Happy Holidays Everyone!

I hope you have a GREAT two weeks off with your families.

I sent home a puzzle pack full of word searches and look and find pages for the kids to do over the holidays. This is NOT to come back to school. This was just for FUN. We all know they get bored easily.

They can also practice math on their marker boards as well as their new spelling words for when we get back. I sent a copy home with the kids.

ONE THING I would like you to do is have them READ. We are doing dibels testing when we return and I sent home a few Christmas stories to practice reading. The more they re-read these passages the better, and more fluent they will be.

They also have their two chapter books they can be reading.

LEARNING NEVER TAKES A BREAK. Your brain is a muscle so you have to keep it in shape. Even on a holiday.

I want to send a special thanks to EVERYONE who sent in items for our class Cookie party. How delicious. We had a great time. And an extra special thanks to those of you who stopped in to help.

I also LOVED all my Christmas gifts. That was very sweet of all of you.

Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year~ See you gback in 2012

-Mrs. Mainor

It's our last week together before Christmas Break. We have a lot of activities planned this week.

Monday and Tuesday: Are the last 2 days to get our grades completed before the 9 weeks ends on Wednesday.

Monday and Tuesday: We will be doing any and all make up work needed. We will take our last timed drills for Math along with our last County Test for this nine weeks. We will finish our last grade on Natural Resources for Science as well.

Reading/Language/Spelling are done...Except for make up work.

**Students will also try to reach their 9 weeks goals for A.R. during these days.

WEDNESDAY: All grades are due and A.R. books will be turned in. No more testing.

Wednesday: Breakfast with Santa, and then our class holiday party at 1:30.

We will do Christmas crafts throughout the day.

Thursday: Students wear pajamas on this day. We will do Christmas Activities all day.

At 1:30 we will have our Movie/Gotcha party.

Friday: Students will be released at 12:30pm. We will clean up and do Christmas activities all morning.

****If you are cleaning out toys to prepare for Christmas. We need treasure box items at this time. Bring in your toys you don't need anymore.

*****OUR CHRISTMAS PARTY will be a cookies and milk fest.

If everyone will MAKE christmas cookies to bring in on Wednesday that would be great. It's always fun to see the variety of cookies that come in. Make a mini memory with your child. Making cookies together is always fun. There isn't any homework this week. I have a few parents bringing milk and cups. Everyone else please bring in cookies. Your choice on variety.

WE HAVE 20 STUDENTS.

Our party will follow our lunch time so...Cookies are a great desert.

I will pass out my presents for the students at that time too.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK...

ps. don't forget to make arrangements ... your child will be home early on Friday.

-Mrs. Mainor

Two Weeks Until Christmas Break.
We have school until December 16th.

*I have a special thank you to send out to Jonathan's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clarke. They donated to the Bake Sale the Friday we had our field trip and we got two plates of Cookies for our class to enjoy as a snack. THANK YOU They were delicious.

*Also special thanks to Jamie Collier's family for donating a huge thing of paper towels. We needed them sooo bad THANKS.

I AM PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT:
COOSADA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WON 1st PLACE FOR SCHOOL FLOATS IN THE CHRISTMAS PARADE last Sat.
I rode on the float with the student council reps.
Congratulations to TRAVASIA DUNCAN who is our class rep.
The kids did a great job.
AND..... We saw many of our classmates in the crowd. Thanks for coming.

This week:
Mon.- We have our Eye screening (It has been postponed until Thursday due to a scheduling conflict from the eye people)

Tues.- We have our Penguin Patch shopping time at 10:20am If you want your child to purchase items from the penguin patch for parents/grandparents...etc... then send them with money to spend on TUESDAY.

Tues. Night- At 6:00pm in our lunchroom...We have our 1st and 2nd grade choir concert. Please come if you can.

Friday - We have Computer Lab and Library in the morning.

Friday = HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO: TAYLOR REPSHER

*Many of you have asked me about a wish list... I will send that home later this week.

*Class Christmas Party info. will come home later this week too.

Have a Great Week.
-Mrs. Mainor

I hope everyone had a Fabulous week off with your families for Thanksgiving. I am personally thankful for all of you and everything you do to help your child be successful. I am also thankful for the opportunity to teach your child. I love teaching!
We ended last week with a field trip to the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. I have never been there before and thought it was great. The kids got a wonderful compliment about their behavior. I was so proud of them. They also asked really good questions, and did an awesome piece of Art Work. (that should have come home)
I'd like to send a special THANKS to: Mr. Baggett, Mrs. Collier, and Mr. Deason for Chaperoning our Field trip. You were a huge help and we appreciate you coming with us.
*p.s. I will be keeping the field trip shirts until next time... If you have a green field trip t-shirt that came home please send it back to me. Thanks.

Our Curriculum this week:
Unit 3 Week #2
Spelling: Long O spelling patterns
Reading: "Dear Juno" story about writing letters.
** We will be sending our flat Stanley people this week. (it goes along with our weekly story)
Language: Matching verbs with nouns. We will add an -s to a verb to tell what ONE person, animal or thing does. We will not add an -s to a verb talking about a plural noun. (kind of a hard concept for them)
Math: We will be adding with regrouping this week.
Science: Still working on living things.

*We will have a special visit from Mrs. Pam from Auburn to do a math lesson this week with us on Thurs., Dec. 1st.
** Our special classes this week are: Counseling with Mrs. Bush on Wed. and Music on Friday. We also have computer lab on Friday.
*** Remember that on Thursday we have our Reading and Language quizzes, and on Friday we have Spelling, Math, and Science tests.

Your child will have a Library book come home EVERY night.

Have a GREAT week.
-Mrs. Mainor

I hope your weekend was as good as mine. Great Family time, Great Football/Cheerleading, Great Rest. I got to see my MOM too. :)

Now it's back to business.
We have a full week of school this week. Except Friday will be a Field Trip Day for us. I am happy to say that everyone will be attending. Yeahhhh!
I have the students' field trip shirts in my classroom and will pass them out the morning of the field trip. I will then take them back at the end of the day to keep for the next field trip. Don't worry, I will wash them. (and of course their names will be put on the tag)
We are beginning unit 3. My the year is flying by.
We are back to Homework in Reading, Spelling, Reading practice story, and A.R. *Math depends on the availability of practice pages.
Science has been fun with the hands on Organisms unit we are studying. The kids have made Terrariums, Planted plants, and created Aquariums to observe. Our plants are really growing tall now. They are so excited and having fun.

I would like to try something new....
I want to start to EMAIL you the weekly newsletter BUT first I want to see if you all like this idea as a quicker way to communicate with you.
If you would like to be included in my weekly email:
Please send me your working email address in your child's folder this week, or email me your address at: dana.mainor@elmore.k12.al.us
If there is enough interest I would like to go back to a more traditional weekly newsletter format and send it TO you.
Just let me know.
Have a Great Week.
-Mrs. Mainor

I want everyone to have a great 3-Day weekend with your families.
Thank you to all the Veterans out there who have fought to keep our country safe and free. Please tell a Vet of any kind how much you appreciate them this Veteran's Day.
Without them... The USA would not be our strong country we know today.

Over the long weekend I do not want any graded papers to go missing.
SO........ Expect them to come home on Monday to be returned to school on Tuesday of next week.
Thank you for all you do.
-Mrs. Mainor

This week is our Unit Testing week.

We will be reviewing all week long and taking a small portion of the U.2 Reading test each day.

Our spelling word patterns from the last 5 weeks will also be on the phonics part of this test.

*NO SPELLING WORDS to study this week. *NO READING STORY this week and NO READING PASSAGE either.

We will review on Mon. and Tues. for our U. 2 Language Test and take it on Wed.

Thursday and Friday we will do our graded writing assignment.

In Math we will take two county tests throughout the week on material we have already covered. We will also practice adding and subtracting two digit numbers.

In Science we will work on our Living Things Unit. We have made a terrarium and planted seeds this past week; and will be creating an aquarium this week.

This weeks' special activities are Counseling on Wednesday and Music on Friday.

We also have MATH NIGHT on Tuesday... Please try to come and play math games with your families. (in our class) The PTA will be serving Pizza in the lunchroom as well.

I want to send a special thanks to Mrs. Jan for helping us with AR this week and making our Terrariums.

I also want to send a special thanks to Rachel Flower's Mom and Grandma for donating a CLICKER for our overhead projector. MUCH NEEDED and it's HERE.... Yeahhhhhhhh.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Parents and Grandparents you are such a huge part of your child's success in school. Checking folders, helping with homework/projects, coming to lunch, talking with your child, reading with your child and just being involved in what's going on in school for them is key to their success. They love to please YOU! I want to thank all of you for your support this year.

November is the month of Thanksgiving ... AND I AM THANKFUL FOR YOU.

Have a Great Week.

-Mrs. Mainor

Wow ... What a busy week. This time of year is jam packed.

Special Thanks to all the parents who came to help out with the Halloween parade and party... you helped make things go smoothly.

*If anyone has any good pictures from Friday's activities I'd like to have a copy of them. You can email them to me or put them on a cd. THANKS.

This week is another full/regular academic week. Monday is day #1 and Friday is day #5.

Our Reading and language tests are on Thursday. Our Spelling, Math and Science quizzes are on Friday.

We have Library on Friday, and our make up music class on Monday morning.

Hope you have a great week.

Happy Halloween on Monday and if you trick or treat... Be Careful out there.

-Mrs. Mainor

This is RED RIBBON Week:

Please see your sheet we sent home to be sure your child wears the special clothes suggested for each day this week.

This week we have counseling on Wednesday, and Music on Friday (depending on when the parade ends)

We also will have a Halloween party following the parade on Friday morning.

I will have a sub after PE on that day.

All tests will be conducted on Thursday of this week due to special activities on Friday.

We want to send a special thanks to: Mrs. Jan and Mrs. Flowers for helping with A.R. this week.

Also thanks to Mrs. Flowers for donating a Mystery book from the book fair to our class.

And... to Mrs. Collier for donating $10 worth of books fromthe book fair to our class. We were able to purchase 3 books for our class. :)

I hope you were as proud of your child's progress as I was this first nine weeks. I can say everyone did a great job in something.

We had 3 students make the All A's Honor Roll and 11 students make the A/B Honor Roll.

We also had 9 students make All Happy Faces on their behavior charts this nine weeks.

(they received a candy bar)

Keep up the great work. I expect the same or better this next nine weeks. Everyone make some goals for yourselves...A lot goes on during the Fall season.

Look for a sign up sheet in your child's folder on Monday to say what you will send in for Friday's Party. *If you have a special item you want to make and bring/send in then please let me know. People have really cute treats this time of year.

Send your sheet back on Tuesday so I know what we still need. Thank You.

Have a Great Week.

-Mrs. Mainor

Welcome to the 2nd Nine Weeks.

Even though last week was only 3 days, we packed more activities into that 3 days than we regularly do in a full week. It was a true whirlwind.

We had an American Soldier Visit our Pod (home from Iraq for a two week break). The kids asked really GREAT questions and learned a lot of great info. We will continue to correspond with this soldier throughout the rest of this school year.

We had another Gifted lesson. We had Counseling with Mrs. Bush. And we tried to meet our AR goals for the 9 weeks. The computers crashed on Thursday bringing our whole day to a halt.

*Our A.R. goals START OVER on Monday, October 17th. Please continue to expect an AR book to come home each night. I will be expecting the students to take 1 or 2 tests per day.

This week brings us back to a 5 day week and to Unit 2 Week 3 curriculum.

We will have our Reading and Language tests this Thursday.

We will have our Spelling and Math tests this Friday.

In Science/ S.S. we will be talking about Landforms and our quiz will be Friday.

We will have Library time on Friday as well.

REPORT CARDS for the 1st nine weeks will come home on Thursday.

Monday, October 17th Please expect Graded Papers to come home.

This will be the last batch for the First Nine weeks.

Have a great week.

-Mrs. Mainor

I actually meant Tuesday. Oops.

Hope you all had a great Fall Break. Nice weather to enjoy with your families.

This week we only have a 3 Day week with all the regular testing.
We will test on U.2 W.2 words (which you have already) and our next story (Ronald Morgan)
The grades taken this week will be the last of this first nine week period.

Wednesday we have counseling with Mrs. Bush, and our regular day.
Thursday we have our weekly story quiz and we may have a special visit from an American Soldier on his 2 week break from Afganistan.
Friday we have computer lab, music, Language, Math, and Science tests.
*Obviously we will cover the material thoroughly before taking any tests.
Please read the weekly story with your child on Wed. and Thurs. nights.

All three days we will complete any make up work needed.
THESE ARE THE LAST 3 DAYS OF THE 1st NINE WEEKS.

It is very important for your child to attend school this week.

Please be on the lookout for the "FLAT STANLEY" project that will come home with graded papers on Thursday afternoon. *This will count as a science grade for the next nine weeks.

We want to send a special thanks to Ms. Jan, Sara Paige's Nana for Reading a story to our green pod on "Read for the Record Day", AND for helping us with our A.R. time last week.
We also want to thank BaLeigh Hart's family for sending in cupcakes to celebrate her Birthday. Happy Birthday BaLeigh!!!!!
And last but not least, Thank you to Jamie Collier's family for sending in the beaker of halloween candy for our Estimation Station. Very cool item.

Thanks for all you do each day to help your child be successful. We appreciate YOU.

Have a great week.
Mrs. Mainor

NO SCHOOL MONDAY or TUESDAY for Fall Break.

Enjoy your days off and time with your families.

I'll post again Monday night for the short week.

SHAVED ICE TOMORROW = $1.50


WEAR PAJAMAS TOMORROW = for Read for the record day


Happy Birthday to BaLeigh Hart :)


Good News Club Starts TOMORROW after school... If you signed your child up remember to pick them up at the car rider area at 4pm.

Last Friday was so full of activity it went by in a blink.

We had computer lab, music class, a Gifted Screening Lesson, and a special science assembly put on by the McWayne Center.

Please ask your child about these activities. The experiments were awesome.

He made toothpaste, set a dollar on fire that didn't burn up, and made the air in a balloon disappear and then reappear... All by using solids, liquids, and gas principles.

We also had our apple tasting.

We send a special thanks to:

Travasia Duncan's Grandma and Justin LaFogg's Mom for making apple pies.

(they were different from each other and both DELICIOUS)

Thanks to Alurrian Jones' Mom for sending in extra apples.

Taylor Repsher's Grandma for sending in apples with a caramel sauce.

Sara Paige Baggett's Dad for making apple Strudel.

and... Rachel Flower's Mom for making apple/raisin cookies with a drizzle icing.

WE WERE STUFFED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Earlier in the week we tasted and voted on our favorite kind of apple (red, yellow, green)

Then we tasted apple sauce vs apple butter

and... apple cider vs apple juice

and then... apple cider vinegar ewwwwww that makes you pucker.

and last... dried caramel apple chips and sour apple straws.

Our Gotcha Party will be Monday afternoon. It's a Wii Party.

We are starting Unit 2 this week.

Your child WILL have spelling words to study and a new reading story in their reading book.

Homework will be: A spelling page, math page, timed reading passage practice, to read their weekly reading story, and and A.R. book too. Whew... Back to normal business.

TESTS: Reading, Language on Thursday Math and Science on Friday

*We will be taking our county tests in math this week. These tests are a mix of skills we have been studying.

*We will also be finishing the science kit on balancing and weighing.

Hope you have a Great week. Glad the weather is turning cold.

-Mrs. Mainor

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

I want to thank everyone who sent in their Cookie Dough fundraising money.

We had 3 students from our class turn in money.

Congratulations to Rachel Flowers for being our class top seller. :)

I would also like to encourage every family to be sure to send in $10 to join PTA.

I would love to have 100% participation from our class. If you haven't joined yet, think about it.

Our special math lesson with Mrs. Pam last week revealed that my students are smart cookies.

They had to pass information along with each student having a specific job. Each group created a monster based on very limited and specific directions. All groups did GREAT. Mrs. Pam will be back with another lesson in upcoming months.

This week we are celebrating Johnny Appleseed's Birthday. We will do several activities based on his story and apple legacy.

We will also conduct a basic apple tasting and we will graph our findings.

****If you have an interesting "apple based" recipe you would like to make and send in on FRIDAY we would love for you to make it. We will eat all special apple snacks sent in on Friday morning.

Just make enough of your special something for 20 people to taste it.

This week is also our UNIT 1 Testing week.

There will be NO spelling words, spelling homework or spelling test.

We will have NO reading story or reading story quiz. (no book will come home)

We will have NO language quiz.

We WILL have a Large Unit 1 Test that mixes all the reading, and spelling skills from our last 5 stories.

Reading Skills are:

Character and Setting

Main Idea and Detail

Realism and Fantasy

*We have discussed and applied these skills to our stories of the week over the last 5 weeks.

ON THE UNIT TEST... The students will see 4 new mini stories. Each story will have questions about the skills listed above.

ON THE UNIT TEST... There is a vocabulary section that has questions that the students will fill in the blank with the correct answer.

ON THE UNIT TEST... There is a phonics section. They will ask the students to find the word that has the same sound as the one they are given. The sound/spelling patterns will come from our last 5 spelling tests.

*We will review on Monday and take a little part of the test each day. The test will be taken on the computer.

We will have a Unit 1 Language test.

Language Skills are:

Identifying a sentence from an incomplete idea

Identifying the subject of the sentence (who is doing the action)

Identifying the predicate of the sentence (what is the action in the sentence)

Identifying a statement from a question ( . ?)

Identifying a command from an exclaimation ( . ! )

*We will review for a few days and then take the test.

Math is regular this week.

Science is more Balancing and Weighing with "food" this time.

This is our week for Music.

We will have it on Friday, as well as our regular computer lab.

On Friday we will also have a special Gifted Screening lesson.

We will NOT have counseling this week.

Have a great week. I think the fall weather is trying to show up. Keep your fingers crossed.

-Mrs. Mainor

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Did you catch a football game or go see the women's golf tournament? Whatever you did the weather was fabulous and thank goodness a little cooler.

We started the weekend off great with our Gotcha Party. It was the BEST.

All our students were able to attend.

We danced and danced and danced the afternoon away. What fun.

We will now start over with earning 3 gotchas towards the next gotcha party.

This week is our Library Week (on Friday) and of course Computer lab too.

I was wrong about the special math lesson from our AMSTI lady "Ms. Pam". She didn't come last week.... Instead...

She will be coming tomorrow (Mon.) to do our lesson at 12:30 with us.

Shaved Ice is Tuesday... Please send in $1.50 with your child if they want to buy.

Picture day is Wednesday... Please dress your child nicely and send in the order form with your money if you choose to buy. (this is also the individual picture, of your child, that will show up in the school yearbook)

And of course... Friday is game day and your child can buy a booster badge or pom pom or other items from the Stanhope Cheerleaders. 75cents and up.

I have to stress how important it is for your child to attend school, especially on our test days, Thursday and Friday, thank you.

We would like to send a SPECIAL THANKS to Jonathan Clarke's Family for sending in our awesome treasure box prizes for the month of September. WOW.... Thank you...The kids went wild over them and... probably brought one home this past Friday.

*just a reminder... If your child earns all happy faces throughout the week they get to choose from the treasure box each Friday.

We want to congratulate Marion Wilson for filling out her Blue Library Card... She has read 100 books, got her picture taken and will attend the special party in the spring.

*Remember you have until April to fill out your card. Keep on Reading. :)

Our student of the week last week was: Justin LaFogg.

Students of the week get to lead our class line EVERYWHERE we go throughout the week. They get to choose a friend to sit at a special table in the lunchroom each day. And...They get to attend a special party Just for Students Of the Week.

Everyone will have a turn as student of the week.

I randomly choose from the list of students who have all happy faces from the week before.

Once everyone has a turn then we will start over....again focusing on good behavior.

This week is our Last story for unit 1.

Next week we will have our first big unit test that has skills from our last 5 stories and spelling units. Look for a review sheet coming home later this week.

Have a Great Week!

-Mrs. Mainor

I enjoyed meeting with everyone about your babies this past week at our conferences. Thank you all for coming.

This week we have to celebrate Elijah Lamb for reading 100 books already... WOW.

Please continue to write every title of the books you read on your blue log. When you reach 100 books you get your picture made and a ribbon...and you get to attend a special party at the end of the school year. Remember you have until April to complete your log.

This week we have Counseling on Wednesday and Music class on Friday.

We also have a special Math lesson on Monday. Ms. Pam, from AMSTI, will come in and do a hands on math lesson with us. She will visit us on many occasions throughout the school year.

Graded papers will come home on THURSDAY. "last Thurs. I had a sub"

We start a new story this week. Day #1 will be Monday and Day #5 will be Friday. We are back on track for a regular week.

Our Language and Reading tests will be on Thursday and the Spelling, Math, and Science test will be on Friday.

Please expect to see your child's reading book come home Mon. Tues. and Wed.

Expect to see the nightly reading passage, Spelling and Math homework each night.

The new thing... Expect to see one Library book come home each night as well.

Have a Great Week.

-Mrs. Mainor

Happy Labor Day Weekend!!!!

We have NO SCHOOL on Monday...or Tuesday.

I will see each of you at your scheduled time on Tuesday to talk about your child's progress so far and their goals for the year.

I look forward to seeing each of you then.

Please bring any questions you have to the meeting so we can be sure to address them at that time.

We HAVE started checking out library books and taking A.R. Tests.

Please be sure to record ANY BOOK your child reads onto their Blue Library sheet. Once they reach 100 books they will get their picture taken and be on the list for a special Library party at the end of the school year.

We had 12 students attend from our class last year (the most I have had Ever). I'd like to top that if possible this year. I will remind you frequently to keep track of it. The Fridge is a great place to keep it.

Our special class this Friday is Library. Mrs. McConnell will do an activity with the kids on this day.

Our Day #1 for Reading/ Language was on Friday. Day #2 is Wed. Day #3 is Thursday and we will combine Day #4/5 on Friday. All Tests will be taken this coming Friday for U.1 W.3 spelling words, language test and reading story quiz. We also have Computer lab. Friday's are very BUSY and are extremely important to attend.

ATTENDANCE...Please send an excuse note within 3 days of your child's absence.

Our new computer system will NOT allow grades to be taken for unexcused absences.

If we take tests on a day your child is absent and that absence is unexcused... your child will receive a 0% on that test.

I am so excited that all our programs are up and running. All initial testing is complete and we have started reading groups. This week we will add our working centers along with groups. Thank you for encouraging your child to do their best and behave (especially during independent work times).

Please ask your child about their time with Mrs. Bush in counseling this past Wed. and then their time with Mrs. Kingsmore for Music this past Friday. They had their first visit with these special classes.

SHAVED ICE is this FRIDAY, Sept. 9th. Send $1.50 with your child ON THAT DAY if they are buying. I cannot hold money ahead of time in my class.

Have a great long weekend.

See you Tuesday.

-Mrs. Mainor

This week went great. The students adjusted well to our "real" everyday curriculum. We had small groups and all our testing. It will be a slight challenge each Friday to get all our work in around all the special classes we have on that day. But we will manage.

I want to send a SUPER SPECIAL THANKS to EVERYONE who sent in "toy box" treasure items this past week. WOW... I couldn't have provided the quantity of good toys we received. The kids are overjoyed and asked EVERY day if this was the day we pick.

*We will do this type of bring in again, later this year.

We also had our Gotcha Kickoff assembly this past Friday. Students learned about earning Gotcha's for gettiing caught being good, and earning Minor Behavior Incidents when they are caught breaking one of the 3 school rules. An MBI takes away an already earned Gotcha. Students will need to earn 3 over the next two weeks to go to the first Gotcha "DANCE" party.

I have confidence that everyone will be attending from our class.

*Shaved Ice went great...many bought. The next day for Shaved Ice is September 9th.

This week in class:

Our reading story will be about Space.

Our Science "Balancing and Weighing" Unit will start Monday. That is one of our AMSTI kits and it takes about a month to complete it.

We will keep a B & W notebook "in class" that will count for a grade when complete, along with weekly tests on the material.

*I may also take a science grade on the material that goes along with our weekly story (space). This will be covered and completed in a Reading center.

In Math we will continue to work on addition strategies.

Our special classes this week are:

Wednesday: Counseling with Mrs. Bush at 10:30

Friday: Computer Lab = 9:15 Music = 10:30 Free centers = 2:00

The First Week of School Went GREAT!!!!!!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, my new batch of babies.
What a sweet class... This year is gonna be Great.

I want to send out special Thanks to:
Alurrian's Mom for helping me with labeling supplies the first day of school. That was the smoothest my first day has EVER been. WOW... what a difference. Thank you so much.
Thanks to all of you who brought your supplies to open house...that also helped with organization.
Thanks to EVERYONE who completed and turned in their paperwork and fees this week. That's one less thing we have to worry about. I will remind those of you who I am still missing items from.
And Thanks to Rachel's mom for joining us for lunch one day this week. Your baby was so excited.

Our first DIBELS testing will be this coming Wednesday. Please make sure your child has a good night's sleep on Tuesday night, and a good Breakfast Wednesday morning. DIBELS scores will help me determine how to help your child read better through our reading groups.
(We will test again after Christmas and again at the end of the school year)

Monday we start our curriculum and homework. Be on the lookout for Reading books to come home that week as well as homework and reading passages.

For Reading.... Monday is Day #1 And Friday is Day #5
Reminder.... Day 1 (we introduce spelling words/pretest, introduce the reading story and vocab.)
Days 2 and 3 (we practice the reading skill of the week, and read the story with comprehension questions)
Day #4 we Take the story quiz (13 questions are completed on the computer)
The written part of the test has two questions about the story.
Then there is a FRESH READ story with 5 questions about it. (using the same story skill we learned that week)
***You will receive the Written part of the test each week to see
(it will have the breakdown of how many your child missed in each section.
Day #5 We review the week... and do story art.
**REMEMBER due to holidays ...sometimes the day #1 may not fall on a Monday and day #5 may not fall on a Friday.

Language Tests will be given on Day #5 as well as Spelling Tests.

Usually FRIDAY's are a VERY busy TEST DAY.
HOWEVER, it also is our SPECIAL CLASSES day.

Every Friday we will have Computer Lab 9:15 - 9:45am Wooooo Hooooo
Then We alternate weeks with Music and Library from 10:30 - 11:10
THEN We have free centers every Friday from 2:00 - 2:25 (for those who earn it)
WOW... busy busy.

We start fresh the next Monday with new words, a new story etc. SOOOO it is very important to ATTEND SCHOOL on Friday's if at all possible. It is a big day.

Have a great Weekend.
-Mrs. Mainor

Welcome To Second Grade:)
We had a Wonderful turn out at Open House last night. Thank you all for making the time to attend. I enjoyed meeting/seeing all of you. This is one of the few times throughout the school year that I get to see whole families together and I Love it.
Be on the watch for upcoming events like..Family Math Night, Family Reading Night, The Spring Fling and of course our Awards ceremonies at the end of the school year.
Throughout the school year there are several opportunities to come join us. You can come for lunch ANYTIME, you can come on field trips, you can volunteer to help out at school or in our class, and you can join us for any special activities/ class parties. The kids LOVE the times when you get to be a part of their school day.
Last night I mentioned a new program we are using that can help the kids practice reading and math skills. It is called: "CLASSWORKS". As I learn more about how students can use the program at home I will relay the info. to you.
Please make sure your paperwork is filled out and returned by next Friday, August 19th. Thanks.
Over the first few weeks of school be sure to check our blog several times. As we adjust to the new school year I will be posting new info. as I get it. After that I will post once a week to update the lesson plans and our weekly newsletter.
Remember to sign up as a blog follower. This should remind you through email when a new blog post has been made.
If you have any questions about the handbook information or paperwork we are filling out please let me know. You have multiple ways to contact me and I will get your answers as quickly as possible.
Have a GREAT last WEEKEND of SUMMER with your babies.
Monday... We get down to Business.
-Mrs. Mainor

Well, We are down to the last two weeks of school. My it has gone by so fast.

This week will be conducted as normally as possible.
We are scheduled to have counseling with Mrs. Bush on Thursday, and Music on Friday.
They will let me know if their schedule will be different this week.

Monday:
We will introduce our last reading story with spelling and language skills (no testing though) Homework will be regular spelling and reading passage.
We will also finish our math grades and any make up work.
We will go to the computer lab and complete any lessons needed there as well.
Monday/Tuesday the students will complete the END OF THE YEAR BENCHMARK TEST.
This test is similar to the reading unit tests. It will not count as a grade on the report card.
However, the results will be put in the cume folder to go to 3rd grade with your child.
*there are 60 questions. *most students will take the test on the computer.


Tuesday:
We will attend a Choir concert in the morning.
We will also have the Millbrook Librarian visit us from 12-12:25 that same day.
All other academic activities will be regular.
*You will receive your child's LAST batch of graded papers on Tuesday. Please sign and return.


Wednesday:
All morning activities will be normal.
We will have field day from 12:30 - 1:15.
We will break into smaller groups and visit 19 stations within this 50minute period.
*Anyone who wants to send in Popsicles on this day; We will welcome them.
*Anyone who wants to come help chaperone our games; We will also welcome you.


Thursday is our HONOR's DAY PROGRAM.
We hope all of you can join us for our special morning.
We will start in our classroom, with our classroom awards, and a mini-brunch from 9-10am
Then we will move t0 the gym for our green pod/school awards from 10:15 - 11am
You are free to check your child out to go home at that point.


Friday:
We will host a first grade class, for an in-house orientation field trip, to tell them about what to expect in 2nd grade.
We will have our "water day" gotcha party a little later in the day.
Please send your child in a T-shirt and shorts on Friday. (and an extra pair to change into)
They will not get SOAKED but should get wet with our water games/activities.
NO BATHING SUITS... thank you. *you can bring a towel in your bookbag if you wish.

The Last week of school activites... TBA. *we will have a board games day.
The last day of school is Thursday, May 26th... and it usually is a half day of school.

Have a great week.
-Mrs. Mainor

Teacher Appreciation Week Was GREAT. Thank you to all of you who sent in flowers, and treats, and school supplies, and notes. I truely feel appreciated. You made my week great.
I love being your child's teacher.
Also.... Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommies out there. I hope you enjoyed your baby's present for you. They really worked hard all week on them. And I hope you got some special pampering as well.

The Hundred Books Party was an Ice Cream Surprise outside with the Librarian and all the other 2nd graders who read 100 books this year. Any toppings they wanted. How Cool.
We Had TWELVE students reach that goal and attend this party.
Congratulations... What an accomplishment.

Happy Birthday to Kameron Horn last Friday and Thanks to his Grandma for bringing in Cupcakes to help us all celebrate. Kameron has been counting down the days for a LONG time.

This week and next week are the last two we will collect grades from. It is VERY important your child attends school if possible. Our grades will be turned in on May 18th and our Honor's Day Program will be the morning of May 19th. You are all invited to attend.
Graded papers will come home Today from last week, and then again on Thursday like normal.
*thanks for your patience... the kids and I were extremely busy last week.

This week we finish trying to earn as many POINTS for A.R. as possible
*(most student goals are between 10 and 20 points)
Tuesday we will SHOP with our points in the Library. There are 1point, 5point, 10point, and 20point tables. Then the top 3 point earners will also get to choose a book from the book tables to keep.
The kids really work hard to earn their points.
All Library books will be turned in by Tuesday and NO MORE WILL COME HOME.
They have to do inventory that will take a long time to complete.

This week our story theme is Cowboys. On Thursday... Plan to dress your child in jeans, and a cowboy shirt, boots if you have them, and a bandana, and they can bring a hat (to wear in class).

Friday is our Last GOTCHA party. We may be outside so please dress in light clothes.

Thanks to those of you who sent in DIRT from your back/front yard. If your didn't then please send it in by Tuesday. We are doing science experiments on it. Each child with dirt from their own yard.

I appreciate your help in encouraging your child to try hard and demonstrate good behavior these last few weeks.
They are all so excited that summer is near and it shows.
It is effecting their noise level, their tolerance for each other, and their quality of work.
I want everyone to end the year with good grades. Thanks for your help in this area.

Have another GREAT and BUSY week!
-Mrs. Mainor

Well, It's the last month of school and we have an action packed month ahead.
I hope your weekend was well rested. The Royal Wedding was Fabulous for those of you who saw it. The relief efforts are just as impressive for the tornao victims.
I hope everyone you know has come out safely. It was a lifechanging week for many.

This week in school.... We have our last DIBELS testing on TUESDAY. Please make sure your child will get a good night's sleep tomorrow night and a good Breakfast on Tues. morning.
Our goal, of course, is 90 words a minute. Most in our class are at or above that. Thanks to everyone who was practicing the nightly reading passages. It does make a difference.

Thursday we will have counseling with Mrs. Bush
Friday we will have music and then later in the day we will have the 100 book club party.
*Our last few students who made their 100 book goal were: Giovanna Andrews and Kameron Horn.
Great Job to everyone who made it and Great Try to those that didn't quite make it. Everyone gave a good effort.

This week is another regular week with day 1 on Mon. and day 5 on Friday.

We STAR tested on Friday. This score will be compared to the Aug. score. It will show your child's independent reading ability, and their progress in this area.

Last Friday we had a mini field trip to see ARIS (the 3rd grade).
The students were told what to expect (from the students in 3rd grade) and were reassured that some things will remain the same (gotcha's, choir, student council, parties) and some things will be new (art club, new building, new principal, new teachers) But the visit made them very excited about the new adventure ahead.
*Our teacher we visited gave the students a cursive writing card and a multiplication table to practice over the summer. This will help prepare them for a smooth transition to 3rd grade.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves too much. We still have 4 weeks of school in 2nd grade to complete first. We will take grades until the very end. Focus is hard so encouragement from you to your child would help a lot.

A May calendar of events will come home later this week. Look for it.
Have a great week.
-Mrs. Mainor

Happy Easter Everyone!!!!!
I hope your weekend was wonderful.
This week brings us back on track for Day 1 being Monday and Day 5 being Friday.
Our reading test will be on Thursday this week.
Our spelling and language tests on Friday as usual.
Thursday we will have a sub as I will be attending a science training.
Friday we will be touring Airport Road Intermediate to see where the students will be going next year. It will be a quick field trip Friday morning.
We are scheduled to go to Library this Friday and our field trip SHOULD be completed by then.

Our bowling field trip was GREAT. The kids had a blast and were Very Tired even before we got back to school.
A special thanks to Xazier's family, Giovanna's mom, and Alexus' LaLa for chaperoning with us. We needed the help and are greatful you came. Hopefully you had as much fun as we did.

Please expect Progress reports to come home on Thursday of this week.
You can also expect the Promotion Retention form to also come home for the last time to be signed. Remember.... If any section does not average to a 70% then your child will be discussed for retention. This form is very important to return as it goes into their folder following them to 3rd grade.
I thank you for being so wonderful this year with signing and returning all forms.

Last week we had 3 more students reach their goal of reading 100 books.
Congratulations to Alexus, Demetrick, and Cloe
GREAT JOB.
This is the LAST WEEK to reach 100 books. Everyone else is soooooo close. Keep reading. Every book counts.

Last week we welcomed a new student, Xazier Jackson, to our class.
WELCOME...we are glad to have you as a new friend.

Have a great week.
-Mrs. Mainor

Welcome to April. I had a lot of April foolers in the class on Friday. This next Saturday please come to CES from 10 - 2pm for the Spring Fling. This is the last week of a regular story in Unit 5. Next week we will be UNIT 5 testing. Please remember to read your child's A.R. book each night with them. We would like to have everyone read and test 100% on 4 books each week. Speaking of reading.... How are the BLUE sheets coming? Is your child close to 100 books? There are only a few more weeks left to reach the goal. Our special activities this week are Counseling with Mrs. Bush on Thursday and Music on Friday. Remember to send in $10 for the Bowling Field Trip and $1 for the Beauty and the Beast Play. The play is Friday the 15th and the Bowling is the next Wed. the 20th So Far we have NO Chaperones signed up for the Bowling trip. I would like a few if possible. Spring Pictures are on Tuesday. Dress nicely. Have a great week! -Mrs. Mainor

The first week back was GREAT. Everyone did well getting back into routine. A few dates to remember: This Friday we will go to the Library and choose our A.R. prizes for the points earned in the 3rd nine weeks. This Saturday is the Last day to sign up for the Mustangs Football and Cheerleading. Saturday the 9th we have our Spring Fling at Coosada from 10 - 2 Congratulations to T.J. Brown!!! He read 100 books and will attend the special party in April. There is still time left for everyone else to make it. Just read, read, read. If you want to you can use the A.R. List of books your child read and just copy them onto your blue sheet. I also have many mini books to help you reach your goal if you need them. Just let me know. I would love to have everyone read 100 books if possible. On Friday we will also have our celebration (in class) of who met their A.R. goal for the 3rd nine weeks. I sent a list of books that were read and your child's percentage. If it was 100 then your child will participate in our Ice Cream Sunday Party. At the end of the 4th nine weeks we will also have an Ice Cream Sunday Party for those who make 100% of their goal then. Read Read Read. One test with 100% EACH DAY will do it. Have a great Week!!!!!!

Welcome Back from Spring Break.
I hope everyone had a wonderful, restful week together with your family. I know I did. :)

It is now officially the 4th nine weeks.
3rd nine weeks report cards will come home on Thursday of this week.
You have already seen all the grades that go along with that report card.
This week we have Computer Lab on Monday, Counseling on Thursday, and Music on Friday.

Mark your calendar for April 9th...It is our Spring Fling at Coosada. A time for family fun.

In other news we had one of our students get a new house just before spring break and now... Aaron Lloyd has moved. We will miss him.

Have a Great week... getting back into routine.
I know the weather is better, it is lighter longer, and spring sports have begun. Thank you ahead of time for you help keeping your child focused and on track. The fourth nine weeks is the hardest, but we take grades until the very end.
-Mrs. Mainor

Dr. Seuss Week was Great. Everyone dressed up everyday in our special outfits...AND our parade was GREAT. Thanks to all of you who helped make it possible for your child to participate each day.
This week is Aerospace week. We will be learning about it and many activities will center on this topic.
This is the last week of grades to count toward the 3rd nine weeks' report card.
We will complete any missed or makeup work throughout the week as well.
We have our Gotcha party this Friday... I hope everyone will be able to attend as they have had a hard time focusing with all the extra activities going on lately.
Our Library books will also need to be turned in By Friday. This is the last week to try and reach A.R. goals for the nine weeks. We will go to the library and Shop with our points after Spring Break.
Finally we have 5 more days until Spring Break. The countdown is on.
Have a Great Week.

Welcome to MARCH.
There are only a few more weeks left in the 3rd nine week period. Our final grades are due on March 10th for this nine weeks...and report cards will go home shortly after that.
Please follow your Dr. Seuss Schedule we sent home for what to wear each day this week.
Send Money if you want your child to purchase books at the bookfair (set up all this week)
Tuesday night we are having our READING NIGHT at Coosada. Pizza will be served at 5:30 and reading night starts at 6pm. You can purchase books at the bookfair that night as well.
Please fill out and return the vision screening form. Our vision screening will be Thursday at 1:40pm
Remember to wear a YELLOW shirt and Jeans on Friday. We are Sneetches in the Dr. Seuss Parade.
This week starts a REGULAR week again for us academically.
We are starting Unit 5 in Reading and Language.
I have sent a study sheet for the WHOLE Unit to keep at home.
Due to the Parade on Friday we will test on Spelling, Reading and Language on Thursday this week.
Have a Great one.
-Mrs. Mainor

Thanks to ALL of you who sent in items for our class Valentine's Day Party. It was a gret success and the students had plenty to eat, drink, and do. They really enjoyed their Valentine cards as well. Mrs. Tonia and I would also like to thank those of you who gave us Valentine Gifts. That was VERY thoughtful and we loved them.
This week is our UNIT TESTING week. We will be testing on Unit 4 in Reading and Language. We will do our unit writing assignment. We will take a county Math test on two digit addition.
This week is our Library week on Friday.
REMEMBER:
Wednesday, Feb. 23rd is the Last day to buy a Yearbook. $18
HAVE A GREAT WEEK>
-Mrs. Mainor

Happy Valentines Day!!!!!!!!
Remember to bring your Valentines for your classmates. Special thanks to everyone who sent in items for our Party.
Our party time will be around 1:30pm when we look in our bags and eat slong with a little valentine movie.

We will do Valentine Activities ALL day long Monday. Lots of art activities, read about Valentines day, make valentines, write about who we love, Put valentine words in abc order, make words, do a math activity with conversation hearts, and have computer lab.
Tuesday we will resume with our regular work.

We have counseling with Mrs. Bush on Thursday and Music on Friday.

I LOVE Teaching your child each day and watching them learn.
Have a great week.
Tell someone you Love them.
-Mrs. Mainor

Wow...this unit is really flying by. We are now on Unit4 Week 4. After Valentines Week we will have our next big UNIT Test. Our third nine weeks is half way over... I hope you were pleased with your child's progress report. If so...Please tell them. If not... we still have about 4 weeks to work on it.

Right now in math we are practicing to tell time as well as count various money amounts. Any time you can reinforce this concept at home would be great. Just ask your child, randomly, "What time is it". Of course use a Watch type clock instead of digital if possible.
Just grab some coins and ask your child to count them. These are both life skills they will use every day and MUST MASTER.

Our Valentine's Day Party will be NEXT Monday, Feb. 14th at 1:30. You should find a sign up sheet in your child's folder for a food item to bring in. It also has the names of all the students for you to address valentine cards for. Some people buy valentines and attach candy to each one, others just make their own. Your choice. However they are delivered... the students LOVE to get their mail. Their smiles are fabulous on this day.

Other dates to remember:
Feb. 8th = Spirit night at Cici's
Feb. 10th = PTA 5:30 food, 6:00 meeting Blue Pods perform
Feb. 11th = Dr. Seuss T-Shirt Money is due ($10) Checks to CES
Feb. 23rd = Yearbook money deadline. ($18) Checks to CES
Feb. 24th = Spirit night at Chuck E. Cheese in Montgomery
Feb. 28th = The Bookfair will be in the lunchroom during this week.
March 1st = CES Reading Night

Have a GREAT week. Tell someone you Love them.
-Mrs. Mainor

Well Last Week was very interesting.
Lots of sick students in our classroom and lots of absences as well. We will be doing makeup testing this week, in addition to new concepts.

PLEASE NOTE: You are NOT supposed to send your child to school until they are FEVER FREE for 24 HOURS.

We have had several students who have come to school with a fever OR leave with a fever one day and show up the next.
This puts Everyone in danger of getting sick, and is not fair to the rest of the students. (especially your own sick child)
It's better to stay home until you are well than try to learn when you are feeling terrible.
Thanks for your consideration in the upcoming weeks.

We are coming upon the month of February. There are a lot of things to celebrate. It is the Month we highlight: Dental Hygiene, Black History, Abraham Lincoln's birthday, George Washington's birthday, Groundhog Day, and of course Valentine's Day.
We will cover all these topics in our daily lessons, centers, read alouds, and art activities.
We will also have a Valentine's Day Party... More info. to come.

A few dates you want to Remember:
Jan. 31st - Feb.23rd = Yearbook Sales ($18 Checks payable to CES)
Feb. 1st = CLASS PICTURE DAY Dress Nicely Please Everyone takes the Picture
(you may buy one for $10)
Feb. 3rd = Progress Reports come home. Please sign and return by Friday for a gotcha.
Feb. 28th = The book fair will return to CES that week.

Keep up the great work reading with your child each night. It makes a difference.

Items we need in class:
Small treasure box items (dollar tree/walmart/your toyboxes)
Paper Towels
Boxes of Tissue
*Pick one or send all...Anything will be greatly appreciated... Thanks.

Have a great week.
-Mrs. Mainor

Welcome to our FIRST 5-day week of 2011.
We are starting U.4 W.2 this week and we are back on a Day #1/Monday and Day#5/Friday schedule.
A couple of special dates to remember this week are:
Wednesday= January 26th is the 100th day of school.
*IF your child wants to bring in a Collection of 100 items Wed. they may.
NO POSTERS PLEASE. Bringing a collection is OPTIONAL.
Ex: Candy, small food items, buttons, small toys, coins, sticker collection.
Your child will show and tell about their collection of 100 items.
On Wed. we will do 100th day activities ALL day Long in every subject area.

Thursday= January 27th Mrs. Pam will be coming in again to do a fun/fancy math lesson
with us. She has visited us on several occasions and has shown us very fun
and creative ways to learn math concepts.
On Thurs. we will also have our weekly reading test.

Friday = January 28th The Gifted Teacher will be coming in to do a lesson with our class.

On Friday we will also have our weekly spelling and language tests.

SPECIAL THANKS to all the students who were able to come and perform at the PTA program last Tuesday night. And special thanks to: Adrianna Patterson, Alexus Robbins, and T.J. Brown for being brave and doing their individual speaking parts. Everyone did an Excellent job. Thank you parents for bringing them to the meeting.

Please ask your child about our MUSIC MAN Gotcha party we had last Friday. He played instruments from around the world for us and then had the whole school "just a dancin'". The kids had a great time.
Our next gotcha party will be in three weeks and it is entirely a dance party. Students need 5 gotchas to attend. (remember all smiley faces in a week earns a gotcha each Friday) (signing graded papers also gets your child a gotcha) And then of course they can get them from anywhere in the school for just being good.

Have a GREAT Week.
-Mrs. Mainor

Don't forget to come to the PTA program tonight at 6pm.
Dinner will be served/sold starting at 5:30pm
The meeting starts at 6pm so please have your child at the school just before then.
When the business is done... the children will perform.
Don't forget to dress your child in a Blue or White shirt and have them wear mittens, a scarf and a hat. (they don't have to match)
Those of you who can come... we will see you there.

This is yet Another short week. We are Starting Unit 4 in Language and Reading. We will have day #1 on Tuesday, and days 4/5 together on Friday. This means ALL tests in ALL subjects this week will be given on Friday. Expect a NEW reading book to come home now (it looks very similar to the old one)

Friday is also our next Gotcha party. Hope everyone has earned their 3 gotchas.

Happy January Birthday to Kinae Stuart last week.
Our Student of the week is: Jadie Adams. (everyone has been student of the week now so we will be starting over now and choosing based on good behavior)
Have a great week.
-Mrs. Mainor

Dear Parents, 1/11/11
Due to the Weather...Our PTA Program has been cancelled for tonight and RESCHEDULED for Next Tuesday, January 18th at 6pm.
Because the date has changed, I will send a NEW sign up sheet to let me know if your child will be able to perform that night.
Look for this sheet to come home to be signed on Wednesday.
Thank You,
-Mrs. Mainor

Due to the Winter Storm that is going across Alabama tonight... We have NO SCHOOL on Monday, January 10th.
Hopefully you received YOUR phone call from the school system this weekend telling you the news. It has also been posted on all the news stations.
Stay Safe and we will see you on Tuesday. :)
-Mrs. Mainor

HAPPY NEW YEAR Everyone.
I hope your holiday time spent with your family was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed mine.
AND now we are off to a Great 2011. I wish all of you a productive, successful, healthy, and happy YEAR AHEAD.
See you on Tuesday Morning.
-Mrs. Mainor