Weekly Newsletter 12/16/24 - Week 15

Happy Sunday, parents and guardians! We are entering the last week of school for the year 2024! What an incredible year this has been. Here is our newsletter for the week of Monday, December 16th, 2024 (Instructional Week 15):

Tutoring: This is the FINAL week of fall tutoring. Tutoring will be held on Monday and Tuesday from 3:30-4:30 pm. Pick-up is at 4:30 pm sharp. Tutoring will not resume after break.

Homework Packets: Homework packets for break will be handed out on Monday. Please ensure your child looks over the packet and asks any and all questions they may have before Friday. Also, I will encourage all students to take home their math journals so they may review their notes for extra assistance. Please be aware, I may not be available to respond to messages in a timely manner over the holiday break. These packets are to help students prepare for our second interims, which will occur shortly after break.

Half-Day: As a reminder, Friday, December 20th is a half-day. Dismissal is at 11 am. 

Spirit Week: This week is our Holiday Spirit Week. The event costs $6.00 for the week or $2.00 a day. The themes are as follows:

Monday- A Long Winter's Nap (Wear your comfiest clothes to school *Must be school appropriate*)

Tuesday- Red & Green Day (Show your Christmas spirit by wearing red and/or green)

Wednesday- Ugly Sweater Day (Wear your ugliest Christmas sweater to school)

Thursday- Holiday Character or White & Gold Day (Dress as your favorite holiday Character *Cindy Lou Who, The Grinch, Rudolph, Santa, Jack Skellington, etc.* or wear white and/or gold to school)

Friday- Pajama Day (Wear your favorite pajamas *Must be school appropriate*)

Curriculum: This week in ELA, students will explore the use of figurative language through poetry. There will be a comp test and grammar test on Thursday. Our spelling test will be on Friday. In math, students will work on multiplication of fractions and decimals. There will be a math quiz on Wednesday. In science, students will investigate changes to matter. In social studies, students will explore how demand for raw materials and agricultural products (such as rice, indigo, tobacco, and cotton) produced in the colonies contributed to the Atlantic Slave Trade. They examine how this system shaped European and African life in the Americas in ways that are still felt today. There will not be a test in social studies this week.

Holiday Party: We will be celebrating our December birthdays and having out Holiday party next Friday (December 20th). If you would like to send in treats with your child for the party or birthday celebration, please feel free to do so on this date. There are 33 students in the class. Please keep in mind, we have a nut allergy in the classroom. Thank you!

Important Dates (Mark Your Calendar):

Monday - Friday, December 16 - 20 - Holiday Spirit Week $ 6.00/wk or $ 2.00/day

Monday - A Long Winter's Nap (Comfy Clothes Day)

Tuesday - Red & Green Day

Wednesday - Ugly Sweater Day

Thursday - Holiday Character or White/Gold Day

Friday - Pajama (Appropriate for School) Day

Tuesday, December 17 - Ebling Cohort Principal Visit Day

Friday, December 20 - Half Day; December Birthday Celebrations; Holiday Parties; Progress Reports; Last Day of School 

December 21, 2024 - January 5, 2025 - Winter Holiday Break

Monday, January 6, 2025 - School Resumes

Monday, January 20 - No School Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday 

Tuesday, January 21 - Interim 2 Testing Begins

As always, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or just want to see how your child is doing during the school day/week. I am here for all of you, as well! Also, as always, thank you for your continued support from home. It makes all the difference in the classroom. I hope you all have a fun and relaxing holiday break as well as a safe and happy New Year! Have a wonderful Sunday and I will see everyone on Monday! Go Lions!

-Ms. Winter

Weekly Newsletter 12/9/24 - Week 14

Good morning, parents and guardians. Here is our weekly newsletter for the week beginning Monday, December 9th, 2024 (Week 14 of instruction):

Tutoring: Tutoring resumes this week on Monday and Tuesday from 3:30-4:30 pm. Dismissal is at 4:30 pm sharp. Tutoring will be held this week and next.

Homework packets: Homework packets will go home on Monday. They will be due on Friday. There will be an extra spelling list included in the homework pack. These words went home with students last week. Please be sure to review and study these with your child! Many students did exceptionally well on our first spelling test! I am excited to keep this going! 

Holiday Break Homework: As a reminder, homework packets will be going home over break. This is not to ruin anyone's holiday, however, we have interim 2 the week after we return from break. I don't want students to loose everything we have worked so hard to build in these last few months. Not ALL of the packet needs to be completed, but please be sure your child is completing as MUCH of it as possible. Students may take their math journals home to assist with the work. This packet will be handed out a few days before break. Please have your child look it over and ask ANY and ALL questions BEFORE break, as I may not be available during the holiday.

Grades: Updated grades are available every Monday at 8 am. As mentioned by Principal Bullard, we are in the process of reviewing grades being entered into gradebook. Please be patient with us while we navigate these new changes with NHA and Laurus. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

STPCs: Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences concluded this past week. It was SO nice to meet with all of you! I appreciate your time to come out and meet with me. For the few I wasn't able to meet/reach, I did send home the documents that were of importance with your child. Please be sure to collect those, look them over, and reach out to me if you have any questions. Hopefully, we are all able to meet next time!

BRNJHS Applications: Just a reminder to all students that received a Blue Ribbon or National Junior Honors Society application, these are due on Friday, December 13th. If your child is interested in joining, please be sure they complete ALL parts of the application and turn it in by Friday. If you need any assistance with this, please let me know.

Uniforms and Gum: This week is a regular uniform week. We do NOT have a dress down day this week. Also, I want to send a reminder that chewing gum is NOT allowed at Laurus. I am seeing an overwhelming number of students with gum during the school day. When this happens, I have to stop instruction and ask the student to spit it out, which disrupts the learning environment for everyone. I have personally had to scrub chewing gum out of the carpet in the classroom to remove it, and it is NOT enjoyable. Please do not send in gum with your child for the school day. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated!

Spirit Week Next Week: The following school week (December 16th-20th) is our Spirit Dress Down Week. It is $6 if your child would like to participate for the entire week or $2 per day. The spirit themes for that week are:

Monday- Comfy Clothes Day (Wear your comfiest clothes to school *Must be school appropriate*)

Tuesday- Red & Green Day (Show your Christmas spirit by wearing red and/or green)

Wednesday- Ugly Sweater Day (Wear your ugliest Christmas sweater to school)

Thursday- Holiday Character or White & Gold Day (Dress as your favorite holiday Character *Cindy Lou Who, The Grinch, Rudolph, Santa, Jack Skellington, etc.* or wear white and/or gold to school)

Friday- Pajama Day (Wear your favorite pajamas *Must be school appropriate*)

Curriculum: This week in ELA, students will finish their informational essay. They will also continue to work on finding the main idea of a text and supporting details. There will be a comp test and grammar test on Thursday. The spelling test will be on Friday. In math, students will continue to work with fractions and decimals. There will be a math test on Tuesday. For science, students will continue to learn about the properties of matter. There will be a test on matter and properties of matter on Thursday. In social studies, students will explore how and why colonies differed greatly in their purpose, political organization, economic structure, and religious practice. They will also investigate how geography influenced regional economies. There will not be a test in social studies this week.

Holiday Party: We will be celebrating our December birthdays and having out Holiday party next Friday (December 20th). If you would like to send in treats with your child for the party or birthday celebration, please feel free to do so on this date. There are 33 students in the class. Please keep in mind, we have a nut allergy in the classroom. Thank you!

Important Dates (Mark Your Calendar):

Wednesday, December 11 - K-3 Music Concert 4:30 pm

Thursday, December 12 - 4-8 Music Concert 5:30 pm

Friday, December 13 - BR/NJHS Apps Due; IAT Day

Monday - Friday, December 16 - 20 - Holiday Spirit Week $ 6.00/wk or $ 2.00/day

Monday - Comfy Clothes Day

Tuesday - Red & Green Day

Wednesday - Ugly Sweater Day

Thursday - Holiday Character or White/Gold Day

Friday - Pajama (Appropriate for School) Day

Tuesday, December 17 - Ebling Cohort Principal Visit Day

Friday, December 20 - Half Day; December Birthday Celebrations; Holiday Parties; Progress Reports; Last Day of School 

December 21, 2024 - January 5, 2025 - Winter Holiday Break

Monday, January 6, 2025 - School Resumes

As always, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or just want to see how your child is doing during the school day/week. I am here for all of you, as well! Also, as always, thank you for your continued support from home. It makes all the difference in the classroom. Have a wonderful Sunday and I will see everyone on Monday!

-Ms. Winter

Weekly Newsletter 12/2/24 - Week 13

Happy December, parents and guardians! I hope you all had a nice holiday and relaxing break. We're back in full swing come Monday! Here is our weekly newsletter for the week of December 2nd, 2024, instructional week 13:

SPTC's: This week is Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences. You will receive a reminder email the day before your conference. Please be sure you are on-time for these conferences, as they are brief and tightly scheduled. If you have not signed up, I will be calling you this week for a conference. You may still sign up through the sign-up genius link previously posted. I look forward to meeting with you all this week!

Tutoring: Due to SPTC's, there will be NO TUTORING this week. Tutoring resumes Monday and Tuesday, December 9th and 10th.

Homework Packets: Homework packets will go home on Monday. Included will be a copy of the spelling test words. The class worked with these words last week, so the list is not new to them. Going forward, there will be a weekly spelling test with words assigned each week. Please ensure students are studying and practicing these words. The majority of the class seems eager to begin these! I will pass out the spelling lists for the following week on Friday, so students may study over the weekend.

Curriculum: This week in ELA, students will continue reading "Who is J.K. Rowling?" and practice summarizing by including the main ideas and key details. Students will also begin their second informational paper. There will be a comp and grammar test on Thursday and a spelling test on Friday. In math, the class will continue working with decimals, measurements, and ratio tables. There will be a math test on Tuesday. In social studies, students will continue to research the settlements of Plymouth and Jamestown, investigating for evidence of cooperation and/or conflict between Europeans and Indigenous Americans. For science, students will continue to explore physical properties of matter. 

December Birthday Shout-Outs!!: Happy December birthday to Cayla Foster and Isaac Harris (December 1st), A'Niya Steward (December 9th), Elijah Merck (December 11th), Leslie Mongo Jr. (December 15th), Soraya Moore (December 23rd), and Ayden Smith (December 28th). Happy Birthday!! We will celebrate these birthdays on December 20th. If you'd like to send in treats with your child for their birthday, please feel free to do so. Please keep in mind, we have a nut allergy in the classroom.

Voice of the Parent Survey: The Voice of the Parent Survey continues this week. If you have not yet done so, please take the time to fill this out. It is greatly appreciated. If you have already done so, thank you!!

Important Dates (Mark Your Calendar):

Monday, December 2 - BR/NJHS Apps Passed Out; Moral Focus Assemblies K-5 8:15 am;  6-8 1:35 pm

Monday - Friday, December 2-6 - Voice of the Parent Continues (Ends on 12/6); Parent Teacher Conference Week; BOOK FAIR WEEK

Wednesday, December 4 - Half Day for Parent Teacher Conferences.  PTC's run from 12:00-3:00 pm on this Half Day.  Tornado Drill AM

Monday, December 9 - AIMSWeb MOY Benchmarking Begins

Wednesday, December 11 - K-3 Music Concert 4:30 pm

Thursday, December 12 - 4-8 Music Concert 5:30 pm

Friday, December 13 - BR/NJHS Apps Due; IAT Day

Monday - Friday, December 16 - 20 - Holiday Spirit Week $ 6.00/wk or $ 2.00/day

Monday - Grade Level Pick Day (more info to come)

Tuesday - Red & Green Day

Wednesday - Ugly Sweater Day

Thursday - Holiday Character or White/Gold Day

Friday - Pajama (Appropriate for School) Day

Tuesday, December 17 - Ebling Cohort Principal Visit Day

Friday, December 20 - Half Day; December Birthday Celebrations; Holiday Parties; Progress Reports; Last Day of School 

December 21, 2024 - January 5, 2025 - Winter Holiday Break

Monday, January 6, 2025 - School Resumes

As always, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or just want to see how your child is doing during the school day/week. I am here for all of you, as well! Also, as always, thank you for your continued support from home. It makes all the difference in the classroom. Have a wonderful Sunday and I will see everyone on Monday!

-Ms. Winter