Happy 100th Day of School!

You are all officially 100 days smarter!!! Everyone looked so adorable today, I was so pleased with how great our class participation was with dressing up like an old person. I loved the gray hair, bow ties, suspenders, facial drawings, granny buns and even the canes and walker!!! We started the day off making crowns, then doing some math. We wrote about what it would be like to be 100, did an art project where we created a self portrait of our future old self, made necklaces out of cereal counting by 10's, and much more!

News Updates :)

As many of you know, this has been a very exciting year and in all humbleness, I wanted to update you on a few things.

1 Mini-grant Recipient- Earlier in the year, I applied for a mini-grant through the Rotary Club of Orange. I found out last month that my essay/project had been chosen, and was given the funds needed to purchase an incubator and materials needed to teach the life cycle of a chicken-from egg to baby chick. I received the phone call during class and did a happy dance at the super news and told the kiddos what we had won! I plan to teach the farm unit during Spring and that's when we will begin learning about the life cycle of a chicken. My goal is that by Open House, we will have cute fluffy chicks to show off for all the families to see!

2) iTeach- I was chosen as 1 of 3 teachers at our school to be the "iTeach" teacher. This is a program that allows me 10 iPads for classroom use with a technology support coach that will visit my class each week. The bonus is that the ipads will stay with me as long as I am a teacher in OUSD!!! With the support and guidance from my coach, I will rethink my pedagogy and how technology can play a more meaningful and impacting role in my students education. I am beyond excited for all the neat things that I will be learning and introducing to the kiddos.

3) Teacher of the Year- I was voted by our staff as "Teacher of the Year" this year. I feel very honored and humbled at this award and am very grateful to my students who have helped make this possible. This is such a sweet group of kiddos and they have been so awesome that because of them, I could put more on plate this year. I am not really sure what made me stand out, but I am very appreciative of the recognition. I feel beyond blessed to be a teacher at Chapman Hills Elementary, so thank you for all your love and support.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Thank you to all my lovely parents who donated items for our activities and/or came in and volunteered. I appreciate your help more than you know. The kiddos seemed to have a super day and a lot of fun! Lots of love from me to you all!!!

Chinese New Year

This week in class we have been learning about Chinese New Year. We have read books, wrote about the holiday and how it is celebrated, created a book, made a dragon and also designed a hanging lantern! Enjoy the pictures of our work and be sure to ask us about what we have learned so far!

"Buddies"

Our big buddies are back from the mountains and met with us to share their adventures. We wrote them letters before they left so they would get "mail" when they were away from home. When they got back, they wrote us letters telling us all about their trip. We also used ipad and laptops to look at pictures from Outdoor Ed!

Art Masters: Jacob Lawrence

A special thank you for Mrs. Good and Ms. Melissa for guiding the kiddos on this exciting project, they all look awesome!!!

Dental Awareness Month!

The students have learned all about their teeth and how to take care of them. Ask them some information about how many teeth they have, the different types of teeth we have, what teeth do, and how to best take care of them!

What's Happening in February?

This month is filled with exciting activities! Yesterday, we celebrated Groundhog Day, I hope they came home and shared some information about that...if not be sure to ask them! Today, we are celebrating national "Dental" awareness month and how to take care of our teeth. Next week, we have the start of Chinese New Year and our Valentine's Day themed centers and party! We also will be celebrating "Black History" month as well as learning about our Presidents, primarily George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We also have our 100th day of school quickly approaching, more info will be sent home about that next week! Finally, we start our KROC P.E. practices next week, so remember to wear exercise clothes/shoes on Tuesday's. If you have any questions or concerns about things, please let me know! Here are a few pictures to enjoy from our first few activities...

Hello Families!

I thought I would upload the flyer I sent home last week about the Community Science Night. The kiddos keep coming back with mixed messages from parents, so I thought I would help explain if there was any confusion regarding this event. First off, this is a Orange Unified School Event. Classes who have teachers volunteer at the event are invited to participate in the event. I am volunteering, I think at the snail races activity, and so I get to invite my class to come! There is no charge, but we did need you to sign the bottom and return it in order to receive your official ticket into the event. It will be an evening of "STEAM" meaning; science, technology, engineering, art, and math where kids can have hands-on interactions with many different engaging and exciting events. It is Friday, March 18 6-8:30 at Santiago Canyon College, but just another reminder, you have to sign/return the bottom portion of the sheet in order to get the ticket. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.