Greetings during Christmas Break!

I was watching the 6th Harry Potter movie and thought I hadn't updated this in a while!! Hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas Break and that you were able to enjoy the holiday! We still have a little bit of time left before school. I just wanted to remind you that keeping up on Reading and also using IXL at home are great ways to keep up on learning while on break!! =-) I look forward to seeing you all in 2011!!! =-)

Upcoming Events

We have no school this Thursday because of Veteran's Day

This Friday will be our annual Turkey Bingo! It's always a great time and an opportunity to win some great Thanksgiving themed prizes!

Next week will be Grandparents Day on November 17th. That is a great day for families and students alike. If you decide to have your child's grandparent take them home after the festivities then make sure to call the school or write a note the morning of. We will also be having our Book Fair going on that day.

Since kids are about MES we will be having a Read-In. Students bring in blankets, pillows (that can fit in their backpack) and get to cozy and read. Students may bring in age-appropriate books and magazines of their choice.

Thank you to those of you who promptly returned conference preference forms. That really helps me in scheduling conference times. I will be sending out your scheduled time by the end of the week or early next week. =-) Have a great day!

Ms. Raethke

Busy as Bees... =-)

Next week we have our first Good Citizens assembly! Exciting! We will have our homework distributed on Monday and it will be due Thursday. We do not have school on Friday for Teacher Inservice Day.

The following week we will have our yearly October Optional conferences. If you would like to meet with me that Friday, please contact me at jennifer.raethke@molallariv.k12.or.us. I will also be sending a note home. Thanks!

Thank you

Thank you to all of you who came to Open House on Tuesday! =-) It was great to meet all of you. If you have questions or concerns be sure to email me! Have a great weekend!!! =-)

Open House

Molalla Elementary's Open House will be held this Tuesday, September 21st. It starts at 6:30-7:30. This will be an informal opportunity for you to meet me, check out our classroom and see a few things we have been working on so far. I look forward to meeting you!

*This is not an conference. We will have optional conferences in October and our regular conferences in November. Please email or call me if you would like to schedule something!

See you Tuesday!

Our Schedule and a few other things

Below you can get a visual of our daily schedule. From time to time there are changes but typically this is how our routine will work. Officially on Tuesday your child will be starting reading groups. We will also be sending home our first homework packet. Tuesday it will go home. Students are expected to read each night for approximately 20 minutes. That is flexible and if your child prefers reading for longer another night that works. The average per week should be about 20 minutes. Parents/Guardians are expected to sign homework acknowledging that their child read. Thank you for keeping your child accountable!

I look forward to meeting you during Open House on September 21st!!! =-) Have a great weekend!

Welcome

To the 2010-2011 school year! I look forward to our year together. If you have any questions or concerns please let me know! Also I am working to get parent emails to communicate. I will be sending home a form so I can have that information. Email is really the best way to get a hold of me during the day! Thanks!

Field Trip Tomorrow... Rain or Shine!

And it's looking like rain. Be sure to dress appropriately. Rain gear, coats, hats, umbrellas, waterproof pants, etc. It'll be a wet one!

BBQ Day

On Wednesday is the annual MES BBQ Day! If students would like to bring guests they may to enjoy some good food and compay, as well as the book fair. If you plan on taking your child home after lunch make sure that your child brings a note.

Since the day ends up to be pretty chaotic, we will have a Read-In for that day and possibly go check out the 5th grade Science fair. If you have any questions please email Ms. R!

Field Trip

On Wednesday, June 2nd My class along with Mrs. Drake's class will be heading to Champoeg State Park to meet our pen-pals from Hillsboro. Each year my class has an ongoing project to write to another 4th grader. We are lucky to be able to meet our friends! I will be sending home the permission slip this week. Please indicate on the form if you would like to chaperone and also if your child will be needing a sack lunch from the school. Thank you! =-)

Pink!

We are looking to get items for our pink basket. I have only 1 item so far... Please donate any item (including a basket) if you can. The dollar store has great selection of items as well. Thanks!

2010 Doggie Dash

On Saturday May 15th, Ms. Raethke and her lovely dog Lucy are signed up for the Doggie Dash which supports the Oregon Humane Society. If you as a family would like to walk with us (with a dog or not), you can join our doggie dash team.

Sign Up Here: http://ohs.convio.net/site/TR/Events/TeamRaiser?team_id=6630&pg=team&fr_id=1070


If you have any questions, please contact Ms. R via email @ raethkej@molallariv.k12.or.us

Conferences Next Week!

Thank you for helping make sure your child brought back their conference confirmation slip. I look forward to seeing you on Monday and Tuesday. If for some reason something comes up, please be sure and call the school to let us know. I appreciate your participation in your child's Education! Thank you!

Testing

This week we will be participating in the State Writing Test! Be sure your kid's get a lot of sleep so they can do their best!

No School on Monday!

This Monday students will have a day off due to a teacher in-service. See everyone on Tuesday!

PTC Meeting Today!

Today we have a Parent Club meeting! It will start at approximately 3:45! Parents are a vital part of what we do here at MES so your attendance is appreciated! Hope to see you there.

2nd Week Back

We have had a really positive re-adjustment back to our school routine. Please make sure to talk with your child about bringing their homework back on Friday. I have suggested to a few kids to make sure and have a "homework spot". Often times students have their work completed but just forget it at home. Having a specific place where students ALWAYS have their homework can really help them be more responsible.

Here are a few things we have been working on:

Math: We are currently finishing up a unit on finding averages including mean, median and mode.

Read-Aloud- We are reading the Series of Unfortunate Events: Book 2, The Reptile Room.

Reading Group- Ask your child what they are currently working on in group. In my group we are working on summarizing, spelling/vocab and we just finished reading "The 4th Grade Rats". We will start a new book this week.

Writing- We have worked on quite a few conecpts already this year including a fun way to edit our papers. We will start our focus on "Our Writing Ideas" so we can have great ideas that make sense in our papers. We will do the state testing in Writing in February.

Math Facts- Students are either working on Math Facts (Division and Multiplication) or Accelerated Math. Once students finish Math facts, the immediately go to Accelerated Math where they can work at their own pace and focus on various Math Skills.

Enrichment Time- During Enrichment students go about various areas of MES working on Reading and Math skills especially. In my Enrichment group, we have been writing and creating a skit that we will perform via podcast. Look for it here in a few weeks!

Social Studies- We will begin our next unit this week as well. We finished up learning about reading maps and features of a map.

If you have any questions please feel free to email Ms. Raethke @ raethkej@molallariv.k12.or.us