Scrooge

I want to thank Mr. Evans, our theatre arts teacher,for letting our 2nd grade class preview the production of Scrooge, Monday afternoon. It was an absolute wonderful production...

Winter Break EOY Party

Parents and Followers of our Blog:

This Thursday is our celebration of the beginning of our Winter Break.
Our celebration will start at 1:30pm and end at 2:30
Our class president who promised Pizza if she was elected (Is that legal?...lol) will be providing that part of our treats. I am purchasing two gallons of Hawaiian Punch sugar free.
Parents, if you would like to donate treats for 22 great kids that would be very welcomed.

Treats can be anything from candy to chips and dips....If you want to donate your time to help that would greatly appreciated also.

Parents, let me take the time to thank you for your support this 2010, this year has been very successful thanks to you.

EOY end of year...

spelling list for Dec 13

1. cannot
2. pancake
3. maybe
4. baseball
5. playground
6. someone
7. myself
8. classroom
9. sunshine
10. outside
11. upon
12. nothing

http://www.spellingcity.com

Parents and followers of our Blog:

I found a better program than Study Stack for our spelling words. (stack is really for highschool and college)

Spelling City is easy and a lot of fun. It has a lot of functions

Password: Missiona

http://www.spellingcity.com

Urban 15 Light Show Review

Absolutely Awesome...ask your child about the show....

Christmas Laser Show by Urban 15 Field Trip

Parents:

This came to me at the very last minute. None the less Mrs. Garza selected our class to represent Mission Academy at the spectacular Christmas Laser Show created by Urban 15. Ms. Garza selected our class because of the great behavior usually displayed by your students...
...So please sign and return the permission slip by tomorrow (December 9)
We will leave at 9:45 and return by 11:45

Thanks
Mr. F

The Heat, Snow Miser Can Drive

Parents,
Our class is having a mini food drive.
We have placed pictures of Snow Miser and Heat Miser on opposite sides of the hall. If you want to place a minion on the wall, bring a can and our class will give you one to decorate and place on the side of your choice.

PTA Events

PTA After School Concessions Sales
Every Tuesday and Thursday (full weeks only, 5 days)

Dates of Sales:
Dec 7, 9, 14, 16
Jan 4, 6, 11, 13, 25, 27
Feb 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 17, 22, 25

Family Movie Night (Free admission, all children must be accompanied by an adult to attend. Every Friday, 7:00 p.m. in the cafetorium.
Look for posters and notices sent home on Monday before for the feature of the week.

PTA Regular Meeting Times
Meetings are the first Thursday of each month.

President: Marcos Castillo; macastillo@satx.rr.com or mcastillo@saisd.net
1st VP Paul Gonzales;
2nd VP (fund raising-pending);
Treasurer: Sally Contreras;
Secretary: Sarah Gonzales;
Historian: Naomi Alvarado;
Parliamentarian: Bobby Rios

Lesson 14 Spelling words

Long O (o, oa, ow)

Note: all words with -ow are at the end of the word...except for own.
The -oa and the -o words must be memorized.


own loan
most goat
soap flow
float loaf
both throw
know coach

Review words
so grow

Challenge words
swallow
ocean

Mental Math

Unit 6 is a unit on adding by teaching students to add double digits by using some different techniques (the math text calls it mental math)

for example: 34 + 20 =
step one add only the tens:
30 + 20 = 50 (correct now...:)
step two now add the ones
50 + 4 = 54

Eventually I will show student how to add using regrouping (carrying).
but mental math can help students get a very close estimate of the correct answer...

Poetry

This week our language lesson will include poem writing.
By Friday your child will recite an original poem that he
or she has composed...should be fun....

Thanksgiving Vacation

Parents and followers of our blog,

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate with family, friends and relations.
Thansgiving is more than just food and football, it is a time to give thanks for all that we have.

I will post spelling words next Friday...Happy Thanksgiving....

Parents: A Big Thank You

Parents and followers of our blog:

Thank You from the bottom of my heart and the 22 other little hearts in my class for our very successful re-creation of the First Thanksgiving! I doubt that the Pilgrims really ate as well as we did...Thank You for the donations, help and support you gave our 2nd grade team and especially your children...we did place mats but instead of using them I elected to send them home...I couldn't bear to see them get stained...the kids really worked hard on them...the napkin rings are a nice addition to your child's own Thanksgiving dinner..Again parents thank you..

FFierros

Thanksgiving Celebration udate

Parents
So far we have:
1. 2 cooked turkeys
2. paper plates
3. forks
4. 2 gallons of hawaian punch
5. cups
6.green beans


We still need
sides:
mashed potatoes
stuffing
gravy
any other sides
pies
napkins
Volunteers
Time: Wednesday, 1:00 prepare, 1:30 serve in cafetorium
Parents thank you for making your child's year a resounding success.
Mr. Fierros

Lesson 12 spelling words

First Thanksgiving Celebration

Parents and Followers of our 2nd Grade Blog:

On Wednesday, November 17th the second grade will be having a Thanksgiving feast with Turkey, dressing and all the trimmings. This will be the culminating activity for Social Studies on the "first Thanlsgiving."
We will need the following things donated to make this a successful feast.

Dressing
Mashed Potatoes (ready to serve)
Yams
Gravy ( ready to serve)
Green Beans
Cranberry Sauce
Rolls (ready to serve)
Pies: Apple
Pumpkin
Whip Cream

Paper plates
forks
spoons
napkins
(please account for our 22 children that will be participating only, since the other classes are doing the same.)

We would like everything ready by 1:30 p.m. with volunteers and donations arriving before that time.

Parents: You have been wonderful and if possible join us!
Thank You

Mr. Fierros

Turkey: The Who? Me? Project

Today your student received a picture of a turkey along with instructions.
In a nutshell: Disguise the turkey so he won't be eaten this Thanksgiving!
I will put the disguised turkey on the hallway bulletin board for everyone to see

Veteran's Day Ceremony/Thanksgiving Volunteers

Veteran's Day

Our 2nd graders will be performing a short piece: I'm Proud to be an American, for Veteran's Day
Please let anyone who is a veteran to come by and enjoy their day with our children. Make sure your child is wearing their uniform on that day.

Thanksgiving Volunteers

If any parent is interested in volunteering to bring a covered side, dessert, decoration, or paper goods (plates, plastic forks, cups) please contact Mr. Fierros or any of the 2nd grade teachers. We also need volunteers to help setup, serve and clean up after our celebration.

when? Wednesday 17

where? Art room

Time 1:30 p.m.

Thank you parents

Spelling Words Unit 11

Spelling Words Unit 11
 hens grapes

 eggs  ducks
 bikes  boxes
 wishes  dresses
 names bells
 stamps dishes

Vocabulary Words:  (must be able to read and understand definitions) Find definitions at beginning of the story.I will create a study stack with words.
 understand

 gathered
 impatient
 impossible
 believe
 problem
 demand
 furious

Unit 19 Time:

Parents and followers of the Mr. Fierros 2nd Grade Class.
Unit 19 did not live up to our expectation of results, partly the short week, partly the test, and my own reason, the anachronism of time telling.
1. Short weeks really put a bind on lessons in math and reading.
2. The pacing requirement that our district has coupled with skipping over 15 chapters of math development really hurt our kids. ( The two step problems really stumped our kids including double digit subtraction)
3. Several questions particularly no. 4 and no. 8 really are tough.
    eg. no 4:  What time is shown on the clock?    (they show a digital clock)  4:45
           a.    half past 4
           b.   quarter past 5
           c.   quarter past 4
           d.   quarter to 5

First, I would have used an analog clock, so you can see the hands and positions.
Two, (personal opinion) We rarely use these terms anymore.  With the digital clock and watches being so common I honestly don't see how most folks even use these terms unless you are as old as I am...

I sending home the test. I am debating whether on how to curve this test.   If I do curve what I'll do is post the original grade, then post the curved grade, the average of the two should compensate quite nicely.
Please note I am taking homework in consideration and that should also maintain your child's grades.

Social Studies Election Project

In Social Studies we skipped over several chapters to cover  current events: the election.
We will have an election in our classroom with ballots, poster, and campaign speeches.

Students will create an election poster and post them around the classroom. (see below)
Then we will have a primary election. The first four top vote getters will campaign till next Tuesday, November 9th.
On that day we will have our election.  

Study Stack

Study Stack

Make a note of this website:  http://www.studystack.com/

This website will help your child learn vocabulary and spelling in reading then we will expand to the other subjects.
I will create the stacks for your child to practice on.
username: Mission
password: academy
Try this site and tell me what you think....

Spelling Word for the Week of Nov 1

 I’m


 don’t

 isn’t

 can’t

 we’ll

 it’s

 I’ve

 didn’t

 you’re

 that’s

 wasn’t

 you’ve

More on Red Ribbon Week

Wednesday is crazy sock day, Thursday is sunglasses and Friday is costume day ...

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week is our schools statement in saying NO to Drugs....
We celebrate this week by showing our support by wearing red on Tuesday,

October 25th Spelling Words

October 25th is a school holiday.

 liked   using

 riding   chased

 spilled   making

 closed   hoping

 baked   hiding

 standing   asked

List shorter due to four day week...

The Social Studies Project/

The Social Studies Projects was a great success!

I am going to post some of the projects on the blog (if I can figure out how)

They are absolutely wonderful, thank you parents students for a job well done!

Different note, any student that is late turning in their project, I will be deducting 5 points a day up to 20. (extra credit facts should make up for this).  Extenuating circumstance please call or come by.

Halloween Parade

Halloween Parade:

Friday, October 29,2010

Mission Academy Front Parking lot

1:15 p.m.

Parade begins from the football field then around the school. 

"Trunk R Treat" will take place in front of the school. 

The parade will go by the parked cars/ trunks open and the children can get their candy. 

Parents who are going to participate in this event are encouraged to dress up for Halloween.

Parents we are also collecting candies for this event. 

The Classroom with the most candy collected will win a Pizza party.

The Candy will be weighed to determine the winner.....

Please parents, costumes should not be too scary, I am concerned for the PK, K, 1st and sensitive children. No fake blood, painted faces etc. 

The school is requesting that if parents have any extra Halloween decorations to loan (labeled), please bring them to the office and they will be used in front of the school...Pumpkins are donations are also welcomed.

Spelling words for October 17

 dish
 than
 chest
 such
 thin
 push
 shine(s)  know both shine and shines
 chase
 white
 while
 these
 flash
review words:
which
then
Challenge (extra credit words)
catch
thumb

"Trunk or Treat"

October 29 is the day our class along with the school are going to have our annual Fall Fest parade.

 Parents are invited to park in parking lot, open their car trunks, dress up in their favorite costume and pass candy out. Estimated time for the parade is 1:30 p.m but I would get their early to get a good parking spot (shade).

I am seriously considering firing up my coleman on that day cooking hot dogs for our class. What do you think?

Helpful Sites for Social Studies Project

I went on Google and found these great sites.  
The first is the most helpful but the others have some great info and pictures.
http://www.kidzone.ws/geography/usa/


http://www.squidoo.com/50statesnotebook

http://www.coloringcastle.com/state_coloring_pages.html

Spelling Words for Week of October 12

Double Consonants and -ck

dress     stuck   
spell       kick
class      rock
full         black
add       trick
neck 

Review words
will        off

Challenge Words
across    pocket

I am going to try to post spelling words for the next week from now on.  Some parents have requested that I post the words early and I think it is a good idea.  Next will be a short week so I figured that our kids should not be at a disadvantage because of it.

Last Minute Extras

1. Regular PTA Meeting Thursday, Oct. 7th at 5:30pm
2. Afterschool Sale!! Thursday, Oct 7th!!
3. October 11th and 25th - Student Holidays
4. Check for fundraiser and PTA membership in Homework folder....

** Veterans Day Rememberance and Patrol Ceremony**

** Veterans Day Rememberance and Patrol Ceremony**

Veterans and active personel, Mission Academy is having a Rememberance Day, Mr. Paul Gonzales is creating a slide show presentation that will presented at the ceremony....
Send in your veterans picture to Mr. Gonzales or email picture to pgonzales3@saisd.net
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Your picture will be scanned and return to you. Your veteran photo will be shown on a special video on November 11, 2010 at 8:30am

Social Studies Project

Social Studies Project

Students will be doing their first project for social studies and it will be due next Monday, October 18

Students will select a state (not Texas) from the other 49 states.

On a poster board the students will research, the following items:

1.State Bird : Name, drawing or cut and past.

2.State flower:Name, drawing or cut and past.

3.State flag: Name, drawing or cut and past.

4.Draw outline of state with a star denoting state capitol.

See text book pg 30 (social studies) for idea how it should look.

5.extra credit: Create an original poem about the your selected state.

or give several facts about the state.

This can be done on poster board. I do have extra boards if your child needs one.



Oops Printing Format Incorrect

Parents I am so sorry about the Assignment Sheet for this week.  I changed the format on the printer settings and forgot to change them back, so consequently the spelling words were cut off. We will do the 5 x each after the math test.  I will print out the homework sheet again and add some more information at the bottom and back of assignment sheet...
Thank You Again
Mr. F

Updates for October

PTA Membership Drive

     Mission Academy PTA will be having a contest for the class that get 100% membership in joining PTA.
The reward for this is a Pizza party, soda, movie and an ice cream float...(I can't eat any of that but the kids sure can!)  Please anyone can join and be counted as  family, try aunts, uncles, grandparents, godparents,etc...and naturally parents.

After School Sale

     October 5 and 7

The PTA will set up by the library and selling:

Hot Dogs

Pickles

Nachos

Chips

Candy

Soda

Price: Candy 50c and everything else $1.00

 School Picture Proofs



The proofs have arrived and will go home Tuesday after school...

Social Studies Project

Students will be doing their first project for social studies and it will be due next Monday, October 18

Students will select a state (not Texas) from the other 49 states.

On a poster board the students will research, the following items:

1.State Bird :  Name, drawing or cut and past.

2.State flower:Name, drawing or cut and past.

3.State flag: Name, drawing or cut and past.

4.Draw outline of state with a star denoting state capitol.

See text book pg 30 (social studies) for idea how it should look.

5.extra credit: Create an original poem about the your selected state.

or give several facts about the state.

This can be done on poster board. I do have extra boards if your child needs one.



vowel sounds, consonant sounds and reading fluency....

I finished grading last weeks reading and grammar test.  Overall, the students seem to be having problems recognizing sounds. For example, here is a sample of one of the test questions asked:

Select the word that has the same vowel sound as in blue.
 a. glue
 b. blunt
 c. bug

The long U sound  that sounds like blue is A.glue

Next, the g sound has two possible sounds the hard G sound like great, and the j sound like judge.
Select the work that has the same g sound as good
a.  adjust
b. great
c. badger

the answer is b...lots of our kids our having a hard time distinguishing the two sounds of g....

This coupled with the fact that I am showing the test on the screen and reading each question and answers...

Eventually students are going to be reading and answering their own questions by December...

Please look over your child's test and see if your student is having difficulty over these words.
My suggestion is to go over the words and sounds, in the meantime, I will be looking for some websites to assist your child over these issues.

Continue reading with your children, have them read to you daily at least 20 minutes a day.
It is alright to read some stories over and over. Reading familiar stories develops fluency and will carry over to other stories...

Some test now on Thursdays

Because of  the amount of test given on Friday, I am moving some test to Thursdays.
Language and Spelling will be moved to Thursday.
Math, reading comprehension, vocabulary will be given on Fridays. I will always have a math test on Fridays and a test as the unit ends. 

PTA Meeting

Mission Academy will be having its first PTA meeting.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
5:30-6:30 pm in the school library

Membership fee is $10 per person

Agenda:  PTA election of officers, background checks for volunteers and future events...


=====Refreshments and door prizes ========

A Bit of Old School Math

Parents and Followers of this blog,
  The new math diagnostic test (mclass) showed an immediate weakness in our kids math background...We need to practice basic facts....I've started practicing the students on "doubles" and "tens".  You can help me by practicing your child on these same facts at home...(I know it sounds like real old school, but our math curriculum has been focused on getting the kids to practice reading word problems while neglecting the old fashion math facts.)   
  tens                                                         
10 plus 0 = 10
10 plus 1= 11
10 plus  2= 12
10 plus  3 = 13
all the way to 10+10=20

doubles

0+0=0
1+1=2
2+2=4
3+3=6
all the way to
12 +12 =24
Please make this fun for the kids, maybe make a song out of the facts....

also the kids are learning about "near doubles"

double                   near doubles

4+4 = 8                   4 + 5 = 9

5+5= 10                   5 + 6 = 11

Free Dress Day and Progress Reports

Free dress day for Mr. Fierros class has moved to Tuesday.  Mr Flores our vice principal was supposed to drop off the free dress wrist bands and because we were testing he said he would come back. Unfortunately he was detained and we did not get our wrist bands....However, Mr. Flores came by on Monday morning and explained to our class that we can get our "Free Dress Day" on Tuesday...

I really like to print my own progress reports, It's more thorough and you can see the assignments, grades and averages of each....You can also see that not everything is inputted such as some homework, or daily assignments.  If I did input everything I literally would get swamped with too much grading...I try to select those assignments, classwork and test that best represents the work done in class.
Important note is I always input test grades.

Saturday Weather Post

Raining, cloudy at 3:oo pm Satuday.  If the weather was different in your location, make a note of it and tell your child to mark his weather observation chart, on Monday....

TPRI test, M-Class math test,homework folders and Weather...

Parents,

     Hectic week!   The new TPRI test has been taking an extraordinary amount of time to administer, so much so that the district extended the time to give the test for another week....I honestly wish they would have figured this out sooner.
     Apologies: I was not able to cover some of the homework assignments in class, in particular the statement, question and adjective handouts... I did not test the children over these concepts but I did test them today on Spelling, Hard C and Soft C sounds, Long a and Long i sounds and comprehension ( Henry and Mudge 2nd story). The Math quiz only covered 2-1 thru 2-4 and that was also given today . My apologies for the sentences and I am going to count what the children did for homework as extra-credit.
      M-class Math testing will be next week but it will not be so time consuming as the TPRI. It will throw my math homework schedule and my pacing a bit off  and there is a possibility of a delayed Unit 2 test. 
( I really like to give my end of unit test on Fridays)
     M-Class Math test?  It's new this year!  It is a very thorough assessment of your child's mathematical abilities. The M-CM will cover: Computation, Concepts, Missing Number, Number Facts, and Quantity Discrimination. It is given whole class (TPRI is given individually) and should be less time consuming. (hope)
     Science: The class has been studying gases (atmosphere) and weather. You may have noticed a weather chart, it's to keep track of the weather till about the end of the month. Since I kept the homework folders to grade over the weekend your child will not be able to chart the weather on Saturday and Sunday. That's OK! We'll keep track of it and post on the blog (if different go ahead and tell your child to mark it differently on Monday when they get back their homework folder ..

Why all this testing?  The testing gives a good educational profile of your child. It allows me to tailor a curriculum to your child's strengths and weaknesses, since next year is a TAKS grade (3) this will assist me in getting your child ready for the state mandated test.

Up Coming Events

23  Sept     Community Health and Information Fair
                  Important info on Diabetes,Habitat for Humanity, Via Bus, United Way, Kool Smiles...
also bring a can food item for the Food Bank

11  Oct Christopher Columbus Day / Student Holiday
25  Oct  Student Holiday
11 November   Veteran's Day Memorial  see blog for further details later

TPRI test and Snacks

The Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) is updated this year. The TPRI is more thorough than the prior year but it is also more time consuming.  I am able to test about 6 students a day, and I will be done by Friday PM.  This has put a bit of constraint on my being able to check homework parents so I will check on Friday and hope to have the results for the weekend.

Snacks,  because we eat at 11:15 am our kids are hungry by 1:30pm.  I have bought animal crackers from Costco however, I have students have the option of bringing snacks from home.  Parents, please pack snacks such as a few cookies, fruit or chips. If you would like to donate snacks for our kids who don't bring any, animal crackers would be greatly appreciated.

Picture Day!!!

Parents,

We have Picture Day on September 17th.  Sam's Studio will be taking the photographs of your child.
Hints:  It is a free dress day,  but uniforms are fine also. (note school dress policy is still in place eg. shirt tails)
Proofs should be delivered 7 - 10 days after pictures are taken.

 Thank You
Mr. F

Homework

Parents,
Have you noticed that there is more homework?  I have included a 2 page handout (both sides) with worksheets for our kids to do...
I have noticed a need to emphasize some  on vowels and the recognition of their sounds for example:

short i      kit

which sound makes the same sound as the vowel i?

kat     bit   

most of our kids picked kat .

I can only guess that our kids were going by the "k-t" spelling and ignoring the vowel sound...
You can expect some extra work to remedy this....

Is Practicing Reading Important?

Parents and Visitors to my Blog:
Is reading important?  A resounding yes!  Reading is a fundemental  building block that measures how well your child will do in school, exams and to be able to succeed in the future.
 
This week I will be testing our students on the TPRI test. This test measures our children's fluency, graphophonemic  ability and comprehension.

Fluency is how well paced a child can read: ( I hesitate to call it a speed test) but this year our students by the end of the year must read at least 90 words per minute (wpm).

Graphophonemic ability is how well your child can spell words by remembering sound, inititial and ending blends. Like a spelling test, "Grapho" is given to your child but words chosen  are similar to what your child is learning in school...In other words: Your child has to be able to figure out how to spell words he may not have even seen.before, but, should be able to spell if he knows his/her basic rules....

Comprehension is what a child understands of a reading selection after he or she reads it.  A few questions about the reading selection can quickly ascertain whether your child understands what they are reading about or not..

Look for further blogs on how to help your child improve on Fluency, Grapho and Comprehension....



 

Grandparents Day Update

Grandparent's Day Celebration is tomorrow.
When: Friday, September 10
Where:  Cafeteria
Time: 8:30 till 9:45 (student performance begin at 9:00)

Tacos, coffee, juice will be available for our grandparents but if you want to contribute? Drop your donations by the office in the morning..

Other events: Sept 17 student picture day
Sept 23 community health and info fair ( bring a can food item for the Food Bank)
October 11 Christopher Columbus day / students day off
October 25 Student Holiday
Nov 11 Veterans Day....More info soon!!!
  However if you have know a veteran and have photos that you wish to add to a slide show that will be presented on this day please see Mr. Gonzales in the Computer Lab....

Grandparents Day

Grandparents Day on Friday....I sent details home today...wish I kept a handout for myself so I could post exact times... I should have those details tomorrow....

We are practicing 3 songs for the 2nd grade to perform.... I am sure grandparents will enjoy our songs...

Thursday, Aug 12

Today, I wondered why we don't have "Kindle" for each child.  Kindle is a tool that looks like an I Pad but primarily just a reader.  We could have had all our text books on that machine and saved umptenth thousands and the weight of a childs backpack from carrying heavy books then would be neglible...Heck the price on not printing one set of a childs books would probably have paid for a full price Kindle....just an opinion....

August 11, 2010

Meet the teacher night is Thursday, August 19.  By now you will probably have the address to this site and you can keep track of your student assignments and what is happening in Mr. Fierros class and the other 2nd grade rooms...

August 10 Classroom Preparation

Mr. Fierros arrived in the morning and  helped out at registration today. It seems that Mission Academy will have lots of new faces this year to go with our wonderful students from last year.
In the afternoon Mr. F worked in his room and plans to help out with the registration time till 5:00 pm

Monday, August 9

On this day I searched the internet extensively to find some way Mission Ac. could come up with the couple of points to make this school exemplary.  I met Alexandro Flores who is our new vice-principal, if you have the chance go by and introduce yourself to him.  I am currently working on check list for student procedures. Here is a sample of one of the list. classroom rules tour of school breakfast and where to wait for teacher walking in the hall back pack tree cubby rules pencil rules lunch rules label and put up supplies Stegasaurus practice ( how to put up classroom at end of the day) line up practice label journals book issue list pickup up list ( bus riders, walking home, car riders ) younger/older siblings