December is hectic!

Well we finally have our routine back on schedule! Too bad it will be thrown out of whack next week with sneaker science, Winter sharing concert, and a celebration party. This weeks spelling words are: she, fish, shell, shoe, chin, much, chop, and chair. This weeks vocabulary words are: grow, light, long, more, other, right, room, and these. Be sure to sit down and read with your child for at least twenty minutes a night and be sure to fill out all parts of their homework to ensure full points. Please contact me soon if you are interested in helping out or donating supplies or treats for our class party on the 17th! I am also very proud of my class for donating 125 items of food so far for the food drive! What an impressive amount that will help out so many community members.

Snow problems!

WOW! What an unexpected break from school. I hope no one had any problems when the snow hit and closed down various parts of Western Washington. A little change this week because I was unable to send home the homework last week, I was making this weeks work just practice. I only sent home spelling and vocabulary so it can be practiced with an adult. There is no need to turn those papers back to me and we will be back on track this Friday. On the last Monday before the two day school closure, the students that made it in on that day, had the pleasure of learning about the human body and the bones that are inside! The students had a blast and they will finish the lesson this week. The spelling words this week are: us, up, but, fun, run, cut, plum, and jump. This weeks vocabulary words are: car, down, hear, hold, hurt, learn, their, walk, and would. Please practice these with your child and remember to read 20 or more each night!

Conference week!

Please remember to be on time for your child's conference. We have a lot to discuss and it would be very beneficial if you were there. This weeks vocabulary words are: friend, girl, know, play, read, she, sing, today, and write. This weeks spelling words are: get, ten, red, pet, men, yes, tent, and bell. Make sure to practice daily and test your child at home on a blank piece of paper for the spelling words. Please remember to do the sentence on the back, too! Check back this week for some new pictures and if there is any problem with your scheduled conference time please contact me quickly.

November plows along!

Sorry about the delay! This week is a hectic one! Wow, we have both a late start tomorrow and no school on Thursday! Remember homework is not due until Friday because of all the craziness. This weeks vocabulary words are: children, come, family, father, love, mother, people, picture, and your. This weeks spelling words are: on, not, got, box, hot, top, pond, and doll. We are working on L clusters this week, along with short o words. The class just completed a fun project on Maurice Sendak and his famous book "Where the Wild Things Are". It was a lot of fun and I will have pictures up soon. Remember to check your conference time and let me know if you can make it in.

November storms in!

Welcome to November! We have a lot to accomplish this month and not a lot of time to do it in. Conferences will be up shortly and I will have word out to parents when their times will be. This weeks words are: funny, color, like, brown, green, many, also, some, and blue. The spelling words this week are: crab, grin, trap, trip, drip, grab, brown, and crack. We are working on 'r' clusters in class and the spelling list helps reinforce that concept with the children. The Halloween party the students received was a lot of fun and I want to thank the parents/family who donated time and treats to the event, it is greatly appreciated! This month the class will learn about Maurice Sendak books and art work, pictures and information to follow soon.

Ending of October...BOO!

Hello from room 14! The month of October is coming to an end, but what a great month it has been! Room 14 is becoming an awesome class and the proof of that is the class has earned 81 positive penguins! Our first goal of 100 is nearly complete and we will celebrate when we hit that milestone. This weeks vocabulary words are: all, call, eat, every, first, never, paper, shall, and, why. This weeks spelling words are: big, did, him, in, it, sit, dish, and, milk. Make sure to practice daily to ensure your child's success. If anyone is interested in donating treats or activities for our Halloween party (on Friday the 28th) please contact me by Wednesday.

What a spirited October!

As we move closer to Halloween, our students have been doing some very fun holiday projects! We recently completed a haunted house crayon resist project, they turned out great! This week marks a new step in our homework. We are now adding spelling to our list of responsibilities. This weeks words are: an, can, man, at, cat, catch, add, had. This weeks vocabulary words are: animal, bird, cold, fall, flower, full, look, of, see. Make sure to practice both the spelling words and vocabulary words daily. I also want to stress the importance of reading 20 minutes or more a night! It will really help your child in the long run.

October is in full swing!

October is off and running! The students in room 14 are working hard at becoming better readers and with our new "March of the Penguins" reading groups, things will be picking up greatly! This weeks words to focus on are: where, they, pull, live, he, does, away, and are. Make sure to practice these words a few times every day. Please sit down every night with your child and read at least 20 minutes! We work very hard each day at school, but the extra help at home always pushes a child over the top. There will be some exciting October themed art projects coming soon!

Changes

Hello again from room 14! This has been a trying week for many staff and students in the Tenino School District and I hope it is something I will never have to see again. Some changes that will be occurring for your child will be reading groups. They will take place Monday - Thursday from 8:30 to 9:00. If you have any questions about where your child is going please contact me. The homework words this week are: do, I, is, me, my, said, you, for. Be sure to practice these words each day and read 20 or more minutes a day.

September is almost gone...

Wow! What a great start to the school year! The students in room 14 have been great thus far. I have a few things about homework to add on here. Please remember to record and sign the reading minutes on your take home news letter. We had several blank and I do not want to see students lose points when they are reading at home.

The key words this week are: here, we, find, jump, one, have, to, and who.

Make sure your child reads these words nightly, along with their 20 minutes (or more) of reading. I hope to have some art work up soon and I will keep you posted of any fun activities taking place in room 14! Remember that the word of the month is fairness. We reinforce this at school, but it would be a huge help if you could also mention this or point it out at home. Thanks for all that you do!

Mr. Bates

Welcome to a new school year!

Soon a new school year will be starting! I am very excited to have you in my class this coming year. Make sure you have all school supplies ready for the first day of school and all items on the supply list are important for a successful year (if you need help getting anything please let me know). On August 31, we will have open house at Parkside Elementary. You can come meet me early and put your supplies away the day before school starts. I have a feeling that this is going to be a great year and the classroom is waiting t0 have more students walk through its doors! I have lots of fun activities planned for this school year and we have some brand new technology that each student will be able to use. So come to class with a great attitude and be ready to learn!

Conference/Half-days week!

This coming week will fly by for the students! Please be sure to make your conference time and if you have any questions feel free to call and check in. As for your childs academics this week, they will be focusing on science and will be doing their final Sneaker Science in Ms. Bachman's class. Where their focus will be on plants. This is something we are focusing on as well, because the student's have been doing some work with seeds and we are now trying to grow our own plants! We hope to see some growth before they leave for spring break! If anyone starts to panic at home because they are worried about their plant, tell them not to worry and I will be sure to come in and water the plants.