Collier's Comments

It's Been a Long Time

Sorry it's been so long since my last message.  I have been very busy. 

What a great week of conferencing we have had.  It's always so much fun talking to you all and finding out more about you and your families.  For some of you, it's been a trip down memory lane.

Many of you were able to meet my student teacher, Ms. Contant.  She is finishing up her college experience at Kennesaw State.  We also have a TAP student from Kell High.  She went to Keheley years ago.  In fact, her mom works at the school now, Jaye Cannon.  Jennifer or rather Ms. Cannon, was a 2nd grade student of mine about -------- years ago.  So our mornings consist of 3 teachers and everyone gets a lot of attention.

In Social Studies, we have been studying Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jimmy Carter.  With these influencing leaders, we have discussed their character traits.  We have also been studying civil rights. 

In Math, we have been learning about fractions.  We identify them, compare them, and show parts of a whole.  We will study temperature next.

Dates to Remember

• 2/3      PTA meeting
• 2/4     Early Release
• 2/6    Sock Hop  (Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd grades from 6-7. 3rd, 4th, 5th grades 7:30-8:30)

It's Been a Long Time

Sorry it's been so long since my last message.  I have been very busy. 

What a great week of conferencing we have had.  It's always so much fun talking to you all and finding out more about you and your families.  For some of you, it's been a trip down memory lane.

Many of you were able to meet my student teacher, Ms. Contant.  She is finishing up her college experience at Kennesaw State.  We also have a TAP student from Kell High.  She went to Keheley years ago.  In fact, her mom works at the school now, Jaye Cannon.  Jennifer or rather Ms. Cannon, was a 2nd grade student of mine about -------- years ago.  So our mornings consist of 3 teachers and everyone gets a lot of attention.

In Social Studies, we have been studying Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jimmy Carter.  With these influencing leaders, we have discussed their character traits.  We have also been studying civil rights. 

In Math, we have been learning about fractions.  We identify them, compare them, and show parts of a whole.  We will study temperature next.

November News

It's so hard to believe that November is already here.  We have accomplished so much but there is a lot more to do. I must commend you students and parents.  Everyone has had their homework packet done and done well the last couple of weeks.  Thank you!  We still need to work on Wednesday math homework being 100%.  We are close! 

We are working on historical figures having importance to Georgia's history in Social Studies.  We have also studied Creek and Cherokee Native Americans.  We worked in groups to design brochures for these two cultures.

In writing, we have begun learning how to record factual information for informational writing.  We are learning all about pumpkins.  We are even learning the skill of paragraphing.  Then, we will learn more about Microsoft Word and type our pumpkin information.  We plan to be done with these in about a week. 

In Science, we will begin studying Energy.  This is always an exciting unit.  Once again we will become scientists.

In math, we are exhausted.  Within this 9 weeks, we will have covered a plethora of skills. A what?
"You can look it up." says Mrs. Collier.  We will have studied regrouping with subtraction and addition,
telling time, counting money, counting back change to $1.00 or more, plane shapes, angles, and more.
Our guided math is getting more and more comfortable and fun.  We have a wide variety of centers to chose from, to learn and have fun learning!

We look forward to our in-house field trip coming up soon. It's a hands-on approach to learning. The students usually love it!

Nick Cook was our character kid for September.  Katie Fredeman is our character kid  for October. Congrats to you for earning this honorable award.  It's very hard for me to pick just one student.  A round of applause to these fine young adults! (clap, clap, clap)

Thanks for all you do parents and students.  I truly have the best bunch of shining apples in my classroom! :)

      

Alyssa deserves a round of applause for being our Character Kid for August. This month the character word dealt with self respect, respect for others, respect for authority, and respect for learning & punctuality. Alyssa has set a good example of this kind of character. She is always polite, helpful, mannerly, and has great listening skills. Good for you Alyssa!

We have early release on September 16th. Please be aware of this and let me know of any dismissal changes.

Standards to ask your child about at home are cardinal and intermediate directions, the 5 regions of Georgia, many ways to make and draw pictures for a number, strategies to add numbers, and the commutative and associative properties.

A Great New Crop

It has been a busy and productive week!  We have been getting acclimated to 2nd grade work and we are up and running with our standards.  In reading, we are reading Henry and Mudge.  We are asking concrete and abstract questions and learning how to find guide words in the dictionary.  We have also worked with a thesaurus and found out it is not a dinosaur!  In writing we have been working on finding out about the friends in our class by interviewing them.  We will take this writing piece through the whole writing process.  Then we plan to learn our technology standards and type the interviews up in Microsoft Word. In Math we have been tackling  place value.  In second grade, we have opted not to do compacting like we have done in the past.  I will be doing "guided math" with my class and group them accordingly to teach them just as I do in reading. In Social Studies we are beginning our interactive notebooks.  You will see a finished product at the end of the year.   In Science we will start out with exploring the seasons through a tree's eyes. I am looking forward to a "scrumptious" year one bite at a time.

Welcome Back!

Welcome to school year 2008-9! It looks like I have a great new "crop" of students!  It was very exciting to meet all of you at Sneak-A-Peek!  I hope you have received your postcard from me by now. It is always fun to get something in the mail, isn't it?  I'm looking forward to a  deliciously sweet year with all of you.  More "bites" of information to come.....

Another Year Good to the Core

Well another fine year has been accomplished by Mrs. Collier's Cool Crop of Children.  The class gave me the best end of the year present a teacher could wish for on May 19, 2008 at 2:50 pm.  Everyone of them passed the CRCT in all areas. THANK YOU! for taking your studies so seriously.  It truly made my day!!  All our hard work and efforts paid off and paid off well!  Now keep up your learned knowledge over the summer by reading, writing, and working on math computation and problem solving.  We surely don't want to forget all we have learned.

Go to the Mt. View Library and check out some of those books that the librarian shared with us.  Yes it is open!  You just have to park in the Art Center while they are renovating the parking lot.  If you earn that summer certificate, bring it in to show me at Sneak a Peek and I will reward you!

I sent home all the math books with pages that were not used.  Do those pages and parents please check them for accuracy.  Make it a regimen to start the day off with some sort of academics.  It will make your third grade year so much easier if you follow this simple advice.

If you want to email me with a story or a letter (written in correct form!,) I will be happy to respond to you.
I mean proofread it before you send it to me.  Don't make me do more work, please! After all, it is summer time!

I also sent home what was left of our handwriting books.  Feel free to practice those pages we did not get to in that workbook.  Learn it the right way so you don't start off with those bad habits.

Thanks again parents for all you support and interest in your child.  When we're all in this together  it sure makes a difference!!  Have a great summer and be safe!

Japan, Walking, Report Cards

We have are beginning the 4th and final grading period! Time sure does fly when you are having fun! Report cards go home on Tuesday. Please sign the white card and return it along with the envelope. The report card is yours to keep. I don't need it back.

The famous Straw Walk is only a few weeks away (March 28th)! Please tell all your family and friends to start recording those miles for us. Then come to the straw walk on March 28th and walk with us at 10:15 AM! Remember to collect and send in those miles you walk at home too!

Our new Social Studies unit is Japan. You will be invited to our classroom for Japan Day! We will try to make our classroom depict a Japanese home and teach you all the facts we've learned about Japan and its traditions. The students are researching many books and websites to make Powerpoint Presentations for Japan Day. It will be very worth your while.

Please remember to return your magnet order by Friday.
March 24th is Stevie B's night.
March 28th is the Straw Walk.
Japan Day, April 3rd.
Spring break is April 7th-11th.

Happy New Year!!

Welcome back to school! I hope everyone had a nice break. I also hope you are ready for the second half of the school year. Conference appointments went home today. Please make every effort to keep that scheduled time because we have arranged these times with other teachers and specialists for your convenience. If you are absolutely unable to make that time then return the slip as soon as possible so I can reschedule it. Conference week is January 22nd- January 28th (students will be dismissed at 12:30). You will receive your child's report card at your conference.

We will be having firefighters come to our classroom to teach us all about fire safety the next two weeks! They will be here Wednesdays and Fridays. One of the assignments your child will be given is to make an emergency exit plan with your child.

Dates to Remember:

Banking day is on Thursday 1/10.
1/28) is Stevie B's night starting at 5 PM. YUM!
Please, please send at least one small pad of sticky notes for your child to begin our Lit Circles next week (just plain ones.)

Time Flies

Well this will probably be the last post in my blog for the year of 2007. The year 2008 will be here before we know it. We've been busy writing our Kennesaw Elementary pen pals, doing accelerated reader, learning computer skills, keeping up with performance standards, making holiday gifts, and stating our New Year's Resolutions.

We are all looking forward to our holiday party, the winter break, and the holidays.

On January 8th you will receive a tentative appointment for your child's conference. Please make every effort to keep that scheduled time because we have coordinated with other teachers and specialists to schedule them. If you are totally unable to make that time, then return the slip immediately so I can reschedule it. Conference week is the week of January 22nd.

We have already been working on plans for the upcoming new year. 2008 looks to be as busy and exciting as 2007.