Dear Parents,

I just wanted to let you know that, as a gala auction item, Ms. Powell, Ms. Gatlin, and I am offering a "Nail Spa Day."

This will be for the auction winner plus 1 guest. This will include a manicure and a pedicure at Famous Nails.  Approximately 1 hour.  Date and time to be worked out between teachers and parents.

The Gala Auction will be held February 4, 2012 at Olde Towne Athletic Club from 7 to 11 PM. Tickets are on sale at http://gmefoundation.org - $35 and $45 at the door or you can Download 2012GALATicketformto purchase tickets in advance. Visit the website for a sample of items to bid on. All proceeds go back to GMEF.

The proceeds will be used to improve our school by providing funding for programs such as technology, educational curriculum and facility improvements. The GMEF will accumulate and distribute resources beyond those provided by Cobb County or the PTA, in order to further enhance, foster and enrich the educational experiences of all students at Garrison Mill.

Thank you for your support!

We will be watching The Polar Express with our Kdg. Book Buddies tomorrow morning.  If the children want to wear(or bring) their pj's, they may do so.  

Also, our AR reward is scheduled for the day the kids get back (Jan. 10th)from Winter Break.  All 2nd graders may wear pj's on that day, too.  What a nice way to slep back into the routine of school!

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, we will be administering the Cobb County Checkpoint tests in Language Arts and Math.  We will be doing this first thing in the morning.  Please make sure that your child is well rested ( I know that this might be a challenge with the excitement of the season!)  and ready to go!  THANKS!

Our class Holiday Party will be on Thursday, Dec. 22nd from 1:00-2:00 pm.  You are all welcome to come and join in on the festivities.  Little ones are also welcome.  It might be fun for them to see what big brother or sister is doing!  And, a special thanks to all parents who are helping out and/or donating items for this celebration.  We couldn't do it without you!

We had a great time today making GA cakes to show the 5 geographical regions of our state!  Thanks to each of you for your donations and to our wonderful Room Moms for making this happen!  Hopefully, the children will remember this activity for a long time!!!

PS.  You'll have to use a bit of your imagination with this picture.  I couldn't turn it to give you the correct view. 

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our classmates who earned their 5 AR points!!!  You have what it takes to get the job done!

AND, to all of our students who went "over and above" and doubled their points.....Gracie, Zach, Everett, Emily, Adam, Kate, Colin, Cole, and Cooper.  You are real workers!

Our Top Point earners were:

Cooper~28.1

Emily~26.6

This was an incredible first 9 weeks!

We are requiring a minimum of 6 pts. for the next grading period.  I know that we can do it!

 SPECIAL RECOGNITION goes out to the students who entered the REFLECTIONS contest:  Adam, Kate, Noah, Annmarie, Cole, Emily, and Isabel.  We loved seeing your entries and wish you luck in the contest!

It's October and our 2nd grade class is going strong!  We are so proud to say that we have almost everyone passing the 7 minute test in addition facts at this time.  Your support in helping to do this is so appreciated! 

IN MATH, we have been working hard on learning how to regroup in addition.  We have worked with manipulatives, played regrouping games, and then moved on to doing this type of problem with paper and pencils.  The class has done so well with this concept.  Please give them additional support at home to perfect this math skill.

IN SCIENCE, Mrs. Latimer has been working on a unit on Matter, identifying solids, liquids, and gases, and showing methods in which matter can be changed.  The class really enjoyed seeing some of the fun experiments.  I hope they recreated some of these experiments for you.

IN READING, we are practicing making connections to literature, making predictions, and perfecting our summarizing skills.  We are making booklets showing our knowledge of "powerful" antonymns.

IN WRITING, we have made an outline of a story about our stuffed animal.  We have described him/her, presented a problem that he/she has encountered, and offered up 3 unsuccessful solutions to the problem.  Then we created a solution that solved the problem for our character.  The children worked in groups to brainstorm ideas.  Cooperative learning is so helpful!

You will be receiving Conference times on Monday, Oct. 10th.  Please return these to me as soon as possible.  I look forward to meeting with each of you!

Please have your child wear red, white, and blue this Friday, Sept. 9th, in honor of the heroes and victims of 9-11.  THANK YOU!

 
I hope that everyone enjoyed their long Labor Day Weekend!  It was nice to have an extra day of rest and relaxation!

In READING we  have completed Molly and the Slow Teeth.  We stressed comprehension, sequencing, and summarizing.  Look for our chapter summaries that will soon be displayed in the hallway outside our door.  They are AWESOME!!

Mrs. Kantor has read Knuffle Bunny and A Pocket for Corduroy to our class.  We have been practicing writing 3-5 step summaries of each book using transition words to begin retelling  each part.  The class is getting very good at using resources like word walls and their Quick Words and referring to their writing rubric to improve their writing.

In MATH we are continuing to work on number representation and place value.  The class should be able to show a number in a minimum of four ways:  the standard form (47), the expanded form (40 + 7), using base ten blocks and the written form.  We are also comparing numbers using the less than, greater than, and equal to signs. 

In SPELLING we are working on Unit 3.  Please continue to use spellingcity.com to help your child practice their words each week.  I am so impressed with the number of children who are trying the enrichment words each week.  They really want to challenge themselves!

In SOCIAL STUDIES we have begun studying about Georgia.  We have used both cardinal directions and intermediate directions to locate our state within the United States.  We discussed bordering states and will begin talking about the 5 geographical regions of our state. 

We have some outstanding math students to congratulate!!!

These children passed 3 addition tests with grades of 96% or higher in 7 minutes!!!!

Gracie    Zach    Everett    Jake    Sam    Emily    Kate

Noah      Colin    AnnMarie  Anna    Cole    Cooper

Everett also passed 3 subtraction test with 96% or better!

You are amazing!!!!!

We have some boys (where are the girls?) who are earning many points in 1st in Math.  Congratulations to Adam, Cole, and Jake!  You are awesome!

Next Monday, Sept. 12th, is AR night in the Media Center from 6-8:00 pm.  This is a perfect time to help your child earn their required 5 points for this grading period.