Thanks to All for a Great 2009!

Our Christmas party was a great success! Thanks to all who sent in donations and/or attended the party to help with crowd control. I'd also like to thank all of you who shared warmest wishes for your thoughtfulness.

Things to work on over the holiday break:
Literature Project-The next project is due January 15; the genre is informational non-fiction.
Weathering, Erosion and Deposition Poster-This poster is due January 8, an extension from the original due date of December 18. Students have known about this project since the beginning of December! The requirements are on the back of the December 18 Friday Folder report.

See you next year!

More Mail

Jessup's journal went to The Villages, Florida to visit his grandma. Kristin in Ellensburg, Washington received Becca's journal, and Dianne Weiser in Scottsdale, Arizona got Kylie's.

Mail Bag

I just checked my mailbox and found that we had received a few more postcards. Mikella's journal is currently in Ada, Michigan with Uncle Gary and Aunt Sharon. Lou from Elkhart sent a postcard from the Recreational Vehicle/Motor Home Hall of Fame and Museum. Austin received notification that his journal stopped at the Hayes household in Indianapolis.* Brooke's journal is on its way to North Carolina after another Florida stop. Vicki's journal visited my 98 year-old grandmother near Northgate Mall.

*Mrs. Hayes used to teach fourth grade at CNE. We still miss her!

The picture is the same as on the postcard from Elkhart. It shows a 1964 Coachmen Cadet-the very first trailer made by Coachmen Industries.

Journal Journey

All journals for the journal journey were mailed on November 23. My family and friends received all of the journals of students who did not provide addresses. So far we have received postcards from Joey in Cincinnati who sent Jack's journal on to his (Joey's) grandparents, Mary in Lebanon, Ohio, and Jim in Florida. Jim (Mrs. Berning's father) sent shells and sand back for everyone. We also received an email from Lou in Elkhart, IN who mailed Sydne's journal to San Diego.
Great participation!

Tis the Season

With the holiday season upon us, let me wish you all a Merry Christmas! To celebrate the season, we will be reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. We will compare the text version with the movie version when we have finished both as well as complete a foldable and contract.
Online Questions and Activities

In math we are continuing to progress in our study of multiplication. Students who do not have their multiplication facts memorized yet will fall behind as we move into double digit multiplication and long division, so please spend time helping your child practice the facts at home. We do not spend much time at school practicing facts as it is expected that the children will learn their facts in third grade.

We will begin our first science contract next week as we continue learning about Earth's changing surface.

Thanks to all who have volunteered to send in supplies for the Christmas party on December 18. I will be contacting those volunteers shortly to solidify the plans.