This Week at School

Welcome back from a long holiday weekend! I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving break.

Next week at school the holiday gift shop will be set up for interested children to do their Christmas shopping. We have a preview day at the beginning of the week and children will have the opportunity to shop mid-to-late in the week. This is a PTA-sponsored activity.

Also, Dads and Doughnuts is this week! Dads are welcome to enjoy coffee and a doughnut this Friday morning from 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. This is a Perrien-only classroom activity.

Although parents will be asked to sign a spelling pretest Monday evening, there will be no reflection to sign this week. We did not "reflect" on last week's short week. Last week was an intense week of writing, writing, and more writing! In a few short weeks, parents will be able to see the fruits of our intense writing efforts!

Have a wonderful week...welcome to December! (If you haven't had the chance, please be sure to review Perrien's Winter Weather Policy blog post from last week.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to work with 25 dynamic, hard-working, kind-hearted students! Thank you, parents, for your hard work and dedication as you support your child's efforts at school and at home.

I have uploaded more photos into the Photobucket account, enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

--Mrs. Perrien

Giving "thanks" opportunity!

A wonderful opportunity for students and family members to give thanks to those that won't be able to join their families this week for Thanksgiving. Please take a few moments a consider sending a card!

Perrien's Winter Weather Policy

It's not freezing and snowing YET but soon enough we will have snow on the ground! Typically in the 4th and 5th grades children begin to resist the idea of wearing pants or boots on the playground during recess. There seems to be an issue with taking the time to get dressed for outside recess as well as interfering with being "cool."

The problem created by this resistance is that children then come inside from recess with wet clothes and shoes that make a mess in the classroom. Therefore, the following policy is intact in the Upper Montessori classroom: If students don't wear winter gear outside and come in wet & soggy they will automatically miss the next recess. Children that make this a pattern will be required to bring winter gear from home before they are allowed outside again.

What is winter gear? Winter coat or jacket, hats and mittens/gloves, boots...these are the minimum! Snow pants are optional BUT students that do not wear snow pants will not be allowed to sled on the hill outside. While this may seem harsh, it is not meant to punish. Wet clothing and shoes in the classroom are a hazard to carpet, furniture, and our expensive Montessori materials!

***Please review this policy with your child before snow is falling!

Classroom News

Hello everyone!

 

I would like to thank Mrs. Perrien for allowing me to post information on an upcoming event in the classroom this week!  My hopes for this posting are to give the parents a "heads up" on what we will be doing during this short week.

 

With only two days in the classroom, Mrs. Perrien and I have decided not to give the students a work plan to complete.  Instead, we will be taking them through an intensive writing workshop, where we will be learning (and writing) tons!  Our focus will be on writing fictional stories (we have been writing personal narratives up to this point).  We will be discussing what fiction is (a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact), how to develop believable characters with internal/external traits, plotting with a story mountain, planning and writing scenes, and how to revise/reread with a lens.  We will be hard at work on Monday and Tuesday!

 

 I am very excited for this week to begin, and think the students will really enjoy themselves!

 

 

Also, I wanted to say a quick THANK YOU to all who came to my basketball game last Tuesday night...it was a wonderful surprise!!

Report Cards

Report cards were sent home today. Attached to your report card was a science grade sheet. Please contact me if you did not have the science attachment. Otherwise, please review the report card with your child and use the opportunity to discuss how school is going and where improvements would be beneficial as well as praise your son or daughter for areas where hard work has been demonstrated.

Mrs. Perrien

Thank you Moms!

A big thank you to all our moms and special guests (Dr. Koeze and Mrs. Cook) for attending moms and muffins! The children had many wonderful things to say about the morning!

Classroom News

This has been a long week in the Upper Montessori classroom. Thank you to everyone for your understanding; Evelyn has been home all week with a fever and Upper Respiratory virus. It has made for an interesting week as my husband and I have attempted to juggle work schedules, enlist family help, and make sure that others in the family stayed healthy! If you've contacted me and I've not yet replied, I am working through the list.

Tomorrow is Moms and Muffins! Miss Cowen talked today about what to do when moms or special guests visit tomorrow. Their ideas may surprise you!

DISTRICT ASSESSMENTS
Today all the Upper Montessori students took a district assessment in math. This assessment is a district-wide test in its first year, designed to give students standardized test taking practice. Today the students tested in math; next week they will take a test in reading.

GENRE PROJECT
To accompany our study of the genre, "myth," students will be making a setting poster. They will receive more information on the assignment tomorrow.

VETERANS DAY
This year all the Upper Montessori Girls and Boys made cards for the veterans at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. Waukazoo School will be continuing with the tradition of a Veterans Day Assembly next fall. The teachers voted on making the assembly an every other year project, with students honoring veterans in their classroom on the opposite years. Veterans Day always reminds of my Grandpa Callen--a Korean War veteran--I can still hear him telling me stories about his war experiences!

FOOD DRIVE
The Thanksgiving Food Drive was once again a huge success! Thank you for your generosity. Our student council members stayed after school today, November 12, and packaged all the food in preparation for delivery. Thank you to Sierra and Logan (our class reps.) for working with student council after school.

REPORT CARDS
Your child should be bringing home his/her report card next week! This year science will be graded on a separate 1/2 sheet of paper as Waukazoo is piloting the district's updated science program. Once report cards are received, please consider discussing your child's grades with him or her. Should a grade be less than desirable, ask your child how that grade could be improved. Report cards are a time for meaningful discussion in the home as to parent expectations of school work and homework.

THANK YOU!
Thank you to all our parent volunteers and helpers. Thanks to the many parents that returned pop cans. I should have a final total for you next week!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Picture Updates

Unfortunately, my original link to the power plant pictures didn't work. Nevertheless, I did add the field trip photos to a new album in the Photobucket site. The Holland BPW power plant was fascinating. It takes just a few employees to run the facility; yet it's HUGE!

I've also added photos to the "In the Classroom" section of the Perrien album. New pictures have been added of some of Miss Cowen's work!

Field Trip Reminder & Classroom News

The upper Montessori students will be heading out to the Holland BPW plant tomorrow morning! Everyone is excited about the trip.

Only 4 more days for our pop can drive. If you have collected cans please send them in as soon as possible! Thanks. Thanks to Mrs. Lowry for making a return run last week. Mr. and Mrs. Perrien have each made a trip as well.

This week promises to be busy, but fun! Just a quick reminder that moms and muffins is this Friday!

4th grade homework

When the fourth graders took home tonight's homework, they were reminded to do their best, knowing that it would be challenging. So...if your child struggled, that's okay. We will correct the answers tomorrow in class and learn more about groups of animals--collective nouns!

Evelyn tells me that a word in one of the lists is repeated twice. Sorry about that!

A great website for learning more about animal "collectives": Enchanted Learning. You are able to search and find many fascinating collective names!