Little Blue Bulletin 9/24-9/27

Attention Parents:
The season is changing, and some of our children are already getting sick. According to our district wellness policy, you must keep your child at home if...

• They have a temperature. They have to have a normal temperature (98.6°F) without medication for 24 hours before returning to school.
  

• They have vomiting or diarrhea within 24 hours.
  

Please follow these procedures to make sure we have a healthy school year. Thank you!

Check attached calendar for upcoming dates.

Don't forget:
FALL is here. Dress your child in layers and remind them to wash hands frequently.


Sharing:
Week of 10/1: Your favorite month
Week of 10/22: Something special you did over fall recess

Preparation Tips:
1. Start with introducing yourself.
2. Add 2 or 3 sentences to describe your topic.
3. Stand up straight, look at your audience, and speak clearly.
4. For something extra, bring a picture or photo of your grandparents.

Book Bags:
Due to our October break, we will NOT be sending home book bags on Friday. You will receive a homework packet when you come back on Oct. 22. Please use this time to work on your Costume Parade Project that's due 10/25/07. If you have any questions, please contact your family room teacher.


Language Arts:
This week we celebrated the beginning of Fall. We read fall poetry; discussed the changing season, and painted a fall tree.


Math:
This week we continued our number sense strand. Concepts we worked on include:

• skip counting by two's, five's, and ten's
• matching numbers to pictures
• the vocabulary more/less/the same
• using symbols to compare amounts ( ">" , "<" , and "=")
• fact families
• using hundred's chart
• touch math
  

Thank You's:
A big thank-you to our wonderful chaperones who accompanied us to Natural Bridges. The kids had a lot of fun! It was fun to watch the kids playing on the beach and be creative.


Other:

• Natural Bridges State Beach is having a Monarch Butterfly Festival on Oct. 14. Visit http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=541 for more information.
  
• On our staff development on Tuesday, we saw a webcast that was very inspiring. Sir Ken Robinson discussed the importance of creativity and the freedom to express yourself. We hope you find it as thought provoking as we did.
  

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66



Little Blue Teachers

Butterflies );(

Look for the life cycle of the butterfly to come home today! This is something to talk to your kids about before next Thursday. Our trip to Natural Bridges should be exciting. We have great new t-shirts and the amount of Monarchs are incredible. It was great to meet with everyone during conferences. Together we can have a great year!

Little Blue Bulletin 9/17-9/21

Attention Parents:
Please note that our field trip to Natural Bridges is on Thursday, September 27th. Please dress your child in long pants, tennis shoes, and a light weight long-sleeve shirt. Bring a sweatshirt to tie around his/her waist.

Check attached calendar for upcoming dates.

Don't forget:
FALL is here. Dress your child in layers and remind them to wash hands frequently.


Sharing:
Week of 9/24: A special family tradition
(Thursday and Friday students will share on Wednesday due to Field Trip and Learning Day)
Week of 10/1: Your favorite month

Preparation Tips:
1. Start with introducing yourself.
2. Add 2 or 3 sentences to describe your topic.
3. Stand up straight, look at your audience, and speak clearly.
4. For something extra, bring a picture or photo of your grandparents.

Book Bags:
During parent teacher conferences, we passed out helpful tips to make homework more successful. Please keep this list posted in your child's homework spot.

It's VERY important that you return all parts of the book bag on Thursday morning next week.

Language Arts:
This week we continued our unit on Family. Each child wrote about why his/her family is special. Tomorrow (Sept. 21) we will have a Moon Festival presentation. Ask your child what he/she learns about Moon Festival.

Our classes also have been working on making text-to-self connections. This is when we read a book and stop to discuss how we have had similar experiences to the story. You can do this at home when you read with your child, too.

For extra credit, please check your teacher's blog and answer the question!

Math:
This week we started our number sense strand. Concepts we worked on include:

• skip counting by two's, five's, and ten's
• matching numbers to pictures
• the vocabulary more/less/the same
• fact families
• using hundred's chart
  

It's been great to meet all of you at the conferences. We look forward to working with our parent community to build a wonderful learning environment for the kids. :-)

Little Blue Teachers

Little Blue Bulletin 9/10-9/14

Attention Parents:
Please note that our field trip to Natural Bridges is on Thursday, September 27th. Please return the permission slip and check as soon as possible.

Check attached calendar for upcoming dates.

Don't forget:
** Please send in your child's headphone in a labeled ziplock bag as soon as possible.
** Conferences continue next week through Friday, Sept. 21st. School will end at 12:30 from Sept. 13-21. We ask that students do not attend the conference. Thank you.

Sharing:
Week of 9/17: A Fall poem or song
Week of 9/24: A special family tradition

Preparation Tips:
1. Start with introducing yourself.
2. Add 2 or 3 sentences to describe your topic.
3. Stand up straight, look at your audience, and speak clearly.
4. For something extra, bring a picture or photo of your grandparents.

Book Bags:
Inside your book bag is a village list of our students. Please put this list away in a special place. We hope it will come in handy at home.

It's VERY important that you return all parts of the book bag on Thursday morning next week.

Language Arts:
This week we continued our unit on Family. Each child wrote about his/her own amazing family.

Our classes also have been working on making text-to-self connections. This is when we read a book and stop to discuss how we have had similar experiences to the story. You can do this at home when you read with your child, too.

For extra credit, please check your teacher's blog and answer the question!

Math:
This week we started our number sense strand. Concepts we worked on include:

• skip counting by two's, five's, and ten's
• matching numbers to pictures
• the vocabulary more/less/the same
• fact families
• using hundred's chart
  

Science:
Little Blue is learning about making healthy living. Taking care of yourself means treating yourself well every single day--looking out for your body, your mind, and your spirit.


Little Blue Teachers

Little Blue Bulletin 9/03-9/07

Attention Parents:
Please note that our field trip to Natural Bridges is on Thursday, September 27th. Please return the permission slip and check as soon as possible.

Check attached calendar for upcoming dates.

Don't forget:
** Please send in your child's headphone in a labeled ziplock bag as soon as possible.
** Conferences start on Thursday, Sept. 13th. School will end at 12:30 from Sept. 13-21. We ask that students do not attend the conference. Thank you.

Sharing:
Week of 9/10: Grandparents are special because...
Week of 9/17: A Fall poem or song

Preparation Tips:
1. Start with introducing yourself.
2. Add 2 or 3 sentences to describe your topic.
3. Stand up straight, look at your audience, and speak clearly.
4. For something extra, bring a picture or photo of your grandparents.

Book Bags:
Inside your book bag is a village list of our students. Please put this list away in a special place. We hope it will come in handy at home.

It's VERY important that you return all parts of the book bag on Thursday morning next week.

Language Arts:
This week we started our unit on Family. We talked about family connections. This includes parts of our family that are immediate family members (mom, dad, sister, brother) and extended family members (grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins). Please use our new vocabulary to talk with your child about the members of your family .

On Tuesday we met with our older buddies for the first time. We enjoyed filling out a interview sheet and doing a fun art project.

For extra credit, please check your teacher's blog and answer the question!

Math:
We wrapped up our graphing and patterns unit in our family rooms this week. The students visited the computer lab to create graphs using Graph Club, created pattern name necklaces, and researched life savers. Do you know what flavor has the most pieces in a life saver package? It matches our class favorite flavor too!

Science:
Little Blue is continuing our healthy living unit by talking about healthy breakfast items. It 's great to see so many students eating a healthy breakfast!

From PSCO:
We are in desperate need of your donations. Check out the following link for more information. http://www.cupertino.k12.ca.us/portal.www


Volunteers Needed!
We need parents to help at the book fair. Please contact Ms. Augason if you are able to donate time to help run the book club. It's okay to bring younger siblings. We need only an hour of your time!
Thanks.

Other:
It's important to follow the dress codes at school. Please make sure all shirts cover the top of the child's shoulder. (No thin strapped tank tops, please.) Second, children should have clothing that covers all undergarments. So, if your daughter wears a skirt, please have shorts underneath. Last, please send your child to school with good fitting shoes. We have had problems with children taking off shoes in class, and/or wearing shoes that are too big. Thanks for your cooperation.

Family Fun Night Tomorrow!!
Family Fun Night is Saturday, September 8th. This is a great opportunity to
spend time with other Portal families. There is a cake walk, games for the
kids, as well as a huge slide. Bring your favorite dish and be a part of the
Portal Pot Luck!

When purchasing tickets, you will see a donation box sitting next to the
window. If you have any spare change or cash that you are willing to
contribute, please drop it in the box. The money will go to a Murdock-Portal
paving stone to be placed in a walk for veterans at Memorial Park.




Little Blue Teachers