FYI
The Crayon Drive and the Vender night have been cancelled on Friday, 12/5! I was going to sell my beaded jewerly this night, so if you have any orders, please e-mail me. Thanks!

Holiday Service Project

Dear Parents and Students,

Each year Prairieview runs a service project around the holidays. Our efforts will benefit two organizations: a cancer family and a family shelter.

Each classroom at Prairieview has a family that is in need at this time.

In addition to the cancer families, we will also be making donations to Family Shelter Service.
This year our class has a very special family.

Our family includes:
~Mom
~17 year old young lady (cancer patient)
~16 year old sister
~15 years old sister
~10 year old sister
~3 year old sister

Sadly, the seventeen year old girl has cancer. Not only does this family struggle with the stress of treatments and illness, but they are less fortunate than us financially, too. In order to make this a special holiday, we have “adopted” them. If you could send in a NEW, not used, present for one or more of the family members, that would be appreciated. You may also send a “family gift.”

Directions:
*Please wrap the gift
*LABEL the item with what it is with a Post-It.
*Label who it is for

Some ideas for NEW (not used) gifts include, but are not limited to:
age appropriate games/toys, books, crafts, puzzles, winter hat/gloves, socks, winter hat/gloves, socks, bath and body, perfume, jewelry, candles, kitchen accessories, picture frames/albums, gift certificates,
gift baskets, slippers, etc.
Gift cards to consider:
Jewel, Best Buy, Kohl’s, Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, K-Mart, Sears, JC Penney’s, Carson Pierre Scott, Chili’s, TGIFridays, Subway, McDonalds, Burger King, ETC.
These gifts will be delivered before Christmas along with a freshly cut tree donated by Strong Landscaping.
Gift for the Family Shelter
We are accepting Cash or checks (payable to Family Shelter Service) gift cards in any denomination. NEW toys, games, books, puzzles, sports equipment, jewelry/other accessories, warm gloves and hats.

Thanks for your support!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Spakausky

Questions: tspakaus@ccsd66.org

***ALL DONATIONS NEED TO BE BROUGHT TO SCHOOL ON OR BEFORE WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10th!

November 24-28 and December 1-5

“Spakausky’s Scoop”

Have a Terrific Turkey Day!
Enjoy the time off with your family and friends!

Yearbook orders are due 12/1--$10
Announcing Prairieview 2008-2009 Yearbook. Order your yearbook today!!! The cost of the yearbook is $10.00 and make payments to Lifetouch. Order deadline date is December 1, 2008. No orders will be accepted after that date. Parents just a reminder-- Prairieview yearbooks are not paid for at registration. Please place your order now. Yearbook order forms went home with your child on November 13th and there a few extra envelopes available; please try not to lose them. If your child loses it, you can send an envelope with the following information on it: student’s name, teacher’s name and grade level along with a check made payable to Lifetouch for $10.00. It is very important that you put the information on the envelope; Lifetouch does not know who your child’s teacher is. There will be a limited supply in June. Order Today!!!
“Project Crayon”-supplies for our service project are due 12/1!

Website of the week:
Book Pals Storyline
http://www.bookpals.net/storyline/

Book Orders:
Here are the book order forms for the month of November and December. You can order from as many as you wish! Have fun shopping! Thanks for your order.
The orders are due Monday, December 8th!

Make Checks payable to Scholastic Book Club or go on-line and use a credit card.
Send in your orders OR go to the Web address below and enter our class’s personalized user name and password.www.scholastic.com/parentordering
Class User Name: spakausky
Password: Books

Goody Basket-
Thanks to:
For donating to the basket this week!

Student of the Week
Elena
for the week of 12/1-12/5
Each week there will be a student picked to be student of the week. This student will bring in photos, magazine picture, or drawings/descriptions about themselves. The categories that they will cover are:
Me
My Family
Special Friends
My Favorite Foods
Where I Live
Thing I Like to Do
When I Grow Up I’d like to
My Favorite Toys
How the special week works for your child:
Monday-put pictures up
Tuesday-share your board
Wed.-Read a favorite book (practice at home first)
Thursday-Show and Tell
Friday-Take board down

Spelling
No spelling for next week.
We will do lesson 12 the week of 12/1.
***All spelling should be done in cursive. This is where the students will have time to actually practice the skills they learn in “handwriting.”

English
Chapter 3-VERBS
The chapter 3 test will be on Tuesday, November 25th!

Writing
We will do an interview activity. The week of 12/1.

Reading
Strategies covered:
-visualizing
-preview and predict
-clarify
*fact /opinion
*compare/contrast
*cause /effect
*self-questioning
We will read Grandma's Records and continue point of view!

Independent Reading Program
Folders are due Mon. 12/1.
Reading party in class- Tues., 12/2.

Science
Science inquiry skills is coming along. There will be a short quiz after each lesson.

Social Studies
Chapter 3 is coming along. We have been studying about why people move to new places, immigration, symbols and ancestors.

Math
Chapter 3 -
Multiplication packet due before Christmas break!

Chapter 5 has been started. We have focused on money.

We will start our multiplication mad minutes after break.

I will teach some skills and hints on how to figure out the answers, but the facts should be MEMORIZED at home.

The mad minute grades will work like this:
Monday-we test-if the student passes, GREAT 100%, if they don't pass, they take again on Wednesday.
Wednesday-Take the test, if they PASS they get a 90%, if they don't pass, they take again on Friday.
Friday-Take test, if they PASS they get a 80%, if they don't pass, they take again on Monday, etc.

Have a great Thanksgiving break!
Mrs. T. Spakausky

November 18-22

Dear Parents-

Book Drive ends on Friday, 11/14.
Send in books by then.
Thanks!

Website of the week:
Math website:
www.aplusmath.com

Book Orders:
Here are the book order forms for the month of November and December. You can order from as many as you wish! Have fun shopping! Thanks for your order.
The orders are due Monday, December 8th!
Make Checks payable to Scholastic Book Club or go on-line and use a credit card.
Send in your orders OR go to the Web address below and enter our class’s personalized user name and password.www.scholastic.com/parentordering
Class User Name: spakausky
Password: Books

Goody Basket-
Thanks to:
For donating to the basket this week!

Student of the Week
Lucas
Me
My Family
Special Friends
My Favorite Foods
Where I Live
Thing I Like to Do
When I Grow Up I’d like to
My Favorite Toys
How the special week works for your child:
Monday-put pictures up
Tuesday-share your board
Wed.-Read a favorite book (practice at home first)
Thursday-Show and Tell
Friday-Take board down

Spelling
Our next list is a Thanksgiving Holiday list. If your child gets 100% on their pretest, they won't have to take the test on Thursday, 11/20. EVERYONE will do the assigned work that is due on Friday, 11/21. The work can be typed or written in CURSIVE.
Thanks!
***All spelling should be done in cursive. This is where the students will have time to actually practice the skills they learn in “handwriting.”

English
Chapter 3-VERBS
The chapter 3 test will most likely be on Tuesday, November 25th!

Writing
We have started our descriptive turkey stories this week. The students have shown such excitement about this story, from the turkey's point of view.

The sloppy copies are being sent home today.

They are to be finished and returned by Th., 11/20!

PLEASE, please, PLEASE have your child follow the guidelines/checklist of items they will be graded on. They can even highlight their color words, transition words/phrases, similes. That would help them see that they have done what is required.

Thanks!

Reading
Strategies covered:
-visualizing
-preview and predict
-clarify
*fact /opinion
*compare/contrast
*cause /effect

*self-questioning

The next reading strategy we will discuss is called self-questioning and monitoring of reading. We will start with the question of who's point of view is the story written in and how does their opinion effect how the story is written.

We will accomplish this strategy by reading a great story by Patricia Polacco, called

The Keeping Quilt. If you or anyone you know is a quilter, please contact me, so you can come and talk to our class about this special talent!

Thanks!

Independent Reading Program
Folders are due Mon. 12/1.
Reading party in class- Tues., 12/2.

Science
We will start our first lesson in our other science book. This is about science inquiry tools and skills.

Social Studies-Local Government
The test on Chapter 12 (Local Government) will be on:
Friday, 11/14!

Next, we will begin chapter 3 on immigration!

Math
Chapter 3 -
Multiplication packet due before Christmas break!
Chapter 4- “Subtraction.”
The test on Chapter 3 was today, 11/13!
Next, we will focus on money and time!

Have an AWESOME weekend!

Mrs. T. Spakausky

NOVEMBER 10-14-SPAKAUSKY'S SCOOP

Cleaning and organizing desks, binders and drawers!!!

No School-Tuesday, Nov.11th-Veteran's Day

Website of the week:
FunBrain is the #1 sites for online educational games for kids of all ages. (math , grammar, science, spell, history)
www.funbrain.com

Goody Basket-
Thanks to:
For donating to the basket this week!

Student of the Week
Allie
Me
My Family
Special Friends
My Favorite Foods
Where I Live
Thing I Like to Do
When I Grow Up I’d like to
My Favorite Toys
How the special week works for your child:
Monday-put pictures up
Tuesday-share your board
Wed.-Read a favorite book (practice at home first)
Thursday-Show and Tell
Friday-Take board down

Spelling
Lesson 11 is next.
All spelling should be done in cursive. This is where the students will have time to actually practice the skills they learn in “handwriting.”

English
Chapter 3-VERBS
We have studied:
*what verbs are
*verbs in the present

Writing
We worked on descriptive writing again this week.
We took a “fall walk” and wrote about what we saw, smelled, touched, “tasted,” and heard.
Next, we will use descriptive writing in our turkey stories.

Reading
Strategies covered:
-visualizing
-preview and predict
-clarify
*fact /opinion
*compare/contrast
*cause /effect

We will be learning about self-questioning, next.

Independent Reading Program
Folders are due Mon. 12/1.
Reading party in class- Tues., 12/2.
Read-Read-Read
Congrats to the following people who joined us for our reading party for the month of October:
-Adam -Lucas
-Kailee -Eve
-Natalie -Emily
-Jennifer -Eric
-Max -Ethan
-Allison -Marc
-Alec -Chantalle
-Elena -Stephen
-Ross

Science
We will start our first lesson in our other science book. This is about science inquiry tools and skills.

Social Studies-Local Government
We have started Chapter 12 on Local Government.
We have studied about:
-Lesson 1-Community Services
-Lesson 2-Community Leaders
-Lesson 3-People change communities

The test will be on:
Wednesday, November 12th

Math
Chapter 3 -
Chapter 4- “Subtraction.”
We have studied:
-fact families
-estimating differences
-2 digit subtraction
-3 digit subtraction
-subtract bigger numbers
-problem solve:estimate or exact answers
-subtract across zeros
-problem solve-choose an operation

The test on Chapter 3 will be on Thursday, November 13th!

Have a GREAT weekend!
Mrs. T. Spakausky