Week 17

 Weekly Greetings!

It is just amazing to me how fast the months have gone by and we are now going into our last week before Christmas break! There have been so many great activities happening through the months that have enriched the educational program here at the school, and added to the rapid pace leading to this week. Last week there was the "Instant Challenge" for the K through 6th grades, and the NYO completion for the older students. This week there will be special visitors working with all the students to give instruction in beading.

With all the activities, in addition to my needing to be gone some last week, I only snapped a few photos in our classroom. I have been told that there will be a video link coming out to see how the students did in the "Instant Challenge", and I will pass on the information when I get it.

I did snap a picture of the Kindergarten students working on an alphabet puzzle together. They were doing such a good job cooperating and getting all the letters in the right order without any help! Notice that we had a queen for the day, and also a king from 1st grade with two birthdays on the 11th.

 We have also been fitting in more craft projects for the holidays and have placed some decorations up around our room. The student lockers have wreaths and we have one made with student hand prints above our door.

Important things for you to know this week are that there will be a Christmas music program at 1pm on Thursday with snack foods to follow. You will be free to take your child after if you wish. Also, school will be released at 1pm on Friday for the Christmas holidays. Our class party will be before lunch on Friday and I will be sending home a letter asking what your child may be able to contribute towards the celebration. Lastly, I will have to be out again this week on Tuesday and Wednesday for a funeral in Fairbanks due to the loss of a close friend. I will continue to send homework home through Thursday as usual.

I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday.

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown

Week 16

Weekly Greetings!

Just two short weeks and we will all be off for Christmas break! The days go by so quickly, and last week was even faster with the unexpected day off on Wednesday. Through we work hard to progress through each grade level expectations every day that school is in session, there is still time for fun movement activities and creative play. We even practice phonics with movement and song. Below are a couple of pictures taken while we were doing one of the many movement songs used throughout the week.

 On Friday, there was Show and Tell and the students really enjoy seeing what their classmates bring to share. They are all getting better at sharing about the item they brought and there are always lots of questions from others in the class.

 Despite the power outage on Friday afternoon, the students in attendance worked on an art project that we will but together as a Christmas door decoration. It was a bit dark in the class with only window light, but I was able to snap a few pictures while the kids were busy.

Unfortunately, I will have to be in Fairbanks for a medical reason on Wednesday this week when our class will be participating an "Instant Challenge" with other schools around the state through visual technology. They will be investigating the effects of earthquakes by building  a structure made of marshmallows and toothpicks on a  jello base. Also that day, there will be the "Athabascan Culture and Language Gathering" at 2:15 pm. Please try to join the students during that time if your schedules allow.

Have a great week!

Kind Regards,
Julie Brown

Week 15

Weekly Greetings!

I trust you have all had a pleasant Thanksgiving with family and friends. It was great to see such a good crowd at the Thanksgiving dinner last Tuesday at the school, and the food was delicious! Despite the short week, our class accomplished a lot. We finally had a full class of 15 and could retake our real class graph picture to measure if we have more boys or girls. With the addition of another boy, there are now more boys than girls.

We were also able to squeeze in a baking project using real apples. It fit nicely with the book the Kindergarten read last week called Apple Annie. It was actually a Math activity to discuss measurement and volume.

There are just three weeks before we take a break for Christmas, and we will continue to press on through the grade levels concepts for each group in Math and Language Arts. We will also be preparing for a Christmas program. This week there will be Show and Tell on Friday and I will send a reminder home with Thursday night's homework. Also, remember that there is a weekly Athabascan Culture and Language Gathering on Wednesday afternoon at 2:15pm. Please join us if possible.

Have an awesome week!

Kind Regards,
Julie Brown

Week 14

Weekly Greetings!

I am starting with some important announcements for this week. The first is that there will be a Thanksgiving dinner at the school on Tuesday at 12:00pm. Please join all the students and staff in celebrating the many things we have to be thankful for. Also, there will be an early out on Wednesday. Students will be excused from school at 1:30pm.

As for last week's events, we had a full week of learning in the classroom with a number of enriching activities. Here are just a few highlights with accompanying photos.  In Science, we made "Flubber" to continue the concept of solids and liquid matter. "Flubber" starts off as liquid, but goes through a chemical change when the solid of Borax is introduced. It becomes rubbery, like Silly Putty, and the students had fun playing with it after.

On Wednesday, the Athabascan Culture and Language Gathering took place in the gym. The students worked on introducing themselves, and saying who their family members are in Athabascan. Then everyone practiced singing songs and dancing traditional dances. It is hoped that more community members and parents will join us when we resume on Wednesdays after Thanksgiving.

In addition to the traveling PE teacher and councilor visit last Thursday, the music teacher introduced the class to some interesting musical bells. They practiced a few songs as each student had a special note to play when the teacher pointed to them.

The students have also been enjoying using the interactive language and math games on the SMART board when their assignments have been completed.

In preparation for Thanksgiving, the students in attendance on Friday made a turkey decoration in Art before we all headed to the championship basketball games in the gym. It truly was a full and fun packed week of learning.

This week will be short due to the Thanksgiving holiday, and I will only be sending homework home on two nights. It is also the end of the month, so the students that have completed their homework every night this month will be able to pick from the big prize box on Wednesday. Please read the addition handout explaining the reading goals for this week that will be attached to Monday's homework.

Have a safe and pleasant Thanksgiving holiday!

Kind Regards,
Julie Brown

Week 13

Weekly Greetings!

Last week,  time flew by with numerous activities that supplemented the regular grade leveled curriculum. In Science we have begun a unit on Solids and Liquids, and after an introduction on Tuesday the students explored magazines to find representations of each substance.  It was fun to circulate through the group and hear dialog about items the students found for each of the categories. We will be continuing this topic in Science for a number of weeks to come.

There was also time last week to break up into small groups and play word board games to enrich the students' vocabulary, phonics, and sight word recognition.

An additional word game we played in class was with balloons to create compound words. Then the students had fun playing with their balloon words during recess.

In Social Studies, we have been discussing the first Americans and how the Native American Indians helped the Pilgrim settlers survive the hardships of the new land. Since corn was a key crop, we made a corn decoration that also helped to strengthen fine motor skills as a cutting and gluing activity.

This week, we will press on with the language concepts listed in the supplemental paper that goes home with homework on Monday. Also starting this Wednesday, there will be an Athabascan Culture and Language Gathering from 2:15pm to 3:15pm. The school is fortunate to have Lorraine Titus volunteering to share her knowledge with all the students weekly! Then on Thursday, the school is hosting a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. It will start around noon on Thursday and finish about the same time Friday.

Please remember I would like to have the book orders turned in by this Friday so that the books can be here before Christmas break.

Have a fantastic week!

Kind Regards,
Julie Brown

Week 12

Weekly Greetings!

The major focus last week was the district writing assessments, and I am really proud of how hard the first and second grade students worked to do their personal best. On Friday it was time to relax a bit and the class always enjoys Show and Tell. It is fun to see what things are important to the kids, and hear what they have to say about each item. Unfortunately, there were 5 students absent for different reasons that day.

We were also able to fit in another Zoo Phonics animal hunt before recess that same day.

This week we will be back to a regular schedule, now that all the special events and projects are completed. Please read over the additional handout attached to your child's homework on Monday, which explains the reading and language concepts covered this week.


If you are interested in ordering Scholastic books this month, please return the order forms a week from this Friday.

Stay well and kind regards!

Julie Brown