Week 7

What a wonderful week it's been here in Mrs. P.'s class!

This week in physical education, Mrs. P.'s class started working on a new unit: jump-roping! Not only is jump-roping a fun, great way to keep out hearts healthy, it also helps students improve their coordination and balance. In health class, students began learning about two very important topic that students and teachers alike benefit from discussing: how boys and girls are different and even though some people may look different we are all very similar.

The class continues to learn about Germany while en route to the 2012 summer olympics. On Wednesday students had the opportunity to make a tasty healthy treat in this week's SPOT group. We made a delicious creamy German cucumber salad! <--(Click for recipe). The class located all of the ingredients, prepared the food and even got to taste the salad, some even wanted seconds! 

In music this week the class learned a traditional hand clapping dance. A song was played over the speakers and the students learned the steps so they could dance in unison with their peers.

Just a reminder, the trip to the Pittsford Indoor Rowing Club had to be rescheduled. The field trip has been moved to Wednesday November 2nd.

Also, Spooktacular is set for this upcoming Monday, October 31st. The festivities are set from 1 pm to 2 pm that afternoon. If your child is planning on dressing up for halloween please send the costume in with your child and they can put it on before the party.

First and foremost, thank all of you who attended our open house this week! We were so happy to see families and friends of Mrs. P.'s class here, to show you all of the hard work we have been doing in our various classes.

This week we did a number of things related to our classroom's theme country and sport: Germany and rowing! Students created cut-out "sight word" skiffs and even got to simulate a rowing experience as a team in the classroom. Melanie, our school principal, even got a chance to get in on the action, acting as our classroom coxswain to keep our boat motivated!

We also had the opportunity this week to learn about a local Olympian, Kristen Thorsness, who won the gold medal in rowing in 1984. Thorsness, who was recently inducted  into the Alaskan Sports Hall of Fame, now resides in Pittsford where she continues to practice rowing. Next week, Mrs. P.'s Olympians will pay this gold medalist a visit and possibly have a chance to sit down and row in her skiff!

Though it was a short week here at school, students in Mrs. P.'s class got a lot of work done and had a lot of fun! Some friends created tissue-paper leaves in art to line a tree in the art room, some finished beautiful wooden baskets to take home in woodworking, and some began work on what will be a German flag for our room, the first of many flags we will make for our Olympic classroom! All of these projects will be on display next week at Open House, so please come and check them out!

This Wednesday we were lucky to welcome some visitors to our classroom! Students were given special boards and chips to play BINGO using their sight words in place of numbers and letters. Everyone did a great job listening for and identifying their words, and were treated to a special snack and a book. Mrs. P.'s class would like to extend a big thank you to our visitors for bringing so much fun to our classroom!

Students made yet another set of sight word flashcards this week to play games and practice with at home. With a total of ten flashcards now, students can lay them out and "walk the line" right at home!

And finally, we celebrated the birthday of one of our very dear teachers this Friday, Janel Dieter. Happy birthday Janel, we love you! 

 

Week 4

In honor of our Olympic classroom theme, Mrs. P.'s class has begun learning about different countries which participate in the global games. The first country we've chosen to focus on is Germany! This past week students have been working on identifying where in the world Germany is located, what colors Germany uses in its nation's flag, and even got to hear the country's national anthem, a song that sounded kind of funny to us as it is sung in Germany's national language, German!

As lessons about Germany become part of our everday learning activities, words associated with it have worked their way into our growing list of sight words! Students this week created their own flashcards to practice these words at home, so please use them to ensure Mrs. P.'s Olympians keep finishing on top! These words have also been taped to the floor here at school, where students "walk the line" to identify and master them. Keep up the good work kids!

This week in gym class, students started a new unit: football! Having mastered the skills and rules of using our feet in soccer, students have started catching and throwing footballs using our hands to ace America's most loved sport. Alongside learning the rules to a new game, students have been introduced to the topic of manners in their health class. Students have been asked to identify what behavior and words constitute good and bad manners, and to recognize why good manners should be used all the time with all of their teachers, friends, and families. Every good Olympian knows that being a good sport and having good manners is as important as the sports they play themselves, and Mrs. P.'s class is on the road to be the very best we can be!

In SPOT this week, Mrs. P.'s class made booklets about Germany to take home! Students learned about different cars, foods and games that come from our European friends, and were even treated to one of the tastiest gifts they've given to the world community: gummi bears! Can you think of any other things we enjoy that come from Germany?

Thursday Mrs. P.'s class had the opportunity to work as a rowing team in a simulated Olympic event!  Rowing, besides being one of our classroom sight words, is a sport that requires teamwork, cooperation and communication! Students were divided into two teams, sat on scooters, and pushed themselves across the classroom for our own mini- Olympic event. Students used great communication and cheered each other on in the first of what will be a series of our classroom's Olympic games.

Students continue to thrive in their art, woodworking, computer and ceramics classes. Projects we've been working on will be on display at our upcoming Open House, so please join us this month to check them out!

Week 3

Good-bye summer, hello fall! As we complete our third full week back in school, we find ourselves in the season of apple cider, pumpkin-picking and Halloween! As students and teachers bid the summer adieu, we reviewed our summer sight words to challenge ourselves and see how much we have learned. Both students and teachers alike were impressed by how many words we were able to recognize from this past summer- great job kids!

In speech group, students have been working on recognizing which voice volumes are appropriate for which surroundings. Working with a color spectrum ranging from blue (whisper) to red (shout), students have been working on identifying which voices should be used and when and where they should use them. In Mrs. P.'s small speech group, we have all been trying to use our yellow small group voices to share stories with our friends and teachers.

This week also witnessed the return of one of our favorite furry friends: Buddy! Buddy is a big, brown therapy dog who visits classrooms to interact and play with the kids here at the school. Students are offered the opportunity to take Buddy for a walk, play fetch with him, and reward him afterward with treats and hugs! It is hard to say whether Mrs. P.'s class or Buddy has more fun with these visits, but either way, it was great to have him back!

The school also welcomed some very special visitors this week for National Fire Prevention Week: firefighters from the Henrietta Fire Department! Students had a special lesson on fire prevention and safety strategies, and even got to hop on board for a tour of the inside of the fire truck! Students learned about the various calls firemen take, why their work is important as well as how to recognize them when they are wearing their "monster" gear, firesuits which seem scary at first glance, but are designed to keep everyone safe. And even though Mrs. P.'s class knows very well what to do should their clothing catch fire, students were treated to a very special demonstration from Mrs. P. herself on how to stop, drop, and roll!

Continuing our Olympic theme's lessons in SPOT group this week, students participated in their own torch run and ceremony! Spread down the hallway, students passed a "torch" to one another in an activity of teamwork and fun, learning about the historical "road to the Olympics" through reading and discussion. All of Mrs. P.'s class was rewarded at the end when we made our own edible torches: orange sherbet cones with red "flaming" sprinkles! Yum!

Keep up with the great work with our classroom's sight words! Students have been improving on word recognition week by week, and teachers hope to soon have flashcards for everyone to practice at home!