Newsletter February 2 - 6

It was nice to see so many of you at Curriculum Night.  We have such a wonderful school community and it really showed that evening.  Here are a few points of interest:

• Dads and Donuts is this Friday, February 6 at 8:00 a.m.  Dads/uncles/ big brothers please come and enjoy a donut with your child before school starts that morning.
• I sent home a February Scholastic Reading record if you would like to order books those will be due also on February 6.
• I sent home a Valentine's Day Party letter today.  It had a list of all of the students in our classroom.  If you can send items to help with our "Valentine can" decorations or for our little party I would so appreciate the help :)  You do not need to make your own Valentine's box, w will make them in class (Valentine's cans)
• Today we didn't finish our math lesson entirely, but I still sent home math homework.  You can choose to help your child with the homework tonight, or tomorrow after we have finished the lesson. I will test on Unit 6 of math next week, probably on Wednesday. 
• The January reading record is now due.  I sent home a February reading record yesterday.  Please continue to practice sight words with your child nightly, especially if they haven't passed off through List #6 yet.
• Congratulations to Nash and Mariah!  They were our Catch the Vision winners for this quarter.  Also, we had three students with perfect attendance--Edgar, Jordan, and Kelsie--that is an accomplishment too and I am happy to see all of my cute little first graders everyday!

Happy Reading!

Newsletter January 26 - 30

Remember that this Thursday, is Curriculum Night as well as the PTA sponsored Multicultural Night from 6:00 - 7:00.  You can come and visit our classroom anytime during the hour and enjoy the multicultural displays and performances the rest of the time.  It is an open house, and I will be handing out DIBELS scores that night and can explain them if necessary.  If you cannot make it I will send those results home.  I hope to see many of you with your wonderful children and families that night.

Dads and Donuts is coming up on Feb. 6.  This is an opportunity for Dads/uncles/ big brothers etc. to bring their child to school for a doughnut and some reading before school starts.  It will begin at 8:00 am. and if you have to leave your child before 8:30 am. they can stay in the lunchroom before coming down to our classroom.

We are now working on Unit 6 in math.  This is a unit mostly about counting patterns and place value.  Most of you received Unit 5 test back.  Let me remind you how I grade math tests.  I mark the answers that are wrong, and then have my wonderful high school helper, Miss Marinn help the students "correct" the answers they missed.  Your student will come home with a test that looks like they should have received 100%.  If the test has been corrected it will say, "corrected by and the date" so you will know that it has been fixed. I still keep the original score for grades, but I feel that this immediate self-correction with help is valuable in helping my students understand why they missed a particular problem.

I sent home our 100 day homework activity last Friday.  It will be due by this Thursday, January 29 (100th day of school). If you have any questions about this activity please contact me through e-mail or note, or phone call :)  Next week, I will send home the requirements for our 100-book challenge.  Watch for that note to come home with your child.

Happy Reading!!! (and don't forget sight word practice)

Newsletter January 20 - 23

I hope you all have a nice three day weekend.  Today we read the book "Martin Luther King's Big Words".  We will continue a discussion and writing opportunities this week about Martin Luther King's life and words of peace, togetherness, and harmony.

I have decided to change the format of Curriculum Night on January 29 at 6:00-7:00p.m  Rather than a Reader's theater performance I will be having an open house that night.  You are welcome to come and visit our classroom anytime during that hour.  I will be happy to talk to you about your wonderful child, and we will have some classroom work on display that night as well.  Then you can enjoy the PTA sponsored multicultural night the rest of the evening. 

The 100th day of school is next Friday, January 30.  I will be sending home a little optional homework assignment for that day.  I say, optional, but most of the kids love this little activity.  Watch for it by the end of this week.  We will also start our 100-book challenge after the 100th day of school.  Watch for information to come home about this fun challenge.

We finished up Unit 5 in math today and I will test tomorrow as well as start Unit 6.  Please help your child with their Chapter 5 Unit Review tonight if possible, as that will help them for the test tomorrow.

The DIBELS reading scores are back.  I was thrilled with the progress of most of my students.  I will send home a printout of your child's scores as soon as I receive them.  If you have any questions regarding those scores please don't hesitate to contact me.  I would be happy to discuss DIBELS scores during Curriculum Night next week.

Have a wonderful evening and Happy Reading!

Newsletter January 12 - 16

We are now starting the 3rd quarter of school.  I will get grades printed out this Wednesday and send them home with your child this Thursday.  If you need to turn in anything from last quarter please turn it in by Wednesday.  Especially home reading records.  Those are worth 100 points and really bring down your child's percentage if they are not turned in.  I am not asking for dishonesty, just making sure that if you child has read that they turn in the reading record.  These minutes also help with our PTA sponsored reading program.  The first amount of minutes to "arrest Mr. Moyle" will be tallied by this Friday.  We hope to reach 1,000,000 minutes as a school this time. I think that we are close by not quite there yet.

Today I sent home a Scholastic books flyer and order form. Order will be due this Friday, January 16.  I sent home our classroom's online code (blue paper).  Using the online code is the easiest way to order books.

We are finishing up chapter 5 in math as quickly as we can.  The district as adopted a district-wide scope and sequence for math.  We are supposed to be on the same page with the other schools in the district.  We are a little bit behind so we are catching up--that is why you might have noticed that we have had homework every night in math.  I do think the my students are getting the hang of related facts so I don't feel like I am jeopardizing their understanding of the the concept by moving through this chapter as quickly as we can.  I plan to finish up by next Monday, and start testing on Chapter 5 next Tuesday.  We will start right in on Chapter 6 next Tuesday, if all goes as planned:)

Today we started our unit on Water.  Today we discussed that "water is everywhere" and discussed the many uses of water.  We will do an art/writing activity based on this topic.  We will then move into the Water Cycle.  Remember that we will be doing a little readers theater on the Water Cycle.  I will send home parts for that reader's theater at the end of this week.  We will be performing the reader's theater during Curriculum Night on January 29 at 6:00.  Please let me know if your child will not be able to make it that night (thanks to those that have already informed me). 

This Thursday we will be having our DIBELS assessment at 10:45.  Please have your child here that day, unless they are sick of course.  I will send home results from that test as soon as they are made available to me.

Happy Reading!

January 5 - 9

Happy 2015!! To tell you the truth, I always struggle waking up and coming back after a long break, but it only takes one smiling face, or hug from one of my darling students and it's like I've never left.  I hope that you all had a lovely holiday season.  Today, it was so much fun to watch my students build snowmen at break--we had perfect snowball building weather and snow.  I love my job and I love first graders!

I sent home January's reading record today.  The December reading record is now due!  It needs to be handed in by Friday, January 9.  That date is the end of the 2nd quarter.  I will get grades together and send a printout next week, probably next Thursday.

Next week on Thursday, January 15 our class will be taking the second installment of the DIBELS reading test.  I sent home a double-sided paper today filled with "nonsense words".  Please help your child with these words as they will be tested on similar types of nonsense words on the test.  The goal is to have the students read the "whole word".  The words are all in CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) form and all of the vowels will be short sounds.  Some students will say "fail" for "fal" for example.  You can use this as part of your 20 minutes of reading time.

We finally started chapter 5 in math today.  Today we worked on story problems where there was a missing part.  I taught my students that they could use several strategies to figure out the missing part.  They could "add" or "subtract" to find the answer.  It depends on the individual child which strategy they prefer and makes sense to them--sometimes they use one strategy for one problem and then the next time use a different strategy.  Thanks for helping keep up with your child's math homework.

I'm giving you a heads up about our school's Multicultural Night/Curriculum Night on January 29 at 6:00.  Our class will "perform" a little reader's theater on the water cycle that night.  Watch for a part to come home next week.  We will practice that in class too.  Mark your calendars for that night.  If any if you know now that you will not be able to make it that night let me know so that I can adjust "parts" if necessary.

I left my camera at home so I will try and load the Christmas pictures (gingerbread house building) onto my computer and add them to this blog later in the week.  (I can't make any promises, but I will try :)

Happy Reading!

Newsletter December 15 - 19

Here is a list of things that we will be doing this final week before 2015:

• Wednesday, December 17--Gingerbread House construction at 9:30 a.m. Thanks to all of those that have helped contribute for this project.  If you haven't sent anything yet, and would like to you can still send the item by tomorrow, Tuesday Dec. 16.  If you would like to come and help out you are welcome to.  Thanks to Dante's, Kaden's and Ben's moms for already offering to help out that day :)
• Thursday, December 18--Pajama Day, Read-a-thon, and Christmas Sing.  Students can wear pajamas all day today and bring blankets, pillows or stuffed animals for the read-a-thon (just make sure they don't overdo it).  We will have our read-a-thon in our classroom at 12:45 - 1:15 and then afterwards go to the school wide  "sing".  This is not a program, but rather a time where the students get together and sing Christmas songs.
• Friday, December 19--Christmas movie in from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.  The movie has been decided on yet, but it will be a rated-G movie.  In the afternoon, we will go to computers like always and our regular library time, and have a low-key Christmas party.  

I will still send home spelling words this week.  I will test on Friday before we go to the movie in the morning.

I sent home overdue library notices today.  Please go on a book hunt and help your child find those missing books.  Mrs. Clark, our librarian, would like to have all books returned this Friday before the holiday break.  Students will not check out books this Friday, as many books are lost over big breaks.

Tomorrow I will test on Math Chapter 4.  I will start teaching Unit 5 this week.  You may have noticed on my math homework section of this blog that you have a nice "break" this week from math homework.  Please use that extra time to read more--we will take the DIBELS reading test on Thursday, January 15.  I only had three students return their take-home books today.  Please use that resource and read EVERY night with your child.  December Reading records will be due the Monday we return from the break.

I hope that you all have wonderful holiday season.  Enjoy your time with your family and friends and travel safely if you are leaving Cedar City. 

Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!

Newsletter December 8 -12

Today I sent home a note regarding our Gingerbread house construction.  We will be doing that next Wednesday, December 17th at 9:30 a.m.  Ben's mom has graciously offered to help that morning.  I would still love more volunteers to help that morning.  Please send me an e-mail if you could help.

 On the note, I also mentioned the $1.00 secret gift.  We will be starting those this Wednesday.  Thank you for helping your child "earn" $1.00 for this little gift.

This week we will continue our Gingerbread stories compare and contract unit.  We will be making Rudolph :), finishing up with Unit 4 in math (I plan on testing on Unit 4 next Monday).  As always, will have reading groups in the morning.  I hope that you are continuing to read every night with your child and practicing their sight words.  When we get back in January, we will shortly take the second portion of the DIBELS reading test.  Knowing sight words automatically will greatly increase your child's fluency rate.

Thank you to Dane for brining two packages of pencil-top erasers today!  I wrote in my letter to Santa that I wanted more of those :)  Thank you too for sending items to help with our Gingerbread houses.  This is a such a fun activity, and wouldn't be possible without help from you!

Happy Reading!