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January 28,200

Dear Best Buddies,

     Thank you for coming to conferences to discuss your children's progress. I hope all of your questions were answered, if not, please feel free to contact me.

      We have been doing so many exciting things in class. Ask your students about digging for fossil fuel. Yes, we have been discussing different forms of energy. What are man-made sources and natural resources of energy? We will start our social studies unit on Japan  this week. A special thanks to all of you who sent in our $1.00. This will cover food, and art expenses that will make the students' learning experience more meaningful. We are also learn ing about fire safety in health.  This will be on-going for a couple of weeks.

      Don't forget to go on to the CRCT website with your students. I want to remind you about a previous website I mentioned that deals with math. It's called www.aaamath.com  when you reach this site, you may choose the concept that your student is having difficulty with. There is adding/ subtracting, fractions, money, calendar, etc. Remember as I spoke to you at conference , I stressed application of skills, not just recall.

Continue to work with your students counting money and  making change. I have a great idea that you may choose to use to help with this skill. Set aside (or let your child earn) a certain amount of money in a jar. Every time they want to watch T.V., charge them a certain amount. Extra bedtime story? Charge them! Dessert after a meal? Charge them! Going over to a friend's house? Charge them! How could we practice making change with this concept?

    This nine weeks our class goal is to read  360 minutes! Not only will they meet their goal, they will also be a member of the Six Flags Reading Club! If they complete the orange log and return it by February 22, they will also receive a ticket to Six Flags! I know that most Best Buddies will read way beyond this goal! The best thing about reaching our goal is that the students will get to eat breakfast with Mrs. Huff and Ms. Medders! 

    Please review and keep for reference the blue phonics rules i sent home. This will let you know what your students are learning at school to help them in their writing,spelling, and decoding of words.

   We are working on persuasive writing this nine weeks!  I know you enjoyed reading about the things that your students tried to persuade you to buy.  Best Buddies did  a fantastic job of  persuading me which job they should have for this nine weeks. I decided  that if they could convince me of their qualifications, they could have it. That meant that some of them share a responsibility. Ask your student which job they have. If they do not have a job, they did not write a persuasive paragraph asking for  one.

     Some students have shared their book reports already. Please remember that this activity gives our students the opportunity and experience to present in front of the class. So far, everyone is doing great! I wish I had time to read all of these books!

Kind Regards,

Deanna Beaver

January 8, 2008

Dear Best Buddies,

   I hope you all had a very restful holiday break. I really enjoyed spending time with my family and friends. Our ten year old kitty, Jellybean passed away. We were sad and decided to get two new nine month old kittens. Life is now fun, fun, fun, at the Beaver House. LOL!

    Mountain View would like to welcome Deborah Newhouse, our new computer teacher in the computer lab. She will be instructing our students on correct keyboarding and word processing skills. We are so excited to have her with us! In order for everyone to be able to utilize the computer lab, we have a new  six day specials rotation . I will send home a copy for you to keep up with where your child will be going  each day. Please look at the key and the calendar. Best Buddies are #2.  It may be helpful to wear tennis shoes daily since we go outside on a regular basis to run and play.

   We will also be having a visiting artist from North Carolina, Zelda Grant. The students will be working with her on a specific art project that they will be able to take home that day. A special thanks to Mrs. Greiss for arranging for her to come to Mountain View.

Don't forget that we're not in school on January 21 in order to observe Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. Conference week is January 22 - 28.  Letters will be coming home soon. Students will be released two hours early.

Don't forget to read to your child in addition to your child reading 20 minutes every day/night. Please go over your child's homework with them nightly. Research has shown that immediate feedback helps students retain information for a longer period of time.

Kind Regards,

Deanna Beaver

May 2008

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