SEPTEMBER
Nice work Matthew!
1.0 At our staff meeting today (30th August 2012) it was decided that children could have water bottles on their desks. Some children had been drinking from bottles of fruit juice and cordial all day. Prolonged contact with sugary drinks is know to be particularly hard on children’s teeth.
1.1 Two letters going home tomorrow (31st August 2012): A short questionnaire and the address of this blog, which I hope to be able to use to keep parents up to date with all we do in 2nd class.
1.2 from ‘Shop Times in the week from Monday 3rd September 2012‘.
Parents: 9.00-9.30
Children from 2nd Class, Room 6 11.20-11.30
Times are approximate. Classes will be called in this order by intercom or messenger.
The shop does not open on a Friday.
1.3 Dancing will be on Mondays. PE on Thursdays.
This year Dancing with the Dancing Teacher begins on17th September and PE with the PE teacher begins on the 20th, but there will be PE with me on Thursday. We are going to take the parachute out!
1.4 Teacher has collected up all copybooks, textbooks and recorders so that the school bags are not too heavy. I hope you are not too disappointed but all recorder practice will be done at school. At Halloween, by which time the children should know a couple of tunes, they will bring them home and hopefully amaze you with their progress 🙂
1.5 Letter going on Monday 3rd September. The contents of this letter can also be found here: A letter home about homework and at the end of this post: Re: When Teacher is available for meetings
1.6 Today, Monday 3rd September, we started learning our addition tables. Teacher was very happy with how fluent they were from last year. The children enjoyed this Table Game in class and might enjoy playing it at home:
Balloon Popping Game
1.7 Notes going home today:
About
1. Short Tennis.
2. Athletics
3. Swimming (for those who did it last year)
Also a short worksheet about ‘Myself.’ On the back of this A4 sheet the children in the class wrote positive comments about the child whose page it was. This was to encourage friendships and the class ‘feel good’ factor.
1.8 Note requesting parents not to include eggs, fish or nuts in class lunches also went home yesterday as two children have significant allergic reactions to these items. Thanks.
1.9 An activity that teaches about maps and plans
was used in class today. Perhaps your child might like to show you what they learned from it.
1.10 Tomorrow the Learning Support Team will be visiting to administer the NRIT Non Reading Intelligence Test. This will inform our teaching 🙂
We will talk about the results at the Parent Teacher Meetings. If there was any result of particular concern, I would mention this to you within the week.
The tests are two half hours in length. One will be given at 9.30 and the other at 11.10. Your child may be tired afterwards. I will be planning the rest of the school day to take account of this.
Though the following link does not mention the NRIT per se, you might find it reassuring when it come to the subject of testing children in school.
Information about Standardized Tests
The following short link gives a brief explanation of the NRIT:
What is the NRIT?
1.11 6th September 2012. Two notes going home: one about swimming enrolment and the other about preparation for First Holy Communion.
1.12 Good News!
I was expecting that revising Letter Formation would take at least a fortnight and perhaps even as much as six weeks. It took a week!
I also thought that we might be starting at Square One with addition tables: that all that rain over the summer might have affected the children’s ability to retain their number facts.
Instead we are motoring through the revision of Addition Tables. By the end of the month when Addition Tables will be sent home as part of homework for polishing up, there should be very little hardship involved.
I have also started working through the Pre Testing Phase of the work we are doing on the Dolch List and standards were very good.
Well done to the children of Room 6 for working so hard.
You might find this explanation of what we are doing for spelling this year useful:
Class Plan for Spelling 2012
1.14 Homework this week beginning 10th September 2012 is: Mental Maths daily
Reading a comprehension piece from ‘A Way With Words’. This is in preparation for doing the comprehension in school.
From Tuesday learning five spellings from Dolch List and putting them in sentences. When there are no spellings to be learnt from the Dolch List children can do ‘Free Writing’ at the back of the same copybook.
1.15 11th September 2012
A letter going home about homework today. Apologies it was meant to go home yesterday.
If you are finding homework challenging tonight, this post might be helpful:
Spellings for Homework
When your child has mastered the Dolch Spelling they will have ‘Free Writing’ for homework. If this work is causing any confusion perhaps
Story Prompts for Creative Writing
The first post on the classroom blog may also be helpful ‘Writing Good Quality Sentences’. If it is not immediately obvious to you click on the link ‘Home’ at the top of the page may help.
1.16 More Good News: We started learning the recorder today. The children made an excellent start and told me it was fun. I hope you won’t be too disappointed but the children won’t be bringing their recorders home to practice at this early stage. Instead they will bring them home at Halloween and play you all the tunes they have learned.
1.17 We are learning about ‘The Senses’ in school.
Today we met ‘Magic Grandad’. He took us to meet Louis Braille.
We heard about how Louis invented ‘Braille’ writing for the blind.
If you would like to see your name in Braille, click on this link:
See your name in Braille
12th September 2012 1.18
Today we practice the ‘Safe Cross Code’ Dance
RSA’s Safe Cross Code Dance
1.19 A Reminder: 1st Holy Communion Meetings for parents:
Wednesday September 19th or Wednesday September 26th at 8.15pm in the Kilian House Family Centre.
Enrolments for parish programme of preparation for Communion at the following masses:
Saturday, 29th September at 6pm in Holy Rosary Church, Greystones
Sunday, 30th September at 10am in St. Kilian’s Church, Blacklion
Sunday 30th 12.15pm in Holy Rosary
1.20 Apologies. I was meant to send the School Newsletter home today but forgot. You’ll receive it tomorrow.
1.21 Do take a look at our first podcast. It can be found at the end of the right hand column of this page. Today’s podcast features Fiona, Alice and Nicole reading from their ‘Free Writing’. As the year progresses, everyone can have a chance to broadcast!
1.22 Post going home: Did you receive:
1. School Newsletter with
2. an insert from the Parents Association re Class Contact List for Parents
(which went home to the ‘eldest or only’ children in the class.)
3. NB: A letter from the HSE re Dental check up
4. Swimming on Wednesdays/Thursdays: Terms and Conditions (not every one was due one of these) ?
1.23 If in any doubt …
This is the homework until the 24th September.
1. 10 Mental Maths sums for that day
2. Learn the next five words that you need to learn from the Dolch List and put these in five sentences or some children are doing ‘Free Writing’.
3. Read the next comprehension piece from ‘Away With Words’ (skipping the one about Halloween).
This pattern will continue until the 24th September, so homework should be predictable.
On the 24th September we will begin paired reading.
At the end of September, the revision portion of in Mental Maths book will be complete so I would like to work through this book in school for some time.
Instead we will be practicing our addition tables at home and perhaps doing a little written work based on these number facts. But this will depend on how far along we are with the spellings from the Dolch List.
17th September 2012
1.24 Letter going home about an Information Meeting on Tuesday 18th September re Paired Reading. I’m sure the parents in Room 6 are experts at doing Paired Reading by now.
1.25 Seating arrangement will be changed at the end of every month.
18th September 2012
1.26 Reminder: Communion meeting in Killian House Family Centre this Wednesday 19th or next Wednesday 26th at 8.15.
Enrolment Masses are on the weekend of the 29th/30th.
