Weekly Update

Hi Parents,

It's the time of year when the calendar begins to fill up quickly, both at home and at school!  I have many upcoming events to tell you about.  

Fall Party:
I hope to see some of you at our Fall Party on Tuesday.  It begins at 12:30 in our classroom.  Please sign in at the office and get a visitor pass before coming to our classroom.  Since no costumes are allowed that day, please help your child contribute to our festive atmosphere by dressing in something orange or Halloween themed (a Halloween shirt, hair ribbon, etc.).  

Field Trip:
Our field trip to Claude Moore Park and the Heritage Farm Museum will be next Wednesday, November 8th.  We'll enjoy a nature walk through the park while we observe seasonal changes and learn how animals prepare for winter.  We'll attend the apples program at the Museum to learn about different types of apples, play some apple games, and press some apple cider.  Your child should bring a disposable lunch on the field trip.  Watch the weather to decide what to wear; layers are best as the temperature fluctuates while we move in and out of the sun in the park.  Children should wear sneakers; no sandals please.  I'll send home a few more reminders next week.

Turkey of the Year:
Turkey of the Year voting began today, and will continue for the next few Fridays! Your child must read to vote for the staff member he/she would like to see come to school dressed in a turkey suit.  One hour of reading equals one vote.  Each Friday, please sign and return that week's voting slip, which came home in last week's Thursday folder.  If you lost the voting slips, please write a note to indicate how many hours your child read during the previous week, sign it, and send it to school on Friday. 

Parent Teacher Conferences:
Conferences have begun!  If your conference is in the morning before school, I will meet you at the front door of the school to let you in since our office staff may not yet be here.  You will not need to sign in.  If your conference is after school, please ring the school visitor bell, be prepared to show your photo id to our office staff, and sign in at the office.  You may walk to our classroom after you sign in.  

American Education Week:
Please mark your calendar for our American Education Week celebration on Thursday, November 16th from 10:50 - 11:30 am in our classroom.  Students will present the ABC's of Thanksgiving.  Our lunch is immediately following the ABC's of Thanksgiving; you may stay to have lunch with your child after our event.  More details to follow!

Pinebrook Veteran's Day Program:
Please read the following message from the Pinebrook office regarding our Veteran's Day Program:

Calling All Veterans!

You are invited to participate in Pinebrook's Veteran's Day Celebration

At Pinebrook Elementary, we love to celebrate and honor our families, especially those who have served or are currently active in the military. We would be honored to have you join us and share your stories with two classrooms of students (parents and extended family military members welcome) for our Veteran's Day Celebration to be held on Friday, November 10^th from 8:00am-10:15am.

Schedule of events:

8:00 – 8:25 Veterans check in at the front desk and proceed to the library

8:30 – 9:10 Program Begins / Veteran's share their story with two different groups of students

8:30 – 8:50 First Session

8:50 – 9:10 Second Session

9:15 – 9:30 Photos of Veterans with their students

9:30 – 9:45 Pinebrook Veterans Day Parade

9:45 - 10:15 Juice, Coffee, Bagels for Veterans

Please RSVP through Google Forms at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeqCiNfjx6aXv_q4WjfRByUFiPoHjSvdiT40rKpP8KQuSPdag/viewform   

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will explore cause and effect, prediction, problem and solution, and story retelling with one of my Halloween favorites...Room on the Broom.
• Writing:  We will compare apples and pumpkins and outline the life cycle of a pumpkin.
• Math:  We will finish our patterns unit and begin our addition unit.  We will learn strategies for quickly solving addition facts.
• Social Studies:  We will learn about Veteran's Day, and make a banner to thank all veterans during our annual Veteran's Day event.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Weekly Update

Happy Saturday! I hope you are enjoying a nice relaxing day with your family. The kids enjoyed a visit from the fireman yesterday and learned all about fire safety this week. 

Pumpkins:
We will complete an in-class pumpkin investigation.  Each child will need his/her own small pumpkin.  A formal note about this will be coming home in their homework folder on Monday.  Please send your child's small pumpkin to school by Friday, October 20th.  Please write your child's name on the bottom of his/her pumpkin.

Next Week is Spirit Week:
We will have a Spirit Week next week to raise awareness for bully prevention.  Themes for each day are:

• Monday:  Mismatch Day
• Tuesday: Dress Like a Superhero Day
• Wednesday:  Inside Out Day
• Thursday:  Wear 2 Different Shoes Day
• Friday:  Pinebrook Colors or Spirit Wear Day

Fall Conferences:
Thank you to those of you who have signed up for a Parent/Teacher Conference.  If you have not yet signed up for your conference, please click HERE to sign up.  

Fall Party:
Please mark your calendar for our Fall party on Tuesday, October 31st from 11:30-1:30 pm in our classroom.  All families are welcome to attend!  (NO costumes, please.)  Permission slips were sent home last week. Please return it as soon as possible if you haven't done so already.  Your child must have your written permission to eat any party food.   Our awesome Room Moms and I thank you for your donations. Your funds will be put to good use, as the ladies plan for our class celebrations.  :)

Extra Clothes:
Because first graders are still prone to bathroom accidents and playground slips, please consider tucking an extra set of clothing (to include underclothes) into your child's backpack.  I will not collect and store the clothes in our classroom.  The extra set of clothing will simply sit at the bottom of your child's backpack until it may be needed.  Thank you!

Water Bottles:
If you're not already doing so, please begin to send a water bottle to school each day with your child.  We do NOT have an in-class water fountain.  The kids get tired and thirsty over the course of our long morning, and water goes a long way toward helping them stay energetic and attentive.  

Looking for Gently Used iPads:
As we approach the Holidays, some of you may be upgrading your technology. Please consider donating your unused/discarded iPad to our classroom.  We use iPads during both Literacy and Math stations for a variety of activities.  The iPads don't have to be the fanciest or the newest models; any size or model will do.  You can reset the iPad to factory settings to erase any personal information and/or data. Thank you!

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will explore setting in the books we read.  The setting is where a story takes place.  We will identify settings, and talk about how settings can enhance stories.
• Writing:  We will explore opinion writing.  We will compare and contrast apples and pumpkins.
• Math:  We will begin our patterns and sorting unit.  You can help!  Look for patterns in our everyday world, identify the pattern unit (the part of the pattern that repeats), and ask your child to label the patterns using the letters A,B,C, and so on.
• Science:  We will learn the parts and life cycles of both apples and pumpkins.

Reach out at anytime with questions, comments, and feedback!

Have a happy weekend!

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather outside today. I spent my day on the soccer and baseball fields.It was a perfect day to watch my kids play! I promise to make this short and sweet...
Please Sign Up for a Conference!

Parent / Teacher conferences will be held at the end of the first quarter.  I am using Sign Up Genius to schedule conferences.  You can sign up for a conference time by clicking HERE.  If you are unable to attend a conference on one of the dates / times listed, please send me an email to make alternate arrangements. 

Important Information About Written Homework:
Your child completed his/her first written homework sheet this week.  Our written homework will always be the same:  in addition to nightly reading, your child will spend one night practicing writing each of our words of the week 3 times.  He/she will then use each word in a sentence.  There are 5 words of the week.  Please note:  our 5 words of the week are in your child's agenda.  He/she writes those 5 words in the upper right corner of the agenda each Monday.  Those are the words your child should practice writing for written homework.  Those are the words your child should use in a sentence for written homework.  Those are the words posted here on my blog under my picture.  Your child should not be using any of our sound of the week words for written homework.  Those are the words pre-printed on the paper your child glues in the lower right corner of the agenda each Monday.  Please let me know if you need further clarification. 

I also completed the homework this week.  :)  Here's what my completed homework looks like.  I think seeing mine may help you ensure your child is completing his/her homework correctly:

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will examine the differences between fiction and non-fiction texts, and explore ways to determine whether a text is a fiction or non-fiction selection.
• Writing:  We will discuss ways in which writers organize their writing.
• Math:  We will finish our number sense unit.  Our patterns and sorting unit comes next.
• Social Studies:  We will discuss fire safety.

Please reach out with questions, comments, or feedback.

Weekly Update

Happy Sunday!

Please read this update to its end.  It contains important information about conferences and homework.

Please Sign Up for a Conference!

Parent / Teacher conferences will be held at the end of the first quarter.  I am using Sign Up Genius to schedule conferences.  I sent the Sign Up Genius via email yesterday. You can also sign up for a conference time by clicking HERE.  If you are unable to attend a conference on one of the dates / times listed, please send me an email to make alternate arrangements. 

Homework Begins Next Week:
On Monday, your child will receive his/her first written homework sheet.  In an effort to make homework both meaningful and manageable, our 1st grade homework will be the same every week.  Students will be required to read (as usual) each night.  Students will be required to practice writing our weekly sight words one night.  This means the only change to your child's existing homework routine is the addition of written homework (the sight word practice) one night each week.  You choose the night that works best for your family's schedule! Homework sheets will go home on Monday and are due back by Friday.  There's a much more detailed explanation about homework on the homework sheet itself. Please read through it Monday and let me know if you have any questions.  For those of you looking for a little something "more", please refer to the "online resources" page of this blog for some extra practice and enrichment ideas.  *Please note that your child will write our weekly sight words in his/her agenda each Monday.  I will also post the sight words on my blog -- look to the right under my picture.

Sound of the Week:
Next week, we will begin Sound of the Week.  Each week, we'll work in school to focus on a specific sound and the correct way to spell the sound when doing written work, or in recognizing that spelling when reading a tricky word.  Some children are very successful in learning and correctly using this information.  For others, it's an important exposure to a sound and spelling pattern they'll become comfortable with in the future.  Each week, your child will glue some information into his/her agenda about our sound of the week.  While there is no formal homework related to sound of the week, I encourage you to look for the spelling pattern when reading, and to help your child apply it in his/her writing. We'll begin next week with the short vowels, and progress to long vowels from there.  

Shoe Tying!
Please help keep your child, our classroom, and our school safe by helping your child practice tying his/her shoes.  Untied shoes are a huge distraction during instructional times. 5 Puma Paws to any student who can demonstrate the ability to independently tie his/her shoes!  (Students may demonstrate during recess!)

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will learn tips for decoding tricky words.  I will continue administering the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA).
• Writing:  We will practice focusing on a topic and adding details to our writing.
• Math:  We will begin to wind down our number sense unit and continue practicing the routines of Math Workshop.
• Science:  We will talk about the relationship between the Earth, Sun, and Moon and what makes day and night.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.  

Have a wonderful evening!