz

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue to work on our reading strategies as we work in guided reading groups and with our book buddies. Please make sure your child gets in some reading time over the long break! They chose a book to read along with their "book buddy"-they will be reading some of this book over the break.

*English: We will continue to work on nouns. We will begin DOL #5: quotations.

*Spelling: We will take our synonym/antonym quiz on Tues. Please study the packet(s) with your child to review new words and relationships between words. The test will be mixed analogies (synonym and antonym) and they will need to recognize the relationship and then find the best answer.

*Social Studies: We will begin our study of modern day Downers Grove and ch. 12 in the textbook: local government.

*Science: We will continue to study ch. 4: Ecosystems.

*Math: We will focus on elapsed time, calendars, and sequencing events as we finish up ch. 5 time. We will take the ch 5 time quiz on Tues. 11/27. A study guide will be sent home next week.

Have a beautiful holiday with your family and friends. We all have so much to be thankful for!
Mrs. Olsen

Off to Downers Grove we go!!

Enjoy taking a look at what we did on our fun and educational field trip to Downers Grove!!Thank you to all of our wonderful chaperons: Mrs. Patera, Mrs. Falotico, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Qualizza, Mrs. Rosignal, Mrs.O'Connor, and Mrs. Topp. We appreciated your help and we are so glad that you joined us!

A sample of what pioneers brought with them west.

The Blodgett Home

Ask your child what this cup was used for!

The spot where Pierce Downer camped his first night in the area.

In front of the Downer home.

At Prince Pond

The man who started it all...Pierce Downer!

The final resting place of Pierce and Lucy Downer.