Mrs. Schneider's Super Kids

May 2008

Welcome to the merry month of May!

It really is hard to believe that we have only 15 days left of this school year.  This really has been a great year for our class and I thank you all for your help and cooperation.  I couldn't ask for a better group of students and parents to share the year with.  I am one of the lucky teachers who won't have to say sad goodbyes on the last day, as we will all be together again next August.

May is going to be a very busy month at Mountain View.  Please take note of some important dates.

May 5th - Mountain View celebrates it's 80th year with a special outdoor ceremony and lots of other fun events.

May 9th - All library books need to be returned to the school library.

May 12th - AR Picnic

May 14th - Field Day

May 22nd - End of Year Party

May 23rd - Last day of school!

April 2008

Spring is here! 

I think that spring is my favorite season and there is nothing quite like passing by a perfectly shaped cherry tree laden with delicate pink blossoms to fill you with a sense of wonder and appreciation for the new life that spring offers!

We are following that theme with a science unit on life cycles.  We watched with fascination as our tiny caterpillars grew before our eyes, changed into chrysallids and then emerged about 10 days later as magnificent Pained Lady butterflies.  We kept them for a few days and then released them in a touching ceremony! After spring break we will study plants and hope to grow seedlings in our room. We have a super field trip planned to the Botanical Gardens that will reinforce what we are learning about.

Thank you so much to all who attended International Night and the Silent Auction.  Valen Northrup was the winner of our bid, and we are going to have our Treasure Hunt and treat at my home towards the end of April!  Congratulations Valen and thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Northrup.

CRCT Testing will be here before we know it, and I am very pleased with the practice books that we are completing in class and for homework.  Please remember that you can help your child with this as this is a teaching tool and not a test. 

Have a fantastic spring break!  I am going to enjoy a few days at the beach in Destin, and am looking forward to some rest and relaxation.

March Madness

March is a very busy month for us.  There are now less than 60 days of school until summer.  We have so much to accomplish in that time.  This month we will be doing lots of CRCT Practice.  I have sent home the CRCT Practice books for homework occasionally.  Please help your child as they work through the tests as this meant to be a learning tool not an assessment. I am trying to keep the CRCT testing experience a positive one, as I do not want my students to be overly stressed.

This month we are studying Australia in Social Studies, and will be studying Life Cycles of Plants and Animals in science.  I have ordered butterfly lava and we will watch as they go through their life cycle and hopefully emerge as beautiful Monarch butterflies.  We will also watch bean seeds grow and sprout into plants.

Dates to remember:

March 4 - Early Release

March 7 - 2nd grade Friends play

March 8 - Movie on the Mount

March 9 - Happy Birthday Cole!

March 12 - Star Lab - we will all go and experience this in-house field trip

March 20 - Report Cards go home

March 27 - International Festival and Silent Auction (I am auctioning off a fun afternoon of games, a treasure hunt, and making a yummy treat to eat)

February

Welcome to February!  This is going to be a busy month for us with lots of things happening around the school and in our classroom. 

Feb 6th - Early Release Day

Feb 7th -Picture Day and THE ART SHOW

Feb 18th and 19th - No school

Feb 14th - Valentines Day

We will exchange valentines in our class after lunch.  Please send in one for each child - Cole, Chris, Austin, Valen, and Daniella.  We will do some fun (and educational) activities that day to celebrate this special day, and we are planning some special treats.  We are going to attempt to make some yummy goodies in our room.

President's Day Project

Please refer to the rubric and information sheet to help your child complete this project.  The students need to use a large piece of poster board for this project.  They will get a chance to present to the class and I will video them.   The project is due on February 15th.  Projects can be brought in early if they are finished.

CRCT Practice Books

I have made CRCT Practice books for each child.  We will be working on these in school and I will also be assigning pages for homework.  The tests are the same format as the CRCT tests we take in April.  Please do not be alarmed at the difficulty of the tests.  All our students have to take grade level tests for the CRCT.   The more practice they get, the better chance they have of being successful.

Lastly, we still have "Share Time" every Friday afternoon.  This is a time where the children get a chance to practice speaking in front of others, listening and being a good audience, and using our best manners.  Please remember to have your child bring something to share.  It can be anything except weapons (even toy ones!).  A favorite picture, toy, book, photo, or food is acceptable.

January

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful break and got some time to enjoy being with family and friends.

This month we will be studying: Fractions, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, nouns, verbs, adjectives, energy and motion, and writing informational paragraphs!

This month we are starting a new Specials Schedule.  This is due to the addition of our computer lab teacher, Ms. Newhouse. THANK YOU MOUNTAIN VIEW FOUNDATION FOR PROVIDING THIS!!!!! Ms. Newhouse will be enhancing what we are doing in the classroom. She will begin with keyboarding skills as she reinforces our Georgia Performance Standards.

Conference week will be Jan. 22-28 I look forward to meeting with you all! 

Important Dates:

Jan. 21-MLK Holiday

Jan. 23 - 100th Day of School

Jan. 22, 23, 24, 25, 28--Early Release at 12:30 due to Conferences

December

What an exciting time of year this is for us!  We are enjoying the cooler weather and are eagerly awaiting the winter holidays. Before we break though, we have a lot to accomplish academically, so please encourage your children to remain focused and stick to their daily routine as much as possible.

In Language Arts we have been practicing correct capitalization, as well as learning our parts of speech. Math has seen us adding and subtracting with regrouping.  Reading is very individualized, but we will be reading The Gingerbread Boy next week, and combining that with lots of "Gingerbread" activities. In Science we will be learning about Force and Motion. We have also spent time talking about "Compassion and Caring", and have created a "Caring Tree" in our room which will hopefully be filled with lots of "caring apples" very soon.

Please note the following important events:

December 17th - We will be having our Polar Express Pyjama Party.  An invitation will be sent out next week.

December 20 - Holiday Party at 12:45.  We took a vote and the children want to make Gingerbread Houses again, although if we can find something else, we may change our minds.

Have a wonderful holiday season and take time to enjoy the many blessings in your lives!

November

Welcome to November with it's cooler days, blustery winds, and awesome colors! We are into our 2nd nine weeks of school, the routine is well-established and the children come in ready to learn and face the challenges of the day.  We also would like to welcome back Chris who has returned from Florida.  It is wonderful to have him back.

We had a super Fall celebration on the 31st October.  Thank you to all the parents, especially our room mom, Mrs. Northrup, for all the extra work she did to ensure that we had enough food, drinks, and a well-decorated classroom.  The boys had a lot of fun playing bingo, beanbag toss, and listening to a story.

In Math we will be learning to add and subtract 2 digit numbers with and without regrouping.  Please continue to drill those basic math facts at home so that they can become automatic.

Reading contiues to be individualized with all students working on appropriate grade-level or IEP goals.  Congrats to Austin  who was our first student to get on the AR wall in the Media Center.  Everyone reached their own personal reading goal and earned the Pizza Hut Book-it certificate.

In Social Studies we will be learning about the Pilgrims and Indians, and this will culminate in a small Thanksgiving Feast in our classroom the week of Thanksgiving.

IMPORTANT DATES!!!!

Nov. 5th and 6th - NO SCHOOL

Nov. 21-23 - Thanksgiving Holiday!!  No school!  Gobble Gobble

October

                   October is here, and although the calendar says it's fall, the warm temperatures we are having make it feel more like summer.  Despite the balmy weather, we have started a new unit in science focusing on the changing seasons.  We will be tying our theme to Language Arts with some descriptive writing, as well as learning about the different parts of speech.

Math has had us reviewing place value, one digit addition and subtraction, and odd and even numbers.  Now we are moving on to graphs and tables, and we will soon be doing double digit addition.  Please continue to have your child practice their math facts at home.  Flashcards are a great way for them to commit these facts to memory.

Reading in our room is very individualized, and I have completed the formal assessments for each student.  AR is strongly encouraged, and personal goals have been set for each child.  Mountain View public library carries many AR books, and you can check the level of any book online.  Simply go to the Mountain View website and click on AR.  I will warn you that this can be time consuming as you have to search through the titile or the author, and it is an alphabetical search.

Anyway, that's all the October news.  Picture day is on the 18th!

September

It is hard to believe that we are in our 4th week of school.  The children have settled down well and lots of learning is taking place.  Thank you for coming to Curriculum Night, if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

We are studying the Solar System in Science and your students are learning about the different planets and why we are able to live on planet earth!  The pneumonic "My Very Excited Mother Just Served Us Nuts" is helping us to remember the planets in the correct order - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. 

Spelling, Reading, L/Arts, and Math are individualized, so our students are learning different things.

August

Welcome  to Mrs. Schneider's Class

ABOUT THE TEACHER

This is my 3rd year at Mountain View Elementary, before that I taught at Tritt and East Valley Elementary Schools in Cobb County, and in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  I have taught both General Ed. and Special Education, and every year that passes makes me realize that teaching children with Special Needs is my calling in life.  I enjoy the challenge and excitement that I get when my students learn new things and become more successful in their social relationships.  I  live in East Cobb with my husband, and 3 children, Andrew (16), Hayley (14), and Justin (9).

MISSION FOR THE CLASS

My class at Mountain View Elementary School is a place where individuality is encouraged and

 respected, creativity is limitless, and being comfortable is guaranteed. I will 
join hands with you to help your child be the best that they can be!