Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Catchin' Up

1. Happy Birthday EJB!

2. Please Please Please attend the public hearing at WCS...6:30 on April 6. Tuesday?
You need to hear what budget factors will be affecting your child's education!

3. We just finished the Catwings series of books. Ask your child about these magnificent characters. What happened to poor James? Why do you think Jane felt like she had to leave Overhill Farm? Tell me about how Harriet and James found Jane.

4. Thank you EVERYONE for being an important partner in your child's learning. Your participation in conferences, and assistance with nightly homework really help reinforce what we are doing in the classroom.

5. Finally...back down to our last box of tissues. If you have an extra box at home, please send them in. Wow, lots of boogies out there. :) Only a first grade teacher could post THAT! hehe

Friday, March 19, 2010

Conferences

If you haven't signed up yet...PLEASE do.
I still have times available on Monday (22) and Wednesday (24) evenings.
If neither of these times work, please just let me know and we'll find a time that does.

Your child is preparing to share some of his/her work with you, so please bring them along.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Happy Birthday KW!


Today Dr. Obery and his crew visited the first grade for a tutorial on how best to take care of our teeth. We covered brushing, flossing, flouride, sealants, food choices and more. They received a lovely toothbrush gift after being inspected. :)

We have also started to look carefully at nonfiction texts and the features we find in them. So far, we have identified photographs, table of contents, labels and captions. Upon further exploration with books today, we discovered index, glossary and maps! Wow. We have been talking about, if you were the author, why would you include one of these features...

If you are out and about, or have an extra box at home, we could use tissues! 'Tis the season!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

We are Famous!

Did you see WCS in The Times Record today?
Our class is on the front page!
Here's a link to the article.

Woo Hoo!
What a lovely story we heard from Averil Fessenden.
She read a Haitian Tale called The Banza.
She paired it with a nonfiction text about earthquakes.
Lovely.

Monday, March 1, 2010

New Stuff

I hope this update finds you with power, and houses intact.
March already...

Just a few bits of news...
1. READING HOMEWORK-
You'll find a new weekly book log to track your home reading. The booklet wasn't working, the post-its are over running the place, so...here I go with another brilliant idea. Thank you for bearing with me.

2. COIN QUEST-
There is a yellow sheet explaining this in backpacks today. Basically, find your loose change, and bring it to school!!! The class with the most poundage will win a pizza party! So, ask your aunts, uncles, grandparents and dogs to dig up some pennies!

3. MATH-
As you have noticed, our focus has moved to geometry. We will be building a shape museum! Please send in shapes in household objects. We will be sorting and naming these two and three dimensional shapes. Thank you!

4. READING & WRITING-
We have been examining nonfiction texts for features that authors use to help us learn. We have identified photographs, table of contents, labels and captions thus far. So, if you notice these in books you read, share them with your child.

5. REWARD-
The next reward will be a Pizza Party! When we achieve our goal, I will be asking for each child to contribute $1 to the cost of Pizza. Let me know if you are available to pick it up.

6. CONFERENCES-
I am revising the dates and you should have a sign up sheet in Tuesday's backpack.