Room 302 week at a glance

                                             A look at our learning... 

Fundations: we completed unit 3 and will begin Unit 4 next week.  Unit 4 will focus on diagraphs, which are two letters that make one sound (wh, ch, sh, th, ck) and writing sentences with capitalization at the beginning, punctuation at the end, word spaces between words, quickly spelling known words and tapping out unknown words.  

Writing, Shared Reading & Spelling: we recently wrapped up our opinion writing unit with a fun activity based on the book  Duck! Rabbit!! Students looked at the cloud image and decided whether they believed it was a duck or a rabbit. They then wrote three reasons to support their opinion and transformed their paper into their chosen animal with creative drawings. It was wonderful to see them practice sharing their thinking clearly while also adding their own artistic touch! Check out a few in the pictures below. 

We also loved how we were able to connect our opinion writing across so many areas of learning. During shared reading, we read various versions of The Little Red Hen and discussed characters’ choices. Our new spelling word, “said,” appears many times in the story, giving students extra exposure and practice. Students even created their own Little Red Hen booklet that is coming home today! In their books, they wrote the repetitive parts of the story, practicing the word “said” as they read and wrote.

For our Friday craft, students made a Little Red Hen project and shared their opinion on whether they would share the food if they were the Little Red Hen — and explained why or why not.

I LOVE when we can tie reading, writing, spelling, and crafts together in meaningful ways like this!

New spelling words of the week:

here

one

Math:  we are continuing to strengthen our understanding of 2D shapes by focusing on their attributes and using precise math vocabulary in our discussions. Many students are still unsure about identifying a trapezoid and a rhombus. At this point in the year, students are expected to recognize and name all basic 2D shapes (circle, square, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, trapezoid, and rhombus). When report cards come home in a couple of weeks, please take time to practice these shapes if your child has not yet mastered them, as we will be moving on to 3D shapes next trimester.

We are also continuing our daily work with pennies and nickels during Number Corner, reinforcing coin values and counting by 5s. Consistent practice is helping build strong number sense!

Counselor:  this week in counselor time, students explored the concept of empathy—understanding and caring about how others feel. Through discussions and books, they practiced putting themselves in someone else’s shoes and thinking about how their words and actions can make a difference. It was wonderful to see them sharing thoughtful ideas and showing kindness toward one another!

Farewell: today we were so sad to say goodbye to our sweet friend Nova, who is moving across town and will be attending a new elementary school closer to home. We will miss her so much but wish her all the best in this new adventure! We celebrated her time with us by sharing cookies together. It was a sweet way to say goodbye.

Coffee truck:  every Tuesday from 7:40–8:40 a.m., the Traveling Toms Coffee Truck will be parked in front of school! Run by the same owners as Kona Ice, they are big supporters of BEU. This isn’t just for teachers, any parent dropping off can stop by to grab a coffee. It’s a great way to support a local business and enjoy a yummy drink, especially since there isn’t a coffee shop on this side of town!

Book Fair Volunteers: just like last parent-teacher conferences, the book fair is coming back for our upcoming conferences! Mrs. Fitch needs volunteers to help run it so we can keep it open during all planned days and hours. It’s an easy shift and a fun way to support your child’s school. Have a middle or high schooler? They can volunteer too—a great way to earn service hours! Sign up here. 

More fun at school

Happy Valentine's Day!

A look at our learning...

Fundations: all year we have known c and k make the same sound and we always just had to guess which letter we used for certain words....until now!  We learned that we have to listen to the vowel sound that follows the /c/ or /k/ sound to help us determine if we use a c or a k.  If we hear the a, o or u sound, we use the letter c.  If we hear the i or e sound, we use the letter k.  We have the poster you see below to use as a resource when tapping out and spelling words.  The kiddos have done a GREAT job of using this chart to help them know which letter to use.

Writing Workshop: our opinion writing unit is in full swing, and it is always such a fun one! We have been talking about the difference between facts and opinions and practicing how to share our thinking clearly.

This week, we read the fun book Duck! Rabbit! and shared our opinions about whether we thought the main character was a duck or a rabbit.  We also read I Wanna Iguana about a little boy who writes letters back and forth to his mom, sharing his opinion about why he needs a pet iguana.

The students also write a letter to YOU about a pet they would like to have at home and gave reasons to support their opinion. Look for them to bring this home next week.  

Spelling words: next week's spelling words will be introduced on Tuesday, due to no school on Monday.  The test will still be on Friday.  However, I encourage you to start practicing this weekend, as "said" is very tricky and I notice many words being spelled incorrectly over the past few weeks as the words become more difficult. 

Next week's new spelling words:

said

am

Math:  we are diving back into learning about 2D shapes and taking our understanding even deeper by focusing on their attributes. Students are using mathematical vocabulary such as vertices and sides to describe and compare shapes. At this point in the year, kindergarteners should be able to recognize and name the following basic shapes: square, rectangle, triangle, circle, hexagon, trapezoid, and rhombus. Beyond just naming them, we are practicing identifying how many sides and vertices each shape has and noticing what makes them the same or different. It’s been wonderful to hear them confidently using their “math words” during discussions!

We are also continuing our learning about money during our Number Corner Calendar Time. We are focusing specifically on pennies and nickels and understanding that 5 pennies are equivalent to one nickel. Each day of school in February, we add one penny to our collection. When we reach 5 pennies, we trade them in for a nickel! This not only helps students understand the value of coins, but it also connects to our calendar and the number of school days in February. We are practicing counting by 5’s as we add our nickels, building strong number sense along the way.

Library Checkout Reminder:  we are noticing that quite a few students are not bringing their library books back on our assigned checkout day, which is Thursday each week. We want all students to be able to check out new books and avoid the disappointment of not being able to get new ones because their books were not returned.

To help with this, the expectation from the library is that library books stay in your child’s backpack at all times unless they are actively reading them. When they are finished reading, the book should go right back into the backpack — not on a nightstand, bookshelf, desk, or special reading spot at home.

Keeping books in backpacks helps in several ways:

• Students are not upset on Thursdays when they can’t check out a new book.

• Parents do not have to keep track of library days.

• Most importantly, it helps keep our library books safe and protected.

Thank you for helping your child build this responsible habit and for supporting our library expectations!

Valentine Parties: We had so much fun at our final class party of the school year! The children created a picture frame craft, which they brought home today as a special gift for you. They also played Valentine Bingo and enjoyed a Valentine Cake Walk—every student earned a prize, regardless of the outcome!

A huge thank you to our wonderful Room Parent, Kayla Hagedorn, for organizing all of our class parties this year! We also deeply appreciate the many families who donated supplies or gave their time at one, or more, of the parties. Your generosity does not go unnoticed!

We also enjoyed passing out valentines to classmates. If you ever want to feel loved on Valentine’s Day, just visit a Kindergarten classroom—there was so much kindness and love to share!

Here are a few photos, but many more are posted in our class Facebook group. 

Sneaky Reading: a reminder that our February Sneaky Reading Challenge is to "read at a restaurant."   If your family goes out for a meal this weekend, take some books with you for the kids to read, rather than a device to play on, and snap a photo to share on our class Facebook page.  I'd love to see more participation in this each month to encourage reading outside of school.  

Columbia Fund for Academic Excellence- CFAE: The Columbia Fund for Academic Excellence was established during the 1979-1980 school year with the purpose of providing cash awards to educators who are selected as exemplary in certain categories. At Beulah Ralph Elementary, we firmly believe in recognizing the dedication and excellence of our educators and we are excited to announce our Beulah Ralph Elementary Columbia Fund for Academic Excellence (CFAE) nominees! Congratulations to Bailey Imler, Kasey Boyer and Meghan Canlas. 

Outstanding Elementary Educator of the Year, Grades Pre-K-2 - Mrs. Bailey Imler
Outstanding Elementary Educator of the Year, Grades 3-5 - Mrs. Kasey Boyer
Outstanding Educator in a Specialized Area -  Mrs. Meghan Canlas (speech and language pathologist)

We would love to gather as many letters of support as possible for our BEU nominees! Our staff will be submitting letters on their behalf, and we warmly invite families to do the same.

If your children have had one of these teachers and would like to write a letter supporting one of our three nominees, please be sure to include the following:

1. Name of nominee
2. State the reasons why you believe the nominee is worthy of this award. Your letter should outline specific examples of how the teacher has made a difference in your child's life and why you believe they deserve this honor.

Please submit your nomination letter to our secretary, Barb Lambert, by February 27th.  Thank you for your support in recognizing the incredible efforts of our teachers!

I had the honor and privilege to receive this award in 2019.  I was nominated by my colleagues, like the teachers above, and then won the Outstanding Elementary Educator of the Year award for grades PreK-2 for all of CPS.  The letters are what mean the most.  I hope you will take the time to write one for at least one of our nominees.  I promise you, your words will mean more than you know. 

Shakespeare's Pizza Fundraiser: a reminder that our Shakespeare’s Pizza Fundraiser ends this Friday, February 20th! 🍕

Whether you sell one pizza to your own family or 30 pizzas to friends and neighbors, every order directly supports our students and our school. We truly appreciate any participation, big or small, as it all makes a difference!

Information and order forms came home in Friday Folders a couple of weeks ago. If you need another form, please contact the PTA at beupta@gmail.com and they will be happy to help.  Thank you for supporting our school!

Request: Flu and illnesses are at an all-time high right now in our school and community. Over half of our class has had something since returning from winter break.

I strongly encourage you to wash backpacks, coats (and gloves and hats) and lunchboxes over this long weekend. Even if you did over winter break, that was almost two months ago. I also encourage you to wash their water bottles daily for a while if you don't already.

Thank you for taking a little extra time to hopefully get these germs out of our school, your household, and our community! P.S. reinforcing proper handwashing and hands out of mouth, nose, etc. is always appreciated.

More fun at school