Newsletter April 26 - April 30

 I hope you are all enjoying your rainy afternoon--it's dry and so any rain is gladly received even if that means inside break all day. 🙈

ME on the Map project

Here are this week's happenings:

his weekWe had spring pictures today--I sent only those students who sent in money or informed me to send their child after making an online payment.

• We have our end of the year DIBELS test on May 6--we are winding down just 4 1/2 weeks left of school.
• In math today we started learning about adding ones or tens to a two digit number (43 + 3 = or 42 + 40 =). We modeled these problems today using tens and ones.  Tomorrow we will use a hundreds chart and will eventually line them up vertically and first add the ones and then the tens.  We will also do this with subtraction. 
• In reading we will finish up our 6th unit tomorrow and start our last unit on Wednesday.  In the last unit we will learn some more vowel combinations such as 'oa' and read from a book called Kay and Martez.  In writing we will writing a "How to" paragraph before the end of the year.
• We are continuing to learn about the history of the earth.  Today we learned about minerals and reviewed volcanoes and geysers. 
• Some things that will be happening at the end of the year--the first or second week of May we will be observing eggs hatch.  The 4-H will bring incubators and eggs and by the end of the week we'll have chicks.  The new chicks can be purchased--I will let you know a price if you are interested.  Though I just told my students today that I have only had 2 students buy chicks in 10 years and they both had farms and were set up for chicks--so they are prepared for your answer. On Friday, May 21 we will have our "field day"--since we need to have a different sort of field day we will walk up to the canyon park--first walk the trail and then play on the playground.  We will also have a BBQ that day for lunch (outside if weather permits)--all students have free breakfast and lunch for the remainder of the year and the BBQ will be included in that.  The last day of school will be Wednesday, May 26--we will dismiss as normal at 1:30 that day. 
• I will send home a final Scholastic book order this week.  Those will be due next Wednesday, May 5.  I still think you can choose to either have the books sent to your house or to the school (if you order a certain $ amount). 

HAPPY READING--please continue to take advantage of the take home books--I know it's harder this year because if you miss the turn in day or Thursday/Friday then you really miss a whole week--but it really helps to read daily and on your child's independent reading level. 

Mrs. Armstrong

Newsletter April 19 - April 23

 Our 70th Birthday bash was a hit!  It makes me proud and happy to be a teacher at such a great school.  It was on first and only assembly this year (darn COVID) but the students were very well behaved even though it was only supposed to be a 15 minute program and it ended up being almost an hour.  Thanks to the lunch helpers and the PTA for the treats.  If you want to watch the festivities and have Facebook you can watch it on the East Elementary facebook page.  

Here are this week's happenings (going to be brief):

• The bathrooms have continued to be vandalized this year even after we've tried several things.  We have more using markers on the walls, wiping inappropriate bathroom stuff on the walls, stuffing the toilets with paper towels etc.  We feel that most of this happens during lunch break when students are not monitored so in an effort to curb this vandalism we will now be given a chance to use the bathroom before lunch and after lunch.  I will always give my students that opportunity.  Mr. Moyle sent out a REMIND message this morning.  If you are not on our East Elementary REMIND you are not getting important messages such as that.  If you have any questions or concerns about that please direct those concerns to the office. 
• If your child is missing a jacket, coat etc. please have them check in the lost and found by this Friday.  Items will be donated this Friday. 
• Spring pictures are next Monday.  Please let me know if you want you child to get their picture taken.  I sent home order forms last week.  Students will not automatically get their pictures taken in the spring like in the fall.
• This Thursday,  April 22 we have been invited to join the dual immersion classes for "Feria de Abril de Sevilla" (Seville April Fair).  A big festival celebrated in Senora Fernandez's neck of the woods.  Senora Fernandez has made costumes for all the students to wear--your child will come home with that costume (I think--possibly she will want to save them for next year). 
• We are continuing to learning about tens and ones for our transition into adding and subtracting two digit numbers.  We have moved onto our History of the Earth Unit.  We wrote informative paragraphs about Outer space.  Tomorrow we will make a little "Me on the Map" project to show our place on the earth from big to small (earth to school). We are still reading from Grace and have learned all of the new spellings for this unit with "wh" as another spelling for /w/ (sound). We are trudging along and will work (in a good way) up until the last day of school.  

Happy Reading (new take home books came home today),

Mrs. Armstrong

Newsletter April 12 - April 16

 Welcome back after a glorious spring break.  It always seems like such a long time apart until we get back together and then it seems like we never had a break.  We have 32 more days of school--let's finish strong. Take home books came home today--please read those with your child Monday through Wednesday. I would love reading every night but take advantage of those leveled books for the remainder of the year.  

Here are this week's happenings:

• This Friday at 2:00 we will be having our East Elementary's Birthday Bash and time capsule opening. Unfortunately this is not an event open to families and the public (except for invited guests and retired employees).  We will be outside on the playground and will sing our school song, have a cupcake or cookie and listen to a few words.  I also believe that the school board and district leaders have been invited as well as local media.  We have a rich heritage here at East Elementary and will be celebrating 70 years!
• Spring pictures will be Monday, April 26.  I sent home a note today with information about how to order pictures.  This company is new, but I believe it will be same as in the past--pictures will only be taken for students who request it.  The whole class will not get their pictures taken.  Let me know if you want your child to get their picture taken by either sending in the form and fee or if you pay online let me know so I will for sure send your child down on that date.
• Our End of the Year (EOY) reading test has been scheduled for Thursday, May 6.  First grade is such a time of growth--if you child has been in the "red" at risk area for most of the year and is again when the results come back at the end-of-the-year please let's talk so that I can give you some advice on how to work with your child over the summer.  
• We just finished up our unit on Astronomy and will be writing an informative paragraph about outer space this week along with a little astronaut art to go along with it.  We will start our unit on the History of the Earth next week.  Think more geology type information with that unit (layers of the earth, types of rocks, fossils and dinosaurs etc.).  We will also learn about life cycles through the month of May. 
• In reading we are in the middle of our second to last unit and reader.  We are learning about using pronouns in place of nouns and my students get that concept very easily.  I think that is due to the fact that oral language precedes reading and they have learned to correctly substitute pronouns in speech before they need to replace a noun with a pronoun in writing.  This unit is heavy with different ways to spell consonant sounds--we have recently learned about the 'kn' spelling for /n/ and have learned several ways to spell /s/ (c, ce, ss, se).  We will conclude with learning the 'wh' spelling for /w/.  The last unit will be back to vowel combinations such as 'oa' for example.  
• Our sight word soldier program is still going strong.  I have a couple of students whose necklaces are brimming with beads.  That is exciting and honestly it shows in their reading.  Sight word lists or fry phrases are tested everyday except Wednesday. 
• We will have our unit 7 math test this Thursday.  We have learned mostly about two digit numbers--tens and ones, comparing two digit numbers, and ten more and ten less than a number.  We are going to practice ten more and ten less for a couple more days and then test on Thursday.  The next unit will be adding and subtracting "tens" from a number (i.e. 35 + 30 or 85 - 50).  Then we will move to two digit addition and subtraction without regrouping.  Remember I said let's "finish strong"--this is what I meant--we have some big concepts still to learn this year! 
• Just another plea for clorox or disinfectant wipes if you ever see any and could donate some to our classroom.  We clean off our desks at least weekly with this wipes and at the end of the year will use some to throughly clean our desks and chairs before putting them out into the hall for the summer. 

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Armstrong