Grade 1-2 News 12-15-14

Rejoice, rejoice, O Israel, to you shall come Emmanuel

Third week of Advent

December 15-19, 2014

Grade One/Two

It’s finally beginning to look a bit like Advent/Christmas! And I’m feeling that old familiar “December is a blur” teacher feeling; whew! Monday is a really special day in our class as we will try for another virtual field trip, this one to the Alaska Zoo for an event called “Santa’s Reindeer Tails.” This is a science experience and a live feed with our soon-to-be friend, Abby, who is the director of distance learning at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage. I’m not sure how many of us will ever physically get to Alaska, some will, I suppose, but here is a chance for us to visit with just an effective internet connection and lots of organization and preparation! I didn’t want to talk much about this until the time was very near; since the feed is outdoors, cancellation is always a possibility. Here’s hoping and praying.

Reading/language involves covering the wealth of information provided to prepare for the virtual trip. We will also try to read Tommie dePaola’s Country Angel Christmas. Several years ago, I had an opportunity to hear this wonderful Catholic children’s author speak at a conference I attended. He is a great author and understands children well. Our sounds are g that sounds like j; and the word chunks age and ay, both long a sounds.

Math finds us trying to solidify 7, 8, and 9 as sums and minuends, so we will talk about fact families. Seconds will review ordinal numbers and practice more on 2 digit addition.

Religion will, of course, focus on the birth of Jesus and activities regarding that. We will have some “service activities” (making gifts for parents! J)

Spelling words

age page cage way say may day

play angel 2^nd grade additionals: stage playground

The only homework this week is spelling on Monday. I suppose we all have enough to do. J

Christmas blessings to you all. The greatest gift you give me is one you share every day: your children. They are very special little people and I love each one dearly. Merry Christmas to your whole family!

School News 12-8-14

THIS WEEK

Monday: Choir sings and visits at Spring Wind.

Tuesday: Grades 5-6 at Soup Kitchen / Book Fair at 5:30 / Partners in Print Night 6:30-7:30

Wednesday: Art and PE Classes

Thursday: Mass at 8:30

Friday: Nutcracker Performance 10:00

PARTNERS IN PRINT NIGHT

Tomorrow (Tuesday, December 9), the school is holding a Partner’s in Print Night in the school. We will open the Book Fair at 5:30 that evening and keep it open the rest of the evening. At 6:30 there will be Pizza and Juice in the gym. After that there will be a couple of presentations on how to help your children with reading skills. The parents of younger students we will hear a short talk on Story Champs followed by a short talk for the older students’ parents on Independent Reading. I know this is a busy time for all of us, but please come if at all possible.

NUTCRACKER

The Nutcracker performance is this Friday! We have been contacting drivers to get us up to the A&S Auditorium. Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten will be taking the Gem City Bus. First through fourth are walking down Fourth Street to Ivinson Ave. Fifth and Sixth class is riding to Trinity Lutheran Church with parents and walking from there to the A&S. So make sure your child wears comfortable walking shoes on Friday, as they will be doing a lot of walking.

BOOK FAIR IS HERE

Just in time for your Christmas shopping! It’s the St. Laurence School Book Fair. We will be holding the Book Fair in Room 2 this year. We will start Wednesday and it will run all through next week. So come down to the room and browse before school at 7:30 till 8:00 and after school from 3:00 to 3:30. We will have a special Partner’s in Print night tomorrow December 9 with special giveaways.

SINGING AT THE PARADE

Thank you to all who made the effort to come and sang at the tree lighting downtown this past Friday. We had a great turnout and it was good publicity for the school from the activity.

TETON SCIENCE SCHOOL

The 50-50 Raffle sale is underway. The older students are selling the tickets to help pay for their January trip to Jackson. If any other parents want to buy a chance or two, stop by the offices when you’re at school, and we will find a student who would love to sell you some tickets.

Students are also selling World’s Finest Chocolate Bars for a dollar a piece with sales continuing through the holidays. Please support the students as they work to pay their way to the Teton Science Camp next month. If any parents would like to sell a box of chocolate to help support the trip, please come by my office to pick it up. They sell for a dollar and the school keeps $.40 on each bar sold.

ART SUPPLIES

Mrs. Howdeshell is in need of empty paper towel rolls and empty oatmeal cylinders for a Christmas Art Project. If you have any just drop them off at the office.

POSADA

We invite you to join in the Posada tradition held here at the school. It runs from December 13-21 at 7:00 PM on weekdays and 2:00 on Sundays. A wonderful Mexican Christmas tradition, las posadas literally translates in English as "the inns" or "the lodgings" and symbolizes the Biblical journey of Mary and Joseph as they searched for shelter in Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus.

HOME AND SCHOOL MEETING

The Home and School Meeting was last Thursday. The attendees discussed hosting the reception after the Christmas Program, teacher bonuses, and Catholic School’s Week on the last full week of January.

CANS FOR THE CAUSE

Do you have aluminum cans at your house? Bring them to St. Laurence School where we turn cans into cash. The money goes into a fund for a variety of worthy classroom projects from field trips to classroom rewards. Please place cans in the barrels on the south side back porch by the art room. No tin or aluminum cans please.

HELP THE SCHOOL WITH SAFEWAY CARDS

We have for sale Reloadable Safeway Gift Cards as well as $100 Gift Cards. The reloadable cards come with $10 pre-loaded on them so we sell them for $10. Then you can reload them as many times as you wish at the checkout and use them to buy groceries, gas, or prescriptions. The great thing is that you are giving 5% to the school every time you reload. If you’re a Safeway shopper, stop by and purchase your reloadable card or a $100 gift card. You can also call Gramma Mary Selzer for $100 Grocery Cards at 399-2566. It costs you nothing extra. The card will work at any Safeway throughout the West. Send one to Grandma and Grandpa who shop at Safeway in other towns and the school will still get the 5%.

DON’T FORGET YOUR DOLLARS FOR TAHIANA

We are a little short for this month’s installment for Tahiana from Madagascar. If you will recall we have to come up with $30 each month for our little boy from Madagascar. We did well in September and October but we are little light for November and now December. If every family just puts in $1 per month we can meet our goal. Thanks for your help on this project. There is a letter posted on the bulletin board from Tahiana’s mom. Check it out.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

December 8

The Immaculate Conception of Mary Mass at 8:30

December 9

Partners in Print Night: Book Fair opens at 5:30 with Pizza at 6:30 Program at 7:00

December 12

Nutcracker Performance 10:00

December 18

All School Christmas Program 6:30 at St. Laurence Church

December 19

All School Christmas Party after lunch. Please check with your child’s teacher for what to bring in the way of healthy refreshments for the party. Christmas movies will be showing for both the little and the bigs.

December 20 – January 4 Christmas Break

January 12-16 Grades 4-6 at Teton Science Camp

Grade 5-6 News 12-3-14

This week will be the last “normal” week for my students before Christmas break because of our work through K-kids and other scheduled activities. Please mark the events in my “Up-coming Events” section on your calendars! When we go to the Laramie Soup Kitchen I would like students to wear their St. Laurence t-shirts/sweatshirts. I am trying to schedule us for Tuesday, December 9th. Since it is on a Tuesday—our normal “spirit day” I hope it will be easy to remember having your child wear a St. Laurence t-shirt/sweatshirt. I am waiting to hear back from Josh at the Soup Kitchen for a final confirmation—but please just assume we are going unless you hear otherwise from me.

Question: Is anyone available to transport us to UW for The Nutcracker on Friday, December 12th if needed? I should have this covered between Mrs. Lyford and I—but I would appreciate having a back-up plan. Parking is apparently horrible and we cannot pay for parent tickets unfortunately—thus the students and I would just need to be dropped off and then picked back up after the performance. Please let me know if you can be our “back-up”.

Please keep encouraging your child to read for Book It. I will send home new reading logs today for the month of December. For more information go to: www.pizzahut.com/bookit

Up-coming Events

· *Friday, December 5^th @ 5pm: Go to Tutoring Club for Winter Parade

· Monday, December 8^{th @} 1:30pm: Students sing at Spring Wind

· (Not confirmed)Tuesday, December 9^th @ 10am-1pm: Students serve at the Laramie Soup Kitchen

· Tuesday, December 9^th @ 6-8pm: Partners in Print

· Friday, December 12^th @ 10am: Students attend a performance of The Nutcracker

· *Saturday, December 13^th: K-kids are invited to help ring bell @ Safeway for Salvation Army

· Tuesday, December 16^th: K-kids will help set-up and serve for the Special Needs Luncheon

· January 12- 16^th: Teton Science School

This Week’s Spelling List

Test 12/04/14 Retest 12/05/14

Unit 10 Vocabulary

1. weapon

2. struggle

3. frighten

4. horror

5. mental

6. channel

7. sample

8. moral

9. litter

10. soldier

11. kitchen

12. gallon

13. stumble

14. linen

15. panel

16. error

17. rural

18. quarrel

19. bundle

20. cancel

21. loyal

22. matter

23. novel

24. major

25. dozen

26. corporal

27. colonel

28. agricultural

29. valor

30. maneuver

*Words 26-30 are extra credit words

Next 2 Week’s Spelling List

Test 12/17/14 Retest 12/18/14

Unit 11 Vocabulary

1. lawyer

2. dentist

3. author

4. system

5. custom

6. method

7. standard

8. admit

9. supply

10. whisper

11. tennis

12. instant

13. burden

14. rescue

15. banquet

16. bullet

17. surface

18. journey

19. laundry

20. campus

21. actor

22. surgeon

23. merchant

24. employ

25. effort

26. aspire

27. intern

28. enhance

29. structure

30. astute

*Words 26-30 are extra credit words

*Note: Spelling words have become more challenging!! Please ensure your child is practicing all week for each spelling test!! I have been sending home study aid materials.

Groups are finishing final projects over their novel. We will begin our new novels on Monday! I am very excited about our selections. Your child chose their novel with their individual reading group. As you can see above, we have quite a variety!

*K-kid additional activities your child is encouraged to attend

Grade 1-2 News 12-8-14

O Come Emmanuel

Second Week of Advent, December 8-12, 2014

Grade One/Two

Happy week two of a very holy season! This week we continue to celebrate Advent and learn many other things, as well!

In reading/language, we will read informational books about stars as we wrap up that science unit. Our sound is “bossy r” with a, with the sounds ar and ark. We will have activities about informational text. We will finish our very cool constellation display in the hallway by our classroom.

Math finds us reviewing nifty 9, learning about 8 as an addend and minuend, and 7 added.

In religion we will think about the commandments, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the legends of Las Posadas and the Poinsettia.

We have a busy week with two school Masses (today for the holy day Immaculate Conception and regular Mass on Thursday), and the Nutcracker on Friday! Whew!

We have had lots of problems with unkind words, pushing, not so nice secrets, etc. in our classroom recently. Please talk with your cherub about the importance of kindness, respect, and love of others through Christ. Thanks for your support. J

Spelling words

far car tar jar star

dark bark mark park hark 2^nd grade word: spark

Homework

Monday: spelling sort

Tuesday: math

Wednesday: religion journal, please talk about the faith of Juan Diego and how he shared that and the importance of Mary appearing to a poor Indian man

Thursday: unsure

Have a wonderful week!

School News 12-1-14

THIS WEEK

Monday: Please make plans to pay your Dec. tuition.

Tuesday: Music classes with Mrs. Lyford preparing for Christmas

Wednesday: Art and PE Classes

Thursday: Mass at 8:30 / Home and School Meeting 3:10

Friday: Bring Instruments and books grades 3-6 / Choir rehearsal 3:10-4:45 with caroling to follow downtown.

THANKSGIVING FEAST

Thanks to all who came to attend our Thanksgiving Feast last week. We had a great turnout and it means so much to your children that you take the time to attend school function. It was nice to see so many of you. Thanks to our cook, Letiticia Millan and her right hand man, Chris, for the delicious food. Thanks to Ms. Anita for organizing the whole thing from start to finish. Thanks to all who donated turkeys for the meal. Thanks to Mrs. Lyford and the choir for entertaining us. One final thanks goes to Ms. James’ class for being our set up crew and wait staff. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for. We now turn our attention to the Christmas Pageant that will be held in the church on the evening of December 18^th at 6:30.

SINGING AT 5:30 MASS

Thanks to the families who attended and brought their children to sing at the 5:30 Mass Sunday. Thanks to Tai, Mindoe, Winter, Mackinzie, Makayla, Donavin, Melody, Audra, and Jas for singing. Thanks to our altar servers: Mateusz, Antoni, and Harmony.

TETON SCIENCE SCHOOL

The 50-50 Raffle tickets sale is underway. The older students are selling the tickets to help pay for their January trip to Jackson. If any other parents want to buy a chance or two, stop by the offices when you’re at school, and we will find a student who would love to sell you some tickets.

They will also be selling World’s Finest Chocolate Bars for a dollar a piece starting Thursday and continuing through the holidays. Please support the students as they work to pay their way to go to the Teton Science Camp next month.

BOOK FAIR IS COMING

Just in time for your Christmas shopping! It’s the St. Laurence School Book Fair. We will be holding the Book Fair in Room 2 this year. We will start Wednesday and it will run all through next week. So come down to the room and browse before school at 7:30 till 8:00 and after school from 3:00 to 3:30 in Room 2. We will have a special Partner’s in Print night next Tuesday, December 9 with special giveaways.

PARTNERS IN PRINT NIGHT

Next Tuesday the school is holding a Partner’s in Print Night in the school. We will open the Book Fair at 5:30 that evening and keep it open the rest of the evening. At 6:30 there will be Pizza and Juice in the gym. After that there will be a couple of presentations. For the parents of younger students we will hear a short talk on Story Champs followed by a short talk for the older students’ parents on Independent Reading. I know this is a busy time for all of us, but please come if at all possible.

HOME AND SCHOOL MEETING

The Home and School meets this Thursday at 3:10 in the Art Room off the gym. Please make plans now to attend. We will be discussing the upcoming Christmas activities as well as Catholic School’s Week in January.

CANS FOR THE CAUSE

Do you have aluminum cans at your house? Bring them to St. Laurence School where we turn cans into cash. The money goes into a fund for a variety of worthy classroom projects from field trips to classroom rewards. Please place cans in the barrels on the south side back porch by the art room.

HELP THE SCHOOL WITH SAFEWAY CARDS

We have for sale Reloadable Safeway Gift Cards as well as $100 Gift Cards. The reloadable cards come with $10 pre-loaded on them so we sell them for $10. Then you can reload them as many times as you wish at the checkout and use them to buy groceries, gas, or prescriptions. The great thing is that you are giving 5% to the school every time you reload. If you’re a Safeway shopper, stop by and purchase your reloadable card or a $100 gift card. It costs you nothing extra. The card will work at any Safeway throughout the West. Send one to Grandma and Grandpa who shop at Safeway in other towns and the school will still get the 5%.

DON’T FORGET YOUR DOLLARS FOR TAHIANA

We are a little short for this month’s installment for Tahiana from Madagascar. If you will recall we have to come up with $30 each month for our little boy from Madagascar. We did well in September and October but we are little light for November. If every family just puts in $1 per month we can meet our goal. Thanks for your help on this project. There is a letter posted on the bulletin board from Tahiana’s mom. Check it out.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

December 5

Grades 3-6 singing at the 1st and Grand Plaza for the Downtown Christmas Parade 5:15 (Younger students are welcome to join in as well.)

December 6

Happy Holidays, Laramie! Joint St. Laurence/Snowy Range Academy Choirs Sing at the UW Art Museum. Meet in the basement at 12:00 for warmup. Sing at 12:30

December 8

The Immaculate Conception of Mary Mass at 8:30

December 9

Partners in Print Night 6:00 at School

Book Fair

December 12

Nutcracker Performance 10:00

December 18

All School Christmas Program 6:30 at St. Laurence Church

December 20 – January 4 Christmas Break

Grade 1-2 News 12-1-14

Come, Lord Jesus, Come

Grade One/Two December 1-5, 2014

Oh my, how can it be December?! But here we are, in the blessed season of Advent. I have lots of fun and Advent activities to help us celebrate this holy time. If all goes, well, we will make Advent wreaths this first day back. I will also send home a blessing prayer for your new Advent wreath. We will work on the 10 Commandments in religion, emphasizing that they are more than rules, but ways to strengthen our relationship with the Body of Christ. Saturday is the feast day of St. Nicholas, so we’ll celebrate this special saint, as well. Whew!

In reading/language, we will read the story of the Gingerbread Man. Bless Mrs. Boyer’s heart, she is sharing the Gingerbread Girl with us; the seconds will focus on that story. It’s fun! Our skills are long a with final e, ed endings on verbs, and real/fantasy in stories.

We are moving along well in math. This week we’ll do lots of review after our break and then move into 10 as a subtrahend and 9 as an addend.

We will still consider the stars in science, and begin a study of constellations. Our virtual field trip to NASA last Monday was wonderful! I hope your child shared some thoughts with you. There are more virtual field trips in the future. No drivers, how convenient! However, this Thursday we will walk to the UW Planetarium for a show there. Please join me in praying for pleasant weather!

Spelling words

ate late gate make bake take gave

save

Additional second grade words: plate brave quake

Homework

Monday: spelling sort as usual

Tuesday: math

Wednesday: please journal about how your family plans to celebrate Advent this year.

Thursday: reading

School News 11-24-14

St. Laurence Eagle Eye News

THIS WEEK

Monday: Faculty meeting after school

Tuesday: Thanksgiving Feast at Noon / Dismissal after Lunch

Sunday: Sing at the 5:30 Mass, so I hope to see you there.

THANKSGIVING FEAST

Tommorrow at noon we will gather for our Thanksgiving Feast. We will start promptly, since for some this will be their lunch break.

TETON SCIENCE SCHOOL

A letter about the upcoming fundraisers (for grades 4-6) as well as information about the Teton Science trip went home today with the oldest child. We will be selling World’s Finest Chocolate Bars and holding a 50-50 Raffle where half of what we make will go for the trip and half will be paid to the winner. We will draw for that the night of the Christmas Program. These two projects will help make up for the difference from the grant and the actual cost of the trip. The chocolate bars will be coming next week and 20 raffle tickets went home with each child today. Please let me know if you need more tickets.

MR. JIMS PIZZA NIGHT

Thanks to everyone who helped out the school by ordering pizza last week!

GAME NIGHT

Thanks to Ms. Still and Ms. James for their help on the sleepover/game night. Thanks to Buddy Crater for chaperoning and being our breakfast chef. Thanks to Mrs. Oliver for helping out for a couple of hours Friday night as a chaperone. Finally, give a big thank you to Ms. James’ daugther, and her friend for leading games and spending the night with us.

DRESS THEM WARM

Winter is here. Please send students dressed for some cold days on the playground. Snow pants or an over layer for the legs would be nice. Send some warm water proof gloves and a hat as well as a coat that will keep them warm. Snow gear can stay at school if it makes it easier for you. Students go outside three times a day, so we need them dressed for the weather.

GIFTS

You should have received the gifts that were ordered last month during the Magazine/Gift Sale. Please distribute them, if you haven’t done so already. If friends or relatives ask if they can still order to help the school, tell them that they can. They just need to go online to www.gaschool.com Use the school code for St. Laurence School 3589454.

SINGING AT 5:30 MASS

Make every effort if you are in town to come and bring your children to the 5:30 Liturgy at St. Laurence Church. The students are singing at that Mass so the more voices the better.

ART SUPPLIES

Mrs. Howdeshell is in need of empty paper towel rolls and empty oatmeal cylinders for a Christmas Art Project. If you could save some for her over the Thanksgiving Break, she would really appreciate it.

CANS FOR THE CAUSE

Do you have aluminum cans at your house? Bring them to St. Laurence School where we turn cans into money. The money goes into a fund for a variety of worthy classroom projects from field trips to classroom rewards. Please place cans in the barrels on the south side back porch by the art room. The more cans we collect, the more positive ways the teachers can support your kids. Please, no steel or tin cans though. They do check for those when we take them for recycling and they don’t like them.

HELP THE SCHOOL WITH SAFEWAY CARDS

We have for sale Reloadable Safeway Gift Cards as well as $100 Gift Cards. The reloadable cards come with $10 pre-loaded on them so we sell them for $10. Then you can reload them as many times as you wish at the checkout and use them to buy groceries, gas, or prescriptions. The great thing is that you are giving 5% to the school every time you reload. If you’re a Safeway shopper, stop by and purchase your reloadable card. It costs you nothing extra. The card will work at any Safeway throughout the West. Send one to Grandma and Grandpa who shop at Safeway in other towns and the school will still get the 5%.

DON’T FORGET YOUR DOLLARS FOR TAHIANA

We are a little short for this month’s installment for Tahiana from Madagascar. If you will recall we have to come up with $30 each month for our little boy from Madagascar. We did well in September and October but we are little light for November. If every family just puts in $1 per month we can meet our goal. Thanks for your help on this project. There is a letter posted on the bulletin board from Tahiana’s mom. Check it out.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

November 25

Thanksgiving Feast at 12:00 Noon in the School Gym. Dismissal after the meal. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving break

November 25 at 1:00 till November 30

Thanksgiving Break

School back in session on Monday, December 1

November 30

Students sing at the 5:30 Mass at St. Laurence O’Toole Church

December 5

Singing at the Plaza for the Downtown Christmas Parade 5:30

December 6 Happy Holidays, Laramie! Joint St. Laurence/Snowy Range Academy Choirs Sing at the UW Art Museum

December 18

All School Christmas Program 6:30 at St. Laurence Church

Grade 1 & 2 News 11-24-14

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

November 24-25, 2014

Grade One/Two

I hope you all have an amazing and love-filled Thanksgiving holiday! When we come back, it will be Advent!

We have just one and a half days of fun and learning this week. In reading/language, we will look online at Plimoth Planation. They have a wonderful website full of information about early white settlers on the eastern coast of the now United States, as well as many fun and educational activities which children enjoy much. We will read a true story about Squanto. It is written by Joseph Bruchac, an Abenaki Indian, so we trust its authenticity. J There are no spelling words and there is no homework.

In math we will review doubles added and subtracted, doubles plus one and doubles plus two added and subtracted, and learn about 3 as an addend and a subtrahend.

Science is exciting this week! We have worked hard to prepare for our NASA virtual field trip on Monday. Our program is “Our Magnificent Sun.” My son, the tech guy in South Carolina, who helps me arrange these events, has seen this program and says it is a great one. He was here this weekend helping me with the final preparatory touches for the actual visit tomorrow. Woohoo!

We will also do some quick activities about turkeys, in keeping with the season. J

Mostly I just want to express my gratitude to you and to God for the blessing of knowing you and your children. At Mass this morning I was thinking about my “job” here, which is more like ministry and an amazing opportunity to see the face of Christ in so many of His people. Thank your for sharing with me your precious gift, your children. God bless us everyone.

School News 11-17-14

St. Laurence Eagle Eye News

THIS WEEK

Monday: The rest of the coats arrived.

Tuesday: Spirit Day / Last day for Thanksgiving Feast reservations (See below)

Wednesday: PE & Art

Thursday: Mass at 8:30

Friday : Bring your instruments for group practice. Spanish Classes in the afternoon. Game night and Sleepover rescheduled for tonight.

THANKSGIVING FEAST

Every year the school holds a Thanksgiving Feast on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Break. Today is the last day to reserve. It will take place this year on November 25, at noon. We try to seat every family together for the meal. It is a great meal and a chance for the St. Laurence family to gather. Reservations are required.

TETON SCIENCE SCHOOL MEETING

I will send out an email to all parents tomorrow about the meeting discussions. Also I will be sending with the 4-6 graders a packet of information about the TSS for the parents who missed the meeting. We will be selling World’s Finest Chocolate Bars and holding a 50-50 Raffle where half of what we make will go for the trip and half will be paid to the winner. We will draw for that the night of the Christmas Program. These two projects will help make up for the difference from the grant and the actual cost of the trip.

MR. JIMS PIZZA NIGHT

This Wednesday, November 19, is St. Laurence night at Mr. Jim’s pizza. 10% of you ticket that night will be donated to the school and each class can earn a Pizza Party. Forms went home last week, but there are some in the front lobby if you need more. Delivery and store pick up qualify, just fill out the form and turn it in at either location. Mr. Jim’s has extended the donation night until Sunday, November 23, in case you can’t make it on Wednesday.

GAME NIGHT

We have rescheduled our Sleepover/Game Night. The students in grades 3-6 are invited to spend the night in the school on Friday, November 21. (Last Friday my dog apparently fell coming down the stairs to greet me when I got home from school. He did not move for 45 minutes and in that time I decided to postpone the event. At 6:00 that evening Hunter got up and acted like nothing happened. I apologize for any inconvenience, but at the time I thought I would be taking him to the Vet.) We will have lots of board games and activities for the kids from 7:00 till 10:00. At that time we will have lights out. Breakfast will be served in the morning and the kids will go home at 9:00 A.M. If you filled out a permission slip last week, then it is still good for this Friday. I will send out new ones to those who may be able to stay this time.

DRESS THEM WARM

It seems that our winter is here. Please send students dressed for some cold days on the playground. Snow pants or an over layer for the legs would be nice. Send some warm water proof gloves and a hat as well as a coat that will keep them warm. Snow gear can stay at school if it makes it easier for you. Students go outside three times a day, so we need them dressed for the weather.

CANS FOR THE CAUSE

Do you have aluminum cans at your house? Bring them to St. Laurence School where we turn cans into money. The money goes into a fund for a variety of worthy classroom projects from field trips to classroom rewards. Please place cans in the barrels on the south side back porch by the art room. The more cans we collect, the more positive ways the teachers can support your kids. Please, no steel cans though. They do check for those when we take them for recycling and they don’t like them.

HELP THE SCHOOL WITH SAFEWAY CARDS

We have for sale Reloadable Safeway Gift Cards as well as $100 Gift Cards. The reloadable cards come with $10 pre-loaded on them so we sell them for $10. Then you can reload them as many times as you wish at the checkout and use them to buy groceries, gas, or prescriptions. The great thing is that you are giving 5% to the school every time you reload. If you’re a Safeway shopper, stop by and purchase your reloadable card. It costs you nothing extra. The card will work at any Safeway throughout the West. Send one to Grandma and Grandpa who shop at Safeway in other towns and the school will still get the 5%.

DON’T FORGET YOUR DOLLARS FOR TAHIANA

We are a little short for this month’s installment for Tahiana from Madagascar. If you will recall we have to come up with $30 each month for our little boy from Madagascar. We did well in September and October but we are little light for November. If every family just puts in $1 per month we can meet our goal. Thanks for your help on this project. There is a letter posted on the bulletin board from Tahiana’s mom. Check it out.

GIFTS

You should have received the gifts that were ordered last month during the Magazine/Gift Sale. Please distribute them, if you haven’t done so already. If friends or relatives ask if they can still order to help the school, tell them that they can. They just need to go online to www.gaschool.com Use the school code for St. Laurence School 3589454.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

November 19

Grade reports go home with students

Mr. Jim’s Pizza Night

November 25

Thanksgiving Feast at 12:00 Noon in the School Gym. Dismissal after the meal. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving break

November 25 at 1:00 till November 30

Thanksgiving Break

School back in session on Monday, December 1

November 30

Students sing at the 5:30 Mass at St. Laurence O’Toole Church

December 18

All School Christmas Program 6:30 at St. Laurence Church

Grade 1-2 News 11-17-14

Observing Native American Month

Grades One/Two November 17-21, 2014

The song, “Over the river and through the woods” has been running through my mind all during this very cold week. We no longer rely on a horse to carry us through the “ice and drifted snow,” and I thank God for vehicles that start and bring us warmly to our destinations. J

This week we will celebrate Native American Appreciation Month as we read an American Indian legend, How Chipmunk Got His Stripes. Joseph Bruchac and his son retell this charming story of a little guy outsmarting a big guy, but not without learning a lesson about using kind words. Our skills will be thinking about syllables and letter writing. For spelling, we will revisit long i with magic e words.

We are moving well in math, just a bit ahead of where I like to be this time of year. This week we will consider numbers 11-19 as 10 and some more, which then segues into 10 as an addend. We spend part of each math time reviewing already learned concepts to keep skills sharp.

In religion we will talk more about the 7 sacraments of the church and introduce the 10 Commandments.

Science is exciting! Our unit on the Sun continues to be wonderful! This week we’ll learn about sunspots and build a very safe sunspot viewer. We’ll talk about the Sun in relation to day and night and seasons. We have a virtual field trip with NASA scheduled for next Monday afternoon. This year’s event is with a woman at the Kennedy Space Center; she’ll be talking with us about “Our Magnificent Sun.” This is a very exciting event for the children and we are working hard to prepare.

Homework

Monday: spelling sort

Tuesday: math

Wednesday: Think about the first three commandments and the happy ways God is most important in your family.

Thursday: spelling

Spelling words

like hike stripe wipe pipe ripe

bite kite

Additional second grade words

strike spike white

School News 11-10-14

St. Laurence Eagle Eye News

Tuesday: Veterans Day / Spirit Day

Wednesday: PE & Art

Thursday: Mass at 8:30 / Funeral Luncheon in Gym / 4-6 Teton Science School Meeting 6:30 (note time change from calendar)

Friday : Bring your instruments for group practice. Spanish Classes in the morning. Game night and Sleepover

Sunday: Feast of St. Laurence O’Toole after 10:30 Mass.

THANKSGIVING FEAST

Every year the school holds a Thanksgiving Feast on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Break. Make plans now to attend. It will take place this year on November 25, at noon. The invitation for the event is being sent as a separate attachment. If you would like to donate a turkey for the feast, please contact Anita.

TETON SCIENCE SCHOOL MEETING

Don’t forget about the meeting for Grade 3-6 parents of students attending the Teton Science Camp in January. The meeting will start at 6:30 this Thursday evening. We want a chance to discuss the trip and talk about fundraising.

GIFTS

You should have received the gifts that were ordered last month during the Magazine/Gift Sale. Please distribute them, if you haven’t done so already. If friends or relatives ask if they can still order to help the school, tell them that they can. They just need to go online to www.gaschool.com Use the school code for St. Laurence School 3589454.

ALTAR FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED

I’m putting together an altar in the gym to honor those members of our family who have died. This is a tradition in Latin countries as part of the Day of the Dead Celebration. You can bring small mementos and pictures of a loved one to place on the altar. There will also be a book near the altar where you can add names for our prayer list. You can bring in those items this week.

GAME NIGHT

The students in grades 3-6 are invited to spend the night in the school on Friday, November 14 (the Feast of St. Laurence O’Toole). We will have lots of board games and activities for the kids from 6:30 till 10:00. At that time we will have lights out. Breakfast will be served in the morning and the kids will go home at 9:00 A.M. Permission slips that went home last week are due by Wednesday.

DRESS THEM WARM

It seems that our winter is here. Please send students dressed for some cold days on the playground. Snow pants or an over layer for the legs would be nice. Send some warm gloves and a hat as well as a coat that will keep them warm. Snow gear can stay at school if it makes it easier for you.

CANS FOR THE CAUSE

Do you have aluminum cans at your house? Bring them to St. Laurence School where we turn cans into money. The money goes into a fund for a variety of worthy classroom projects from field trips to classroom rewards. Please place cans in the barrels on the south side back porch by the art room. The more cans we collect, the more positive ways the teachers can support your kids. Please, no steel cans though. They do check for those when we take them for recycling and they don’t like them.

HELP THE SCHOOL WITH SAFEWAY CARDS

We have for sale Reloadable Safeway Gift Cards as well as $100 Gift Cards. The reloadable cards come with $10 pre-loaded on them so we sell them for $10. Then you can reload them as many times as you wish at the checkout and use them to buy groceries, gas, or prescriptions. The great thing is that you are giving 5% to the school every time you reload. If you’re a Safeway shopper, stop by and purchase your reloadable card. It costs you nothing extra. The card will work at any Safeway throughout the West. Send one to Grandma and Grandpa who shop at Safeway in other towns and the school will still get the 5%.

JACKET & SWEATSHIRT ORDERS

The deadline for ordering school jackets or sweatshirts is this Friday.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

November 13

Funeral luncheon for Vicki Ahrenholtz in the gym (School lunch will be served to students)

November 14

End of the Trimester. Feast Day of St. Laurence O’Toole

November 16

Feast of St. Laurence O’Toole Celebration 12:00 in the school gym. Details in the Parish Bulletin.

November 19

Grade reports go home with students after school

November 25

Thanksgiving Feast at 12:00 Noon in the School Gym. Dismissal after the meal. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving break

November 25 at 1:00 till November 30

Thanksgiving Break

School back in session on Monday, December 1

November 30

Sing at the 5:30 Mass at St. Laurence O’Toole Church

December 18

All School Christmas Program 6:30 at St. Laurence Church

Grade 1-2 News 11-10-14

Something Chilly This Way Comes!

November 10-14, 2014

Perhaps our lovely extended autumn may come to an end this week with snow and cold temperatures predicted. If it does really come, please make sure your child has the necessary cold weather gear: warm coat, snow pants, hat, mittens or gloves, and boots. Thanks! We may need to postpone our trip to the Abbey due to the cold and lack of drivers. We will let you know as soon as the change is confirmed. Thanks.

In reading/language we will read riddles and a story about a moose who tells riddles; how fun! Skills include sequencing story events, contractions with not, and long e spelled e or ee.

We are moving along well in math, this week learning about 5 as the minuend and numbers 6-10 as 5 and some more. We will likely also get to 10 as the minuend and relate this to facts that = 10.

Science finds us learning much about the Sun. We will make a class book about the Sun, each page dealing with another fact about it. I am working on a trip to the UW Planetarium and hopefully, a NASA virtual field trip in late November.

In religion we will learn the 7 Sacraments this week, talk about why they are important, and also think about thankfulness.

Homework

Monday: spelling sort

Tuesday: Math

Wednesday: help your child study the 7 sacraments

Thursday: reading or spelling

Spelling words

we me he she isn’t wasn’t

see seen feet green

Additional for 2nds:

queen speed kneel hasn’t doesn’t

School News 11-4-14

THIS WEEK

Tuesday:

Wednesday: PE & Art

Thursday: Mass at 8:30 / Home and School Meeting at 3:10 in the Art Room

Friday : Bring your instruments for group practice. Spanish Classes in the morning.

PRINCIPAL TALK

Every year the school holds a Thanksgiving Feast on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Break. Make plans now to attend. It will take place this year on November 25 at noon. There will be a chance to buy tickets for the lunch coming with next week’s newsletter. If you would like to donate a turkey for the feast, please contact Anita.

GERMAN REALITY SHOW FOLLOW UP

The German family from Cologne came by on Thursday to tour the school. They took a registration packet, but they have not made a decision about schools at this point.

GIFTS

You should have received the gifts that were ordered last month during the Magazine/Gift Sale. Please distribute them, if you haven’t done so already. If friends or relatives ask if they can still order to help the school, tell them that they can. They just need to go online to www.gaschool.com Use the school code for St. Laurence School 3589454.

ALTAR FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED

I’m putting together an altar in the gym to honor those members of our family who have died. This is a tradition in Latin countries as part of the Day of the Dead Celebration. You can bring small mementos and pictures of a loved one to place on the altar. There will also be a book near the altar where you can add names for our prayer list. You can start bringing in those items tomorrow.

GAME NIGHT

The students in grades 3-6 are invited to spend the night in the school on Friday, November 14^th (the Feast of St. Laurence O’Toole). We will have lots of board games and activities for the kids from 6:30 till 10:00. At that time we will have lights out. Breakfast will be served in the morning and the kids will go home at 9:00 A.M. More details will be going home in a letter to the parents.

ADAM’S TEAM WRAPUP

Adam's Team had their last day of practice last week with a fun game of "Capture the Flag" at Undine Park.  Thanks to all parents and families who have helped this semester and congratulations to all the miles earned by 29 of St. Laurence's students!!  Way to go!

SCHOOL CARNIVAL

The carnival on Friday was a lot of fun for the kids. Thanks to our fifth and sixth graders who ran the games and took sponges in the face. Thanks to Winter Millan and family for supplying us with a giant hamster ball. They promise to have it running for the next carnival. We brought in around $60 to split between the Teton Science School Trip and the Laramie Soup Kitchen.

CANS FOR THE CAUSE

Do you have aluminum cans at your house? Bring them to St. Laurence School where we turn cans into money. The money goes into a fund for a variety of worthy classroom projects from field trips to classroom rewards. Please place cans in the barrels on the south side back porch by the art room. The more cans we collect, the more positive ways the teachers can support your kids. Please, no steel cans though. They do check for those when we take them for recycling and they don’t like them.

HELP THE SCHOOL WITH SAFEWAY CARDS

We have for sale Reloadable Safeway Gift Cards as well as $100 Gift Cards. The reloadable cards come with $10 pre-loaded on them so we sell them for $10. Then you can reload them as many times as you wish at the checkout and use them to buy groceries, gas, or prescriptions. The great thing is that you are giving 5% to the school every time you reload. If you’re a Safeway shopper, stop by and purchase your reloadable card. It costs you nothing extra. The card will work at any Safeway throughout the West. Send one to Grandma and Grandpa who shop at Safeway in other towns and the school will still get the 5%.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Nov. 6

Last Adams Team till spring

Nov. 14

End of the Trimester. Feast Day of St. Laurence O’Toole

Nov. 19

Grade reports go home with students after school

Nov. 25

Thanksgiving Feast at 12:00 Noon in the School Gym Dismissal after the meal. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving break

Nov. 25 at 1:00 till Nov. 30

Thanksgiving Break School starts on Monday December 1^st.

Nov. 30

Sing at the 5:30 Mass at St. Laurence O’Toole Church

Grade 1-2 News 11-3-14

Yippee-Kay-Yay-Ay, Git Along Little Doggie!

Grade One/Two November 3-7, 2014

Happy November! Oh my, how can our year be passing so quickly?! I hope your All Saints Day weekend was special. J

In reading/language we will read stories about cowboys. Our sound is long u with magic e at the end of the word, as in mule. We will think about the plot of a story and learn about verbs. Second graders will make a group diorama about our story, Why Cowboys Sleep with Their Boots On. This should be fun!

In math we will review doubles, doubles plus one and two, and learn about facts that make 5 and 10. These are anchor skills and are super important!

Now that we have happily celebrated the completion of our downtown Laramie unit, we will turn from social studies to science and begin an astronomy unit. Our focus will be on the stars this year as last year we learned about the planets in our solar system.

In religion we will learn about and make a mezuzah, a scripture-bearing doorpost used in Jewish homes, and think more about prayer, especially the Our Father, the prayer that Jesus taught us.

Homework

Monday: spelling sort, neatly J

Tuesday: math, counting by 5’s

Wednesday: religion, I’ll send home a copy of the scripture in the mezuzah your child will bring home, please prayerfully read and discuss this scripture with your family

Thursday: reading long u review

Spelling words

mule rule cube tube use tune dune

June Additional 2^nd grade words: refuse reuse

School News 10-27-14

THIS WEEK

Tuesday: Picture Retakes / Keeping Kids Safe Talk by Mr. Wilhelm

Wednesday: PE & Art

Thursday: Mass at 8:30 /Adam’s Team 3:10

Friday : Carnival at 2:00 in the gym (See details below)

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

Thanks to those who took time out from your busy schedules to attend conferences. If you missed last week, please try to schedule a conference with the teacher in the coming weeks.

SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR KIDS

This week I will be conducting a short program for grades K-6 about keeping kids safe from sexual predators and protecting their bodies. The talk is about 15 minutes. If you wish to see the lesson plan I will be using, please stop by my office. There are also forms (on the table in the entryway) that you can sign if you prefer to decline the Safe Environment program for your child.

PRINCIPAL TALK

Now that we are into cooler weather, I just want to remind you that your children need warm outdoor clothes. We could see snow anytime, so check to see if the snow boots still fit. We are hoping that we won’t need them anytime soon, but it is good to be prepared for the possibility. We will again allow students to keep their snow boots and snow pants here at school. On the subject of coats etc., we do seem to have a pretty good collection of coats, jackets and sweatshirts in our Lost and Found tub. Items are located in the gym so please take a few minutes to look if you are missing items.

With Halloween around the corner, we want to stress that our kid’s costumes tone down the blood and violence. We are really trying to emphasize more of a fall celebration. The school is downplaying the scary aspects which might frighten or upset the younger children.

GERMAN REALITY SHOW COMES TO SCHOOL

Tomorrow afternoon around 1:30 a film crew from the German Reality Show Goodbye Deutschland will be coming to school to film the arrival of the Polumbo family. The Polumbo family is being featured in this TV show that will air in Germany. The son Benny will be registering at St. Laurence School. It is my understanding that we will take the family on a tour of the school and into the classroom where Benny will be a student. Please contact the school if you don’t want you child to be filmed. They may also be interviewing a couple of students about the school.

GIFTS ARRIVE THIS TUESDAY

For any families who sold gift items last month in the Magazine/Gift Sale, the items are set to arrive tomorrow and can be picked up in the school gym after school. We will have the items sacked together with the seller’s name. The item will have the purchasers name on it. I am pretty sure that any items purchased online have been sent out separately. These are just items ordered by people from a student and paid to the school with a check or cash. Please get them delivered promptly.

SCHOOL DANCE

Thanks to all who attended the Costume Dance last Friday. While there was not much dancing, the students did have a good time. There were lots of good treats and some nice decorations. Thanks to the parents and grandparents who helped in those areas. Thanks to sixth grader Anabel Coca for doing the music.

CANS FOR THE CAUSE

Do you have aluminum cans at your house? Bring them to St. Laurence School where we turn cans into money. The money goes into a fund for a variety of worthy classroom projects from field trips to classroom rewards. Please place cans in the barrels on the south side back porch by the art room. The more cans we collect, the more positive ways the teachers can support your kids. Please, no steel cans though. They do check for those when we take them for recycling and they don’t like them.

EVE OF ALL SAINTS DAY CARNIVAL

Friday we will have a small carnival from 2:00 till 3:00. The older students will set up games and activities for the younger kids to participate in. We will have a cake walk, the pillow fight, a fishing game, a sponge toss, bean bag toss, and pumpkin prance, just to name a few. We are asking for a donation of $3 per family with the money being split between the Laramie Soup Kitchen and the Teton Science Trip in January. You can send the money any time this week. Just place the donation in an envelope with your family name included and make checks payable to St. Laurence School.

MORE ON HALLOWEEN ACTIVITIES

Costumes are worn in the afternoon only, so pack them up and send them to school with the children. We usually make an exception for Pre-Kindergarten, so that they can wear their costumes all day. (It’s easier for the teacher that way.)

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Oct. 28

Picture Retakes / Gift orders can be picked up from Magazine Sale

Oct. 30

Mass

Oct. 31

Eve of All Saints Day Carnival 2:00 in the Gymnasium

Nov. 1

All Saints Day

Nov. 2

All Soul’s Day

Nov. 6

Last Adams Team till spring

Nov. 14

End of the Trimester. Feast Day of St. Laurence O’Toole

Kindergarten News 10-27-14

	Week of October 27, 2014 St. Laurence School Weekly Newsletter   From the classroom of Mrs. Specht
KINDERGARTEN
Make sure to check your child’s folder every night! We are working hard every day!

Reminders	Learning in Kindergarten!
Clothing: The weather is changing! We will go outside every day unless it is less than zero degrees or raining. Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather! Hats, gloves, coats, snow pants and boots are needed. Missing school: If your child will not be at school please let me or the office know. Spirit Days are every Tuesday: Wear your St. Laurence T-shirts or green! October Mass Days: Oct. 30 Parent Teacher Conferences: Parent Teacher conferences were great! Thanks for coming to learn about our learning! Vegetable Soup! We will make vegetable soup on Friday to go with our book. I am asking each student which ingredient they want to bring. Let me know if the ingredient they picked will not work for your family. Halloween Party Friday October 31: Please send your child’s costume in their backpack on Friday. We will have time after lunch to change into costumes for the carnival and dress-up party from 2-3pm. Please no weapons or bloody costumes at school. Feel free to join us for the party in the gym!	Reading Reading will be made up of a whole group lessons and small group lessons based on individual needs. This week our story is Growing Vegetable Soup. The story is about planting a garden full of vegetables and making soup out of the vegetables. Our letter of the week is ‘Ss’ and the rhyme chart is sung to the tune of ‘Skip to My Lou’. We are working on learn all the letters and letter sounds. We are practicing beginning letter sounds and rhyming words every day. This week the focus skill is making predictions while reading a story. See if your student can make predictions during reading time at home. We are also working hard to retell stories. We use “Story Champs” trophies to practice remembering the character, setting, problem, feeling, action and ending feeling. Ask your child about Hiro and his red shoes. Hopefully you will hear he was sad he could not find his shoes.
Math In Math we are working on positions. The vocabulary words are before, between, and after. We will have our chapter 3 assessment later this week. We are also working in on number sequence and counting during our calendar and centers time centers. Try to find things your child can count around the house. Make sure they do not skip any numbers! J

How Healthy Are Our Local Waterways? This is the theme of the placed-based education unit this summer. We will become “field detectives” as we search the rivers of Laramie looking at the richness of the plant life and the types of macro invertebrates living in our streams. The data collected will aid the students in determining the health of the local waterways. We will be in the field every Monday for approximately two hours. This will begin on Monday, July 14 and end on Monday, July 28. Please check the back of this sheet for a calendar and more information.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Mrs. Specht: 307-399-6915 or mspecht@stlos.com

Grade 1-2 News 10-27-14

The Saints are Marching into St. Laurence School!

Grade One/Two October 27-31, 2014

Greetings on another fabulous fall day! Thanks to all who were able to come visit at conference time. I so appreciate the insights you share about your child so that we can better meet his/her needs. We teach the whole child, not just the ABC, 123 child!

In reading/language this week we will read stories about characters showing kindness to one another. Goals are drawing conclusions/making inferences, discerning the author’s purpose in writing, and long i with final e. Handwriting letters, cursive or manuscript, are d and g.

In math we will review doubles and doubles plus 1, and then slide right into doubles plus 2. We hope to also introduce numbers 6-9 as 5 and some more.

We will talk about All Saints Day in religion. We will also learn about the way our Mexican brothers and sisters celebrate it with el Dia de los Muertos, a beautiful and deeply meaningful observance.

The push is on to complete the downtown book as we will celebrate that huge accomplishment with a book party on Thursday afternoon. Please join us if you can from 2-3 PM in our classroom. We have invited all the downtown businesses we visited. Come for treats, books, and lots of smiles and sharing!

Thanks to Mrs. Boyer for sailing the ship so well in my absence on Thursday. I was in Cheyenne with my Dad who had a minor surgery. Thanks to awesome prayers and excellent medical care, he is doing well. Mrs. Boyer actually managed to get the bat cave up amongst all the other tasks I had left her to do!

Please remember that we will share breakfast at Rose’s Café on Tuesday morning just after 8:30 AM. So your child need not eat breakfast before school that day! Each child will have a $6 or 7 limit; we need to keep this fair. This is my treat and Mr. Wilhelm kicked in some $ from can recycling. Thanks much!

Spelling words

like bike ride side hide ice rice

nice dice

Additional second grade words: twice trike pride

Homework

Monday: spelling sort as usual

Tuesday: Math

Wednesday: religion please talk with your child about his/her patron saint and why you chose that saint for your child, OR discuss your favorite saint and why that saint is your favorite. Ask your child to name his/her favorite, tell why.

Thursday: reading p. 64 (1^st) or 57 (2^nd)

El Dia de los Muertos

Our Hispanic brothers and sisters are preparing to celebrate El Dia de los Muertos, a beautiful celebration to remember our loved ones who have passed into Eternal Life. It occurs in conjunction with All Saints Day.

One of the components of this celebration is to make an ofrenda, or altar, on which photographs of loved ones are placed. We would like to offer you the opportunity to bring in pictures of your loved ones who have passed. After reading about this feast day, we will make a small and simple ofrenda in our classroom, complete with flameless candles and silk flowers.

Please bring your photos in any day this week. Your loved ones will be prayed for with great love.

Peace,

Mrs. Jeanne Van Heule

Mrs. Tara Boyer

School News 10-20-14

St. Laurence School

608 S 4^th Street

Laramie, WY 82070

742-6363

www.stlos.com

Oct. 20, 2014

St. Laurence Eagle Eye News

THIS WEEK

Tuesday: Last day to turn in Parent Teacher Conference forms

Wednesday: P.E. all grades and Art 2-6

Thursday: Mass at 8:30 /Adam’s Team 3:10 Conferences 6:00-8:00

Friday : Conferences 8:00-12:00 NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

ST. LAURENCE MAGAZINE SALE

Thanks to all of you that did your part in making the Fall Magazine/Gift Drive a success. We took in over $4168.00 both online and in house. We had over $1500 from online sales. We are 30 orders short of our goal of 300 orders, but in terms of the amount we exceeded our goal in gross sales. Any gifts that were purchased will arrive on October 28 and can be picked up in the gym after school. This applies to paper orders only, not the online sales. Online sales go directly to the address supplied. I told the students that their bears need to hibernate for the winter so your children may leave them at home. Student prizes will go home tomorrow.

You can still order online any time between now and December using the St. Laurence School Code 3589454. So pass the word (and the number) so your friends and relatives who didn’t get a chance to order during the sale can still help the school.

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

We are sending home conference signup sheets again today. If you have already signed up, you will see that on the sheet. If you do not see your name, please sign in on a blank time and return the sheet tomorrow. Fill one out for each child. If you don’t return the sheet we will have to assign you a time. Please be prompt for your conference.

TETON SCIENCE SCHOOL

The 4-6 grades will be heading to Jackson Hole for the week starting on Monday January 12. The trip is a 5 day learning experience. We are able to attend because of a $5000 grant from the Diocese of Cheyenne.

PRINCIPAL TALK

Now that we are into cooler weather, I just want to remind you that your children need warm outdoor clothes. We could see snow anytime, so check to see if the snow boots still fit. We are hoping that we won’t need them anytime soon, but it is good to be prepared for the possibility. We will again allow students to keep their snow boots and snow pants here at school. On the subject of coats etc., we do seem to have a pretty good collection of coats, jackets and sweatshirts in our Lost and Found tub. Items are located in the gym so please take a few minutes to look if you are missing items.

With Halloween around the corner, we want to stress that our kid’s costumes tone down the blood and violence. We are really trying to emphasize more of a fall celebration. The school is downplaying the scary aspects which might frighten or upset the younger children.

SCHOOL COMMISSION OPENINGS

If you would be interested in serving on the St. Laurence School Commission, please contact me this week.

SCHOOL DANCE

This Friday we will have a school dance from 6:00 till 8:00 in the gym. The cost is $1.00 per student. Costumes are encouraged but not mandatory. We are also asking each family to provide one tray of healthy finger foods for snacks for the children. Remember that students from other schools are invited to attend and join in the fun. We will be sending home a flyer about the dance tomorrow with all the details.

CANS FOR THE CAUSE

Do you have aluminum cans at your house? Bring them to St. Laurence School where we turn cans into money. The money goes into a fund for a variety of worthy classroom projects from field trips to classroom rewards. Bring in your cans and place them in the barrels on the back porch on the south side of the building by the art room. The more cans we collect, the more positive ways the teachers can support your kids.

HALLOWEEN ACTIVITIES

On the Eve of All Saints, October 31^st, there will be a carnival from 2:00 till 3:00 with a games and contests. The suggested donation is $3 per family for unlimited games and the proceeds will be split with half used to fund the older student’s trip to the Teton Science School and the other half given as a donation to the Laramie Soup Kitchen. Costumes are worn in the afternoon only, so pack them up and send them to school with the children. We usually make an exception for Pre-Kindergarten, so that they can wear their costumes all day. (It’s easier for the teacher that way.)

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Oct. 23

Parent Teacher Conferences from 6-8

Oct. 24

No School for Students

Parent Teacher Conferences 8-12

Costume Dance in the Gym 6-8 Invite your friends and their kids

Oct. 28

Picture Retakes / Gift orders can be picked up from Magazine Sale

Oct. 31

Eve of All Saints Day Carnival 2:00 in the Gymnasium

Grade 1-2 News 10-20-14

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
― Albert Camus

Happy Autumn Thoughts

Grade One/Two October 20-23, 2014

Let’s celebrate Camus’ “second spring” with these lovely October days! We celebrate with learning, experiences, prayer, and community. Speaking of community, we are nearing completion of our downtown Laramie unit. This week we will visit Ivinson Mansion and work hard on our book about Laramie. The celebration climaxes next Thursday, Oct. 30 with a book party in our classroom from 2-3 PM. We hope you can join us to share this special event! My hope is to provide one final treat for the cherubs: next week we’d like to have breakfast at Rose’s Café! This was actually a suggestion/request of one of the children and I think it’s a smashing idea! I will let you know next week what day we will go; you can send your child to school without breakfast that day! J

In reading/language this week, we will read about family gatherings. Other goals are learning about contractions are, will and is, and long o with final e, as you see in our spelling words. I am grateful every day for Mrs. Boyer, who inspires me!

We are proud of the cherubs work in math with learning doubles added and subtracted. This week we’ll tackle adding doubles plus 1. Seconds are moving on in place value and adding 2 digit numbers.

We will finish rosary making this week, finally, and talk about grace, God’s life in us.

Spelling words

cone stone bone home those nose rose

hope lope rope

Additional second grade words

phone shone throne dome slope

Homework

Monday: spelling sort

Tuesday: math

Wednesday: Our Father prayer game

Just a reminder about Halloween costumes, please no violence or gore. The real meaning of the event is “All Hallow’s Eve,” the night before All Saints Day, and we know that hallowed means holy. So let’s please keep this in perspective. Thanks!

I look forward for visiting with you at conferences this week! Thanks for all you

Kindergarten News 10-20-14

	Week of October 20, 2014 St. Laurence School Weekly Newsletter From the classroom of Mrs. Specht
KINDERGARTEN
Make sure to check your child’s folder every night! We are working hard every day!

Reminders	Learning in Kindergarten!
Clothing: Please send extra clothes for your kindergartener just in case they need to change some time during the day. The weather is changing. We will go outside every day unless it is less than zero degrees or raining. Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather! Hats, gloves, coats, snow pants and boots will all be necessary very soon. Check and make sure everything fits before it gets too cold! Missing school: If your child will not be at school please let me or the office know. No School Friday October 24 Spirit Days are every Tuesday: Wear your St. Laurence T-shirts or green! October Mass Days: Oct. 23, Oct. 30 Parent Teacher Conferences: If you have not done so already, please return the parent teacher schedule form to the office. Conference times are filling up quickly! The time schedule is going home with all the kindergarteners today. Please take a look and see if the time still works for you. Let me know if Thursday October 23 from 6pm to 8pm or Friday 8am-12pm will not work for you so we can schedule a better time. SINGING AT THE LITURGY We will sing again October 26 at the 5:30 mass.	Reading Reading will be made up of a whole group lessons and small group lessons based on individual needs. This week our story is Mouse’s Mess. The story is about a mouse in a kitchen. While he is getting snacks, he makes a huge mess and blames the people. Our letter of the week is ‘Mm’ and the rhyme chart is a marching song. We are working on learn all the letters and letter sounds. We are practicing beginning letter sounds and rhyming words every day. We are also working hard to retell stories. We use “Story Champs” trophies to practice remembering the character, setting, problem, feeling, action and ending feeling. Ask your child about Maria at the store buying bananas and how mad she felt.
Math In Math we are working on positions. The vocabulary words are on, over, under, left, right, front and behind. We are also working in on number sequence and counting during our centers time centers. Try to find things your child can count around the house.

How Healthy Are Our Local Waterways? This is the theme of the placed-based education unit this summer. We will become “field detectives” as we search the rivers of Laramie looking at the richness of the plant life and the types of macro invertebrates living in our streams. The data collected will aid the students in determining the health of the local waterways. We will be in the field every Monday for approximately two hours. This will begin on Monday, July 14 and end on Monday, July 28. Please check the back of this sheet for a calendar and more information.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Mrs. Specht: 307-399-6915 or mspecht@stlos.com

Grade 5-6 News 10-15-14

This week in class…

We will be making hands out of colored paper this week for Kiwanis Kids to help with a project that the Circle K at UW is sponsoring. Steve Wagner, from the Laramie Kiwanis Club has asked for our help. Here is a description of the project:

Heidi L. Solomon, President of Circle K at the University of Wyoming states,

”The main idea of the project is to help remind Laramie of all the reasons it has to be thankful, allowing residents to share their thanks, and simultaneously raising money to help combat neonatal tetanus.  To this end, we hope to sell colored paper hand cutouts for $1 a piece at local businesses and schools to be displayed on walls throughout the establishments.  Once people donate, they will write down whatever they are thankful for on the hands to be displayed for all to see.  We are calling this event the "November Hands of Thanks," and our hope is to cover all of Laramie's walls with thanks.”

I have asked each student to make 10 hands. Mr. Wagner will pick them up on Thursday, October 23^rd.

Book It

I have only received reading logs from 5/9 students in class. I will be sending home a new reading log today and will send a new reading log each Wednesday. Even if your child has not read yet or logged any minutes, please log any minutes they read this week or next. I will be recording “all” the minutes your child reads over these next six months. Also, even if your child does not read 450 minutes for the month of October, they can read 450 minutes for November and get the free personal pan pizza. Any month that your child reads 450 minutes they will earn a personal pan pizza. I enter minutes from the reading logs on the day it is turned in. You should be able to track your child’s progress by going to www.pizzahut.com/bookit

Homework Corner

We have our Spelling Test this week on Thursday, October 16^th. Other than reading for Book It, there shouldn’t be much homework. I was very proud of how well the students performed on their tests last week!

Novels for Reading Groups

All groups are off to a great start in their novels. We are learning about the significance of Ellis Island as an immigration processing center and what it was like to be an immigrant in The Orphan of Ellis Island. We are learning about the Dust Bowl and migrant workers in Blue Willow. And we are experiencing plot development and characterization in Frindle.

This Week’s Spelling List Test 10/16/14 Retest 10/17/14 Unit 6 Vocabulary Review Part 2 1. sought 2. clause 3. annoy 4. mound 5. crouch 6. groove 7. naughty 8. appoint 9. squawk 10. hoist 11. sword 12. pierce 13. chart 14. mourn 15. skirt 16. starch 17. earth 18. curb 19. snarl 20. earnest 21. intact 22. absurd 23. tepid 24. turmoil 25. endeavor 26. trampoline 27. refute 28. turquoise 29. coax 30. taut *There will be no extra credit words this week *There will be no extra credit words this week

Next Week’s Spelling List Test 10/23/14 Retest 10/24/14 Unit 7 Vocabulary 1. barefoot 2. sea gull 3. driftwood 4. carefree 5. somebody 6. nowhere 7. haircut 8. runner-up 9. teammate 10. toothbrush 11. headache 12. iceberg 13. fireproof 14. uproar 15. whereas 16. dead end 17. forehead 18. grandchildren 19. old-fashioned 20. nevertheless 21. wildlife 22. weekend 23. first aid 24. homemade 25. baby-sit 26. water-repellent 27. ebb tide 28. painstaking 29. self-confident 30.crestfallen *Words 25-30 are extra credit words *Words 25-30 are extra credit words

Grade 3-4 News 10-13-14

School News 10-13-14

St. Laurence Eagle Eye News

Oct. 13, 2014

THIS WEEK

Tuesday: Music Classes on Tuesday and Thursday with Mrs. Lyford

Wednesday: P.E. all grades and Art 2-6

Thursday: Mass at 8:30 /Adam’s Team 3:10

Friday : Yes there is school. P.E. all grades. Music Lessons for grades 3-6 Bring your instruments and books. Art for K and PreK grades

ST. LAURENCE MAGAZINE SALE

Thanks to all that did your part in making the Fall Magazine/Gift Drive a success. We took in over $4168.00 both online and in house. We are 30 orders short of our goal of 300 orders, but in terms of the amount we exceeded our goal of $5000.00 in gross sales. Any gifts that were purchased will arrive on October 28 and can be picked up in the gym after school. This applies to paper orders only, not the online sales. Online sales go directly to the address supplied. We had over $1500 from online sales. I told the students that their bears need to hibernate for the winter. I will no longer feed the bears so your children may leave them at home.

CHANGE IN PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

Since three of the teachers will be gone on October 16-17 at a conference in Denver, we have decided that it would be in everyone’s best interest to postpone parent teacher conferences by one week. Instead of meeting on the 16-17^th, the conference will start on Thursday night October 23 from 6-8 in the evening and continue on Friday morning October 24 from 8-12. The sign up forms for conferences will go home next Monday. There will not be school on Friday October 24. We will still plan to have the Costume Party/Dance that night from 6-8 in the gym.

TETON SCIENCE SCHOOL

The 4-6 grades will be heading to Jackson Hole for the week starting on Monday January 12.

PRINCIPAL TALK

Now that we are into cooler weather, I just want to remind you that your children need warm outdoor clothes. We could see snow anytime, so check to see if the snow boots still fit. We are hoping that we won’t need them anytime soon, but it is good to be prepared for the possibility. We will again allow students to keep their snow boots and snow pants here at school. On the subject of coats etc., we do seem to have a pretty good collection of coats and jackets and sweatshirts in our lost and found. It is located in the gym on the clothes rack and on the plastic tub below. Please take a few minutes to look at it, if items are missing.

With Halloween around the corner, we want to stress that our kid’s costumes tone down the blood and violence. We are really trying to emphasize more of a fall celebration. The school is downplaying the scary aspects might frighten or upset the younger children.

Finally, thanks to all our drivers and chaperones who took time off last Friday to travel to the Harvest Farm in Wellington. It was a lot wetter down there with lots of mud. The students sure had fun and learned a lot. Thanks for your involvement with the school and your children.

HOME AND SCHOOL MEETING

The Home and School Commission met last Thursday. They are making plans for the Costume Dance happening on Friday October 24^th. The officers will be contacting you regarding ways that you can help with making this event fun for the students.

SCHOOL COMMISSION OPENINGS

If you would be interested in serving on the St. Laurence School Commission, please contact me this week. The Commission serves as the school board for St. Laurence School and is made up of parents, parishioners, and alumni, and former parents of the school. The Commission meets at least once per month to discuss issues involving the school. To learn more about the School Commission, please call the school or stop by to talk to me about the role of commissioner.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Your conference schedule is going home today with your oldest child. We will also send an electronic copy attached to this newsletter that you can print off. Include all your kids on the one form. Come up with 3 time choices. We will fill in the slots on a first come first served basis. So the sooner you return your form, the more likely you are to get your first choice.

MAGAZINE AND GIFTS CAN BE ORDERED ANYTIME

You can order online at any time between now and December using the St. Laurence School Code 3589454. So pass the word (and the number) so your friends and relatives who didn’t get a chance to order during the sale can still help the school.

CANS FOR THE CAUSE

Do you have aluminum cans at your house? Bring them to St. Laurence School where we turn cans into money. The money goes into a fund for a variety of worthy classroom projects from field trips to classroom rewards. Bring in your cans and place them in the barrels on the south side of the building by the art room. The more cans we collect, the more positive ways the teachers can support your kids.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Oct 15-17

Ms. Williams, Mrs. Still, and Mrs. Specht will attend a Reading Conference in Denver

Oct. 17

School as usual No Parent Teacher Conferences till next Friday

Oct. 23

Parent Teacher Conferences from 6-8 then on Friday morning from

8-12

Oct. 24

No School Parent Teacher Conferences

Costume Dance in the Gym 6-8 Invite your friends and their kids

Oct. 28

Picture Retakes / Gift orders can be picked up for delivery from Magazine Sale

Oct. 31

Eve of All Saints Day Carnival 2:00 in the Gymnasium