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Happy Thanksgiving

Hi Everyone,
This has been a really fun week! Teacher Peter is on vacation this week and next, so the Armadillo class has joined ours in the mornings. We made Thanksgiving hats on Monday, and the rest of the week we practiced for our Christmas celebration on December 19th. We've only practiced a short while, but so far all the kids are doing very well. Because we only have a few weeks until the play, I hope you can spend a few minutes each night practicing the play and Christmas songs with your kids. ( We'll be singing "Up on the Housetop", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and
"Jingle Bells" ) I'll send the lyrics to each song home with the kids on Friday. On Thursday we started doing addition without items to count ( ie: 3+2=5, 2+3=5 ) So far the kids have done well...
In the afternoon this week we've been doing the short O in phonics class; as well as blended sounds -og and -ot. In reading class we've been reading a story about vets and the job they do. It's been a fascinating story and we've had many discussions about how a vets job differs from a doctor. We've also continued studying what people do in school, and the different responsibilities of everyone at school.

Kyle is doing well. He's done especially good in reading this week.

Aston has been doing much better in class recently, but he still struggles with writing his abc's and numbers backwards.

Claire has been doing and incredible job in math class. She picks up the new material very quickly.

Bonnie has the lead role in our Christmas play. She'll be the Gingerbread Woman. We've practiced a few times this week, and I think she should do very well.

Devon is doing well. He's been crying more than usual. It never lasts long, but I think he just been a little sensitive this week.

Serena is doing a fantastic job at both math and reading. She's made tremendous progress so far this semester.

Albert has been falling behind a lot in math class. We are doing very difficult work in math class, and I worry that he will fall too far behind to make up the work.

Irene is doing well in both reading and phonics.

Benson did very well in ESL class.

Eason is doing very well with his classwork. I just wish he could behave a little better in class. I talked to him about making good choices, hopefully he'll start to think before he does things.

Phil is doing very well. He's still quiet, but he tries very hard and is always in a good mood.

November 20th, 2008

Hi Everyone,
I hope everyone is having a good week....This week has been a lot of fun for everyone. On Monday we began reading the new story "Bugs", a fact filled story about many different types of bugs. It also reinforces the phonic sound -ug. We also practiced th/sh, and reviewed beginning and ending sounds for a/u/e.
On Tuesday we went to the MRT Safety Center in Beitou. It was very, very informative, and I'm sure if there is ever a problem on the MRT, the kids will be prepared for anything! Tuesday was also Clair's birthday...Happy Birthday!!!
On Wednesday we did painting in the morning. Each time we paint, the kids get better and better...Pretty soon they will all be a little Picasso! In the afternoon on Wednesday we continued reading "Bugs", and did a little work in our reading workbooks.
On Thursday we worked on math in the morning and phonics in the afternoon,and tomorrow ( Friday ) weather permitting we'll go to the park for P.E. class...Also, please don't forget Friday night is the art opening for all the kids. They have all worked very hard on their works, and I know they are looking forward to showing them off.

Aston is doing well. He's been sleeping well all week, and he's also been a little faster at lunch time. He had a little trouble on Wednesday though when he had to eat an orange at lunch time. I don't think he likes oranges.

Kyle is doing great! He reading is always improving, and he always tries very hard to be well behaves and to offer assistance to the other kids.

Devon is starting to read! He's been focusing much more during reading time, and I think he's beginning to understand the beginning concepts of reading.Well done Devon!

Bonnie had fun at the MRT center on Tuesday. She enjoyed learning about trains, and especially loved playing some of the games they had there.

Serena is doing well in Phonics. She's very smart, and picks up the sounds very quickly.

Claire had a nice birthday. She talked about her "poo poo" cake all Monday, and was so proud to show everyone on Tuesday for her birthday party.

Irene is doing real well in class. She's become one of the fastest students in class with her book work. She's made tremendous progress in such a short time.

Benson has been very quiet recently. I hope he can make more of an effort to speak a little more.

Phil is starting to speak a little more, he's still quiet, but he's trying harder to speak English.

Eason is very smart, and he always does very well during class. I just wish he behaved a little better in class. I'm sure if he behaved better, he would do even better

We haven't seen Albert this week, I hope he's doing ok. We miss you Albert!

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PTA Week

Hi Everyone,

 I'd first like to thank everyone for taking the time to come to Tree House to meet with me this week. The kids are all doing so well, and it's nice to meet face to face to discuss their progress. I'd also like to thank everyone for making last week's Halloween celebration such a success. All the kids had a wonderful time, and I know they were proud all of you were able to share it with them....I also hope we were able to scare a few of you.....I know Bonnie was especially scared of the Haunted House ( she still won't go in it this week ).

 Anyway, with Halloween over, it's back to the books. On Monday we still worked on subtraction in Math class. Everyone learned the basic concepts of addition rather quickly, I wish I could say the same for subtraction. I think the extra practice is paying off though, and I'm beginning to see the kids slowly becoming more comfortable doing subtraction without much help from me....We also started the new Reading story "Splash". It's a cute story about a girl waiting for the school bus in the rain, and all her pets help her stay dry, and in Phonics we finished the short I sound. In Science we discussed the similarities and differences of animals, and finally in Tops we started a new unit..." The Body"

Aston is doing well. He's trying harder to pay attention in class, and with the exception of writing his numbers backwards, he's made tremendous progress in math class!

Devon did very well in phonics this week. He's also been very enthusiastic about volunteering to answer questions in class recently.

Albert is a natural when it comes to reading. He always reads loud and clear, and without any mistakes. He's been struggling a little with subtraction though. Especially subtracting 0 from another sum ( ie: 9-0 ) He just doesn't seem confident to give an answer and also seems a bit confused. We've worked on it during class, and I think he's slowly making progress.

Kyle has been great in class this week. He's been saying his back and tummy are hurting though.

Bonnie is doing very well in math.She's had a little trouble remembering her phonics though, and has been confusing short A sounds with short I sounds.

Serena has been improving at reading a lot. She's surprised me quite often recently. I usually have to read a story to the kids once or twice before they are able to read, but Serena has been reading on the first try!

Claire is doing great in reading as well, and she always likes to read in class.

Irene has been getting better in Phonics.

Benson has been very quiet this week.

Phil is making steady progress overall.

Eason is doing well with class work, but he's been disturbing the other kids a lot during class.

Happy Halloween