Happy Holiday!

Dear Parents and Students,

I hope you have a lovely winter break!  Please check the homework link to see what students should be working on over the break.  Please note that they do not have to answer all of the Out of My Mind questions on the green sheet.  Again, see the homework link for more details.

Best wishes for a wonderful new year!
Love,
Mrs. Vera

Goodbye, Ms. Olson!

As the year comes to a close, our time with Ms. Olson is also coming to an end.  Ms. Olson's last day will be this Friday and we will truly miss her.  She was with us from the first day of school and has contributed greatly to our classroom environment.  She taught the students well, pushing them to always do their best.  We will miss her greatly.

As I mentioned last week, progress reports will be coming out the Wednesday after winter break.  My grades need to be completed by Friday which means I will need any missing work or corrections by this WEDNESDAY!
I wish you all a very happy holiday season!  Cheers!

Field Trip Thursday!

We will be taking a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry this Thursday.  The permission slip and $6.00 are due on Monday.  Please turn them in as soon as possible.  Thank you to Mrs. Beckham and Mrs. Parham for coming with us.  Thank you, also, to other parents who volunteered.  I will contact you for our next trip! 

Students will be guided on a scavenger hunt of simple machines around the museum.  It should be a great day!  Remember that students should wear their PE uniforms.  They may bring money to buy lunch or bring their own lunch that they will have to carry with them until lunch time.

Our Winter Wonderland Assembly is this Wednesday at 1:00 pm.  Some of our class members will be participating as part of the choir.  You are welcome to come watch their performance.  Good luck, singers!

One last note to let you know that Progress Reports will come out the week after we return from Winter Break.  That means, any missing assignments or corrections that students would like to complete, need to be turned in within the next two weeks, before the break begins.

Is it December already?

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving break.  It's hard to believe that December is right around the corner.  Thank you to the family members that came to our Harvest Assembly performance of Three Cups of Tea. The students did a great job! Congratulations, class!

You may have noticed that the "Weekly Overviews" tab is now called "What Are We Learning This Week?"  I hope you find this information useful.  Every now and then I will include suggestions of what to ask your children as a way for you to extend their learning at home.  I would love to hear any feedback you have about these extensions or the website in general.

Lastly, please look out for a field trip slip coming soon for a trip we will be taking to the Museum of Science and Industry on December 9th.  Have a great week!

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

It was wonderful meeting all of you at Report Card Pick-up last week. I hope you found that taking time out of your busy schedules was worth your while. Having strong communication between home and school is one way to increase your child's success in school.

As Thanksgiving approaches, it is time for us to reflect on what we have and what we are thankful for. At Pershing West we feel thankful to have a wonderful school, staff, and student body. As we are reading in "Three Cups of Tea," not all individuals are that lucky. Please send your spare pennies to school to help us raise money for these individuals as part of our "Pennies for Peace" campaign. Thank you to those of you who have already donated.

We hope to see you at our Harvest Assembly on Wednesday morning at 9:00 am where we will tell the story of "Three Cups of Tea."

Finally, we have a field trip planned for Thursday, December 9th to the Museum of Science and Industry. This time we are definitely going! (If you recall, I had an earlier trip planned, but it got cancelled.) I'm looking for parent volunteers, so please let me know if you are available as soon as possible at svera@cps.edu. We appreciate your support.

Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Three Cups of Tea

I am so excited to be starting the novel "Three Cups of Tea" with students this week. It is "one man's journey to change the world...one child at a time." We are reading the young readers' edition. Students will learn how Greg Mortenson worked tirelessly to bring schools and education to remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Our class will join the Pennies of Peace campaign and raise money to help do our part. Please see the link to this website below.

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we will be presenting Greg Mortenson's story to the school at our Harvest Assmebly. We hope you can join us.

I look forward to seeing you this Wednesday at Report Card Pick-up!

Picture Day

This Wednesday is Picture Day! Students may come to school out of uniform. If they would like to order pictures, they need to bring their order form and money on this day.

Your scheduled report card pick-up time will be sent home on Monday. Please ask your son or daughter for the paper with your time on it. Report card pick-up will be held next Wednesday, November 17th.

Finally, just a quick reminder that there is no school for students on Thursday and Friday.

November is Here!

The leaves are falling and the weather is changing. November and Autumn have arrived!

Our class will be participating in the Harvest Assembly on Wednesday, November 24th at 9:00 am, so mark it on you calendars. I'm not sure what we are doing yet, so if you have any ideas or some expertise you'd like to share, please let me know!

Don't miss the ALSC meeting this Tuesday at 5:30 pm. Our Chief Area Officer will be present. There is also a meeting on Wednesday night at 5:30 pm for 5th-8th grade parents whose children are interested in going on the Washington, DC trip. A flyer went home last week about this.

Finally, a light orange sheet went home last week with your child's username and password for Study Island. This is a great way to prepare for ISATs, or just to brush up on 5th grade reading and math skills. Please make sure your child logs on as much as possible. It is a valuable resource which I hope you use. Enjoy!

Parent Portal

On Monday, please look out for a purple piece of paper coming home with your child's login information for Parent Portal. Use the link below to get connected. I know many of you are already using the Parent Portal to check grades. Thank you! This helps you know what is going on in the classroom. I welcome communication based on what you see on Parent Portal. As most of you know, the best way to reach me is at my e-mail address, svera@cps.edu, should any concerns arise.

Next weekend, some of you will be celebrating Halloween. We will not be having a party in class, but if students would like to bring candy to share with their classmates, they may do so on Friday!

Have a "spooktacular" week!

Thanks All Around!

Thank you to everyone who ordered books from our Scholatic Magazines. Whenever you order books, our class earns points. Then, I can use those points to buy books for our classroom library for your children to check out. Last month I was able to buy 14 new copies of "Bud, Not Buddy!"

Also, thank you to those of you who sold cookie dough for our school fundraiser. We appreciate your efforts!

Click on "News You Can Use" to see a new letter from Ms. Olson. She will be leading the literacy activities for the next few weeks, with my support and guidance.

Please remember that there is no school this Friday. Have a great week!

No School Monday

What beautiful weekend weather we had! I hope you enjoyed it.

Please remember that there will be no school on Monday, Columbus Day.

Have a wonderful week!

Get Connected!

Check out some of the links below! We will be starting a unit in multiplication this week. Students should know their multiplication facts. If they need more practice, click on the Multiplication Games link below.

For help with research on Pullman Porters (due Thursday), read up on the Pullman Porter Museum Website.

Finally, need to jazz up your day a little? Click on the Jazz for Young People link below to check out a great website we will be viewing in class this week.

Hope to See You!

Curriculum night is this Monday from 4:30-6:00 pm. We hope you can make it! We will be presenting literacy and math demonstrations so you can see what we do everyday.

On another note, we are looking for two parent volunteers in each class (rooms 119 and 121) to attend a field trip on October 29th to the Crime Lab at the Museum of Science and Industry. We will leave around 9:00 am and return around 2:00 pm. Please e-mail or send a note with your child as soon as possible. Thanks! We can't do it without you!

Scantron Testing This Week

Please be aware that there will be Scantron Testing in Reading and in Math for our class on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon this week. Also, don't forget that there is no school for students on Friday!

Have a great week!

Back to School!

September means it's time for school to start. I hope you all had a wonderful summer and you are ready to work hard. I look forward to working with you this school year!

Happy Summer!

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer!