Dear Parents,

I just wanted to let you know that, as a gala auction item, I am offering a "Flick with a Friend."

This will be for the auction winner plus 1 guest. Friday, March 2nd.  We will attend a movie at a local theater.  Time and movie to be worked out between teacher 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've had a great two weeks!! The children have been very focused and engaged! It is a pleasure to spend every day with a group that enjoys learning so much!!

This nine weeks we will be focusing on informational reading and writing. Mrs. Haas will help us research an arctic animal in the media center, and Mrs. Kantor will help us compile our notes into a well written paper. Your child is welcome to do additional research at home and bring those notes to school.

In guided reading groups, we will also be working with informational text. We will be identifying the main idea, supporting details, and cause and effect. Please continue keeping track of the home reading on the January reading log. The new Accelerated Reader goal for this nine weeks is 7points.

We are finishing up our solid figure unit in math. The children created two solid figures and used a double bubble map to compare and contrast their attributes.

Our next unit is fractions. It is a lot of fun! We will start with parts of a whole (What fraction of the pizza  is left?), and then move to parts of a group (What fraction of the family is female?) Cooking is also a great opportunity to use fractions. The more real life opportunities they have, the better they will understand the concept.

Continue to practice telling time and subtraction with regrouping and checking with addition. These are challenging concepts, but the continued practice really helps.

In science, we are studying the stars, sun and moon. On Friday, your child brought home a constellation project. They chose a constellation to research (3-4 facts) and create. The Cobb County website has a Virtual Library that has child friendly resources. This is due Friday, 1/27.

To support these standards, the GM Educational Foundation has purchased a High Touch High Tech lesson for us called Space, The Final Frontier. We will be participating in this on Tuesday, 1/24.

The PTA is sponsoring a Hero Essay contest. To support our school writing goal, participation is required for students in grades 1-5. This will be a home project that is due Friday, 2/24. The official rules and entry form went home on blue paper in the Thursday folder. Please check the PTA website for more information.

We will be decorating valentine bags at school. I have red and white bags, stickers, and stamps. Please feel free to donate any item that you think will make this project more festive!

Upcoming Events

1/24 High Touch High Tech 8:05 A.M.

        Paradise Grille & South of the Border Spirit Night  5-8 P.M.

1/27 Constellation Project due

        Relay for Life Cap Day- $1 donation to American Cancer Society

        Masquerade Ball  6:30 P.M.

2/6 Reading logs due

Have a great week!

Thank you to everyone who attended our Thanksgiving performance and feast! The children did a super job and really enjoyed performing for you!

November reading logs are due Monday, 12/5. Several students still need Accelerated Reader points to meet the 6 point goal for this nine weeks before winter break. I sent home a printout in the Thursday folder last week. Monday, 12/5, is Reading Night from 6-8 P.M. This is a great opportunity to read leveled books and take A.R. tests!

Wednesday, 12/7, we will take our trip to the Cobb Safety Village. Weather permitting, some of the activities are held outside so please have your child dress appropriately for the day. They ask for girls to wear pants and have their hair down (they'll be wearing bike helmets with disposable hairnets as part of the bike safety training). If your child said they are bringing their lunch from home, please have them bring it in a disposable bag ( I have some at school if they need to swap their lunchbox that morning). We are looking forward to a fun and informative day!

The children are enjoying their new social studies unit on the famous Georgian Tomachichi with Mrs. Schmitter. I teach her class science when they are with her.

 
The Student Council is sponsoring a food drive to support MUST Ministries. The collection goes through Thursday, 12/8. Your generosity is truly appreciated.

Come and learn about the different cultures that make up our Garrison Mill community at International Night on Thursday, 12/8, at 6:30 P.M. A  homework pass will be given to all that attend.

I'd like to thank everyone who organized and facilitated our fall centers! The children had a wonderful time! Your time and effort is truly appreciated!!

In reading, we are continuing to have literature circle jobs with novels. The children are doing a good job completing these. The two most difficult jobs for them are Predictor and Discussion Director( asking questions to give an opportunity for an opinion or discussion such as "Why do you think ...") Any opportunity to practice(perhaps with a TV show) will really help the children feel more confident.

In writing, we're finishing up our recipes for a Thankful Thanksgiving. These will be on display when you come for the feast. Our next writing activity will be our response to literature. We'll write about Marvin Redpost Why Pick on Me?

In math, we're starting subtraction with regrouping. This is a challenging concept, but using the manipulatives really helps make it concrete instead of so abstract. It's easy for the children to get this confused with the addition that they have just learned. There will be many opportunities to practice this.

We are continuing to make change from $1.00. The hundreds chart and coins really seems to help. When you are practicing at home, start with the amount spent and use coins to count up to 100. Then they total the coins for the change. The children are welcome to take their play money home if you need it for practice.

In science, we have started our unit on energy. We'll focus on light, heat, and motion energy. After that, we'll study force.

There will be club photos taken for the school's yearbook on the morning of Thursday, November 10th for any student who has participated in any after school club.

This may include:   Chorus, Art club, Young Rembrandts, Odyssey of the Mind, Drama Club, Chess Club, Golf Club, Spanish Club, Cheer Dance, Club Scientific, Cub Scouts, Student Council, Wee Deliver, News Crew, Safety Patrol, etc. Please be sure to make your child aware of this activity which is strictly voluntary.

There is a grade level competition for First in Math. The class that earns the most stickers in the month of November wins a trophy! Let's try to spend a few minutes daily playing and see if we can win it for our class!!

Thank you for helping your children practice their parts and/or songs for the Thanksgiving performance. I sent home the cd, but if you need it again let me know. I am trying to take up a minimal amount of class time, so the home practice is greatly appreciated!

Upcoming Events

11/8 Student holiday

11/9 Giving Tree begins (return the blue permission slip to receive a star)

11/10 Native American stations with Chattahoochee Nature Center

11/11 Math Centers 1:00-2:00

11/14-11/18 Book Fair & Veteran's Display in Media Center

11/16 Thanksgiving Luncheon 11:15 performance in classroom

                                                 11:45 feast in the GM cafe

11/21-11/25 Thanksgiving Break

Have a great week!

What a wonderful first nine weeks we've had! I am so pleased with the children's enthusiasm and desire to learn. They really make it a pleasure to come to work each day! They are really working hard to apply the many new skills that they have learned.

We have finished our narrative stories about an encounter with a spider. The children did a super job using a flee map to plan their story and including transition words, descriptive adjectives and vivid verbs. These will be hanging in the hall when you come for conferences.

We had an apple tasting and graphed the results on a three way venn diagram, as well as in the computer lab on a bar graph. The children also did a great job writing similes about apples and learned ways to incorporate similes in their writing.

 As a class we're reading Marvin Redpost Why Pick on Me? and completing a literature circle job after each chapter. After we've learned each job, the individual reading groups will do the same activities with an appropriate leveled chapter book.

In spelling, we're concentrating on the vowel patterns such as consonant-vowel-consonant(usually short), consonant-vowel-consonant-silent e(usually long), and consonant-vowel-vowel- consonant-(usually long). The next few units will use these patterns with all the vowel sounds. 

In math, we've taken our summative assessments with money and addition with and without regrouping. We will continue to review both skills throughout the year. Some children continue to struggle with this, so please continue to work on them at home. They will get it! We will begin making change to a dollar and telling time to the five minute intervals over the next few weeks.
We are continuing to learn about the lifestyle of the Creeks and Cherokee. We enjoyed our Green Corn Festival today and will make the edible map of the Regions of Georgia on Thursday. I appreciate everyone who sent in items for this project.

Our next unit in science will be energy. We'll identify sources of heat, light, and motion energy and describe how they are used.

Box Tops are due Fri., 10/21. Thanks for supporting GM!!

 This week is Red Ribbon Week. As you talk about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs with your child, please discuss how peer pressure can cause kids to make choices that they know aren't good for them. Communicating with positive adults throughout the years proves to be a strategy that helps kids make the decision to stay drug free! Thanks to our PTA for making this a fun and meaningful week!

Upcoming Events

10/19 Wear a sweatsuit to school-"It's no sweat to say no to drugs!"

10/20 Team Jersey Day- "Team up against drugs!"

10/21 wear red- "Red out drugs!"

          Box Tops due

          Bus driver Appreciation Day

          Math Game day- 1:00-2:00

           Picture retakes

10/24-10/28 Conference Week- Early Release at 12:30

10/31 Fall Centers: 1-2 P.M.

Have a great week!

 
Where did September go??? I hope everyone is getting the opportunity to enjoy our change of season!!

 
In writing, we are working on a personal narrative about our encounter with a spider. We are also creating narrative stories with our stuffed animal as the main character. Since this is occupying our writing time, we haven't written in Letter Home Journals. Look for these to start up again at the beginning of the next nine week period.

In reading, we're working on summarizing, making predictions, and making connections. It's important that the children realize these are the skills that help good readers comprehend what they are reading.

Reading logs are due Monday, 10/3. Please have your child return it, even if the weekly goal wasn't met every time. We'll complete a self-evaluation that will help the children make any necessary changes for the October log.

Thank you for working on the spelling words with your child. If your child can spell the first ten words with little effort, please encourage them to take the challenge of mastering the enrichment words. They can do it!

 
In math, we are working on additon of two digit numbers with and without regrouping. It's important that your child can explain the process using the base ten blocks. Knowing the addition facts is a huge benefit in mastering this standard! Thanks for continuing the mathblasters each week.

 The GM website has several websites for practicing the basis facts. Some of them are First in Math, That's a Fact, and Math Fact Cafe. There are also sites under math-additon-regrouping to practice this skill. I gave everyone a list of personal logins for their child at the beginning of the year. There is a Harcourt website that goes right with our math book. It has some great tutorial, as well as practice activities for each skill we learn. Let me know if you need another copy.

We are continuing to practice counting money to $5. It's important that your child can show the amount using a dollar sign and decimal point and just a cent sign.

 
We are enjoying learning about the regions fo Georgia. This really becomes meaningful if you have visited areas in Georgia. Your child can bring in the name of the city, and we can decide which region it's part of. We can match our details researched from our books to the details that your child remembers from the trip. Any pictures would be helpful. Feel free to email any scenery photos and I can put them on the Promethean Board!

We have also been talking about intermediate directions(NW, NE, SW, SE). If you have a compass in your vehicle, it's fun for the children to make the connection between what we talk about in class and real life!

 
I have passed out the blue Reflections entry form and list of rules. This is a contest put on annually by PTA. It encourages children to explore their artisitic talents. It's a great opportunity to create works of art for fun! All entries are due by 10/13. The forms are on the GM/PTA website if you need another one. 10 tokens will be given to participants for going above and beyond!! The theme this year is "Diversity Means..."

Conference Week is 10/24-10/28. Please let me know by the end of the school day Tuesday if there is a specific day or time that you need.On Tuesday afternoon, as a staff, we will be scheduling siblings back to back. I'll begin conferences at 1:00 and schedule them for every 20 minutes after that. I am fine with 7:00 A.M. meetings, if that's more convenient. If I don't hear from you, I'll just put you on the schedule. If it's not convenient, let me know. Remember that dismissal is at 12:20 every day that week. 

 
Continue to clip Box Tops The deadline is Friday, 10/21.

Upcoming Events

10/3 Reading log due

10/4 O'Charley's Spirit Night 5-8 P.M.

10/7 Spirit Day- wear a GM shirt

         Cafe GM

10/13 Reflections due

10/14 Deadline for  5Accelerated Reader points

           Fall Festival 6-8 P.M.

            End of First Nine Weeks

10/17-10/21 Red Ribbon Week

10/19 QSP pick up

10/21 Box Tops due

          Bus driver Appreciation Day

         Picture Retake Day

Have a great week!

 
I hope everyone is enjoying our fall weather!! We've had a busy few weeks of school. The children loved the math games and were very appreciative of the PTA's popcorn celebration for their good cafeteria behavior. Several children attended Reading Night and are getting close to meeting the 5 A.R. point goal before Oct. 14th. We had many children from our class attending  the Fun Run and movie night. A good time was had by all!!

We've been working on writing with powerful words. We're using the thesaurus to find descriptive adjectives and vivid verbs. We'll begin writing descriptive cinquains this week.

In spelling, we're working on long and short e words in unit 5. Please remember that the summative assessment at the end of the nine weeks will cover all the words studied so far, so please review any missed words with your child.

In reading groups, we're studying cause and effect, summarizing, sequencing, and making connections. Please help your child complete their reading log and reach their goal of five A.R. points. The above and beyond goal is 10 points.

 
In math, we're working on counting money. To master standards, the children must be able to write  the amounts with a dollar sign and decimal point and a cent sign. We will also begin adding two digit numbers with regrouping (also known as carrying). It's important that the children understand and be able to explain the process using base 10 blocks.

We are wrapping up our study of matter and how it changes. We'll be starting our social studies unit on the regions of Georgia. 

Upcoming Events

9/23 Relay for Life cap day- $1 donation to the American Cancer Society
9/27 Cici's Pizza Night

10/4 O'Charley's Spirit Night

10/7 Cafe GM

        Spirit Day-wear your GM shirt

Have a great week!
 

 
 
I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! I didn't even mind the rainy Monday!

 
In reading, we've been comparing/ contrasting, sequencing, and summarizing. We've also been talking about the author's purpose, especially in folktales and fables where a lesson is often taught.

This week, your child will be assigned an Accelerated Reader range. Please help your child make sure that the majority of his/her A.R. points are from books in that range. I appreciate you also helping your child keep track of their reading minutes on the monthly log. I really believe logs are a powerful tool for self evaluation. 

This week in spelling we'll use spellingcity.com as a homework assignment. If your internet is down, feel free to give your child a practice test in lieu of the computer activities.

In writing, we've worked on sequencing and summarizing. I'm pleased how well the children are using the rubric to help achieve their quality best work! We are continuing to discuss the elements of a narrative story. They will begin writing their own narrative next week.

 
In math, we are continuing to review number representation and place value. The pretest this week will be over counting money and using a dollar sign and decimal point correctly. Please make sure your child can identify each coin and how much it's worth.

 
In science we are continuing our study of matter. Our investigation will be  comparing/contrasting properties of solids and properties of liquids. We'll begin talking about ways that matter changes.

 Friday, September 9th, is Patriotic Day. Let's wear red, white, and blue to honor those that lost their lives on 9/11/01.

 
  Monday,9/12, is Reading Night from 6-8 P.M. You and your child can read A.R. books, and then they can take tests.It's a great way for parents to become familiar with the program!

Upcoming Events

9/9 Patriotic Day- wear red, white, and blue

9/12 Reading night 6-8 P.M.

9/13 Paradise Grill/ South of the Border Spirit Night 5-8 P.M.

9/16 5:00 Fun Run

         6:00 Movie Night- Come see the movie Rio

         End of QSP Fundraiser

          Picture Day-individual pictures 

Have a great week! 

 
What a fantastic first week we had!! The children are doing very well getting down the daily routine! I appreciate you helping them remember their folder, snack, and any dismissal changes.

 
Listed below are the Essential Questions for the first nine weeks. As your child masters the standards, they will be able to answer the questions.

Reading:  How do I become a great reader?

Writing:  How do I write to describe?  How do I write a personal narrative?

Math:  What do numbers represent?  What ways can I show a number?  How does the placement of a digit in a number affect its value?  What strategies can I use  to add larger numbers?  How can combinations of numbers and operations be used to represent the same quantity?  How are numbers  affected when they are combined?  How can charts, tables, and graphs help me organize and understand data?  How can I show the relationship between, seconds, minutes, and hours?  In what ways can I represent a collection of coins or bills?  Why is it important to be able to count money?

Science:  What happens as seasons change?  How can we describe matter?  How can matter change?

Social Studies:  How does understanding intermediate directions help us travel from one place to another?  How do the geographic features of Georgia make our state unique?  How do the geographic features affect the economy of Georgia?  What are the different types of land and water in Georgia?  How can rivers and oceans be used for communication and transportation?  How can people affect rivers and oceans?  How can understanding the graphic features of Georgia help us to value our state?

Health:  How do I plan healthy meals and snacks?

Technology:  What drawing tools can I use to create an illustration?

 
Spelling will begin this week. Please look for a list of words on Monday.

Accelerated Reader is up and running. The 2nd grade goal for the first nine weeks is 5 points. We will visit the media center on Friday for book check out. You can use the GM website to check and see if books from home are A.R. Use the link to the media center to get to Accelerated Reader information. 

On Thursday we will take the Scholastic Reading Inventory. This assessment and the Developmental Reading Assessment will help me place your children at the correct reading level to help them achieve the most progress they can this year.

 
We will take a pretest on number representation this week. We'll continue working on place value and different ways to represent numbers. Mathblaster homework will begin on Tuesday. An informational letter will be sent home with the folder.

In science, we'll take the pretest and begin our unit on matter. There are a lot of activities, so it's usually quite fun for the children.

 
Friday, 8/26, is Relay for Life cap day. A donation of $1.00 to the American Cancer Society enables your child to wear a cap all day in school.

Thank you so much for coming to Open House. I really appreciate you taking the time to come. If your schedule didn't permit you to come, the room parents and I sent home several forms that need to be signed and returned. Thank you for returning those as quickly as possible!

Upcoming Events

8/25 Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night 5-8 P.M.

8/26 Relay for Life cap day

9/1 Kindergarten and New Student Ice Cream Social 6:30

Have a great week!