Updated -Nov.6
It was a fantastic Friday!
Lots of First graders have OUTSTANDING printing in their daily journal
and in their homework books ...congratulations!!!! Keep up the good work!
We wrote a GLYPH story today about our jack-o-lanterns so that we can
remember why they look the way they do!
We also gave some thought to what we liked best in ALL OF CREATION. "If you
could talk to God today and tell Him your favorite thing He created, what
would you tell him??? This story response is a TURKEY TALE...have a 1st
grader explain that to you!
Don't forget -early dismissal -1:00- on Monday!
- no school on Friday or Monday -conference days
The children will have work to complete on these 2 days oof. Since they
are really school days and count into our 180 days of schools, we won't
fall behind in our November work. This work will come home on Friday and
be due back on Tuesday, November 17.
Please be sure to assist your child with directions. They will get them
in class but may need a refresher!
We also will need t-shirts from everyone by the end of next week-Thurs.
for our Mickey breakfast! please send a white /light colored shirt for
this fun project.
a note about...
Some cool new travelers...are waiting in the wings to come home next week!
We've sure had fun with our current one...finding out if you're ODD or
not!!!(then you must be even)...quizzing our fire safety experts...learn-
ing about animals using RIDDLES...thanking God for something we love about
creation...trotting all over the globe and getting TWISTED up on the
continents...thinking about fascinating insects...and there are more to
come! You'd be amazed at what we do with the response sheets you work on
at home with your child. What a wonderful opportunity they become for us to
learn THROUGH the PRESENTERS each day! Thanks for YOUR help and guidance!
It works for all of the children...because of you!
Have a FANTASTIC FALL WEEKEND!
November 5
17 first graders accomplished the K4J mission for October- attentiveness.
James was selected as our class student of the month for always showing care
and thoughtfulness to fellow students.
Church envelopes were handed out today for the children to use on Sundays.
This is a great way to begin showing the virtue of this month-GENEROSITY.
Thanksgiving jars in the classrooms are being use to collect $ for the less
fortunate...another way to be GENEROUS.
$$$$$
We are very close to meeting our school WALKATHON goal of $80,000!
If you still need to respond to your letters or know someone who has not
sent in their donation...could you please mention it to them. Maybe in these
last few days we can round the bend and meet with 100% success! Our class
made our goal before we even walked!
We're having some problems with reading supplies ...
The plastic reading folder should "house" ALL of your child's reading
materials - reader, workbooks/worksheets, trade book-response sheet-tan
signature sheet, copybook with assignment. When your child comes home, all of
those items have been placed in the pockets by your child and the teacher
they read with that day. We look for those SAME ITEMS TO BE RETURNED IN THE
FOLDER THE NEXT DAY AT READING- which will require your help to "pack things
back up and put them into the READING FOLDER (NOT THE MAIL FOLDER-which is
for mail that comes to us, goes to the office,or homework ).
Leaving items at home makes for much confusion as we collect items and
prepare them for the next reading group to take home. Too frequently we must
change our reading plans because items were not returned by ONE group which
were to go with another group of readers.
We really need you help in this matter. The children can't do all of this
by themselves. Right now,they need your guidance. You shouldn't need to DO it
for them, just GUIDE them in organiozing thier belongings so that they can
eventually take ownership of the job themselves.
Nov.4
It's day #45 and we are 1/4 of the way through first grade. It's hard to
believe that we've already used so many of our days together. The children
have been working hard and learning lots of new things each day.
Today we worked a a project that was constructed using lines of SYMMETRY.
We made a scarecrow which was a character in a story we shared on Monday.
It's very interesting to see the variety of scarecrows that are built using
the very same patterns...it's all about individuality!
They are becoming very creative and anticipate what to do with certain
pattern pieces. We talked about how these creations are really "cut paper
illustrations" similar to many of the pictures we see in books we read. ERIC
CARLE and LEO LIONNI are two illustrators who use this form in their books.
The children enjoyed an insect story done with CUT PAPER and are learning to
appreciate how long it takes to make a story and illustrate it yourself.
We are rounding the bend on our own FIRST EDITION of THE CREATION story
which we have been working on since September. They are very proud of how
they've linked the pictures with the words...and you'll get to see it very
soon! It's a "Keeper"!
Continue to re-read stories in their reader for practice with expression
and as a way to increase speed through more rapid recognition of
sight /vocabulary words. Your practice always shows up in school when your
chuild reads orally in group. They do read orally each day which helps them
hear how others handle the same words on the page. Many times they will model
what they've heard another child do...the same as they model what you've
done when you practice at home. READING IS MEMORY...
Don't forget to send in a t-shirt ASAP so that you can take it off
your "to do "list!
The children made a November calendar today. You can see how few days we
are really here ...and even so ,we've got lots of ground to cover during this
month...
Thanksgiving donation jars have been placed in our rooms by HSA...the
children can place change from lunch into these jars. Let your child know if
this is something you would liek tthem to do. This money is used to purchase
food and make THANKSGIVING food baskets for families in our parish who are in
need. Thankyou for sharing your treasure!
Nov. 3
VOTE!!!!
Our Uncle Sam hats say it all...vote and be counted.
Today we voted on ballots to select a favorite snack. POPCORN won by a
slim margin, followed by apples and carrots came in last with a single ballot.
It was fun to find out by reading the ballots which choice would win.
A "Homework for Parents" paper is coming home for you to fill in and return
TOMORROW. I will use this as a guide for ? you may have that can be addressed
when we meet. Your prompt reply is very helpful. Papers not returned by
Thursday need not be returned.
Reading moms are working with the children on SPEED. It is most important
that SIGHT WORDS be rapid recognition!!!! That means ,recognized by 'sight'
not by 'sounding out'. These basic words are critical to the new reader
because they hold the story together. Not knowing them slows down the
delivery of the story and cuts the comprehension significantly. If your child
did not get a new list,please go back and review those words, as well as
going back over OLD lists. Those OLD lists should get FASTER each time you go
over them... so that you can be an ENABLER for your new reader.
If your child is absent, kindly try to make an effort to get their work and
to return things in a timely fashion. FEEDBACK is really important to listtle
people...Reading homework should stay consistent so they do not fall behind-
trade books should be returned ASAP so that we have enough to send out to
other reading groups.
We have everything ready on their desk at the end of the day so it's very
easy for you to run in and collect theior things, or work can be sent home
with a fellow student in our class or a sibling.
Religion test tomorrow...we reviewed in school...from the test
itself...so....listeners were learners!
Good job on the printing homework...big improvements in lots of books...
Don't forget to use an eraser to clean up your work..don't print over a
mistake, it makes your page look messy. Sometimes children need you to show
them how to erase and CLEAN AWAY THE ERASER DIRT before they begin to print
again...watch them...and you'll see what I mean!
November 2
A new month... a new pattern...lots of new things to learn and projects
to make...new colors...and even new BOOKS!
Our first installment of textbooks has arrived and so we were busy
reviewing short vowel /a/ in our new phonics books. We zipped through the
whole unit and amazed ourselves at how well we could read and SPELL short /a/
words..."kiss your brain!!!"
Father Paul reminded everyone at mass today that we should pray for all
of the people we know who have died...not just today, All Souls Day, but all
through the month of November. Another special reminder too...to be going to
church with mom and dad on Sunday so that you can show what you know about
paying attention in church, and praying along with everyone! It's also a
good way for you to practice using the song book- finding pages with BIG
numbers on them quickly...following along with the verses... finding the
REFRAIN...because before you know it we'll be using them in church together
as a class!!!
Remember that we are doing a t-shirt for Mickey's birthday celelbration-
breakfast in school...MICKEY WAFFLES!!!!!! So don't forget to bring a white
or light colored/already washed t-shirt to class...info about deadlines is on
the BUSY NOVEMBER CALENDAR SITE!
November will go by very quickly as we prepare for the great American
holiday of Thanksgiving. During this month do take time to thank God for all
of the blessings that we are lucky to have...family, faith, friends...and
know that God is the giver of all of these blessing and likes to hear from
you from time to time. Praying together as a family is a great way to teach
your children the POWER and the IMPORTANCE of prayer to YOU!!!!
Today in class, Scarlett was our first Top Job helper to be the LEADER of
THE ROSARY. She said her decade of the rosary and the class responded. All
through October, the month of hte rosary, the older students were the leader
of prayer over the PA system. We listened for a month and from now on the 1st
graders are in charge of leading the rosary each morning. These prayers are
said for the people/intentiond on our class prayer candle. When we pray in
school, everyting else stops and we PRAY...it's a very special time of grace
or us as a class. Teachers and students alike hold our rosary and pray as ONE
VOICE. We will STORM HEAVEN with our prayers...and 1st graders have very
powerful prayers.......So if you need our prayers...just let us know!
Congrats to the 14 students who worked on the October K4J mission!
