Monday, October 29, 2012

Report Cards and the 2nd grade Veteran's Day Program!

Can you believe that we are already almost done with October?? Man, time flies! I want to apologize in advance for how long this post is.... :)

As many of you know, report cards were sent home on Friday.  If you haven't already done so, please tear off the bottom right-hand corner of your child's report card, sign it, and return it in the brown envelope.  If you have returned the signed portion but not the envelope, please send the envelope in as soon as you can.    There are a limited amount of these envelopes in the office so it would be best if we can use the same ones the whole year.  If it was accidentally thrown away, don't sweat it, though!

In other news, our class won the "Golden Paintbrush Award" for Mrs. West's Art class!!! This means that out of all of her 2nd grade classes, we gained the most points for good behavior!! I couldn't be any more proud of them!! Check out Mrs. West's blog to see pictures from our extra recess as a reward for winning the Golden Paintbrush! http://westway.weebly.com/blog.html

The past two years, 2nd grade has been in charge of putting on the annual Holiday Program.  This year, however, we have switched things up a bit.  Instead of doing a Holiday Program, 2nd grade will be performing a Veteran's Day Program!  Personally, I'm really excited about this new program!!  Mrs. Pollard typed a note with details about this program and this note was sent home in folders today.  I also forwarded the note to the email addresses I have.  If you did not receive this email, please let me know because that means that I either don't have a working email address for you, or I don't have an email address for you at all (or somehow you've been left off of the class distribution list).  We will have two performances: our evening performance (for families) will be Monday, November 19th at 6:30 PM and our morning performance (for Roberts students) will be Tuesday, November 20th at 9:00 AM.  Just in case you did not receive a copy of this note, I will add it to the bottom of this post. REMEMBER: If your child would like to audition for a solo, you must return the audition form by this Friday, November 2nd!


Sam is our star student this week! He brought in several of his favorite things to share with the class, such as a souvenir his parents got for him from Alaska and a golf ball signed by Bobby Petrino!


Last, but not least, thanks to everyone who showed up to the Math and Literacy Carnival! It was a great success! Also, a special thank you to all of the parents who worked hard to decorate our flex area!


Here is the note from Mrs. Pollard regarding the Veteran's Day Program:
Dear 2nd Grade Parents,
It’s time to start getting ready for our annual 2nd grade Fall Performance!! In lieu of the Holiday Program this year, we will be doing a Veteran’s Day Program to honor our troops who have bravely fought for our freedom as Americans!! All students are required to participate, so mark your calendars for Monday, November 19th at 6:30pm for our evening performance (for families), and Tuesday, November 20th at 9:00am for our morning performance (for Roberts students)!
 
Solos:
We have many opportunities for solos during this performance, so we will be holding after-school try-outs for these solos on Monday, November 5th. Trying out for a solo is completely optional! We’ve already started learning the songs that contain these solos during music class.  If your student is interested in trying out, you must return the audition form by Friday, November 2nd. If you would like the opportunity to practice with them at home, you may send a CD to school and I will burn a copy of the music for you. I will send a copy of lyrics home as well. Please make sure your student’s name and classroom teacher are listed on the CD. Try-outs will be on a first-come, first-serve basis directly after dismissal. If your student is bus-rider or you have a conflict with that audition day, please contact me so we can try to arrange a different try-out day/time. 
 
Dress:
 All students will need to wear jeans and Veteran’s Day Program t-shirt. The t-shirts are being specially made just the performance! T-shirts are $6.00 and all students are required to wear it for the performance. Please return the attached form and money for the t-shirt by Wednesday, November 7th.  Don’t forget to circle the size t-shirt your child needs!!! Please make checks payable to Don Roberts Elementary. T-shirts will need to be worn for both performances.
 
Slide Show:
We will have a special slide show presentation during our last song of the program to honor our friends and family members that are currently serving or have served in the military. I’m welcoming all 2nd grade students to bring no more than two pictures of two different friends or family members that have served in the military to be part of our slide show. Providing pictures is optional. Please make sure the student’s name is listed on the back of each photo so I can ensure they are returned the correct person. If you do not want to write on the back, you may put it on a post-it note. You are also very welcome to email me the pictures as well! My email address is listed below! The form attached must be attached with the photos so I will be able to recognize each person accurately. If you choose to email me photos, please make sure the information listed on the form is included in the email.  All photos must be turned in no later than Monday, November 12th.  Photos of the men in women in military uniform are highly encouraged!
 
Military:
I’m looking for 1 member from the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force to appear in uniform during our Tribute to the Military Medley. I think the kids would absolutely love seeing men and women in their uniforms while holding this tribute. If you, or anyone you know would be willing to appear for me, please let me know ASAP!!!  
 
Video:
We have asked Quality Video Services to video the production for us. You will be able to purchase a DVD for $20.00. We will have a table set up outside of the dining room on the night of the performance where you can purchase these.
 
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me!! I’m very excited about this performance opportunity for our students!! Thanks so much for your cooperation and support!!
 
Sincerely,
 
Laura Pollard          and        Sharon Burrall
                      Music Specialists
              Don Roberts Elementary
(501) 447-8366                       (501) 447-836 

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Math and Literacy Carnival

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend! Remember, this Thursday we will have our Math and Literacy Carnival! NOTICE: on the newsletter, it says that the carnival starts at 5:00, but it actually starts at 5:30 and lasts until 7:30. Sorry for that confusion! Bring the family and come enjoy the fun games and activities that will be going on!

This week, Cooper is our star student! He brought some of his favorite books and other items to share with the class. :)

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Boosterthon Time!

Just to let you all know, there has been some confusion with the Boosterthon Fun Run times.  2nd grade will be running at 9:30 this morning.  Feel free to come cheer our runners on! :)

Monday, October 15, 2012

Busy, busy week!

Good afternoon! Even though this week may be a short week, it is definitely a BUSY week! Our kids will be taking the SOAR tests this week on both Tuesday and Thursday.  The math portion of the test will be given tomorrow (Tuesday), while the literacy portion of the test will be given on Thursday.  It is extremely important that you make sure your child is on time tomorrow morning because we will begin the test promptly at 8.  Also, make sure your child gets plenty of rest and eats breakfast! Thank you for your cooperation with this--I know the kids will do great!

On Wednesday, we will have our Boosterthon Fun Run!!! 2nd grade's race time will be at 10:15.  Feel free to come and cheer on our class as they run their laps!

This week's star student is Avery!  She loves soccer--one of my favorite sports to play when I was growing up! :)

Lastly, I'm excited to say that we have a new student in our class! His name is Mason and he just moved here from Tennessee.  We are all excited to welcome him to our classroom! :)

Monday, October 8, 2012

Monday and Sumdog.com

Good afternoon! Man, what a Monday we've had!  Our class got to attend the Boosterthon pep rally where all of the kids got to learn about this year's theme and meet all of the Boosterthon team! This year's theme is "Highway USA" and is all about 5 important choices to make: choosing leadership, choosing character, choosing to learn, learning about fitness choices, and choosing to have a good attitude! They are super excited!

While we were in computer lab today, we also got to visit a new site: www.sumdog.com . Each student received a username and password to access this site that is full of fun math games! Depending on who is online, the kids can actually play against their classmates! As of right now, Roberts is competing against other schools in Pulaski County to see who can answer the most math qustions.  This competition, however, ends Thursday.  Luckily, though, the students will still have access to this site, both at home and at school, all year round! The students LOVED this website and I highly recommend having your child work on this website at home! Hopefully there will be more competitions throughout the year.

Our star student for this week is Hayden.  Like many of the other boys in our class, Hayden loves sports! He brought a book about camping to share with the class, as well as a necklace made of shells from when he used to live in Florida!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Star Student and Parent Conferences

Good morning! This week, our star student is Grayson! He loves playing sports, especially baseball and football! He also really likes math--one of my favorite subjects!

Also, parent/teacher conferences will be on Monday, October 22nd.  I am going to begin working on scheduling conference times to meet with each of you for 15 minutes and I will be sending home a sheet this week for you to put your top three choices of meeting times.  I will do my best to accomodate those times.  Please be sure to return this form to me ASAP! Thanks!