1. Duncanson Dock News Parent Visitation We are very excited for Parent Visitation Day on Friday, October 23, from 9:15-10:00. It will be a great opportunity for you to come into our classroom and to see what your child does during center time. If you do not think you will be able to make it, can you please let me know. I will pair your child up with another friend and parent. I did tell the children that not all of our parents can come because they may have to work or take care of their younger siblings at home. You may go to the Scholastic Book Fair from 8:15-9:00. This special day is for parents/grandparents only… unfortunately no siblings. Reading Buddies Today, we met with our third grade reading buddies. Our buddy class is Mrs. Madden’s third grade class. We will get together throughout the year to do many different reading and writing actitvites. Ask your child the name of his/her reading buddy. Star of the Week We will begin Star of the Week next week. When your child is star of the week, he/she will receive a letter on a Friday that tells him/her what to bring to school the next week. Every child will get a chance to be STAR for the week. I just randomly pick a name from our star jar every Friday.Brian is our star for the week of October 19. Lock Down Drill On Thursday, we had our first lock down drill. We talked about how this was another drill like a fire drill. We talked about how it was our job to keep them safe at school. Your children were amazing during this drill. Actually, they have done well with all of our practice drills. Reading Workshop Today, we learned about reading workshop. In reading workshop, we will first meet together as a group and I will teach the children a reading strategy. Then, the children will go to their reading spots with their reading partners and read books. Oct. 19-23- Scholastic Book Fair- There will be a book fair set up in the main foyer of the school. There will be designated times you may come and shop for books. Oct. 23- Parent Visitation Day: 8:15-9- Book fair- At this time, you may shop for books. 9:15-10- Join us in the classroom to see all of the great things your child is doing Oct. 29- Pumpkin Day- wear orange Oct. 30- Halloween Parade at 2:30- All family members are welcome to watch the parade.

2. Writing Workshop This week, we learned to add more details to our pictures. We are learning to label our pictures with beginning sounds. Printing This week, the children practiced using a correct pencil grip. This is in the Friday Folder. Next week, the children will practice forming upper case E and F. When helping your child to print, please check the handwriting sheet that is in your handbook for the correct language. Halloween Party Our Halloween Party will be on Friday, October 31st. We will have a party in the afternoon at 12:45. The children will not get dressed until it is time for the parade. All parent volunteers for the Halloween parade should be in the classroom at 1:50 to help the children get dressed. Your child should bring his/her costume to school in a bag or backpack. No weapons are allowed even if they are part of a costume. We can put some face make up on (black under eyes, or lipstick). But, please do not have your child choose a costume with a great deal of face make up. We have 21 students we need to help and we won’t have time to do elaborate face art. Thanks! IMPORTANT Since the parade is at 2:30 many parents like to take their children home after the paraded instead of having them take the bus. If you would like to take your child home, you will need to come into the classroom to sign your child out. I will have a sign out sheet. It also would be helpful for you to send a note in with your child. Math We have just finished our first unit in Math. This week, we explored with shapes and made a design. We also have begun practicing the correct formation for 0,1,& 2. Next week, we will continue to practice writing our numbers in our number book. Please do not pannick about reversals. This is completely normal and developmentally appropriate. The best thing to do is to show your child the correct formation and lots of practice. This week, we also continued to work on sorting by a math attribute (color, size, shape, & texture). On Monday, we will begin our new math unit. See the math letter in the Friday Folder. Reading This week, we continue to learn about rhyming. We will do many rhyming activities throughout the year. Next week, we will read the nursery rhyme: Itsy,Bitsy Spider. White Little Books This week I am sending home I Can Cold Weather Ahead We want recess to be and enjoyable experience for everyone. Always dress your child for outside recess. Central New York weather is ever changing. :) Fall: a jacket, sweatshirt or sweater Start thinking about boots and a winter coat; you never know when it may snow! Fall Walk Next week, we will take a fall walk. It will probably be Tue.or Wed. We will walk around our school property to find a tree to adopt for the year. We will watch how our tree changes throughout the seasons.