News from School for Week of 9/29

Hopefully you were all able to confirm your subscription to the class blog. I think this will be a great way to get information to you on a regular basis. I'm not always able to create a memo to send home during the day when things come up, but with the blog, I can update it from anywhere at any time. If you ever have questions about a post, be sure to email me, or just click on the link at the bottom that says how many comments have been made. That will allow you to leave a comment or a question that gets emailed directly to me.

Here are some other notes about the week ahead...

Photos
The class website has been updated with a class photo that I took on Wednesday of last week. I think it turned out pretty well. I've been taking quite a few photos, actually. I'm going to be setting up a page on Flickr (my new favorite photo site) so that everyone can see them.

Thanks!
A belated "thank you" goes out to all the parents that donated supplies to the classroom. (Hand sanitizer, tissues, pens, paper, ziploc bags, etc.) Your generosity is appreciated. We could still use boxes of Kleenex, so if you haven't sent in any yet, that would be great. Other things might come up that we need from time to time. I'll beg for those when I think of it!

Birthday Club
Each year, Ms. Barnes's class and mine have a "Birthday Club." Instead of every family sending in treats on individual birthdays (which can get quite expensive and complicated), we collect $4 per student and have a party together every other month. Our first Birthday Club party will be at the end of this month. Please send in the $4 when you can and then Ms. Barnes and I will handle the purchasing of cake and treats, so you don't have to worry about it.

Writing Update
I've set up writing portfolios for each student. They'll keep most of their final drafts at school. This is a great way to track their progress throughout their time in my class. This is why you don't see much writing work coming home. If you ever want to check out your child's portfolio, feel free to stop in and take a look. I'll be providing more information on our upcoming writing projects in the next week.

One thing that I should mention is that the students will be decorating their Writing Notebooks this week. Check the homework schedule and, if possible, allow students to bring in things to decorate their notebook covers with. (Photos, stickers, etc.)

Homework
Speaking of homework, the schedule for next week is posted on the website. I think we got a bit off track last week, but the calendar reflects this. If any changes need to be made to it, I'll let you know.

Thanks for reading the class blog!