The Roosevelt PTO provided funds to each classroom teacher to use for something that would benefit the classroom. When I moved into my 4th grade classroom back in 2006, my set of dictionaries was quite outdated and in need of repair. However, I needed to use any extra funds to build my classroom library for student use.

It was wonderful to be able to use these classroom funds to purchase eleven new Merriam-Webster Intermediate Dictionaries for our class to use.

Here's what a few of the 4th grade Pathfinders had to say about using these new dictionaries:

"Dictionaries are very important to fourth grade readers because we need them to look up unknown vocabulary that we find as we read." - Kacie

"The dictionaries you got us help us a lot because they give us the meaning of that word... [from] our reading. Since you gave us a lot [of dictionaries] a lot of people can use them at once." - Isaac

"A dictionary is very helpful to our learning/reading community. They help us as growing readers and help increase reading comprehension. The dictionaries are helpful for us to learn what some challenging words are and help us become better at reading. Therefore, I think dictionaries are very helpful to us as 4th graders." - Kelli

Thanks, Roosevelt PTO, for the funds to purchase these new dictionaries and for giving our growing 4th grade learners a great learning tool!

As some of you may know, my five year-old daughter, Chloe, was diagnosed with a stage III Wilm's Tumor, a rare childhood kidney cancer, in July of 2011. We're thankful her scans are clear and she's feeling great!

As a Make-A-Wish family, and knowing other families living through childhood cancer, we can attest that Make-A-Wish is an important piece of hope for many kids. 

Currently, Macy's is in the midst of a fundraiser where they are giving $1, up to $1 million, to Make-A-Wish for each letter that is written to Santa and dropped off at one of their stores. 

I've invited the Pathfinders to write letters to Santa if they wish. Other children in your homes may write letters as well. Please return them to me by Monday, December 17th. My wife, Christa, and Chloe will be dropping them off at Macy's on Tuesday the 18th.

We are creating gingerbread houses with our kindergarten reading buddies next week and are in need of boxes of honey graham crackers and cans of vanilla whipped frosting.

Please sign up using this Signup Genius form if you're able to help us out! Thanks!

Friday, Dec. 7th - Box Top Table at lunchtime