Timelines
     Most students turned in their timelines on time. We will be using these starting Monday for a class project, so if you haven't turned yours in, be sure it is here on Monday!

Heritage Dolls
     I can hardly wait to see your heritage dolls! Be sure to turn them in by Monday, December 14th. Did you learn a lot about your family heritage?

Family Trees
     Another item due on December 14th is the family tree project. Please be sure that you have included 1) a photo or picture of each family member, 2) the family members' names in the banners underneath each picture, and 2) the family members' birthdays. Also, be sure to NEATLY color in the entire page--no white space.

Written Report Outlines
     These are due on Tuesday, December 15th. Use it to practice your oral presentation!

Oral Presentations
     Oral presentations will be starting on Tuesday, December 15th. Every student must be ready on that day to do their presentation. If I call on you, and you are not ready yet, you will be marked "late" and lose points. These are always popular and fun projects; I am looking forward to hearing from each of you! If you have read this far, send in a slip of paper with your student's name and their favorite pizza topping.

Leaving Early from Class
     Parents, I realize that, now and then, everyone has a doctor's appointment or other obligation so it is necessary for you to pick up your student early from school. We all have super busy lives outside of school. That said, class goes on all the way until 3:15. There is no time during the school day that instruction is not happening.
     A few students are going home early once or twice each week. These students are missing important instructional time, particularly in social studies, science, music, art, and/or PE, as these are subjects we often do in the afternoons. There really is no make up time for these activities, and students end up falling behind. We don't do very many "worksheets," so there is really nothing for me to send home as "make up" work. 
     Please try to keep your student at school the entire day if at all possible.

Hour of Code
     Next week we will be participating in an event called the Hour of Code. This is a super fun event when students will be able to learn the basics of computer coding in an easy and exciting way. We will be continuing our "hour" of code throughout the year and will be exploring coding every week.  
     We live in a world surrounded by technology. And we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly hinge on understanding how technology works. But only a tiny fraction of us are learning computer science, and fewer students are studying it than a decade ago.
     That’s why our class is joining in on the largest learning event in history: The Hour of Code, during Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 7-13). More than 100 million students worldwide have already tried an Hour of Code.
     Our Hour of Code is a statement that Fair Oaks Ranch School is ready to teach these foundational 21st century skills. To continue bringing programming activities to your students, we want to make our Hour of Code event huge. I encourage you to volunteer, reach out to local media, share the news on social media channels and consider hosting additional Hour of Code events in the community.
    This is a chance to change the future of education in our community. See http://hourofcode.com/us for details, and help spread the word.

     I'm delighted to say that our district finally opened up weebly.com so I can edit the blog again! 

Homework
     There is no homework log or fluency passage this week.

Fall Leaves
     Our latest art project used the technique decoupage to create brightly colored fall leaves. For the background, we used cool colors and oil pastels to make swirls representing fall wind.

​
Parent Conferences
     Thank you! We had 100% of our parents turn out for our first trimester parent/teacher conferences. Thank you again for your outstanding support so we can work together towards your child's success. It was great to talk to everyone and have a chance to catch you up on your student's progress. Remember, if you have any questions or concerns, please email me ([email protected]), contact me via ClassDojo, or send me a note.

New Home Project
     Today your students brought home a new project that accompanies our social studies unit on life today and in the past. Please read the letter and sign and return the bottom portion tomorrow.
     The project includes a heritage figure, a family tree, and a report outline. Heritage figures and family trees are due on Monday, December 14th. The written report outlines are due on Tuesday, December 15th, which is the same day that students will share their oral presentations. 
     Please do not wait until the last minute to work on these projects. Students will be using the report outline in class to generate a complete written report, which will be graded. The oral presentation will be graded as well.
     This is a fun project where your whole family can delve deeper into your family's heritage. I can hardly wait to hear what the students have learned!

Reading Assembly
     Today's reading assembly was an experiment for a different type of award experience. I really enjoyed the interactive portion, didn't you? The awards portion was a bit long--hopefully, we will find a way to modify that for next time. Parents, thank you so much for turning out to acknowledge your child's Accelerated Reader accomplishments!

Free Books
     I have been going through and reorganizing my classroom library. In order to make room for new books, some of my older books are being "retired." Last week, each student got to choose one book to keep. Today, each student got to choose TWO books to keep. I hope you and your family enjoy them!

Busy Day on Monday
     We had such a busy day today! Besides the reading assembly, we got to choose free books to take home, had a reading comprehension quiz, made our cute turkey centerpieces, and made our own butter.
     On the turkey centerpieces there is a recipe to help you use up some of your turkey leftovers. It can also be used with cooked chicken. Inside the turkey is a baggie with a cup of rice that you can use in the casserole. It's tasty--give it a try this year!
     We had a fun time making our own butter. Each team had a container with heavy cream in it. The students took turns shaking the container. Eventually, the particles of milk fat stick together, forming butter. The rest is the whey, a liquid we pour away, although some people drink this (waste not, want not). Thanks to Mrs. Fernandez, we were able to taste our homemade (ok, classmade) butter on delicious cornbread. Mrs. Fernandez also made a darling turkey out of a melon for the body and assorted fruit on skewers for the feathers--so cute!

Thanksgiving
     I wish all of you a wonderful and meaningful Thanksgiving holiday filled with friends and family. My husband and I will be spending the day at our daughter and son-in-law's house. Last year we started a new tradition of spending the day together cooking the holiday meal, passing down our family recipes for their favorite dishes.

PJs & Pages
     Last year's community service project was so successful, we are doing it again this year.  Please donate a new pair of pajamas along with any gently used books. We will be collecting them up until December 4th. They will be distributed to needy families in our area. Thanks for your support!

Personal Math Trainer
     On Monday, I sent home a page detailing how to access the Personal Math Trainer at the ThinkCentral website.
     Mrs. Quitt's Cool Kids are allowed the option of doing an assigned lesson in the Personal Math Trainer in place of any regular homework paper from the Homework and Remembering book.  The assigned lessons may be done in any order, BUT a student should complete and "turn in" a lesson before proceeding to another lesson.
     One advantage of using the Personal Math Trainer is that it gives students CHOICE. Choice is great for promoting student enthusiasm and scholarly approach to academics. However, it is up to parents to decide if they want to allow students this particular choice. Some students do better with the paper/pencil version, and some do better with the computer version. You will want to provide scratch paper if your student chooses to work in Personal Math Trainer. 
     Another advantage of the Personal Math Trainer is that it is ADAPTIVE. That means that if students show mastery of the lesson, they can then choose to complete an enrichment lesson that is just a step or two more challenging than the regular lesson. If students have struggled with the lesson, they can choose a more basic version to help their understanding.
     A third advantage of Personal Math Trainer is that, during a lesson, students can choose to view an example of the type of problem they are working on, OR can even solve a given problem "step-by-step." Students can check their answers as they go, so that they can check their comprehension of the lesson. It's almost as good as having a teacher sitting right by their side!
     Personal Math Trainer will even read each problem aloud if the student clicks the "speaker" icon.
     Don't forget to click on the "Turn It In" button when you finish a lesson. Also, if you need to leave in the middle of a lesson, don't forget to click on the "Save and Close" button.
​     I hope you enjoy the Personal Math Trainer.

Scholastic Book Orders
     On Monday, I also sent home another Scholastic Book Order packet. If you missed ordering last time, or want to stock up on great holiday gifts, now is your chance! Remember that you can order online any time at www.scholastic.com/parents. Your online order will be submitted along with my next class order. I will be submitting the next order on November 4.

Red Ribbon Week
     This week, the PTA and our school participate in Red Ribbon Week. The theme this year is "Respect Yourself. Be Drug Free." See redribbon.org for more information about this event.

     In honor of Red Ribbon Week, the PTA has planned events for each day.

On MONDAY, wear a hat to "put a cap on drugs."
On TUESDAY, wear a tie, "Don't get tied up with drugs."
On WEDNESDAY, wear RED to show you love yourself too much to do drugs.
On THURSDAY, wear a costume (no masks or props, please), "Don't disguise your dreams."

Fall Festival
     Our annual Fall Festival is on Thursday, October 29th. Flyers to pre-purchase tickets and wristbands went home last week. Bring the whole family for a great time! Wear a costume!
     Parents, we really need some of you to spend 30 minutes to work at our class game booth.  If you can volunteer, please contact me via email or classdojo as soon as possible.

Art
     Our latest art project uses the techniques of a watercolor wash and wax resist. First, we drew spider webs on white watercolor paper using crayons. Next, we painted with watery watercolors over the webs to create a "wash," which is a light coating of paint. The watercolor does not adhere to the places we decorated with crayon due to the wax content of the crayon, hence "wax resist." We used the same techniques to create a spider to hang from the web.
     They look terrific on the wall, especially because the little spiders appear to move about a little bit when the fan blows on them.
     We did this project to accompany last week's informational passage about spiders. We also created written reports about spiders, incorporating facts from our reading and from a collection of books in the classroom.

Parent Conferences
     Our first Parent Conferences of the year will be here before you know it. They will be November 19 in the afternoon and November 20 all day (until about 3:30). In addition, I will make available times on Tuesday afternoon and before school each day that week. Once again, we will be using the SignUp Genius website to make scheduling an appointment easier. Keep an eye out for more information as we get closer. If you have read this far, please send in a scrap of paper with your child's name and their favorite author to get a sticker.

Accelerated Reader Progress
     Congratulations to Zoe, Sebastian, Brian, Luke, Sidney, Zachary, Holly, Jayden, Sonia, Jason, Bridget, Benson, Aimee, Helen, Dionna, Grace, and Darin for making their first trimester goals early!
     The following students have earned over 200% of their point goal: Luke, Sidney, and Sonia. Amazing!

Perfect Attendance
     Congratulations to the Cool Kids who had perfect attendance in September: Zoe, Gerry, Sebastian, Brian, Sidney, Zachary, Holly, William, Jayden, Sonia, Douglas, Jason, Kyle, Najeeull, Benson, Aimee, Carissa, Leena, Helen, and Darin! 
     Research has shown that students with excellent attendance make much more progress than those who have absences. Naturally, we all should stay home when we are sick; but, we should make an extra effort to be at school every day, on time. See this site for more information about the research.

PTA Reflections
​     If you wish to enter the PTA Reflections contest, entries are due by Friday, October 23.

Accelerated Reader
     Most of you have either already made your AR goals or are getting close. The following students have made their AR goals for the first trimester: Zoe, Sebastian, Brian, Luke, Sidney, Zachary, Holly, Sonia, Jason, Bridget, Benson, Aimee, Helen, Dionna, Grace, Darin.
     If you don't see your name on this list, you need to get going! You have until November 6 to make your goals.  Please email me or see me for more information if your student has not yet met their goals.

Awards Assembly
​     Our next awards assembly is on Friday, October 23 at 8:55 in the MPR. Congratulations to Luke, Jayden, and Carissa for earning an award this month.

Red Ribbon Week
     As always, next week is a week we use to promote healthy life choices and "say NO to drugs." Please see the schedule in the Upcoming Events section to know what is happening each day.

Science Unit
     Our current science unit is about forces that change Earth's surface. We will be focusing on causes and effects of volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion and weathering, glaciers, and wind. During our study, we will explore the layers of the Earth (crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core), tectonic plates, and landforms such as valleys, mountains, canyons, oceans, lakes, rivers, islands, plains and so forth. We will be studying about different kinds of rocks, including fossils, in the context of volcanoes and weathering. If you have read this far, please send in a scrap of paper with your student's name and their favorite dessert to get a sticker. ​

Social Studies
     This week we are reading about Fire Prevention Week. Have a plan for your family in case of a fire.  Do you know what to do?

More AR Progress
     Congratulations to those students who made their Accelerated Reader goals!  This week, we add Zoe, Luke, Zachary, Holly, Noah, and Jason to the list. 
     Keep working on it, everyone--remember, your goals are YOURS--you CAN do it! Some of you are very, very close, so keep reading and quizzing!
     We also have students earning and working towards certifications. Those who have earned the Ready Reader certification include: Zoe, Sebastian, Brian, Luke, Sidney, Zachary, William, Sonia, Benson, Aimee, Helen, and Grace. The Ready Reader certification means that you have earned at least five points.

"How To Solve It" Videos
     My efforts towards "flipping" at least part of our math instruction are going well, albeit slowly. I have a LOT to learn.
     So far, I have created, trimmed, and posted two videos for your viewing pleasure. One is on solving comparison type story problems, and the other is on solving two-step problems. You can access these videos on my YouTube channel playlist here.
     The first one is way too long--sorry about that.  I got a little carried away with myself. I will be working on keeping the videos short and to the point, so you and your student can better understand how we do this "common core" stuff. It's almost like being right here in the classroom to see the instruction!

Fall Art
     Super important to me this year is being sure to include plenty of meaningful visual art instruction. I am trying to bring in a variety of media (water colors, tempera, oil pastels, etc.) as well as techniques (collage, painting, torn paper, decoupage, wax resist, etc.) and language of the discipline (primary colors, secondary colors, warm and cool colors, foreground, middle ground, background, perspective, horizon line, depth, and so on).
     Our first project was about warm (reds, oranges, yellows) and cool (blues, greens, purples) colors. If you have read this far, please send in a scrap of paper with your child's name and their favorite vegetable.
     Our most recent project involved using the secondary colors orange, purple, and green, which are derived by mixing the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow.
     All of your student's art projects will be saved in an art portfolio for you to take home and enjoy at the end of the school year.
     Visual art helps deepen reasoning skills, communication, critical thinking, visual perception, and, of course, creativity.

Fall Fundraising
     Thank you so much for your participation in the PTA's Fall Fundraising project. Your participation means so much to our entire student body. Remember, the PTA brings us things like our weekly enrichment blocks in art, music, movement, and drama.
     Your orders and money are due on Friday, October 16.

Scholastic Book Orders
     I hope you are enjoying browsing and shopping through the Scholastic catalogs that I sent home before the break. This is a great way to add to your home reading library. Books make great rewards for making AR goals, good behavior at home or at school, etc.  They also make terrific birthday and holiday gifts. Orders are due by Wednesday, October 13.
     Side note:  I clearly remember getting the Scholastic book catalogs fifty years ago, when I was in second grade. I didn't get many treats, but my mother always let me order a few books.  I remember reading Gentle Ben, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and many others. I still have some of them, and I discovered some of my favorite books and authors this way. Fifty years ago! That is amazing.

 Super Moon/Lunar Eclipse
     Wow! That was something else, wasn't it? It was a bit cloudy, but there were a few minutes when you could see the red moon in its eclipsed phase. Then, later on, it was just a super bright full moon. All just in time for Mr. Quitt's birthday!

Accelerated Reader Progress
     Congratulations to the Cool Kids who have already made their AR goals for the first trimester: Sebastian, Brian, Sidney, Sonia, Benson, Aimee, and Helen!
     Remember, each and every student should be able to make their goals, as the point goal and reading level goal is set individually for each student. Each student has THREE goals: a reading level goal (which means that the books that students quiz on and check out from the library should be within that range), an accuracy goal (which is the same for every student: students must average 85% correct on the quizzes), and a point goal (which is based on the student's reading level as determined by the STAR Reading test).
     Once a Cool Kid has made their goal for the trimester, they may choose to continue taking quizzes on their books or not.  Some students enjoy the challenge of collecting points. They may read books at ANY LEVEL (except black and white levels), on ANY SUBJECT, fiction or non-fiction.  The books do NOT have to be AR books. You can check out books above your level, below your level, or even non-AR books! If you read this far, please send in a paper with your child's name and their birthday for a small treat or sticker.

PTA Family Fun Night
     Please join the PTA at TuttiFrutti from 5-8 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Fair Oaks Ranch will receive a portion of the profits from sales.  Unfortunately for me, I won't be there this time (Tuesdays and Thursdays are horse riding nights for me).  However, if you turn in your receipt that has the correct date and time period,  your student will receive a free homework pass from me that is good for any one homework assignment (not counting special projects, of course). Be sure to put the student's name on the receipt!!

Morning Work
     Every week, students receive a "morning work" paper. It has math on one side and language on the other. Students complete a small section each day, Monday through Thursday. We correct it together, so when we are finished, each student's paper should have the correct answers (if they were focused and correcting along with the class). I do not grade this paper; it is strictly for the students and families to use for practice. 
     Each Thursday, students will bring the completed and self-corrected morning work paper home. It is a good idea to review this with your student, because we have a quiz on the material each Friday. The quiz items are directly correlated to the morning work practice and to the state standards. The quiz IS graded.

Daily 5
     We use the Daily 5 as a way to structure our daily literacy block. Students practice Read to Self, Word Work, Read to Someone, Work on Writing, and Listen to Reading, while I work with a group of students, check in with students, and/or observe students. Some of the students are familiar with the Daily 5 from first grade.
     In order for this method to work, students must build their reading STAMINA. Our goal is to be able to Read to Self for 20 minutes without getting tired or giving up. We are still working on meeting this goal as a class--as soon as someone talks, is off task, or distracts someone else, our Read to Self time is over for the day.
     During Read to Self, students must pick a good spot in the classroom where they will be able to read the entire time and stick with it, bring "good fit" books with them (generally their AR books), stay focused, and read "in their head."
     I will explain the other parts of the Daily 5 in future blog posts--no need to be overwhelmed with info!
     If you have read this far, please send in a note with your student's name and their favorite color!

Awards
     This month's awards assembly is scheduled for Friday, September 25 at 8:55 a.m. in the MPR. Congratulations to Sebastian, Brian, and Sonia for receiving special recognitions this month.

PTA Family Fun Night
     You are invited to support our PTA this Tuesday evening from 5-9 p.m. at the Fair Oaks Ranch Family Fun Night at Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, 19401 Soledad Canyon Rd. It's in the TJ Maxx parking lot next to Camp Plenty Rd.
     If you turn in your receipt dated 9/29/15 from 5-9 p.m., your student will get a free homework pass from me! Be sure to put your student's name on the receipt.

Hi! Is anyone out there? Are you checking in with the blog? 

If you have read this blog entry, please send in a piece of paper with your child's name and the sentence, "I read the blog!" The students who bring this to me will get a sticker.

Writing
     Our first writing genre is opinion. Students began writing opinions in first grade. In first grade, students must have four sentences in their opinion paragraph, in the following pattern:

     Opinion sentence (topic sentence)
     Reason sentence to support opinion
     Elaboration sentence to explain the reason (or another reason)
     Opinion is restated as the concluding sentence.

     What's that spell? OREO! This acronym makes it easier for students to remember. A typical FIRST GRADE opinion paragraph might look like this:

     Winter is the best season. I like to visit the snow during the winter. It is fun to build snowmen. I love winter!

     In second grade, we expand on this by adding more sentence VARIETY, adding lots of adverbs and adjectives, using transition words, and including a total of three reasons and elaborations. The pattern is like this:

     Opinion sentence (topic sentence)
     Reason sentence to support opinion
     Elaboration sentence to explain the reason
     Reason sentence to support opinion
     Elaboration sentence to explain the reason
     Reason sentence to support opinion
     Elaboration sentence to explain the reason
     Opinion is restated as the concluding sentence.

     It's like a triple stuffed Oreo. O-RE-RE-RE-O! Each reason and elaboration can be two separate sentences, or can be combined into one sentence. A typical SECOND GRADE opinion paragraph that earns a score of 3 might look like this:

     Winter is the best season. Visiting the snow during the winter is exciting because it is fun to build snowmen with the icy, wet snow. Also, I enjoy drinking hot, chocolatey cocoa. It is so delicious and warms me up after playing in the snow. Finally, Christmas happens in the middle of winter. My family always drives through our neighborhood to see the pretty decorations on the houses. I love winter!

     Please practice at home, at least orally. Need some ideas? Ask about favorites. Or, ask about least favorite things.

1. What's your favorite pizza topping?
   
2. What's your favorite fruit?
3. What's your least favorite vegetable?
4. Which do you like best: Minecraft, My Little Pony, Pokémon, or Spiderman?
5. Which do you like best: K'nex, Legos, Tinker Toys, or another building toy?
6. What's the best ride at Disneyland?
7. Who is the most interesting character in your child's favorite movie/book?

Attendance
     September is Attendance Awareness month.
     Did you know that:

• children with good attendance generally achieve higher grades?
• the more days of school a student misses, the lower their grades are?
• dropout patterns in high school are linked to poor attendance beginning in kindergarten?
• lessons are planned sequentially, so when your student is absent, they will miss building blocks and concepts they need to succeed?
• our school budget is affected by your student's absences?

     What you can do to help:

• help your child get to school ON TIME every day
• check homework
• take an active role
• locate potential sources of anxiety
• try to limit the amount of school your child misses due to medical appointments or illnesses
• schedule family events with your child's school schedule in mind
• plan ahead
• promote good health through diet and exercise
• create a restful environment at home

PTA Reflections
     This year's PTA Reflections theme is: Let Your Imagination Fly! That's a GREAT theme for unleashing your creativity.
     Students can enter in many different categories, from photography to dance choreography.
     Please see the green flyer going home on Tuesday for more information. Contact Leilani Austria at [email protected] if you have questions.

Phonics Emergency Alert!
     I have discovered that many students in Mrs. Quitt's Cool Kids are having difficulty with phonics.  That is, when given a list of words to sort into appropriate categories, MANY of them are unable to do so.  
     Students should be able to EASILY identify long and short vowel sounds. They should be able to EASILY determine how many syllables are in any word. These are FIRST GRADE skills.
     Why is phonics important?
     Phonics helps students decode unfamiliar words, so it helps with reading skills. Phonics helps students spell, so it helps with writing skills.
     Please be sure your student can do these skills. Some websites to help you out: Fast Phonics, Scratch Garden, and StarFall are just some of the online resources available.  Google Phonics for Kids to see many more resources.  Some are free, others have a fee.