Ms. Naimey

The Nutcracker

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:19:55 -0500

Here is a link to students computer drawings of the Nutcracker. The real pictures will go into their portvolio. Check it out! http://staff.msad71.net/kpt_lab/projects/Ballet/1-Nutcracker.htm

A note about math homework

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:36:43 -0500

In response to some questions about math homework, here's a reminder.

I do not spend a great deal of time going over math homework in class. Math Homework comes home MOST nights. Your child may do the homework independently OR with limited assistance from you. The important thing is that he/she makes you aware of what he is learning in math at school. We do a lot of talking about about how we got the answer in math so students hear different math thinking. We request that you CHECK your child's work and have him CORRECT ERRORS and that you INITIAL the homework indicating that you have checked it. (Answers for all homework sheets are in the pink Parent Letter you receive at the beginning of every unit.)We want to avoid having the child do it himself and not show it to you to be checked. That defeats the purpose of communicating with you! If your child has difficulty on the homework, please write a note on the paper to let me know. It should not be difficult as it is a review of what was learned that day. Thank you for your help with this.

Tomorrow is the ballet!

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:16:52 -0500

We have read several versions of the Nutcracker and we have been listening to the music for weeks. A former Consolidated student came in to talk to students. She explained about the performance and about being a ballerina. You may have noticed the autographed picture that came home from school. She will be performing in the ballet and will be there tomorrow when we go to "Backstage at the Nutcracker" at Merrill Auditorium. We will be leaving at 8:30 and back at 11:30. We will have snack on the bus and lunch in our rooms so please pack a simple snack and a bagged lunch (no glass bottles, please).

Since this is a ballet, students should dress up to see the performance. This makes it a really special since they are at Merrill Auditorium to see a story told only by dance.

Ask your child to tell you the story of the Nutcracker tonight or about the performance tomorrow. Even if they have seen the Nutcracker before, they will learn all the backstage secrets! It is an awesome experience for students to see this. I am looking forward to watching their faces as they watch the ballet!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:25:47 -0500

I hope you all have a very special holiday with your lovely children! Happy Thanksgiving! Nancy

The First Thanksgiving

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:49:47 -0500

We have been learning a lot about the Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving this week. I hope students can come home to tell you all about what was eaten at the First Thanksgiving and about the feast. They should also be able to tell you who helped the Pilgrims survive and don't forget to ask them to describe their voyage over. We will continue on this theme next week.

I will not be here tomorrow because I am very excited to be going to a great conference in Cambridge called Learning and the Brain http://www.edupr.com/schedule.html I hope to come back with all sorts of good ideas to enhance learning for all my students!

I know many of you are leaving early for Thanksgiving to visit family and friends. Please have a wonderfully safe holiday vacation with your awesome children! Nancy

A change of plans

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:34:33 -0500

In light of the recent events at Consolidated, we spent a lot of time talking about hand washing this week. Each student washed their hands or used GermX before they ate their snacks or lunch. Hopefully, these good habits will stop the spread of any germs!

If you have not yet signed up for conferences, please call the office and schedule a time. I can meet at 3 or 3:30 on 12/3 and I have several times available on 12/4. If neither of those times works for you, I can also meet during any of my specials or during lunch/recess time during the day.

Next week we will focus on the first Thanksgiving. Thanks, Nancy

Too cute!

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:53:39 -0500

During snack and at dismissal time, we have been looking at this web cam that is set inside a crate with these adorable puppies. They go from being really active to sleeping very soundly. Check it out at http://cdn1.ustream.tv/swf/4/viewer.45.swf?cid=317016 Nancy

Online Math Quizzes

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:37:12 -0500

I just created some online math quizzes for students. Let me know how it works out. I put these links on my webpage.

http://staff.msad71.net/nnaimey/index.htm

Please....

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:15:30 -0500

I would respectfully ask that students have healthy snacks at school. Please do not send any more Halloween candy in with their snack or lunch. Thank you.

Cleanliness in the class

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:18:44 -0500

Because of the germs going around school at this time, I would like to make sure that each student has clean hands before eating their snack or lunch. I have some antiseptic cleanser (Purel?) in the class and I would like to give each student a squirt before they eat anything. If there are any objections to this, please send me a note or email me. Thanks, Nancy

Ox Cart Man

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:00:41 -0500

We did a lot of activities centered around our core literature book called The Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney in preparation for our October 30th field trip to Olde York Historical Society. I will be bringing in some artifacts next week and they will see others on the field trip as they compare the chores today to the chores long ago. Enjoy the weekend before the rains come!

Conference schedule

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:37:01 -0500

My conference schedule is in the office. Please sign up for conferences so we can talk about your child's progress. Pick out a couple of good times in case the time you selected has been taken. Here are my dates and times but if there is ever an issue before this date, do not hesitate to call.

Monday, November 24th 3:00, 3:30 or 4:00

Wednesday, December 3rd 3:00, 3:30 or 4:00

Thursday, December 4th 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, 4:30, 5:20, 5:40, 6:10 or 6:30 6:50, 7:10 ( only if needed)

Wednesday, December 10th 3:00, 3:30 or 4:00

Morning Meeting

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:06:40 -0500

The songs that students sang on Friday were very well received. If you did not get a chance to see them, please ask them to show you the American Sign Language that they learned that goes with the "Friends" song and the song "Are we living?". We will be doing other short activities at Friday Morning Meetings. I think it is a great way for students to get used to being in front of a large group.

Field Trip and Morning Meeting News

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:11:22 -0500

The songs that we were going to sing on Friday at morning meeting may be rescheduled until next week. There is a presentation about violins and Mrs. Pence was going to ask to see if we could still sing our songs. If it is not this week, it will be the next Friday.

Our field trip to Tyler Brook Preserve was incredible! We had a fabulous day with the weather and activities. The only complaint from the students today was that it was muddy but they were all prepared with their mud boots. They noticed and discovered a lot of things and then drew like scientists in their field journals. What a great opportunity this was. I hope you go back there so the students can show you what they saw!

Come to Friday Morning Meeting!

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:25:54 -0500

We will be performing two quick songs at Friday Morning Meeting on October 17th. The first is using sign language singing Friends, Friends, 1, 2, 3 and the second is Am I living? to the tune of Mary had a Litte Lamb. Both are very short but if you want to come and hear it, please join us!