Starting November-

Parents,

November is starting with exciting events in our classroom! 

We have learned about the two major candidates for President of the United States and are looking forward to hearing election results in that race.   Taylor and Fernando also are celebrating their 8th birthdays on Election Day - Happy Birthday to you!  And, last but not least, we welcomed a new student to our classroom.  Christian comes to us from Texas.  We are all eager to get to know him better and make him feel a part of our class.  Welcome, Christian!

Our Pyron Thanksgiving Feast will be Friday, November 16, 2012.  Parents and grandparents are welcome to come for lunch.  The cost is $3.25 for each person and payment must be made at lunch time with cash or check.   

We will be out of school Wednesday - Friday, November 21-23, for Thanksgiving Break.

Zayda will celebrate her birthday during the Thanksgiving holidays on November 24, 2012.   
  
Progress Reports will be sent November 28, 2012.   

Taylor Siemens (by the turkey beak) is our November Student of the Month.  Congratulations, Taylor!

What a busy month!                                         
Mrs. Bradford                                                  
                                  

Week of October 29

Parents,

We have a busy week ahead.

I will be out of the classroom Tuesday and Wednesday, October 30 and 31.  We usually have a Fall Party on October 31, but plans will change a little since we will  have a substitute teacher that day. 

We will have a special Fall snack time instead of a party.  The snack has already been provided, so please do not send any food, drinks, or candy for the class on October 31.  If you would like to send individual treat bags for each student, you may.  We have 20 students. 

Students may wear their Halloween costume that day.  Just remember they will wear it all day, so be sure it is appropriate for the playground.  We do not change clothes or shoes at school. Toy weapons and face paint are not allowed at Pyron.

This week we will begin working on the book "The Josefina Story Quilt".  The vocabulary words written in the planner on Monday, Oct. 29 are for two weeks.  We will test over these words Thursday, November 8. 

We also are working on nocturnal animals and their adaptations, predators and their prey, spellings for the "k" sound, and will finish Chapter 2 in our Math book.  Our test will be on Friday, Nov. 2.

Nate Walters and his mom, Kerri Holt purchased a book from the Book Fair for our classroom.  They selected "The Werewolf at Home Plate" by Bill Doyle.  This is the first book from the new series Scream Team.  It's an exciting story about some little monsters who don't play baseball well enough to be on a league team and how they solve their problem. 
THANK YOU, NATE AND MS. HOLT!   All students will enjoy reading this book.

Have a wonderful week!

Mrs. Bradford

New Vocabulary Words & Music Program

October 9, 2012

Hello Parents!

I hope I am not causing too much confusion with vocabulary words.  We are going to discard last week's words.  We may or may not come back to them later in the year. 

This week we are going to move on to "Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa" and the vocabulary words from that story.   The words are:  sniffed, glared, munch, snorted, herd, lullaby, groom (meaning to clean and brush an animal), raised, and fluffed.  I apologize for the confusion over our words.

Our Second Grade Music Program is set for Monday, October 15, at 6:30 pm in the Fine Arts Building.  I'm sure Mr. Sexton will have more information for our students in Music Class.  Hope to see you there!

Our class did an outstanding job in the District Evacuation Drill this morning.  My responsibility is to stay behind to make certain the second grade hallway is empty, so another teacher takes our class out of the building and to the bus.  Students handled that very well and I was able to join them on the bus.  Good job, class!

Mrs. Bradford

October 3, 2012 - Vocabulary Words

Maybe your child has told you Mrs. Bradford sounds like a frog this week.  It's true!  Since my voice has been in and out, and largely useless, I have had to readjust our lessons somewhat. 

We will not have our vocabulary words test this week.  I have not been able to teach them as they need to be taught, so we will carry the same six words over to next week, October 8-12.  I hope this doesn't cause too much inconvenience for you at home.  Everyone should have a head start on next week!

Mrs. Bradford

Savers' Cards and Other News

Parents,

Tomorrow, October 4, is the first deadline to turn in money and cards for the Savers' Card Fund Raiser.
Students who have sold 3 or more cards will receive a prize.

Author Dave Sargent Jr. will visit Pyron on Friday.  Yesterday your child brought home a note about his visit and how to purchase books if you wish.

The second grade music program is scheduled for Monday, October 15 at the Fine Arts Center.  Mr. Sexton will be sending more information about it.

Enjoy reading with some of our class members!

Mrs. Bradford

Some September Memories

**Highlights from September**

 

Seth and Christopher recruit new Cub Scouts.

 





 

Alainah - September Student of the Month

 

 

 

Students read about Constitution Week as proclaimed by Mayor Mike Jacobs in the Graphic.

 

Welcome, October! and all it brings...

With September behind us, we look forward to fall and all the fun it brings.

School pictures will be taken Tuesday, October 2.  Usually 2nd grade is called first, so students need to be ready first thing with smiling faces and hair in place.  These are the pictures that will be in the Pyron 2012-13 Yearbook, so all students will have their picture taken whether purchasing photos or not.

I have used a free website with some of our students to practice Spelling that you can also use at home.  It is www.spellingcity.com.  You may log in as a parent or student, then follow the steps to access our Spelling list each week.  All our Spelling lists and some Grammar and Science lists are there under my name. 

Spelling City has free activities as well as purchased activities.  We use only the free games and activities at school, and you can find all we do for free.  I am not recommending that you purchase any extra games or activities.  Have fun! 

There also is a link to our Math lessons you might enjoy.  It is http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/school/q2k6.  Your student will bring home a password on Monday, October 1, to access this site.  I have not made any assignments for your child on the site; it is just for practicing Math skills using the games and activities. 

Book Clubs

Hello Parents!

Today your child is bringing home three Scholastic book order forms.  One easy, inexpensive way to provide quality books for your children is through book clubs.  

We have talked about the book order forms in class, but information doesn't always get home to you the way it is given, so I'd like to go over a few things for you. 

First, buying books from Scholastic is not required.  This is an optional benefit offered to school children and their families.  If you do not want to buy anything, you may save the order forms to use as extra reading practice for your child.  Or you may want to play "shopping" and practice their Math.  If you do not want it at all, simply throw it away. 

If you would like to purchase from Scholastic, you may go online to https://orders.scholastic.com/DWQ4Y and enter your order in our class account.  Online you will pay with a credit or a debit card.  You will receive a $5 book pick coupon to use on your next order and I will receive a $3 book coupon to use on our order. 

You may also send your child's order form and money to me at school and I will place a class order.  If you send your order to school and are paying with a check, please make it out to Scholastic Book Clubs.  Our book orders don't go through the school, they go directly to Scholastic.

Our due date for online book orders is September 10, and for orders brought to class the due date is September 12.  The books should arrive within two weeks, around September 26.

On each order form, there is a $1 book featured.  It is on the front page.  Charlotte's Web is on sale for $1 in Reading at Home.  While this book is above level for your child to read independently now, it is a book we will study this year and is one of the most well-written books in children's literature.  If you don't already have Charlotte's Web in your home library, I encourage you to consider adding it.

If you have any questions about ordering from Scholastic, please let me know.  Have fun reading!

Mrs. Bradford

Spelling Test and Other Grades

Tomorrow is our first Spelling test!  Let me explain how the test is given and graded.  Your child has worked on learning our vowel sounds and patterns all week and has studied the Spelling words to know how to spell them.  Our test will be given on the same sort chart we use all week for practice.  I will read each word and your child will write it, spelled correctly, in the correct category.  One point is given for spelling the word correctly and one point is given for writing it in the correct vowel pattern/sound column.  This week we have 17 words, so our test will be worth 34 points. 

For other class work to be graded, the points possible are determined by how many answers there are plus three points for name & date, handwriting and overall neatness.  A Spelling paper with 17 answers would be worth 20 points - 17 for the Spelling answers, 1 for name & date (both must be on the paper), 1 for handwriting and 1 for overall neatness.

For Math papers that do not have letter writing on them, the point for handwriting is not added in.

A paper with good handwriting will have 1) letter size and shape made correctly, 2) appropriate spacing between words and between letters in words and 3) writing in an even line.

I know all have worked hard on our Spelling words this week.  Study again tonight!

Mrs. Bradford

First Day!

What an exciting first day!  I love the process of getting to know your child, and today was especially enjoyable as we each introduced ourselves and told something we like to do.  We will work hard to develop our oral speaking skills this year.

Let me take a moment to explain our discipline system.  We use the card system, in which each child has a set of colored cards in a chart.  The colors represent a progression of behaviors.  Green (where every child starts each day) is SUPER!  My wish is for every child to always keep their green card showing in front.  When a child chooses to not obey or break a rule, he may be told to turn his green card to the back of the stack and yellow is then in front of the stack.  This is "turning one card"  The yellow card means your child has received a warning to stop a certain behavior.  Most of the time, a child will have received several verbal warnings before he is told to turn his card to the yellow warning.  If the behavior is not stopped, or another unacceptable behavior happens, the child will be told to turn his yellow card to the back and his orange card will show in front of his stack.  This is "turning two cards".  Orange means the child will lose 5 minutes from the next recess.  If unacceptable behavior continues, the child will turn the orange card to the back of the stack and the blue card will be in front.  Blue means the child has "turned three cards" and will lose 10 minutes from the next recess.  Should unacceptable behavior continue, the child would then turn to his red card, which will result in a phone call or email from me and/or a visit to the principal.  If I am unable to reach you by phone or do not receive a quick reply by email, I will write down the attempt has been made and we may go on to the principal.  Sometimes a child will turn more than one card for the same misbehavior, and sometimes each card is for a different behavior.  It depends on the child and what is going on with him that day.  Certain serious behaviors, such as fighting, throwing rocks, or being disrespectful may result in being sent directly to the principal without turning cards first.

A yellow card does mean your child has been warned, but there is no other physical consequence.  Remember and remind your child that often turning to the yellow card is not acceptable behavior at school.  A child should not consistently have to receive enough warnings to turn the warning card.  Correct behavior should be learned and practiced as warnings are given.  Your child will write about his cards in his planner each day.  Please discuss any behavior that resulted in turning a card and help your child understand and correct that behavior.  Contact me by blog response, note or email if you have any questions.
Students who do not turn any cards all semester will get to paint their handprint on the wall in Pyron's main hallway. What an honor!

Our Activity Class schedule is: 
Monday - Library (Students will turn in Library books at 8:00 am every Monday morning.)
Tuesday - Lights (GT) and Computer Lab
Wednesday - Music
Thursday - Physical Education (Wear tennis shoes every Thursday!)
Friday - Art 

Mrs. Bradford

Welcome

Hello!  Welcome to my second grade class at Pyron Elementary School.  A very exciting year awaits us!