Big THANK YOU!!!!

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thank you

 

Parents, I can hardly believe it is that time of year where I begin to write the last few posts to our classroom blog.  It has truly been such an amazing year!  Your children have made such strides in their learning and growing and it has been such a privilege to be their teacher.  However, I cannot do this job by myself.  I want to thank the awesome parents that make weekly sacrifices to come in and help all of our children reach their reading goals.  So to Amy B, Amy S, Lisa B, Jen F, Nichole H, and Dawn B, we send a HUGE THANK YOU your way for your dedication this entire year!  You have helped us to stay organized and on-task with our Reading Counts program.

I also want to thank all of the moms and dads who have organized, donated, and then come to our classroom parties and our field trip!  The kids have had such a great time and it makes our school days special.  Thanks also for the supplies you have sent in, and for the donuts last Friday!  Yum!

Most of all, thanks for sending such great kids to Georgetown Elementary!  I feel such gratitude every day that I get to go work in a beautiful building with such beautiful children.  I cannot think of a better job in the whole world!  So thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Raz Kids Ready to Go!!

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Screen Shot 2013-10-08 at 3.42.02 PMThe Raz-Kids site is set up and ready to go this year, everyone!  The log-in for our class is lquigleyb. Please make sure to write this down somewhere that is easily accessible for your second grader.  Every Raz-Kids quiz that your student passes with 100%, counts towards their Reading Counts goal as well!  Their time on the computer reading also counts towards their 15 minutes a night on their Book It calendars.  This just provides one more way for your second grader to enrich their reading practice!  So keep on reading everyone!!  -Mrs. Q

 

Reading Counts Begins This Week!

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childrenHi Parents!

Reading Counts begins this week for our second graders.  Your child should be coming home each night with a book from the library in their backpacks to read.  They are to read the book either by themselves or with you.  When done, please have your child write the title on the form in their book baggy, you initial it, and check whether or not your student is ready to take their quiz.

When your children get to school, they will be reminded to sign up for a Reading Counts Quiz first thing in the morning.  At 10:00 (open library time), a volunteer will take the students to the library and help them get logged in to take their quiz.  If they pass their quiz, the student will turn in their book and check out another one.  If they do not pass their quiz, they will bring their book back home to read again, and re-take the quiz when they get back to school the next day.

The children will be taught during our computer class, how to monitor their progress with Reading counts.  You will notice at the top of their sheet in their baggy, I have assigned a number of points that will be your child’s goal for this trimester.  (Ends around Thanksgiving time!)  I will also send home a computerized sheet from time to time, so you can see how your child is doing as well.

This is FUN for the students, and is PURELY MOTIVATIONAL!  There is no grade associated with this, only prizes.  So please don’t be overly stressed out if your student forgets their book from time to time, or occasionally the library is closed.  Your student can simply read one of their books at home and bring it in and take a quiz.  The most IMPORTANT thing is that they are reading every night!  I tell the students to get in at least 2 quizzes a week if they can.

One more FYI, our library day is Thursday.  Although, once your child is reading and taking quizzes, it will hopefully be a part of their daily life!   We will also have Raz-Kids again this year.  Those quizzes will count towards Reading Counts goals too, but they must score 100% on the quiz for those to count.  (Another good idea if they forget to bring a book home- have them get on Raz Kids!!)

Thanks for sending me such great kids!!  We are loving it every day!  Have a great week!

Parent Volunteers Needed!!

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girlatcomputerCalling all available parent volunteers!  We are looking for a few moms to help with Reading Counts quizzes every day, except for Thursdays, to help monitor students taking Reading Counts quizzes.  This will involve getting students on and off the computers in a timely fashion, reading books with students, and sometimes reading a quiz to a student.  If you are interested, please contact Mrs. Q via email and let her know the day you would be available.  We will need parents for Monday, Tuesday, and Friday from 10 am to 10:30 am and also on Wednesdays from 9 am to 10 am. Thanks so much for your help!

 

2nd Grade Summary!

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apple treeHi Parents and Students!

This is my first post for the year!  I want to say THANK YOU for all of the wonderful supplies you have sent in to support our classroom!  We really appreciate it.  They will be well-used throughout the upcoming weeks and months.

We are off to a really great start.  The children have been doing a great job creating a caring community of learners.  We are learning about our brains and how to calm them.  We are getting back into routines and firing up those brain cells!  We have even starting reading level assessments to make sure we are picking “Just Right” books.

In approximately 2 more weeks, we will be starting library.  Students will be allowed to check out 2 books.  One book will have to be a Reading Counts book, and the other book can be anything they are interested in.  Reading Counts starts this year.  This program takes the place of  the WEB reading your child did in 1st grade.  Every night they will come home with a library book to read in a baggy.  Your student will read their book at home that evening, and then come to school and sign up for a Reading Counts test on the computer.  This test will consist of 10 questions, checking your student’s comprehension of the book.  If your child passes the quiz, they return it to the library and get another one.  If they don’t pass the quiz, they have an opportunity to read the book again the next night, and then try again the next day.  More information will be coming home about this in the future.  Keep your eye out for a gallon size baggy and directions coming home.

Finally, we had fun making this I-Pick video for you below.  Be sure you check it out!

Have a great rest of the week and don’t forget school pictures are this Monday, Sept. 16th!!!      -Mrs. Q

2 Q Update! 10/12/12

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Hi Everyone!

Wow!  We are off to a great start!  The kids are doing a great job of learning every day!  I have a few things to mention:

Limo Ride and Pizza Party!  This will be this Thursday, Oct. 18th!  The limo will arrive at school around 11:10 a.m.!  Parents are welcome to come and snap a picture or two of us getting in the limo!  We will also post some pictures on the blog too!!  Please have your child dress up a little for this experience as we want to feel special for our limo ride!!  We will be going to Pizza Ranch and having our lunch and then returning back to school.  I will have a special movie for fun that day too!  It’s going to be a fantastic day!!

Reading Counts- We are off to a strong start!  Students are reading every night and taking quizzes!  Great job!  We also have volunteers coming in to help guide the students with their quizzes and make sure that they are getting new books.  Remember, we only have small snatches of time during the day to get our books and if we can’t get down there, your student can always read a book from home, bring it in, take a quiz, and then bring the book back home.

Math- This next week will be taking our Unit 1 Assessment over story problems.  If you notice your student has been coming home with 1’s or 2’s on their morning math sheets, it would be great if you could go over story problems with them.  I have some great math sites here on the blog that your student can go to and also get additional practice.  Just get them to the site (like IXL math), find the addition/subtraction story problem section, and have them practice.

Reading Levels-You may have noticed that your student has come home with Reading Counts books that seem to be at an easy level for your student.  This is because their level for Reading Counts was set at their last level in first grade.  This is to insure success as these kiddos get used to taking Reading Counts quizzes.  This next week, I will be beginning to individually test each student to see how much new progress they have made.  Their new level will be boosted for Reading Counts right after we finish testing!

Have a great week!

Reading Counts Begins!!

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This year your child will be coming home every night with a Reading Counts book. Your child chose this book from the library and it should be in his/her independent reading level. To support your child’s growing reading skills, it is recommended that your child read at least 15 minutes every night.  If your student was unable to get a book from the library, just use a book from home for their Reading Counts book.

In your child’s Reading Counts baggy, you will find a log sheet to keep track of the books that your child reads, and check off whether or not your child is ready to take a quiz. It is recommended that your child read the book at least 2 times before taking the quiz (chapter books are the exception to this rule). Upon returning to school, your child will be reminded to sign up for a Reading Counts quiz. After your student has taken his/her quiz, he/she will enter their score. If a child completes 8/10 questions correctly, they will have passed the quiz and a new book will come home. If not passed, your child will bring the same book home to read again. After 24 hours have passed, children are able to retake the comprehension quiz.

There are comprehension tools in their baggy to use to aide children during and after reading. These are a “Check for Comprehension” bookmark and a “Retelling Rope”. Students should be able to tell you the who, what, where, when, and how of any book they read. Please keep in mind that Reading Counts is a reading incentive program and should be nurturing our growing reader.  Good luck and happy reading!!!

Reading Counts!

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Reading Counts has started for the second grade students!  Students should be bringing home a book every night to read for at least 15 minutes.  Books should be sent back to school every day.  This way students can also read them during our Daily 5 Reader’s Workshop and they may take quizzes whenever they are ready.  Please be sure to fill out your student’s calendar nightly after your student has read his/her book.  Just put the number of minutes read on the day.  Calendars signed by parents may be sent in on the first day of every new month, where students who have read 15 minutes a night for at least 5 days a week will get a treat!  (For example:  September calendar due on Oct. 1.)  Thanks for all your hard work students!  With all this practice, wait to see what a great reader you will become!!

Reading Counts – Please Read!

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TN_26-10-07_29Reading Counts is a wonderful motivational program that encourages children to read each night, take quizzes and be rewarded for their efforts.  Although it  has many merits, it may not be a good fit for all children.

Our classroom reading curriculum is founded on reading strategies for comprehension, accuracy, fluency and expanding vocabulary.  A core component of our instruction is providing children with an opportunity to practice these skills in their independent reading.  In addition to our classroom instruction, Reading Counts provides an opportunity for children to be rewarded for reading but is not our reading curriculum.  It is simply a motivational program to inspire children to read more.

Based on a recent discussion among our Georgetown staff regarding teacher and parent concerns for our readers, we want to stress that Reading Counts is an optional program for our children.   Our main goal is to have children reading as much as possible both at home and at school.  Reading Counts has helped motivate some children to stay focused on their reading while receiving incentives and goals to work toward.   We know that this does not motivate all students and we do not want to put added pressure on children and parents.  For this reason, if you feel as if your child is not motivated by the Reading Counts program, you can choose to not have your child participate.

We will still continue to offer opportunities to choose RC books and to take quizzes during the day, as well as require students to read for 15 minutes each night from a book of their choice, whether it be an RC book or another “good-fit” book.  Our ultimate goal is that all children are practicing reading strategies  in their independent reading, whether it be an RC book or any other appropriate text.

If  you have any questions or concerns please feel free to give me a call/email.

Thanks so much for your continued support!

Mrs. Quigley pastedGraphic.pdf

Reading Counts is Up and Running!!

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39-136405594Parents and Students,

Thanks for hanging in there as we learned the ropes of how to do Reading Counts!  For the most part, I think everyone has it now!  So far, everyone in the class has taken quizzes and most are doing well and passing!  A big thanks to the parent volunteers who have been coming in to help us get more kids done in one period of time!  If you have an interest and would like to help, we can still use you!  Just shoot me an email with the best day of the week for you.  We always start at 8:55-9:00 and we can get most kids done by 9:30-9:45.

Your child has until Nov. 29 to make their goal for this first round of Reading Counts.  Here’s the “Daily Drill”:         🙂

1)Have them read 15 minutes a night (can be Reading Counts book or other).

2)Mark it on the Book It calendar and on their RC Log Sheet.

3)Remind them to sign up for a quiz or book blog in the morning.

4)At night before reading again, ask them how they did on their quiz.  If they did not pass, read the SAME book again.  If they passed, read a different book.   And go back up to step 1!

***And please don’t worry when we have trouble getting into the library!  It doesn’t happen often and I promise that I help them when it does!  Remember that reading a book from home is A-OK!!  Also, Reading Counts is not part of their grade on the report card.  It is just an incentive to get the kids excited about reading and practicing daily.  This year’s theme is “iread”, and rumor has it that there are some ipod shuffles involved for prizes at the end of the year!!!  SO KEEP READING!!!!!

A Great First Week!

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We had a great start to our first week of school!  Parents, thank you for sending me such wonderful kids!  Above are some pictures of our first week activities.  We had a few “Get to Know You” activities, as well as establishing our “Caring Community”.  This week we jump into our first week 0f spelling and social studies.  (Watch for our Spelling Preview sheet to come home tomorrow – Monday!) We also have our first visit to the school library where we check out our first Reading Counts books.  Our official library day will always be on Wednesdays. However, we will be able to return Reading Counts books daily after taking and passing our quizzes, in order to get new books to read nightly.  Occasionally, we won’t be able to get into the library for one reason or another. If this happens, don’t panic!  Just grab a book to read off of your own shelf at home!  You can take a quiz on that one too!  Just let me know that it is a book from home and we’ll look to see if there is a quiz!  Otherwise, we can do a “Book Blog” too, and that counts for points!  (We’ll teach you how to do that here at school!)

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Tye Dye Shirts Are Coming Home!

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Parents,

During the Reading Counts party tomorrow, your son or daughter will be coming home with a tye dye shirt in a plastic bag. Please read the directions below about how to care for the new shirt:

IMPORTANT: Shirt MUST set and “cure” for 24 hours.

Instructions:

1. Pre-fill washing machine with HOT water.

2. Remove shirt from the bag. While still tied, rinse shirt with cold water.

3. Continue rinsing in warmer water while untying and until the water runs fairly clear.

4. Then, wash the shirt through full wash cycle in hot water.

NOTE: Wash 2 times by itself as colors could bleed the first few washings!!!!