Happy Halloween!

End of Term

Wow!  Term one has ended and we are in Term Two beginning today. I hope this term will be even more productive than the last.  Time is passing so quickly!

Zach's Lie

I am reading "Zach's Lie" by Roland Smith to my students now.  This is one of my favorite stories.

Jack Osborne was a pretty average kid - was, that is, until the night masked men break into his house, threaten his family, and ransack their home. Why? As it turns out, the small airline that Jack's dad owns is actually a front for illegal drug trafficking. Now Jack's dad has been arrested, and his "business associates" want to make sure he doesn't talk. The only way to safety for Jack, his mother, and his sister is the Witness Security Program, which means that Jack Osborne from Texas will now be Zach Granger from Nevada - and no one can ever know the truth about their real identities and former lives. In Elko, Nevada, Zach starts middle school where he meets Sam, a custodian with secrets of his own, and Caitlin, a girl who might make Zach's new life worth the trouble. But just as Zach finally begins to put the pieces of his life back together, he finds himself in danger - and what he does now could mean life or death for everyone he cares about most.

Marven of the Great Woods

This next week we are reading “Marven of the Great North Woods” by Kathryn Lasky.  We will focus on these vocabulary words in this story.  It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. 

Vocabulary Word	Meaning
cord	measure of quantity for cut wood
dismay	sudden helpless fear of what is about to happen or what has happened
grizzly	a large, gray or brownish bear of western North America
immense	very large; huge; vast
payroll	list of persons to be paid and the amount that each one is to receive

Spelling Words: Thanksgiving, among, think, blank, graph, young, wheel, nephew, belong, whiskers, whispers, elephant, white, shrink, wharf, trunk, strong, blink, chunk, skunk

Cold Weather

As you know, winter is arriving! Please help your child to remember to dress appropriately for the weather.  Coats, hats, shoes, mittens or gloves help keep the children warm as they play!

Helpful Items and Thanks

Most of the students have used up all of their glue sticks.  If you can, send a new one to school with your child.

Thanks again for the tissues, Lysol & Clorox wipes, and the hand sanitizer that was donated to our class.  We use them every day!


We could use more tissues and wipes if you feel so inclined to help us out.  Now that winter is arriving, we use them more often.


We have enough hand sanitizer, I think, to last the school year!

Corn Maze Trip

Thanks to Basin Irrigation, our class was able to go on a field trip to the Bluebell Corn Maze!


The first thing that we were able to do was to go to the pumpkin patch and pick out a little pumpkin!  Then we rode the wagon back to the farm.

 We went to the outdoor classroom where we learned about the water cycle!  We had the greatest chaperones come with us. Thanks so much!

Finally,  we were able to go through the Maze itself.  That was so much fun!

One of our favorite parts was to play when we made it through the maze!

Parent Teacher Conferences

It was good to meet with almost all of you for parent/teacher conferences last week.   I have started the one on one interviews with each of the students to set their goals.  We are having a difficult time making through very many students a day.


Don't forget to send back your goal commitment page as soon as possible!

Grace and the Time Machine

This next week we will be reading “Grace and the Time Machine” from Starring Grace by Mary Hoffman adapted for story theater by Donald Abramson. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these vocabulary words at home with your child.  

Vocabulary Word	Meaning
aboard	on board; in or on a ship, train, bus, airplane, etc.
atlas	book of maps
awkward	not graceful or skillful in movement or shape; not easily managed
capable	having fitness, power or ability; able, efficient; competent
chant	to call over and over again
mechanical	like a machine; automatic; without expression
miracle	a wonderful happening that is contrary to, or independent of, the known laws of nature
reseats	sits again
vehicle	device for carrying people or things, such as a car, bus, airplane, etc.

Please practice these spelling words this week. (On spellingcity, they are listed under the story named Coyote School News)

Spelling Words: videos, teeth, potatoes, themselves, lives, leaves, cliffs, roofs, halves, moose, radios, sheep, cuffs, beliefs, patios, banjos, tornadoes, tomatoes, hoofs, loaves

The Last of the Reports

Candy Shop Wars

Wild, Wild West

Diary of a Whimp Kid:  Rodrick Rules

FableHaven