Melissa Watts

Photos from class!

Evan's Star Student week! We loved the donuts... and the hats!

Evan's mom visits to share one of his favorite books.

 

Having fun at our AR Party for 2nd Quarter~

Class Holiday Party~ It was THE BEST!!

 

Our turn to say the Pledge of Allegiance on the Teasley Town News!

This week at school, and coming soon!

Hi, parents. I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend!

We started studying Martin Luther King, Jr. - ask your child what he/she learned today about MLK, Jr.! 

Tonight there is an Olveus Parent Meeting from 5:45-7pm (this is our anti-bullying program). We hope you can make it!

Friday is HAT DAY! Your child may wear a hat for a $1 donation. Please send the $1 in hand or pocket (not folder) so that your child may pay as he/she arrives.

We are celebrating the 100th Day of School next Friday, 1/27. I sent home a list of items we need sent to class for our 100 Day Trail Mix- it is in your child's folder today. If you will not be able to send the item assigned to your child, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can make other arrangements. Here is the list if you would like to open now: Download 100thDay Trail Mix

The students did a nice job on the "Tricky" Words Quiz last week! We will have a similar quiz this Friday. Once we have studied spelling rules or specific words, the expectation is that those words will be spelled and used correctly in our writing. There is a sheet coming home today with new words and here is the downloadable version for that as well: Download LA quiz note 2 to two too

Math- Now that we are in the 3rd Quarter, our timed math quizzes are + and - facts together! You will see "FFFF" at the tops of quiz papers- this stand for "Fearsome, Fabulous, Fifteen Facts!" These are the most difficult facts- so you will see that the easier facts (+1, +2, etc.) have been removed. We had our first quiz today and will have one each Monday, with our goal to improve each time and hopefully be able to solve all 50 in 2.5 minutes. Here is a sample quiz so that you can see the facts we are focusing on and make flashcards, or print it out to use as practice: Download Facts FFFF

Here is the most recent edition of the Teasley Times. A paper copy is coming home in your child's folder. Download Jan 17 2012

Mark your calendar:

• Tonight- Olveus Meeting 5:45-7
• Friday- Hat Day $1
• Friday- Quiz (Language Arts)
• Monday 1/23- 6pm- Girls Scouts informational meeting in the Media Center (for anyone interested in joining or learning more about Girl Scouts)
• Tuesday 1/24- 8:15am Prospective Parent Coffee in the Cafe (tell your neighbors!)
• Tuesday, 1/24- WatchDOGS Kickoff pizza dinner at 6:30pm (Dads Of Great Students)
• Thurs 1/26- Sparkles Skating Night
• Friday 1/27- Chik Fil A Biscuits $2.50; 100th Day of School

 

Thursday, January 12th

Hi, parents! There are a few important items coming home in your child's folder today.

• 1- The Rubrics for 3rd Quarter- this is a packet explaining what we are studying this quarter. It also has the Wrtiing Rubrics at the back.
• 2- Permission slip and envelope for our next in-school field trip.
• 3- A half-sheet form reminding you about the Quiz tomorrow (this was in the Agenda)- it's "tricky" words, meaning words that are difficult to use correctly in our writing: there, their, they're, were, when, where, went.

We have talked in class this week about our New Year's Resolutions. We have set personal goals as well as classroom goals. I need your help with some of our classroom goals. These are the things we agreed need improvement:

• Reading logs: 5 times a week minimum, keeping it in our folder, keeping it up-to-date
• Agendas: Having our parents sign the Tiger Pride sheet in the front each day AND check the weekly assignments.
• Homework: Making sure we are taking time on our HW and doing our best work.
• Folders: Bringing our plastic folders to school each day.
• Volume: Making sure we stay at a reasonable volume as a class during the day.

As you can see, most of these are organizational goals- folders, agendas, reading logs, etc.- and that's where I need your help. By 3rd grade students will be expected to be prepared for class each day and there won't be a lot of warnings or tolerance when students do not have class assignments, materials, etc. So let's help them develop great habits now! :)

We will start math facts quizzes again, this time combining + and - facts. Your child's first quiz will be Tuesday; after that it will be every Monday as before.

THANK YOU to all the families who have sent needed materials to class! We still need markers, tissues, 1 mouse pad, and glue sticks. Markers are our greatest need right now if you would like to send something.

It's been a GREAT week!! Remember there is no school Monday for the MLK, Jr. holiday.

Chik Fil A Restaurant Day/Night all day today! Hope you can make it! Remember to tell the cashier you are from Teasley.

Thank you for all you do!

Chik Fil A Restaurant Day- all day Thursday!

This Thursday please support our school by visiting Chick- Fil-A in Vinings! Go morning, noon, or night to Chick-Fil-A, located just behind the Starbucks in Vinings, and a portion of the sales will be donated to Teasley! Please make sure you let your cashier know that you are with Teasley. Visit ANY time on Thursday, or come from 5-8pm to have some fun with the Chik Fil A cow & to socialize with classmates and families! Hope to see you there!

Class News & Reminders

• Cocoa Club~ Monday is the last chance for students to make it into the Subtraction "Cocoa Club." Please help your child practice facts- 30+ makes it into the Cocoa Club! Many students are SO CLOSE!
• Photo needed~ I need a SMALL, recent photo of your child. Small/wallet-sized school pictures would be PERFECT, or any photo with your child's face no larger than about 1" (the photo will be used for an ornament you will get to keep, and needs to fit on a soup can lid). Please send any time next week in your child's folder!
• I sent home Weekend Practice packets Friday. They are mostly time and money skills. You can see how your child does on a few problems in each area, then decide whether or not your child should complete the full packet (if he/she needs the extra practice). It is optional, but strongly recommended as we are nearing the end of the 9 week period and assessments will start this week!
• Wish list~ our class could use the following "wish list" items: plain envelopes, small or business size; clear Scotch Packaging or Shipping tape (the wide, clear tape on a red roll); HP color printer cartridge, #23 (these are pricey, but perhaps there are some pre-holiday sales going on...? Does not have to be name-brand- just compatible w/HP23); a large tub/set of Lincoln Logs; and post-it notes, refills for pop-up dispensers. I know this is a time of year that we (as parents) feel like we're being hit-up left and right, but if you are able to donate any of these items, I promise they will be put to good use!! :)
• Love Offering for the Cafeteria/Custodial staff~ please consider sending in a donation--- these are wonderful people who do so much to help our children each day, and we want to show our appreciation especially during the holiday season! I told the students that if each family even sent in $1, we would have $21 to contribute! There is NO amount too small!
• On Thursday the 22nd students do not have to wear standard school attire. There is NO SCHOOL on Friday, December 23rd.

 

 

 

Field Trip to the Nutcracker

Everybody's looking sharp & ready to go!

We're here!

Inside & ready for the show to begin!

Thanksgiving Fun!

We had fun the day before Thanksgiving break making turkey placemats and tiny, edible cornucopias (Bugles, icing, & Runts!).

High Touch High Tech

Thursday we had our in-school field trip called "Force, of Course!" The children had a BLAST learning about forces from "Scientist B." She was so complimentary of our class, too! :) Great fun!

Conference week.... YOU get a 3+!

I just have to say a special thank you to all of YOU, parents. In my 14 years at Teasley, this is THE first time that every single family came to meet with me during conference week! I truly enjoyed meeting with you and sharing your child's growth so far in 2nd grade. I especially enjoy getting to hear from YOU. Your input is so valuable to me and helps me greatly in terms of planning the best educational experience for yourchild. I know it is NOT always easy to leave work in the middle the day and juggle many other commitments, and I appreciate it SO SO MUCH! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Gold stars for everyone!

Recent Photos from School

The Big Thank You

We made cards for the U.S. soldiers as part of "The Big Thank You" project. These cards will be delivered to soldiers all over the world so that every soldier receives a Thank You card this Thanksgiving. The children did a beautiful job, and their messages were so kind and heartwarming.

 

Guest Readers

We love guest readers! Dean's mom and Tatiana's mom visited our class during their "Star Student" weeks.

 

Who's the Boss?

Letting the kids take over for me! Jacob, Amina, Tatiana, and Amirah lead the lesson, looking for compound words in the book My Grandmother's Patchwork Quilt. They did an amazing job!

 

Writer's Workshop

Has your child mentioned Writer's Workshop? Writer's Workshop is a special time where we are transformed from students to authors! Perhaps our favorite part is when we have a finished piece of work and get to share in "Author's Chair." Here is Dean reading his story to the class, while Keanu chose to share her story on the ELMO (projector). After the authors share, classmates provide 2 compliments  as well as one suggestion or area for improvement.

 

THIS is why we play!

"Free Choice" is one of the students' MOST favorite parts of the day. We don't have Free Choice time every day, but several days a week we have 10-20 minutes where the students are "free" to play in the room, with the only "rules" being that they are "busy and learning" (actively engaged) and that they get along with their classmates. Students may read, take AR quizzes, type a story they have published in Writer's Workshop, play First in Math, or come up with their own activities at this time. What always is amazes me is that when they have the choice to do anything they want, they often reflect something we have been learning that week in school through their activities. On this particular day, without ANY suggestion from me (I promise!), DeJuan walked around the room and did a tally survey (we were studying tally tables and graphs in math), while the TyAna, Jiselle, and Jayden decided to give a Social Studies lesson on Creek Indians (also what we were studying that week). It reminded me how important it is to allow the students time to let all the learning "sink in" through play!

 

Looking good in our class shirts!

... and of course, I had to let them have a silly picture, too!