Sunday, October 21, 2012

Updated Conference Schedule


Mr. Bolgers Tentative Schedule for
Parent-Teacher Conferences 

Updated Sunday, 11/4/12 

Your time is confirmed if your name appears below.

Tip:  if you haven't signed up yet,  choose your first second, and third choices, and email them to me. Then, bookmark this page to easily check back for your confirmed slot. 

Note: conferences are for 20 minutes each.


Weds, Oct. 23, 2012
2:50 Cotter

Thursday, October 25, 2012
3:00 Clos

Friday, Oct. 26, 2012
3:00 Allen

Monday, Oct. 29, 2012
4:00 Pudvar
4:30 Fellows

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012
4:00 Rohatgi
4:30 Zimakas

Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012
3:00 Jennings

Monday, Nov. 5, 2012
4:00 Giroux
4:30 Forrest

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012
4:00 Tharp
4:30  Steinman

Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012
3:00 Beaudry
3:30 Willey

Monday, November 12, 2012
8:00 Lamorey
8:30 ___________________
9:00 ___________________
9:30  Olszewski
10:00 __________________
10:30 __________________
11:00 __________________
11:30 __________________
12:00 __________________
12:30 __________________
1:00 __________________
1:30 __________________

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
12:25 Fisher/St.Cyr

Note: If you can’t make any of these times, let me know, and we’ll figure something out. Im looking forward to getting together with you!

David


Oct. 21, 2012


Dear Parents,

Important upcoming events:

Can you donate a cup of cut-up veggies to our Stone Soup by Tues or Weds? Also, please send in a mug and a spoon for your child - See below for Andrew Wolfe's letter.

Sign up for Parent-Teacher Conferences. Check your email. I am scheduling conferences across the next three weeks. Email me with your choices. We'll make it work. Note: students may come and play in the Kiva while we talk. Then, they may join us for the last 5 minutes or so. 

Taylor Swift talks about reading: Horizon students will tune in on Wednesday to a presentation by Taylor Swift on why reading  is important to her. 

Our Nutrition Field Trip Shaw's has been posponed to October 31st. The original field-trip permission slip you signed will suffice. Opt out by emailing  me if you do NOT want your child to go to Shaw's on the 31st.
  
Halloween Celebration: 1:45-2:30 October 31st. Jessica Lamorey will be contacting the parents who signed up to donate goodies  or a craft.  :)

Some highlights from the week:

In Science:
We continued our workshops on The Senses. What did your child learn this week about seeing, hearing, smelling or tasting?

In Writing:
We worked on our "An Important Event" stories. Ms. Le Clair, our student teacher, taught a lesson on similes, and students are learning use them to give more "punch" to their writing. We also did a quick-write on what we like to do with our Moms.  That was also our sharing theme  for the week.

In Technology -- See COMMENTS below...
We learned (and Second Graders reviewed) how to post comments on a blog. Students "commented"  on the question, "How do you know that someone loves you?" The class will take the many comments and use them to fashion a Whole-Class Poem.

In Math:
First and Second-Graders are doing projects. In Second Grade Math, we are starting a unit on ants that builds number sense.  Kids practice thinking about -- "If I have 25 ants in all, with 14 of them underground, how many ants are above ground?"  Also, first graders are learning different combinations to 10 while second graders are learning combinations to 20.

At-Home Reading: 
Students who are building independence (i.e., building their word-attack skills/building their fluency and  expression/building their ability to use phonics, pictures, and grammar knowledge at the same time -- to figure out what words mean) will take home the book they have just read in reading group, and they should read that at least once to you. Encourage them to first practice it silently and then read it to you with great expression and enthusiasm -- as though they were reading it as a read-aloud book. 

 If your child is reading more-independently (having bridged into chapter books), you will see books from reading group only occasionally. But you can really help your child by having them silently practice a page of their choice and then read it with expression to you. This is so important for building fluency and also for your checking in to see if that book is a good level for your child.

Skimming your child's book and asking them questions/ helping them make connections to their life/talking about why the author chose to do this or that  --  is another thing that'll give you lots of bang for your buck.

That's all for now. Looking  forward to seeing you at Parent-Teacher Conferences!

David

________________________________________________________________________________________

Andrew's Letter to Parents:

Tuesday October 16th 2012

Dear ABS Parents,

It is time again to celebrate the harvest by sharing another batch of stone soup in the garden at our fine school. Please bring a bit of goodness from our generous land to put into the pot.

The meal will be served at your regular lunch time with milk, apples and bread provided by the cafeteria. Kids need to bring their own eating utensils and a mug or bowl for soup. The meal will be made up of pre-chopped veggies and rice brought from everyone's home*. Please bring these items to the office in the morning on Tuesday October 23rd or Wednesday October 24th so we can begin to make the broth. Any tupperware will not be returned. The celebration will take place on the 25th of October during each classes lunch time.

Also, please contact your FAP rep for parent volunteers to help serve the soup and direct the flow of the event. It is especially great if some parents can help for the whole time, from 10:30 until 1:30.

*Here are some great ideas for items to bring.
Try to use fresh whole foods and leave meat, nuts, dairy and gluten out for sensitive kids. Rice, Quinoa and lentils make a great substitute. Bring enough to fill a mug or bowl.

Brown Rice Onions Garlic
Lentils Radishes Kale
Beans Corn Peas
Celery Carrots Sweet Potato
Potato Tomato Squash
Peppers Brussels Sprouts Fresh Herbs
Fruit for clay oven baked pies! Peaches Apples
Berries Plums Quinoa
Leeks Taro root Burdock
Ginger Dandelion Greens Jerusalem Artichokes

I'll be happy to answer any questions by phone or E-mail.
Autumnally yours,

Andrew
222-7976
guerillagardens@gmail.com