Newsletter March 18 - April 1

I hope that you all had a nice Easter weekend.  It seems that a storm is blowing in.  That's Utah weather at it's finest!  Thanks to those that sent candy-filled Easter eggs.  We had a great time finding 17 eggs each!  Thanks also to Jayleigh and Jaiger's mom for helping to transport all of the eggs and hiding them at the park for us!  Today begins our fourth quarter of school--we have 9 more weeks and 9 more weeks of great academic growth!

Here are this week's happenings:

• Tonight is the PTA sponsored Talent Show.  The First grade portion starts right at 6:00.  I didn't have anyone from our class sign-up to participate (that I know of), but you are welcome to come and watch and check out the art display.
• On Friday, the PTA is sponsoring a "Pops and Pancakes" event.  Bring a "Pop" (dad, grandpa, uncle etc) and enjoy a free pancake breakfast.  It begins at 7:45am and ends at 8:30am. Students need to have a "pop" to attend and remember that teachers are not at the school until 8:20.  
• Today we began Unit 6 in our Skills reading program.  We discussed three different spellings for the /s/ sound (s, ss, and c).  We also began learning about narrative writing.  We learned that to be a "good" narrative that author must include information about "who, what, when, where and why?"  Spelling words came home today and the test will be Friday, April 1.  Notice that the final consonants on the root words are doubled when the ending is added (i.e. swim=swimming). 
• We are a day behind on our math schedule.  Today we completed Lesson 9.5.  Tomorrow we will start with time.  I will move the test to April 6 with the homework packet due on April 5.
• The March PTA calendar is due this Friday, April 1.  I will send home the Kite for Flight calendars too on Wednesday.
• Since we just completed quarter 3, I will send home a quarter 3 grade printout by this Thursday.  Please watch for that, and let me know if you see any discrepancies.  
• Some students now are on take-home levels that have longer books.  I only want to have your child read for 15 minutes each school night so if rereading their take-home book requires longer than 15 minutes just count it as rereading it 3 times.  Please continue to reread the books 3 times if it fits into that 15 minute time-frame.  It's so valuable for fluency (speed, accuracy, rate) to reread text!!! I just know that kids need "free time " and don't want to overwhelm you or your child with homework, but also want to stress the importance of continuing to practice reading at home. 

Have a great week and Happy Reading!

Newsletter March 21 - 25

It's officially Spring and we're almost "officially" finished with the third quarter of school.  The quarter ends this Friday, March 25.  Please turn in any late or missing assignments by that date.  I sent home grades a couple of weeks ago if you have any issues please contact me so that I can change them before Friday.

Here are this week's happenings:

• If you want to order from the March Scholastic magazines please order online by tomorrow, Tuesday, March 22 or send your check and order form by tomorrow (it's much easier online).
• Today we started Chapter 9 in math.  This unit covers measurement and time to the hour and half -hour.  I sent home the homework packet today with "color tiles" and paper clips.  These will be used for the homework assignments and need to be returned (at least the color tiles for sure) after the packet is complete.  The packet will be due on April 5.
• We are having fun learning about Astronomy.  Today we talked about constellations.  We learned that the ancient Greeks made  up myths to explain what they believed about the stars.  We started to create our own "Big Dipper" and "Little Dipper".  The students drew realistic stars (we know that they are round and either red or blue), and tomorrow we will assemble them into the familiar star groups. 
• This week we will conclude our Skills unit #5 (phonics and reading portion).  We have learned so many things.  We have learned about  adjectives, root words and endings and when to double the final consonant before adding an ending.  We have learned that there are multiple spellings for the /j/ sound ('j', 'g', 'ge').  We learned that 'g' is slightly more common than the 'j' spelling. We planned and wrote an opinion paper and have gone on adventures with "Kate and Max" from our reader, "Kate's Book".   We have two more Skills units to go until the end of the year.  This week we will not have spelling words, but will resume with spelling words next wek when we start into Unit #6. 
• I will be sending home the Kite For Flight reading calendars that I had you sign at SEP conferences.  I guess the Lion's Club is now requiring that the calendar be in the home and delivered to the event by the individual.  I will also send home your child's January and February reading calendars so that you can fill the Lion's Club calendar out.  I will let you know if  the PTA can return the calendars to the event, so hang onto them.
• Last but not least....  I hope that you saw the note about our First Grade Easter Egg hunt.  I will not go into detail here as the note clearly explains the event.  If you haven't seen it, it's on pink paper.  Thanks to those that have already sent 12, plastic, candy-filled eggs.  I need some help that day "hiding" the eggs.  If you can help at about 1:30 on Friday, March 25 please send me an e-mail or note. 
• Rieley has now joined Rebecca!!! They have both read 100 books and they haven't stopped!  We have a couple of students who are very close!  The deadline for this challenge is May 20.  

Have a nice Easter weekend!  "Hoppy" Reading :)

Newsletter March 14 - 18

I hope that you all had a nice week long spring break!  We have two more weeks left of third quarter and 11 more weeks of school.  Please be consistent, and continue to work hard with your child until the end.

Here are this week's happenings:

• I sent home a grade print out today.  Please look it over and let me know if you have any concerns.
• The March Scholastic book order will be due next Tuesday, March 22.
• We will review Math Chapter 8 concepts starting tomorrow and test this Thursday, March 17 and finish testing on Friday, March 18.  The homework packet for Chapter 8 is due this Wednesday, March 16.
• On March 28, East Elementary will be having a Talent/Arts Night.  I sent home an information sheet the week before our break.  If your child wants to participate then the form needs to be returned by March 23. 
• New spelling words were sent home today.  The test will be this Friday, March 18. There are several words with double consonant spellings so a bit of extra practice at home would be helpful.
• I sent home a 100-book challenge book recording sheet today (sent one home with everyone) to remind you of that challenge!! Like I mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter, we still have 11 weeks left of school (10 to complete the challenge).  You are behind (since I sent home the the challenge in January) , but it is still a manageable goal.  Rebecca is the first member of our class to read 100 books!!!!  Nick isn't far behind.  
• Thanks to those that have sent clorox wipes and pencil-top eraser!   I so appreciate your willingness to donate supplies. 
• Today we started our new unit in Reading--we will be learning about Astronomy.  Today we learned about the earth's atmosphere as well as outer space.  We also learned about astronomers and what they study (astronomy).  I think this will be an exciting topic of study as my students had comment after comment about outer space. 

Happy Reading!

February 29 - March 4

Happy Leap Day!  I am back in the saddle after catching the sickness that is rampant.  I still don't have a voice, but am feeling a bit better.  Thanks to Mrs. Vogel for helping sub my class.  They were taught well in my absence. 

Here are this week's happenings:

• Friday it's Spring picture day.  I sent home an information packet last week.  Your child's picture will ONLY be taken if you send back money.
• Our next spelling test is this Thursday, March 3.  I sent home a list of words to practice today.  We are learning about the /j/ sound spelled three different ways--'j', 'g', and 'ge'.  You will see that applied in this week's spelling words.  We are also learning about adding endings to root words so you will see the apparent in the words also (jumping, charged).  
• The end of third quarter is March 25.  I will try my hardest to get a grade print out of this quarter's grades by this Friday before we have Spring break.  
• Our plants have grown like crazy.  They are starting to get little yellow flowers on them.  Today we talked about the parts of a flower and the purposes of each part.  This week we will also discuss pollination.  We will have "actual" dried bees and we'll "pollinate" our plants.  
• In math we just finished Lesson 8.5.  We have learned to use a hundreds chart and to draw a picture to add "ones" or "tens" to a two-digit number.  I feel like most of my students are understanding this concept.  Please keep up with the Chapter 8 homework packet.  You should be through Lesson 8.5 today.  
• I could still use some pencil top erasers.  As I mentioned last week, we are totally out and we could use some more packages to get us through the school year.  I could also use Lysol or Clorox wipes.  With all of the sicknesses going around those are helpful to quickly clean off desks, tables, chairs etc.  
• I hope that you all have a wonderful Spring break!  We still have several weeks of school left, so please don't slack off with nightly reading.  Our End of the year DIBELS testing will be before we know it and in order to "benchmark" students need to be reading 47 words accurately in a minute.  That's a big jump from the middle of the year cut off of 23 words. Practice, practice, by reading, reading and more reading!!

Newsletter February 22 - February 26

Our first ever Science Expo was a success!  Thank you all for making time or getting off work early to attend our Science Expo.   I thought my little readers did a great job explaining the life cycles of chickens, frogs, butterflies, and plants using a reader's theater format.

Here are this week's happenings:

• The February Scholastic book order is due tomorrow, February 23.  If you would like to order it's easiest to use the online code on the flier I sent home with the book titles last week.  I also have a link to Scholastic on this blog.  Scroll down--it's underneath our spelling words.
• Speaking of spelling words--our test will be this Thursday, February 25.  I sent home the list of words today.  The words are again reinforcing what we are learning in the skills portion of our reading program.  This week I introduced a "new" spelling for the /ch/ sound ('tch').  We have also learned about adding a suffix to a root word.  Ask your kids the three rules before adding a suffix (word is one syllable, word has a short vowel, and the short vowel is following by ONE consonant).  If those three rules are met, then before adding the ending we double the final consonant (i.e. hop = hopping and duck = ducking)
• We started Math Chapter 8 today.  I unfortunately don't have my cute daughter helping in my classroom anymore, and I haven't ripped out the homework packets yet.  I will do that today, and send the packet home tomorrow with a schedule.  For your information now, the packet will be due on Wednesday, March 16.  Please make sure you send those packets back with your child's name on it.  I have a hard time distinguishing between number handwriting sometimes :)
• Our 100-book challenge is going strong.  Rebecca has read 50 books!!!  Rieley, Nick and Sam have each read 30 books!!  Please use this challenge as incentive to get your kids to read!! My home reading expectation is 15 minutes every school night, so this challenge should be EASY to achieve if your child is meeting my expectation. 
• We are continuing to learn about the plant life cycle through growth of Brassica Rapa.  Today we talked about and observed parts of a plant (stems, roots, and leaves).  Ask your child about how each part mentioned absorbed the red food coloring.  Our little plants are thriving, and it's fun to watch my kids so excited to see their plant's growth every morning. 
• Our classroom supply of pencil-top erasers is out.  If you want to help replenish this supply I would appreciate it. I could use several more packages of pencil-top erasers to get us through the year.  Thanks!!
• I am sending home new "homework folders" for all students tomorrow.  Please use this as a time to reorganize yourself and your child.  Please, if you haven't been doing this send back your child's homework folder EVERYDAY.  Check their folder every night for homework assignments or notes.  Make it a habit to read your child's take-home book every night. 

Happy Reading!!

February 16 - 19

Welcome back after a three-day weekend.  I managed to go to St. George and hike at Snow Canyon and even brought a little bit of a sunburn back with me.  Thank you for all of the nice Valentine's Day gifts and chocolates!  They were so appreciated and sweet!

Here are the happenings for this shortened week:

• Science Expo is this Friday, February 19 from 2:00 - 2:45. Feel free to come and visit our classroom and see and hear what we have learned about life cycles.  This is informal and an open house so you may visit anytime during that 45 minute time frame.  That way if you have other children that attend our school  you will be able to visit their classrooms too.
• Our Spelling Test is tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 18).  I sent a list of words home last week.  A note about spelling--these words reinforce the spelling patterns we are learning in the Skills portion of our reading program.  The patterns are reinforced in reading, writing and spelling.
• Sam is off to a great start with our 100-book challenge!  He has already read 30 books.  He was the first person to receive a free book and treat (every 25 books).  Please use this incentive to encourage reading at home.  Don't leave it until the last minute!!
• February's Scholastic book order will come home tomorrow and will be due on Tuesday, February 23.  There are always great titles for $1.00.  This time I think there is "Fly Guy" book for $1.00.
• We have been busy getting ready for the Science Expo so we are a bit behind with math.  I will review and test Chapter 7 tomorrow (possibly finish the exam on Friday).  We have also taken a bit of a break with our study of Ancient American Civilizations.  We will pick that up next week.  We will continue to learn and write about and discuss King Moctuzuma (famous Aztec emperor) and will also continue our study of the plants life cycle.  We have a great time planting Brassica rapa (mustard fast) seeds and as the name connotes our plants have already started to sprout. Tomorrow we will learn about how seeds begin to form into plants.  We will examine sprouted mung beans.  

I hope to see many of you on Friday afternoon.
 Happy Reading!!!

Newsletter February 8 - February 12

Here we go again--hopefully this time I can actually publish this newsletter.  It was so nice to visit with most of you during SEP conferences last week.  I still need to catch a couple of you :)  SEP conferences are not the only time that I will meet with you personally.  If you ever want to meet with me please feel free to contact me and we can meet anytime.

This is going to be a busy week--Here are a few highlights:

• We are still a bit behind with our Chapter 7 math schedule.  Today we just completed Lesson 7.4.  Our math packet will be due next Tuesday, February 16, instead of the date on the original schedule.  The test for Chapter 7 will also be on that date.
• This Friday, February 12 we now have an assembly at 2:50.  The Playmakers theater group from SUU will present that assembly.  Our Valentine's Day party time will need to change due to that assembly.  We will now have our party from 2:00-2:40 that day.  I have decided that it will be easier to decorate bags that I will buy from Wal-Mart (gift bags) rather than cover the cans.  I will still need decorating items for the bags (stickers, ribbon etc.)  If you can help with decorating items please send those by this Wednesday, February 10.  If you would like to send $1.00 to cover the bags that would be helpful too, but not necessary since I didn't warn you in advance.  We will decorate cookies during the party also.  Thank you to Jayleigh's mom for already sending some items for the cookies.  I will e-mail those that signed up to help with our Valentine's Day party at Back-to-School night to either help during the party or to send some cookie items.  If you didn't sign up and would still like to help, I'd love to have you.  I can use help as the children decorate cookies and also help as they hand out their Valentine's day cards. Let me know if you'd like to come and help.  Remember that we have 25 students in our class and if you child brings Valentine cards or treats to please bring one for every student.  I sent home a list of students last Monday.
• On Thursday, the Red Butte Garden outreach program will be visiting our classroom.  They will be presenting the first lesson in a series of lessons about a plant's life cycle.  We will also start learning about other life cycles this week in preparation for our Science Expo.  The science expo will be next Friday, February 19.  Parents are invited to visit our classroom from 2:00-2:45  (open house style) and observe what we have been learning about life cycles.  
• Sam and Rieley have already started reading books towards our 100-book challenge.  Today I told all of my students about the challenge.  Remember that I sent home a letter with a recording sheet as well as explained it quickly to you at your SEP conference.  If your child reads their take-home book every school night (which they should be doing anyway), they will easily be able to reach the 100-book goal by May 20th. 
• This Thursday we will be back to our regular library day.  Make sure that you child returns their books so that during library time they can pick out new books.  Look for those books that have been lost and return them by Thursday. 

Have a wonderful 3-day weekend and Valentine's Day!! I love teaching first grade and love this class of mine!