2-5-10

Happy February!  Just a reminder, our dance informance class will be next Wednesday, Feb. 10.  Mrs. Foulke's homeroom's dance time is at 9:15.  Mrs. McGavin's homeroom dance time is at 1:30.   We will be in the gym.  Please have your child wear his/her black William Penn T-shirt or a different black shirt. Thanks!

Our Valentine's Day parties will be next Friday after lunch.  If your child chooses to bring valentines, please be sure that they bring enough for everyone in their homeroom class. (Mrs. Foulke's homeroom has 27 students; Mrs. McGavin's has 26 students.)  It is best for them to just sign their names.  Please do not address the cards to anyone.

Valentines boxes should be to school no later than Thursday, February 11.  This is can be as simple or as  elaborate as your child would like to do.

1-29-10

We took the Unit 5 test in math today.  Those will come home on Monday. If your child receives a 100%, you can take the test to Burger King and they can get a free treat.

Next week we will look at fact families.

Thanks for all of your support in reading, spelling, and math. 

1-22-10

Thanks to everyone who signed and returned the midterm. We are still missing a few, so please send those in by Monday. We will check them off and return.

A few weeks ago, we began leaving the behavior charts in the homework folder. This is to help parents to immediately see when there are behavior problems. Please do not remove the book from your child's folder. It should be returned to school in the folder each day.  Signing at the top of the page over the weekend lets us know that you have reviewed your child's behavior. Please do not sign for that week until the weekend. 

The PTA is sponsoring our school reading contest. Please encourage your child to read and participate.  100 minutes= bronze; 200 minutes = silver, and 300 minutes = gold.  You can record the amount of time on the blue paper that went home this week.  Then, as your child achieves the different levels, cut off the appropriate square and send it in to us.  The contest ends on Friday, Jan. 29. Prizes will be given out next Friday.

Next week we will be taking the Unit 5 math test (probably on Friday).  To help your child do his/her best, you can review the following concepts:  

            counting longs and cubes (tens and ones)

            greater than, less than, equal to

            counting/comparing pennies

             temperature (comparing warmer and colder)

             addition facts 

             following the rule

             time to quarter to 

             reading tally marks on a graph

This is a lot of information.  We have been reviewing each day with the little purple papers that have been coming home. We also review in our math notebooks and on our math whiteboards.  Thanks for your help on any areas that you see your child struggling with.

Students are enjoying our studies of Spanish culture.  We have been learning about the countries of Mexico, Costa Rica, and Argentina.  Ask your child to tell you about one of these countries.  As we continue to learn about different cultures, please send your child in with a stuffed animal on Monday (small ones, please).  The type of animal does not matter. 

We hope you all have a great weekend!  Book orders are due tonight (I think you can order until 10:00!  See the book order tag above for more information).  Thanks!

 

1-14-10 Midterms will be coming home next Wednesday. Attached to the midterm will be your child's DIBELS report.  The DIBELS report will show their January benchmark scores (even though it is listed under December, it is really from January!).  First graders for this time of year should be reading at least 20 words per minute. This score will be under the FLUENCY and COMPREHENSION section of the report.  If your child's score is in or above the gray line, they are meeting or exceding grade level expectations. If the score falls below the gray line, they are reading below the expected level.

Remember, these are midterms. We have approximately 6 weeks until report cards.  So, if your child is not scoring a 3 or above on the midterm, they do have time to show improvement. Please sign the midterm and send it back to school on Thursday. We'll check off that you saw it, and we'll send it back home.

 

1-8-10

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!  We are so glad to be back and learning in the new year!

In math, we have been working on place value (hundreds=centenas, tens=decenas, and ones=unidades),  greater than (es más que) and less than (es menos que), telling time to the quarter-hour, and addition. This week we did some self starter papers (the lavendar ones).  If your child struggled with any of the concepts, please review.  The children are doing much better with quarter after and quarter to.

In reading, we will be starting spelling on the week of the 11th.  The spelling lists will come home on Monday or the first day of the week.  The spelling test will be on Friday, or the last day of the week.  If it is less than a four day week, there will be no spelling that week.  The list will consist of 8 words that have to do with a skill or a spelling pattern. For example, silent e will be the first week. There will also be two extra words that will be more difficult and have to do with what we are studying in first grade. Please encourage your child to try the extra words. Please set aside 5 minutes at night to study the spelling words.

Monday, Jan. 11, both classes will be tested in Reading DIBELS. If you would like to help your child prepare, have them read aloud something they haven't read before and time them for one minute.  Correct words read in a minute will show reading fluency. For this time of year, your child be reading no less than 20 words per minute.

Next week, the students will be getting their "passports" ready as we travel to Mexico! We will be learning about Mexican culture.  We will also have some presentations on Costa Rica and Argentina.    Students have been learning about the continents and oceans, now we are ready to learn about some of the Spanish speaking countries.

12-18-09

Happy Holidays!  Thank you for all of the wonderful gifts! We hope you have an enjoyable vacation!

12-12-19

Our Friday Fun today was fabulous!  The children enjoyed making their gingerbread houses, painting, learning about Hanukkah and making Menorahs.  Thanks for sending in all of the treats for the houses; the children get so creative!

This week, we began keeping our behavior books inside our folders so that the children could mark how they are doing at the end of each day. Please look at the chart each day, talk about behavior if necessary, and put the book back in the folder to return to school the next day.

Have a great weekend; next week will be another fun and busy last week before winter break.

12-4-09

Next Friday, December 11, first graders will be making Gingerbread Houses. To decorate the houses, each child will need their own pie tin, labeled with their name on the bottom.  We will also need frosting, graham crackers, and assorted candies (gum drops, M&M's, candy canes, red hots, etc.). These goodies will be shared by all of the students. If you are able to supply any of the above, our class would love it.

Thursday, December 17th is our Holiday Gift of Song, our school-wide musical performance for parents.  Each grade level will sing 2 songs. We invite you all to attend!

Have a great weekend!

 

11-13-09

SEP's are next week.  We look forward to seeing all of you and discussing your child's progress.  Thanks for being on time and bringing your child with you.  The conferences are 15 minutes and we appreciate you being prompt and mindful that someone is after you.  We have a lot of conference to do, and we want to stay on schedule for everyone.

We will be taking the Unit 3 math assessment next week.  Part A will cover:

    a. Sums of 10 pennies (if I have 3 pennies in my left hand, how many are in my right hand?)

    b.  Rules / frames and arrows.

    c. Counting combinations of nickels and pennies; dimes, nickels and pennies.

    d.  AB pattern.

Part B will cover:

    a. Identify the rule and finish filling in the frames.

    b. Time to the half hour (identify and draw hands).

Thanks for taking a few minutes to review these areas with your child.

 

11-6-09

We have almost everyone scheduled for SEP's!  If you still need to schedule, please email Sra. Foulke at jfoulke@graniteschools.org.  Thanks!

In the next couple of weeks, students will begin earning Penguin Pesos for speaking in Spanish.  With their pesos, the children will be able to go "shopping" in our class store.  If you have any items at home that you would like to donate to the store, we would love it!  Last year, we had gently-used toys, dollar store treasures, and other miscellaneous items donated.  Really, anything is great! The children feel so proud when they can do some of their own "holiday shopping".    Thanks for your help!

In Spanish, we have been learning feelings vocabulary.  In conversation circles, we have practiced saying "I feel _________ (happy, sad, angry, tired, scared, nervous, and loving)."  

Next week, we will be discussing healthy bodies and healthy choices.

In Math, we have started to work on telling time to the half hour.  It was a little challenging to some to remember where the little hand goes.  Thanks for reviewing this concept with your child on the math homework.

We are really moving along in reading. We are writing daily. Their stories are great; they are  learning to express themselves through writing.

One last thing, as we are planning instruction for the week of Thanksgiving, please let us know if your child will not be here. Thanks!

10-28-09

Feliz Halloween!  A huge thanks to everyone who helped with our Halloween parties.  The kids had so much fun! We hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween weekend.

SEP's will be November 18 & 19. We will be sending out an email soon for you to sign up for your conference time.  Remember, November's conference will be with your child's homeroom teacher.  In March, you will meet with your afternoon teacher.

PE is Monday. Please have your child wear appropriate shoes.

Have a great weekend!