Looking ahead to the week of January 4

We enjoy weekly read alouds by Mrs. Harris, our Media Center specialist!

We said a fond farewell to Ms. Kelly last Friday.  We wished her the best, as she embarks on a brand new adventure!

Hi, families!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Winter party: Thank you to everyone, who has sent in donations toward our class party!  We know it will be a fun time to celebrate this Friday!  Please check out Mrs. Turner's homeroom mom letter, regarding the party!  It was sent home last week.

Dear Parents:                                                                       

Happy Holidays! 

The administration at Bookman Road Elementary has scheduled our student’s Winter Celebration party for Friday, December 18, 2015, 12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.  We are going to celebrate with an ice cream sundae bar and let the students create their own ice cream sundaes and take part in a holiday activity and craft to celebrate. 

In order to collect all items need for the celebration, I am collecting $3.00 from each student by Wednesday, December 16, 2015.  Students will be eating a normal lunch in the cafeteria at 11:30 a.m. so there is no need to do a meal.  In addition, we also need volunteers!  Help is needed to set up the party while the students are at lunch (11:30 a.m.), and to carry out celebration activities. If you are able to volunteer for this celebration, please email me at sericson@sc.rr.com, or text/call (803) 422-9856.

Thank you for your continued support of Mrs. West and our students. 

Thank you,

Samantha Turner
sericson@sc.rr.com

                                                           

Read-in reminder:  Students may bring a blanket and/or pillow Friday, December 18, along with their favorite magazine or book.  They will enjoy a Read-in that morning!

Homework:  Students did not receive a new homework packet Friday, December 11.  They will receive their next homework packet Monday, January 4.

Looking ahead:  In math, students will begin relating multiplication to division, by studying fact families.  Check out our Family Letter below.  Please remind your child to practice his/her multiplication facts daily!  Students will be quizzed on their 11s facts January 12.  Here is a great trick for those facts:  11s times trick.  As scientists, students will continue exploring properties of rocks and minerals.  In writing, students will continue learning cursive handwriting.  They will also revisit expository writing.  Students will review proper use of quotation marks.  As readers, students will be shown how to use their new reading logs.

I hope you all have a wonderful winter break!  Enjoy the extra time with your sweet kids.  I look forward to seeing them in 2016!  Have a safe and happy New Year!

Looking ahead to the week of December 14

Students enjoyed a visit from Fossil Frank!  It was a great hook to the fossil portion of our "Don't Take it for Granite" rocks and minerals unit.

 Hi, families!  I hope you all had a great weekend!

Winter party: Be looking out for information going home regarding our Winter Party next Friday!

Read-in:  Students may bring a blanket and/or pillow Friday, December 18, along with their favorite magazine or book.  They will enjoy a Read-in that morning!

Homework:  Students will not receive a new homework packet Friday, December 11.  They will receive their next homework packet Monday, January 4.

Looking ahead:  In math, students will wrap up their last math unit of 2015!  They will learn how to problem solve using appropriate equations, solve division stories, and use objects/draw pictures to solve division questions.  Students will have a test Thursday, December 17.  Check out our Family Letters below.  Please remind your child to practice his/her multiplication facts daily!  Students will be quizzed on their 10s facts December 15.  Here is a great trick for those facts:  10s times trick.  As scientists, students will begin their exploration of mock rocks, where they will learn that rocks are made of minerals!  In writing, students will continue learning cursive handwriting.  They will also share their expository pieces of writing.  Students will review proper use of commas.  As readers, the children study character feelings and motivations.

Friendly reminder:  I know the children a truly excited about their upcoming extended break.  Please continue to remind your child that every day and moment counts!  Thank you for encouraging your child to do his/her personal best, both academically and behaviorally, during these last few weeks of 2015 at BRES!
    
Have a great week!  Thank you again for all that you do!

Looking ahead to the week of December 7

Students enjoyed this year's LAPATHON, which was held to promote fitness and raise money to buy a rock wall for our school!

Hi, families!  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

Impact AID form reminder:  Your child received an Impact AID form in his/her communication folder Thursday, November 12.  These forms were due November 24.  A form needs to be completed for each child in your family.  Please do not fill out one form per family. 

Holiday Shoppe, presented by PTO:  Students will be able to visit PTO's Holiday Shoppe next week.  They'll preview the store Monday, December 7.  Students will be able to shop in the store Tuesday, December 8, if they bring money. 

A reminder about excuses:  Please send attendance notifications, questions, doctor's notes and excuses to our attendance secretary, Jessica Moultrie, at jmoultrie@richland2.org.  You may also send a note in with your child, which I can place in Ms. Moultrie's mailbox.

Make-Up days update from the District Office:  

In order to make up days missed due to the flood natural disaster in October 2015, Richland Two students will attend school on January 4, February 15, March 25 and April 29, 2016.

Jan. 4, 2016, was originally scheduled as a student holiday/teacher workday. Using this day allows us to recapture instruction time during the first semester.Feb. 15, March 25 and April 29 were scheduled as inclement weather make-up days for the 2015-2016 school year.

A decision has not been made about the fifth day missed. We will wait to see if we miss any additional days due to inclement weather.

A fond farewell to Ms. Kelly, our student teacher:  Ms. Kelly's last day will be Friday, December 11.  If your child child would like to surprise her with a note, we know she would love it!  Let's send her off and wish her well, Bookman Road style!  

Blog reminder:  If you use your mobile device to view our blog, be sure to scroll down to the bottom and choose to view it using the desktop/web version.  You will then be able to see all of the elements of the blog, including important dates, Blinky's Buddy information, and great links to help students with various skills.

Looking ahead:  In math, students will continue learning about multiplication patterns and start discovering more about division.  Check out our Family Letters below.  Please remind your child to practice his/her multiplication facts daily!  Students will be quizzed on their 9s facts December 8.  Here is a great trick for those facts:  9s fact trick.  As scientists students will be introduced to the three types of rocks!  In writing, students will continue learning cursive handwriting.  They will also revise, edit, and begin publishing their expository writing.  Students will review end punctuation.  As readers, the children will work on their reading comprehension with the story Stone Soup.
    
Have a great week!  Thank you again for all that you do!

Looking ahead to the weeks of November 23 and 30

We truly enjoyed the Veterans Day program and Veterans Day walk!  What an honor it was for the children to celebrate our true heroes.  We thank all of you, who have served in the military!  We also thank the families of active military members and veterans!  

Hi, families!  I hope you all had a great weekend!

Impact AID form reminder:  Your child will receive an Impact AID form in his/her communication folder this Thursday (November 12).  These forms are due November 24.  There will be an incentive for each class that returns all of its forms.  A form needs to be completed for each child in your family.  Please do not fill out one form per family. 

Blog reminder:  If you use your mobile device to view our blog, be sure to scroll down to the bottom and choose to view it using the desktop/web version.  You will then be able to see all of the elements of the blog, including important dates, Blinky's Buddy information, and great links to help students with various skills.

LAPATHON:  Students will enjoy our school's LAPATHON Monday, November 23.  Please make sure your child dresses appropriately and wears tennis shoes.  Also, a LAPATHON envelope went home in your child's communication folder a couple of weeks ago.  Be sure to check it out! Your child can help fund the purchase of a rock climbing wall for our school!  

Homework:  Students will not have a homework packet the week of November 23.  They will be issued their new homework packet Monday, November 30.  It will be due Friday, December 4.

A note from Second Grade about its charity:  We are collecting items to donate to the Children's Hospital.  These items include crayons, markers, colored pencils, coloring books, and new underwear and socks.  If you would like to donate, please send in your donations, as soon as possible!

Looking ahead:  In math, students will continue learning about multiplication patterns.  Check out our Family Letter below.  Please remind your child to practice his/her multiplication facts daily!  Students will be quizzed on their 8s facts December 1.  Here is a great trick for those facts:  8s fact trick.  As scientists students will learn about land changes, natural resources, and fossils.  Students will also enjoy a "Being HERE Experience" with Fossil Frank Tuesday, December 1!  In writing, students will continue learning cursive handwriting.  They will also revisit the elements of expository writing.  Students will review capitalization in quotations, sentences, and titles.  Don't forget:  Students will have their second grade spelling post-test December 2!  As readers, the children will learn how to identify character traits.
    
Have a great week and enjoy your extended Thanksgiving break with your sweet kids!  Know how thankful I am to be a part of their lives and how grateful I am, to you all, for your support!

Looking ahead to the week of November 16

Another mystery reader popped by!  Mrs. Phelps joined our class to share two special stories!  We thank you for all of the book donations, too!

Hi, families!  I hope you all had a great weekend!

Report Cards:  Please take a moment to review your child's report card with him/her soon.  Now is a good time to reflect on this nine weeks and set goals for the next quarter.  You will also find a self-reflection in your child's report card cover.  Please sign and return only the report card cover.  You may keep the contents of the report card cover. 

LAPATHON:  Students will enjoy our school's LAPATHON Monday, November 23.  Please make sure your child dresses appropriately and wears tennis shoes.  Also, a LAPATHON envelope went home in your child's communication folder last week.  Be sure to check it out! Your child can help fund the purchase of a rock climbing wall for our school!  

Looking ahead:  In math, students will continue learning about multiplication patterns.  Check out our Family Letter below.  Please remind your child to practice his/her multiplication facts daily!  Students will be quizzed on their 7s facts next week.  Here is a great trick for those facts:  7s Multiplication Trick.  As scientists students will learn about soil, land features, and water features.  In writing, students will continue learning cursive handwriting.  They will also discuss the elements of expository writing.  Students will review complete sentences, sentence fragments, simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, and run-on sentences.  As readers, the children will learn the importance of sequencing in stories.
    
Thank you again for your support and all that you do!  We hope to see you Wednesday, for the Veterans Day program.  Have a great week!

Looking ahead to the week of November 9

Students enjoyed their "Being There Experience" to the Lexington County Museum!  It was a wonderful review of their Native American unit.

Another mystery reader popped by!  Mrs. Ellisor joined our class to share two special stories!

Hi, families!  I hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed setting your clocks back by one hour!  

Report Cards:  Please take a moment to review your child's report card with him/her this Thursday.  Now is a good time to reflect on this nine weeks and set goals for the next quarter.  You will also find a self-reflection in your child's report card cover.  Please sign and return only the report card cover.  You may keep the contents of the report card cover. 

Meet Ms. Kelly:  We welcomed our student teacher, Ms. Jessica Kelly, from Newberry College last week!  She is wrapping up her last semester and will graduate in December.  She will be taking over teaching responsibilities for four full weeks.  One of her lessons will be recorded in the near future, so you will receive a permission form, asking whether or not your child will be allowed to participate in the recorded lesson.  Please sign and return it, as soon as possible!

A word from Ms. Kelly:

Hello, parents!

My name is Jessica Kelly and I will be Mrs. West’s student teacher this semester. I will be graduating from Newberry College in December with a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education. I am very excited to be working with your child and to watch them grow and learn while I also learn and gain experience. I know it will be a great learning experience for me. I will be working with Mrs. West and your child from October 26^th-December 11^th. I again am so excited to get to know your child and learn as much as I can from them! I can assure you that your child’s educational needs will be satisfied.

While at Newberry College, I have observed many classrooms of all ages and levels. If there is anything you would like to know, or feel I should know about your child, please do not hesitate to contact me.

You can contact me by email: Jessica.kelly@newberry.edu

I check it regularly; so again, don’t hesitate to ask any questions you have.

Thank you!

Jessica Kelly

A note about Veterans Day:  We invite you to join us the morning of November 11 for a Veterans Day program.  The Veterans Day committee would also like to remind you to send in pictures for the slide show of Veterans and Active duty military.  They would prefer an electronic copy but will take whatever they have and will return the picture.  Pictures can be sent to rnord@richland2.org.

Looking ahead:  In math, students will continue learning about multiplication patterns.  Check out our Family Letter below.  Please remind your child to practice his/her multiplication facts daily!  As historians, the children will jump into their colonial unit.  They will have an open-book test Friday, November 13, since this is such a short unit.  In writing, students will continue learning cursive handwriting, as well as, creating a colonial picture book, using text features they will learn about this week.  

Thank you again for your support and all that you do!  Have a great week!