Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year.  It's that time of the year where home seems just a bit warmer, scarfs and sweaters keep us cozy and we think about things we are grateful for.  I wanted to say how grateful and appreciative I am for my wonderful parents and my amazing students!  I also need to take the time to say thank you to all those who donated food to our "adopted" family.  Because of you, our family in need will have a brighter and happy Thanksgiving feast.  Another big thank you shout out goes to all those who donated food for our classroom feast.  The biggest shout out goes to those brave souls, Mr. Crawford, Mrs. Warr, Mrs. Ashby, Mrs. Woodruff, Mrs. Quinn and Mrs. and Mr. Brown, who came in to serve food to ravenous pre-teens.  :)    I feel very blessed to have you all in my life.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you do to support my class and our school community.

Things to do over break
1.  Over the break, don't forget to keep reading.  November reading calendars are due the Wednesday we get back.

2.  The students also have a writing project called the Dream Giver.  They watched a "story starter" video from a website called the Literacy Shed.
                                                 The Dream Giver story starter clip 
The students had to pick up the story where the movie clip left off.  They can write from any character's perspective, even the eggs. ;)   There isn't a limit of pages, but the story must be a complete tale.  I told the students no cliffhangers or ending the story with  . . .. .     Spelling and grammar count, as well as story telling and sequencing.  When you read over these stories, ask your student the following:
1.  Does the story flow from one idea to the next?
2.  Does the story make sense?
3.  If the character is speaking, are the words in quotations?
4.  Does every sentence start with a capital letter and end with punctuation?
5.  Is there more than one "and" in the sentence?  If so, you may need more punctuation.
6.  Is there a true ending to the story?

When students are finished and parents have looked over the story, please "share" the document with me.  Final drafts are due Wednesday, December 3rd.

Recipes
During our "feast" several recipe requests were made.  I will be posting those as soon as parents email me.  Here is my apple sauce recipe.

                                             Mrs. Evans Brown Sugar and Spice Apple Sauce
20 apples, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cardamon

1.  Take peeled and sliced apples and put in a 9 by 13 microwave safe baking dish.  Fill with water 1/2 way up and cover with plastic wrap.  Cook on high for 10 minutes or until apples are soft.

2.  Pour cooked apples into a food processor fitted with a metal blade.  Add all other ingredients and pulse until desired consistency.

3.  Serve warm or refrigerate up to a week.  Can also be frozen for up to 6 months.

*Sadly I rarely measure my ingredients so this is an estimate.  Taste as you go and add or cut back on spices and sugar as you like*



                                                               Pictures from our Feast

For the week of November 17th - 21st

Hello all!

This week will be a busy one.  Please read everything in this post to be up-to-date.

1.  Parent Teacher Conference Make-up:
      Monday - Drop ins from 3:15-4:15    
      Tuesday - Drop ins from 3:15 - 5:15
      Wednesday - Drop ins from 2:15 - 4:15
* If you would prefer to conference over the phone or would like to schedule an uninterrupted sit down, please email me with a time and a good number to reach you at.

2.  Report cards will be sent home with students on Monday.  CHECK THE PURPLE HOME SCHOOL FOLDER.

3.  Thanksgiving Basket:
We adopted a family in need for Thanksgiving this year.  I am asking each student bring at least 1 can of food to share.  If everyone brought one thing, we would have 30 items to give to our family. Already, I have a turkey roaster, a pie pan and all the fixings for a pumpkin pie and a box of stuffing.

4.  Thanksgiving Feast:
Every year I throw a Thanksgiving Feast for my class.  I do all the cooking but I ask the food be donated.  Please click the link below to sign up for an item to donate for the party. The party takes place on Friday, November 21st in place of lunch, from 10:45 -11:45.
                                                                       Sign up Sheet

5.  This is the last week for Vision Charter PJ pants and tank orders.  If you lost your form, click this link to download a new form.
                                                                 PJ Pant Order Form


6.  This weeks spelling list

Mrs. Evans Spelling List #8

Test on Friday, November 21st

	Word	Level
1	moment	Average
2	courtesy	Average
3	stock	Basic
4	college	Average
5	whose	Average
6	property	Average
7	hospital	Average
8	treatment	Average
9	towel	Basic
10	peace	Average
11	usually	Average
12	family	Basic
13	doesn't	Basic
14	given	Basic
15	November	Average
16	Pilgrim	Average
17	pumpkin	Average
18	responsibility	Challenge
19	Wampanoag	Challenge

Parent Teacher Conference

Friday, November 14th conferences have been canceled due to inclement weather. Drop in conferences will be held Monday and Tuesday of next week from 3-5pm.