Teachers' Desk . . .

Teachers' News

Welcome to the Teachers' News page. Throughout the year teachers will be posting news and happenings in their classroom as they occur. The faculty would like to thank parents for their contributions to classroom supplies. Please check back over the next week for updates from all of our teachers.

Mrs. Gould – Pre K – 3 has been very busy this January! Our bears are still hibernating and the children are anxious for spring already! Recently, the students have shown interest in playing restaurant and grocery store. Due to this interest we have been talking a lot about healthy food and sometimes food. The children brought in empty food boxes from home to set up a grocery store and two restaurants. One restaurant serves healthy food, the other serves sometimes food. Through this type of purposeful play the children are learning manners, nutrition, sorting and classifying, counting and cooperation. We also taste healthy foods and will be blending fruits and vegetables to make juice. They are finding that it can be fun to try new things.

Mrs. Krow/Mrs. Menard - Pre K – 4 - Happy New Year!! We hope your holiday season with your family was joyful. We are excited to start the year with new themes and skills, as well as continue to reinforce social development. Be sure to read our monthly newsletter to stay up to date with class happenings.

Winter is here!! During this month we will be teaching and talking to the children about all things winter. At art time our students will be creating a winter scene, building a snowman, cutting out snowflakes and many more creations. The children will listen to a wide variety of literature as they are read, The Mitten, The Big Snow, Foot Prints in the Snow and many more. We will close our winter theme with our Pajama Day.

This month we’ll be talking about our animal friends that live in snowy areas. Our students will surely enjoy stories about polar bears, penguins, walrus and many more creatures. At the end of the month we will be making Stone Soup with our 5^th grade buddies. This is a fun-filled day that our preschoolers and 5^th grade friends will truly enjoy.

A reminder to make sure your children have their hats, mittens, boots, and jackets, so they are ready for outdoor play. We do try to go outside twice a day, weather permitting.

Mrs. Fedora – Kindergarten - Happy 2012! Winter is here, and gives us many opportunities to explore the season. We will be experimenting with freezing and melting ice cubes. The students completed their paper doll projects, and enjoyed changing the outfits to match the seasons. Have you ever heard of a Rockhopper Penguin? We read about them, and compared/contrasted them with Emperor Penguins. For the remainder of the month, we will be continuing our lessons in all academic areas. In Math, we have completed our chapter on ‘big numbers’, and are now beginning the chapter on measurement. We will still continue to practice identifying and printing the ‘big numbers’ through our morning work and center activities. In Reading, we are on the fourth story of Unit 3. We will be completing our Benchmark in two weeks. Please continue to practice sounding out simple words and the sight words with your child. Their reading skills are improving every day!

Ms. Nehmer - Kindergarten - Happy New Year! Now that we have leapt into the New Year, Kindergarten will be stepping up the work as well. Your children will be learning about measuring objects using many different units of measurement. By this time in the year we hope to see that our students know most if not all of their letter names as well as sounds. However, we will continue to work on these skills until the last week of school. If you would like to help your child in their learning, we always encourage practicing the letters and sight words we have worked on!

We would like to welcome our new friend Scooter to our classroom! Scooter is a Russian Tortoise who is now living in our class. The children are truly enjoying getting to know Scooter and see how he eats, lives and interacts with them. Within the next few weeks we will be study tortoises and learning all we can about them.

Ms. Pula – Grade 1 - The results of your child's Unit 2 Benchmark Reading Test, Unit 1 and Unit 2 sight words tests, and reading fluency sentences will be sent home on Friday, January 13th. If you have any questions or would like to meet with me about your child's results please contact me. Also, report cards will be distributed on January 27th. If you would like to schedule a conference please contact me so we can set up a convenient time and day to discuss your child's progress. Thank you.
For the past two months we have been trying different fruits and vegetables as part of science class. So far we have tried lemons, limes, pink grapefruits, yellow delicious apples, granny smith apples, prunes, cauliflower, broccoli, and tangerines. The children look forward to each week's treat and they are discovering that they like the new foods. I will continue to do try new fruits and vegetables with the children for the rest of the school year.

Mrs. O’Rouke – Grade 2 - In reading we are midway through our Unit 3. We are learning new comprehension skills like how to draw conclusions and using sequence words to retell a story. In math we are learning to count by tens from any number. To practice we toss a koosh ball and the person to catch the ball has to say the next number. We have even been able to count by tens from 2 to 202! In social studies we are learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and having great discussions about how life was for African Americans in the fifties. In writing we continue improving our writing skills with weekly writing prompts. Recently we did "Suddenly my snowman began to move...."

Mrs. Noga – Grade 2 - The students in second grade are preparing to make their First Reconciliation. The children will receive this next sacrament on February 4th at Our Lady of The Cross church at 10:00. In math we will begin a unit on subtraction. Everyone enjoys working on the iPads to do science activities and math games. Report cards will be handed out in two weeks.

Mrs. Lucas - Grade 3 - We will be working on addition and subtraction of 2 and 3 digit numbers in Math, with continued timed tests on our facts. Our Science unit on Life Cycles is coming to an end and we will be making a tri-fold project to culminate the unit. Starting in February we will begin Social Studies for the second half of the year. Reading continues with the third unit "People in Nature." We are also increasing our knowledge and use of self directed SRA reading labs.

We have completed our "Snowpeople" and they are now dancing around the room this year due to the painting of the hall. We will soon be preparing for Catholic Schools Week and many different activities. February looks to be a very busy month also.

Mrs. Regan – Grade 4 - The fourth grade has set aside fifteen minutes each morning to work at curriculum centers in the classroom: Reading, Spelling, Math, Puzzles, Social Studies and Penmanship. These centers reinforce material we are either working on at the moment or material that needs review. This week we have had Reading listening center where the students are listening to the story we are reading. They concentrate on the fluency and expression of the reader. In the Spelling center our words this week have been homophones; therefore the center is a game working with homophones. In the Math center they are playing a card game involving multiplication. In the Puzzles center they are working together to visualize a larger product from a smaller piece. Just as in a story it takes smaller details to make a complete picture. The Social Studies center focuses on geography with a puzzle game on landforms. In the Penmanship center students are choosing a poem and writing it in cursive. Everyone is excited to get to the next center. Next week we may change one or two to science or religion.

Mrs. Deren – Grade 5 - Last month fifth graders went caroling to the senior center. Children and seniors alike had fun singing songs, with the accompaniment of Mrs. Anderson on guitar. They also played some Christmas songs on their recorders. Students in 5-1 are working hard learning new songs. We are looking forward to spending time with our preschool buddies. In math we are working on long division and in social studies we are learning about the Thirteen Colonies.

At this point in the school year student supplies are running low. Children have used up their pencils and have lost many crayons. Please check with your child to see if they need a replenishment of supplies. Thank you.

Mrs. Anderson – Grade 5 - Students are writing, writing, and writing! Finally... after many weeks of direct instruction and guided practice, students completed their personal narratives which they later enjoyed sharing. We inspired, laughed, and celebrated while sipping hot cocoa and munching on cookies!

In our reading unit on Immigration, students role-played as immigrants in America writing to their friends back in their homeland. In the letter they had to describe their journey, experiences, hardships, and dreams.

On a similar note, we recently invited Mrs. Cioch to our classroom. Twenty-four years ago, as a first year college student, Mrs. Cioch came to America from Ireland, and she became a US citizen just last year. Students had the opportunity to interview her to learn more about her experiences as an immigrant. Now students will use the responses to write an essay in which they will compare and contrast the experiences of both past and present immigrants. Additionally, each student is currently interviewing a relative, friend, or acquaintance who has immigrated to America. Finally, they will write an oral history which we hope to have published, on-line.

Mrs. Gilardi – Grade 6 - Showtime! Sixth grade is in full swing preparing for our presentation, Fun with Fables. Sixth grade has taken a number of Aesop’s fables and created our own unique interpretation of these timeless tales. A fable is a short story that teaches a lesson or a moral. Often the characters are talking animals that have the best and worst of human traits. For example, we will see how unselfishness is praised over greed. Our rabbit with an attitude will learn a lesson from our slow and steady turtle. We also feature a Ninja Cat, a Big Dog, cute puppies, and frightened sheep.

We are busy rehearsing, singing, dancing, and painting our set panels. This has been a time to create and to be creative. This four week thematic unit allows all students to expand communication skills, develop a positive self image, and work together in a team-oriented activity. We hope to see you on Thursday, February 9^th, 2012.

Mrs. Forest – Grade 7 - Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Season with their families and may the New Year bring happiness as well. It is hard to believe that we are almost done with the second quarter here at Mater Dolorosa School. The Jr. High math classes along with the eighth grade science class are progressing quite well. Sixth grade math is continuing with their review on fractions to prepare them for their Iowa testing in March.

The sixth grade has completed simplifying fractions and will complete the month of January with comparing and ordering fractions, mixed numbers, improper fractions and conversions with fractions and decimals. Sixth grade math should complete their review on fractions with adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions by the middle of February.

The seventh grade, Pre-Algebra class is currently on Unit 3 working on multi-step equations and inequalities. They will conclude January with Unit 3 and begin Unit 4 where they will work on algebraic fractions and rules of exponents.

The eighth grade Algebra class is working on their last unit on factoring polynomials which involves using several methods of factoring. The Algebra class will begin Unit 6, which will include simplifying, multiplying and dividing algebraic fractions. The eighth grade science class has completed their life science and has begun their physical science unit on Chemical Interactions with Inside the Atom. Eighth grade science will continue with Chemical Interactions with The Periodic Table and Chemical Bonds. These physical science units will begin to prepare the eighth grade for their "Bridge Design Project" that they will present in March. I thank you for visiting our school news page and please check back in February to see all the wonderful accomplishments that both the Junior High math classes and the eighth grade science class are working on.

Mrs. Storozuk – Grade 8 - My Grade 8 Literature students have started Drama Unit 2 with the dramatic version of The Diary of Anne Frank. Before assigning parts, I engaged my students in a very interesting dialogue and class discussion concerning their own personal experiences with any type of long uninterrupted time they had to stay indoors. Many students were eager to share the difficulties they recently experienced during the October storm. They indicated how trying it was to be without power, television, heat and how they coped with this sudden and unexpected feeling of isolation.

As we started reading the introduction to the play, the students were already wondering how the inhabitants of the Annex were going to be able to cope with this confinement for 25 months! I not only wanted them to feel a little bit of the frustration but to understand how scary it was for them because they could be found out at any time and sent to a concentration camp. They couldn't even imagine how that would be like! It was then that we started reading our parts with Act I Scene 1. The classroom discussions that follow each scene are proving to be very insightful.

My Grade 7 Literature class has just started reading a new novel...an adventure that takes place in Alaska. Kavik is emerging as a main character. Students quickly discovered that it wasn't just the title of the novel. The students are becoming very comfortable with literary genres. We have read novels ranging from historical fiction, to mystery and suspense, and now to this adventure in the frozen North.

Both of my U.S. history classes are getting ready to choose a topic within their appropriate courses to research and write a report for a classroom presentation during the third quarter. I look forward to the presentations by my students just as I look forward to our many classroom discussions!

Mrs. Godbout – Technology – A big thank you to all those families who sold Technology Calendar Raffle Tickets in December. Thanks to your support we were able to reach our fundraising goals for technology this year. Some of these funds will be used to purchase additional IPads. Those we now have are on demand in the classrooms and give the classroom teachers an additional medium in which to integrate technology into the classroom.

The School is also in the process of using grant funds to purchase four Mimio Teach interactive whiteboard systems. This is an exciting purchase as we are able to purchase the boards, a wireless pad for each system, an image capture camera, as well as a student voting system which can be used by teachers to quiz the students interactively on the information they have just learned. If you would like to see a video on this technology and how it can be used in the classroom, please visit the following link: http://www.mimio.dymo.com/flash/video_player/mimioteach.html.

All classes are busy working on projects. Grade 8 students are creating business cards and brochures in Microsoft Publisher using a self-created hypothetical business. They will soon begin their senior project of creating a newspaper from a day in history. Grades 6 and 7 are busy at work learning beginning and intermediate Microsoft Excel. Grades 3 and 4 are busy learning Microsoft PowerPoint with Grade 4 creating state symbol handouts. Students in Grade 2 are busy learning how to navigate the internet and students in Kindergarten and Grade 1 are reinforcing those skills learned in the classroom using by software programs in the Computer Lab and apps on the IPads.

FOR FAMILIES WITH STUDENTS IN GRADES 3 - 8, PLEASE CONTINUE TO HAVE YOUR CHILD PRACTICE THEIR KEYBOARDING AT LEAST THREE TIMES PER WEEK AT HOME DOING 10 MINUTE DRILL TIMINGS. TIMINGS ARE SENT HOME WITH STUDENTS IN GRADES 3 AND 5 - 8. GRADE 4 USES AN ONLINE WEBSITE: http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/cjh/appliedtech/Business/Keyboarding/ .

This page is update once a month. Please check back next month for more Teachers' News. . .