It's hard to believe that Christmas Break is only two weeks away!  Where has the time gone?  We are going to be very busy the next few weeks. 

Math: 

This week in math we will begin to work on counting money.  The students will look at collections of coins and bills to determine the value of the collection.

Terms to Know:

quarter, dime, nickel, half dollar, dollar, equivalent, value, collection   

 

Christmas Around the World:  

  The students were so excited last week as we had a Gingerbread Challenge.  We had to build a raft that would float our gingerbread man across the river without getting wet.  I am excited to say that everyone was successful and all the gingerbread men survived!  This week, we will have another Challenge on Friday.  We will see who can build the tallest Christmas Tree.  Check back for the exciting pictures.   

I will be sending home a sign up sheet for our Christmas Party.  The party will begin at 9:30 this year.  Thank you so much for all you do to help us out. 

Please take a moment to look at our upcoming dates.  We have so many opportunities here at Oakland.  We don't want anyone to miss out. 

December 16: PTA/4^th grade
                     Program at 6:30 pm

December 18: Spirit Night at
                           Chick-fil-A

December 19: Half Day of School
             Christmas party 9:30-10:15

December 22-Jan.2:  Christmas
                                         Break

January 5: Students return to OES

January 13: Science Fun Night
                            at 6:30pm

  January 20:  Report Cards

LAST WEEK WAS AMAZING!  Our week was so full of fun and interesting things to do and see.  On Monday, the Boiling Springs Bulldog football players came to talk with us about staying drug free.  Everyone was so excited to see them.  Thanks guys for coming to see us.

 

On Tuesday we had Awards Day! Congratulations to everyone for doing a great job during the first 9 weeks. 

 

On Wednesday, we had our field trip to the zoo.  We saw many amazing animals..  Thank you so much to Mr. Templeton, Mrs. Hefner, Mr. and Mrs. Lytle, and Ms. Howell for being our chaperones.  Please check back later in the week for some amazing photos of the animals we saw. 

 

On Thursday, the Spartanburg Humane Society came to talk with us about the needs of the animals at the shelter.  We are currently collecting the following items:

 

dog and cat food

metal bowls for food and water

old towels

toys for cats and dogs

empty paper towel and toilet paper tubes

treats for all animals

dog shampoo

monetary donations

 

• Everyone was so excited to see Bristol.. She made our day. 

 

Friday was the most exciting day of all.  Not only was it HALLOWEEN, but it was also our CAREER DAY.  We saw a lawyer, a graphic designer, and some police dogs.  Everyone had a great time and I'm sure you will agree that it was a fantastic day!

 

 

This week we look forward to a 4 day week.. Don't forget to vote on Tuesday.  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, our second grader w will complete their ITBS testing, so make sure to get a good night's rest and eat a great breakfast. 

 

 

 

Wow!  We have so many wonderful opportunities coming up in the next few weeks.  Please take a moment to look over the dates below.

 

  I look forward to seeing all of you at Parent Conferences this week.. 

Don't forget about the wonderful Fall Festival on Thursday.  The Silent Auction has some great baskets to bid on. 

 

There is no school on Friday, so sleep in and I'll see you all on Monday. 

 

Important Dates to Remember

 

October 21:  Fall Make-Up Pictures

October 21 & 23: Report Cards/Parent          

                              Conferences 3-6 P.M.

October 23:  Fall Festival

 October 24:  Teacher Work Day

October 27-31: Red Ribbon Week

October 28:  1^st Nine Weeks Awards

9:30 A.M. ( note the date change)

October 29:   Zoo Fieldtrip

October 31: Career Day

November 4:  Election Day

                         /No School

Last week was full of excitement!  The Spartanburg Watershed came for a visit with their spotted salamander.  We were able to see and feel a real ostrich egg!  We also saw the skull of a black bear and his claws.  Check out the pictures below. 

Next week, we are looking forward to another fun filled week at OES.  There will be lots of different things going on with Red Ribbon Week.  Our fieldtrip to the zoo is on Wednesday.  Thursday brings the Spartanburg Humane Society out to talk with us and on Friday we have Career Day.  Please remember to dress like your future career.   

                           





 WOW !  What an exciting week we had last week. 
We are continuing to learn all about how numbers work together to create even bigger numbers.  Several days, we worked with a partner to explore with our manipulatives. 

Dr. Patterson stopped by to read an exciting book called !.  We loved it and it sparked a great discussion about how we are perfect just the way we are and should not try to change for anyone.

Everyone enjoyed having Dr. Patterson read with us.

In Reading we are learning how Text Features help us to locate information.  Our partners were a great resource!

Students worked together to identify heading and discuss what they tell us about what we are reading.

On Dress Like a Pirate Day, we had a blast! 

ARGHHHH!

This week will be great too!  We will continue to learn about numbers using a part, part, whole method and in reading we will continue to learn about our text features.  We will begin discussing animals and their classifications in Science and we will review map skills in Social Studies. We will be looking at several text, including An Egg is Quiet. 

Thank you all for your sweet emails, cards, and calls this past week. My dad was a special man and he will be missed.  I don't like to be out, but I know the children were in great hands with Mrs. Peeler. 

This week, we are continuing with our author study on Cynthia Rylant.  We will be using several of her books to learn about how a story has a beginning, middle and end.  We will also discuss how details help add to the plot. 

In math this week we are learning about skip counting.  Today we worked with a partner and our 100's chart to discover patterns in different sets of numbers. 

 

 

Check back later in the week and we will be working with maps and learning about where we are on the map.  :)

This week we will be learning about communities and interviewing a new friend.  We will also learn how we can take our memories and turn them into a great piece of writing. 

Absolutely Awesome First Day!  So excited about working with these great kids this year ! 

Welcome to a brand new year!   I can't wait to meet all of my new students.  This is going to be a fantastic voayage.! 

Coming soon!

The fantastic adventures of room 108.  Sailing date:  August 2014

AHOY MATEYS

I'm so excited to be your teacher this year.  We have an exciting year planned and I know we will have a great adventure.  Many of you may know me from school, but let me tell you a little about myself so your parents can get to know me too.  

 

 This will be my 18th year teaching in a South Carolina school and my 12th year teaching 2nd grade at Oakland Elementary.  We have seen a lot of changes over the years, but one thing always remains the same.  Oakland teachers love their students and I can't wait to get to know you.  Here are a few interesting facts about me. 

 

 I have a Master's degree in Elementary Education.  I love to read and Harry Potter is my favorite book series.  My favorite color is purple and I love, love, love, peanut M&M's.  I am married to my wonderful husband, Gerald and we have two children.  Garrett is 15 and will be at Boiling Springs High School this year.  He loves to swim, play all kinds of sports, spend time with his friends, and annoy his sister.  He is hoping to attend Vanderbilt University when he graduates from high school, and that is where I got the name for this blog.  Anchor Down is the Vanderbilt motto.  It means to always try your best and to give it all you've got.  That is going to be our motto in the classroom.   We will all "anchor down" together to have the best year yet!  Natalie is 12 years old and she attends Boiling Springs Middle School.  She loves to act and hopes to one day live in Los Angeles, California.  She loves to text her friends, shop, and annoy her brother.  Her favorite quote is " You only fail when you let someone come between your and your goal."  This is a quote from her swim coach, but it applies to everyday life as well.  As long as you try your best, you will always be successful.   I will be there to guide you and together we will achieve our goals. 

 

I am so excited about this year.  We are going to have a great year.  I hope you are excited too..  See you soon. 

 

Mrs. Hutchins