Symmetry

This week during math we learned about symmetry. Each of our cooperative groups completed a lexicon on the word symmetry. We then colored shapes using symmetry. We also used paint to create symmetry by blob & splatter painting. Our art turned out great! We hung them outside our classroom.

In Case You Missed It, We Rocked Gorilla Pride!

We led Gorilla Pride on Monday, February 4th. We held a family meeting the week before and decided what parts each one of us wanted to do. Each one of us played a very important part during the assembly. It was a little scary, but fun! Our word of the week was enthusiasm. Our quote of the week: “No farmer ever plowed a field by turning it over in his mind.”- Author Unknown. Several of our parents came to watch us. Mrs. J said that we did a wonderful job. She was so proud of us & we were proud of ourselves too!!!

Rescheduled Conferences!

Dear Families,
The recent snow cancelled our planned Student-Led Conferences. The Tahlequah School District has made the decision not to reschedule the conferences. My students were very disappointed by the news. They were looking forward to meeting one-on-one with their parents to discuss their individual progress, growth, & needs. After speaking with the students, we have decided to reschedule our classroom conferences for Tuesday, February 19th from 4:00-6:00 pm. They will be held in our classroom. It will be on a “drop in” basis with no waiting. I will be walking around throughout the conferences to answer questions & assist where necessary. I do ask that you make other arrangements for younger siblings since several conferences will be taking place in our room at the same time. Hope to see you on February 19th. If you have questions or comments, feel free to contact me.

Attack Of Plaque!

Captain Super Tooth & Mr. Choppers made a visit on Friday. They talked to us about proper brushing & flossing. They told us to brush in tiny circles three times a day. Captain Supertooth & Mr. Choppers were very nice & funny too! They left us new toothbrushes, toothpaste, & floss.

We were teeth who were being attacked by plaque & germs! Yikes!

Perfect Attendance 2nd Nine Weeks!

We were hear everyday during the second nine weeks! Yeah for us!!

Celebrations!!!

November & December Students of the Month

They were very helpful & respectful towards others.

Let It Snow!

Snow finally fell on Thursday canceling conferences on Thursday evening and Friday morning. It was very pretty outside while it lasted! Didn't get to sled this year but did help Mrs. Payne build a snowman by the flag pole. See everyone on Monday!

100 Days In The Multiage!

Last Friday we celebrated the 100th Day of School with several activities & ended the day with each child making their own snack. It was a 100 piece Friendship Trail Mix. Each child counted out groups of 10's: peanuts, goldfish crackers, Cheerio's, M&M's, Chex cereal, mini marshmallows, Cheese It's, pretzel sticks, Reese's Pieces, & chocolate chips. They could not believe that they could eat 100 things, but they did! Thank you parents for sending the snack items needed for the trail mix!!! It was appreciated!!!!

Nutritional Visit

We had a brief visit from the cafeteria's own Mr. Peabody! He spoke to the children about the good nutrition in a pineapple. On another note, you can see the Golden Frisbee in the background. We were presented with it again this week during Gorilla Pride.

Meeting Moses!

Last Friday Heavenly Holly’s mom & grandpa brought their therapy dog Moses to for Show & Share. Moses is a beautiful Great Dane that weighs around 150. He lives with Holly’s family and is trained to provide comfort for hospital patients as well as students with special needs. Standing he is almost as tall as his owner Holly! The children loved meeting & petting Moses & hope he returns for another visit soon!

Rewinding The Week!

JANUARY 28-31

Social Studies: Abe Lincoln & Ruby Bridges

Academic Vocabulary: honesty, courage,

Language Arts: verbs & noun review, making/breaking words, & sentence correction using proof reading marks

Math: leveled addition; simple, double, triple (with/without) regrouping), 5 minute addition/subtraction goals, simple subtraction, counting money amounts

Reading: strategies we can use when we come to a word in a sentence we don't know, fluency, & pacing

Phonics: review of phonics skills

Writing: Someone I admire, Ruby Bridges is ________, & journal writing

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was another short week. We prepared for student led conferences. It snowed Thursday afternoon so conferences were cancelled. The students did a neat art project and hung them up outside our room. They made large Valentine bumble bees with their pictures on the bees faces. Each student also made a heart and put a positive statement on them..."bee honest, bee considerate, bee dependable, etc." They are SO cute & the messages are great! Monday the 4th we will lead Gorilla Pride at 8:00. We are so excited!!! Hope everyone can make it!

JANUARY 22-25

Social Studies: Abe Lincoln

Academic Vocabulary: leader, president, Civil War, famous Americans, slave trade, abolishment, freedom, monument

Language Arts: verbs (show action), contractions, making/breaking words, & sentence correction using proof reading marks

Math: leveled addition; simple, double, triple (with/out regrouping), 5 minute addition/subtraction goals, & counting money amounts

Reading: strategies we can use when we come to a word in a sentence we don't know & fluency

Phonics: grp 1: long a; grp 2: vowel sounds of y & compound words; grp 3: vowel patterns of ew, oo, ou; grp 4: vowel patterns a, al, au, & silent kn, mb; grp 5: aw; grp 6: long vowels with silent e

Writing: daily journal writing & Abe Lincoln

Science: chemical changes experiment using coins, vinegar, & salt

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

VERY cold temperatures brought another week of inside recess. The children found Abe Lincoln to be a very important man who bought big change for America. He was known for his honesty. Mr. Ridenhour came by during one of our social studies lessons and convinced the students that his nickname was "Honest". Now every time the student's see him they call him Honest Ridenhour. He loves it! We celebrated the 100th Day of School! Next week will bring Student Led conferences on Thursday evening & no school on Friday.

JANUARY 14-18

Social Studies: Martin Luther King Jr. & Rosa Parks
Academic Vocabulary: leader, civil rights, equality, tolerance, dream, acceptance
Math: leveled addition; simple, double, triple (with/out regrouping)
Language Arts: Nouns, making words, & sentence correction using proof reading marks
Reading: strategies & fluency
Phonics: grp 1 short vowels, grp 2 long i: igh/ie & possessives, grp 3 r-controlled ar & inflected ending -ed, group 5: eat, est, ight, grp 6 long vowels with silent e & contractions
Writing: I have a dream, Snowy days are fun, & daily journaling

It was a busy week & daily inside recess due to cold weather. The children loved learning about Martin Luther King Jr. They each wrote about a future dream that they would like to accomplish. I then orally shared them with the class. I was so impressed with their writings! We ended the week with a game of noun bingo & a visit from Heavenly Holly's mom, grandpa, & therapy dog Moses. He is a great dane. The children thought he was a big sweetie! It was a WONDERFUL week in the Multiage! The week of January 21st will bring a day off of school, as well as the 100th Day of School.

COMPUTER LAB NEWS!

The students have just completed an internet safety lesson "stranger danger", that focused on being smart and preventing unsafe situations. During computer lab the Multiagers rotate through three "centers". Upcoming centers include: new websites, educational games, & keyboarding (focusing of keeping their fingers on the correct keys).
Get To Know Mrs. Sawyer

Mrs. Sawyer: I live in Westville with my husband & three children Natasha, Miranda, & Randall. I have a dog named Cricket & a cat named Norman. I enjoy reading, swimming, shopping, watching movies, talking on the phone, & walking.

Just "Hangin" Out!

We wanted to put some pictures of us just hanging out on the playgroud. We enjoy playing on the equipment, playing ball, running, playing games, & just being with friends. When it is bad weather we have inside recess with games, blocks, legos, art, & computers. It is also fun because we are with our friends.

Twas the Week Before Christmas Break!

We had our Christmas party on Friday, Dec 14th. It was a breakfast party. We wore our pj's, played games, made crafts, & ate pancakes!! It was so fun!!!

We wore our PJ's to school for our Christmas party!

making ornaments for our parents

Many parents & siblings came to our party.

pass the present to music game

Bingo with Officer Johnson

Christmas crafting

MORE crafting

This was a class favorite!

Christmas Thank You!

We wanted to thank all the parents who sent items & came to help out during our Christmas

Breakfast. We appreciate the cooking, helping with games, & assisting with crafts. Our party was a huge success because of all of you!!!!!

Christmas Guest Reader

Helping Hali's mom came on PJ day to share Arthur's Christmas with us. It was a big hit & we appreciate her coming to share a story with us. The moral of the story was giving. It tied in wonderfully with our word of the week, generosity. Thank you to Hali's mom for taking time out to read to us. She also brought flavored candy canes for us, yum!

We Went Back In Time

We took these pictures while on our field trip to the Heritage Center. They were taken at the old school house in Adams Corner. The children loved the old school room. I love these pics!

ASK OUR CLASS

Parents & Friends, if you have a question you would like our student's to answer, ASK IT HERE! Questions can be about our classroom, things we do, our routine, etc. We check our blog several times a week & will reply to you ASAP. You will find our reply in the "comments" section under this entry.

Thanks! The Junior Geniuses

ASK MRS. J

Parents, if you have a question about reading, math, multiage development, etc. click on comment under this entry & leave your question. I will try my best to answer your question. You will find the response to your question in the "comment" section under this entry. Thanks! Mrs. J

EMAIL SANTA!

http://www.the-north-pole.com/santamail.shtml

Cherokee Heritage Field Trip

We went on a field trip to the Cherokee Heritage Center. It was a cold and windy day but we made it! We visited the Ancient Villiage, Adams Corner, the Museum, & Ancient Archives.
We were the first class ever to visit the archives at the Cherokee Heritage Center. We saw many neat like paintings, musical intruments, tools, & a seashell necklace that was uncovered in a ancient Cherokee dig site. It is estimated to be over 2,000 years old!!!

- written & typed by Hali & Cole

Us holding some of the ancient artifacts. They were amazing! We learned a lot!

This is a replica of an ancient Cherokee summer home.

Another angle of the ancient summer home.

This is a replica of an ancient Cherokee winter home.

This is a replica of a Council House. It was a place for Native Americans to come together & discuss problems. We discussed the importance of this house. The children decided that we needed a Council House in our classroom to work out conflicts. It is great!

These 16,000 beads represent the number of Cherokee in the "Old Nation". As a result of their roundup, captivity, journey, & re-settlement, many Cherokee died. No one will ever no the exact number of deaths caused by removal. The pattern is based upon a contemporary bead pattern called "The Trail of Tears" by Cherokee Artist Mary Foreman. The 2,000 rough, black beads used for the lower footprints represent conservative estimates of the dead. The 2,000 textured red beads used for the upper footprints represent additional deaths. The 12,000 smooth, white beads represent the Cherokee who survived.

This is a small part of The Trail of Tears sculpture. It is so impressive!

Cherokees burned out large trees to make canoes.

Christmas Breakfast Party Friday, Dec 14th

We will be having our Christmas Party on Friday, December 14 from 9:00-10:00. We will wear our pajamas to school, play games, make a craft, & eat "breakfast foods". In the afternoon we will watch a Christmas movie & enjoy pizza (from winning the PTA skate). It is going to be a fun time together! I will be contacting parents about bringing items for the party. Mrs. J

PTA Skaters Won Our Class a Pizza Party!

Thank you multiagers for going to the PTA skate on November 29th. Our class had the most students in attendance so we won a PIZZA PARTY! We will be eating the pizza on Friday, December 14th, the afternoon of our Christmas breakfast. What a day that will be!!!! -Mrs. J

Online Math For Student Practice!

Students, here is a WONDERFUL & FUN site for practicing math skills. You can practice many different skills by just clicking the mouse. If you try it, leave a comment to give "feedback" on the site. What game it was, did you learn anything new, & did you like it? Enjoy! -Mrs. J http://www.allentownsd.org/EETT/secondgrade.htm

Yeah For Us!

Monday, November 26th, during Gorilla Pride we recieved the Golden Frisbee & Dustpan Awards! We were so excited to win again! This makes two weeks in a row for the Dustpan Award! We were so proud of ourselves for following procedures!!!!

NEW GORILLA T-SHIRTS ON SALE NOW!

The new Gorilla shirts have arrived! They are SO cute!!! PTA is selling long sleeve gray t's, gray t's with green sleeves $9.00, gray sweat shirts $12.00, & gray hoodie sweat shirts $19.00. Please come by the school office if you are interested in purchasing one. Quantities are limited!

Thanksgiving Break Is November 17-25!

I wanted to wish all my Junior Geniuses & their families a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope each of you enjoy the time off with your family! I will see each of your sweet faces back on Monday, November 26th! REMEMBER: the day we come back (Nov 26th) is our field trip. Wear tennis shoes, long pants, & bring a jacket. If you signed up to bring your lunch, bring it in a paper sack. It is going to be fun! Travel safe over the holiday! Mrs. J

Happy 100th Birthday Oklahoma!

Today we celebrated the Oklahoma Centennial with several special activities. We began the day by singing Oklahoma with the whole school. We then went to the cafeteria and listened to storyteller Laurette Willis. Later we each wrote "Our Life In 2007, Our Favorite Things". Our writings are going to be put into a school time capsule. The time capsule will be opened when we graduate from high school.

We went outside to the playground and planted a maple tree in memory of the centennial. Two of our playground trees received certificates for being "Witness Trees". That means the trees are 100+ years old. They were alive to "witness" statehood. We finished off the day with a yummy piece of Oklahoma birthday cake. The cake was huge & everyone in the school ate a piece! Oklahoma shared it's birthday with our own Youthful Yuliana who turned 9.