Xtreme Party

JUST A REMINDER THAT OUR END OF SCHOOL PARTY IS ON TOMORROW.

WE WILL DEPART FROM SCHOOL ABOUT 9:45. OUR PARTY IS FROM 10:00 - 12:00. THE CHILDREN ARE FREE TO GO HOME AFTER THE PARTY OR RETURN TO SCHOOL WITH ME. IF THEY DO GO HOME I WILL HAVE A SIGN-OUT SHEET YOU MUST SIGN.  IF YOU ARE GOING TO THE PARTY, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. THE DRIVERS FOR THE PARTY ARE:

1)MISSY RAMAGE

2) SHANNON SENN

3) GENE AND GERALD MURPHY 

Reminders for the Week

I would like to have all of the Xtreme Athletics waiver forms, the $7 fee, and the $2 for pizza by tomorrow. If for some reason you cannot have these turned in by tomorrow, I will collect them Wednesday morning at the latest.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19th we will celebrate the summer birthdays during lunch. If your child has a summer birthday and you would like to send pizza, snacks, etc please let me know by this afternoon.

Friday school will dismiss at 10am. I will not be here on that day.

Summer Birthdays

For the children that have summer birthdays I thought it would be a good idea to let them celebrate at school. If you have a child with a summer birthday and are interested in celebrating at school please contact me. I am reserving Tuesday during lunch for these celebrations. It will be a joint celebration. You can do pizza, cupcakes, etc. Just let me know by Monday. Thanks

Don't Forget

Just a reminder that the Xtreme Athletic Waiver form is due Wednesday, May 20th along with $7 for Xtreme's fee and $2 for pizza. The party will also be on that day. If you are interested in helping out with the party in any way contact Laura Leigh at lauraleighsikes@yahoo.com

Thanks

Details for AR Pool Party

I have only received 5 permission forms for the party. They were due today. If we do not receive them by tomorrow I will assume your child will not be attending. If for some reason you have lost or missed placed it please come in the office in the morning and see Mrs. Jordan to sign the form.

They will begin busing children to the pool at 9:00am. Mrs. Jordan says first grade will probably be leaving school around 9:15 and returning around 11ish. If you are planning on attending, your child can ride with you or you can just meet us there. Mrs. Jordan will be serving pizza, cupcakes, and drinks so there will be no need to send lunch with your child on Monday just a snack. Please have your child already dressed in their swimsuits. They should bring a towel and a change of clothes for when we return. 

End of the Year Party

The parents that are making the arrangements for refreshments at the end of the year party is asking each student to bring $2 to help with purchasing pizza. If you would like to bring any treats that is fine. If you would like to help out in any way please contact Laura Leigh Sikes at lauraleighsikes@yahoo.com. Thanks!

The party is Wednesday, May 20th at Xtreme Athletics from 10:00-12:00.

Next Week

Just a few updates and reminders about next week:

******Monday is the AR Pool Party. The permission form is due no later than tomorrow.

******Wednesday, May 20th is our end of the year party at Xtreme Athletics. The fee of $7 and the waiver form is due that day. Anyone interested in helping with refreshments please email as soon as possible at haleystinson@rocketmail.com


I will not be here on Friday (the last day of school) due to personal reasons. The school will dismiss at 10am....if your child is coming to school that day I will either have a sub or they will be sent to Mrs Hollis' room. I hate that I will miss the last day but we will have plenty of opportunities to celebrate this incredible year before the end. I would like to say I feel beyond blessed to have had your children as my first class. Thank you to everyone that supported, encouraged, uplifted, and offered a helping hand when I needed it.  This being my first year teaching, I have definitely learned a lot and know I made a few mistakes but I am so grateful for your patience and again your support as I was figuring it all out. I would not have made it through the year without some of you! The Lord creates our paths and I know he put PLAS in mine for a reason. This is an incredible school with wonderful students and parents. I wish the best for all your kiddos and hope to stay in touch. :)

STAR Testing

ON FRIDAY MORNING OUR FIRST GRADE WILL BE STAR TESTED TO SEE HOW MUCH WE'VE IMPROVED IN OUR READING AND COMPREHENSION THIS YEAR. PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD AT SCHOOL ON TIME AS WE WILL BE GOING TO THE LEARNING LAB WHICH IS IN THE OLDER BUILDING.

Field Trip TOMORROW

OUR TRIP TO LANDMARK PARK IS TOMORROW.  WE WILL GO BY BUS.  WE'LL BE LEAVING AS CLOSE TO 8:00 AS WE CAN. SO PLEASE TRY TO HAVE YOUR CHILD HERE BY  7:45.

WE WILL BE EATING AT THE PARK, SO PLEASE PACK A SACK LUNCH FOR YOUR CHILD. I WILL TAKE AN ICE CHEST TO KEEP DRINKS AND FOOD COOL.  WE WILL NEED ONE MORE ICE CHEST, OR MAYBE TWO.  PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU CAN BRING ONE.

JUST A REMINDER THAT THE PLANETARIUM ONLY SEATS 45, AND THERE ARE 38 OF US.  PARENTS WILL HAVE TO WORK OUT WHO GOES IN FOR THE OTHER 7 SEATS.

Homework

I have assigned each student a planet or the sun to research at home. They should find at least 3 facts about the planet. I would like this information due no later than Wednesday. We will be adding the information to a class chart that we will use during our planet lesson this week. They can bring pictures, written or printed facts, books etc. Below is a list of the assigned planets.

Sun
Joshua James Gardiner
Weston Garrett
Mercury
Anna Kate Hardin
Will Hasson
Venus
Isabella Helms
Carly Henderson
Mars
Jaylyn Luker
Huck Murray
Jupiter
Amy Ramage
Caroline Renfroe
Saturn
Carter Nelson
Emory Senn
Uranus
Libby Tompkins
Brady Walters
Evan Zhao
Neptune
Luke
Lexie

FYI and Weekly Reminders

We are through taking grades, YAY!!! I will still be teaching and reviewing lessons but no grades will be taken. I am going to take this opportunity to work on the skills the children are having the most trouble with along with doing a lot of hands-on learning. We will also do a Planet lesson to prepare for our field trip to Landmark this Thursday.

There is A LOT going on in the next two weeks. Please check blog daily. Check out the reminders below.

Reminders *****

Field Day
We will have Field Day tomorrow, 1:00-3:00 (according to the flyer)  I'm thinking we will probably stop by 2:30.  Please put sunblock on your child before he/she comes to school and send a couple of bottles of water.  (It would be good to freeze one bottle of water.)  As the flyer says, dress your child in clothes that you do not mind getting dirty and wet.

Honor's Day
The End of the Year Honor's Program will be this Wednesday at 9am.

Field Trip
The Field Trip to Landmark Park is this Thursday. I will be posting more information later.

AR Pool Party
Permission forms and information for the AR Pool Party will be sent home tomorrow. Since this is the first year the children did AR, they will all be able to attend the party. I will be there and parents are welcome to attend.  If you do not feel comfortable with your child going to the pool party, they will be able to stay at school, please notify me as soon as possible if you do not want your child to go.

Thanks! :)

End of the School Party

Our end of school party will be at Xtreme Athletics on May 20th, 10:00-12:00.  Cost is $7.00 per child.  Please send this amount by Wednesday of next week.  Today, I will have a waiver in the children's folders for you to sign and return at the request of Xtreme Athletics.

There is no one signed up for this party.  If you would like to be in charge of planning for the refreshments for our class, please e-mail me at haleystinson@rocketmail.com; you will be collaborating with the parents in Mrs. Hollis's class THANKS!!!

Field Day

Students will need to wear sunscreen and clothing that can get wet.  Sunscreen will not be applied outside.  

Thank you all for your support and help in the play. I could not have done it without you. I feel it was very successful and the children seemed to have a lot of fun and that is all that matters :) Thanks again!

Lunch Tomorrow

We will be celebrating Lexie and Amy's birthday tomorrow during lunch. We will be having pizza and cupcakes so the children will not need to bring a lunch, just a drink :)

AR Stars!

Congratulations to Anna Kate and Joshua Gardiner on reaching their goals in AR!!! Way to go, guys. I am so proud :)

Video of Play

Candace Nelson will be filming the 1st grade play tomorrow.  If you would like a copy of the video it is $25.

Reminder****** The play is TOMORROW at 9AM. Please practice the play parts tonight! Some forgot their lines today. Please have your child here on time tomorrow. We will begin getting ready at 8 o'clock. Thank you! 

Dress Rehearsal

I have enough volunteers for dress rehearsal! Thank you so much! None of this is possible without your support! :)

We are learning about the White House this week. I am asking all the students to bring in a interesting fact about the White House or the Capital to share with the class!

Newsletter Week of May 4th

Spelling Words: NO SPELLING!


Sounds/Spellings: Digraphs: are two consonants put together to make one sound.
Examples: sh, ch or tch, wh, th, ph

High Frequency Words: while could should

Vocabulary: trudge, president, famous

Stories: "The White House" and "Snail's Pace"

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Predicting, Visualizing, Making Inferences, Cause and Effect, Making Connections, Compare and Contrast, Drawing Conclusions  Focus: Main Idea and Details

Language Arts: Review:Identifying present and past tense verbs, Irregular Past Tense Verbs, and Past Tense Verbs Ending in y Introduction: Future-Tense Verbs


Math: New Concepts; Comparing 1/2, 1/4, and 1/3  Math Concepts to be tested on: Addition and subtraction families 1-12, place value cards, story problems with extra facts, adding and subtracting three numbers, two-digit numbers, and carrying when adding, counting by 5s, time, less and greater than

Math Test: Friday, May 8th
Reading Test: Friday, May 8th

Homework

Please have the children read the story "The White House" and do questions 1-8, the answers can be answered verbally... just make a note of it. We will not have spelling this week since we have so much going on. :)

AR GOAL

4 more days to reach AR goal!!!!!!

Help Needed and Play Info

I will need help getting the students changed in to and out of their costumes. I already have one parent volunteer, I would like at least one more. If you are able to help please let me know.

We will have our dress rehearsal this Wednesday at 9am and whoever volunteers will need to be here then.

All clothes/costumes for the play will need to be brought  no later than Wednesday morning. I would like for them to be brought tomorrow if at all possible. 

The children may go home after the play production on Thursday. They will need to be signed out in my room.


Thank you all for your support and help throughout this play! It has been a little overwhelming and I would not have survived without the help from you WONDERFUL parents! Thank you for everything you have done to help prepare us for these plays. :)

AR Stars!!!

Congratulations to Carly Henderson and Huck Murray for reaching their goals in AR! I am SO proud :) Way to read, keep it up!

AR Star!

Congratulations to Lexie Terry for reaching her goal in AR!  I am SO proud of you!!! Keep it up :)

New Behavior Calendar

I sent home the calendar for May today. It has all the events listed that I am currently aware of, please take note and write them in your calendar...there are a lot of activities and events coming up!

The students have only 6 days left to reach their AR goals.

Test tomorrow

We did not get to take our math test today. We will take it tomorrow. I am sending home a math sheet for them to do for homework to help prepare for the test.

Also, be sure the children study and review the phonics and grammar section of the study guide. We will be taking the test tomorrow along with the spelling and sentence test.

AR Stars!

Congratulations to Libby Tompkins, Luke Sikes, and Caroline Renfroe for reaching their goals in AR!! I am so proud of you! Keep on reading :)

AR Stars!!

Congratulations to Weston Garrett, Amy Ramage, Libby Tompkins, and Jaylyn Luker for reaching their goal in AR!!! I am so proud :) Keep it up!

Lexie Terry's Birthday

Lexie gave out invitations last week to all the girls both first grade classes. Please be sure to check your child's binder for the invitation. It's a tea party this Sunday from 2-3:30! Thanks

Costumes for Play

COSTUMES FOR PLAY

The costumes are going to be just a headband with ears and the animals will have tails. The items I am listing below all need to be solid colors. I do not want any shirts with writing. If you have any questions please email me, thanks!

The Little Red Hen

Little Red Hen (Caroline): White dress or shirt

Cat (Anna Kate): Black shirt and black pants or shorts

Dog (Brady): Brown shirt and pants

Mouse (Joshua): Grey shirt and pants

Three Little Pigs

Man (Luke): Overalls or jeans and a plaid shirt

Pigs (Weston, Huck, Joshua): Pink shirt

Wolf (Will): Grey shirt and pants

Little Red Riding Hood

Woodsman (Evan): Jeans and a plaid shirt

Grandmother (Jaylyn): A dress, I will have a nightgown and wig for her to wear

Little Red (Lexie): Dress…I have the cloak

Wolf (Carter): Grey shirt and jeans

Mother (Emory): Anything will work! I will have an apron for her to wear

Henny Penny

Henny Penny (Libby): White dress or outfit

Turkey-Lurkey (Carly): Brown dress or outfit

Ducky-Lucky (Amy): Yellow dress or outfit

Goosey-Loosey (Isabella): grey dress or outfit

Foxy-Loxy (Luke): Orange shirt and Jeans

Cocky-Locky (Jaylyn): Brown dress or shirt

Newsletter Week of April 28th

Spelling Words: fence, chance, twice, center, cider, circus, decide, city, bicycle, fancy, very, every, school, Mother's Day


Sounds/Spellings: Consonant blends: pl, cl, gr, dr, fl, pr, st, tr, sm, br, gl, cr, sl, spr, nt
The children can read these sounds beautifully, what they need to work on is identifying them orally and spelling them. I have put tr in bold because that is the one they misspell the most. The children will hear it as ch and not tr. For practice at home, say a word and have them either spell it out verbally or write it down.

High Frequency Words: where  while

Vocabulary: porch, cement, electrician, hut

Stories: "Homes Around the World" and "Building a House"

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Predicting, Visualizing, Making Inferences, Cause and Effect, Making Connections, Compare and Contrast, Drawing Conclusions  Focus: Clarifying

Language Arts: Review:Identifying present and past tense verbs Introduction: Irregular Past Tense Verbs and Past Tense Verbs Ending in y

Social Studies: Geography; comparing homes around the world

Math: New Concepts; Story problems with extra facts,  Math Concepts to be tested on: Addition and subtraction families 1-12, shapes, story problems, place value, adding and subtracting three numbers, counting by 2s, money, fractions

Math Test: Friday , May 1st
Pre-Spelling Test: Thursday, April 30th
Spelling and Sentence Test: Friday, May 1st
Reading Test: Thursday, April 30th
Grammar Test: Friday, May 1st

Monday

I will be out on Monday. Mrs. Snead will be my sub. I am sending home next week's study guide today just so I can be sure that they receive it. I will not be sending a homework sheet home next week; this will hopefully give the students more time to practice their play parts. However, I do advise doing the study guide so they can be well-prepared for the reading test next week.

PLEASE BE SURE THEY KNOW THEIR PLAY PARTS!!! The play is May 7th, very soon!!!

Costumes

For the costumes I do not have, I plan on making head pieces. If anyone has any headbands or any materials they would like to donate that would be great! I need to make a headpiece for 2 hens, a turkey, a fox, and a rooster. I also need to make a turkey gobbler and fan, duck feet and beak, a fox tail, and any ideas on what to do for a goose would be great too :) Thank you all so much for your help!

Homework Tonight

I am sending home a grammar pactice test tonight for homework. Please help your child understand the directions and how to determine if a sentence is in the past or present tense. They also need to review the Long and Short e spellings and sounds and how to identify them. The best way to practice at home is for them to write words that have these sounds in them. They can think of things around them or just come up with the words on their own. Be sure they study for the math test as well; all of the concepts they are going to be tested on can be found in the Newsletter for this week.


****Practice plays parts!!

Reading Test

I will be giving the reading test on "Homes" tomorrow. I feel the children are prepared for this test. However, I will not give the grammar and phonics section of the test until Friday. They need a little extra practice on identifying sentences in the present and past tense.

Achieve

I have updated Achieve. All grades show their current average with the exceptions of make-up work.

Following Directions

I am sending home graded papers today. Some of the grades are very low and it is directly related to the children not listening, following, or reading the directions. I always go over the directions with the children several times and ask if there are any questions. I also instruct them to reread the directions once they receive their paper and to always check their work before turning it in. Please remind them of the importance of listening and reading directions and how rechecking their work can help them catch mistakes that they made! Thank you

Graded Papers

Graded papers will go home tomorrow!

Costumes

I have received the costumes from Mrs. Blackwell. We have everything we need for Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and Little Red Hen. However, I do not have anything for Henny-Penny that I can use. The costumes that I already have are just ears, tails, noses, and props. So I would like the same for Henny-Penny. Any parents that are willing to help me out on this would be much appreciated! I am open for any ideas and/or suggestions. This is the first play I have ever put on and any help would be wonderful! We tried some of the costumes on today and the are absolutely adorable! :)

This Week's Homework

I will not be giving a lot of homework this week or in the coming weeks. I really want the children to focus on practicing their play parts. They will need to read our story in the Hardback Reader and use the study guide for review and of course read their AR books.

Our test in reading is set for Friday but I may move it to Thursday. The story is very short and the children seem to know it pretty well already. I will notify you by tomorrow afternoon whether the date has changed.

Please help your child remember their play parts! Once you believe they know their lines really well, start to practice acting each part out. Remind them to speak loudly and clearly when saying their parts. We are practicing in the classroom everyday from now on until the play date. Some of them know their parts beautifully but some still need a lot of practice.

I know this all seems overwhelming, it does for me as well, but their is a light at the end of the tunnel! Just hang in there! It is going to be worth it! :)

Newsletter April 20th

Spelling Words: knock, knee, know, knife, knew, wrong, wrist, wrap, wreck, write, were, was, when, Thursday


Sounds/Spellings: Review Long and Short "e" sounds and spellings
Long Spellings: e  ea  e_e  _y  ee  _ie_    Short Spellings: e    _ea_

High Frequency Words: four  put

Vocabulary: packed, roof, clay, sturdy

Stories: "Homes"

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Predicting, Visualizing, Making Inferences, Cause and Effect, Making Connections, Compare and Contrast, Drawing Conclusions  Focus: Asking Questions

Language Arts: Review: Contractions  Introduce: Identifying present and past tense verbs

Social Studies: Geography; comparing homes around the world

Math: New Concepts; 12 addition and subtraction family,  Math Concepts to be tested on: Addition and subtraction families 1-12, greater than or less than, time, story problems, ordinal numbers, adding three 2-digit numbers, counting by 2s

Math Test: Friday, April 24th
Pre-Spelling Test: Thursday, April 23rd
Spelling and Sentence Test: Friday, April 24th
Reading Test: Friday, April 24th

Just a Reminder

JUST A REMINDER THAT WE HAVE THREE WEEKS TO REACH OUR GOALS IN AR!  IT'S ALSO A LITTLE LESS THAN THREE WEEKS WHEN WE HAVE TO BE READY TO PERFORM OUR PLAYS!  IT'S A BUSY TIME!!!!!

Landmark Park Field Trip

For the Landmark Park field trip we have a problem concerning seating.  The Planetarium seats 45.  First grade requires 38 seats. We have l7 parents who have paid to go.  Parents will need to take turns going into the Planetarium. (You can work that out among yourselves.)  The program lasts about 90 minutes and is divided into two parts:  Seasonal Stars and Stories.  The story we will be viewing is Secret of the Cardboard Rocket.

For lunch, Mrs. Hollis and I have thought about having the children pack a picnic lunch and eating at the Park.  We will post more about this later.

AR STARS!

Congratulations to Carter Nelson and Isabella Helms for reaching their AR goals!!!! Awesome job, keep it up!!!

The plastic for the recycling contest is due in the MORNING! Thanks

Lunch Friday

If your child is planning on ordering from the lunchroom on Friday, I need to know by tomorrow what they are getting. Friday is a half day for the upper grades and Mrs. Joni needs to know how much food to cook. I already have the calendars and order forms from the children who normally order but if you are not one that normally orders and plan on it Friday please send this information TOMORROW. Thanks

I have added a few dates to "Dates to Remember". Please make note of them in your calendar. :)

FYI

Next week we begin our second reader.  With all that will be happening in the next few weeks, we will not have time to read all the stories, so I will be skipping some (which you are very welcome to read with your child).

In AR we only have four weeks to reach our goals.  Just a reminder that all the children who have reached their goals each nine weeks get to enjoy a pool party at the Troy Rec Center.  (:

Under Important Dates you will notice that Elementary Honor's Day is May 13th.  That doesn't mean that we stop taking grades after that date.  It just means that at this point in time, your child is on the A or A/B honor roll. Teachers will continue taking grades.

We will be practicing our plays each afternoon.  Please continue to help your child memorize his/her parts.  (This week I will post information concerning our costumes for the plays.)

Don't forget to have your $6.00 in by Friday for our trip to Landmark Park.

Don't forget to collect plastic for our recycling contest! You can now send what you have in, Friday is the last day! 

PLEASE CHECK MY BLOG REGULARLY. THANKS!

FIELD TRIP MONEY IS DUE FRIDAY, APRIL 17th! 

Graded Papers

Graded papers will go home tomorrow. Achieve will also be updated by tomorrow afternoon.

Newsletter April 13th-17th

Spelling Words: claw, hawk, gnaw, awful, yawn, pause, fault, auto, because, caught, such, much, enough, April


Sounds/Spellings: Review all long vowel sounds and spellings

Vocabulary: trapping, attracts, wetlands, insects

Stories: "Plants That Eat Animals"

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Asking Questions, Visualizing, Making Inferences, Cause and Effect, Making Connections, Compare and Contrast, Drawing Conclusions  Focus: Predicting

Language Arts: Review: Antonyms and Synonyms Introduction: Contractions

Science: Living and Nonliving Things, Parts of plants

Writing: Informative Writing 

Math: New Concepts; 12 addition and subtraction family, greater/less than symbols, carrying to the tens place in addition,  Math Concepts to be tested on: Addition/Subtraction Families 1-12, subtracting two-digit numbers, story problems, counting money, measurements, using a ruler, numbers that are greater, place-value, calendar

Math Test: Wednesday, April 15th
Pre-Spelling Test: Thursday, April 16th
Spelling and Sentence Test: Friday, April 17th
Reading Test: Friday, April 17th

Supplies, treasure box, and candy

Good morning, parents!

We are running low on a few things in the classroom. Most of the children need new pencils and erasers, please send these as soon as possible! They should know if they need them or not.  

We also need more candy and treasure chest items.

Thank you for everything you do :) 

Drawn Down

Draw Down tickets are due by the end of the day today, April 8, 2015.  All tickets must be turned in no later than 8:00 am on Friday, April 10.

Landmark Park Field Trip

The First Grade will be going by bus to Landmark Park on Thursday, May 14th. Parents are welcome to go with us. Cost for adults is the same as for the children...$6.00. This money is due on Friday, April 17th.

Recycling Contest

We have received tons of plastic for the contest. I am so proud but at the rate we are going I am going to run out of room to store it before the last day of the contest :) If possible please collect and store at your home and bring it the week of the contest! If you need to send it to school that is fine. Thank you so much!

FYI

• The "Dates to Remember" have been updated. 
• Our play date has changed from May 8th to May 7th. Please help your child memorize their parts. 
• Monday is a holiday! 
• Next Friday is a half day. Early birds will let out at 11:40, late birds at 11:50, and everyone should be picked up by 12.

Newsletter April 6th-10th

Spelling Words: soil, voice, spoil, moist, coin, boy, toy, Troy, enjoy, destroy, four, for, with, spring


Sounds/Spellings: Review Long and Short u sounds, spellings, and rules. For extra practice at home have the students write words using the spellings for each sound (Long u: u  _ew  u_e   _uer) For short u: Focus on words ending in _dge, _ck, x, _ng (these spellings only come after short vowel sounds)

Vocabulary: petals, bright

Stories: Flowers     "Flowers at Night"

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Asking Questions, Visualizing, Making Inferences, Cause and Effect, Identifying Sound Words ex. swoosh, Making Connections, Compare and Contrast, Drawing Conclusions  Focus: Compare and Contrast

Study Skill: Using the Library

Language Arts: Synonyms Intro: Antonyms

Science: Living and Nonliving Things

Writing: Descriptive Story

Math: New Concepts; Five-digit addition and Addition and subtraction with four numbers, adding three coins Math Concepts to be tested on: Addition/Subtraction Families 1-11, subtracting two-digit numbers, story problems, temperature, counting by fives, numbers that are ten more than, identifying numbers up to 1,000

Math Test: No Math Test
Pre-Spelling Test: Thursday, April 9th
Spelling and Sentence Test: Friday, April 10th
Reading Test: Friday, April 10th

To the parents that helped out today with the Easter Party, thank you!! It would not have been possible without you. I also want to give a very special thanks to Janet Jones and Kellie Sanders for organizing and hosting the party. Fantastic job! :)

Lunch Tomorrow

We will be celebrating Joshua's birthday tomorrow during lunch. We will be having pizza!! There will be no need to send lunch with your child, you may still want to send a drink and snack :)

Easter Baskets

PLEASE SEND EASTER AN EASTER BASKET WITH YOUR CHILD TOMORROW!!! THANKS :)

Play Parts

I have the play parts assigned and will be letting the children know today which character they will be playing. However, I do not have all the parts typed and ready to send home today. I was short on a few characters and had to add another play last night. I will get the parts out to them tomorrow!

Easter Party

For the party tomorrow we will be taking the bus! The children are really excited about riding on the bus:) Parents you are still welcome to come, you can just meet us there. We are leaving at 9:05am and if you would like you can follow behind us. If you want to just meet us there but need directions just message me :) Thanks!

Questions on Study Guide

The questions on the study guide are set up to "guide' the discussion about the story. The answers are not always clearly stated and the children may need to discuss out loud the information from the text to arrive at the answer. Some of the questions will have several answers. Having them identify all possible answers to the question helps them prepare for questions like Which of the following is NOT.....? . I did realize that number 5 may be a little confusing....It is asking how seeds are transported?

Study Guides

On tonight's homework I am having the children complete questions 1-5 on their study guides and look up then write the definitions for 2 of the vocabulary words (these directions are listed on the actual homework sheet). I feel like this is a great way to prepare for the test and teaches the children good study habits. The study guide should be turned in with the homework sheet and I will return the study guide tomorrow so more questions can be completed for Tuesday's homework. :)

Newsletter March 30th-April 3rd

Spelling Words: No Spelling!!! :)

High Frequency Words: brown, know, right, round  Review all words previously learned (refer to the HF word sheet I sent home)

Sounds/Spellings: Review Long and Short o sounds, spellings, and rules. For extra practice at home have the students write words using the spellings for each sound (Long o: o  _ow  o_e   oa_) For short i: Focus on words ending in _dge, _ck, x, _ng (these spellings only come after short vowel sounds)

Vocabulary: shrub, stems, vine, energy

Stories: Green and Growing

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Asking Questions, Visualizing, Making Inferences, Cause and Effect, Identifying Sound Words ex. swoosh, Making Connections, Compare and Contrast, Drawing Conclusions  Focus: Classify and Categorize

Study Skill: Using the Library

Language Arts: Possessive Nouns and Pronouns Intro: Synonyms

Writing: Easter Story

Math: New Concepts; Five-digit addition and Addition and subtraction with four numbers Math Concepts to be tested on: Addition/Subtraction Families 1-11, subtracting two-digit numbers, story problems, temperature, counting by fives, numbers that are ten more than, identifying numbers up to 1,000

Math Test: Wednesday, April 1st
Pre-Spelling Test: None
Spelling and Sentence Test: None
Reading Test: Thursday, April 2nd (may change until next week, depending on how the children are doing with the story)

FYI

Both first grades will be presenting plays on May 8th, at 9:00am in the cafetorium.  I will be sending home assigned parts for my plays Wednesday. The children will need your help in memorizing their parts. Each child will be a character in one of the plays, and each child will have a speaking part, such as narrator for another play.  They will not read their parts.  They must memorize each part. As you help them learn their parts, please feel free to model how that character might say the words...model expression with your voice.  I will also work on that with them at school.  Please keep these parts at home for right now.  Later, I may ask the children to keep their parts in their homework folder.  I want to thank you ahead of time for helping with this.  We can't do it without you!  (:  Please begin working on this now.  We will begin practicing in the classroom in a couple of weeks.  It would be nice if the children were well on their way to knowing their parts.

Mrs. Blackwell is giving me the costumes she has used in the past. I should have most of the ones I need but will not know for sure until I receive the costumes from her. If any parents would like to offer to help either make or repair the costumes please let me know :)

On May 14th, we have a field trip planned to Landmark Park's Digitarium Planetarium.  Cost is $6 per student.  I'm not sure if we will need drivers. There is a possibility we will go by bus.  I will give you more information on this trip later.  Payment is due by the 17th of April.

NO SPELLING TEST THIS WEEK.  

Flat Stanley

I hear our Flat Stanleys are making it around!! When you receive any letters, pictures, videos, etc. from Flat Stanley's adventures please be sure to send it to school, email, or text me the information so we can share it with the class and add everything to our Flat Stanley Wall! The children are very excited to see all of his adventures!

Easter Eggs Due

DON'T FORGET.......10 plastic candy filled eggs are due tomorrow along with $5 to cover the cost of our Easter Party which is on Wednesday.  :)

Fourth Nine Weeks AR

We have begun our fourth nine weeks of AR reading and testing.  The children were not STAR tested this nine weeks, so you will see that their ZPD remains the same.  HOWEVER, as the children reach the top of their ZPD, I am allowing them to continue past it if they are doing well on their tests.  If they begin missing questions, they go back to a lower level.  Their goals are not as high this nine weeks because they are based on an eight week testing period.  Please encourage your child to take two tests a week. No one needs to get to the last week and have several tests to take to reach his or her goal. Thank you so much for your help this year with AR!

I apologize for not getting this information out to you earlier in the week. During our library time yesterday I found out that we would be keeping the ZPDs from last nine weeks. I sent home the new AR Log yesterday. Me being new I am also learning how the PLAS AR program runs; thank you for your patience!

Art Show

It seems that we have several artist in class :) Congratulations to the following students for placing in the Art Show; the ones that received a first or second place award will go to district:

Waterbase

1st Place- Weston Garrett

2nd Place- Carly Henderson

3rd Place- Carter Nelson

Printmaking

1st Place- Anna Kate Hardin

2nd Place- Carter Nelson

3rd Place- Isabella Helms

Color Drawing

2nd Place- Jaylyn Luker

3rd Place- Anna Kate Hardin

Non-Color Drawing

3rd Place- Lexie Terry

The students were competing with K4-1st!

Easter Egg Hunt and Party

Our Easter Egg Hunt and party will be on Wednesday, April 1st, from 9:30 until 12:30, at Carmen Sanders' house. The children are to bring 10 plastic eggs filled with candy by March 30th. Please send $5.00 in a envelope with your child's name on it by the same date to cover refreshments and lunch. Please put these dates on your calendar. The plastic eggs and $5.00 are due the Monday we come back from spring break! I need drivers to transport children to the party and back to school. I am giving the parents that have not had an opportunity to drive first choice. The parents that have driven for us before I will let you know if there are any open spots. If you will be able to help, please let me know this week. Thanks!!!

We have a field trip to Landmark Park in May. I will post more information on this soon.

Weekly Reminders

• Be sure to check the Parent Newsletter to review concepts we are learning and test dates.

• Friday is the 3rd Nine Weeks Honors Program it begins at 9am. This is a normal school day! 

• Wednesday, March 18 is the David M. Sargent Assembly. David has wrote several character education stories and will be here with his dogs. Parents are invited to join the assembly and will have an opportunity to purchase his books. 

• Next week is SPRING BREAK!!!!! :) :) :) 

Parent Newsletter March 16th-20th

Spelling Words: found, ground, our, ounce, pound, how, cow, brown, flower, towel, thought, too, to, March

High Frequency Words: would, fire  Review all words previously learned (refer to the HF word sheet I sent home)

Sounds/Spellings: Review Long and Short I sounds, spellings, and rules. For extra practice at home have the students write words using the spellings for each sound (Long a: i  _igh  i_e   _y  _ie) For short i: Focus on words ending in _dge, _ck (these spellings only come after short vowel sounds)

Vocabulary: flower, quite, shouted, tight, afraid

Stories: The Garden    and   "Saguaro"

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Asking Questions, Visualizing, Making Inferences, Cause and Effect, Identifying Sound Words ex. swoosh, Making Connections, Compare and Contrast Focus: Drawing Conclusions 

Study Skill: Completing a Web

Language Arts: Possessive Nouns and Pronouns Intro: Plural Possessive Pronouns

Writing: Squiggle Line Story #5

Math: New Concepts; two-digit subtraction, eleven subtraction family,  Math Concepts to be tested on: Addition/Subtraction Families 1-11, telling time, adding two-digit numbers, adding 4 numbers, story problems, temperature, fractions

Math Test: Wednesday, March 18th
Pre-Spelling Test: Thursday, March 19th
Spelling and Sentence Test: Friday, March 20th
Reading Test: Friday, March 20th

Wednesday Reminders

*Friday is a half day!!!  Early Birds will let out at 11:40 and then the Late Birds at 11:50. Please have your child picked up by 12.

*Friday, March 13th, is the last day to send money for the 2014-2015 yearbook.

*5th Grade Bake Sale is tomorrow Thursday, March 12th. All items will be $1.00. Let's help support this Bake Sale. The proceeds go toward honoring local people in our community as a part of the Liberty's Legacy program. 

*The Art Show is next Wednesday, March 18th.

*Reading and Spelling Pre-test tomorrow. Everything that will be on the reading test can be found on the study guide. Please be sure to review 

Reading Test Tomorrow

Please, review question 10 on the "How a Seed Grows" study guide with your child; this will be the personal response question on the test. The students tend to get a little lazy when it comes to answering this question. I have not been counting points off for this question but I am going to start with this test. Be sure they answer it in complete sentences. They must write at least 2 sentences to get credit; these questions are considered "essay" style questions. This week it is asking the students to write about a garden. I will not accept " I do not know of any gardens" as an answer. With me giving the study guides out there is no excuse for the children not to be prepared to answer the personal response questions. They can practice their answer verbally or for better practice they can write them on the study guide. Be sure they check their spellings, punctuation marks, and to see if their sentences make sense.
Thanks!

Yearbooks

The last day to purchase a yearbook is this Friday (March 13th). They are $50. You can either go to the office or send the money with your child.

Also, Friday is a half day!!!!

Newsletter March 9th-13th

Spelling Words: spoon, tooth, food, pool, loose, threw, grew, chew, blew, flew, some, sum, they, St. Patrick's Day

High Frequency Words: Review all words previously learned (refer to the HF word sheet I sent home)

Sounds/Spellings: Review Long and Short A sounds, spellings, and rules. For extra practice at home have the students write words using the spellings for each sound (Long a: a  ai_  a_e   _ay) For short a: Focus on words ending in _dge, _ck (these spellings only come after short vowel sounds)

Vocabulary: aside, root

Story: How a Seed Grows

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Asking Questions, Visualizing, Making Inferences, Cause and Effect, Identifying Sound Words ex. swoosh, Making Connections, Compare and Contrast

Language Arts: Adjectives and Comparative Adjectives, Sentence expansion with describing words; identifying telling and asking sentences

Writing: Squiggle Line Story #4, Creative Writing (continued from last week)

Math: New Concepts; Subtracting Two-Digit numbers, Eleven addition family, addition and subtraction with three numbers Math Concepts to be tested on: Addition/Subtraction Families 1-10, telling time, measurements, counting money

Math Test: Wednesday, March 11th
Pre-Spelling Test: Thursday, March 12th
Spelling and Sentence Test: Friday, March 13th
Reading Test: Thursday, March 12th

Study Guide

How a Seeds Grow
1. What grows from seeds?
2. Why can’t you see the seeds begin to grow?
3. What are the steps of planting?
4. What do you do after you make the hole?
5. What are the kinds or types of beans?
6. How many seeds were planted in the story?
7. Why 12 seeds?
8. What is alike about all seeds? (What do all seeds need to grow)
9. What is different in how an oak seed and a bean grow?
10. Write about a garden you know?
Vocabulary
aside-
root-
Phonics
Long and short vowel A
Grammar
Identify which sentences are asking and telling. Write a T by the telling sentences and a A by the asking sentences.
1. What day is today?
2. Her shirt is green.
3. Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day.
4. Is that your dog?
5. School is over at 2:40.

Graded Paper and Study Guides

I was not able to get much done over the weekend due to my grandmother being ill and in the hospital. Thank you for all the kind messages and prayers, it helped and she is out and doing so much better. Study guides will be sent home tomorrow; I should have them posted on my blog later in the day along with the newsletter. Graded papers will also come home tomorrow. I apologize for not having these things ready today but it just couldn't be helped. Any questions or concerns please feel free to message or email me. Remember to check out the "Dates to Remember" found on the right side of my blog; there are several things happening this week! :) Have a wonderful and blessed week!

AR Star!

Congratulations to Carly Henderson for reaching her goal in AR on Friday!!! Way to read, keep it up!!!

FYI

My grandmother is in the hospital so I will be out tomorrow. Kim Garrett will be my sub. Just wanted to let you in case anyone tried contacting me through my email. Have a wonderful weekend.

Graded papers will go home next week :)

Bake Sale

            The 5^th grade classes are having a bake sale to raise money to honor local people in our community.  We are participating in a program called Liberty’s Legacy that promotes being a good American citizen and honoring heroes. We will have cookies, brownies, rice crispy treats, cake and other sweet treats. All items will be $1.00.  Students can eat the treats at break or lunch.  We are trying to raise a total of $245 to honor these heroes through this program.    The bake sale will be Thursday, March 12^th starting around 8:20.  We are really excited about this and we hope that you will allow your child to enjoy a delicious, sweet treat to help this great cause.  

Art Show

Art Show is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18th. This is not on the calendars in the children's binders but I have added it to the "Dates to Remember" :) Mrs. Goff has been collecting things the children have done throughout the year for the show. If your child would like to make another entry they are more than welcome to, just be sure that their name is written on the back.

Dr. Seuss Poster

Don't forget that the Dr. Seuss posters for the contest are due by Thursday!!! Check out the Read Across America blog post for the details. We have had only one turned in so far and I really hope to have more for the contest :) It would be awesome for our class to win a party!

Graded Papers

Graded papers went home today. If your child did not have them it is because they needed to redo a part on the reading test due to them skipping a page. I allowed the ones that skipped a page to finish it today...I will send them home tomorrow.

AR Stars!!

Congratulations to Jaylyn Luker and Lexie Terry for reaching their goals in AR!!! Way to read, ladies!! Keep it up :)

AR Reminder

Just a reminder that you can keep track of your child's AR progress through AR Home Connect. There is a link to this page under the "Check Out These Sites" tab found on the right side of my blog. The log-in information is the same one your child uses to take test and can be found on their AR bookmark.

March 13th is the last day for AR test this nine weeks.

Understanding the Oral Fluency Assessments

I sent home graded papers today and part of that is the Oral Fluency Assessment. Notice on the right side of the page the two boxes Reading Rate and Accuracy and Reading Fluency. In the Reading Rate and Accuracy box you will see a place for the number of correct words read per minute; this is found by counting the numbers of words they read and then subtracting the number of errors they made (see details below on what counts as an error). The children at this time should be reading at least 23 correct words per minute. In the Spring, which is almost here, the children should be reading at least 53 correct words per minute. The Reading Fluency box does not factor into the final grade, however, this is still an important part in the children's reading ability and should be looked over (see details below about each category). The rubric for this is Low (needs improvement), Average (on-level), High (above average skill).

Errors in reading

• Words that are misread
• Words that the student omits
• Inserting extra words
• Words that have been reversed

] This bracket symbol shows where the student read to in one minute.

Reading Fluency Box

Decoding Ability- how well a student blends, recognize, or decodes a word. 

Pace- the speed of which they are reading. I explain that they do not need to read too slow or too fast. That it is not about how fast you read or reading all the words but reading at a steady pace and reading the words Correctly. 

Syntax- being aware of the ideas the author was trying to express. (Reading it like the author intended it be; reading with expression)

Self-correction- are they aware of their mistakes, do they catch them and then fix them

Intonation- being aware of punctuation....pausing at commas, periods, etc. 

Spelling Test

Please encourage your child to be neat and to listen well to the sentences. I don't just say a sentence once and expect them to write it. I say it several times, then when the test is completed, I ask the children to touch each word as I go back and read the sentences to them one more time. If they have left out a word, they ought to catch that mistake. I ask them to listen to my voice and how I read the sentences to help them know the correct punctuation. Don't forget that Spelling City is a good tool to help your child get ready for the test and can be found on the right side of my blog listed under "Check Out These Sites". Also, be sure to review all High-Frequency words with your child. They not only need to be able to identify them, they also need to be able to spell them. I sent home a master list of all High Frequency Words we have and will learn this year. If you need another copy just send me an email :)

Dr. Seuss Thursday

In addition to our dress-up days, Thursday we are going to spend the day doing fun Dr. Seuss activities. The children should choose a favorite Dr. Seuss book to bring to school and share with the class. They may bring a small pillow and wear their pajamas (NO stuffed animals are allowed). If any of you would like to make some special treats for us that day, please do. We plan to have a party at snack time!

******We will still have the spelling pre-test. 

Study Guide

Study Guides went home today. I found one on my floor :)  so I am posting it here! Remember this is not considered Homework and I do not check for it. However, I do encourage the students to review it so that they will be well-prepared for the reading test. This test will not have a grammar part on it but we are reviewing and using adjectives and comparative adjectives this week.

Winners Never Quit Study Guide
1. What sports do Mia love?
2. What sport is her favorite?
3. Why does Mia’s team cheer?
4. Why couldn't Mia score goals on that one day?
5. Mia didn't want luck next time, she wanted it now, so what did she do?
6. Why does Mia quit?
7. When does Mia always quit?
8. What happens the next day right when Mia runs outside?
9. Why didn't they wait for Mia to start the game?
10. What was Mia doing as the game was going on?
11. The next day, who did Garrett pick first?
12. What did Mia feel when she missed the goal?
13. What does Mia hate?
14. Why didn't she quit?
15. Why is playing more important than winning or losing?
16. What does Mia learn?
17. What does it mean to dribble a soccer ball?
18. What is a game you like to play very much?
Vocabulary Use your glossary to find the definition. Write it beside the word.
Stomped-
Rather-
Phonics
/er/ Sound; Spelling ear

Parent Newsletter Week March 2nd-6th

Spelling Words: boat, float, soap, doe, goes, tiptoe, yellow, window, slow, show, here, hear, would, Monday

High Frequency Words: any, from, water, come

Sounds/Spellings: New: sound /er/ spelling ear          Review Long/Short Vowel Sounds and Spellings (see study guide for specifics)

Vocabulary: stomped, rather

Story: Winners Never Lose

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Asking Questions, Visualizing, Making Inferences, Cause and Effect, Sequence of Events, Identifying Sound Words ex. swoosh, Making Connections

Language Arts: Adjectives and Comparative Adjectives, Sentence expansion with describing words

Writing: Squiggle Line Story #4, Creative Writing

Math: New Concepts; Subtracting Two-Digit numbers Math Concepts to be tested on: Addition/Subtraction Families 1-10, using a ruler to measure, Measurements: how many feet in a yard, how many inches in a foot, and how many inches in a yard, taking one half of a group, distinguishing between thirds, halves, and fourths, counting by 2s, story problems

Math Test: Wednesday, March 4th
Pre-Spelling Test: Thursday, March 5th
Spelling and Sentence Test: Friday, March 5th
Reading Test: Friday, March 5th (may change)

Dates to Remember

Don't forget to look at the Dates to Remember found on the right side of my blog. These dates will also be listed on your child's Calendar in his/her binder :)

Flat Stanley!

Please send to school the two 6"x9" envelopes, two stamps, and the address form I sent home last week by tomorrow!!! They were due today. We cannot start our Flat Stanley project until every student has returned these things. Thank you. Be sure that the envelopes are 6"x9"

Read Across America Week

We will celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday on March 2nd, and we encourage you to participate in the following reading spirit days!

Monday, March 2nd- Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!! Dress as your favorite Dr. Seuss character!

Tuesday, March 3rd- Foxiest Socks Day. Wear silly socks.

Wednesday, March 4th- Wacky Wednesday. Wear tacky clothing.....within dress code.

Thursday, March 5th- Grinchiest Green Day. Wear green clothing....NO CAMOUFLAGE! Poster entries due. 

Friday, March 6th- Red and White Day!! Wear red and white clothing.....Cat in the Hat hats are acceptable if you have one. No other types of hats are allowed.

Read Across America Poster Contest

Your child is encouraged to participate in a poster contest in honor of Dr, Seuss! Your child may design a poster to represent his/her favorite Dr. Seuss book. The poster should be child-created (parents you should only help with the building or structure not the creative part of the poster, your child should come up with his or her own idea!) and will need to be turned in to his/her teacher no later than 9:00 am on Thursday, March 5th. Entries will be submitted into the following category: K4-2nd grade. A 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner will be recognized for each category. The students who place first will earn a popcorn party for his/her homeroom class. Make sure your child puts the title of the book on the front of the poster and includes her/his name on the BACK of the poster. Students, be sure to design the poster yourself. Have fun and be creative!!!! 

FYI: Practice Test

On the back of the homework sheet you will find a "practice test" for the grammar and phonics part of the reading test we will have tomorrow. I realized after the test we took on Monday that the children were struggling with the structure of the test and not the actually content. I thought it would be a good idea to give them practice on how to take this part of the test :)

AR STAR!!!

Congratulations to Libby Tompkins for reaching her goal in AR!!!!!! Way to read, Libby!!! Keep it up :)

Study Guide

I sent home a study guide for the next reading test. The test will be on "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "The Tortoise and the Hare". We haven't started to read the "Tortoise and the Hare", so tonight they should only focus on the questions related to "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". Also, on the phonics section we have only learned the /oi/ sound, so again they should only focus on that part. They should know which parts to do, we went over it today. This is not considered homework, but they are encouraged to do it to help them be well prepared for the test.

Flat Stanley

Please check your child's binder for the letter about our upcoming Flat Stanley project. The form I sent home, the envelopes, and stamps are due back on Monday, March 2nd.

Parent Newsletter Feb 23-27

Spelling Words: happy, candy, baby, shady, walk, piece, field, ponies, thief, here, these, were, where, Wednesday

High Frequency Words: before

Sounds/Spellings: /oi/ _oy   /r/  wr_    /f/   ph

Vocabulary: dew, pace, silky

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Asking Questions, Visualizing, Making Inferences, Cause and Effect, Sequence of Events, Identifying Sound Words ex. swoosh

Language Arts: Singular Possessive Nouns

Writing: Squiggle Line Story #3, Creative Writing

Math: New Concepts; Five minute increments of time, subtracting coins, One-third of an object and group

Reading Test: Monday, February 23rd
Math Test: Wednesday, February 25th
Spelling Pre-Test: Thursday, February 26th
Spelling/Sentence Test: Friday, February 27th

Daddy-Daughter Dance

Just a reminder the Daddy-Daughter Dance will be next Friday, February 27th.

Dr. Suess Week

Please check your child's binder for the letter concerning the upcoming Read Across America week! It's a celebration of Dr. Seuss! I will post more information about dress-up days, projects, and other activities that will be going on that week.

Study Guide

I sent home a study guide for the reading test we have on Monday. They do not have to write the answers. It is just to get them well prepared for the test. You will find 16 questions related to the story The Little Engine That Could (the last question will be an open response questions), vocabulary words, the sounds and spellings we learned this week, and a grammar section. This should have them well prepared for the test! :)

AR Stars!!

Congratulations to Huck Murray and Emory Senn for reaching their goals in AR!!!! Wonderful job, guys!!! Keep it up :)

Squiggle Line Stories

During our Writing Workshop each day we work on a "squiggle line" story. I give them a squiggle line at the beginning of the week that they have to turn into a picture and then write a story about what they drew. The children absolutely love it! They are so excited about writing these stories, their excitement just fills my heart with joy!! Through writing these stories they are learning about the different stages of the writing process, how to edit and revise, story structure, and how to make a story more interesting! I do not take grades on these. This activity is more about getting them interested in writing and how to organize a story to make sense. The stories have turned out wonderfully! I am sending home a copy of their first story so you can read and enjoy them too; I have to keep the originals for their writing portfolios. There will be more to come :)

Test

Don't forget that we have a math test and the spelling pre-test tomorrow!

Oral Reading Grades

Since we have started our Hardback reader the Oral Reading Assessment has changed. I am sending home the reading test along with the new oral reading assessment today. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me :)

AR Star!!

Congratulations to Isabella Helms for reaching her goal in AR!!!! So proud of you, Izzy! Keep it up :)

Graded Papers

Graded papers went home today. There wasn't many papers since we did not have a lot of test last week and because all of the extra activities we had going on :) Grades will be updated in Achieve this afternoon :)

AR Stars!

Congratulations to Weston Garrett and Carter Nelson for reaching their goal in AR!!!! Way to read, guys!! Keep it up! :)

Parent Newsletter Feb. 17-20

Spelling Words: try, why, fly, tried, pie, flies, tonight, might, right, high, with, there, their, February

High Frequency Words: into, before, yellow

Sounds/Spellings: Hawk Card, Sound: /aw/, Spellings au_  aw   augh   ough 

Vocabulary: dining car, fine, yards, riddles

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Asking Questions, Visualizing, Making Inferences

Language Arts: Quotation Marks, Singular and Plural Nouns and Pronouns

Writing: Squiggle Line Story #3, Creative Writing

Math: New Concepts; Five minute increments of time, subtracting coins

Reading Test: Tuesday, February 17th
Math Test: Thursday, February 18th
Spelling Pre-Test: Thursday, February 19th
Spelling/Sentence Test: Friday, February 20th

Monday is a holiday, YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

AR Test

Some students were unable to take their AR test today. I have their folders and they can take it first thing in the morning! We were having so much fun with our science experiment and party that we lost track of time :)

Reminder

Valentine's Party is tomorrow at 1:45! If you have signed up to bring an item please send it by this time tomorrow. Thank you

FYI for Chaperones

If you are a chaperone for the field trip, please be sure to check your child's binder. I have sent home a letter that list your responsibilities as a chaperone. It also includes the procedures you should follow once you get to school, the time we are leaving, and general information :)

Valentine's Cards

We made our Valentines Mail Bags today! The kids can start bringing their Valentines tomorrow. Please be sure they have one for each child in the class. I posted last week a list of the boys and girls in the class. I will also send a copy home today :)

Graded Papers

Graded papers will go home tomorrow. I did not have enough time today to get all the test graded from Friday :) Thanks for understanding

Weekly Reminder

This Week:

• No Spelling Test!
•  We will begin our first Hardback Reader! :) 
• Valentine Party is Thursday, Feb. 12th at 1:45! 
• Field Trip Friday! 
• Last day to send money for the King and Queen Drive for Children's Hospital is Thursday, Feb. 12th. It is going very well!! 
• Cookie Dough Orders are due Feb. 11th. 
• Chick-fil-a Orders due ASAP! If your child checked out Friday, I will send home the order form on Monday!

I am going to try my best to get the test from Friday graded tomorrow and hopefully sent home but they may come home on Tuesday. 

It is going to be a wonderful week at PLAS!!! :) 

Newsletter Feb 9th-13th

Spelling Words: No Spelling this week!

High Frequency Words: are, brown, how, about, around, long, know, want, by

Sounds/Spellings: /ow/ Cow Card  Spellings: ow and ou_  /n/ New Spelling:  kn_

Vocabulary: meadow, kite, perhaps, try, thud, crashed

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Predicting, Summarizing, Cause and Effect, Reality and Fantasy

Language Arts: Quotation Marks, Alphabetical Order

Writing: Squiggle Line Story, Creative Writing

Math: New Concepts; 10 Addition Family, Adding Two Digit Numbers

I will let you know the testing schedule as the week progresses. Due to having the Valentine Party and our Field Trip the tests may be pushed back until next week. We will NOT be doing spelling this week! :)

****Reminder: Students must take at least 1 AR test a week for a daily grade.

Thank you for all you do!

I will be out tomorrow. Kim Garrett will be my substitute. The math, spelling, and sentence test will be given tomorrow but I will give the Oral Math test when I return on Monday.

If you do need to contact me for any reason email me at haleystinson@rocketmail.com  :)

Lunch after ASF Field Trip

After the field trip we will have lunch at Chick-Fil-A at East Chase in Montgomery. The children will be able to order a 4 count ($3.50) or 6 count ($4.00) chicken nugget meal with a choice of fries, fruit, or applesauce. Drink choices will be white milk, chocolate milk, or apple juice.  I sent home a form today to fill out and return.  The money for this is due on Monday, February 9th. 

Sign-up List for Valentine's Day Party

Below is the list of the items you need to send for the Valentine's Day party on February 12th. If you are unable to send these items please let me know. Anyone else not listed is more than welcome to send extras!

Sweets: Robin Tompkins
Chips and Dip: Aileen Gardiner
Salty: Amy Garrett
Drink Boxes: Sandi Walters
Plates and Napkins: Kathy Helms

Thank you all!

Valentine's Day Party

The Valentine's Day Party is scheduled for February 12th. I will post the list of who is bringing the items for this party later in the week.

Here is a list of the students in my class:

Boys
Joshua James Gardiner
Weston Garrett
Will Hasson
Huck Murray
Carter Nelson
Luke Sikes
Brady Walters
Evan Zhao

Girls
Anna Kate Hardin
Isabella Helms
Carly Henderson
Jaylyn Luker
Amy Ramage
Caroline Renfroe
Emory Senn
Lexie Terry
Libby Thompkins

Field Trip Reminder

The field trip to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival is on February 13th. We are going to watch Alice in Wonderland. We are scheduled for the 9:30am performance. The drivers I have for this trip are: 

• Kate Murray
• Kellie Henderson
• Robin Thompkins
• Candace Nelson
• Shannon Senn

Drivers, if plans have changed and you are unable to drive please let me know ASAP! Thank you! 

AR STAR!!!

Congratulations to Joshua Gardiner for reaching his goal in AR!! Way to read, Joshua!!! Keep it up :)

Kellogg"s Cereal Book Codes!

Kellogg's Brand Cereal has Scholastic Book codes on specialty marked boxes. Three codes equals one free book! If you have any that you are not using send the code with your child! This will be a cool way to build onto our Classroom Library! Thanks

Newsletter Week of Feb. 2nd-6th

Spelling Words: amuse, pupil, July, human, music, use, cute, confuse, bugle, mule, could, want, won't, Tuesday

High Frequency Words: very, good, now Review Unit HF words: no, their, away, saw, blue, one
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Sounds/Spellings: Goo Card  /oo/ sound Review Spellings:  oo, _ue  u Introduce Spellings: _ew and u_e   Introduce: The Foot Card, Sound /oo/ as in foot Spelling oo

Vocabulary: tour, pond, subway, chopsticks, hum, birds of prey

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Making Connections, Predicting, Asking Questions, Clarifying, Summarizing, Sequence, Drawing Conclusions, Making Inferences

Language Arts: Sentences of Different Lengths (using "and" to combine sentences), Writing Names of Cities, States, and Countries, Using Commas in a Series

Math: Review: Addition and Subtraction family 9, counting, before and after numbers, thermometer, dozen, telling time,  liquid measurements, ruler, between numbers, Half Dozen, between but not consecutive numbers, the quarter, finding one half of a number, centimeter, one fourth, dollar, half dollar, adding 3 numbers, combining quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, counting by threes. Introduce: Quarter past, combining quarters and dimes, Telling time: 45 minutes past

Reading Test: Wednesday, February 4th
Math Test: Friday, February 6th
Spelling Pre-Test: Thursday, February 5th
Spelling and Sentence Test: Friday, February 6th

Please be sure your child is taking at least one AR test a week. I am taking their highest AR Test Grade each week for a Reading Daily grade.

Booklets

Booklets were sent home. Students are ask to fill out the booklets (which has 11 places for names and addresses) and return to school by February 4^th.  For each booklet filled out, the school will receive $5.50.  The booklet will be put in a drawing for a $100,000 playground, the student could win $10,000 and the teacher could win $5,000 for the classroom.  Take a moment and fill out the booklets.

I have had only one booklet returned! Please fill these out. If everyone in the class returns them our class alone will raise $93.50 for the school. 

Graded Papers

Graded papers will go home on Monday!
Have a beautiful weekend :)

Book Fair

The Book Fair is happening now!! Come check out the awesome books we have for sale!

Graded Papers

Graded papers went home yesterday. Please sign and return them ASAP. If your child miss more than one day last week; their graded papers will go home when make-up test are completed and graded. I will have grades posted to Achieve by tomorrow night.

Friday Lunch

Friday we will be celebrating Jaylyn and Libby's  birthdays with pizza and cupcakes! It will not be necessary to send lunch with your child unless they do not like pizza.

Children's Hospital Fundraiser

The Children's Hospital Fundraiser is saying the boy and girl who raises the most money will be crowned King and Queen. Our class took a vote and decided that we would select one boy and one girl to be the representatives for this fundraiser. They voted Carter Nelson and Amy Ramage. I have jars set up in the classroom labeled with their names. Any loose change or money you would like to donate please send, the girls will be collecting for Amy and the boys for Carter.  This is for a great cause and it will help someone from our class be crowned King or Queen.

Newsletter Week of Jan. 26th-30th

Spelling Words: sheep, week, street, sneeze, meet, cent, meal, weak, near, hear, meat, sent, said, Sunday

High Frequency Words: saw, blue, and, one, away

Sounds/Spellings: Review Long vowel spelling sounds, /oo/ sound spelled oo, _ue  u

Vocabulary: symbol, equator, left, celebrate

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Visualize, Making Connections, Predicting, Cause and Effect, Main Idea and Details, Sequence of Events

Language Arts: Comparative Adjectives, Capitalization Rules (Proper Nouns, Special Words, Names of places, etc), Plural Nouns, Sentence structures

Math: Review: Addition family 9, counting, before and after numbers, thermometer, dozen, telling time,  liquid measurements, ruler, between numbers, Half Dozen, between but not consecutive numbers, the quarter, finding one half of a number, centimeter, one fourth Introduce: dollar, half dollar, adding 3 numbers, combining quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, counting by threes

Reading Test: Wednesday, January 28th
Math Test: Friday, January 30th
Spelling Pre-Test: Thursday, January 29th
Spelling and Sentence Test: Friday, January 30th

Parents please make sure you are reviewing the Addition and Subtraction families with your child!!! 

AR

Parents,
Please help your child make sure they are not getting AR books that they have already tested on. The First Nine Weeks test were removed from their record because they were getting use to taking test but any test they took the Second Nine Weeks remains on their record/bookshelf. Several students this week have tried retaking test and the computer will not allow them to do so. This is wasting time they could be spending reading new books, taking tests, and getting points. I try my best to stay on top of it but I do have 17 student's books to keep up with. When your child brings home a AR book double check their "bookshelf" on Renaissance :)

Thanks!!

Book Fair

Book Fair starts Monday!!!!

Math

Parents we are learning about several things in math. One being how to count and add money. For extra practice with this skill have your child count change to you or someone in the family. The best way to master a skill is to practice!!

Also, be sure that your child is practicing their addition and subtraction families 1-9! Especially the 7-9 family. The oral math grade comes from them answering aloud addition and subtraction facts in a very short amount of time. The more they practice the better they will do on this portion of the test.

Math Test

The math test will be on Monday, January 26th. We have had several students out this week, 5 out today due to sicknesses, so I decided to move the test to Monday so the ones that have been out have a chance to catch up. The spelling and sentence test will still be given tomorrow.

Shoe Drive

Starting January 23rd the Excel Club will be having a shoe drive for Solefood Ministries to give shoes to children in need in other countries.  We will be accepting new or slightly used shoes you’ve outgrown or don’t need.  We will be collecting until Friday, Feb. 27th.

Science!

We are discussing weather in science. We will be making rain gauges. Please send an empty clear plastic bottle with your child by Thursday. We will be making these on Friday.

Parent Newsletter Week of Jan.19th- 23rd

Spelling Words: old, cold, most, won't, over, hope, home, wore, spoke, alone, to, too, two, snowman

High Frequency Words: my, don't, sleep, too, came, me, right, their, no

Sounds/Spellings: Long Vowel i  _igh  _y  _ie   Long O  oa_   _ow

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Visualize, Making Connections, Predicting, Cause and Effect, Main Idea and Details, Sequence of Events

Language Arts: Comparative Adjectives, Capitalization Rules (Proper Nouns, Special Words, Names of places, etc), Plural Nouns

Math: Review: Addition family 9, counting, before and after numbers, thermometer, dozen, telling time,  liquid measurements, ruler, between numbers, Half Dozen, between but not consecutive numbers, the quarter, finding one half of a number Introduce: centimeter, one fourth,

Reading Test: (Unit 5 Test) Thursday, January 22nd
Math Test: Friday, January, 23
Spelling Pre-Test: Thursday, January 22nd
Spelling and Sentence Test: Friday, January 23rd

Graded Papers

Graded Papers will go home on Tuesday, January 20th!

100th Day Celebration

On Monday, January 26th, we will be celebrating 100 days in school, UNLESS, we have some bad weather days.

First Grade celebrates the 100th DAY OF SCHOOL with lots of different activities.  One activity we ask the children to do is make a poster displaying 100 items. This is a project to be completed at home. The children can group their items in sets of 5, 10, 25, etc., or they can think of a design and use their items to outline and fill in the design.  If you and your child have trouble coming up with ideas, you can go to Pinterest and find some really cute ideas.

These 100 day posters will be due on January 26th.  The children may bring them before that date if they have them ready.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP WITH THIS PROJECT.

Treasure Chest

We are running low on items for the treasure chest! If you have any items you would like to donate to our Treasure Chest just send them with your child.

Thank you all for your support!

Testing Schedule

I just realized I scheduled too many test for Thursday! I am changing the Reading Test to Friday. Sorry for the mix-up.

Good Behavior Chain

For a whole group behavior plan I do a "Behavior Chain". When the whole class is bragged on or caught being really good I add a link or 2 to the chain. Our chain has hit the floor!! (WOW, such an awesome class!) I have promised the children that once our chain hit the floor we would have a party! We took a vote and decided on a Ice Cream party. The kids are super pumped! The ice cream party will be Friday at 2:00pm :) I am making order forms and Kellie Henderson has offered to get the Ice Cream from Milky Moo's (mmmmmm) and Brooke Terry is providing toppings!!  Thank you ladies for helping make this a pretty awesome Ice Cream Party :)

Hubble Telescope

We discussed the Hubble Telescope today in class and the students LOVED it. I showed them the Hubble's website where they can view images from outer space, it is pretty cool stuff! I promised the kids I would post the site on my blog so that if they wanted they could view some of the awesome pictures at home. :) The link is below

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/

This will take you directly to the Hubble's Photo Gallery but there is lots of cool things they can explore on this site.

AR Test

Since the children are comfortable taking AR test and know what to expect on them I will be taking one AR test for a grade each week. On Fridays I will look at their scores and chose their highest Test score from that week to record in the gradebook. This will be counted as a daily grade. This means every student needs to take at least one AR test a week but should take more. If you have any questions about this please contact me by email or we can set-up a conference.
 Thanks!

Weekly Reminders (1/12-16)

Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend. Here are just a few reminders for this week!

• Second Nine Week Honors Program Monday @ 9am
• Can food drive! I have challenged the students to bring 10 cans a piece! The flyer sent home about the drive list items that we need most. The last day to bring cans is Jan. 16th. 
• Graded Papers will go home on Monday, please sign and return.
• AR testing starts Monday. Please help your child remember to bring their AR book everyday.
• Don't forget next Monday (1/19) is a holiday!! :) 

Please check my blog daily for updates, new information, and events! 

Parent Newsletter Week of Jan 12th-16th

Spelling Words: I'll, kind, child, spider, behind, ride, bike, twice, time, prize, where, were, your, January

High Frequency Words: every, could, going, day, way

Sounds/Spellings: Long Vowel e _y  _ie_   Long Vowel a ai_   _ay    S /s/ cy

Vocabulary: weather, sparkle, sleet, thermometer, storing

Comprehension Skills and Strategies: Visualize, Making Connections, Predicting, Cause and Effect, Main Idea and Details

Language Arts: Comparative Adjectives, Capitalization Rules (Proper Nouns, Special Words, Names of places, etc)

Math: Review: Addition family 9, counting, before and after numbers, thermometer, dozen, telling time,  liquid measurements, ruler, between numbers Introduce: Half Dozen, between but not consecutive numbers, the quarter, finding one half of a number

Reading Test: Thursday, January 15th
Math Test: Thursday, January 15th
Spelling Pre-Test: Thursday, January 15th
Spelling and Sentence Test: Friday, January 16th

Graded Papers

Graded papers will go home on Monday! Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.

Don't forget the 2nd Nine Weeks Honors Program is on Monday at 9am

Accelerated Reading

I sent home new AR folders today. I listed their new ZPD and goal on the bottom of their AR logs. They will receive new bookmarks tomorrow and I will be sending home a note that shows what their ZPD was last nine weeks compared to this nine weeks. All of the students moved up in their ZPDs, YAY!!!!!!! The students will not be able to take an AR test until Monday, January 12th. 

Deer Hunt

The deer hunt is scheduled for this weekend January 9th-10th. Mrs. Baggett will be giving homework passes for one night to students bringing the $10.00 for deer hunt.  

Can-a-Thon

The Can Food Drive starts this week! Please send can food items to school with your child. I will post about the deadline later on.

Parent Newsletter 1/5/15-1/9/15

Spelling Words: No Spelling this week!

Sounds/Spellings: Long e      e     e_e     ee     ea 

Vocabulary: flashes, shelter, funnel, weather, sparkle

High Frequency Words: or, two, be, green, take, every

Comprehension Skills: Visualizing, asking questions, clarifying, making connections, and main idea and details, fact or opinion

Language Arts: Review Nouns, verbs, Adjectives, sentence types. Introduce Comparative Adjectives and Capitalizing Pronouns, special words, places, etc.

Math: Introduce Liquid Measurements (cup, pint, quart, gallon) and the nine addition family. Review all previously learn concepts.


Math Test is Friday, January 9th.
Reading Test is Thursday, January 8th.

Writing Workshop

This nine weeks and for the rest of the year we will be doing a Writing Workshop each day. I am asking for you to send a wide -ruled composition notebook with your child to keep here at school.This will be their Writing Journal! Please send this to school by Wednesday, January 7th.

Please encourage your child to write and reinforce the idea that writing is FUN!!! This will help improve their attitudes about writing and hopefully encourage them to write more! You can encourage good writing habits and attitudes about writing at home by letting them help you make the grocery or shopping list, having them write things at home, or by writing together! Remind them of the writing process and ask questions like who? what? when? where? why? how? 

Welcome Back!!!

Welcome back to school. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year (cannot believe it is 2015!!)

We will not have a spelling test this week :) Spelling will start back next week.

AR will not begin until the children have been STAR tested again, which will be on Wednesday of this week. This will determine a new ZPD or range and a new goal for the children. They will be issued new AR logs and bookmarks with their reading range and goals on it. If you are checking AR books out at the library or downloading ones on a tablet please be sure the book is on the level I have assigned for your child. They will not be able to take tests on books that are out of their range or the specific level that I have assigned. The students will start off on the lowest end of their range and will move up the scale one level at a time and will only move up if they make a 100 and can take the test without any help.

When viewing or printing your child's report card if there is not a Handwriting Grade on there please let me know and I will ask Mr Mathew how to print them with the HW grade showing.

Honors Day Assembly has changed to Monday, January 12th at 9:00am. Please remember this is a normal school day and the children should not be checked out after the assembly.