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May News

I can't believe it's already May!  The children worked so hard on their CRCT tests and I'm sure they are as happy as I am that testing is over!

Butterflies:  We just received our little caterpillars today!  We will watch as they grow, change, and eventually emerge as beautiful butterflies.  We will be studying life cycles during this time.  After the butterflies have emerged, we will enjoy them for a few days before letting them go out in our Outdoor Classroom.

Australia:  We are beginning our study of Australia and even have an "Australia Day" lined up!  We had such fun with our "Japan Day" that we're repeating the idea!  Our plan is to celebrate "Australia Day" on May 14 in the morning.

**Here are two sites pertaining to Australia your children may enjoy:

Australia Animals and Australia

Special Thanks to:

• all who encouraged your children to get a good night's sleep and eat a healthy breakfast.
• all who sent in snacks for the children to share during our CRCT testing.
• Patrick's mom for sharing a wonderful art project with the children during my Team meeting on April 2.  The children made beautiful yellow and orange sunflowers that are still bright and cheery in the classroom! 
• Ariana's mom for helping out in the classroom during my Team Meeting on April 2.
• Kasey's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" on March 27.
• to Riley's dad for being our "Mystery Reader" on April 3.
• to Josh's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" today.
• all who participated in the many Relay for Life activities.  Thus far $8,552 has been raised.
• all who have sent in their completed enrollment forms.  Please make sure that all forms are signed prior to returning them to school and that you have placed three postage stamps on them for mailing purposes.

Congratulations to:

• Kasey for being voted our "character word winner"  for the month of May.  He was voted the child who most representes the word accomplishment.  Accomplishment is defined as showing courage when meeting a challenge.  Students show accomplishment through hard work, dedication, and patience.  We are very proud of Kasey for winning this honor.

Dates to Remember:

• May 5: "Drumming Up Stories"-Performing Arts program here at Mt. Bethel featuring interactive stories from around the world
• May 9: All library books due
• May 11: Mother's Day
• May 12: Reader's Theater(various teachers will present favorite stories.)
• May 14: Australia Day (morning)
• May 16: End of Year Party - Tentatively scheduled for 11:45 - 1:00 outside on the orange playground. 
• May 20 - Field Day 8:00 - 10:30 - PLEASE remember to have your child wear his/her class T-Shirt, wear sunscreen, and bring a water bottle with his/her name clearly labeled.
• Yearbook signing for all second graders (1:10- 2:00 - Outdoor Classroom)
• May 21-24: Reading is Hot , Hot, Hot (More information will follow)
• May 22- All supplies sent home.
• May 23 - Last day of school (please do not bring backpacks or lunchboxes)

As always thank you so much for sharing your children with me.

March 27th News and Notes

                                                                     

I can't believe spring break is around the corner!  The weather has been so crazy and I'm sure your children are very tired of hearing me say,"boys and girls you cannot go out of the building without your jackets on".   The other day while we were on the playground the children saw white flakes they thought was snow falling from the sky.   I insisted it wasn't snow - it was blossoms from the pear trees until I watched as the "blossoms" melted on my coat! I hope the snow is gone for this year and you  have a fun-filled, relaxing week planned with your family for spring break.

Special Thanks to:

• Riley's mom for sharing a wonderful lesson about schools in Japan with the children.  She also brought in a kimono and the children loved trying it on!
• Patrick's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" last Thursday.
• Kasey's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" today.
• all of you for signing and promptly returning the permission slip for the writing project. (If your child was absent most of this week, this doesn't apply to you as they weren't here to participate in the project.)
• everyone who sent in treats and paper goods for St. Patrick's Day.
• Sophie's mom for organizing things for St. Patrick's Day.
• everyone for encouraging your child to work on RAZ KIDS so consistently.
• those who remind your child to take at least one AR test per week.
• everyone for sending in the sheet indicating if your child will be here for the music performance next Thursday.

Congratulations:

• to Preston for being named our "Character Word of the Month" winner.  Preston was voted the child who most represents the word commitment in our classroom.  We are proud of Preston.
• to Josh and Imge for being the class period champions for the Jump Rope for Heart event in February.

Special Request:

• Please try to come to the ART SHOW next week - the children and I would love to be the class with the highest percentage coming to the show......we would love that popcicle party!!!!You don't have to buy anything - just come so we'll have the highest percentage!  The meeting afterwards that the children are performing in looks like it's really going to be cute, so try to make it to that, too.
• Please remind your child to return library books on Tuesday - that's our library day.

Dates to Remember:

• March 31 - April 4 - Book Fair - The Book Fair opens every school day morning at 7:15 and remains open until 4:00 Monday through Thursday.  On Friday, the 4th it will close at 10:00 a.m. **Thursday evening it will be open from 5:30 - 6:30 pm. for those wanting to shop prior to the PTA meeting.
• April 2 - Kindergarten registration
• April 4 - ART SHOW - 3 - 7 p.m.
• April 4 - PTA MEETING and Second grade Music Program - Children need to be here at school by 6:30 p.m.
• APril 7 - 11- Spring Break
• APril 22 -  Staff Relay for Life Kickball game
• April 25 - SPring Thing

I think that' s it!  As always, thank you for sharing your children with me.

                         

                           

March Happenings

                                                   

Special Thanks:

• to Christina's mom for being a parent volunteer and sharing her awesome art project with us - I hope you all have been watering your plants and making sure they get lots of sunlight!
• to Matteus' mom and Ariana's mom for being parent volunteers and helping out with the art project while I was at our second grade team planning meeting.
• to Matteus' mom for joing us on our field trip to the Fox Theater on March 3.
• to all who have sent in red checking pens and pencils for classroom use.
• to your children for looking so nice on our field trips and for having good behavior on the busses and at the theaters.
• to Mark's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" today.

JAPAN DAY:  I hope your children enjoyed "Japan Day" today.  We spent the day visiting all nine of the second grade classrooms and participating in various activities in each of the rooms.  The children had a Japanese tea part, made Samurai hats out of Japanese newspaper, practiced Japanese caligraphy, played Jeopordy with facts about Japan, went to a Japanese "museum", made cherry blossom trees, played Sudoku, played Gomoku (a Japanese game) and practiced Japenese numbers.  It was a very busy day and I will sleep like a baby when I hang up my kimono tonight!

Dates to Remember: 

• March 17 - 21 - Exceptional Children's Awareness Week
• March 20 - Report Cards go home

Special Notes: 

• Please take a look at the Big Help Book Drive flyer that came home in today's behavior folder - it seems like a very worth-while endeavor.
• Please note the upcoming Spring Thing date and times and send in your ticket order form if interested- the early time tends to sell out early.
• Please note the PTA's fingerprinting and Ident-A-Kid flyer and participate if interested.
• Please mark your calendar for the ART SHOW - it will be on the same evening as the PTA performance your children will be participating in with their music teacher.  ****The class with the highest class attendance at the ART SHOW will win a popsicle party and your children love to party and they love popsicles ........so PLEASE plan to attend!  The ART SHOW is scheduled for April 3 from 4:00 - 7:00 in the Multi- Purpose Room.  PTA meeting will be held at 6:30 with the  music program following.***More information to follow about both- but the ART PROGRAM is not designed for you to stay the whole three hours, you just come and look at the children's art work at your own leisure during that time frame.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me.

Week of February 25

                                                                        

                                    

      We have started our study of Japan and the children are excited to be learning about life in another country.  If anyone has anything to share pertaining to Japan, please let me know so that we can arrange a visit.  The children and I love having visitors.

Special Thanks to:

• All who have turned in the lunch choice form for our up-coming field trip.
• Those who so generously sent in red checking pens and pencils for use in the classroom.
• Rohan's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" last week.
• Imge's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" last week.

Congratulations to:

• David for being voted our "Character Word of the Month" winner for this month.  The word David was voted to represent was tolerance.  We are very proud of David for winning this honor.\
• Josh and Imge for being class winners in the jump roping contest for JUMP ROPE FOR HEART.

Dates to remember:

• March 3 - 7 - READ ACROSS AMERICA week - please note green flyer in Thursday's behavior folder
• Monday, March 3 - field trip to the FOX to see Charlotte's Web.  Please have your child dress up for this special event.
• Tuesday, March 4 - Early Release Day - children dismiss at 12:20.
• Wednesday, March 5 - School Picture Day K, 1, and 2.
• Friday, March 6 - field trip to Cobb Civic Center to see LA SYLPHIDE (a ballet).  Please have your child wear his/her class T-Shirt.

***February reading calanders are due tomorrow.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me. 

Week of February 11

                                                            

Many, many thanks for making Teacher Appreciation Week so special - I LOVE all my remberances. 

Special Thanks:

• to all who helped with Teacher Appreciation Week.
• to Sophie's mom for being our "Art Mom" this Wednesday while I attended our Second Grade Team Planning Meeting.  The children made cute mobiles and loved the project.
• to Megan's mom for being our "Parent Volunteer" and helping Sopie's mom as needed with the art project Wednesday.
• to Rohan's mom and Sam's mom for being our  "Mystery Readers" last week.  The children loved their visits.
• to the "Parent Volunteers" who worked with the children while I attended the Teacher Appreciation luncheon Friday afternoon.
• to all who sent in treats to help us celebrate Valentine's Day. Special thanks to Sam's mom for the wonderful homemade cupcakes and to Sophie's mom for the juice.

Please Note Date Change:

The date noted in the school calendar for our Relay for Life kickball game has been changed.  The new date is April 22.  The game is scheduled for after school.  More news to follow......

Dates to Remember:

• February 15 - SIX FLAGS Reading logs are due - Please make sure to send these in as we must submit them to receive the free tickets. (ABSOLUTE LAST DATE - THURSDAY the 21st)
• February 18 - President's Day holiday - No School
• February 19 - Teacher workday - No School for the children
• February 29 - February Reading calendar due
• March 3 - 7 - Read Across American Week in celebration of Dr. Seuss
• March 3 - Field trip to the Fox Theater to see Charlotte's Web. ***We will be asking the children to wear their Sunday best that day. More news to follow..........
• March 4 - Early Release Day - Children will be dismissed at 12:20 p.m.
• March 5 - School Picture Day
• March 7 - Performing Arts Ballet at the Cobb Civic Center - Children will be asked to wear their class T-Shirts...so start looking for them! I've got to find mine!  **This field trip  has already been paid for and permission slips are signed - we did this back in August!

Special Request: We are getting very low on pencils and red checking pens in the classroom - if you see any on sale we would appreciate them!

As always thanks for sharing your children with me.

February Happenings

                                                  

Special Thanks:

• to all of you for being so prompt and supportive during Conference Week.
• to all who were able to come to our Smart Board presentation.
• to David's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" January 17th.
• to Jack's dad for being our "Mystery Reader" January 31.
• to Rohan's mom for bringing in the donuts for after our Smart Board presentation.
• to anyone who helped PTA provided snacks for the teacher's during Conference Week.
• to all who sent in the donation and permission slip for our field trip to the Fox Theater***If you haven't sent this in, please do so ASAP.
• to all who donated to the Cobb Schools Foundations' Gimme 5 for Education

Congratulations:

• to Matteus for being voted our "Character Word of the month winner" for the word resilience. Matteus is very deserving of this honor.

Dates to remember:

• February 1 - High Touch/High Tech - SPACE, THE FINAL FRONTIER - we changed dates due to scheduling difficulties.
• February 6 - Early Release - students dismiss at 12:20.  Spanish and Chess will meet.
• February 13 and 15 - JUMP ROPE FOR HEART
• February 15 - SIX FLAGS reading log due in.

Special Request:

• Please send in a blank, business sized, stamped envelope for a special writing project we will be working on for the next few weeks.
• Please note that on Valentine's Day the children will need a decorated box to put their valentine cards in.  I suggest using a shoe box or box of that approximate size.  In addition, please be on the look out for Valentine's Day cards for your child to bring in for each of his/her classmates.  I will send a class list home to help with addressing the cards so that no one is left out.

  As always, thanks for sharing your children with me.

January News

I hope you all had a relaxing winter break and are enjoying the beginning of the new year.  I look forward to meeting with you all next week during conferences.  Report cards will be distributed at that time.  Please note that the children will be dismissed at 12:20 during Conference week ( January 22 - January 28.)  Monday, January 21 is Martin Luther King Holiday.

You are all invited to a brief demonstration of the SMART BOARD in our classroom on January 31 from 8:15 - 8:45 a.m.  Mt. Bethel is one of six schools piloting these SMART BOARDS that were provided by SPLOST funds.  The children and I are enjoying learning the many different components these interactive boards offer and are looking forward to sharing with you. 

Special Thanks: 

• to David's mom, Mark's mom, and Patrick's mom for being our Parent Volunteers during my Second Grade Planning last Wednesday afternoon.
• to Megan's dad for being our "Mystery Reader" last Thursday.

Congratulations:

• to Megan for being voted our "Character Word winner" for December.  She was voted the child who most represents the word compassion from our class.  We are very proud of Megan for being selected for this honor.

Important Dates to remember:

• Monday, January 21 - MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY - NO SCHOOL
• Wednesday, January 23 is our 100th day of school and we'll have some fun activities to celebrate!
• Tuesday, January 21 -  Monday, January 28 - Conference Week - dismissal at 12:20.
• Thursday, January 31 - 21st Century Technology demonstration - 8:15 in our classroom

December News

December News:

We have many exciting events happening this month!  We're busy working on our Economics unit and my "employees" are really rolling out the "products" so that they can earn top dollar! We have one more work day planned and then Market Day is set for Friday. The "employers" are enjoying this almost as much as the "employees" and I think we're learning a great deal! The children will be able to use their wages to purchase items on "Market Day" and I've already heard lots of excitement about the planned shopping spree!

Special Thanks:

• To Mark's mom and dad for coming in to be our "Mystery Readers" on Nov. 29th.
• To Christina's mom for being our "Art Mom" yesterday during our second grade team meeting.  The children each made a very special project and some of you may have already seen it, while others may have to wait awhile!  Ask your child for specifics! 
• To Ariana's mom and Mark's mom for being parents volunteers during our second grade team meeting and helping out Christina's mom with the art project.  The children loved having guests in the classroom.
• To those who sent in the November reading calendars.
• To those who sent in paper products, Cool Whip, or pumpking pies for our Thanksgiving snack.  Special thanks to David's mom for the wonderfully decorated sugar cookies.
• To our wonderfu PTA for providing the CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS of the WORLD for our students.  This wonderful event allows the children to learn about the 12 celebrations that are represented in the student body at Mt. Bethel. Parent volunteers and staff have put a lot of effort in this event and the children will certainly benefit from their joint efforts.
• To those who have volunteered to come in to be parent volunteers in the room so that I can attend our Mt.  Bethel Holiday Brunch.
• To those who have returned their donation/permission slip for High Touch High Tech.
• To those who brought in contributions for United Way.

Congratulations:

• To Waverly for being our "Character Word of the Month" winner.  She was voted this honor by her classmates and we are very proud of her for winning this honor.  She represents the character word citizenship.

Upcoming Events:

• Beginning Monday, the Cobb County Fire and Emergency services will be visiting the class aand presenting four lessons regarding fire safety.
• December 19 - Winter Party - 12:00 - 1:00 (I think - please check email from room moms) December 24- January 7 - Winter Holidays

Special Request: Please note the pink half page flyer about donations for our custodians, lunchroom ladies, and monitors.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me.

November 15 News and Notes

                                                                  

Thanksgiving is sooo early this year - hope you all are ready!  I've heard lots of travel plans from your children and excitement is in the air! I'm happy we have Wednesday off - those of you still in town may see me with a wild eyed look strolling through Publix with cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie filling rolling around in my grocery cart !

Special Thanks to:

• Preston's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" last Friday.  She was kind enough to come in on Friday because we were on our field trip on our "regular" "Mystery Reader" day.  The children loved the stories she shared and the dinosaur book marks she brougt in for them.
• Ariana's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" today - we loved her visit and the stories she shared.
• Sophie's mom and Katie's mom for helping to get pumpkin pies lined up for our little Thanksgiving treat next Monday or Tuesday. 
• all who sent in items for the soldiers.  Mrs. Bergstedt and her husband are busy getting everything ready to ship out and are very thankful for Mt. Bethel's generosity.
• Sophie's mom and Megan's mom for being Parent Volunteers last week while I was at our Grade Level Planning meeting.  The children loved the art lesson Sophie's mom shared with them.
• everyone who is sending in things for our Thanksgiving treat.
• all the boys and girls for their wonderful behavior on the field trip to Wills Park last week.
• to all who participated in the Fun Run and Health Fair

Dates to Remember:

• November 21 - 23 - Thanksgiving holidays - enjoy the time off with your family and know that you and your children are an important part of what I am thankful for this year.

Have a happy, fun filled Thanksgiving with those you love most.  As always, thanks for sharing your children with me.

november 1st news and notes:

                                                               

Boy we've had a fast paced, fun-filled few weeks.......and tonight is Halloween, our Native American Festival is today and YOU ALL get a nice, long week end to recuperate!  The children and I really have enjoyed the beginning of fall and have participated in Red Ribbon Week, visited the BOOk Fair, carved a jack o lantern, learned about the sides of triangles, estimated seeds found in a pumpkin, made number sentences from the goodies Riley's  mom sent in with our little plastic pumpkins, and started our study of Native Americans.  We've also learned about folktales and worked in groups to make Halloween stories.  We look forward to our field trip on Thursday to Wills Park - this will be our first field trip so don't forget to dig out that class t-shirt.  Thanks to everyone for sending in the permission slips!

Congratulations to:

• Ariana for being our Character Word of the Month winner this month.  She was voted the child in our class who most represents the word responsibility.  We are very proud of Ariana for winning this honor.
• Waverly and Ariana for their wonderful performance in On The Radio.

Special Thanks to:

• Imge's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" on October 25th.  The children loved her visit and the story she shared.
• Sophie's mom for being our "Mystery Reader" today.  Her visit was most appreciated.
• Riley's mom for sending in the little Halloween pumpkins we used for a math activity.
• Sophie's mom for sending in cupcakes on Halloween.  The children loved them...and so did I!
• to all who so generously volunteered to help at the Native American Festival - the children and teachers alike appreciate your support.
• to all who helped your children prepare and wear Native American attire - everyone looked so cute!
• everyone who has donated books from the Book Fair for use in our classroom library.
• those who attended Chic-Fil-a night on Tuesday.
• everyone who has so genrously sent in items for our soldiers - you may continue to send in these much needed items.
• those students who brought in pictures illustrating energy for use in the Science Enrichment lab.
• the Mount Bethel Foundation for their generous grant to second grade for purchase of Document cameras.  The cameras will be used in conjunction with our SMARTBOARDS.  This is just one example of the wonderful ways the Foundations supports the education of  Mt. Bethel students and helps faculty enhance their teaching strategies.

Dates to Remember:

• November 2 - Final day of the Book Fair - Open until 10:00 am
• November 4 - Daylight Savings Ends
• November 5 - Student Holiday/Teacher Workday
• November 6 - Student Holiday/Teacher Workday
• November 8 - Field trip to Wills Park - PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD WEAR HIS/HER CLASS T-SHIRT
• November 10 - Fun Run and Health and Safety Fair.

As always, thanks for sharing your children with me.  Have a wonderful, relaxing long weekend! I must admit I am jealous!!

to Ariana for being our Character Word of the Month winner.  Ariana was voted the child in our class who most respresented the word responsibility.  We are very proud of Ariana for winning the honor.