Weekly Post

Hi Everyone,

Many thanks to those of you able to attend our ABC's of Thanksgiving last week. The kids love having you visit the classroom, and I appreciate the time you take from your busy schedule to validate their efforts by attending our programs.  

We have a short week coming up, and then 5 wonderful days to spend with family and food! Here's what you need to know for next week's short week and the week after....

Quarter 1 Report Cards:
A friendly reminder that Quarter 1 report cards were issued Wednesday.  If you've not yet done so, please log into your ParentVue account to view your child's report card.

No Written Homework Next Week:
There will be no written homework next week due to our short week.  PLEASE READ!  Remember...reading isn't homework...reading is LIFE.  :)

Thanksgiving Reading Incentive:
I sent home a Thanksgiving reading incentive in last week's Homework folder.  The kids can earn lunch in the classroom for completing this reading challenge and returning their signed form on Monday, November 27th.  If everyone completes the challenge and returns the form, we'll earn extra recess too!  Please let me know if you have any questions about this reading incentive.

Scholastic Book Fair:

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held at school the week of November 27th. Students will preview the Book Fair on Tuesday.  Students who bring money may shop at the Book Fair during recess the week of November 27th - December 1st.  (Please do NOT send money Tuesday...this is only a preview day.)  If your child plans to bring money for the Book Fair, please send the money in a sealed envelope marked with your child's name, my name, and "Book Fair" on the outside of the envelope.  If you would like to attend the Book Fair to shop with your child, our Family Shopping Night will be Wednesday, November 29th from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm.  I'll send a reminder home about the Book Fair next weekend.

Timeline Project:
I sent home your child's "Look At Me Now" Timeline Project in Friday's Homework folder.  Please review the information in the letter and let me know if you have any questions.  Timeline projects are due no later than Monday, December 4th. If your child has his/her Timeline project completed before that date, feel free to send it in early.


Focus Areas for the Coming Short Week (11/20-11/21) AND the Week of 11/27 - 12/1:

• Reading:  We will continue our Word Detectives Unit. We will summarize stories using the summary frame known as "Somebody-Wanted-But-So".  You can use this summary frame with your child at home too!  After your child reads a book, ask:  "Who is the Somebody in the story?"  (it's usually the main character);  "What did he/she want?";  "But what happened?" (this is the problem);  "So what did he/she do?"  (this is the solution).  We will also talk about the Author's Message in stories we read...what life lesson does the author want us to learn from this story?
• Math:  We will review our addition strategies as we finish our addition unit. We will begin our subtraction unit, in which we explore subtraction as the reverse of addition, and learn strategies for quickly solving subtraction facts.
• Social Studies:  We will finish our Long Ago and Today unit.  We will begin our Economics unit.  We will explore the concepts of wants and needs, goods and services, and consumers and producers.

As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and feedback.

Happy Thanksgiving!  As I count my blessings, your sweet kiddos, you, and the support you offer each day are surely at the top of the list.  

Weekly Update!

Hi Everyone,

We celebrated Veteran's Day at school on Friday.  Please ask your child about it! Veterans came to speak with us about their time in the service, and we celebrated them with our own Pinebrook Veteran's Day parade.  My parents, served for 20 years in the Air Force.  As a teacher and as the daughter veterans, I am so thankful to our Pinebrook community for honoring these veterans.  Please take a moment today to be thankful for the veterans who keep our country the Land of the Free.  

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT REPORT CARDS:
Quarter 1 report cards will go home Wednesday, November 15th.  Please note this important change to our report card delivery system:  Paper report cards will NOT be issued. Your child's report card will be available for electronic viewing by logging into your ParentVue account.

Last night, Mr. Theissen sent an extremely detailed email about this change to the entire Pinebrook community.  This email includes all the directions you need to access your child's report card.  If you do NOT have a ParentVue account, you MUST contact Mrs. Sciortino in our school office at 703-957-4325 to obtain an authorization key.  I apologize in advance, but I am NOT able to help you with obtaining or accessing your ParentVue account.  You must go through Mrs. Sciortino.

American Education Week:
I hope you will join us in our classroom Thursday, November 16th from 10:50 - 11:30 am to celebrate American Education Week.  Students will present the ABC's of Thanksgiving.  Our lunch is immediately following the ABC's of Thanksgiving, and you may stay to have lunch with your child.  Our lunch is from 11:40 - 12:10.  If you're staying for lunch, please plan to say goodbye to your child in the cafeteria at the end of our lunch period.  Our regular instructional day will resume right after lunch.  I sent home specific information about American Education Week, including a copy of your child's speaking part(s), in last week's Homework folder.  Please review this information.  Please send back the form to let me know if you're staying for lunch, and please help your child practice reading his/her speaking part with a clear, confident voice.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will continue our Word Detectives unit, in which we learn strategies for reading tricky words.  We will explore problem and solution in stories we read.
• Writing:  We will respond to writing prompts and self-chosen topics as we continue to practice capitalization, punctuation, spacing, and letter formation. We will complete a Thanksgiving writing project.
• Math:  We will continue our addition unit.  We will continue learning strategies for quickly solving addition facts.
• Social Studies:  We will continue our Long Ago and Today unit as we make our final preparations for American Education Week, and the ABC's of Thanksgiving.

Our first quarter is in the books!  Thank you for all you've done to help your child adjust to 1st grade.  I am blessed by their sweet presence each day.  Please remember...your feedback is welcomed and appreciated.  

I'm going to start our family's Thanksgiving preparations this week.  First up:  ensuring all my elastic waist pants are ready to go!  

Weekly Update

Happy Saturday! I hope you are enjoying some much needed rest and snuggle time with your kiddos this weekend. 

Turkey of the Year:
I MADE IT TO THE FINAL FOUR!!!!
Turkey of the Year voting continues today, and will go on 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 (Vote for me!).  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. Did I mention to vote for me?! =0)

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, and you may stay to have lunch with your child after our event.  For your planning purposes, our lunch is from 11:40 - 12:10.  If you're staying for lunch, please plan to say goodbye to your child in the cafeteria at the end of our lunch period.  Our regular instructional day will resume right after lunch.  Please check your child's homework folder this week for their speaking parts. Please practice reading these lines with them. They do not need to memorize them. 

Next Week's Homework and Sound of the Week:
Due to our short week next week, we will not have new sight words or written homework.  We will review previously learned sight words.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will talk about the reasons authors write books:  to persuade, to inform, and to entertain.  This is called the "author's purpose".  We will begin our Word Detectives unit, in which we learn strategies for solving tricky words.
• Writing:  We will respond to writing prompts and self-chosen topics as we continue to practice capitalization, punctuation, spacing, and letter formation.
• Math:  We will continue our addition unit.  We will learn strategies for quickly solving addition facts.
• Social Studies:  We will learn about the significance of Veteran's Day and prepare for our Pinebrook Veteran's Day celebration.  We will begin to prepare for the ABC's of Thanksgiving.

It's been a delight to visit with so many of you at conferences.  Thank you for taking time to talk with me about your child's progress!  Thank you for being vested in your child's social, emotional, and educational development.

Don't forget...the kids don't have school Monday or Tuesday due to Teacher Work Days.  Enjoy the long weekend!