{Homework Reminder!}

Please make sure you go over your child's Drops in the Bucket sheet with them. This is a huge help to me, and then you can have an idea of how they are doing also. Before sending it back to school, please Sign the top of the paper so I know you looked over it. The homework pages DO need to be signed each week.

Thanks so much!

Mrs. Barber

{2nd Grade Readers}

If you are a 2nd grade parent, I will be taking your email off of our blog at the end of the week. If there are any pictures you would like from the blog, be sure to save those on your computer before Friday. I have loved having your child in my class, and truly will miss them! Have a great school year!

Thanks!

Mrs. Barber

{Farewell to our fabulous 2nd graders}

It has been a great first week and a half. We have gotten to know each other, set up a routine and gotten to know friends in the other grades. I have absolutely loved having 11 awesome second graders in our class. I was sad to hear that changes were being made and that I would only be teaching 3rd grade. I hope that next year I can see some of those faces back in my class again.

{Fun Friday Art Project}

On Friday's we have a half hour set aside for Art. This is also a reward for those who have worked hard, turned in their homework and have shown excellent behavior. On Friday we did a drawing with crayons, using one of Van Gogh's techniques. The kids had an awesome time!

{2 teeth down}

Earlier in the week Shannon and Annie both came to school with loose teeth. By the end of the day, they both had one less than they came with. Thanks to Mrs. Allen who helped Annie with hers.

{Family Carnival and Silent Auction}

We will be having our Family Carnival on Monday, September 14th from 4:30-7:00 pm.
We will be having a silent auction again this year to help raise funds for our school. Students are being asked to donate items to assemble gift baskets that will be auctioned off.

Our "Theme" is Outdoor fun! This can include:
Toys
Puzzles
Bubbles and Chalk
Jump ropes, Frisbees
Kites, Play dough
Balls, Etc.

If your child donates an item they will be given a treat. If our class donates the most items we will win a class party. Donations will be accepted from August 31st until September 9th! Please send the items in a bag with your child's name clearly labeled on it.

{Writing time}

We have begun writing in our class. This week we have been working on a personal narrative about the first couple days of school. How we felt, what we did, and what we are excited for! When we finish, we are going to make a class book. Here are a few photos I took today. (I just have to say that I am so proud of them. They are all working so hard and doing their best.)


Shannon and Nicole were excited for lunch and wanted me to take a quick pic!

Parent Meeting Reminder!

I just wanted to remind all of the parents about the parent meeting being held at Vineyard tomorrow night.

Thursday night
6:30-7:30
Vineyard Gym

This meeting is VERY important and we would like all parents to attend. It will be about a tutoring type program that the school is starting with the title 1 money.

Hope to see you there!

{Spelling}

Here is a quick glimpse at the spelling program I will be using in our class. This program works well with our class because the lists are individualized to the student., not the grade level. This week all of the students will have the same list. It may be easy, just right or a challenge. Because this is a new way to do spelling for most of the students, we will be practicing the sort as a class. I want the students to be familiar with how to do it, before we have 5 or so groups. Next week I will have the students grouped into similar abilities and the list will be on your child’s level. Thank you for being patient with me!

What is Words Their Way?
Words Their Way is spelling based on vowel patterns. There is an initial list of words that I have the class spell. This assessment lets me know which vowel patterns each student has already mastered. From that list I group the class into smaller groups for a more individualized spelling list. The students will have spelling words based on patterns they are learning and each week they are introduced to a new pattern to master.

What will be happening in school?
Each week the students will cut out their words and sort them in class. On Monday’s I will introduce the words to each group and teach them the correct way to sort. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we will sort the words in class. And Friday’s we will have our spelling test. With each list there can be between 10 and 20 words. Each week I will test the students on 10 of the words. The tests will be worth 20 points. One point will be awarded for spelling the word correctly and one point for spelling the pattern correctly.

Homework
For homework, I will send home another copy of the sort. Please have your child cut out the words and sort them at home. Included in their homework folder is a weekly schedule. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thanks!

Mrs. Barber

{Me Bags}

Throughout next week we will be sharing our "Me Bags". I have sent home a brown bag with each child. They can put up to 5 items in the bag to describe themselves to the class. They can also decorate the bag. Below are some pictures of what my bag and items looked like.

{1st Week of School}

What a great week it has been!!! I have loved getting to know each of your children, and have realized how lucky I am. Our class is top notch, great behavior, they work hard and have fun personalities! Here are a few pictures I took the last couple of days.

Our class playing Name Bingo!
Trying to get to know the kids in our class on Friday, we participated in a 3 student survey. Here are the kids hard at work...

Today we celebrated Sophie's birthday!

For birthday's we each write a letter to the student and make a book. If you would like to send a treat with the class you can, but it needs to be store bought. (We do have a peanut allergy in our class, so please be careful with the choice of treats you send.)

{Homework Preview}

Starting next Monday, homework will be going home. Homework is sent home on Monday's and is due on Friday's. Homework will consist of:

- 20 minutes of reading each night
- A short spelling activity Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
- Math review sheet and Language Arts Review sheet for the week (One page that has math on the front and language on the back.)

For those of you who are in 3rd grade, you may be familiar with the "Drops in a Bucket" review sheets from 2nd grade. The review sheets are different for each grade, and are based on the curriculum that is being taught in class.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the homework. Thank you for all of your help.

{Vineyard's New Tutoring/Extra Help Program}

This year Vineyard is starting a tutoring program to help give students an "extra dose" of the curriculum they are seeing in class. They are calling the program Double Dose. There will be a parent meeting on August 27th from 6:30-7:30 pm.

Mr. Eager is in charge of the program and will be giving specifics at the meeting. And there will also be permission forms for you to fill out, to allow your student to be tutored.

We would like to have as many parents there, so please try to make it!

{Open House Reminder and Information}

Vineyard Elementary- Back to school Open House: Wednesday August 19th 5:00-6:30 PM

Here is a list of items that will be helpful for your child to have in our class. They are not required but if your child wants to shop for school supplies these items will be helpful to them and the class.
• Dry Erase Markers (1-2 preferably black)
• Glue Sticks
• Hand Sanitizer
• A box of Kleenex
This year we are asking for a $15.00 class donation to cover the cost of supplies, incentives, special projects and hopefully field trips. The amount of money we receive determines the activities we are able to plan. Donations will be accepted at Back To School Night or at your earliest convenience. Please make checks payable to Vineyard Elementary.

~Mrs. Barber

Meet your teacher!

I am so excited to introduce myself as your child's 2nd or 3rd grade teacher! My name is Alyse Barber, and I am from Spanish Fork, Utah. I attended Utah Valley State College and taught 3rd grade at Snow Springs Elementary, before coming to Vineyard. I love teaching and can't wait to start this new school year.

My hobbies include swimming, boating, scrapbooking, reading, bowling, vacationing and going to the movies. I just got married in May, to my husband Bob. We have had a great time this summer together. We were able to go on some fun vacations to see family in Chicago, Wisconsin and Washington.