12-22-17

Dear Unicorn Families!

As the semester comes to a close there are so many things I am thankful for.  I am thankful to teach your children each and every day.  Seeing their growth over the school year so far is exciting.  I am thankful for the funny stories they tell me every day and how excited they are to learn.  As we start the new year, I know I am looking forward to new stories and more learning.

This week was a busy one.  We had a wonderful Author’s celebration.  Thank you to all that came to listen to our budding authors.  We will publish several more stories throughout the year and they will come home at the end of the school year.  The children worked very hard on their presents for you.  We also finished up learning about maps.  We will finish up the maps we started during the first week back after break and then move on.  Today we will finish up the week reading and writing with our stuffed animals.   

While there is no homework over vacation, finding time to read every day or most every day is important.  If you are looking for other activities, have them write about what they are doing or create a new story.  The last thing is to work on addition and subtraction facts.  Subtraction fluency is always harder for children.  They can always share what they did with me and I promise to be surprised to see what they have accomplished!

Have a fantastic holiday season and a happy new year!

       Mrs. Berk

12-15-17

Dear Unicorn Families!

Is December really half over?  It is so fun to hear about all the exciting activities you are doing this month.  The children are definitely looking forward to the holiday season!

We had a busy week.  After our wonderful field trip, Friday we wrote thank you notes to the people at Las Milpitas Farm.  This week we are working hard on publishing our books and finishing up assessments. We also listened to a short concert at a Kiva, worked on creating our maps and continue to work on reading and writing.

Next week will be just as busy.  We will host parents at an Author Celebration.  The children will share their stories with you at 2 pm on Tuesday, December 19^th.  I hope you will all be able to join us.  Please remember that snacks should be healthy like crackers, fruit, or cheese.  Sugary snacks limits children’s concentration because it gives them energy highs and lows much more quickly than other foods.  Spelling tests were given today, but they will not be put in folders until the Friday after vacation.

Please let me know if your child will not be at school for the full week, so I can try to make sure they finish up a special project for you.

The food drive ends Tuesday, December 19^th.  Thank you to all who donated gifts or food. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

       Mrs. Berk

12-8-17

Dear Unicorn Families!

What a brisk day for a field trip.  We have a great adventure ahead of us as we go to Las Milpitas. I know the children are looking forward to spending the day being able to revisit their knowledge about plants and to see how a community garden works.  Thank you to all who are able to take the time out of their busy day to join us at the farm.  Your support is appreciated.

This week passed so quickly.  We worked on a couple of end of the semester assessments.  We will continue with a few more next week.  We are also working hard to get our books ready for our Author Celebration on December 19^th at 2 pm.  You are invited to come listen to your child and others share their stories.  We will start our new writing unit on how to and non-fiction stories next week. 

Thank you to all who have donated for both the food drive and the Spirit of Sunrise family drive.  The food drive will continue until December 19^th.  All gifts for the families are due Friday, December 15^th. 

There is homework due and spelling tests on Friday, December 15^th.  There will be no homework or spelling tests on Friday, December 22.  Spelling will resume the second week after winter vacation.

Have a wonderful weekend.

       Mrs. Berk