Mrs. Kranzlein's Koalas

MESF Gala - BBQ and Blue Jeans

Please allow me to make a shameless plug for the upcoming gala.  Murdock's Foundation (MESF) has been in existance for less than five years.  Imagine, if you can, Murdock without mounted projectors and Smart Boards in every classroom, without a Science Lab and instructor, without a Spanish program, without document cameras and Senteo systems and without teacher training on integrating technology or on the Six Traits writing program.  Imagine fewer copiers and printers and not enough replacement ink cartridges.  MESF has revolutionized Murdock in a short period of time in ways that directly impact student achievement.

I hope you will consider attending the Gala and participating in the Silent Auction.  This is the major fundraiser for the year and allows you to purchase items that you can use while raising money for important ongoing enrichment programs that are not funded by the county or state such as Spanish and Science.  The details are below...I looking forward to seeing you there!

~Mrs. Kranzlein

When: Saturday, March 7th
             6:30-10:30 pm
Where: Nolan Hall at St. Ann's Catholic Church (Roswell Rd. & Bishop Lake Rd.)
What: 
    Casual Dress!  
    BBQ provided by Rib Ranch
    Music provided by Steve's Party Music
    Raffle Drawings, Live and Silent Auctions
    A fun and inexpensive night out
    FREE babysitting at Murdock
    Purchase tickets at MESF Website
    Supports Science, Spanish and Technology programs

Lummi Stick Performance

Thank you to Mrs. Rezendes for helping us get pictures!
                        

Week 25...and Looking Ahead

Week 25
Has it only been a week?  As I sit down to write this post, I keep checking my dates because I feel like we have covered two weeks worth of material.  And it was a short week on top of it.  The focus this week has been President's Day, numbers from 11 to 30, counting by fives, coins, and writing.  Perhaps that is why it feels so full.  Add to that the Lummi Stick performance and Picture Day and we have been quite busy. 

We also introduced 5-star sentences and 5-star listening.  It has been fun to see the koalas grab hold of the idea of self-monitoring as we ask them to rank themselves.  Five-star listening includes criss-cross with pockets on the floor, hands in lap, eyes on teacher, mouth quiet, and ears listening.  Five-star sentences have lower case letters except for the first one, end with a sentence stopper, have spaces between words, have popcorn words spelled correctly, and have other words stretched. 

Looking Ahead
Did you know that there are six weeks of school before Spring Break and another six weeks until the end of the school year?  It is hard to believe that we are rounding the bend and heading into the home stretch.  For the remainder of our time together, we will be learning about plants, animals, the ocean, national symbols and summer holidays.  In math, we will be working on mastering the basics and then introducing addition and subtraction.  Of course, we will continue to grow as readers and writers.

Next week, We will focus on our math skills next week especially counting skills.  As we have been working on bigger numbers and money, it has become clear that this is an area where all of our koalas need more practice.  So be on the lookout for a math homework chart.  This week, I am going to ask that you have your koala count by 1's, 5's and 10's to 100 every day.  This can be rote counting (out loud) or counting objects like coins.  On the chart, there will be a place for you to "grade" your child based on accuracy.  The purpose of the grade is so that your student can see the improvement that comes with practice.  March is Math month at Murdock so we will continue with math homework through the end of March. 

At the end of March, I would like to set up a market place in our classroom.  I need volunteers to help set up and decorate, some to donate "merchandise" or services, and some to man the store from 7:30-8:00 each morning during the week of March 30 - April 3.  If you can help, please contact me or Jennifer Beck.

As always, it is a joy to work with your kids!!!

Weeks 23 and 24...and Looking Ahead

Weeks 23 and 24
The last two weeks started with Groundhog's Day and wrapped with a fun-filled day before Valentine's.  In the middle, we had a great turn out at Art and Technology Night and the kids enjoyed Career Day.  In math, we have working on numbers from 11 to 30.  In Language Arts, we continue to focus on handwriting and popcorn/sight words.  We have raised the bar in writing by asking our koalas to spell sight words correctly. 

Thank you for your support as we have worked on class behavior.  Last week, we saw a significant improvement in this area.  Please continue to check the behavior calendar in your student's blue folder daily. 

Looking Ahead...
We started our unit on Presidents Day by virtually touring Mount Vernon and Lincoln's Springfield home in the computer lab.  We will do more activities this week associated with Presidents Day with a focus on recognizing the name and value of coins. 

Thank you to the families that have supported our weekly cooking activities by volunteering to help or by sending in supplies.  Unfortunately, we are not receiving the supplies we need each week.  We recognize that it is not as easy for some families to donate as others especially during tough economic times so we are going to discontinue our weekly cooking activities at this time.  We are going to replace this with a "Mystery Reader" on Fridays.  Mystery Readers can be parents, grandparents, karate instructors, or others in the community that would like to volunteer.  If you or someone you know would enjoy coming and reading to our class on Fridays at 1:15, please let me know.

We will also continue with our letter of the day activities.  This week's letters are n, o, p, and q.  Your child is encouraged to bring in a magazine or newspaper clipping with the letter of the day circled or a small "show and tell" item that starts with that letter.

Daily homework continues to be reading and popcorn words.  Your work at home is very evident in class each day.  We are so excited by the growth that we are seeing in reading and writing that is facilitated by the consistent reinforcement you provide at home.

TECHNOLOGY AND ART NIGHT, February 5th

                                        

TECHNOLOGY  & ART NIGHT 

Thursday, February 5, 2009

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM for Technology

5:30 PM - 8:00 PM for Art

Explore state of the ART technology in Murdock's classrooms.  Teachers and students will act as your technology guides as you experience SmartBoards, Cobb's Virtual Library, 21st Century Music Instruction, Webquests, Destiny and much, much, more....

All students in attendance will receive TWO charms, a computer mouse and an artist's palette.  This is the ONLY time these charms will be offered.

 

                                        

TECHNOLOGY  & ART NIGHT 

Thursday, February 5, 2009

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM for Technology

5:30 PM - 8:00 PM for Art

Explore state of the ART technology in Murdock's classrooms.  Teachers and students will act as your technology guides as you experience SmartBoards, Cobb's Virtual Library, 21st Century Music Instruction, Webquests, Destiny and much, much, more....

All students in attendance will receive TWO charms, a computer mouse and an artist's palette.  This is the ONLY time these charms will be offered.

 

Weeks 20, 21, and 22 in Review...and Looking Ahead

Weeks 20, 21, 22
Wow!  January flew by.  We have had many highlights including Snow Day in the Science Lab, the 100th day, learning about MLK Day, and adjusting to the many changes in our normal schedule.  In math, our focus has been on learning about number words and two digit numbers especially 11 to 30.  We are carving out time to work on handwriting and D'Nealian.  It has been exciting to see our koalas grow as readers and writers.  We have challenged our koalas to work on their popcorn words.  Once all koalas know the first 10 lists, we will have a class popcorn party.  Last Thursday, Mrs. Kauffman helped kickoff our unit on Living and Non-living things.  The students enjoyed looking at her crickets and hermit crab.

Of course, we also made it through conference week.  Thank you so much for making time to come in and discuss your child's progress with me.  Parent involvement is a key ingredient in student success.  It was a pleasure to get to meet with each of you...you have great kids!!! 

Looking Ahead...
As fun as it was to get out of school early, I do think the schedule took its toll on our koalas.  Behavior deteriorated by the end of the week.  It will be good for all of us to return to our regular routine.  Don't be surprised if you see notes on your behavior calendar this week as Mrs. Nolan, Mrs. Pepe and I re-establish boundaries, procedures and routines. 

Please continue to work on popcorn words at home.  We are really seeing the fruits of this in your child's reading and writing.  Additionally, we are progressing through the alphabet one letter a day.  Last week, we made it from a-e.  We will be tackling e, f, g, and h this week (skipping Wednesday because of Early Release).  Each day, your child is encouraged to bring in an article or ad from a magazine or newspaper with the letter for that day circled each time it appears.  So on Monday, the letter is f.  They can also bring in an item that starts with that letter as long as is can fit in their hands.  We will give them an opportunity to "show and tell". 

We do have several important dates coming up.  February 5th is Art and Technology Night (details are posted separately).  We will exchange valentines on Friday, February 13th.  We will send home instructions but in case you want a head start...simple homemade valentines are encouraged.  Valentines should have the name of the child they are from only.  This will simplify the delivery process significantly. 

Remember that Wednesday, February 4th, is an Early Release Day.  Teachers will be involved in training that afternoon.  Monday, February 16th, is a student holiday to celebrate Presidents Day.  Again, teachers will be at county training sessions that day.

Look for blog updates to become more regular as normalcy returns to the routine.  I appreciate your patience and support!