Room 404 Stars
December 4, 2015
Curriculum Updates
Reading: We are very excited about the
level of instruction that the children are
receiving in their guided reading groups
this year in the co-taught class. This
allows us to spend an increased amount
time with each group as well as to focus
very specifically on the needs of each and
every student. We are proud of all of
your children for the hard work and
progress they are demonstrating in
reading!
As always, the home connection is
invaluable as students are developing
their skills as readers. We would like to
send a “shout out” to every family for all
of the support you have shown your child
with our home reading incentive! Please
continue to support your child’s home
reading….it really does make a difference!
Language Arts: We have been working
on the process of writing. They are:
Prewrite, Write, Revise, Edit, and Publish.
The students wrote narratives of their
Thanksgiving holidays. We will write
another narrative about student’s family
traditions next week. We are also working
to help students write longer and more
detailed sentences. They are very
excited about their published pieces of
writing and so are we! They are fabulous
and we are off to a great start with
writing!
Math: We have been working on telling
time to the hour and half hour. We
learned that we read the hour (short)
hand first then we read the minute (long
hand) second. We discussed the terms on
the hour and half past the hour. Please
continue to have your child read an analog
clock for practice. Telling time can be a
difficult skill to learn and the more they
practice, the better! We will be
introducing subtraction in the upcoming
weeks before Winter Break.
Social Studies: We are very fortunate
to have terrific families volunteer their
time and efforts to teach our class about
their family traditions. We will be
learning about Hanukkah and Las Posadas
from our wonderful parents. We are very
excited to learn about other cultures! If
you are interested, we have a few
openings available if you would like to
share your traditions.
Social Hour
Over the last several weeks, the class has
been introduced to a program called The
Zones of Regulation. It is a curriculum
designed to foster self-regulation and
emotional control. Thus far, the students
have learned about the 4 zones:
Blue Zone: describes a low state of
alertness, such as when we feel sad, sick or
tired. This is when one’s body and/or brain
is moving slowly.
Green Zone: describes a regulated state of
alertness. A person may be calm, happy,
focused, and ready to learn. A student
generally needs to be in the Green Zone to
Room 404 Stars
December 4, 2015
be ready for learning and in order to
demonstrate expected behaviors and social
appropriateness.
Yellow Zone: describes a heightened level
of alertness, however, a person has some
control in the Yellow Zone. They may be
experiencing stress, frustration and anxiety,
but also may feel excited and be acting silly.
Red Zone: describes an extremely
heightened level of alertness or very
intense feelings. A person may be angry or
out of control. Their behavior may be
aggressive.
The students have spent some time just
understanding the 4 zones and what each
state of alertness means. They are able to
categorize several feelings into the correct
zones and depict a scenario in which they
can tell how a person is feeling and what
zone they might be in. The class will start to
gain awareness of emotional selfunderstanding by identifying personal
“triggers” for each zone and how our bodies
respond to emotions and stress.
The IF School Store is open twice a
month before school from 8:10-8:25. This
month they will be open on December 4th
and 14th. Students can purchase various
school supply items priced at $2.00 or
less. You may choose to accompany your
child to school a few minutes early if they
wish to shop at the school store.
Our school is participating in many
wonderful fundraisers this holiday
season. The Thanksgiving Dinner food
drive was a huge success! The students
were able to raise $1,650 for the
Northwest Food Bank! Awesome job!!
The Giving Tree is looking for new hats,
gloves, mittens, and scarves for a school
in need in Waukegan. Donations for the
Giving Tree will be accepted.
Holiday Lights is also collecting can goods
from December 3-11th for the Ela Food
Pantry. Thank you for any assistance you
can provide.
Please know that we are always available
to discuss any concerns or issues you may
have. We enjoyed meeting with all of the
parents during conferences.
General Information
Winter is upon us! Unless the
temperature is below zero, students will
continue to go outside for recess. Please
make sure that they have all the
necessary winter gear. Hats, gloves,
scarves, boots, etc. are a must!!
Room 404 Stars
December 4, 2015
Help Wanted
We are looking for 2-3 parents that are
interested in coming to our classroom to
assist with Daily Three. This commitment
would be 1 hour per week on Tuesday,
Wednesday, or Thursday between 10 10:55 a.m. Activities could include
phonics games, IPad assistance, writing
support, and/or reading support. Please
email us with any questions or interest in
volunteering your time.
Reminders
Dec. 18
Dec. 21
Jan. 4
Holiday Party
Reading tickets due
Start of Winter Break
School resumes
Thank you!
Mrs. Sheri Brizzee
Mrs. Ellen Finer
847-540-2828