Happy Monday!

Thank you for getting those character shields to school all covered and ready to go. They are turning out so fun as you will see the final products displayed in the hall. But, most importantly is what they say and the choices they are making to use these cornerstones/pillars of good character. They did put a lot of thought into them. Speaking of character, Mrs. Neese, the counselor, has introduced the purple hand cookie to our school this year. It goes with the purple hand pledge that the kids say every morning before they entered the building. Ask your child to say it to you, and write purple hand pledge in the planner. Each month, we have to choose a student from our classes that displays the use of that pledge. This month our winner was Jazmyn Kronewitter. She was nominated by her peers for helping others with organization, picking up people's art tub contents when they spill, playing with the new student, etc. Others were nominated also and those random acts of kindness were also stated. We put names on the board of the nominees and then students voted for whom they thought was most deserving. We had a good discussion about it and made sure that it was not a popularity thing. This is going to be a monthly activity so there are many more chances to be the recipient. I was so excited to see so many nominated and hear the reasons why because as their classroom teacher, I am not with them in every school setting. I am so proud of this group of kids. We started our section on estimation in math and the kids are loving it because we are using rounding to estimate and they already got it so we will cruise into over & under estimates, and then our algebraic equations. Tomorrow, we are starting our map skills to move us into the Northeast section of the U.S. Students will have to know the states and capitals of this region and I will be sending a map home soon for them to use as a study tool. I also posted them over on the side of the blog to start practicing now if you wish. They not only have to know them, but have to locate them also. In spelling this week for the kids in my spelling, the unit is on homophones and using them correctly so on the test Friday I will say the word and use it in a sentence, and they have to choose the correct one and write it. So not only practice spellings, but meanings and using in context this week. PTA fundraiser envelopes came home today. Read through the info inside and if any questions, please ask and if I can't answer I will direct your concern to one of the board members. Those of you that went to Saturday Live had fun I'm sure and thank you for supporting our PTA & school. Have a great night.